Social media and orthodontics – are our patients scrolling?

OBJECTIVE: To assess patients’ awareness of the availability of information related to orthodontics on social media, and to explore patients’ willingness to engage with social media to aid with orthodontic treatment. DESIGN: Prospective cross-sectional survey. SETTING: This survey was conducted at Croydon University Hospital orthodontic department. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 125 orthodontic patients, both new and in treatment. There were no exclusion criteria. METHODS: All participants completed a questionnaire designed to explore their awareness, access to and utilisation of social media as well as their willingness to engage with social media to support orthodontic treatment. There were no age restrictions or exclusion criteria. RESULTS: Of the patients, 99% had access to social media. Of these patients, 64% were aware that social media platforms were available to help with orthodontic treatment, 30% had utilised social media related to orthodontics, with the most popular platforms being Instagram (n = 17) and Snapchat (n = 12). Of the patients, 73% stated that they would be willing to use social media in the future to support orthodontic treatment. CONCLUSION: Social media can be engaging, accessible and versatile, and has been shown to be effective at improving patients’ knowledge regarding orthodontic treatment. As such, it may be used as a valuable tool for information provision to engage orthodontic patients. Awareness of the availability of orthodontics content on social media is increasing; however, only one-third of participants had previously used it to aid with orthodontic treatment. Given the availability of information on social media targeted at orthodontic patients there is a need to assess the quality of this information and if appropriate navigate patients towards high-quality, effective resources

Orthodontic apps: An assessment of quality (using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS)) and Behaviour Change Techniques (BCTs)

BACKGROUND: Apps have been shown to be an effective tool in changing patients’ behaviours in orthodontics and can be used to improve their compliance with treatment. The Behaviour Change Techniques (BCTs) and quality (using MARS) within these apps have previously not been published. OBJECTIVES: 1. To evaluate the quality of these apps aiming to change behaviour. 2. To assess BCTs used in patient focused orthodontic apps. METHODS: The UK Google Play and Apple App Stores were searched to identify all orthodontic apps and 305 apps were identified. All 305 apps were assessed for the presence of BCTs using an accepted taxonomy of BCTs (Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW)), widely utilised in healthcare. Of those containing BCTs, the quality was assessed using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS), a validated and multi-dimensional tool which rates apps according to 19 objective criteria. Data collection was carried out by two calibrated, independent assessors and repeated after 6 weeks for 25% of the apps by both assessors. RESULTS: BCTs were found in 31 apps, although only 18 of them were analysed for quality and 13 apps were excluded. Six different BCTs were identified: these were most commonly ‘prompts/cues’, and ‘information about health consequences’. All apps were shown to be of moderate quality (range 3.1–3.7/5). Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability for BCT and quality assessment were excellent. CONCLUSIONS: The current availability of orthodontic apps of sufficient quality to recommend to patients is very limited. There is therefore a need for high-quality orthodontic apps with appropriate BCTs to be created, which may be utilised to improve patients’ compliance with treatment

Early Cenozoic rapid flight enigma of the Indian subcontinent resolved: roles of topographic top loading and subcrustal erosion

Intrinsic magmatic processes are considered as critical operators of plate movements. Here we demonstrate the role of extrinsic processes consequent to intrinsic processes as a catalyst for anomalous rapid plate movement. The rapid and accelerated flight of the Indian subcontinent since Deccan volcanism until its collision with Eurasia remains as one of the geological conundrums. Data on seismic tomography, peninsular geomorphology and inferences on continuum of subcrustal structures are utilized to address this enigma. We propose geomorphic isostasy as the mechanism that has driven this fastest drift ever recorded in geological history. It was initiated by sudden instability after the Deccan volcanism and resultant extensive accumulation of lava pile over continental lithosphere of northern India, northern-eastern tilt due to crustal thickness heterogeneity and subcrustal thermal stratification. The drift was sustained by Carlsberg and Central Indian ridge-push until collision and sediment top loading at northeast thenceforth. These inferences and geomorphic isostasy as a catalytic mechanism necessitate variability of drift rates as integral inputs for any continental scale modeling.Muthuvairavasamy Ramkumar, David Menier, Manoj Mathew, M. Santosh, Numair A. Siddiqu

Occupancy Based Household Energy Disaggregation using Ultra Wideband Radar and Electrical Signature Profiles

