OBJECTIVE: To propose comprehensive criteria for defining "deep drop (DD)", assess the incidence of DD in uroflowmetry curves of healthy children and adolescents, and to evaluate the inter-rater agreement for this new definition.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study defines DD as a "sudden decrease of flow ≥√Qmax followed by a rebound of flow ≥2 ml/s". 1787 participants, aged 5-18 years, took 3158 uroflowmetry measurements. Uroflowmetry with artefacts (n = 466) as illustrated in the Supplementary Figure and low voided volume (VV) (n = 1425) were excluded.
RESULTS: Of the 1267 uroflowmetry curves included in the analysis, 16.0 %, 7.4 % and 7.3 % had one, two, and ≥three DDs, respectively. The incidence of any DD increased from 26.1 % at VV 50-75 ml of estimated bladder capacity (EBC) to 51.2 % at VV >150 % of EBC (see Supplementary Table). Excluding uroflowmetry with large voided volume (LVV), the incidence of deep drops decreased to 15.7 %, 6.7 %, and 5.2 % for one, two, and three deep drops, respectively. Among 261 participants with two uroflowmetry measurements, 53.3 % had no DD on both occasions, while 4.6 % and 1.5 % had ≥ two and ≥three DDs on both occasions, respectively.
CONCLUSION: DDs are common in the uroflowmetry of healthy subjects, but ≥2 DDs are uncommon. Based on these findings, the occurrence of ≥2 DDs on uroflowmetry, particularly if observed repeatedly, may warrant further evaluation for possible LUTD. Further research is needed to determine the validity of the DD definition and number of DD required to define the staccato pattern by correlating the urodynamic findings of patients with DD.
METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted where all the active smokers registered in the smoking cessation program from 2018 to 2023 were recruited. They were grouped into face-to-face interventions and hybrid virtual consultations. All data were obtained from the smoking cessation program registry. The primary outcome was point abstinence (PA) at week 7 (1-month post-quit date), biochemically verified with carbon monoxide (CO) Smokerlyzer for both face-to-face and hybrid groups.
RESULTS: A total of 156 participants were included in this study, including face-to-face (99 participants) and hybrid virtual consultation (57 participants). The mean age of face-to-face and hybrid group participants was 51 and 48 years, respectively. In general, hybrid virtual consultation was more feasible, as evidenced by a lower defaulter rate and a higher rate of participants graduating at the end of the program than face-to-face consultation. The effectiveness of smoking cessation was also higher in hybrid consultation, with a higher abstinence rate at weeks 4 and 7, with percentages of 42.1% and 56.1%, respectively. Additionally, the hybrid group maintained a high continuous abstinence rate (CAR) from week 7 to 24, with a percentage of 56.1%.
CONCLUSIONS: Hybrid virtual consultation was more effective, as evidenced by higher smoking cessation at week 7 (1-month post-quit date) and CAR from week 7 to week 24 compared to the face-to-face group. Telemedicine or teleconsultation should be easily available for smoking cessation programs, and healthcare providers should consider incorporating hybrid models into them to fully utilize the program and improve outcomes.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: The researchers employed a cross-sectional research design vis-à-vis a web-based survey method to collect data. Data were collected from a nationally representative sample of 1931 internet users across Pakistan. Participation in the study was voluntary. Data collection continued for four months, from Mar 1, 2024, to Jun 30, 2024.
RESULTS: The "results" of structural equation modeling show that misinformation and disinformation substantially structure risk perception regarding hepatitis, which, in turn, impacts problem recognition, involvement recognition, and constraint recognition. Besides, the outcomes uncovered that the chain of problem identification impacts situational motivation, which drives risk communication behaviors. Also, these risk communication behaviors are closely linked to individuals' motivation to receive the hepatitis vaccine.
CONCLUSION: This research concludes that managing misinformation and disinformation via strategically designed, valid, and reliable digital interventions improves the public's active response regarding willingness to get vaccinated against hepatitis. This study contributes to increasing public acceptance of the hepatitis vaccine by utilizing reliable and valid digital interventions to achieve a more active public health response.
METHODS: A PubMed/MEDLINE search (2015-2024) was conducted to identify studies on malaria vaccine development, implementation barriers, efficacy, and vaccination hesitancy. Clinical trials, reviews, and global health reports were included based on relevance to the review aims. No strict inclusion criteria were applied, and selection was guided by key review themes and policy relevance.
RESULTS: The introduction of pre-erythrocytic malaria vaccines (RTS,S/AS01 and R21/Matrix-M), represents an important milestone in malaria control efforts with promising results from the erythrocytic vaccine RH5.1/Matrix-M in recent clinical trials. However, the approval of these vaccines is accompanied by significant challenges such as the limited efficacy, the complexity of multi-dose regimens, and numerous barriers to widespread implementation in resource-limited settings. The review identified the complex challenges to broad malaria vaccination coverage, including logistical barriers, healthcare infrastructure effect, financial limitations, malaria vaccine hesitancy, among other obstacles in malaria-endemic regions. Promising developments in malaria vaccination, such as next-generation candidates (eg, mRNA-based vaccines), hold the potential to offer improved efficacy, longer-lasting protection, and greater scalability. There is a critical need to integrate malaria vaccination efforts with established malaria control interventions (eg, insecticide-treated bed nets, vector control strategies, and anti-malarial drugs).
