Predictors of membership in music therapy professional organizations

2019 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.A healthy professional membership organization is vital to the longevity and sustainability of a profession. The purpose of this survey study is to identify predictive variables that determine if a professional music therapist becomes a member, former member, or never a member of the professional membership organization. Within the context of social exchange theory and social identity theory, it was hypothesized that a strong sense of cost-to-benefit exchange and professional identity are predictors of professional membership. The Predictors of Membership in Music Therapy Organizations questionnaire consisted of satisfaction questions and the Professional Identity and Organizational Identity scales (Mael & Ashforth, 1992). Out of 7590 board certified music therapists, 948 responded (570 were current American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) members, 335 were former members and 43 had never been members). Members were more likely to recommend membership. Most music therapists who are former members or have never been members indicated that they would join the organization if financial assistance was available. Music therapists scored higher on the professional identity scale than on the organizational scale. There was no statistical significance between professional and organizational identity scores between those who were unlikely to recommend AMTA membership and those who were neutral or moderately unlikely to recommend membership. Results support the ideas of social exchange and professional identity with organizational identity predicting satisfaction ratings with AMTA. Considerations for future research and practical application of the data are discussed

Nearly exact discrepancy principle for low-count poisson image restoration

The effectiveness of variational methods for restoring images corrupted by Poisson noise strongly depends on the suitable selection of the regularization parameter balancing the effect of the regulation term(s) and the generalized Kullback–Liebler divergence data term. One of the approaches still commonly used today for choosing the parameter is the discrepancy principle proposed by Zanella et al. in a seminal work. It relies on imposing a value of the data term approximately equal to its expected value and works well for mid-and high-count Poisson noise corruptions. However, the series truncation approximation used in the theoretical derivation of the expected value leads to poor performance for low-count Poisson noise. In this paper, we highlight the theoretical limits of the approach and then propose a nearly exact version of it based on Monte Carlo simulation and weighted least-square fitting. Several numerical experiments are presented, proving beyond doubt that in the low-count Poisson regime, the proposed modified, nearly exact discrepancy principle performs far better than the original, approximated one by Zanella et al., whereas it works similarly or slightly better in the mid-and high-count regimes

Advanced Tethered Application and Related Technologies

APPLICATION OF TETHERED SYSTEMS ARE SUBJECT OF A NUMBER OF FEASIBILITY STUDIES AGlNG ACTUALLY PERFORMED BOTH IN US AND IN ITALY. THE ITALIAN PSN (PIANO SPAZIALE NAZIONALE) HAS AWARDED TO AERITALIA A LARGE STUDY FDR THE IDENTIFICATION OF THESE APPLICATIONS THAT lNDICATE PROMISES OF SCIENTIFIC AND APPLIED R~SEARCH AND FOR THE DEFINITION OF THE GOALS OF DEMONSTRATION FLIGHTS FOR TESTING THE FUNDAMENTAL FEATURES OF TH~ SELECTED POTENTIAL CONCEPTS

Blockwise Euclidean likelihood for spatio-temporal covariance models

A spatio-temporal blockwise Euclidean likelihood method for the estimation of covariance models when dealing with large spatio-temporal Gaussian data is proposed. The method uses moment conditions coming from the score of the pairwise composite likelihood. The blockwise approach guarantees considerable computational improvements over the standard pairwise composite likelihood method. In order to further speed up computation, a general purpose graphics processing unit implementation using OpenCL is implemented. The asymptotic properties of the proposed estimator are derived and the finite sample properties of this methodology by means of a simulation study highlighting the computational gains of the OpenCL graphics processing unit implementation. Finally, there is an application of the estimation method to a wind component data set

Considering the Value of 3D Cultures for Enhancing the Understanding of Adhesion, Proliferation, and Osteogenesis on Titanium Dental Implants

Background: Individuals with pathologic conditions and restorative deficiencies might benefit from a combinatorial approach encompassing stem cells and dental implants; however, due to the various surface textures and coatings, the influence of titanium dental implants on cells exhibits extensive, wide variations. Three-dimensional (3D) cultures of stem cells on whole dental implants are superior in testing implant properties and were used to examine their capabilities thoroughly. Materials and methods: The surface micro-topography of five titanium dental implants manufactured by sandblasting with titanium, aluminum, corundum, or laser sintered and laser machined was compared in this study. After characterization, including particle size distribution and roughness, the adhesion, proliferation, and viability of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) cultured on the whole-body implants were tested at three time points (one to seven days). Finally, the capacity of the implant to induce ADSCs’ spontaneous osteoblastic differentiation was examined at the same time points, assessing the gene expression of collagen type 1 (coll-I), osteonectin (osn), alkaline phosphatase (alp), and osteocalcin (osc). Results: Laser-treated (Laser Mach and Laser Sint) implants exhibited the highest adhesion degree; however, limited proliferation was observed, except for Laser Sint implants, while viability differences were seen throughout the three time points, except for Ti Blast implants. Sandblasted surfaces (Al Blast, Cor Blast, and Ti Blast) outpaced the laser-treated ones, inducing higher amounts of coll-I, osn, and alp, but not osc. Among the sandblasted surfaces, Ti Blast showed moderate roughness and the highest superficial texture density, favoring the most significant spontaneous differentiation relative to all the other implant surfaces. Conclusions: The results indicate that 3D cultures of stem cells on whole-body titanium dental implants is a practical and physiologically appropriate way to test the biological characteristics of the implants, revealing peculiar differences in ADSCs’ adhesion, proliferation, and activity toward osteogenic commitment in the absence of specific osteoinductive cues. In addition, the 3D method would allow researchers to test various implant surfaces more thoroughly. Integrating with preconditioned stem cells would inspire a more substantial combinatorial approach to promote a quicker recovery for patients with restorative impairments

