CT assessment of the correlation between clinical examination and bone involvement in oral malignant tumors

Oral cancers have a tendency to invade the surrounding bone structures, and this has a direct influence on the treatment management and on outcomes. The objective of this study was to correlate the clinical parameters (location, clinical presentation and TNM staging) of oral malignant tumors that can be associated with a potential of bone invasion and determine the accuracy of clinical examination to predict bone involvement, using computed tomography (CT). Twenty five patients, with oral malignant tumors were submitted to clinical and CT examinations. CT was considered the standard parameter to evaluate the presence of bone involvement. Clinical assessment of location, presentation form and TNM staging of the tumors were then compared to the CT findings in predicting bone involvement. Bone involvement was observed in 68% of the cases. It was predicted that tumors located in the retromolar trigone and hard palate, with a clinical aspect of infiltrative ulcer or nodule and classified in stage IV had a high potential to cause bone involvement. The clinical examination assessment of these tumors showed to be a valuable tool to predict bone invasion, with high sensitivity (82%) and specificity (87.5%), based on the results found in the CT images. No statistical significance was found between the CT and clinical examinations regarding bone involvement. The identification of some clinical parameters such as location, clinical presentation, and TNM stage, associated with a detailed clinical examination, was considered a valuable tool for the assessment of bone destruction by oral malignant tumors.CNPqCoordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Volumetric assessment of hard palate and alveolar cleft using multislice and cone beam 3DCT

