Lights4Violence: a quasi-experimental educational intervention in six European countries to promote positive relationships among adolescents.

Background Preventing intimate partner violence or dating violence (DV) among adolescents is a public health priority due to its magnitude and damaging short and long-term consequences for adolescent and adult health. In our study protocol, we complement prior experiences in DV prevention by promoting protective factors (or assets) against gender violence such as communication skills, empathy and problem-solving capability through “Cinema Voice”, a participatory educational intervention based on adolescents’ strengths to tackle DV. Methods/design A longitudinal quasi-experimental educational intervention addressed to boys and girls ages 13–17 years, enrolled in secondary education schools in Alicante (Spain), Rome (Italy), Cardiff (UK), Iasi (Romania), Poznan (Poland) and Matosinhos (Portugal). Both process and results evaluations will be carried out with 100–120 intervention and 120–150 control group students per city at three time periods: before, after and 6 months after the implementation of the following interventions: 1) Training seminar with teachers to promote knowledge and skills on the core issues of intervention; 2) Workshops with intervention groups, where participants produce their own digital content presenting their perspective on DV; and 3) Short film exhibitions with participants, their families, authorities and other stakeholders with the objective of share the results and engage the community. Outcome measures are self-perceived social support, machismo, sexism, tolerance towards gender violence, social problem-solving and assertiveness as well as involvement in bullying/cyberbullying. Other socio-demographic, attitudes and violence-related co-variables were also included. Discussion This study may provide relevant information about the effectiveness of educational interventions that combine a positive youth development framework with educational awareness about the importance of achieving gender equality and preventing and combating gender violence. To our knowledge, this is the first study that involves six European countries in an educational intervention to promote violence protective assets among enrolled adolescents in secondary schools. This study may provide the needed tools to replicate the experience in other contexts and other countrie

Visual Identity System of a Dental Laboratory

The growing competition in the segment of medical services has introduced the need for clear differentiation and, also, the need for increased visibility. The dental laboratories has to promote the quality of their services, of the materials that they are using, the continuously need for novelty, and never the less the successfully and growing relationships with the dental practices, (“We grow together”) Therefore, having a strong identity system, that is also in accordance with the values, that want to be promoted, is very important

THE QUALITY OF DENTAL CARE SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE PRIVATE OFFICES IN IASI – PILOT STUDY RESULTS

Aim of the study was to identify the degree of satisfaction of patients about quality of the private dental medicine practices from Iasi, Romania. Material and methods. The authors of this study tested a representative sample of the population, consisting of 144 people, with different professions and ages. The data collection tool was an original questionnaire. Through its administration, it was intended to assess the patient’s satisfaction with the dental care they received in different dental offices in Iasi during year 2018. Results. The results of the study show that 74.31% of the total patients surveyed are satisfied with the clinical quality of the dental care received, and 18.06% of them are worried about the high prices. The questioned patients believe that dentists with private practice have the necessary equipment and materials to provide dental services at the proper quality. Conclusions. Our study offers useful information for quality management of dental medicine services provided to the local population

ASSESSMENT OF PATIENT ANXIETY BEFORE DENTAL TREATMENT

Aim of the study was to identify the prevalence of patient anxiety before treatment and to determine patients’ perception of the dental treatment risks. Material and methods. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 210 patients (69 males and 141 females) aged 11-70 years in northeastern Romania, who completed Corah’s Dental Anxiety Scale, Revised (DAS-R), Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) and Dental Concerns Assessment, Revised (DCA-R). Results. The overall scores of DAS-R indicated high anxiety in 4.3% of patients and severe anxiety or phobia in 2.9% of patients. Overall scores of the MDAS questionnaire indicated 5.2% of very anxious patients and 2.3% of highly anxious or phobic patients with dental treatments. DCA-R indicated high anxiety for injection and extraction. We found statistically significant differences between anxiety levels and age ranges as well as patients’ environmental areas (p<0.05). Conclusions. Anxiety to dental practice can affect the quality of treatment and is a serious reason to avoid the dentist office

Development and Functionalization of a Novel Chitosan-Based Nanosystem for Enhanced Drug Delivery

Nowadays, infection diseases are one of the most significant threats to humans all around the world. An encouraging strategy for solving this issue and fighting resistant microorganisms is to develop drug carriers for a prolonged release of the antibiotic to the target site. The purpose of this work was to obtain metronidazole-encapsulated chitosan nanoparticles using an ion gelation route and to evaluate their properties. Due to the advantages of the ionic gelation method, the synthesized polymeric nanoparticles can be applied in various fields, especially pharmaceutical and medical. Loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency varFied depending on the amount of antibiotic in each formulation. Physicochemical characterization using scanning electron microscopy revealed a narrow particle size distribution where 90% of chitosan particles were 163.7 nm in size and chitosan-loaded metronidazole nanoparticles were 201.3 nm in size, with a zeta potential value of 36.5 mV. IR spectra revealed characteristic peaks of the drug and polymer nanoparticles. Cell viability assessment revealed that samples have no significant impact on tested cells. Release analysis showed that metronidazole was released from the chitosan matrix for 24 h in a prolonged course, implying that antibiotic-encapsulated polymer nanostructures are a promising drug delivery system to prevent or to treat various diseases. It is desirable to obtain new formulations based on drugs encapsulated in nanoparticles through different preparation methods, with reduced cytotoxic potential, in order to improve the therapeutic effect through sustained and prolonged release mechanisms of the drug correlated with the reduction of adverse effects

INTERDISCIPLINARITY APPROACHES IN CONTEXT OF COMPLEX INTRAORAL REHABILITATON TREATMENT AT YOUNG PACIENTS WITH SOCIAL ANXIETY -CLINICAL EXAMINATION –PART 1

Social anxiety is one of the most common psychological disorders along with depression and generalized anxiety. Avoiding eye contact, persistent fear of being judged and negatively evaluated by others, and social isolation are just some of the specific features of this type of anxiety.As part of the complex oral rehabilitation treatment, we also faced such a case which involved a lot of attention and time, but to which was also added the joint and muscle pathology, superposing with the social the dental treatments anxiety , the patient needing a special complex treatment approach