Achieving the minimum pain experience by buccal nerve and superficial cervical plexus blocks in radiofrequency treatment.

BACKGROUND: Thermage is a monopolar radiofrequency (RF). It has become an indispensable part of facial and body youthful methods. Although the current device is constantly improving in epidermal cooling techniques and even automatically measures the local impedance value, applying surface anesthesia can take some of the pain away caused by thermage, and the patient's severe pain in the jaw and neck areas is still difficult to resolve. METHODS: The author describes how he uses the combination of the buccal nerve block (BNB) and the superficial cervical plexus block (SCPB) to improve the comfort of the patient's face and neck treatment of patients. It can improve the quality, elasticity, and texture of the skin. RESULTS: According to the author's knowledge of oral and maxillofacial surgery, the combination of BNB and SCPB is applied to the neck and facial analgesia. Combining the BNB and SCPB effectively provides facial and neck anesthesia. The BNB in this technique provides pain relief to the facial skin in the mandibular area and SCPB offers pain relief to the skin of the neck. RF facial rejuvenation treatment often involves the junction of the face and neck to improve the contour of the mandibular margin. Therefore, Whether the RF treatment is aimed at the face or neck, or the treatment is performed simultaneously, we advocate the block both of the buccal nerve and the superficial cervical plexus nerves to achieve perfect analgesia. Still, the dosage of anesthetic medication for the nerve block can be adjusted according to the treatment area. CONCLUSION: We applied these two nerve blocks and their combination to improve skin laxity with RF therapy for the first time.

Feasibility evaluation of a Cu-38 Zn alloy for intrauterine devices: In vitro and in vivo studies.

The existing adverse effects of copper in copper-containing intrauterine devices (Cu-IUDs) have raised concerns regarding their use. These adverse effects include burst release of cupric ions (Cu2+) at the initial stage and an increasingly rough surface of the Cu-IUDs. In this study, we investigated the use of two copper alloys, Cu-38 Zn and H62 as the new upgrading or alternative material for IUDs. Their corrosive properties were studied in simulated uterine fluid (SUF) by using electrochemical methods, with pure Cu as a control. We studied the in vitro long-term corrosion behaviors in SUF, cytotoxicity to uterine cells (human endometrial epithelial cells and human endometrial stromal cells), in vivo biocompatibility and contraceptive efficacy of pure Cu, H62, and Cu-38 Zn. In the first month, the burst release rate of Cu2+ in the Cu-38 Zn group was significantly lower than those in the pure Cu and H62 groups. The in vitro cytocompatibility Cu-38 Zn was better than that of pure Cu and H62. Moreover, Cu-38 Zn showed improved tissue biocompatibility in vivo experiments. Therefore, the contraceptive efficacy of the Cu-38 Zn is still maintained as high as the pure Cu while the adverse effects are significantly eased, suggesting that Cu-38 Zn can be a suitable potential candidate material for IUDs. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The existing adverse effects associated with the intrinsic properties of copper materials for copper-containing intrauterine devices (Cu-IUD) are of concern in their employment. Such as, burst release of cupric ions (Cu2+) at the initial stage and an increasingly rough surface of the Cu-IUD. In this work, Cu alloyed with a high amount of bioactive Zn was used for a Cu-IUD. The Cu-38 Zn alloy exhibited reduced burst release of Cu2+ within the first month compared with the pure Cu and H62. Furthermore, the Cu-38 Zn alloy displayed significantly improved biocompatibility and a much smoother surface. Therefore, high antifertility efficacy of the Cu-38 Zn alloy was well maintained, while the adverse effects are significantly eased, suggesting that the Cu-38 Zn alloy is promising for a Cu-IUD.

[Clinical study of extraction treatment of Class II division I malocclusion with Empower self-ligating brackets].

PURPOSE: To evaluate and compare the treatment efficiency of Empower interactive self-ligating brackets and traditional brackets in Class II division I extraction patients. METHODS: Forty patients with Class II division I malocclusion were randomly divided into 2 groups. Twenty patients received Empower self-ligating technique (group A) and the other 20 patients received MBT technique (group B). Four first premolars were extracted and without any other anchorage devices added in both groups. The duration of treatment, the number of visits and chair-side time were recorded. Cephalometric analysis was performed before and after treatment. The data was analyzed with SPSS 13.0 software package for paired t test. RESULTS: Treatment time and number of visits in group A were more than in group B, but there was no significant difference between the 2 groups. Chair-side time in group A reduced 151.15s on average compared with group B. Significant changes were observed in both groups after treatment. Upper and lower anterior teeth retracted and convex profile improved.U1-SN, U1-NA, L1-MP, L1-NB, UI-PTV, LI-PTV, UL-EP, LL-EP decreased. Significant differences were found in UM-PTV between the 2 groups(P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with traditional brackets, Empower self-ligating brackets can save chair-side time, control anterior teeth torque and posterior teeth anchorage effectively, but can not reduce the treatment time or number of visits. Supported by Youth Research Project of Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau(2010Y155).

[The effect of two different methods of rapid maxillary expansion on treatment results of skeletal Class III malocclusion patients with maxillary protraction in early permanent dentition].

PURPOSE: To evaluate and compare the effect of single rapid maxillary expansion and repetitive rapid expansion and constriction with maxillary protraction in treating early permanent skeletal Class III patients. METHODS: Twenty children with skeletal Class III malocclusion were randomly divided into two groups.Ten patients received 1 week of rapid expansion,followed by maxillary protraction(group A) and the other ten patients received 5 weeks of repetitive rapid expansion and constriction followed by maxillary protraction (group B).Cephalometric analysis was performed before and after treatment. The data was analyzed with SPSS 13.0 software package for paired t test. RESULTS: Significant changes in cranio-maxillofacial structures were observed in both groups after 6 months of treatment.Point A moved forward. SNA, ANB, UL-EP, U1-PP, SN-MP, ANS-Me/N-Me, Wit's value increased. L1-MP, LL-EP decreased. Significant differences were found in SNA,ANB,UL-EP between the two groups(P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The application of combined repetitive rapid expansion and constriction with maxillary protraction increases the amount of forward movement of the maxilla significantly and presents more favourable profile results in early permanent Class III malocclusion patients.

An efficient approach for ab initio energy calculation of biopolymers.

We present a new method for efficient total-energy calculation of biopolymers using the density-matrix (DM) scheme based on the molecular fractionation with conjugate caps (MFCC) approach. In this MFCC-DM method, a biopolymer such as a protein is partitioned into properly capped fragments whose density matrices are calculated by conventional ab initio methods which are then assembled to construct the full system density matrix. The assembled full density matrix is then employed to calculate the total energy and dipole moment of the protein using Hartree-Fock or density-functional theory methods. Using this MFCC-DM method, the self-consistent-field procedure for solving the full Hamiltonian problem is avoided and an efficient approach for ab initio energy calculation of biopolymers is achieved. Two implementations of the approach are presented in this paper. Systematic numerical studies are carried out on a series of extended polyglycines CH3CO-(GLY)n-NHCH3(n = 3-25) and excellent results are obtained.