Evaluating the relation of posterior occlusal plane to ala-tragal line according to age and sex

Introduction: Occlusal plane orientation affects the esthetic, function, and success of removable or fixed prostheses. The most prevalent index for determination of this plane is the ala-tragus line while there are controversies in the exact location of tragus reference point. Aims: This study aimed to determine the best point on tragus as the posterior reference of ala-tragal line in relation to occlusal plane according to age and sex. Materials and methods: The study included 136 participants of both sexes who were randomly divided into three age groups: 20-35, 36-50, and older than 50. Fox plane was stabilized on incisal edge-occlusal table of maxillary teeth. A lateral photograph was obtained from each participant sitting in predetermined standard position. Using Auto-Cad software, three lines were traced from nasal ala base to superior, middle, and inferior borders of the tragus, and evaluated for being parallel to occlusal plane. Results: The coordination between occlusal plane and ala was 20.5% for superior, 35.6% for middle, and 43.9% for inferior border of tragus. There was a significant difference in the relationship between sex and plane position (p=0.003), while the relationship between age and plane could not reach statistical significance (p=0.65). The results were analyzed using chi-square test, and ANOVA (p<0.05). Conclusions: Ala-inferior border of tragus line was the most parallel, and ala-superior border of tragus line was the least parallel line to the occlusal plane. The parallelism between occlusal plane and ala-superior border was more prevalent in women, while the men demonstrated significantly more parallelism with inferior border of tragus

Fibroblast growth factor-23 in patients with systemic sclerosis: A case–control study

AbstractBackgroundFibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23) is actively involved in phosphate homeostasis and skeletogenesis.Aim of the workTo assess the serum level of FGF-23 in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients (both diffuse dSSc and limited lSSc subtypes) in order to find if it has a role in the pathogenesis of the disease and study its relation to the clinical manifestations.Patients and methodsThe study included 30 dSSc patients, 30 lSSc and 28 age and sex matched controls. In patients, clinical examination and laboratory investigations were performed and Medsger severity scale assessed. Serum FGF-23 was measured using ELISA.ResultsThe age of dSSc patients was 36.94±9.89years and the lSSc 38.36±10.04years. The serum FGF-23 level was 23.44±14.86pg/ml in dSSc patients, 20.01±13.92pg/ml in lSSc patients and 23.09±11.45pg/ml in the control (p=0.58). No significant difference in the FGF-23 level was found according to the presence of lung fibrosis (p=0.6). There was no significant difference in FGF levels among patients according to the severity (p=0.39). In SSc patients there was a significant correlation between FGF and serum phosphorus especially in dSSc patients (r=0.6, p=0.003). Serum urea significantly correlated with FGF-23 in those with dSSc (r=0.46, p=0.037). There was no significant difference in the FGF-23 levels (p=0.18) between those with a normal and impaired glomerular filtration rate.ConclusionThe mean serum level of FGF-23 in this study showed no significant difference between systemic sclerosis patients and their subtypes with the normal subjects. It seems to have no role in the clinical manifestations of the disease

In Vitro Effect of Bleaching With 810 nm and 980 nm Diode Laser on Microhardness of Self-cure and Light-Cure Glass Ionomer Cements

Introduction: This study sought to assess the effect of bleaching combined with irradiation of 810 nm and 980 nm diode laser on microhardness of 2 commonly used self-cure and light-cure glass ionomer cements (GICs) in comparison with conventional bleaching (without laser). Methods: In this in vitro, experimental study, 60 samples were fabricated of A2 shade of Fuji IX and Fuji II LC GICs (n = 30) and each group was divided into 3 subgroups (n = 10). The first subgroups were subjected to bleaching with Opalescence Xtra Boost plus 980 nm diode laser irradiation. The second subgroups were subjected to bleaching with Opalescence Boost plus 810 nm diode laser irradiation and the third subgroups were subjected to bleaching with Opalescence Xtra Boost without laser. Microhardness was measured at baseline and after the intervention using Vickers hardness tester. The data were analyzed using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) (P < 0.05).Results: Microhardness decreased in all subgroups after the intervention (P < 0.001) irrespective of the type of GIC (P = 0.201) or surface treatment (P = 0.570). The baseline microhardness of the three subgroups within each group of GIC was not significantly different (P = 0.456), but the baseline microhardness of conventional GIC was significantly higher than that of resin modified GIC (P = 0.004).Conclusion: Bleaching with/without laser irradiation decreases the microhardness of GICs. The baseline microhardness of conventional GIC is higher than that of resin modified GIC

