Effects of whole-body vibration on chronic ankle instability: a systematic review.

Background and objective: Chronic ankle instability (CAI) is one of the most common sports injuries, and whole-body vibration (WBV) training has been used lately as a potential rehabilitation modality for these patients. The authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess whether WBV training positively affects patients with CAI. Materials and methods: The authors systematically searched four databases, including MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, for randomized and non-randomized trials evaluating the effects of WBV on individuals with CAI. The authors used Cochrane RoB2 to assess the risk of bias in randomized trials. A meta-analysis was conducted if three or more studies measured the same outcome. Effect estimates were pooled using a random-effects model. Results: Results were retrieved from seven articles encompassing 288 participants who had CAI. The reach distance of the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) was regarded as the study's main finding. The authors saw a significant training effect on certain planes of motion on dynamic balance. The findings showed that the post-intervention measurements in the WBV group compared to control groups showed improvements in the posterolateral, posteromedial, and medial directions, respectively. There were also promising results on improvements in muscle activity, strength, and proprioception sense measurements with a great diversity in the reported parameters. Conclusion: The authors observed a significant WBV training effect on dynamic balance over posterolateral, posteromedial, and medial reach distances. These findings suggest future studies on the effects of WBV on muscle activity, strength, and proprioception in addition to dynamic and static balance.

Automated diagnosis of autism with artificial intelligence: State of the art.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represents a panel of conditions that begin during the developmental period and result in impairments of personal, social, academic, or occupational functioning. Early diagnosis is directly related to a better prognosis. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of ASD requires a long and exhausting subjective process. We aimed to review the state of the art for automated autism diagnosis and recognition in this research. In February 2022, we searched multiple databases and sources of gray literature for eligible studies. We used an adapted version of the QUADAS-2 tool to assess the risk of bias in the studies. A brief report of the methods and results of each study is presented. Data were synthesized for each modality separately using the Split Component Synthesis (SCS) method. We assessed heterogeneity using the I 2 statistics and evaluated publication bias using trim and fill tests combined with ln DOR. Confidence in cumulative evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach for diagnostic studies. We included 344 studies from 186,020 participants (51,129 are estimated to be unique) for nine different modalities in this review, from which 232 reported sufficient data for meta-analysis. The area under the curve was in the range of 0.71-0.90 for all the modalities. The studies on EEG data provided the best accuracy, with the area under the curve ranging between 0.85 and 0.93. We found that the literature is rife with bias and methodological/reporting flaws. Recommendations are provided for future research to provide better studies and fill in the current knowledge gaps.

A comprehensive interventional program based on the needs and concerns related to female genital cosmetic surgeries: protocol for a multistage mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND: Dissatisfaction with one's body and the subsequent rise in the cosmetic surgery trend pose significant public health concerns today. One unusual cosmetic surgical procedure involves enhancing the genital area. Numerous healthy women and girls have recently sought Genital Cosmetic Surgery (GCS) for beauty or improved sexual performance. There is a concern that this phenomenon may be linked to developing a new standard for vulvovaginal appearance. This stringent standard could potentially adversely affect women's mental health in the future, growing feelings of insecurity and possibly leading teenagers to consider plastic surgery. Implementing empowering and awareness-raising programs for women and girls is crucial, especially in light of the constantly evolving gender norms and the medicalization of sexuality and beauty as social constructs. It is essential that such training is integrated into comprehensive sexual education programs for adolescents. These efforts align perfectly with the SDG, recognizing that education in sexual and reproductive health, ensuring access to health, and empowering women are fundamental rights for women and girls. To accomplish these objectives, we will conduct this study to elucidate the needs and concerns related to the increasing trend of GCS. By doing so, we can concentrate on the factors motivating women to undergo GCS. This approach will enable us to develop effective interventions to empower women and girls considering GCS, thus enhancing their sexual and reproductive health. METHODS AND OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this multistage exploratory sequential mixed-method study will be structured into three phases: First phase: qualitative study. 1. In-depth interviews will be conducted to elucidate the needs and concerns associated with GCS with women with a history of GCS, spouses of willing participants, and women actively seeking these procedures. 2. A literature review in parallel with the qualitative phase will be conducted to gain insights into the needs and concerns of women worldwide considering GCS. Second phase: program design. 1. To formulate an intervention grounded in the primary priorities identified during the qualitative stage and informed by the literature review. 2. To prioritize the needs and concerns of women seeking GCS and to validate and endorse the intervention through input from an expert panel. Third phase: quantitative study. To assess and determine the effectiveness of the intervention designed to address the needs and concerns of women applying for GCS procedures. DISCUSSION: This study marks the first attempt to design and assess an intervention addressing the needs and concerns of cosmetic surgeries performed on the female genital and reproductive system. The hope is that this study's compilation and implementation will yield substantial evidence and documentation regarding the impact of educational interventions on women's and girls' sexual and reproductive empowerment. Given the rising prevalence of GCS among unmarried teenagers, this approach is of utmost significance. It underscores the necessity for gynecological and midwifery service providers to have comprehensive guidance on GCS. Such guidance can be an essential resource for healthcare providers in this field.

