Assessment of Orthodontic Treatment Need in Kosovar Children

Background: To date, no survey was done in Kosovo for the identification of orthodontic treatment needs. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of orthodontic treatment need among Kosovar children of ages 11-13, using the DAI and the DHC-IOTN in the identification of orthodontic treatment need. Methods: A sample of 185 children (50.3% female, 49.7% male), aged between 11-13, was randomly selected from one elementary school in Prishtina. Orthodontic treatment need was measured using the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) and the dental health component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (DHC-IOTN). Results: Based on DAI, treatment was found as elective in 11.9 percent of the children. Treatment was found as highly desirable and mandatory in 5.9 percent and 4.3 percent of children, respectively. No gender-based significant differences were noted. According to IOTN DHC: 16.2 percent of children had borderline treatment need, while 66.5 percent had severe and extreme treatment need (grades 4 and 5). Again, no significant gender-based differences in the treatment need were found. Conclusion: High prevalence of orthodontic treatment need was identified in Kosovar children of ages 11-13, while no gender-based statistically significant differences were noted in the need for orthodontic treatment.

Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need of Patients undergoing Orthodontic Treatment at BPKIHS, Dharan

Introduction: Measurement of the severity of malocclusion is assessed with various indices among which Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) is widely used for clinical and epidemiological purpose. Objective: To find out the treatment need of patients who are undergoing orthodontic treatment.Materials & Method: 207 patients (71 male, 136 female) fulfilling the inclusion criteria were assessed for the dental health component (DHC) and aesthetic component (AC) of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) by a single investigator. DHC was assessed with study models, whereas AC with intraoral frontal photograph.Result: Examination of DHC showed that 1 patient (0.5%) had no need; 20 patients (9.7%) had mild/little need; 50 patients (24.2%) had moderate/borderline need; 97 (46.9%) had severe need; 39 patients (18.8%) had extreme treatment need. Similarly, 7 patients (3.4%) had AC 1; 18 patients (8.7%) had AC 2; 13 patients (6.3%) had AC 3; 32 patients (15.5%) had AC 4; 34 patients (16.4%) had AC 5; 25 patients (12.1%) had AC 6; 18 patients (8.7%) had AC 7; 35 patients (16.9%) had AC 8; 15 patients (7.2%) had AC 9; 10 patients (4.8%) had AC 10.Conclusion: Among the patients who were undergoing orthodontic treatment, majority were in severe/extreme treatment need, however few with no treatment need were also found.Orthodontic Journal of Nepal, Vol. 6 No. 1, June 2016, pp.23-26

Optimized Prediction of Extreme Treatment Outcomes in Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of death among female cancers. Front-line therapy for ovarian cancer is platinum-based chemotherapy. However, the response of patients is highly nonuniform. The TCGA database of serous ovarian carcinomas shows that ~10% of patients respond poorly to platinum-based chemotherapy, with tumors relapsing in seven months or less. Another 10% or so enjoy disease-free survival of three years or more. The objective of the present research is to identify a small number of highly predictive biomarkers that can distinguish between the two extreme responders and then extrapolate to all patients. This is achieved using the lone star algorithm that is specifically developed for biological applications. Using this algorithm, we are able to identify biomarker panels of 25 genes (of 12,000 genes) that can be used to classify patients into one of the three groups: super responders, medium responders, and nonresponders. We are also able to determine a discriminant function that can divide the entire patient population into two classes, such that one group has a clear survival advantage over the other. These biomarkers are developed using the TCGA Agilent platform data and cross-validated on the TCGA Affymetrix platform data, as well as entirely independent data from Tothill et al. The P-values on the training data are extremely small, sometimes below machine zero, while the P-values on cross-validation are well below the widely accepted threshold of 0.05.

Epidemiology of Malocclusion and Assessment of Orthodontic Treatment Need for Nepalese Children

Objective. To evaluate the prevalence of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment needs among 12- to 15-year-old schoolchildren in eastern Nepal and compare the findings with those of other populations. Methods. Two thousand seventy-four children (1149 males and 925 females) aged between 12 and 15 years were evaluated. Their orthodontic treatment need was assessed using the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Needs (IOTN) (dental health component (DHC)). Angle’s classes of malocclusion were also evaluated. Results. The prevalence of classes I, II, and III was 48.50%, 32.68%, and 4.32%, respectively. The IOTN showed that 21.59% had an extreme treatment need, 24.67% had severe treatment need, 24.07% had moderate treatment need, 14.7% had mild treatment need, and 15.02% had no treatment need. Conclusion. Class I malocclusion is the most common, while class III is the least prevalent in eastern Nepal. The majority of the children need orthodontic treatment.

