Quality of Information Regarding Repair Restorations on Dentist Websites: Systematic Search and Analysis

Background: Repairing instead of replacing partially defective dental restorations represents a minimally invasive treatment concept, and repairs are associated with advantages over complete restoration replacement. To participate in the shared decision-making process when facing partially defective restorations, patients need to be aware of the indications, limitations, and advantages or disadvantages of repairs. Patients are increasingly using the internet to gain health information like this online. Objective: We aimed to assess the quality of German-speaking dentist websites on repairs of partially defective restorations. Methods: Three electronic search engines were used to identify German-speaking websites of dental practices mentioning repairs. Regarding information on repairs, websites were assessed for (1) technical and functional aspects, (2) comprehensiveness of information, and (3) generic quality and risk of bias. Domains 1 and 3 were scored using validated tools (LIDA and DISCERN). Comprehensiveness was assessed using a criterion checklist related to evidence, advantages and disadvantages, restorations and defects suitable for repairs, and information regarding technical implementation. Generalized linear modeling was used to assess the impact of practice-specific parameters (practice location, practice setting, dental society membership, and year of examination or license to practice dentistry) on the quality of information. An overall quality score was calculated by averaging the quality scores of all three domains and used as primary outcome parameter. Quality scores of all three domains were also assessed individually and used as secondary outcomes. Results: Fifty websites were included. The median score of quality of information was 23.2% (interquartile range [IQR] 21.7%-26.2%). Technical and functional aspects (55.2% [IQR 51.7%-58.6%]) showed significantly higher quality than comprehensiveness of information (8.3% [IQR 8.3%-16.7%]) and generic quality and risk of bias (3.6% [IQR 0.0%-7.1%]; P.05/generalized linear modeling). Conclusions: The quality of German-speaking dentist websites on repairs was limited. Despite sufficient technical and functional quality, the provided information was neither comprehensive nor trustworthy. There is great need to improve the quality of information to fully and reliably inform patients, thereby allowing shared decision making

Towards your Parents\u27 Social Network Platform: Design of a User Interface for the Age of Retirement

Most developed countries face an aging population, leading to various challenges due to this demo-graphic change. On average, people turn from working life to retirement at the age of 65. Related changes in their social environment threat their health, i.e. due to perceived social exclusion. Online Social Networks (OSN) may help them to overcome this problem. However, usability issues due to user interfaces (UI) perceived as inconsistent and con-fusing among other reasons prevent their adoption by the elderly so far. While UI design for elderly people has been discussed in the literature, few results exist on the \u27younger\u27 transition agers be-tween 55-75. Therefore, in the present paper an approach for the design of UI for OSN specific for transition agers is presented and evaluated in a qualitative study. The results indicate that with specific, but not extraordinary UI adjustments, OSN could be made easily usable and more attractive for them

Analyzing farmers' preferences for collaborative arrangements: An experimental approach

[Introduction ...] The rest of the paper is structured as follows: In section 2, the hypotheses with regard to farmers’ preferences for CAs that shall be tested by means of the DCE are derived from the literature. The design of the questionnaire, which includes the DCE, as well as the descriptive data are described in the subsequent section. Afterwards, the theoretical background of the analysis methods is explained in section 5. Finally, the results of the DCE are presented in section 6. The paper ends with some conclusive remarks (section 7)

Wo geht die Reise hin? Endstation Exklusion oder Politik der Wertschätzung?