Contemporary concerns about body dissatisfaction and the growing trend of cosmetic surgery, including unusual trends of genital cosmetic surgery (GCS), are raising public health issues. This study addresses the needs and concerns related to the increasing trend of GCS among women.A multistage exploratory sequential mixed-method study will be structured into three phases, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative components: 1. A qualitative phase involving in-depth interviews and a literature review 2. A program design phase to formulate an intervention through input from an expert panel. 3. A quantitative phase to assess the intervention's effectiveness. The objectives include understanding the motivations behind GCS, developing an intervention grounded in these insights, and evaluating its impact on women's sexual and Reproductive empowerment. Given the rising prevalence of GCS among unmarried teenagers, this research holds significant importance. It emphasizes the need for comprehensive guidance on GCS for healthcare providers, aligning with empowering women and ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health education.

Social media as a tool for oral health promotion: A systematic review.

Social media platforms are common means of sharing information, personal experiences, and lifestyle. They can also be utilized as cost-effective methods for individuals to acquire health information and promote oral health. The purpose of the present study was to systematically review the current literature on the interventions taken through social media for promoting lay people's oral health. This systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42023395005) followed the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. A comprehensive search was conducted in four electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Cochrane Library) for relevant articles published between 2012 and 2023. Data such as study design, sample size, follow-up duration, utilized social media platforms and main findings were extracted from the eligible studies. The quality of the studies included in the systematic review was evaluated by the quality assessment tools for intervention studies recommended by the National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools. Out of the 1934 records identified in the initial search, 10 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the qualitative synthesis. These studies comprised seven randomized control trials, one field trial and two quasi-experimental. Various social media platforms, including Telegram, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp and Snapchat, were used for communication with patients. Some studies solely utilized social media interventions, while others combined online and traditional interventions. The quality assessment categorized 30% of the studies as "strong", 50% as "moderate", and the remaining as "weak". The implementation of social media interventions positively influenced multiple aspects of oral health among the laypeople. Online platforms such as YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Telegram can be effectively utilized to promote oral health among patients.

Improvement of oral health knowledge and behavior of diabetic patients: an interventional study using the social media.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic patients are not often aware of relationship between diabetes mellitus (DM) and periodontal diseases, and the researchers recommend further knowledge enhancement of diabetic patients in this regard. This study aimed to enhance oral health knowledge of diabetic adults via an educational intervention. METHODS: In this interventional study, three private offices of endocrinologists specialized in treatment of DM were selected for the recruitment of participants. In total, 120 diabetic adults (40 from each office) took part in an educational intervention in three groups (patients from each office made up one group): (I) physician-aid, (II) researcher-aid, and (III) social media. In group (I), participants received educational materials (brochure and CD) from their endocrinologist, in group (II) participants received educational materials from researcher. Group (III) joining an educational group in WhatsApp for 3 months. A self-reported standard questionnaire was filled out by the patients before, and after the intervention to assess oral health knowledge. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 21 using independent t-test, Mann-Whitney test, Chi-square test, and ANCOVA. RESULTS: The mean oral health knowledge score increased in all three groups after the educational interventions (P < 0.001); the highest increase occurred in the social media group. Toothbrushing twice daily or more had the greatest improvement in the physician-aid group compared with the other two groups (P < 0.001). The greatest improvement in dental flossing once daily or more occurred in the social media group (P = 0.01). The mean level of the hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) decreased in all three groups, but not significantly (P = 0.83). CONCLUSION: The results showed that educational interventions enhance oral health knowledge, and improve the behavior of diabetic adults. The education via the social media can be an efficient method for knowledge enhancement of diabetic patients.