Toward a Decision Support System for Mitigating Urban Heat

With the continuous rise of global urbanization, city planners and policymakers are increasingly concerned with urban heat islands (UHI), which are metropolitan areas that are significantly warmer than their surrounding rural areas. We address the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities,” and we design and develop a decision support system (DSS), which will help city planners and policymakers to overcome economic barriers to reach environmental sustainability goals

Sensitive Monogenic Noninvasive Prenatal Diagnosis by Targeted Haplotyping

During pregnancy, cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in maternal blood encompasses a small percentage of cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA), an easily accessible source for determination of fetal disease status in risk families through non-invasive procedures. In case of monogenic heritable disease, background maternal cfDNA prohibits direct observation of the maternally inherited allele. Non-invasive prenatal diagnostics (NIPD) of monogenic diseases therefore relies on parental haplotyping and statistical assessment of inherited alleles from cffDNA, techniques currently unavailable for routine clinical practice. Here, we present monogenic NIPD (MG-NIPD), which requires a blood sample from both parents, for targeted locus amplification (TLA)-based phasing of heterozygous variants selectively at a gene of interest. Capture probes-based targeted sequencing of cfDNA from the pregnant mother and a tailored statistical analysis enables predicting fetal gene inheritance. MG-NIPD was validated for 18 pregnancies, focusing on CFTR, CYP21A2, and HBB. In all cases we could predict the inherited alleles with >98% confidence, even at relatively early stages (8 weeks) of pregnancy. This prediction and the accuracy of parental haplotyping was confirmed by sequencing of fetal material obtained by parallel invasive procedures. MG-NIPD is a robust method that requires standard instrumentation and can be implemented in any clinic to provide families carrying a severe monogenic disease with a prenatal diagnostic test based on a simple blood draw

Prognostic tools and candidate drugs based on plasma proteomics of patients with severe COVID-19 complications

COVID-19 complications still present a huge burden on healthcare systems and warrant predictive risk models to triage patients and inform early intervention. Here, we profile 893 plasma proteins from 50 severe and 50 mild-moderate COVID-19 patients, and 50 healthy controls, and show that 375 proteins are differentially expressed in the plasma of severe COVID-19 patients. These differentially expressed plasma proteins are implicated in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and present targets for candidate drugs to prevent or treat severe complications. Based on the plasma proteomics and clinical lab tests, we also report a 12-plasma protein signature and a model of seven routine clinical tests that validate in an independent cohort as early risk predictors of COVID-19 severity and patient survival. The risk predictors and candidate drugs described in our study can be used and developed for personalized management of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. 2022, The Author(s).The authors would like to thank all the patients, volunteers, and the healthcare co-workers from Allergy and Immunology Section-HMC, and Dr. Mohamed G.H. Mohamedali, Mr. Hassen Maatoug, and Mr. Ahmed Soliman from Hezm Mebairek General Hospital-HMC for developing disposable racks for samples transportation, tubes labeling, blood collection, and handling. We thank the support provided by Qatar University Biomedical Research Centre, Biosafety Level 3, and Associate Professor Hadi M. Yassine (M.Sc., Ph.D.). We also acknowledge the help of the Anti-Doping Lab-Qatar (ADLQ) and Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) for recruiting control samples. This work was supported by a grant fund from Hamad Medical Corporation (fund number MRC-05-003) and core funding from Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI).Scopu

Variations in seasonal solar insolation are associated with a history of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder

