Orofacial Esthetic Scale and Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire: Development and psychometric properties of the Finnish version

To develop the Finnish version of the Orofacial Esthetic Scale (OES-Fi) and the Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire (PIDAQ-Fi) and estimate the psychometric properties of these instruments applied to adult Finns.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Association between quality of life and severity of profile deviation in prospective orthognathic patients

Aimto evaluate whether severity of skeletal facial profile deviation assessed by professionals associates with quality of life and psychosocial factors in patients with dentofacial deformities and prospective orthognathic treatment.Materials and methodThe study consisted of 55 patients admitted to orthognathic treatment. Skeletal profile was assessed from lateral head films using cephalometric analysis. The following angles were used to assess the sagittal position of upper and lower jaw and profile: Sella-Nasion-A-point-angle, Sella-Nasion-B-point-angle, and A-point-Nasion-B-point-angle (ANB). For vertical assessment, gonial angle and the angle between Sella-Nasion and mandibular plane were used. Merrifield’s Z-angle was used to assess soft-tissue profile. Severity of skeletal facial profile deviation was assessed with deviation in ANB angle. Orthognathic quality of life (OQoL) and psychosocial factors were defined with four questionnaires: Orthognathic Quality of Life Questionnaire, Symptom Checklist-90, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and a body image questionnaire.ResultsIncrease in ANB deviation was associated with increased awareness of dentofacial deformity [Orthognathic Quality of Life Questionnaire subscale awareness of dentofacial deformity (OQLQ-AoDD), r = 0.319, P = 0.017). OQOL-AoDD was not found to be equal when ANB angle was divided into three different categories (χ 2 = 6.78, P = 0.034): G1. ANB = 0–4 degrees; G2. ANB 4 degrees. Furthermore, categories G1 and G2 differed significantly (U = 50.5, P = 0.017). Increase in ANB angle was also associated with a more positive body image (r = 0.342, P = .023). There were no significant correlations between other cephalometric variables, quality of life, and psychosocial factors.ConclusionSkeletal facial profile seems to associate with some aspects of orthognathic quality of life. Professional cephalometric analysis of the severity of facial profile deviation correlates with patients’ awareness of their own facial and dental appearance. Patients with more deviating skeletal profile are more aware of their dentofacial deformities compared to patients with normal values.</div

Mobile and adaptive User interface for human robot collaboration in assembly tasks

The manufacturing sector is constantly looking for more efficient ways of production. The Industry 4.0 related technologies such as augmented and mixed reality, connectivity and digitalisation as well as the current trend of robotisation have resulted a number of technical solutions to support the production in factories. The combination of human-robot collaboration and augmented reality shows good promises. The challenges in this case come from the need to reconfigure the physical production layout and how to deliver the digital instructions to the operator. This paper introduces a model for collaborative assembly tasks that uses a mobile user interface based on the depth sensors and a projector. The novelty of this research comes from the adaptivity of the user interface, as it can be freely moved between the tasks around the workstation based on the operator needs and requirements of the tasks. The ability to move projection surface is achieved by detecting the surface position using Aruco markers and computing required transformation of the projector image.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Common interleukin-6 promoter variants associate with the more severe forms of distal interphalangeal osteoarthritis

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship of the IL-6 promoter variants G-597A, G-572C and G-174C (rs1800797, rs1800796 and rs1800795, respectively), which have been shown to affect both the transcription and secretion of IL-6, to symptomatic distal interphalangeal (DIP) osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: A total of 535 women aged 45 to 63 years were included. Radiographs of both hands were taken and each DIP joint was evaluated (grade 0 to 4) for the presence of OA. Information on symptoms (pain, tenderness) in each joint was collected by using a self-administered questionnaire. Symptomatic DIP OA was defined by the presence of both radiographic findings of grade 2 or more and symptoms in at least two DIP joints, and symmetrical DIP OA by the presence of radiographic findings of grade 2 or more in at least one symmetrical pair of DIP joints. Common polymorphic loci in the IL-6 gene were amplified and the promoter haplotypes were reconstructed from genotype data with the PHASE program. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between the IL-6 genotypes/diplotypes and the DIP OA outcome. RESULTS: The G alleles of two promoter single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) G-597A and G-174C were more common among the subjects with symptomatic DIP OA than among those with no disease (P = 0.020 and 0.024, corrected for multiple testing). In addition, the carriage of at least one G allele in these positions increased the risk of disease (P = 0.006 and P = 0.008, respectively). Carrying a haplotype with the G allele in all three promoter SNPs increased the risk of symptomatic DIP OA more than fourfold (odds ratio (OR) 4.45, P = 0.001). Carriage of the G-G diplotype indicated an increased risk of both symmetrical DIP OA (OR 1.52, 95% confidence interval 1.01 to 2.28) and symptomatic DIP OA (OR 3.67, 95% confidence interval 1.50 to 9.00). CONCLUSION: The present study showed that the presence of G alleles at common IL-6 polymorphic promoter loci was associated with the more severe DIP OA outcomes, symmetrical and symptomatic