Effect of ocean acidification on otolith development in larvae of a tropical marine fish

Calcification in many invertebrate species is predicted to decline due to ocean acidification. The potential effects of elevated CO2 and reduced carbonate saturation state on other species, such as fish, are less well understood. Fish otoliths (earbones) are composed of aragonite, and thus, might be susceptible to either the reduced availability of carbonate ions in seawater at low pH, or to changes in extracellular concentrations of bicarbonate and carbonate ions caused by acid-base regulation in fish exposed to high pCO2. We reared larvae of the clownfish Amphiprion percula from hatching to settlement at three pHNBS and pCO2 levels (control: ~pH 8.15 and 404 μatm CO2; intermediate: pH 7.8 and 1050 μatm CO2; extreme: pH 7.6 and 1721 μatm CO2) to test the possible effects of ocean acidification on otolith development. There was no effect of the intermediate treatment (pH 7.8 and 1050 μatm CO2) on otolith size, shape, symmetry between left and right otoliths, or otolith elemental chemistry, compared with controls. However, in the more extreme treatment (pH 7.6 and 1721 μatm CO2) otolith area and maximum length were larger than controls, although no other traits were significantly affected. Our results support the hypothesis that pH regulation in the otolith endolymph can lead to increased precipitation of CaCO3 in otoliths of larval fish exposed to elevated CO2, as proposed by an earlier study, however, our results also show that sensitivity varies considerably among species. Importantly, our results suggest that otolith development in clownfishes is robust to even the more pessimistic changes in ocean chemistry predicted to occur by 2100.

Effect of ocean acidification on otolith development in larvae of a tropical marine fish

Calcification in many invertebrate species is predicted to decline due to ocean acidification. The potential effects of elevated pCO2 and reduced carbonate saturation state on other species, such as fish, are less well understood. Fish otoliths (earbones) are composed of aragonite, and thus, might be susceptible to either the reduced availability of carbonate ions in seawater at low pH, or to changes in extracellular concentrations of bicarbonate and carbonate ions caused by acid-base regulation in fish exposed to high pCO2. We reared larvae of the clownfish Amphiprion percula from hatching to settlement at three pHNBS and pCO2 levels (control: pH 8.15 and 404 μatm CO2; intermediate: pH 7.8 and 1050 μatm CO2; extreme: pH 7.6 and 1721 μatm CO2) to test the possible effects of ocean acidification on otolith development. There was no effect of the intermediate treatment (pH 7.8 and 1050 μatm CO2) on otolith size, shape, symmetry between left and right otoliths, or otolith elemental chemistry, compared with controls. However, in the more extreme treatment (pH 7.6 and 1721 μatm CO2) otolith area and maximum length were larger than controls, although no other traits were affected. Our results support the hypothesis that pH regulation in the otolith endolymph of fish exposed to elevated pCO2 can lead to increased precipitation of CaCO3 in otoliths of larval fish, as proposed by an earlier study, however, our results also show that sensitivity varies considerably among species. Importantly, our results suggest that otolith development in clownfishes is robust to even the more pessimistic changes in ocean chemistry predicted to occur by 2100.

The Ti Group and the 5B, 6B, 7B and 8B Heavy Elements

The elements to be treated in this chapter may be considered to be of three types. All of them show one species which dominates the water domain in the E–pH diagram. The dominant species in the E–pH diagrams and the elements which display it are as follows: (1) an insoluble oxide: Ti, Zr, Hf (Group 4B) and Nb, Ta (Group 5B), (2) a high-oxidation-state anion: Mo, W (Group 6B) and Tc, Re (Group 7B), (3) a noble metal: Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, Pt (Group 8B). These five elements all show highly stable inert oxides which occupy the majority of the water domain in their E–pH diagrams. This can be seen in Figures 13.1 through 13.5. The three 4B oxides (TiO2, ZrO2, HfO2) are insoluble in HOH, dilute acids, dilute bases, and concentrated bases, but are soluble in strong concentrated acids to give TiO+2, ZrO+2, and HfO+2. The two 5B oxides (Nb2O5, Ta2O5) are insoluble in HOH, dilute acids, and dilute bases, but Nb2O5 dissolves in concentrated bases whereas Ta2O5 does not. All the elements in their highest oxidation state are hard cations and therefore will be particularly attracted to the hard atoms F and O. a. E–pH diagram. The E–pH diagram in Figure 13.1 shows Ti in oxidation states of 0, II, III, and IV. In the legend of the diagram, equations for the lines between the species are presented. Table 13.1 displays ions and compounds of Ti. The metal appears to be very active, but a thin refractory oxide coating renders it inactive to all but extreme treatment. Ions and compounds in oxidation states of II and III are unstable with regard to atmospheric O2 and also with regard to HOH except for Ti+3 in strongly acidic solution. b. Discovery, occurrence, and extraction. Ti, named after the Titans, the mythological first sons of the earth, was discovered by Gregor in 1791 in the mineral menachanite, a variety of ilmenite. The major sources of Ti are the minerals rutile TiO2 and ilmenite FeTiO3. They are treated with Cl2 and C at elevated temperatures to generate gaseous TiCl4 which condenses to a colorless liquid at 136°C.