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Audiometric profiles and patterns of benefit: A data-driven analysis of subjective hearing difficulties and handicaps

Objective: Hearing rehabilitation attempts to compensate for auditory dysfunction, reduce hearing difficulties and minimise participation restrictions that can lead to social isolation. However, there is no systematic approach to assess the quality of the intervention at an individual level that might help to evaluate the need of further hearing rehabilitation in the hearing care clinic. Design: A data-driven analysis on subjective data reflecting hearing disabilities and handicap was chosen to explore “benefit patterns” as a result of rehabilitation in different audiometric groups. The method was based on (1) dimensionality reduction; (2) stratification; (3) archetypal analysis; (4) clustering; (5) item importance estimation. Study sample: 572 hearing-aid users completed questionnaires of hearing difficulties (speech, spatial and qualities hearing scale; SSQ) and hearing handicap (HHQ). Results: The data-driven approach revealed four benefit profiles that were different for each audiometric group. The groups with low degree of high-frequency hearing loss (HLHF) showed a priority for rehabilitating hearing handicaps, whereas the groups with HLHF > 50 dB HL showed a priority for improvements in speech understanding. Conclusions: The patterns of benefit and the stratification approach might guide the clinical intervention strategy and improve the efficacy and quality of service in the hearing care clinic

Antibacterial Effect of Silver Nanoparticles Versus Chlorhexidine Against Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus casei

The porpoise of the study was to evaluate the antibacterial effect of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) versus chlorhexidine (CHX) against Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus casei. Three different reducing agents were used for the synthesis and characterization of Ag-NPs: sodium borohydride (NaBH4), a chemical method, and Heterotheca inuloides (Hi) and Camellia sinensis (Cs), two eco-friendly methods. The synthesized substance was deposited on deciduous teeth. Its behavior in dental tissues was evaluated through an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis, using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The characterization of Ag-NPs in terms of shape, size, and polydispersity was performed through spectrophotometry of ultraviolet-visible light analysis (UV-vis), as well as by transmission electron microscopy. Isolation and culture of strains S. mutans and L. casei were done to perform the microbiological analysis