Pathological Fractures Of The Jaws Due To Cystic Lesions: A Three Case Series With A Brief Review Of The Literature

This study aims to describe pathologic fractures of the jaws due to cystic bone lesions. Their daily clinical practice findings are not very common, so their treatment can be challenging. In addition, endosseous benign lesions like a radicular, residual, solitary, aneurysmal cyst, and odontogenic keratocyst, might weaken the bone so that trauma, or usual chewing, could break it. We follow from the first clinical examination to the X-ray or CBCT examination and surgical management of our patients, reporting all procedures and results to explain our approach to these cases. We also reviewed the literature briefly to determine if our operative management is in line with the scientific community. Mandibular angle and body are common locations, while symphysis and condyle are less so. Young men are the most affected, and trauma is the most triggering event. Cyst enucleation, followed by fracture reduction and fixation, is the treatment of choice for our clinical team and the scientific community. We observe how impactful it is to approach the cavity of the cystic lesion from the fracture line as the surgical gold standar

Observational Study on the Preparation of the Implant Site with Piezosurgery vs. Drill: Comparison between the Two Methods in terms of Postoperative Pain, Surgical Times, and Operational Advantages

Purpose. Recent advances show that ultrasonic implant site osteotomy is related to a decreased trauma and a better postoperative healing of the surgical site when compared to traditional drilling techniques. The micrometric bone cutting control and the operative advantages related to the piezoelectric approach are also characterized by a learning curve for the clinician in surgical practice and an increased operative duration of the procedure. The aim of this investigation is to compare the operative time, the postoperative pain, and the amount of painkillers taken by the patient during the healing period. Methods. A total of 65 patients were treated at the Unit of Oral Surgery (Department of Medical Sciences, Surgery and Health, University of Trieste, Italy) using a split mouth model: 75 drill-inserted implants (G1) and 75 piezoelectric device-inserted implants (G2) were placed. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was performed to evaluate the postoperative pain at 15 days from surgery. The operative time and frequency of intake of painkillers were measured. Results. The G1 and G2 groups showed a significant difference with a higher use of painkillers observed for G1. The G2 patients showed a lower level of pain (VAS) at all experimental times between 8 hours to 7 days (p<0.01) postsurgery. At 15 days, the pain levels were similar for both groups. No differences were found in site preparation duration between the study groups. Conclusions. The evidence supports the application of the piezoelectric approach compared to the drill's osteotomy as a useful technique for implant site preparation. This trial is registered with NCT03978923

Mapping Connections between Neighborhoods in Response to Community-Based Social Needs

Geographic proximity might not be the only factor influencing the connections between neighborhoods within the same city. Most likely, the community's needs and behaviors play a role in facilitating or hindering any connections between these urban areas. Accordingly, relationships between communities may differ or be similar based on their respective characteristics. This paper aims to demonstrate that communities are close based on the needs they share, regardless of their ethnicity or geographic location. In this study, a time series analysis of neighborhoods' needs is explored to gain a deeper understanding of the communities' network. The study takes into account the co-occurrence of complaints/reports from residents regarding the same issue. The dataset was retrieved from the Boston Area Research Initiative (BARI) and the 311 system that describe the features of neighborhoods regarding non-emergency issues. Subsequently, the connection between neighborhoods in the City of Boston was analyzed using a mixture of PCA, K-means, association rule mining, and a network creation tool. Moreover, clustering coefficients and degrees of centrality were used as significant factors in identifying the members of groups and marking crucial nodes in the network. A series of graphs were generated to show how the neighborhoods are linked based on their socioeconomic concerns. The results prove that even geographically disconnected neighborhoods within Boston have similar social needs, despite their distance from one another. Furthermore, it revealed that some neighborhoods can act as linking bridges for other neighborhoods, while others may be isolated within the network graph. This study has increased awareness of urban aspects. The authorities may consider other dimensions than the traditional ones regarding neighborhood development and addressing problems. Finally, it helps to identify common characteristics between neighborhoods, which facilitates the policy making process