expansion of maxillary arches with crossbite a systematic review of rcts in the last 12 years

The aim of this study was to review recent randomized clinical trials (RCTs) dealing with the effectiveness of various modalities of orthopaedic/orthodontic expansion of maxillary arches with crossbite and the associated 6 month post retention stability. The study selection criteria included RCTs involving subjects with maxillary deficiency with crossbite, with no limits of age. The authors searched the following electronic databases from 1999 to January 2011: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, LILACS, and WEB of SCIENCE. The search strategy resulted in 12 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. Most of the studies did not meet major methodological requirements; some studies were not relevant because of small sample size, possible bias and unaccounted for confounding variables, lack of blinding in measurements, and deficient statistical methods. Treatment outcomes were different depending on the appliance used, tooth tissue-borne/tooth-borne expanders, bonded semi-rapid maxillary expansion (SRME), or rapid maxillary expansion (RME); in any case, methodological flaws prevent any sound conclusion. Stable results have been measured at the 6 month follow-up after removal of the retention plate in the treated groups in the maxillary intermolar and intercanine distances. Long-term stability results should be assessed. The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) Statement could be helpful in improving the reporting of RCTs

Revolutionizing the traditional music industry: TikTok as a tool to promote and discover new musical talents and preferences

openLa presente tesi sperimentale intitolata "Rivoluzionare l'industria musicale tradizionale: TikTok come strumento di promozione, scoperta di nuovi talenti e preferenze musicali" esplora la storia dell'industria musicale dalle sue origini fino alle più recenti tecnologie, concentrandosi sull'impatto di TikTok, uno dei social network più utilizzati al mondo, nella promozione e scoperta di talenti emergenti, nonché nella diffusione di nuovi generi musicali e nell'analisi delle preferenze degli utenti. Il primo capitolo traccia le tappe evolutive dell'industria musicale e discografica, discutendo la figura dell'artista nel contesto musicale e l'impatto della digitalizzazione sulla fruizione della musica tramite piattaforme di streaming come Spotify. Si esamina il nuovo contesto mediatico rappresentato dai social network e l'influenza della pandemia COVID-19 sui live show. Il secondo capitolo approfondisce il ruolo di TikTok come rivoluzionario strumento di fruizione musicale. Si esplora l'ascesa di TikTok partendo dalle origini di Musical.ly e analizzandone i meccanismi di funzionamento e l'innovativo algoritmo basato su machine learning. Vengono evidenziati i target di utenza predominanti, ovvero i millennials e la generazione Z, e si esamina il rapporto tra TikTok e la musica, con l'emergere di potenziali piattaforme di streaming musicale concorrenti come TikTok Music. Nella prima fase dell'analisi, vengono considerati due casi studio di artisti emergenti, Doja Cat per il mercato statunitense e Matteo Romano per l'Italia, entrambi scoperti tramite TikTok. Attraverso un'intervista in profondità con Matteo Romano, si analizza il processo di scoperta e i risultati ottenuti. Il terzo capitolo si focalizza sull'efficacia di TikTok tra i giovani come strumento per scoprire nuovi generi musicali e artisti, nonché per influenzare le loro preferenze musicali. Un questionario mirato viene somministrato a un target di età compresa tra i 18 e i 25 anni, corrispondente alla fascia di utenza presa in esame nel secondo capitolo. Nel quarto capitolo, i risultati dell'indagine vengono analizzati e discussi, conducendo a conclusioni e ipotesi sulla veridicità della tesi esposta. L'indagine dimostra l'importanza di TikTok come strumento di promozione musicale e la sua influenza sulle preferenze dei giovani utenti, aprendo prospettive interessanti per rivoluzionare l'industria musicale tradizionale.This experimental thesis entitled "Revolutionizing the Traditional Music Industry: TikTok as a Tool for Promotion, Discovery of New Talent and Music Preferences" explores the history of the music industry from its origins to the latest technologies, focusing on the impact of TikTok, one of the most widely used social networks in the world, in the promotion and discovery of emerging talent, as well as in the popularization of new music genres and the analysis of user preferences. The first chapter traces the evolutionary stages of the music and recording industry, discussing the figure of the artist in the music context and the impact of digitization on music enjoyment through streaming platforms such as Spotify. It examines the new media context represented by social networks and the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on live shows. The second chapter delves into the role of TikTok as a revolutionary music fruition tool. The rise of TikTok is explored, starting from the origins of Musical.ly and analyzing its working mechanisms and innovative machine learning-based algorithm. The predominant target users, namely millennials and Generation Z, are highlighted, and the relationship between TikTok and music is examined, with the emergence of potential competing music streaming platforms such as TikTok Music. In the first phase of the analysis, two case studies of emerging artists, Doja Cat for the U.S. market and Matteo Romano for Italy, both discovered through TikTok, are considered. Through an in-depth interview with Matteo Romano, the discovery process and the results obtained are analyzed. The third chapter focuses on the effectiveness of TikTok among young people as a tool for discovering new music genres and artists as well as influencing their musical preferences. A targeted questionnaire is administered to a target audience between the ages of 18 and 25, corresponding to the user group examined in the second chapter. In the fourth chapter, the results of the survey are analyzed and discussed, leading to conclusions and hypotheses about the truthfulness of the thesis stated. The survey demonstrates the importance of TikTok as a music promotion tool and its influence on young users' preferences, opening up interesting prospects for revolutionizing the traditional music industry