Oral health-related quality of life in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma: A case-control study.

Background: The prevalence of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has increased in recent years. With the development of various treatments, the mortality rate has decreased and more people are living with the consequences of the disease and its treatment, which can have a great impact on the quality of life. Some questionnaires measure the impact of the disease on daily activities and patient behavior. In this study, the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) was assessed through the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP)-14 questionnaire between the OSCC patient and control groups. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the OHIP-14 questionnaire was given to 51 OSCC patients who had completed the treatment at least 6 months before participating in this study and 51 healthy individuals, and we used the Chi-square test, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, and linear regression in three models. P = 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of patients was 55.86 ± 15.04 years and the control group was 54.96 ± 14.08 years. Women made up 51% of patients. The mean OHIP score was 22.84 ± 11.42 in the patient group and 17.92 ± 9.23 in the control group, which indicates a significant (P = 0.005) difference between the two groups according to the independent sample t-test. Conclusion: The OHRQOL of patients has significantly decreased compared to the control group. Surgery had the lowest quality reduction, and combined surgical treatment with radiotherapy and chemotherapy had the highest reduction in the OHRQOL. It is recommended to have regular follow-up sessions and to have a proper diet during and after treatment.

Postoperative Periorbital Edema and Ecchymosis After External Lateral Osteotomy "Comparing Conventional Osteotome and Piezo Scalpel in Rhinoplasty".

The piezo surgery was reported to cause minimal trauma to the soft tissue. The aim of this study was to compare the periorbital edema and ecchymosis after transcutaneous lateral osteotomy in rhinoplasty using 2-mm osteotome versus Piezo scalpel respectively. In a randomized clinical trial and split-mouth-design, we performed primary rhinoplasty in 15 patients (7 men, 8 women; age 18-35 years, mean age 26.6 ± 5.7 years). Transcutaneous lateral osteotomy was performed using a 2-mm osteotome on the one side and a piezo scalpel on the opposite side. We took digital photographs of the face on 1, 3, 7 and 14 postoperative days. Three examiners used a standard 5-point Kara-Gokalan scale to assess the early postoperative periorbital edema and ecchymosis on each side. We found more difficult to use the piezo scalpel via only one incision and found easier to use two stab incisions for inserting the piezo scalpel. The time spend for each osteotomy was similar (P > 0.05). The inter-observer agreement was high (> 0.676). The postoperative edema showed to be significantly different on day 1, 3 and 7 (P-value < 0.05), ecchymosis was much less on piezo side but not significantly. It was more difficult to use piezo scalpel via only one incision. The piezo scalpel showed to reduce the postoperative edema significantly and improved the ecchymosis. Swelling and bleeding could have crossed the midline and blurred the comparison of two sides. However, this is the best design to achieve the highest similarity in study condition. Level of Evidence Level I, therapeutic study.

Dental care provision for people with neurodevelopmental disorders in Iran; a qualitative study of barriers.

INTRODUCTION: One of the most underserved populations among dental patients is the people with Neurodevelopmental Disorders (PNDs). This study aimed to explore the barriers to dental care provision for PNDs from the viewpoint of stakeholders in provision in Iran. METHODS: We arranged a qualitative study based on an individual in-depth, semi-structured interview between October 2019 and February 2020. We interviewed 30 participants using a snowball sampling strategy with three groups: dentists who provided dental care for PNDs, dental public health professionals, and policymakers/managers in dental care provision in Iran. The interviewer used an interview framework based on Levesque's model of patient-centered access. The main question was: "How do you assess the barriers to the provision of dental services to PNDs in Iran?" The data were analyzed by the qualitative content analysis method described by Graneheim and Lundman. RESULTS: From the 30 interviewees (11 women), there were 11 dentists, nine dental public health professionals, and 10 participants who worked as policymakers/managers. They were aged 35-62 years and had working experience between 4 and 25 years. In the content analysis, 60 meanings units were extracted, and later classified into 14 subthemes, and four main themes. CONCLUSION: Four main barriers were traced regarding access, financial, competency-related, and policy-making aspects.

Oral health outcomes and shift working among male workers: A cross-sectional survey.

