BMC Research Notes最新文献

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of prosthetic rehabilitation of edentulous patients using conventional complete dentures (CD), single median dental implant retained over dentures (SIMOD) with over dentures retained by two dental implants (TIMOD).

Methods: Thirty completely edentulous patients (fifteen each arm) presented to the Faculty of Dental Sciences, University of Peradeniya were randomly selected for the SIMOD or TIMOD groups. Patients were initially provided with CD. Surgical implant placement and prosthetic procedures were conducted at the Faculty of Dental Sciences. Osseointergration was confirmed, healing caps and then ball attachments were fixed on the implants. Clinical outcome was assessed by clinician, patient, and oral health related quality of life (OHRQOL) using OHIP-14 scale. Data were analyzed using Minitab P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant level.

Results: Patient comfort, esthetics, chewing, speech, general satisfaction, denture retention, stability, and support with TIMOD & SIMOD had been significantly increased than CD (p < 0.05) at 3, 6 months, and 1 year review. OHIP-14 scale showed statistically significant improved oral health related quality of life with SIMOD and TIMOD compared to CD.

Conclusion: SIMOD & TIMOD have improved outcome assessed by the patient and clinician and OHRQOL of the individual than CD. SIMOD can also be considered for successful management of completely edentulous patients.

The adaxial leaf surface of butterworts (Pinguicula L.) presents specialized structures for carnivory, such as trichomes and sessile glands. The micromorphology of abaxial leaf surfaces has rarely been investigated; therefore, this study aimed to compare the micromorphology of adaxial and abaxial surfaces through electron scanning microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy (LM). We selected four species occurring in the Eastern Alps. All the species showed the same pattern: trichomes and sessile glands occurring only on the adaxial surface; stomata occurring on both surfaces with significant differences in density and size; and four-cells glands occurring only on the abaxial surface. The four-cells gland is a micromorphological structure that has never been described before, and its eco-physiological function needs to be investigated.

Objective: Prior research has shown strong evidence of spatial clustering of tuberculosis across a range of contexts. Identifying the spatial patterning of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis is crucial as it allows for targeted intervention strategies, directing healthcare resources efficiently to areas where tuberculosis incidence is concentrated. This is especially true for low- and middle-income countries that typically experience greater resource constraints relative to their Global North counterparts. In this study, we extend existing literature by investigating the spatial patterning of tuberculosis among vulnerable communities in South Africa, notably in the relatively under-researched provinces of the North-West and Gauteng.

Results: Data for this study were collected from several locations implementing community-oriented primary care in the country. Community health workers used AitaHealth™, a custom-built mobile information management application, to obtain data on tuberculosis status and environmental conditions of households. We find notable clusters of tuberculosis in these provinces which we speculate could be associated with urban formal and informal settlement densification and overcrowding, the incidence of mining activities prevalent in sampled locations and poor access to healthcare.

Objectives: This study aimed to analyse the epidemiological patterns of paediatric snake bites in Sri Lanka over a 4-year period (2020-2024).

Methods: A multi-centre, retrospective observational study was conducted from June 2020 to June 2024 across nine governmental hospitals in seven provinces of Sri Lanka. Data were collected based on 757 children presenting with snake bites. The snake bites were analysed based on age, gender, and seasonal variations. Data on the type of snake involved, geographic variations and the temporal trends in snake bite occurrences were also analysed.

Results: The mean age of the 757 children recruited to the study was 10.3 years (SD-5.00, range-0.1-17 years). Males (57.7%) were significantly more affected than females (42.3%) (p < 0.05). Visual identification confirmed the snake species in 58.4% of cases. The hump-nosed viper (16.7%), Russell's viper (14.7%), and common krait (12.9%) were the most common medically important snakes identified in the study. Seasonal peaks in snake bites occurred in May-July and November-December. An increasing trend in snake bite incidence was noted over the first three years, with a slight decline in the final year.

Conclusion: Paediatric snake bites in Sri Lanka show significant age, gender, and seasonal patterns. Targeted public health interventions are needed to mitigate the impact on children.

Background: The nasopharynx is characterised by a rich microbial diversity, making it an important endogenous reservoir for respiratory infections. People living with diabetes (PLWD) have a high risk for acquisition of respiratory tract infections, but their nasopharyngeal bacterial flora have rarely been investigated.

Aim: To investigate the nasopharyngeal bacterial flora among PLWD and non-diabetics at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.

Methodology: This study was a case-control one, involving 130 each of PLWD and non-diabetics. Nasopharyngeal swab specimens were obtained from the participants and cultured for bacteria, which were identified using MALDITOF mass spectrometry.

Results: The bacterial flora present in the anterior nares of the participants of both study groups was characterised by a rich diversity, comprising both Gram-positives and Gram-negatives. In the diabetics, the dominant bacteria were Acinetobacter baumannii (19.6%), Staphylococcus epidermidis (18.12%), Staphylococcus aureus (15.2%), and Rahnella aquatilis (12.3%). In the control group, however, the dominant bacteria were Staphylococcus epidermidis (21.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (19.0%), Proteus mirabilis (10.9%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (10.2%), Acinetobacter baumannii (8.8%), and Enterobacter cloacae (7.2%). Between groups, Acinetobacter baumannii (19.6% vs. 8.8%, p = 0.014) and Rahnella aquatilis (12.3% vs. 0.0%, p < 0.001) recorded a significantly higher prevalence in the diabetes group than in the control group. On the contrary, Klebsiella pneumoniae (0.0% vs. 4.4%, p = 0.003), Proteus mirabilis (2.2% vs. 10.9%, p = 0.006), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (0.7% vs. 10.2%, p < 0.001) had significantly lower prevalence than in the control group.

