Nevin Manimala

J Cosmet Dermatol. 2023 Jan 31. doi: 10.1111/jocd.15648. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Melasma is a human melanogenesis dysfunction that results in localized, chronic acquired hypermelanosis of the skin difficult to treat.

METHODS: This prospective, randomized, single-blind, study aimed to compare the efficacy and tolerability of a liposomal emulsion based on Politranexamide® (SAMPLE A) with that of a competitor based on acetylglucosamine, ethyl linoleate and phenyl ethyl resorcinol (SAMPLE B) in patients affected by facial melasma on 26 patients. Disease severity was assessed by the Melasma Area Severity Index (MASI) at baseline and after 6 and 12 weeks of therapy. All patients were subjected to photo documentation using DermaView camera and Antera 3D camera.

RESULTS: The mean MASI score at baseline was 10.93 ± 7 in the group A and 9.34 ± 6.29 in the group B, respectively. A significant decrease in MASI score from baseline was noted in both treatment groups as early as 6 weeks of follow-up (p = 0.00096 for SAMPLE A and p = 0.0049 for SAMPLE B) and was confirmed at the end of the treatment (p = 0.0006 for SAMPLE A and p = 0.00039 for SAMPLE B). Intergroup comparison revealed a greater improvement of melasma among patients in group A compared to those in group B that was quite statistically significant at weeks 6 (p = 0.055009) and significant after 12 weeks of follow-up (p = 0.032942). Both treatment groups experienced an improvement in Antera average level of melanin.

CONCLUSION: Our results suggested Politranexamide® to be a useful and safe therapeutic option in treating melasma, more effective than competitor used in this study.

PMID:36718844 | DOI:10.1111/jocd.15648

J Cosmet Dermatol. 2023 Jan 31. doi: 10.1111/jocd.15643. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The perpendicular plate of ethmoid (PPE) was used to correct short noses in rhinoplasty in Asians, but the safe harvest of the plate and the assessment of its clinical application has been perplexing to plastic surgeons.

AIMS: To explore how to safely cut the perpendicular plate of ethmoid bone and evaluate its application effect.

PATIENTS/METHODS: A finite element model was established to guide the clinical operation. A total of 30 patients with short noses were selected. Among them, 15 patients used autologous septal cartilage to lengthen the nasal tip, and 15 patients used the PPE to strengthen the L-shape nasal septum. The differences in the esthetic parameters of the nose, complications, and patients’ satisfaction were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS: Significant differences were noted in the nasal dorsal length (p = 0.001), Goode’s ratio (p = 0.001), and nasofrontal angle (p = 0.003) after rhinoplasty, and no significant differences were noted in any of the esthetic parameters between the two groups. The symptoms of nasal obstruction in the experimental group were significantly lighter than those in the control group (p = 0.04). There was no statistically significant difference in the doctors’ assessment of outcomes between the two groups (p = 0.48).

CONCLUSION: The safest region to harvest the PPE is in the middle and lower third. Rhinoplasty improves the esthetics of the patient’s nose. The PPE used to strengthen the L-shape nasal septum structure has a smaller probability of nasal septal deviation with the time in Asian short noses.

PMID:36718843 | DOI:10.1111/jocd.15643

J Cosmet Dermatol. 2023 Jan 31. doi: 10.1111/jocd.15609. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Acne has a high impact on patients being a chronic, common, and visible skin condition. Knowledge regarding treatment improves outcomes. The Cardiff Acne Disability Index (CADI) is commonly used in clinical practice for quality-of-life assessment. It has been validated in many languages, however, not in Romanian.

AIMS: To validate the Romanian adaptation of the CADI and educational materials for acne patients.

PATIENTS AND METHOD: A 12-week prospective cross-sectional Web-based study, including 3rd- to 5th-year medical students attending our university was conducted. We obtained permission from the CADI copyright owner and performed the steps of the standardized translation process. The Romanian CADI adaptation was delivered online in a test-retest setup, during which participants were offered acne educational materials and completed a knowledge evaluation questionnaire.

RESULTS: A total of 95 complete answers were analyzed. The Romanian CADI adaptation showed good internal consistency, with Cronbach’s α = 0.807 in the first application and Cronbach’s α = 0.839 in the second. High test-retest reliability was observed, with interclass correlation coefficient ICC = 0.987 and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient r_s = 0.970 for the overall CADI scores between the two administrations. The mean baseline score in the knowledge evaluation questionnaire was 15.52 points (±1.556), with a statistically significant improvement after exposure to the educational material (Z = -7.207, p < 0.001). This material was considered useful or very useful by 78(82.8%) participants.

CONCLUSION: Romanian acne patients can benefit from CADI, a reliable and disease-specific tool for quality-of-life evaluation, together with validated, guideline-aligned educational material in their language.