Working time outside routine daily working hours is known as shift working. Studies have shown adverse effects of shift working such as stress, obesity, and diabetes on the workers' health. The aim of the present study was to compare aspects of oral health in shift workers and non-shift workers of a cement factory in Shahroud, Iran. Study population comprised of 180 male workers of the factory in the year 2015. Convenience sampling was continued until recruiting 180 subjects of shift- and non-shift workers. Data collection included oral health questionnaire, health and safety executive (HSE) questionnaire, and clinical oral examination. The Chi-square test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and generalized Poisson model were employed for statistical evaluation. Mean age of the workers was 39.19 (±9.48); 53% had educational level of less than diploma. Their mean DMFT was 12.89 (±5.75) which correlated with number of years in shift work schedule (Pearson correlation coefficient: 0.41; p<0.001) but not correlated with job stress (Pearson correlation coefficient: -0.11; p = 0.12). Mean number of deep periodontal pockets among the workers was 5.03 (±1.84) that showed correlation with number of years in shift work schedule (Pearson correlation coefficient: 0.33; p<0.001) but no correlation with job stress (Pearson correlation coefficient: -0.03; p = 0.68). Adherence to various oral health behaviors was reported by less than half of the workers. Positive correlation of dental caries and periodontal diseases with shift working partly signals negative impact of working conditions on oral health among this group of workers which calls for modifications in their working environment to facilitate health practices.

Use of InSAR data for measuring land subsidence induced by groundwater withdrawal and climate change in Ardabil Plain, Iran.

The Ardabil plain, with an approximate area of 1097.2 km2 in northwestern Iran, has experienced land subsidence due to intensive groundwater withdrawal and long seasons of drought in recent years. Different techniques have been used to investigate and evaluate subsidence in this region including: Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Levelling, and Geotechnical methods. These methods are typically expensive, time-consuming, and identify only a small fraction of the areas prone to subsidence. This study employs an Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) technique to measure the long-term subsidence of the plain. An open-source SAR interferometry time series analysis package, LiCSBAS, that integrates with the automated Sentinel-1 InSAR processor (COMET-LiCSAR) is used to analyze Sentinel-1 satellite images from October 2014 to January 2021. Processing of Sentinel-1 images shows that the Ardabil plain has been facing rapid subsidence due to groundwater pumping and reduced rainfall, especially between May 2018 to January 2019. The maximum subsidence rate was 45 mm/yr, measured at the southeastern part of the plain. While providing significant advantages (less processing time and disk space) over other InSAR processing packages, implementation of the LiCSBAS processing package and its accuracy for land subsidence measurements at different scales needs further evaluation. This study provides a procedure for evaluating its efficiency and accuracy for land subsidence measurements by comparing its measurements with the results of the GMTSAR and geotechnical numerical modeling. The results of geotechnical numerical modeling showed land subsidence with an average annual rate of 38 mm between 2006 and 2020, which was close to measurements using the InSAR technique. Comparison of the subsidence measurements of the Ardabil plain using the LiCSBAS package with results obtained from other techniques shows that LiCSBAS is able to accurately detect land deformation at large scales (~ km). However, they may not be optimized for more local deformations such as infrastructure monitoring.

Effect of oral health promotion interventions on pregnant women dental caries: a field trial.

BACKGROUND: Dental caries is a costly and very common disease, especially in pregnant women. Reasons such as not paying attention to oral health, poor diet and also lack of adequate education in this regard cause this to happen. Performing well-designed educational interventions using primary health system's forces, can improve oral health of pregnant women and help control this disease. We conducted this study to evaluate the effectiveness of some oral health interventions on pregnant women dental caries. METHODS: A field trial study was done in comprehensive Health Centers in Varamin, Tehran, Iran to assess 439 mothers' dental health status from pregnancy up to 2 years after delivery in intervention (n = 239) and control groups (n = 200). Mothers in intervention groups received oral health-related education consisted of nutritional and behavioral messages via either of four methods: A: comprehensive method including all following methods together (n = 74), B: group discussion by dentists (n = 59), C: face to face education by primary health care providers (n = 53), and D: social network applications (n = 53); while those in control group only received routine maternal and oral health care. We used a questionnaire to collect mothers' demographic, socioeconomic and dental care behavior data and also performed oral examinations to assess their DMFT at baseline and 24 months after delivery to evaluate the effectiveness of these educational oral health interventions. RESULTS: From 454 mothers participated the examination session, 18 pregnant women discontinued during the follow-ups and 439 were remained with mean age of 27.47. In the intervention group, the frequency of daily brushing among women increased from 64% at baseline to 85.6% at the last follow-up and the mean D significantly decreased nearly 1unit at same period (P < 0.05). Most and least dental caries changes were in comprehensive intervention group and social network intervention group compared to other intervention groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Performing educational interventions during and after pregnancy using various message delivery methods and messengers (oral health professionals and trained PHCPs), could improve oral health status and behaviors of pregnant and lactating mothers in a feasible and applicable manner.