Human behaviour and occupancy accounts for a substantial proportion of variation in the energy efficiency pro le of domestic buildings. Yet while people often claim that they would like to reduce their energy bills, rhetoric frequently fails to match action due to the effort involved in understand- ing and changing deeply engrained energy consumption habits. Here, we present and, through dedicated experiments, test in-house developed soft-ware to remotely identify appliance energy usage within buildings, using energy equipment which could be placed at the electricity meter location. Furthermore, we monitor and compare the occupancy of the location under study through Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radar technology and compare the resulting data with those received from the power monitoring software, via time synchronization. These signals when mapped together can potentially provide both occupancy and speci c appliances power consumption, which could enable energy usage segregation on a yet impossible scale as well as usage attributable to occupancy behaviour. Such knowledge forms the basis for the implementation of automated energy saving actions based on a households unique energy profi le

Needle localization of non-palpable breast lesions

Screening mammography identifies suspicious, non palpable mammary lesions. Mammographic needle localization (MNL) is currently being used to facilitate excision biopsy of these lesions. Thirty-two patients underwent biopsies of the breast after MNL for non-palpable lesions. Mammographic indications for biopsy consisted of microcalcifications (48%), mass or abnormal density (21%) or mass+abnormal density (24%). The carcinoma was identified in four cases (12%). Two of these were in situ, one was microinvasive and one was frankly invasive. Three were treated with a modified radical mastectomy. One of these non palpable lesion demonstrated nodal metastasis but none showed distant metastasis. All radiologically detected abnormalities were removed and confirmed with repeat radiology. No complications were identified. MNL effectively localizes non-palpable lesion of the breast and compliments accurate diagnosis and treatment of early carcinoma of the breast

Male breast cancer

Objective: To review cases of male breast cancer.Settings: Histopathology Section, Department of Pathology, The Aga Khan University, Karachi.Method: Fifty one cases of male breast cancer specimens, received during a period of 10 years, routinely processed and stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin were analyzed. Special stains and Immunohistochemistry were used in difficult cases.Results: Male breast cancer affected individuals in the sixth and seventh decades of life with a mean age of 56.2 years. Infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC) was the predominant type. Skin involvement was seen in 27.45% of the cases. Breast lump was the most common presenting symptom followed by skin ulceration. At the time of presentation 43.13% patients had a tumour size of more than 3 cm.Conclusion: Male breast cancer is a rare disease. Most of our findings correspond to the published local and international data

Separate Submission of Standard Lymphadenectomy in 6 Packets Versus En Bloc Lymphadenectomy in Bladder Cancer

Introduction:Our aim was to evaluate detection of nodal metastasis during radical cystectomy with standard pelvic lymph node dissection versus en bloc lymphadenectomy for the treatment of bladder cancer. Materials And Methods: Hospital records of a total of 77 Patients with radical cystectomy and either standard pelvic lymph node dissection or en bloc lymphadenectomy were reviewed. Nodal dissection specimens during standard lymphadenectomy were sent for pathology examination in 6 separate containers marked as external iliac, internal iliac, and obturator groups from both sides. En bloc dissection specimens were sent in 2 containers marked as the right and the left pelvic nodes. Clinical and pathological findings of these two groups were compared in terms of the number of dissected lymph nodes, number of nodes with metastasis, lymph node density, and clinical outcomes. Results: There were 34 Patients with standard lymph node dissection and 43 with en bloc lymphadenectomy (anterior pelvic exenteration). Age, sex, duration of the disease, number of transurethral resections prior to cystectomy, pathological grade at cystectomy, and stage of the primary tumor were comparable in the two groups of Patients. The median numbers of nodes removed per Patient were 15.5 (range, 4 to 48) and 7.0 (range, 1 to 24) in those with standard and en bloc lymphadenectomy, respectively (P \u3c .001). Nodal involvement was detected in 10 (29.4%) and 9 (20.9%) Patients, respectively (P = .43). Conclusions: Although nodal involvement was not significantly different between the two groups, standard lymphadenectomy submitted in 6 different containers significantly improved the nodal yield over en bloc resection. Obturator nodes were the most commonly involved nodes in our study

Placental transmogrification of the lung associated with unilateral pleural effusion: A case report with a comprehensive review of the literature

© 2018 The Authors Placental transmogrification of the lung (PTL) is a rare benign pulmonary lesion resembling chorionic villi. With fewer than 40 cases reported in literature, associations have thus far been made with bullous emphysema, pulmonary fibrochondromatous hamartomas and adenocarcinoma of the lung. Typically presenting as unilateral solitary cystic or bullous lesion, we report the first case of PTL presenting with unilateral pleural effusion. A 70-year-old male presented with recurrent unilateral pleural effusion that failed to resolve with multiple thoracenteses. He underwent thoracoscopic excision and biopsy of a cystic mass identified on computed tomography (CT) scan which revealed characteristic villous and papillary changes. We describe the case and review the literature on this benign but rare pulmonary disease entity