64 research outputs found
Evaluation of the factors associated with sublingual varices: a descriptive clinical study
Background: Age is considered as an important factor for the development of sublingual varices (SV). It has been suggested that some other conditions such as gender, systemic diseases, smoking, denture wearing may play a role in aetiology. However, there are a limited number of studies investigating these associations. This study was perform to evaluate association between SV and the conditions which are described as possible risk factors previously.
Materials and methods: A total of 691 patients (470 females, 221 males) who attended for comprehensive clinical examination were included in the study. Age, gender, systemic health, venous varix of the lower extremities, smoking status, denture wearing were recorded during the history taking. SV were classified into two categories: stage 0 (few or none visible) and stage 1 (moderate or severe). Tongue photographs were taken from a group of these patients. For the evalu- ation of intra-observer reliability, 60 photographs of tongue were re-evaluated by the same observer. Intra-observer reliability was evaluated using Kappa statistics. Pearson c2 test and Fisher’s exact test were used to assess SV in relation to each variable, and variables showing associations with p < 0.05 were selected for the multivariable analysis, then logistic regression analysis was applied.
Results: Kappa value of intra-observer reliability was 0.91. SV were significantly associated with age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.08, p = 0.000), hypertension (OR = 2.3, p = 0.007) and denture wearing (OR = 2.17, p = 0.02).
Conclusions: The presence of SV is associated with hypertension and denture wearing as well as aging. More detailed studies are needed to prove causative relations between SV and systemic diseases.
Witten-Nester Energy in Topologically Massive Gravity
We formulate topologically massive supergravity with cosmological constant in
the first order formalism, and construct the Noether supercurrent and
superpotential associated with its local supersymmetry. Using these results, we
construct in ordinary topologically massive gravity the Witten-Nester integral
for conserved charges containing spinors which satisfy a generalized version of
Witten equation on the initial value surface. We show that the Witten-Nester
charge, represented as an integral over the boundary of the initial value
surface produces the Abbott-Deser-Tekin energy for asymptotically anti de
Sitter spacetimes. We consider all values of the Chern-Simons coupling
constant, including the critical value known as the chiral point, and study the
cases of standard Brown-Henneaux boundary conditions, as well as their weaker
version that allow a slower fall-off. Studying the Witten-Nester energy as a
bulk integral over the initial value surface instead, we find a bound on the
energy, and through it the sufficient condition for the positivity of the
energy. In particular, we find that spacetimes of Petrov type N that admit
globally well defined solutions of the generalized Witten equation have
positive energy.Comment: 43 page
Mass and angular momentum of asymptotically AdS or flat solutions in the topologically massive gravity
We study the conserved charges of supersymmetric solutions in the
topologically massive gravity theory for both asymptotically flat and constant
curvature geometries.Comment: REVTEX4, 8 pages, no figures, added 2 references and a few clarifying
remark
Holography in Three-dimensional Kerr-de Sitter Space with a Gravitational Chern-Simons Term
The holographic description of the three-dimensional Kerr-de Sitter space
with a gravitational Chern-Simons term is studied, in the context of dS/CFT
correspondence. The space has only one (cosmological) event horizon and its
mass and angular momentum are identified from the holographic energy-momentum
tensor at the asymptotic infinity. The thermodynamic entropy of the
cosmological horizon is computed directly from the first law of thermodynamics,
with the usual Hawking temperature, and it is found that the usual
Gibbons-Hawking entropy is modified. It is remarked that, due to the
gravitational Chern-Simons term, (a) the results go beyond analytic
continuation from AdS, (b) the maximum-mass/N-bound conjecture may be violated,
and (c) the three-dimensional cosmology is chiral. A statistical mechanical
computation of the entropy, from a Cardy-like formula for a dual CFT at the
asymptotic boundary, is discussed. Some technical difference in the
Chern-Simons energy-momentum tensor, from literatures is remarked also.Comment: Typos corrected; Accepted in CQ
Placing limits on the stochastic gravitational-wave background using European Pulsar Timing Array data
Direct detection of low-frequency gravitational waves (
Hz) is the main goal of pulsar timing array (PTA) projects. One of the main
targets for the PTAs is to measure the stochastic background of gravitational
waves (GWB) whose characteristic strain is expected to approximately follow a
power-law of the form , where is the
gravitational-wave frequency. In this paper we use the current data from the
European PTA to determine an upper limit on the GWB amplitude as a function
of the unknown spectral slope with a Bayesian algorithm, by modelling
the GWB as a random Gaussian process. For the case , which is
expected if the GWB is produced by supermassive black-hole binaries, we obtain
a 95% confidence upper limit on of , which is 1.8 times
lower than the 95% confidence GWB limit obtained by the Parkes PTA in 2006. Our
approach to the data analysis incorporates the multi-telescope nature of the
European PTA and thus can serve as a useful template for future
intercontinental PTA collaborations.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, mnras accepte
Classification of solutions in topologically massive gravity
We study exact solutions of three-dimensional gravity with a cosmological