Abstract screening using the automated tool Rayyan: results of effectiveness in three diagnostic test accuracy systematic reviews.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of the automated abstract screening tool Rayyan. METHODS: The records obtained from the search for three systematic reviews were manually screened in four stages. At the end of each stage, Rayyan was used to predict the eligibility score for the remaining records. At two different thresholds (≤2.5 and < 2.5 for exclusion of a record) Rayyan-generated ratings were compared with the decisions made by human reviewers in the manual screening process and the tool's accuracy metrics were calculated. RESULTS: Two thousand fifty-four records were screened manually, of which 379 were judged to be eligible for full-text assessment, and 112 were eventually included in the final review. For finding records eligible for full-text assessment, at the threshold of < 2.5 for exclusion, Rayyan managed to achieve sensitivity values of 97-99% with specificity values of 19-58%, while at the threshold of ≤2.5 for exclusion it had a specificity of 100% with sensitivity values of 1-29%. For the task of finding eligible reports for inclusion in the final review, almost similar results were obtained. DISCUSSION: At the threshold of < 2.5 for exclusion, Rayyan managed to be a reliable tool for excluding ineligible records, but it was not much reliable for finding eligible records. We emphasize that this study was conducted on diagnostic test accuracy reviews, which are more difficult to screen due to inconsistent terminology.

The Relationship between Oral and Dental Health Self-care and Hemoglobin A1c in Adults with Diabetes.

Statement of the Problem: Due to the mutual relationship between periodontal diseases and diabetes, it seems that adopting oral self-care in a way to prevent and control the progress of periodontal diseases, improves the oral health of diabetic patients as well as their general health. Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the oral self-care behaviors and the hemoglobin A1c (Hb A1c) levels in adults with diabetes. Materials and Method: In this cross-sectional study with convenience sampling, 120 adults between 18 to 50 years old, who had at least two healthy functional teeth, were selected from private endocrinology offices in Tehran in August 2019. The exclusion criteria were illiterate individuals and pregnant women. A standard questionnaire was used which included the information about demographic, diabetes, and self-care behaviors. The outcome variable was the latest Hb A1c rate. Results: The mean age of participants was 35.8±10.5 years. The average Hb A1c was 7.4± 1.55%. 35.0% of participants brushed their teeth twice a day or more and 60.8% flossed rarely. The proportion of Hb A1c <7% was higher in three groups including the participants who had information about the effect of periodontal disease on diabetes (p= 0.032), participants who brushed twice a day or more (p= 0 .014), and those who used dental floss once a day or more (p< 0.001). The likelihood of having Hb A1c <7% in participants who had information about the effect of periodontal disease on diabetes was about three times more than those who had no information (OR= 3.05, p= 0.036). Furthermore, it was about six times higher in participants who used dental floss once a day or more than those who used rarely (OR= 5.66, p= 0.001). Conclusion: Results of the present study show that people who had better oral health self-care behaviors had better Hb A1c and diabetes control.

