Magic wand and the Enigma of the Sphinx

This paper presents an evaluation of the benefits and user acceptance of a multimodal interface in which the user interacts with a game-like interactive virtual reality application "The Enigma of the Sphinx". The interface consists of a large projection screen as the main display, a "magic wand", a stereo sound system and the user's voice for "casting spells". We present our conclusions concerning "friendliness" and sense of presence, based on observations of more than 150 users in a public even

Predictors of long-term stability of maxillary dental arch dimensions in patients treated with a transpalatal arch followed by fixed appliances

Background: The aim of this retrospective study was to identify which dental and/or cephalometric variables were predictors of long-term maxillary dental arch stability in patients treated with a transpalatal arch (TPA) during the mixed dentition phase followed by full fixed appliances in the permanent dentition. Methods: Thirty-six patients, treated with TPA followed up by full fixed appliances, were divided into stable and relapse groups based on the long-term presence or not of relapse. Intercuspid, interpremolar and intermolar widths, arch length and perimeter, crowding, and upper incisor proclination were evaluated before treatment (T0), post-TPA treatment (T1), post-fixed appliance treatment (T2), and a minimum of 3 years after full fixed appliances’ removal (T3). A binary logistic regression was performed thereafter to evaluate the impact of the dental arch and cephalometric measurements at T1 and the changes between T0 and T1 as predictive variables for relapse at T3. Results: The proposed model explained 42.7 % of the variance in treatment stability and correctly classified 72.2 % of the sample. Of the seven predictive variables, only upper anterior crowding (p = 0.029) was statistically significant. For every millimeter of decreased crowding at T1 (after TPA treatment/before starting the fixed orthodontic treatment), there was an increase of 3.57 times in the odds of having stability. Conclusions: The best predictor of relapse was maxillary crowding before treatment. The odds of relapse increase by 3.6 times for every millimeter of crowding at baseline

Evaluation Of Apical Root Resorption Following Extraction Therapy In Subjects With Class I And Class Ii Malocclusions

The purpose of this study was to determine the amount of root resorption during orthodontic treatment, and to examine the relationship between tooth movement and apical root resorption. Twenty-seven Class I and 27 Class II patients treated with edgewise mechanics following first premolar extractions were selected. The following measurements were made on the pre- and post-treatment cephalograms: upper central incisor to palatal plane distance, the inclination of upper central incisor to the FH and AP planes, the perpendicular distances from the incisor tip to the AP and PTV planes, and incisor apex to PTV. The amount of apical root resorption of the maxillary central incisors was determined for each patient by subtracting the post-treatment tooth length from the pre-treatment tooth length measured directly on cephalograms. Intra-group differences were evaluated by the Student's t-test and intergroup differences by the Mann-Whitney U-test. For correlations the Pearson correlation coefficient was used. The results show that there was a mean of approximately 1 mm (P < 0.01) of apical root shortening in Class I patients, but in Class II division I subjects the mean root resorption was more than 2 mm (P < 0.001). The inter-group differences were statistically significant. No significant correlations were found between the amount of apical root resorption and tooth inclination, or the duration of active treatment.WoSScopu

The Value Of Provocation Methods In Patients Suspected Of Having Non-Epileptic Seizures

Non-epileptic seizures (NES) are reported in 18-23% of patients referred to comprehensive epilepsy centres. Non-epileptic seizures may also be present in 5-20% of the patients who are diagonised as having refractory seizures. Because of their prevalence, financial and psychosocial outcomes cannot be ignored and accurate diagnosis is of the utmost importance. Various methods of seizure induction have been developed with the aim of differentiating epileptic from non-epileptic seizures. However, recording the attacks by video-EEG monitoring is the gold standard. In our outpatient EEG laboratory we try to induce seizures with verbal suggestion or IV saline infusion in patients who are referred by a clinician with the diagnosis of probable nonepileptic seizures. In this study we investigated the results of 72 patients who were referred between January 1992-June 1996. Non-epileptic seizures were observed in 52 (72.2%) patients. Thirteen of these patients still had risk factors for epilepsy. We could not decide whether all of their previous attacks were non-epileptic because 10-30% of the patients with NES also have epileptic seizures. For a more accurate diagnosis it was decided that these 13 patients, together with the 20 patients who did not have seizures with induction, needed video-EEG monitoring. Thirty-nine patients who had NES and no risk factors for epilepsy were thought to have pure non-epileptic seizures. We claim that not all patients suspected of having NES need long-term video-BEG monitoring and almost half (54.2%) of the cases can be eliminated by seizure induction with some provocative techniques.WoSScopu

Circling Seizures

Twelve cases with circling seizures are presented with their clinical, electroencephalographic and radiological findings. Four patients had symptomatic partial epilepsy, five had cryptogenic partial epilepsy, and the remaining three had idiopathic generalized epilepsy. Three of the patients with symptomatic partial epilepsy had frontal lesion, and one had parito-occipital lesion. Turning direction had no lateralizing value in patients with partial epilepsy. Based on our study we conclude that circling seizures may occur in different epileptic syndromes and epilepsies. In cases with symptomatic partial epilepsy, lesions are mostly located in frontal lobes but also in parietooccipital areas.WoSScopu

The smart dice cup: A radio controlled sentient interaction device

In this paper, we present the Smart Dice Cup, a novel interaction device aimed at gaming applications in smart home environments. The Smart Dice Cup is used in a similar way as a traditional leather dice cup to generate random numbers. Integrated accelerometers relate the shaking of the device to the resulting rolls of the dice. In addition to an autonomous stand-alone mode, where the Smart Dice Cup serves as self-sustained gaming system, the device is also capable of communicating with its surrounding environment serving as an input device for other pervasive gaming applications

Diagnosis of allergic rhinitis: inter-rater reliability and predictive value of nasal endoscopic examination: a prospective observational study

ObjectiveTo determine the inter-rater reliability of nasal endoscopic findings and the feasibility of diagnosis of allergic rhinitis based solely on symptoms and nasal endoscopy

The enigma of the sphinx

This paper presents an evaluation of the benefits and user acceptance of a multimodal interface in which the user interacts with a game-like interactive virtual reality application "The Enigma of the Sphinx". The interface consists of a large projection screen as the main display, a "magic wand", a stereo sound system and the user's voice for "casting spells". We present our conclusions concerning "friendliness" and sense of presence, based on observations of more than 150 users in a public even