As fissuras de rebordo alveolar e palato duro estão entre as malformações mais frequentes do corpo humano, podendo causar extensas deformidades ósseas faciais, com implicações biopsíquico-sociais marcantes. A avaliação da extensão desses defeitos ósseos, através de exames por imagem, tem sido feita com o objetivo de diagnosticar e planejar a terapêutica reabilitadora dos pacientes. O presente estudo tem por objetivo desenvolver uma metodologia de pós-processamento de imagens tomográficas para avaliação volumétrica de defeitos ósseos confeccionados em palato duro e rebordo alveolar de crânios macerados, mimetizando fissuras trans-forâmens unilaterais, e verificar a aplicabilidade clínica do Tomógrafo Computadorizado espiral Multislice e do tomógrafo computadorizado por feixe cônico na análise desses defeitos. Para tanto, nove crânios provenientes da Faculdade Cathedral, da cidade de Boa Vista- RR, foram escaneados em um Tomógrafo Computadorizado Multislice pertencente ao Hospital Geral de Roraima e em um tomógrafo computadorizado por feixe cônico de uma clínica privada, na cidade de Fortaleza-CE. As imagens foram, posteriormente, encaminhadas para análise ao Laboratório em Terceira Dimensão(LAB-3D) da Faculdade de Odontologia da USP, utilizando-se uma estação de trabalho independente e aplicando-se programas específicos de computação gráfica. Todas as imagens foram analisadas por dois examinadores, individualmente e em tempos distintos, por duas vezes, com o objetivo de processarmos análises intra e interexaminadores. Para a análise da metodologia de processamento de imagens, comparamos os resultados obtidos pelo Tomógrafo multislice utilizando crânios sem cera e com cera de modelagem número 07, na região do defeito ósseo, para auxiliar no seu delineamento, durante o pós-processamento das imagens tomográficas. Foram também avaliados os resultados volumétricos obtidos nos dois tipos de tomógrafos,com o objetivo de verificar a aplicabilidade dessas tecnologias na avaliação volumétrica dos defeitos ósseos fissurais e de comparar os resultados obtidos por cada uma delas. Todos os resultados foram comparados com os valores estabelecidos pelo padrão - ouro de nossa análise, que foram obtidos através do princípio de Arquimedes de deslocamento de água dos modelos de cera que foram utilizados. Os resultados estatísticos demonstraram que a metodologia de processamento das imagens tomográficas apresentou uma eficácia bastante elevada (p=0,995), sendo considerada eficiente na avaliação volumétrica de defeitos ósseos fissurais. Com relação aos tomógrafos utilizados, observamos que tanto o multislice como o por feixe cônico também apresentaram resultados satisfatórios, apresentando grande confiabilidade para o estudo do volume dos defeitos ósseos fissurais (p=0,997 e p=0,981, respectivamente), não havendo diferença nos resultados encontrados por eles. As análises intra e interobservadores nos dois tipos de tomógrafos não demonstraram diferença estatisticamente significativa. Os resultados evidenciaram que, independente do tipo de tomógrafo utilizado e do avaliador, as medidas obtidas são estatisticamente iguais às conseguidas pelo padrão-ouro de nossa análise. A aplicabilidade clínica de nossa pesquisa demonstrou ser direta e imediata, sendo importante no processo diagnóstico/terapêutico dos pacientes portadores de fissuras de rebordo alveolar e palato duro.Oral clefts are one of the most frequent malformations of the human body, causing extensive facial bone deformities, compromising biological, psychic and social the individuals affected. Multislice CT and CBCT have been used to assess the volume of bone defect with the goal of diagnosis and rehabilitative therapy planning of the patients. The aim of this study were to develop a methodology for post-processing of tomographic images for volumetric assessment of bone defects made in the hard palate and alveolar ridge of dry skulls, mimicking unilateral trans-foramen clefts; and to determine the clinical applicability of multislice spiral computed tomography, and cone beam computed tomography in the analysis of these defects. Nine dry skulls from the Cathedral College in Boa Vista-RR were scanned on a multislice CT scanner at the Hospital Geral de Roraima and a cone beam computed tomography in a private clinic in Fortaleza-CE. The images were sent for analysis at Three Dimensional Laboratory (LAD-3D) of the Dentistry School, São Paulo University, using an independent workstation and implementing specific computer graphics programs. All images were analyzed by two examiners at different times and twice to proceed the intra and inter-examiners analysis. For analysis the methodology of image processing, we compared the results obtained by multislice CT using skulls with and without wax model in the region of bone defect. It was also analyzed the same images in both types of CT scanners in order to determine the applicability of these radiographic techniques in assessing volume of the clefts and to compare the results. All results were compared with the gold standard of our analysis, which was obtained by Archimedes principle of water displacement of wax models. The statistical results showed that the post processing methodology of tomographic images showed a high efficiency (p = 0.995) and was considered an efficient method for volumetric assessment of fissure bone defects. It was also observed that both multislice CT and cone beam CT showed excellent results with high reliability in the study of the volume of bone defects (p = 0.997 and p = 0.981, respectively), with no difference in performance between them. Analysis of intra-and inter-observer in the two types of CT scanners showed no statistically significant difference. The results demonstrate that independent of the type of CT scanner and the appraiser, the measurements are statistically equal to the gold standard obtained by our analysis. The clinical applicability of our research has shown to be immediate and direct, and it is important for the diagnostic and therapeutic process of patients with oral cleft

Clinical and computed tomography correlation in the assessment of bone invasion in oral and oropharynx malignant neoplasms