The effect of intra-vaginal oxytocin on sexual function in breastfeeding mothers: a randomized triple-blind placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Considering the importance of sexual function, high prevalence of sexual dysfunction (especially dyspareunia caused by atrophic vaginitis) in breastfeeding women, and lack of effective interventions, the present research aimed to determine the effect of oxytocin (OXT) vaginal gel on sexual function (primary outcome), sexual satisfaction, and depression (secondary outcomes) in the breastfeeding women. METHODS: This randomized triple-blind controlled trial was conducted on 64 breastfeeding women who referred to health centers in the city of Tabriz, Iran, in 2020-21. Participants were equally assigned to intervention/control groups using block randomization. 200 IU of OXT vaginal gel was given to the participants in the intervention group daily for eight week and the same protocol was carried out for the control group with placebo. Standard questionnaires of Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) and Sexual satisfaction scale for women (SSSW) were completed at baseline and 8 weeks after intervention. ANCOVA test was used to compare post-intervention mean score of the groups, adjusted for the baseline values. RESULTS: After intervention, there was no statistically significant difference between groups in terms of mean total score of FSFI (Adjusted Mean Difference (AMD): 1.14; 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI): -1.28 to 9.16; P= 0.349) and sexual satisfaction (AMD: 5.01; 95% CI: -0.53 to 10.56; P= 0.075). However, there was statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of mean scores of sexual contentment (AMD: 1.56; 95% CI: 0.29 to 2.83; P = 0.017) and depression (AMD: -1.90; 95% CI: -1.27 to -2.54; P < 0.001). One participant in the OXT group and one participant in the placebo group reported mild uterine contraction and one person in the placebo group reported vaginal burning sensations. CONCLUSIONS: No evidence was found for the effects of OXT gel in the improvement of FSFI, even though, OXT significantly improved sexual satisfaction in the domain of contentment, and improved the symptoms of depression in comparison to the placebo group. However, a definite conclusion requires more research in this regard. TRIAL REGISTRATION: the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT), code: IRCT20120718010324N55 , Date of registration: 27/05/2020, URL: https://en.irct.ir/user/trial/44986/view .

Evaluation of Effect of Zirconia Surface Treatment with CO2 and Nd:YAG Lasers on Shear Bond Strength between Zirconia Frameworks and Porcelain Veneers.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of zirconia surface treatment with CO2 and Nd:YAG laser on shear bond strength (SBS) between the zirconia framework and porcelain veneering. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this in vitro study, zirconia blocks were converted to 50 cubes and were divided randomly into 5 groups. After sintering (S), porcelain was applied in the control group. The surface treatment of the second to fifth groups included CO2 laser + (S), (S + CO2), Nd:YAG laser + (S), and (S + Nd), respectively. The SBS test was done, and data were analyzed by SPSS16 software. One sample was randomly chosen from each group and the type of failure was examined under scanning electron microscope (SEM). To compare the pairs of means, the least significant difference test was used and the determined significance level was 5% (p < 0.05). RESULTS: The SBS of S + Nd group was significantly higher than the other ones, except for S + CO2 group. The least amount of SBS belonged to CO2 + S and the highest to S + Nd group. There were no significant differences between the other groups. CONCLUSION: The bond strength of veneering porcelain to zirconia can be altered by surface treatments. It can also be affected by the type and sequence of laser and sintering application. The effect of Nd:YAG laser on the surface of zirconia, in order to create roughness to increase SBS, is better than that of CO2 laser. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Surface treatment of zirconia by certain types of lasers reduces the chipping of the ceramic veneer and increases the success rate of all-ceramic restorations.

Mothers view about oral health status, oral hygiene behaviors, and dental services utilization of their children with hearing impairment attending special schools.

AIM: Parents are the principal decision-makers regarding their child's health. Awareness of mothers' view about their children's health, particularly with special health care needs (SHCN) (include hearing impaired children), is essential for health care providers. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the mothers view about oral health status, oral hygiene practices, and dental services utilization of their children with hearing impairment attending special schools. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted between May and September 2020 among mothers of students with hearing impairment attending special schools. Also, the telephone structured interview was used to gathering mothers view. RESULTS: 57.4% of the mothers rated their children's oral health status as excellent or good, 27.9% as moderate, and 14.7% as poor. About half of the mothers (49.2%) stated that their children used toothbrushes once daily, and 15% use dental floss. Also, 54% of the children visited the dentist before this survey's conduct. CONCLUSION: The findings of the present study suggest that children with hearing impairment can also have good oral health status and behaviors. These results may be attributed to the fact that the study sample was taken from two special schools. Also, only the mothers' perception assessment of students' oral health status was done. Further studies are required to increase the strength of evidence.

