Optimal force for maxillary protraction facemask therapy in the early treatment of class III malocclusion.

BACKGROUND: The facemask is used to treat early class III malocclusion, in combination with expansion therapy. There is a great deal of controversy in literature regarding the effectiveness of protraction facemask treatment as studies report results anywhere from considerable changes to lack of any maxillary improvement. This controversy may be due to the fact that the process of placing the orthopaedic facemask on patients has, in part, been done empirically, without the use of literature containing the clinical parameters for facemask placement for maxillary protraction. OBJECTIVE: To determine the optimal magnitude, duration, and direction that should be used in maxillary protraction facemask therapy. SEARCH METHODS: A systematic search was carried out in the following databases: Medline, Google Scholar, Embase, Cochrane, Lilacs, Scielo, with no restriction placed on the year of publication, in English and Spanish, using MeSH terms and free-text terms. SELECTION CRITERIA: Clinical trials, systematic reviews, meta-analysis, cohort studies, case-control studies, and cross-sectional studies were included, whereas literature reviews, case reports, case series, symposiums, compendiums, pilot studies, and expert opinions were excluded. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Data selection and extraction were blinded and performed independently, and the methodology was evaluated using various scales. RESULTS: A total of 223 articles were found. After eliminating repeated articles and those that did not meet the selection criteria, 14 remained for analysis. Regarding magnitude, there were values ranging from 180 to 800g per side; there were force vector direction values between 20 and 30 degrees below the occlusal plane or parallel to the occlusal plane; and a duration ranging from 10 to 24 hours of use per day. CONCLUSIONS: There is no scientific evidence that would allow for the definition of adequate parameters for force magnitude, direction, and duration for maxillary protraction facemask treatment in class III patients.

CALMA, a Mobile Health Application, as an Accessory to Therapy for Reduction of Suicidal and Non-Suicidal Self-Injured Behaviors: A Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

The present study was aim to evaluate the acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of a mobile-health application, CALMA, based on dialectical behavioral therapy skills. CALMA was proposed as an adjunct to therapy for the reduction of non-suicidal and suicidal self-injury behaviors. A parallel design was used to compare the intervention group (DBT + CALMA) and the comparison group (DBT). Patients were randomized based on their groups following a randomized cluster design. After treatment, patients completed a follow-up assessment four weeks later. Each cluster was represented by a different DBT Skills Training Group offered weekly at FORO Foundation for Mental Health. Six DBT Skills Training groups were randomized to the intervention or comparison group. Twenty-one individuals met inclusion criteria and eighteen were included in the analysis. Acceptability was measured with the User Experience Questionnaire short version (UEQ-s) and preliminary efficacy with the Self-injurious thoughts and behaviors interview (SITBI). CALMA shows good acceptability to be used as an adjunct to therapy specific to the reduction of suicidal and non-suicidal self-directed violence. Evidence for preliminary efficacy included a high probability of decreased in more behaviors evaluated with the SITBI pre- and post-intervention for the group that received CALMA as compared to the comparison group. Our study provides initial evidence for the effectiveness and acceptability of CALMA. Future studies scaling up this intervention in a larger number of participants are necessary. CALMA may be especially useful in low and middle-income Latin American countries to improve access to evidence-based interventions openly available in Spanish and free to download.HighlightsCALMA is a DBT-based app aimed to reduce non-suicidal and suicidal self-directed violence.The app showed good acceptability by usersA high probability of decrease in suicidal ideation, suicidal plan, suicidal gesture, thoughts about NSSI and NSSI pre- and post-intervention was observed.

Novel pan-serotype control RNA for dengue virus typing through real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

Dengue virus (DENV) is the causative agent of one of the most important febrile illnesses worldwide. Four DENV serotypes are responsible for a broad clinical spectrum of the disease. Positive controls are costly and required for the validation of molecular test results of DENV serotyping. In this study, we describe the in silico design of the qDENV-Control plasmid with the target sequences to oligonucleotides and probes widely used for DENV serotyping, and the subsequent production of qDENV Control RNA by T7-driven run-off in vitro transcription. The qDENV Control RNA was successfully used to validate the positive and negative DENV serotyping results, allowing its incorporation in routine in-house protocols for virologic surveillance. This Control RNA allowed the absolute quantification of viral RNA copies from unknown samples as required in several fundamental studies.