Background: Bipolar disorder is associated with circadian disruption and a high risk of suicidal behavior. In a previous exploratory study of patients with bipolar I disorder, we found that a history of suicide attempts was associated with differences between winter and summer levels of solar insolation. The purpose of this study was to confirm this finding using international data from 42% more collection sites and 25% more countries. Methods: Data analyzed were from 71 prior and new collection sites in 40 countries at a wide range of latitudes. The analysis included 4876 patients with bipolar I disorder, 45% more data than previously analyzed. Of the patients, 1496 (30.7%) had a history of suicide attempt. Solar insolation data, the amount of the sun’s electromagnetic energy striking the surface of the earth, was obtained for each onset location (479 locations in 64 countries). Results: This analysis confirmed the results of the exploratory study with the same best model and slightly better statistical significance. There was a significant inverse association between a history of suicide attempts and the ratio of mean winter insolation to mean summer insolation (mean winter insolation/mean summer insolation). This ratio is largest near the equator which has little change in solar insolation over the year, and smallest near the poles where the winter insolation is very small compared to the summer insolation. Other variables in the model associated with an increased risk of suicide attempts were a history of alcohol or substance abuse, female gender, and younger birth cohort. The winter/summer insolation ratio was also replaced with the ratio of minimum mean monthly insolation to the maximum mean monthly insolation to accommodate insolation patterns in the tropics, and nearly identical results were found. All estimated coefficients were significant at p < 0.01. Conclusion: A large change in solar insolation, both between winter and summer and between the minimum and maximum monthly values, may increase the risk of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder. With frequent circadian rhythm dysfunction and suicidal behavior in bipolar disorder, greater understanding of the optimal roles of daylight and electric lighting in circadian entrainment is needed

Natural ventilation in high-rise apartments in hot-humid climates

This thesis contributes to improvement of natural ventilation and thermal comfort in high-rise residential buildings in hot-humid climates. Case study approach along with full-scale experiments and Computational Fluid Dynamics formed the methodology of the current thesis. Two main outcomes of this study are: 1) a model for integration of different methods of natural ventilation evaluation at different design stages, and 2) a holistic model for implication of various design parameters to improve natural ventilation in buildings

Natural ventilation heuristics in high-rise residential buildings: evaluation and prediction

Complex behaviour of air flow in the buildings makes it difficult to predict. Consequently, architects use common strategies for designing buildings with adequate natural ventilation. However, each climate needs specific strategies and there are not many heuristics for subtropical climate in literature. Furthermore, most of these common strategies are based on low-rise buildings and their performance for high-rise buildings might be different due to the increase of the wind speed with increase in the height. This study uses Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to evaluate these rules of thumb for natural ventilation for multi-residential buildings in subtropical climate. Four design proposals for multi-residential towers with natural ventilation which were produced in intensive two days charrette were evaluated using CFD. The results show that all the buildings reach acceptable level of wind speed in living areas and poor amount of air flow in sleeping areas

Building Information Modelling, Integrated Project Delivery, and Lean Construction Maturity Attributes : A Delphi Study

The benefits of adopting collaborative approaches in the construction industry, such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), and Lean Construction (LC), in an integrated manner are widely acknowledged in academia and industry. Once organizations have embraced BIM, IPD, and LC integration (BIL), a measurement method for evaluating their progress and planning for continuous improvement is required. However, there is no widely accepted capability assessment model, such as Maturity Models (MMs), to effectively assess productivity improvements in organizations adopting all three approaches based on the interdependencies between them. The first step in the process of BIL MM development is identifying the critical attributes of BIM, IPD, and LC integration. This research investigates the interrelationships of BIM, IPD, and LC for use in the maturity models, determining how BIM and IPD can support the application of LC principles. The mixed methods approach was adopted, and a literature review and a two-round Delphi survey were conducted for the data collection. The findings revealed a number of complementarities between BIM, IPD, and LC. The panel of experts agreed upon the five major attributes and 24 sub-attributes of BIM, IPD, and LC, which formed the structure of the presented integrated BIL framework. The significance of this study is to provide the basis for organizations that intend to implement BIM, IPD, and LC in an integrated manner. Interrelating these attributes in a maturity framework also supports the planning and evaluation of organizations’ progress towards realistic goals for continuous improvement.</p