constant and a gravitational Chern-Simons term: the theory known as
topologically massive gravity. After reviewing the algebraic classification, we
show that if a solution has curvature of algebraic type D, then it is biaxially
squashed AdS_3. Applying the classification, we provide a comprehensive review
of the literature, showing that most known solutions are locally equivalent to
biaxially squashed AdS_3 or to AdS pp-waves.Comment: 39 pages. v1 split into 2 separate papers. This version is the first
of the two, containing the classification of solutions, with a strengthening
of the type D result. The material on Kundt solutions now appears in the
second paper arXiv:0912.3438. v3: minor changes
Early childhood caries in preschool children of Kosovo - a serious public health problem
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Even though it has been widely studied, early childhood caries (ECC) remains a serious public health problem, especially in countries where there is no national program of oral health assessment and no genuine primary oral health care, such as in Kosovo. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of ECC and analyze caries risk factors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The subjects were 1,008 preschool children, selected by stratified random cluster sampling, in the municipality of Prishtina, capital of Kosovo. Data were collected through clinical examination and interviews. Dmft data were recorded according to WHO criteria. Bacterial examination (CRT bacteria test) and plaque test of Greene-Vermillion were used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean dmft of preschool children was found to be 5.8. The prevalence of ECC was 17.36%, with a mean dmft of 11 ± 3.6. Streptococcus mutans prevalence in ECC children was 98%. A significant correlation between dmft and S mutans counts (≥10<sup>5 </sup>CFU/mL saliva) was demonstrated. A correlation was also found between daily sweets consumption and dmft in children with ECC (<it>P </it>< 0.001). Comparing the dmft of ECC children and duration of bottle feeding showed a statistical correlation (<it>P </it>< 0.001). The mean plaque test was 1.52. None of the examined children had ever used fluoride.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The prevalence of ECC was high among preschool children in the municipality of Kosovo. We recommend increasing parents' knowledge of proper feeding habits and oral health practices, and increasing preschool children's accessibility to dental services.</p
Intraperitoneal drain placement and outcomes after elective colorectal surgery: international matched, prospective, cohort study
Despite current guidelines, intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery remains widespread. Drains were not associated with earlier detection of intraperitoneal collections, but were associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased risk of surgical-site infections.Background Many surgeons routinely place intraperitoneal drains after elective colorectal surgery. However, enhanced recovery after surgery guidelines recommend against their routine use owing to a lack of clear clinical benefit. This study aimed to describe international variation in intraperitoneal drain placement and the safety of this practice. Methods COMPASS (COMPlicAted intra-abdominal collectionS after colorectal Surgery) was a prospective, international, cohort study which enrolled consecutive adults undergoing elective colorectal surgery (February to March 2020). The primary outcome was the rate of intraperitoneal drain placement. Secondary outcomes included: rate and time to diagnosis of postoperative intraperitoneal collections; rate of surgical site infections (SSIs); time to discharge; and 30-day major postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade at least III). After propensity score matching, multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to estimate the independent association of the secondary outcomes with drain placement. Results Overall, 1805 patients from 22 countries were included (798 women, 44.2 per cent; median age 67.0 years). The drain insertion rate was 51.9 per cent (937 patients). After matching, drains were not associated with reduced rates (odds ratio (OR) 1.33, 95 per cent c.i. 0.79 to 2.23; P = 0.287) or earlier detection (hazard ratio (HR) 0.87, 0.33 to 2.31; P = 0.780) of collections. Although not associated with worse major postoperative complications (OR 1.09, 0.68 to 1.75; P = 0.709), drains were associated with delayed hospital discharge (HR 0.58, 0.52 to 0.66; P < 0.001) and an increased risk of SSIs (OR 2.47, 1.50 to 4.05; P < 0.001). Conclusion Intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery is not associated with earlier detection of postoperative collections, but prolongs hospital stay and increases SSI risk
Intelligent Identification of Childhood Musical Murmurs
Heart murmurs are often the first signs of heart valvular disorders. However, most heart murmurs detected in children are innocent musical murmurs (also called Still's murmurs), which should be distinguished from other murmur types that are mostly pathological, such as regurgitant, obstructive, and flow murmurs. In order to reduce both unnecessary healthcare expenditures and parental anxiety, this study aims to develop algorithms for intelligently identifying musical murmurs in children. Discrete wavelet transform was applied to phonocardiographic signals to extract features. Singular value decomposition was applied on the matrix derived from continuous wavelet transform to extract extra features. The sequential forward feature selection algorithm was then utilized to select significant features. Musical murmurs were subsequently differentiated via a classification procedure consisting of three classification techniques: discriminant analysis, support vector machine, and artificial neural network. The results of 89.02% sensitivity, 84.76% specificity and 87.36% classification accuracy were achieved
- …