Small-angle strabismus detection by telemedicine in an experimental model.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the ability of observers to accurately detect strabismus using an alternate cover testing approach via telemedicine and to assess the effect of various factors related to video conditions on the accuracy rate. METHODS: Videos were made by the authors in which different angles of strabismus, up to 12Δ, were induced by prism and recorded using alternate cover testing. The videos were made under a variety of conditions that incorporated various head postures, lighting, fixation target position and motion, and viewing angle. The videos were shown to observers of varying levels of expertise. The accuracy of detecting the deviation was assessed and analyzed for statistical significance. RESULTS: The overall rate of detection was significantly affected by the angle of deviation, with 12Δ being correctly detected with 94% accuracy, 8Δ with 72% accuracy, and 4Δ with <50% accuracy. Esotropia and hypertropia were more accurately detected than exotropia for all angles tested. The level of training of the observer did not correlate with detection accuracy. However, accuracy was negatively affected by backlighting and movement of the fixation target during cover testing. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrate that detection of even relatively small angles of strabismus can be accomplished with a high level of accuracy using telemedicine and an alternate cover testing strategy. For optimal results, it is important to consider conditions related to the fixation target and lighting.

Overlay Analysis of Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Volumes Acquired before and after Horizontal Alveolar Ridge Augmentation.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to illustrate the efficacy of a novel imaging analysis technology to capture horizontal and vertical dimensional changes following horizontal alveolar ridge augmentation (HRA). METHODS: Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) volumes from 65 HRA sites in 57 patients were available for evaluation, employing a three-dimensional analysis software to overlay preoperative and post-augmentation CBCT volumes. Horizontal and vertical alveolar ridge dimensional (HRD/VRD) changes were recorded considering a panel of patient-, site-, and procedure-related explanatory variables. RESULTS: VRD changes ranged from -2.9 to 3.0 mm, more than half anterior sites losing alveolar ridge height. Mean HRD increase at the 3- and 5-mm levels apical to the alveolar crest amounted to 2.3±1.6 and 2.4±1.3 mm, respectively, membrane fixation and non-resorbable membrane use associated with significantly greater gains. CONCLUSIONS: To date, studies reporting dimensional changes following HRA predominantly rely on serial in situ orofacial caliper recordings omitting vertical alterations. The protocol employed in this study allows simultaneous HRD and VRD evaluations and assures baseline and post-augmentation recordings are made at the same alveolar ridge position. Compared with in situ recording, CBCT overlay analysis may achieve a more complete characterization of dimensional changes following HRA.

Time- and Species-Dependent Bacterial Adhesion to Titanium over Short Exposure Periods: An In Vitro Study.

A considerable percentage of dental implant patients experience biofilm-mediated peri-implant disease following transmucosal abutment application. Bacterial adhesion is an early step in biofilm development. Our purpose was to assess adhesion of specific bacterial species to titanium over short exposure periods. Eight bacterial species were selected for this analysis: Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus mitis, Gemella haemolysans, Streptococcus gordonii, Streptococcus sanguinis, Neisseria flavescens, Streptococcus salivarius, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We cultured each species with appropriate media and exposed titanium foil discs to the bacteria for 60, 15, 5, 1, or 0.25 minutes. Optical density at 600-nm wavelength (OD600) was assessed for the baseline inoculum and each species/exposure combination. The proportion of bacteria adherent to titanium was determined for each experimental condition. Striking titanium adhesion was noted for all evaluated species even when exposure time was limited to 15 seconds. Strategies to limit bacterial adhesion at dental implant surfaces may offer potential for improved treatment outcomes and preservation of peri-implant health.

Are We Ready to Integrate Artificial Intelligence Literacy into Medical School Curriculum: Students and Faculty Survey.

BACKGROUND: The effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology applications are already felt in healthcare in general and in the practice of medicine in the disciplines of radiology, pathology, ophthalmology, and oncology. The expanding interface between digital data science, emerging AI technologies and healthcare is creating a demand for AI technology literacy in health professions. OBJECTIVE: To assess medical student and faculty attitudes toward AI, in preparation for teaching AI foundations and data science applications in clinical practice in an integrated medical education curriculum. METHODS: An online 15-question semi-structured survey was distributed among medical students and faculty. The questionnaire consisted of 3 parts: participant's background, AI awareness, and attitudes toward AI applications in medicine. RESULTS: A total of 121 medical students and 52 clinical faculty completed the survey. Only 30% of students and 50% of faculty responded that they were aware of AI topics in medicine. The majority of students (72%) and faculty (59%) learned about AI from the media. Faculty were more likely to report that they did not have a basic understanding of AI technologies (χ2, P = .031). Students were more interested in AI in patient care training, while faculty were more interested in AI in teaching training (χ2, P = .001). Additionally, students and faculty reported comparable attitudes toward AI, limited AI literacy and time constraints in the curriculum. There is interest in broad and deep AI topics. Our findings in medical learners and teaching faculty parallel other published professional groups' AI survey results. CONCLUSIONS: The survey conclusively proved interest among medical students and faculty in AI technology in general, and in its applications in healthcare and medicine. The study was conducted at a single institution. This survey serves as a foundation for other medical schools interested in developing a collaborative programming approach to address AI literacy in medical education.

Conditions and Dynamics That Impact Maternal Health Literacy among High Risk Prenatal-Interconceptional Women.