Changes in blood pressure in children undergoing psychological treatment before dental procedures.

Different dental procedures in children undergoing treatment can induce changes in blood pressure. These changes will be minimized if psychological treatment is applied prior to any procedure. The objective of this study was to determine changes in blood pressure (systolic-diastolic) in children undergoing psychological treatment before dental procedures. The population studied consisted of 100 children and adolescents, ages 6 to 15 years. The patients were assigned to two groups at random, i.e. with or without psychological treatment before dental procedures. Behavior management was carried out applying the tell-show-do technique of conduct handling. The systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured prior to the initiation of the treatment, during drilling, restoring, and before dismissing the patient. The no-psychological treatment group exhibited significant differences in diastolic and systolic blood pressures during the dental procedure whereas the psychological treatment group evidenced no significant differences in blood pressure. No correlation was found between the alterations of blood pressure and the type of dental treatment performed. The application of the tell-show-do method would have an effect on the blood pressure in patients undergoing dental procedures.

Changes in blood presure in children undergoing psychological treatment before dental procedures

El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar los cambios de la presión sanguínea (sistólica-diastólica) en niños que reciben tratamiento psicológico previo a la realización de un procedimiento odontológico. La población estudiada estuvo conformada por 100 niños y adolescentes en edades comprendidas entre los 6 y 15 años. Los pacientes fueron asignados al azar en dos grupos: con o sin tratamiento psicológico previo. En cuanto a la variable terapia psicológica, se aplicó la técnica conductual decir-mostrar-hacer. Las presiones sistólica y diastólica fueron evaluadas antes y durante el procedimiento clínico y después de darle de alta al paciente. El grupo que no recibió terapia psicológica mostró diferencias significativas en la presión diastólica y sistólica durante el tratamiento, a diferencia del otro grupo que no mostró variaciones significativas. Asimismo, no se encontró correlación entre las alteraciones de la presión sanguínea y el tipo de tratamiento recibido. Los resultados sugieren que la técnica decir-mostrar-hacer podría tener un efecto moderador sobre la presión sanguínea en pacientes que reciben tratamiento odontológico

Distribución de accidentes escolares en la comuna de Chillán, durante el año escolar de 1998 / Distribution of accident in the school environment, Chillan, Chile, 1998

Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, en el cual se analizaron 835 accidentes escolares de un total de 2.809 registrados en el Hospital Herminda Martín de la ciudad de Chillán. La muestra utilizada, correspondió a los accidentes registrados por 12 establecimientos educacionales pertenecientes a la Comisión mixta de salud y educación del Consultorio General Urbano Violeta Parra, seleccionados al azar. Las variables fueron clasificadas según: Lugar, Causa, Diagnóstico, Edad, Días de Incapacidad y Sexo. El mes que presentó un menor número de accidentes es marzo, con sólo un 5 por ciento, siendo octubre el que presenta la más alta frecuencia con un 15 por ciento del total anual. Aproximadamente un 93 por ciento de los accidentes ocurre dentro del establecimiento y un 7 por ciento en el trayecto. Las lesiones craneofaciales son el diagnóstico más frecuentes con un 39 por ciento, seguidas por las lesiones de extremidades que alcanzan a 32 por ciento. la distribución de los accidentes durante el año, según grupo etáreo es uniforme. En cuanto al sexo, la distribución anual es homogénea, sin embargo, se observa una mayor proporción en los hombres. Como conclusión general, podemos decir que es necesario adoptar en forma agresiva las estrategias basadas en estilos de nuestra comuna, estos denotan un aumento del problema investigado. Es fundamental bascar espacios sinérgicos entre los sectores vivienda, educación y salud principalmente, para que de esta forma podamos realmente contribuir a mejorar nuestra calidad de vida