PMID:36718840 | DOI:10.1111/jocd.15609

J Cosmet Dermatol. 2023 Jan 31. doi: 10.1111/jocd.15622. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Oral licen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disease and may have immunological background. Both intralesional injection of PRP and steroids succeeded in treating and decreasing recurrence of the disease.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-four participants with clinically diagnosed as OLP were enrolled in this study. We separated the patients in 2 groups, 12 patients in group A were treated by intralesional PRP every two weeks for 2 months or stopped if healing occurred earlier. Group B (12 patients) treated by intralesional Triamcinolone Acetonide (TA) (20 mg) every two weeks for 2 months or may be less if healing occurred earlier. The response of OLP lesions to treatment was evaluated by reduction of lesional areas, REU scores, and NRS scores. The patients with complete response (CR; 80%-100% reduction in the lesion area) were followed for 3 months biweekly.

RESULTS: There was a statistically significant decrease in REU and pain score in both groups after treatment compared to before. There was a statistically increase in frequency of side effects among patients received PRP especially pain compared to those treated by steroid. Also, recurrence of the disease after treatment during follow-up for 3 months was more significant among patients treated by PRP.

CONCLUSION: Intralesional PRP is a good and safe modality for treatment of OLP and intralesional TA. However, there were some side effects and recurrence of disease after follow-up for three months in patients treated by PRP more than those treated by TA.

PMID:36718838 | DOI:10.1111/jocd.15622

J Cosmet Dermatol. 2023 Jan 31. doi: 10.1111/jocd.15634. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Consequently, the management of post burn hypertrophic scars and keloid in children are a great challenge for the physicians, parents, and children themselves.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: To assess the efficacy and safety of treating hypertrophic and keloid scars with botulinum toxins injections.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a randomized intra-patient comparative study was conducted on 15 children with post burn hypertrophic and keloid scars. Children were randomized to receive Intralesional injection of botulinum toxins on one part of the hypertrophic scar/keloid where the other part was left as a control. The assessment of clinical improvement was measured by the Vancouver scar scale (VSS) and by skin analysis camera system. Sessions were performed every month for 6 months.

RESULTS: Clinical and statistical dramatic improvement in the vascularity, pliability, and height of the lesions which have been injected with neuronox. Evaluation of the lesions by the Antera camera has proven marked changes in the vascularity and height. There was no correlations between Vancouver score improvement and variables such as the age, sex, skin type, and duration and lesion type.

CONCLUSIONS: The botulinum toxins proved its efficacy and safety in treatment of hypertrophic scars and keloid in children. It improved the associated itching and pain. Moreover it improves the pliability, erythema, and thickness of the scars.

PMID:36718819 | DOI:10.1111/jocd.15634

Interact J Med Res. 2023 Jan 31. doi: 10.2196/40883. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Despite significant improvement in the last decade, road trauma remains a significant contributor to deaths in Vietnam. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated public health measures which had an unforeseen benefit on road trauma in high income countries. We investigate if this reduction was also seen in a low to middle income country, Vietnam.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government policies to address it, impacted on road trauma fatalities in Vietnam. We also compared this impact with other government policies intended to road trauma in the preceding 14 years (2007 to 2020).

METHODS: COVID-19 data was extracted from the Vietnamese Ministry of Health (MoH) database. Road traffic deaths from 2007 to 2021 were derived from the Vietnamese General Statistical Office (GSO). We used Stata software 17 for statistical analysis. Poisson regression modelling, with the logarithm of the national population of Vietnam of each year included as an offset, was used to estimate trends in rates of road fatalities from the annual national mortality data for the period 2007-2021. The actual change in road traffic mortality in 2021 was compared with calculated figures to demonstrate the effect of COVID-19 on road trauma fatalities. We also compared this impact with other government road toll reduction policies for 14 years (2007 to 2020).

RESULTS: Between 2007 and 2020 the number of annual road traffic deaths had more than halved from 15.3 to 7.0 per 100,000, an average reduction of 5.4% per annum. We estimated that the road traffic mortality rate declined by 12.1% (95% CI 8.9 to 15.3%) in 2021 relative to trend. The actual number of road trauma deaths fell by 16.4%. This reduction was largely seen from August to October 2021 when lockdown and social distancing were in force.

CONCLUSIONS: In 2021, the road traffic death reduction in Vietnam was 3 times greater than the trend over the preceding 14 years. The public heath response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam was associated with a third of this reduction. It can thus be reasonably concluded that government policies to address the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a 4.3% decrease of road traffic deaths in 2021. This has been observed in High-Income Countries but was demonstrated by us for the first time in a Low- and Middle-Income Country.

PMID:36718815 | DOI:10.2196/40883

Q J Exp Psychol (Hove). 2023 Jan 31:17470218231155897. doi: 10.1177/17470218231155897. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The Dual strategy model suggests that people can either use a Statistical or a Counterexample reasoning strategy, which reflects two qualitatively different way of processing information. This model has been shown to capture individual differences in a wide array of tasks, such as contingency learning. Here, we examined whether this extends to individual differences in the interpretation of contingency information where effects are ambiguous. Previous studies, using perceptually complex stimuli, have shown that the way which participants interpret ambiguous effects predicts causal judgments, In two studies, we attempted to replicate this effect using a small number of clearly identifiable cues. Results show that interpretation of ambiguous effects as effect present is related to final contingency judgments. In addition, results showed that Statistical reasoners had a stronger tendency to interpret ambiguous effects as effect present than Counterexample reasoners, which mediates the difference in contingency judgements.