Hyvinvointiteknologia kotihoidossa – Myönteinen odotus teknologian hyödyistä

Digitalization and Internet of Things (IoT) have changed the structure of our society. This structural change continuously has effect on job descriptions of the healthcare sector. The main challenges in the launch and use of technology is in the lack of usability, inadequate communication between participants and poorly resourced implementation processes. Competence need is affected by internal changes in the operating environments of professions that arise from the knowledge base of the professions. The patients’ freedom of choice means the patients’ right to choose where to get their health and social services. It creates external expectations for professional competence. Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology explain the degree of acceptance of the use of welfare information technology. The theory assesses whether the user will be able to accept these new technologies and user’s ability to concern it. Information was collected on the expectations and benefits that welfare technology is expected to bring to the daily lives of older people at home and as homecare clients. The study seeks to answer the question: How do social and healthcare students and professionals view the use of welfare technology in homecare? The data collection was carried out in connection with the training of the WelTech project (Wellbeing technology education product: introduction and training). The project was launched to develop welfare technology training courses for social and healthcare. The results show a positive attitude towards welfare technology although participants do not think that the use of welfare technology has been encouraged in the organization. Participants estimate that welfare technology will make work more efficient although it was not expected to have a positive effect on more concrete effects, such as reducing errors or improving quality. Based on the participants, there is no clear support in the social and healthcare organizations for the implementation and development of welfare technology.Digitaalisuus ja esineiden Internet (IoT) edellyttävät rakennemuutoksen yhteiskunnassamme. Rakennemuutos näkyy hoitoalalla muuttuvana työnkuvana ja teknologian käytön lisääntymisenä. Sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon ammattilaisten osaaminen on jatkuvassa muutoksessa. Osaamistarpeisiin vaikuttavat ammattien tietoperustasta nousevat sisäiset ja ammattien toimintaympäristöissä tapahtuvat lyhyen ja pitkän aikavälin muutokset. Sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon palvelurakenneuudistukseen sisältyvä asiakkaan ja potilaan valinnanvapaus sekä palveluiden tarjoajien ja toteuttajien monimuotoistuminen luovat ulkoisia odotuksia ammatilliselle osaamiselle. Tässä artikkelissa Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology -mallin tekijöiden avulla koottiin tietoa hoitajien ja opiskelijoiden asenteista teknologiaa kohtaan kotihoidon kontekstissa. Lisäksi koottiin tietoa odotuksista ja hyödyistä, joita hyvinvointiteknologian odotetaan tuovan iäkkäiden henkilöiden arkeen kotona ja kotihoidon asiakkaina. Tutkimuksessa etsittiin vastausta kysymykseen: Miten sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon opiskelijat ja ammattilaiset asennoituvat hyvinvointiteknologian käyttöön kotihoidossa? Aineistonkeruu toteutettiin WelTech-hankkeen (Hyvinvointiteknologian koulutustuote: käyttöönoton ja käytön koulutus) koulutuksien yhteydessä. Hankkeessa kehitettiin ja toteutettiin koulutuskokonaisuuksia sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollossa työskentelevälle hoitohenkilöstölle ja alan opiskelijoille. Tuloksissa nähdään myönteinen asenne hyvinvointiteknologia kohtaa, vaikka työpaikoilla ei vastaajien mielestä ole kannustettu hyvinvointiteknologian käyttöön. Vastaajat arvioivat hyvinvointiteknologian tulevaisuudessa tehostavan työtä, vaikka konkreettisempien vaikutusten, esimerkiksi virheiden vähenemiseen tai laadun kehittymiseen sen ei arvioitu vaikuttavan. Vastausten perusteella sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon työyksiköissä tulee entistä selkeämmin tukea hyvinvointiteknologian mahdollisuuksien käyttöönottoa tai kehittämistä