"Der dritte Vortrag der Verfasser wird direkt an die beiden vorangegangenen anschließen, indem hier die Frage gestellt wird, welche Alternativen sich angesichts dieses doch eher düsteren Bildes einer sich dem Anschein nach fortschreibenden Spirale sozial und vermeintlich wissenschaftlich legitimierter Verachtung und Exklusion bieten. Folglich wollen sie nicht bei der Beschreibung dieser nach ihrer Ansicht zunehmenden Tendenzen verachtungsbelasteter Zuschreibungen stehen bleiben, sondern den Versuch unternehmen, Ansätze und Anregungen zu einer möglichen Gegenbewegung zu entwickeln. Zu diesem Zweck soll zunächst eine theoretische Annäherung an den Begriff der Verachtung im Kontext der im zweiten Vortrag beschriebenen Dynamiken geleistet sowie auf dessen Stärken und Schwächen hingewiesen werden. Aus dieser Perspektive heraus wollen sie den Blick darauf richten, was den gezeichneten Entwicklungen entgegengesetzt werden könnte. In diesem Zusammenhang werden sie sich dem Phänomen der Wertschätzung nähern - entsprechend der vorherigen Herangehensweise zunächst auf theoretischer Ebene. Anschließend wollen sie einige Anregungen zur Diskussion zu stellen, wie mögliche Formen wechselseitiger Wertschätzung befördert und institutionalisiert werden könnten." (Autorenreferat

Functional Characterization of Colon-Cancer-Associated Variants in ADAM17 Affecting the Catalytic Domain

Although extensively investigated, cancer is still one of the most devastating and lethal diseases in the modern world. Among different types, colorectal cancer (CRC) is most prevalent and mortal, making it an important subject of research. The metalloprotease ADAM17 has been implicated in the development of CRC due to its involvement in signaling pathways related to inflammation and cell proliferation. ADAM17 is capable of releasing membrane-bound proteins from the cell surface in a process called shedding. A deficiency of ADAM17 activity has been previously shown to have protective effects against CRC in mice, while an upregulation of ADAM17 activity is suspected to facilitate tumor development. In this study, we characterize ADAM17 variants found in tissue samples of cancer patients in overexpression studies. We here focus on point mutations identified within the catalytic domain of ADAM17 and could show a functional dysregulation of the CRC-associated variants. Since the catalytic domain of ADAM17 is the only region structurally determined by crystallography, we study the effect of each point mutation not only to learn more about the role of ADAM17 in cancer, but also to investigate the structure-function relationships of the metalloprotease

Switch rates for orthogonally oriented kinetic-depth displays are correlated across observers

When continuously viewing multistable displays, which are compatible with several comparably likely interpretations, perception perpetually switches between available alternatives. Prior studies typically report the lack of consistent individual switch rates across different displays. However, this comparison is based on an assumption that neural representations of physically identical displays are consistent across observers. Yet, given how different individuals are already at the level of the retina, it is likely that the difference in other relevant factors might mask the correlation. To address this issue, we compared switch rates in two kinetic-depth displays (KDE) that rotated around orthogonal axes (45° counterclockwise vs. 45° clockwise relative to the vertical). This ensured that dynamics of multistable perception was based on highly similar, but different and independent neural representations. We also included a Necker cube (NC) display as a control. We report that switch rates were correlated between two kinetic-depth effect displays, but not between either of the KDE and NC displays. This demonstrates that the usual lack of correlation may not be evidence for the lack of a shared pacesetter mechanism of multistable perception, but reflect other factors, such as differently modulated inputs to competing representations. In addition, we asked participants to speed-up or slow-down perceptual alternations and found that only the former ability was correlated across different displays. This indicates that these two types of volitional control may differ in their use of attentional resources

Flexibilisierung - grenzenlose Freiheit oder Ende aller Bindungen?

"Die Umstrukturierung des Wirtschaftssystems von einem 'industriellen' zu einem 'flexiblen' Kapitalismus ist mit weitreichenden Folgen für die mentale Struktur der Gesellschaft verbunden. Der auf der institutionellen Ebene herrschende Imperativ des kurzfristigen Profits führt zur Verknappung der Ressource 'Arbeitsplatz' und der daraus resultierenden Anforderung nach Flexibilität und Mobilität für den Arbeiter. Durch die so entstehende 'Institutionalisierung von Unsicherheit' stellt sich die Frage nach sozialer Integration und den Zugangsvoraussetzung zum Prinzip der Solidarität neu, da an die Stelle sozialer Verantwortung der Glaube an die Eigenverantwortlichkeit des Einzelnen tritt. Aus der Unmöglichkeit der Erstellung von Lebensplänen resultiert eine ständig präsente Angst vor sozialem Abstieg, und das Bedürfnis nach (wissenschaftlich legitimierten) Beurteilungsmustern für eine 'flexible' Gesellschaft." (Autorenreferat