The purpose of the study was to describe conditions and dynamics in the lives of high-risk, low-income, Southern United States prenatal-interconceptional women (n = 37) in a home visiting program that promoted maternal health literacy progression. In the Life Course Health Development (LCHD) Model, conditions were risk and protective factors that impacted health. Dynamics drove the complex, epigenetic relationships between risk and protective factors. Maternal health literacy promotion helped participants address conditions and dynamics to create positive life changes. This research was a retrospective, mixed methods study of women's service records documenting care from prenatal admission to 24 months post-delivery. The Life Skills Progression Instrument (LSP) was scored to measure maternal health literacy progression. Ethnographic content analysis of visit notes triangulated with quantitative data enabled specificity of critical data elements. Subsequently, a complementary focus group was conducted with the Registered Nurse Case Managers (RNCM). Severe social conditions included devastating poverty, low educational achievement, transient housing, unstable relationships, incarceration, lack of continuous health insurance, and shortage of health care providers. Dynamics included severe psycho-social stressors, domestic violence, lack of employment, low income, low self-esteem and self-expectations, and social/family restraints upon women's intended positive changes. An important protective factor was the consistent, stable, evidence-informed relationship with the RNCM. Findings from the focus group discussion supported content analysis results.

Perinatal program evaluations: methods, impacts, and future goals.

The objective of this methodology note is to examine perinatal program evaluation methods as they relate to the life course health development model (LCHD) and risk reduction for poor birth outcomes. We searched PubMed, CDC, ERIC, and a list from the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) to identify sources. We included reports from theory, methodology, program reports, and instruments, as well as reviews of Healthy Start Programs and home visiting. Because our review focused upon evaluation methods we did not include reports that described the Healthy Start Program. The LCHD model demonstrates the non-linear relationships among epigenetic factors and environmental interactions, intentionality or worldview within a values framework, health practices, and observed outcomes in a lifelong developmental health trajectory. The maternal epigenetic and social environment during fetal development sets the stage for the infant's lifelong developmental arc. The LCHD model provides a framework to study challenging maternal child health problems. Research that tracks the long term maternal-infant health developmental trajectory is facilitated by multiple, linked public record systems. Two instruments, the life skills progression instrument and the prenatal risk overview are theoretically consistent with the LCHD and can be adapted for local or population-based use. A figure is included to demonstrate a method of reducing interaction among variables by sample definition. Both in-place local programs and tests of best practices in community-based research are needed to reduce unacceptably high infant mortality. Studies that follow published reporting standards strengthen evidence.

Effectiveness and feasibility of utilizing E4D technology as a teaching tool in a preclinical dental education environment.

Recent efforts have been directed towards utilizing CAD/CAM technology in the education of future dentists. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the feasibility of implementing CAD/CAM technology in instruction on preparing a tooth for restoration. Students at one dental school were assigned access to CAD/CAM technology vs. traditional preparation methods in a randomized, crossover design. In a convenience sample of a second-year class, seventy-six of the seventy-nine students volunteered to participate, for a response rate of 96 percent. Two analyses were performed on this pilot data: a primary effectiveness analysis comparing students' competency exam scores by intervention group (intention-to-treat analysis) and a secondary efficacy analysis comparing competency exam scores among students who reported using CAD/CAM versus those who did not. The effectiveness analysis showed no difference in outcomes by intervention group assignment. While student survey results indicated interest in utilizing the technology, the actual utilization rate was much less than one might anticipate, yielding a sample size that limited statistical power. The secondary analysis demonstrated higher mean competency exam scores for students reporting use of CAD/CAM compared to those who did not use the technology, but these results did not reach statistical significance (p=0.075). Prior research has investigated the efficacy of CAD/CAM in a controlled educational trial, but this study adds to the literature by investigating student use of CAD/CAM in a real-world, self-study fashion. Further studies should investigate ways in which to increase student utilization of CAD/CAM and whether or not increased utilization, with a larger sample size, would yield significant outcomes.

Maternal health literacy progression among rural perinatal women.

This research examined changes in maternal health literacy progression among 106 low income, high risk, rural perinatal African American and White women who received home visits by Registered Nurse Case Managers through the Enterprise Community Healthy Start Program. Maternal health literacy progression would enable women to better address intermediate factors in their lives that impacted birth outcomes, and ultimately infant mortality (Lu and Halfon in Mater Child Health J 7(1):13-30, 2003; Sharma et al. in J Natl Med Assoc 86(11):857-860, 1994). The Life Skills Progression Instrument (LSP) (Wollesen and Peifer, in Life skills progression. An outcome and intervention planning instrument for use with families at risk. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Baltimore, 2006) measured changes in behaviors that represented intermediate factors in birth outcomes. Maternal Health Care Literacy (LSP/M-HCL) was a woman's use of information, critical thinking and health care services; Maternal Self Care Literacy (LSP/M-SCL) was a woman's management of personal and child health at home (Smith and Moore in Health literacy and depression in the context of home visitation. Mater Child Health J, 2011). Adequacy was set at a score of (≥4). Among 106 women in the study initial scores were inadequate (<4) on LSP/M-HCL (83 %), and on LSP/M-SCL (30 %). Significant positive changes were noted in maternal health literacy progression from the initial prenatal assessment to the first (p < .01) postpartum assessment and to the final (p < .01) postpartum assessment using McNemar's test of gain scores. Numeric comparison of first and last gain scores indicated women's scores progressed (LSP/M-HCL; p < .0001) and (LSP/M-SCL; p < .0001). Elevated depression scores were most frequent among women with <4 LSP/M-HCL and/or <4 LSP/M-SCL. Visit notes indicated lack or loss of relationship with the father of the baby and intimate partner discord contributed to higher depression scores.