PMID:36718805 | DOI:10.1177/17470218231155897

J Cosmet Dermatol. 2023 Jan 31. doi: 10.1111/jocd.15606. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Currently, even individuals who do physical activity regularly have some degree of dissatisfaction with their own bodies. The electromagnetic field for supramaximal muscle contraction has been the subject of research. High-intensity supramaximal muscle stimulation (HI-SMS) is a non-invasive technology used to strengthen, firm, and tone the abdominal muscles, arms, buttocks, and thighs and has been indicated for aesthetic purposes.

AIMS: The present study aimed to examine the safety and efficacy of HI-SMS used in the abdominal muscles of patients through the analysis of clinical evaluation, biochemical serum profile, and patient satisfaction with the procedure.

PATIENTS/METHODS: This is retrospective non-randomized and non-controlled study collected in a private clinic; all data from healthy participants (n = 25), aged between 18 and 55 years, were compiled and analyzed. All received eight 30 min sessions of electromagnetic field ONIX HI-SMS (intensity of the 90%-100%) located in abdominal, twice a week with intervals of 2-3 days.

RESULTS: The results show that BMI, fat thickness, and waist circumference improved the body contour after the treatment. There was no statistical difference in the data referring to the values of AST, ALT, ALP, creatinine, cholesterol, LDL-C, VLDL-C, HDL-C, glycemia, LDH, CK, and IL-6. However, there was a reduction of “non-esterified” free fatty acids when compared to baseline. This treatment provided high levels of tolerance, comfort, and high level of satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS: Thus, it can be suggested that the treatment with HI-SMS in abdominal muscles proves to be a safe technology with potential for non-invasive therapy for aesthetic purposes.

PMID:36718803 | DOI:10.1111/jocd.15606

Q J Exp Psychol (Hove). 2023 Jan 31:17470218231155738. doi: 10.1177/17470218231155738. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Voice identification parades can be unreliable due to the error-prone nature of earwitness responses. UK government guidelines recommend that voice parades should have nine voices, each played for 60 seconds. This makes parades resource-consuming to construct. In the present paper we conducted two experiments to see if voice parade procedures could be simplified. In Experiment 1 (N=271, 135F), we investigated if reducing the duration of the voice samples on a nine-voice parade would negatively affect identification performance using both conventional logistic and signal detection approaches. In Experiment 2 (N=270, 136F), we first explored if the same sample duration conditions used in Experiment 1 would lead to different outcomes if we reduced the parade size to include only six voices. Following this, we pooled the data from both experiments to investigate the influence of target-position effects. The results show that 15s sample durations result in statistically equivalent voice identification performance to the longer 60s sample durations, but that the 30s sample duration suffers in terms of overall signal sensitivity. This pattern of results was replicated using both a nine- and a six-voice parade. Performance on target-absent parades were at chance-levels in both parade sizes and response criteria were mostly liberal. Additionally, unwanted position effects were present. The results provide initial evidence that the sample duration used in a voice parade may be reduced, but we argue that the guidelines recommending a parade with nine-voices should be maintained to provide additional protection for a potentially innocent suspect given the low target-absent accuracy.

PMID:36718784 | DOI:10.1177/17470218231155738

Environ Toxicol Chem. 2023 Jan 31. doi: 10.1002/etc.5549. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The high-production-volume chemical 4,4′-methylenedianiline (4,4′-MDA) is an aromatic amine used to manufacture 4,4′-methylenedianiline diisocyanate for polyurethane production. Based on 4,4′-MDA’s octanol/water partition coefficient (K_OW ) and correlations with the transpiration stream concentration factor (TSCF), significant plant uptake and root-to-shoot transfer are predicted. However, most correlations between K_OW and TSCF were developed for neutral organics and may not be applicable for ionizable bases such as 4,4′-MDA. To investigate, TSCF values for 4,4′-MDA were measured using pressure chamber and intact plant approaches for tomato, soybean, and wheat (intact plants only). ¹⁴ C-labeled 4,4′-MDA was used to increase analytical sensitivity and facilitate measurement of distribution within plant tissues. The TSCF of ¹⁴ C-MDA determined using the pressure chamber method was 0.04 ± 0.00 for tomato and 0.17 ± 0.10 for soybean. These values were lower than predicted from log K_OW and within the range of values for ¹⁴ C-pyrene also measured in our study (0.14 ± 0.00 for tomato and 0.16 ± 0.09 for soybean). The TSCF values calculated from measurements made from intact plants grown to maturity were statistically equivalent to those obtained from the pressure chamber method for soybean and tomato. The distributions of ¹⁴ C within the three plants species were similar, with the roots > leaves ≈ stems > fruit. The log root concentration factors for 4,4′-MDA ranged from 3.68 to 4.33 for the three plant species. This finding indicates that the aromatic amine sorption to root materials is much greater than would be predicted based on its log K_OW and may be the reason for the limited root-to-shoot transfer observed in the pressure chamber and intact plant studies. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;00:1-8. © 2023 SETAC.

PMID:36718782 | DOI:10.1002/etc.5549