Conclusion: The nasopharyngeal bacterial flora of PLWD in Accra seems to have comparable diversities with those of non-diabetics. Nonetheless, the PLWD had a higher carriage rate of Acinetobacter baumannii but seem to have some protection against carriage of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Objectives: Image file fragment classification is a critical area of study in digital forensics. However, many publicly available datasets in this field are derived from a single source, often lacking consideration of the diversity in image settings and content. To demonstrate the effectiveness of a given methodology, it is essential to evaluate it using datasets that are sampled from varied data sources. Therefore, providing a sufficiently diverse dataset is crucial to enable a realistic assessment of any proposed method.

Data description: The dataset includes image file fragments of 4096 bytes from five formats (JPG, BMP, GIF, PNG, and TIFF), each processed with different conversion settings. The source images are categorized into three content types: Nature, People, and Medical. In total, the dataset contains 501,000 fragments. These fragments consist of file headers and incomplete end-of-file fragments, completed with random bytes to approximate how operating systems handle data when file sizes are not multiples of the sector size. This approach aims to simulate typical scenarios where fragments are recovered from a hard drive, though it may not capture all real-world complexities such as data corruption and complex file structures.

Objective: Today, air medical services play a key part in providing emergency medical services in accidents and disasters in many countries, including Iran. The present study aims to investigate the barriers to air medical services in accidents and disasters in Iran and suggest solutions to them.

Results: Analysis of the qualitative data resulted in extraction of 84 codes, which were classified into 13 subcategories and eventually into four themes, namely planning, management of resources, updating procedures, and empowerment of human resources. The findings also underscored the role of general policies, safety of flights and the scene of the accident, the cost and length of arriving at the scene of the accident, training programs designed to enhance the personnel's preparation, and management of disasters and accidents. Senior medical emergency services managers can use the findings of the present study to identify the challenges which pre-hospital emergency care personnel are faced to air medical services in accidents and disasters and take the necessary measures to eliminate them toward improving the quality of pre-hospital care in air medical services in accidents and disasters.

Objective: This study examines the impact of preoperative stress on postoperative neuroinflammation and associated cognitive dysfunction, with a focus on aged individuals. The goal is to determine whether managing preoperative stress can enhance postoperative outcomes and lower the risk of cognitive impairment.

Results: In aged rats, preoperative restraint stress significantly worsened neuroinflammation and cognitive deficits following abdominal surgery. Elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines were observed in the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex two days post-surgery, and these effects persisted for twenty-eight days. In contrast, adult rats did not show significant changes in neuroinflammation or cognitive function due to preoperative restraint stress. An ex vivo analysis indicated that hippocampal microglia from aged rats exhibited an intensified proinflammatory response to lipopolysaccharide stimulation, further heightened by preoperative restraint stress. These findings suggest that managing preoperative stress could mitigate these adverse effects, leading to better postoperative recovery and cognitive health in elderly patients.

Objective: This study investigated copper (Cu) status in relation to abdominal obesity indices and liver function in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This case-control study was carried out on 80 overweight/obese patients with NAFLD and 80 apparently healthy age, sex, and body mass index (BMI)-matched controls. A validated and reliable 168-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was completed for each subject and fasting serum levels of liver aminotransferases, ferritin, Cu and ceruloplasmin were assessed.

Results: Mean intakes of energy and carbophydrate were significantly lower in patients with NAFLD than the control group while mean protein intake was highre (p < 0.05). Although mean Cu intake was greater in cases than controls, low dietary intake of Cu was found in 7.5% and 32.5% of the cases and controls, respectively. Apart from serum levels of liver aminotransferases (p < 0.001) and ferritin (p = 0.010), no significant differences were found in serum levels of Cu and ceruloplasmin. Serum and dietary Cu were positively correlated with obesity indices and serum ceruloplasmin was correlated with waist to height ratio and ferritin only in cases (p < 0.05). Low Cu intake (< 0.95 mg/day) was more likely to increase the odds of NAFLD (p for trend = 0.002), after adjusting for potential confounders.

Objective: Having a positive reputation generally yields more social benefits than a negative one. While individuals typically strive for a good reputation, their concern for it varies. This pre-registered study investigates how reputation concerns influence others' social evaluations of a protagonist, particularly in the context of leadership. In this study, participants (N = 363) read profiles of individuals exhibiting either high or low concern for their reputation and rated their suitability for leadership in both competitive and cooperative settings.

Results: Results indicated that in intergroup competitive situations, individuals with low reputation concerns were more likely to be endorsed as leaders compared to those with high reputation concerns (Leadership endorsement scores: M_low = 4.00, M_high = 3.23, p < .001, η_p² = 0.09). In contrast, in intergroup cooperative situations, individuals with high reputation concerns were more likely to be endorsed as leaders (M_low = 3.30, M_high = 3.76, p < .001, η_p² = 0.04). This study extends previous research on the factors influencing leadership endorsement and provides valuable insights into how individuals are endorsed as leaders across different contexts.