Association between polymorphisms in the IL-1β, TNFRSF11B, CASP1, and IL-6 genes and orthodontic-induced external apical root resorption

Orthodontic-induced external apical root resorption (EARR) is a severe condition affecting the roots of the teeth, whose genetic causes have been inconclusive to date. The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) IL-1β, TNFRSF11B, CASP1, and IL-6 genes on post-orthodontic EARR. A sample of 101 patients with clearly assessable orthopantomograms and lateral cephalometric radiographs taken before and at the end of the orthodontic treatment was used to evaluate the presence of EARR. The association between genetic polymorphisms and EARR was assessed with the Chi2 test. A binary logistic multi-level model was built to evaluate the ability of patient- and tooth-level variables to predict EARR occurrence. The overall prevalence of EARR resulted to be around 40%. Within the limitations of this study, a significant association was found between EARR presence and the SNP for the IL-1β gene but not for the TNFRSF11B, CASP1, and the IL-6 genes. The final multi-level model demonstrated that the SNP for the IL-1β gene increases the odds of developing EARR by around four times. Since there is currently no accurate method to determine which patients will develop EARR prior to orthodontic treatment, further studies are needed to investigate the predictive ability of further genetic variants on EARR development

Racial and sex differences in strength, peak power, movement velocity, and functional ability in middle aged and older adults

To determine sex and race differences in strength, muscle power, movement velocity, and functional ability, knee extensor strength and muscle power normalized for muscle volume was measured in 79 middle-aged and older adults (30 men and 49 women, age range 50-85 yrs). Results indicated that men had 55% greater muscle volume (MV; P < 0.001), 24% greater 1 RM strength (P < 0.01), 9% greater muscle quality (MQ; 1 RM/MV; P < 0.05), 26% greater peak muscle power (PP; P < 0.01), and 14% greater MPQ (PP/MV; P < 0.001) than women. However, women displayed a 38% faster peak movement velocity than men when expressed per unit of muscle (movement velocity quality) (PV/MV; P < 0.001). Race analysis showed that African Americans had 20% greater MV than Caucasians (P < 0.001), but 11% lower MQ (P < 0.01) and a 17% lower PV/MV (P < 0.05) than Caucasians of similar age. Men displayed a 22% faster stair climb time than women, while Caucasians exhibited 19% and 16% faster times in rapid pace gait and 8-ft up-and-go, respectively. Thus, despite greater strength and power per unit of muscle in men, women have a faster knee movement velocity per unit of muscle than men. Moreover, African Americans have greater knee extensor muscle volume than Caucasians, but exhibit lower muscle quality and movement velocity quality

A new proposal: A digital flow for the construction of a haas-inspired rapid maxillary expander (HIRME)