Päästövähennystoimenpiteiden kustannustehokkuuden arviointi

Hankkeen tarkoituksena oli tuottaa kokonaiskuva tällä hetkellä käytössä olevista menetelmistä päästövähennystoimien kustannustehokkuuden arvioimiseksi taakanjakosektorilla. Työ perustui kirjallisuuskatsaukseen, työpajatyöskentelyyn ja asiantuntija-arvioihin. Hankkeessa on tarkasteltu Suomen lisäksi Isossa-Britanniassa, Ruotsissa ja Saksassa tehtyjä selvityksiä ja kustannustehokkuusarviointeja. Raportissa käydään läpi tutkimuskysymykset, päästövähennystoimien kustannustehokkuusarvioinnin käsitteet ja arviointimenetelmät. Raportti esittelee myös sektorikohtaisia menetelmiä ja esimerkkilaskelmia liikenteen, rakennusten erillislämmityksen ja maatalouden osalta. Päästövähennysten kustannustehokkuuslaskenta ja analysointi on hyvin monitahoinen ja poikkitieteellinen kokonaisuus, jossa vaaditaan kansantaloudellisten periaatteiden ymmärtämistä, mallinnusosaamista ja systeemiajattelua sekä yksityiskohtaista ymmärrystä eri sektorien lainalaisuuksista. Laskentametodeja on lukuisia ja käytetyt metodit vaihtelevat merkittävästi eri maiden, selvitysten ja sektorien välillä. Ylätasolla menetelmät voidaan jakaa top-down- (fokus kansantaloudellisissa kustannuksissa) ja bottom-up-menetelmiin (fokus teknologiakustannuksissa). Näiden päämenetelmien sisällä ja ohella on myös lukuisia muita menetelmiä ja menetelmäyhdistelmiä, joilla on kaikilla omat etunsa ja rajoitteensa. Suomen tulisi systematisoida päästövähennystavoitteiden saavuttamiseksi tarvittavien päästövähennystoimien ja ohjauskeinojen suunnittelua sekä seurata järjestelmällisesti toimilla saavutettuja hyötyjä ja toimien kustannustehokkuutta. Hyviä käytänteitä voitaisiin omaksua laaja-alaisemmin muista maista; Saksan keskeisissä selvityksissä laskentaoletukset avataan hyvin, Isossa-Britanniassa on keskitetty taho, jolla on monitahoinen rooli kustannustehokkuuslaskennassa ja sen kehittämisessä, ja Ruotsissa tehdään usein ex post -seurantaa laskennan oikeellisuudesta. Päästövähennysten kustannustehokkuusarvioinnin systemaattisuuden ja läpinäkyvyyden lisääminen edellyttää tiiviimpää yhteistyötä sekä ministeriöiden että kustannustehokkuuslaskelmia tekevien toimijoiden välillä. Yhteistyötä voidaan kehittää esimerkiksi tekemällä selvityksiä ministeriön ohjauksessa sekä jakamalla vastuuta toiminnan kehittämisessä ministeriöiden ja tutkimuslaitosten kesken.Tämä julkaisu on toteutettu osana valtioneuvoston selvitys- ja tutkimussuunnitelman toimeenpanoa. (tietokayttoon.fi) Julkaisun sisällöstä vastaavat tiedon tuottajat, eikä tekstisisältö välttämättä edusta valtioneuvoston näkemystä

Monolithic vs. hybrid controller for multi-objective Sim-to-Real learning

Simulation to real (Sim-to-Real) is an attractive approach to construct controllers for robotic tasks that are easier to simulate than to analytically solve. Working Sim-to-Real solutions have been demonstrated for tasks with a clear single objective such as "reach the target". Real world applications, however, often consist of multiple simultaneous objectives such as "reach the target" but "avoid obstacles". A straightforward solution in the context of reinforcement learning (RL) is to combine multiple objectives into a multi-term reward function and train a single monolithic controller. Recently, a hybrid solution based on pre-trained single objective controllers and a switching rule between them was proposed. In this work, we compare these two approaches in the multi-objective setting of a robot manipulator to reach a target while avoiding an obstacle. Our findings show that the training of a hybrid controller is easier and obtains a better success-failure trade-off than a monolithic controller. The controllers trained in simulator were verified by a real set-up.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Self-perception of orofacial appearance : Brazil–Finland cross-national study

Objective: (i) To study the measurement invariance of Orofacial Esthetic Scale (OES) and Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire (PIDAQ), (ii) to compare the perception of orofacial appearance (OA) and (iii) to study the frequency of individuals who have sought or received aesthetic dental treatment between Brazil and Finland. Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study with snowball non-probability sample selection. Students and staff from universities in Finland and Brazil were invited to participate. Data were collected online using a demographic questionnaire, OES and PIDAQ. The samples consisted of 3636 Finns (75.0% female; age: 32.0 years) and 1468 Brazilians (72.6% female; age: 33.2 years). The frequency of receiving aesthetic dental treatment was estimated. If configurational invariance was observed, cross-national measurement invariance was verified by multigroup analysis. When measurement invariance was attested, factor scores were compared using Welch’s t-test. Results: OES showed configurational and measurement invariance and no significant difference between the countries. Despite similarity in satisfaction with OA, 71.9% of Brazilians had received aesthetic dental treatment, while 59.4% of Finns had never sought such treatments. PIDAQ did not present configurational invariance between the countries. Conclusion: Although there is no difference in satisfaction with OA, seeking and receiving aesthetic dental treatment is significantly greater for Brazilians. Psychosocial impact of OA is perceived differently in the studied countries.publishedVersionPeer reviewe