Natur als Quelle verlorener Sicherheit

"Aufbauend auf einem ersten Referat möchten die Verfasser in diesem Teil Tendenzen eines Primats zugeschriebener gegenüber erworbener Merkmale beschreiben. In Folge eines Kontingentwerdens individueller Lebensentwürfe und epidemisch um sich greifender Unsicherheit treten Konzepte einfacher Zuschreibung und Klassifikation des Fremden in unserer Gesellschaft verstärkt in den Vordergrund. Die Brisanz dieser, ihrer Ansicht nach im Aufstieg begriffenen, Konzepte von Zuschreibungen liegt in ihrer naturalistisch argumentierenden, (pseudo-)wissenschaftlichen Unterfütterung: Auf Basis eines normativen Naturbegriffes werden evolutionär-biologistische Konzepte auf die Gesellschaft übertragen und geben so Verachtung und Exklusion legitimierenden Dynamiken den Anstrich der Wissenschaftlichkeit. Der zugrunde liegende Naturbegriff lässt die vermeintlichen Erkenntnisse außerdem als unverrückbar, weil genetisch festgeschrieben erscheinen. Derartige Argumentationsmuster und ihre impliziten wie expliziten Folgeaussagen werden exemplarisch an den Themenfeldern Geschlecht, Rasse, Körper, Potential und Alter nachvollzogen." (Autorenreferat

The Hair in the Sinus: Sharp-Ended Rootless Head Hair Fragments can be Found in Large Amounts in Pilonidal Sinus Nests.

PURPOSE Hair has been identified as the causative agent of Pilonidal Sinus Disease (PSD). Stiffer, dark hair as well as hairiness has been postulated as causative factors. Astonishingly, despite the early clinical significance of this condition (Hodges in Boston Med Surg J 2:485-486, 1880), macroscopic and microscopic examinations of hair inside pilonidal sinus cavities have been scarce. The purpose of this study was to study the morphological aspects of the hair found in PSD in order to determine the origin of the hair. METHODS Hair from inside pilonidal sinus cavities was collected intraoperatively from 20 PSD patients. Additionally, occipital, lumbar and intergluteal hair was harvested from the same patients and compared to the hair of volunteer-matched pair patients admitted to the hospital at the same time for non-PSD surgery. Intra- and intergroup variations of hair length were characterized with analysis of variance. Numbers and lengths of pilonidal sinus nest hair were recorded. Hair was examined clinically and with light and scanning electron microscopy using surface enhancing gold and carbon dust coating techniques. RESULTS Analysis of 624 pilonidal sinus nest hair samples from 20 independent sinus cavities revealed that hair within pilonidal sinus nests is rootless in 74%. Shorter hair was found inside the pilonidal sinus compared to other sites (length 0.9 ± 0.7 cm p < 0.0001). Furthermore, hair found inside of the sinus was significantly shorter than hair protruding from pores (p < 0.000). Hair samples show razor sharp but no broken or split ends. On electron microscopy, these spiky hair ends resemble cut hair ends. Pilonidal hair nests contained between 1 and over 400 hair fragments. CONCLUSION Short hair fragments with rootless sharp cut ends were found within pilonidal sinus cavities. Morphologically, these fragments resemble short cut rather than intact body hair. Since short cut hair, e.g., derived from the head potentially enters the pilonidal cavity more easily than longer hair, the source of these cut hair fragments needs to be eliminated when aiming to prevent Pilonidal Sinus Disease