CONCLUSION: Achieving sustained control of malaria morbidity and mortality will require strong global collaboration, sufficient funding, and continuous efforts to address inequities in access and delivery of malaria control measures including the malaria vaccines.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: Computed tomography (CT)-based liver HDR-IBT using Oncentra Brachy treatment planning system (TPS) plans of patients with malignant liver tumor (MLT) from September 2018 to June 2023 were reviewed to identify patients, whose diaphragm and lung tissue were within 100% prescription isodose. These organs at risk (OARs) were contoured in axial CT slices. Maximum point dose (Dmax), dose to 0.2 cc, 0.5 cc, 1 cc (D0.2cc, D0.5cc, D1cc), and volume receiving 30 Gy and 50 Gy (V30Gy and V50Gy) were analyzed. Toxicity data of these patients were retrieved from hospital electronic records.
RESULTS: The analysis included 27 patients with 43 and 36 MLTs, whose 100% prescription isodose of liver HDR-IBT plan was within diaphragm and lung tissue. Median prescription dose was 25 Gy (range, 15-25 Gy) in single-fraction. Median Dmax, D0.2cc, D0.5cc, and D1cc of the diaphragm were 302 Gy (range, 54-396 Gy), 68 Gy (range, 38-234 Gy), 48 Gy (range, 32-128 Gy), and 35 Gy (range, 27-88 Gy), while for the lung, 90 Gy (range, 39-295 Gy), 55 Gy (range, 32-207 Gy), 44 Gy (range, 29-117 Gy), and 34 Gy (range, 25-79 Gy), respectively. Median V30Gy and V50Gy for the diaphragm were 1.1 cc (range, 0-5.8 cc) and 0.2 cc (range, 0-2.5 cc), while for the lung, 0.8 cc (range, 0-10.1 cc) and 0.1 cc (range, 0-2.3 cc), receptively. Two patients with repeated HDR-IBT sessions received cumulative Dmax diaphragm of 698 Gy and 792 Gy. At median follow-up of 23 months, no patient reported any suspicious symptom of radiation-induced diaphragm or lung injury.
CONCLUSIONS: This is the first publication reporting diaphragm and lung tissue dose-volume and clinical toxicity in liver HDR-IBT. Small volume of diaphragm and lung tissue tolerated extreme high radiation doses [5 times of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) range in single fraction] without clinically significant toxicity. A standardized reporting for diaphragm and lung dose volume is needed for future liver HDR-IBT studies. The results of the current study can be employed in future for expanded indication of brachytherapy, such as CT-guided trans-thoracic lung brachytherapy.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty fifth-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery students were divided into 3 groups. Group 1 (n=16) used the paralleling technique, group 2 (n=17) employed the conventional BAT, and group 3 (n=17) utilized the laser-assisted BAT on mannequins. Two independent oral radiologists assessed the quality of the radiographs, categorizing the images as either diagnostically acceptable or not acceptable. Inter-group comparisons of quality and error rates were conducted using the chi-square test (significance level: P<0.05).
RESULTS: The paralleling technique group produced 77.5% diagnostically acceptable radiographs and 22.5% that were not diagnostically acceptable. These percentages were 65.3% and 34.7%, respectively, in the conventional BAT group and 75.3% and 24.7%, respectively, in the laser-assisted BAT group, showing results similar to the paralleling technique group. The quality of radiographs differed significantly among the groups (P<0.05). The percentage of error-free radiographs was 38.1% in the paralleling technique group, 20.6% in the conventional BAT group, and 40.0% in the laser-assisted BAT group, with these differences being statistically significant (P<0.05).
CONCLUSION: The device produced higher acceptability and fewer radiographic errors than the conventional BAT technique, suggesting accurate adjustment of the X-ray cone and central beam to the desired teeth.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: A dataset of 801 panoramic radiographs from outpatients aged 5 to 15 years was used. A CNN model for dental age estimation was developed using a 16-layer CNN architecture implemented in Python with TensorFlow and Scikit-learn, guided by the London Atlas of Tooth Development. The model included 6 convolutional layers for feature extraction, each followed by a pooling layer to reduce the spatial dimensions of the feature maps. A confusion matrix was used to evaluate key performance metrics, including accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score.
RESULTS: The proposed model achieved an overall accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score of 74% on the validation set. The highest F1 scores were observed in the 10-year and 12-year age groups, indicating superior performance in these categories. In contrast, the 6-year age group demonstrated the highest misclassification rate, highlighting potential challenges in accurately estimating age in younger individuals.
CONCLUSION: Integrating a CNN algorithm for dental age estimation represents a significant advancement in forensic odontology. The application of AI improves both the precision and efficiency of age estimation processes, providing results that are more reliable and objective than those obtained via traditional methods.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-025-04287-5.
METHODS: Forty men in the age range 18 to 40 were included in the study. Fifteen bodybuilders (2-3 weekly upper body resistance training sessions, moderate-to-high intensity, > 6 months) and 25 non-sportsperson controls participated. All were free of tendon injuries in the studied muscles (biceps, supraspinatus, infraspinatus). Two independent physiatrists measured tendon thickness using ultrasound.
RESULTS: No significant differences in tendon thickness were found between bodybuilders and non-sportsperson controls (dominant/non-dominant sides). However, within the bodybuilding group, tendon thickness showed strong positive correlations with both training intensity (r = 0.59-0.84) and exercise duration (r = 0.71-0.88).
CONCLUSION: This study found no overall group differences in tendon thickness between bodybuilders and non-sportsperson controls. However, for bodybuilders, increased training intensity and duration were associated with thicker tendons. Further research with larger samples and advanced techniques is warranted to understand the complex relationship between resistance training and tendon adaptations.