A avaliação da presença de destruição óssea provocada por neoplasias malignas de boca e orofaringe é um fator de fundamental importância no estabelecimento da terapêutica adequada para o caso, como também, para a determinação do prognóstico do paciente. O presente estudo teve por objetivo determinar os aspectos clínicos (localização, forma de apresentação e estadiamento) que podem estar associadas com o potencial de infiltração do osso subjacente a lesão, como também determinar a sensibilidade e especificidade do exame físico. A população de estudo consistio de vinte e cinco pacientes (17 homens e 8 mulheres, média de idade de 57,88 anos) portadores de neoplasias malignas de boca e orofaringe atendidos no Ambulatório de Semiologia da Faculdade de Odontologia da Universidade de São Paulo campus São Paulo, no período de agosto de 2003 a agosto de 2004, os quais foram submetidos ao exame clínico e a tomografia computadorizada (TC). A TC foi considerada o padrão ouro para a avaliação da presença de destruição óssea. Foi observada a presença de infiltração neoplásica para o tecido ósseo adjacente em 68% dos casos (17 pacientes). O exame físico dos pacientes revelou uma sensibilidade de 80% e especificidade de 87,50% na análise de comprometimento do osso, além de uma acurácia de 84%. As lesões que se apresentavam clinicamente como uma úlcera do tipo infiltrativa e lesões do tipo nodulares, não ulceradas, foram as que apresentaram maior potencial de infiltrar-se para o osso, 68,75% e 100% respectivamente. A localização do tumor em determinados sítios, também influenciou diretamente na presença de invasão óssea,principalmente lesões localizadas em região de gengiva, trígono retromolar, palato duro e orofaringe. O estadiamento das lesões revelou relação existente entre o tamanho do tumor e a presença de metástases à distância com a presença de infiltração da neoplasia para o tecido ósseo. Concluindo, observou-se que a identificação de determinados parâmetros clínicos como localização, forma de apresentação clinica, tamanho da lesão e a presença de metástases à distância, associado a um criterioso exame físico regional podem servir como valiosas ferramentas para a análise de envolvimento ósseo por neoplasias malignas de boca e orofaringe.The assessment of bone destruction by oral and oropharynx malignant neoplasms is a critical factor in the therapeutic planning and to determine the patient prognostic. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical aspects (localization, clinical manifestation and stage) that can be associated with the potential of bone infiltration, and also determine the physical exam sensibility and specificity. The study population consisted of twenty five patients (17 men and 8 women, mean age 57.88 years-old), with malignant neoplasms of the mouth and oropharynx, of the Stomatology Clinic of the College of Dentistry at the Sao Paulo University - campus Sao Paulo, in the period of august 2003 to august 2004, who were submitted to a clinical and computed tomography (CT) examinations. CT was considered the gold standard to evaluate the presence of bone involvement. The presence of bone destruction by the tumor was observed in 68% of the cases (17 patients). The physical examination of the patients revealed 82% of sensibility, 87.50% of specificity, and 84% of accuracy in the assessment of bone invasion by these diseases. The lesions that were clinical considered to be infiltrative ulcer and nodular lesions, non-ulcerated, presented the highest potential to cause bone destruction, 68.75% and 100% respectively. The tumor localization in specific sites also influenced the presence of bone invasion, meanly with the lesions localized in the gingival, retromolar trigone, hard palate and oropharynx. The stage of the lesions revealed a relation between the size and the presence of distant metastasis, with the presence of invasion by the neoplasm. In conclusion, it was determined that the identification of some clinical parameters such localization, clinical presentation, lesion size and the presence of distant metastasis, associated with a perceptive regional physical exam must be use as a value tool is the assessment of bone destruction by oral and oropharynx malignant neoplasms

Evaluation of simulated bone lesion in the head of the mandible by using multislice computed tomography

Conventional radiography has shown limitation in acquiring image of the ATM region, thus, computed tomography (CT) scanning has been the best option to the present date for diagnosis, surgical planning and treatment of bone lesions, owing to its specific properties. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to evaluate images of simulated bone lesions at the head of the mandible by multislice CT. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Spherical lesions were made with dental spherical drills (sizes 1, 3, and 6) and were evaluated by using multislice CT (64 rows), by two observers in two different occasions, deploying two protocols: axial, coronal, and sagittal images, and parasagittal images for pole visualization (anterior, lateral, posterior, medial and superior). Acquired images were then compared with those lesions in the dry mandible (gold standard) to evaluate the specificity and sensibility of both protocols. Statistical methods included: Kappa statistics, validity test and chi-square test. Results demonstrated the advantage of associating axial, coronal, and sagittal slices with parasagittal slices for lesion detection at the head of the mandible. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference between the types of protocols regarding a particular localization of lesions at the poles. CONCLUSIONS: Protocols for the assessment of the head of the mandible were established to improve the visualization of alterations of each of the poles of the mandible's head. The anterior and posterior poles were better visualized in lateral-medial planes while lateral, medial and superior poles were better visualized in the anterior-posterior plane