The effect of the herbal medicine on severity of cyclic mastalgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Cyclic mastalgia is one of the most prevalent problems in women of reproductive age and sometimes it is so severe that it influences their activities and requires treatment. The available drug treatments for mastalgia are not satisfactory and most patients have inclined towards complementary and alternative medicine including herbal medicines. Therefore, in order to evaluate the effectiveness and side effects of herbal medicines conducting systematic review studies and meta-analysis seems essential, thus this systematic review was conducted with the aim of determining the effect of herbal medicines on cyclic mastalgia and its probable side effects. The databases of Pubmed, Medline, Embase, ProQuest, Scopus, Web of science, Complementary Medicine Database, SID (Scientific information database), Magiran and Iranmedex were searched from 1997 to 2020 and limited only for English and Persian languages. The studies were appraised according to the Cochrane Collaboration's tool. Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan software. Standardized mean difference (SMD) was calculated to assess an overall estimate of effectiveness for the continuous data. Odds ratio (OR) was calculated for dichotomous data. Thirty papers were included in the study. Meta-analysis of data demonstrated that herbal medicine was an effective method in reducing the severity of mastalgia compared to the placebo (SMD: -3.26, 95% CI: -5.05 to -1.46, p=0.00004). Subanalysis of data showed no difference between the effectiveness of herbal medicine on the severity of mastalgia compared to the pharmacologic treatment. This research demonstrated efficacy of herbal medicines in alleviating cyclic mastalgia. Therefore, these herbal medicines can be regarded as an alternative treatment for women suffering from cyclic mastalgia. However, due to the limited number of studies in relation to each specific herbal treatment, conducting further studies in this area is recommended.

Community-based interventions to reduce dental caries among 24-month old children: a pilot study of a field trial.

BACKGROUND: Early childhood caries (ECC) is the most common dental disease among children worldwide, leading to many difficulties on child's growth. As WHO mentioned, educational interventions in addition to interprofessional collaboration are needed to achieve proper ECC prevention. In present study we've aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of some oral health promotion interventions to reduce dental caries among 24-month old children. METHODS: A field trial study was conducted amongst 439 mothers from pregnancy up to 24 months after delivery in Public Health Centers in Varamin, Tehran, Iran. Participants were allocated to intervention (n = 239) and control groups (n = 200). Demographic, socioeconomic status and dental care behavior data were collected using a questionnaire. The content of our study intervention consisted of nutritional and behavioral oral health-related messages. Mothers received messages via either of four methods (A: comprehensive method including all other methods together (n = 74), B: group discussion by dentists (n = 59), C: face to face education by primary health care providers (n = 53), and D: social network (n = 53). The control group received routine maternal and oral health care. To assess the effectiveness of interventions on promoting children's oral health, the oral health-related behaviors data, the number of decayed teeth (d), and being caries free at the age of two were considered. RESULTS: Among the 436 examined children, with a mean age of 23.7 months, 48.2% were male. The frequency of using finger toothbrush increased from 53.4% to 89.8% in all intervention groups. The mean (SD) of decayed teeth at 24 months in intervention and control group were 0.36 (0.93) and 1.61 (2.61), respectively. All the four intervention groups, except social network, had more chance of being caries free compared to control group (P value < 0.05). Analysis showed that children in comprehensive intervention group had a higher chance of being caries free compared to all other groups, after adjustment for covariates. CONCLUSIONS: Performing oral health interventions could help the prevention of dental caries in newborn children. Also, using a combination of different methods of sending messages can have the best results in promoting oral health.

Monitoring offshore oil pollution using multi-class convolutional neural networks.

Oil and gas production operations are a major source of environmental pollution that expose people and habitats in many coastal communities around the world to adverse health effects. Detecting oil spills in a timely and precise manner can help improve the oil spill response process and channel required resources more effectively to affected regions. In this research, convolutional neural networks, a branch of artificial intelligence (AI), are trained on a visual dataset of oil spills containing images from different altitudes and geographical locations. In particular, a VGG16 model is adopted through transfer learning for oil spill classification (i.e., detecting if there is oil spill in an image) with an accuracy of 92%. Next, Mask R-CNN and PSPNet models are used for oil spill segmentation (i.e., pixel-level detection of oil spill boundaries) with a mean intersection over union (IoU) of 49% and 68%, respectively. Lastly, to determine if there is an oil rig or vessel in the vicinity of a detected oil spill and provide a holistic view of the oil spill surroundings, a YOLOv3 model is trained and used, yielding a maximum mean average precision (mAP) of ~71%. Findings of this research can improve the current practices of oil pollution cleanup and predictive maintenance, ultimately leading to more resilient and healthy coastal communities.