Maxillary expansion is a common orthodontic treatment used for the correction of posterior crossbite resulting from reduced maxillary width. Transverse maxillomandibular discrepancies are a major cause of several malocclusions and may be corrected in dierent manners; in particular, the rapid maxillary expansion (RME) performed in the early mixed dentition has now become a routine procedure in orthodontic practice. The aim of this study is to propose a procedure that reduces the patient cooperation as well as the lab work required in preparing a customized Haas-inspired rapid maxillary expander (HIRME) that can be anchored to deciduous teeth and can be utilized in mixed dentition with tubes on the molars and hooks and brackets on the canines. This article thus presents an expander that is completely digitally developed, from the first moment of taking the impression with an optical scanner to the final solidification phase by the use of a 3D printer. This digital flow takes place in a CAD environment and it starts with the creation of the appliance on the optical impression; this design is then exported as an stl extension and is sent to the print service to obtain a solid model of the device through a laser sintering process. This "rough" device goes through a post-processing procedure; finally, a commercial expansion screw is laser-welded. This expander has all the advantages of a cast-metal Haas-type RME that rests on deciduous teeth; moreover, it has the characteristic of being developed with a completely digitized and individualized process, for the mouth of the young patient, as well as being made completely of cobalt-chrome, thus ensuring greater adaptability and stability in the patient's mouth

Cellular retinol binding protein 1 transfection reduces proliferation and AKT-related gene expression in H460 non-small lung cancer cells

In recent years, new treatments with novel action mechanisms have been explored for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Retinoids promote cancer cell differentiation and death and their trafficking and action is mediated from specific cytoplasmic and nuclear receptors, respectively. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Cellular retinol binding protein-1 (CRBP-1) transfection in H460 human NSCLC cell line, normally not expressing CRBP-1. H460 cells were transfected by using a vector pTargeT Mammalian expression system carrying the whole sequence of CRBP-1 gene. For proliferation and apoptosis studies, cells were treated with different concentrations ofall-transRetinoic Acid (atRA) and retinol. AKT-related gene expression was analyzed by using western blot and Signosis array and results analysed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) or by t-student test. CRBP-1(+)showed reduced proliferation and viability in basal condition and afteratRA treatment when compared to empty-transfected H460 cells. Reduced proliferation in CRBP-1(+)H460 cells associated to the down-regulation of pAKT/pERK/pEGFR-related genes. In particular, gene array documented the down-regulation of AKT and Stat-3-related genes, including M-Tor, Akt1, Akt2, Akt3, Foxo1, p27, Jun. Restoration of CRBP-1 expression in H460 cells reduced proliferation and viability in both basal condition and afteratRA treatment, likely by down-regulating AKT-related gene level. Further studies are needed to better clarify how those CRBP-1-related intracellular pathways contribute to counteract NSCLC progression in order to suggest a potential tool to improve efficacy of retinoid anti lung cancer adjuvant therapy

Different Post Placement Strategies for the Restoration of Endodontically Treated Maxillary Premolars with Two Roots: Single Post vs Double Post

Aim and objective: The present study compared the fracture strength and failure pattern of endodontically treated, bi-rooted, maxillary premolars with different number of coronal walls and postendodontic restoration (one vs double post). Materials and methods: 105 premolars were divided into 3 groups according to the number of residual walls: control group (intact teeth; n= 15), group 1 (3 residual walls; n = 45), group 2 (2 residual walls; n = 45). Each test group was then divided into 3 subgroups (n = 15 each) according to postendodontic restoration: no post (A), 1 post (B) or 2 posts (C). A load was applied parallel to the longitudinal axis of the teeth, thus simulating physiological occlusion. ANOVA and Tukey’s tests were used to detect fracture strength differences among groups, while Chisquare test was used to check differences in fracture pattern. Results: No significant differences were observed between control group (intact teeth) and groups A1 (p = 0.999), B1 (p = 0.997) and C1 (p = 1.000); statistically significant differences were detected between control group and groups A2 (p < 0.001), B2 (p < 0.001) and C2 (p < 0.05). Different post placement techniques were non-significantly associated with fracture pattern in both groups 1 (p = 0.666) and 2 (p = 0.143) while, irrespective of the number of posts, the presence of the post was significantly associated with the fracture pattern in teeth with two residual walls. The double-post technique did not further improve the fracture resistance of hardly damaged endodontically treated maxillary bi-rooted premolars compared to single-post technique. Therefore, the insertion of a single post in the palatal canal could be a safer and more conservative choice. Clinical significance: The double-post technique did not further improve the fracture resistance of severely structurally compromised endodontically treated maxillary premolars with two roots compared to the single-post technique. Therefore, the safer and less invasive treatment is the placement of a single post in the palatal canal