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Background: This study evaluates a three-dimensional (3D) visualisation design combined with customized surgical guides to assist anterior maxillary segmental distraction osteogenesis (AMSDO) in correcting maxillary hypoplasia in adolescents with cleft lip and palate (CLP), focusing on treatment outcomes, satisfaction and the validity of 3D planning. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at a single hospital in China. Between January 2020 and December 2023, 12 adolescents with CLP with maxillary hypoplasia were included. An advanced 3D simulation was used to convey the treatment strategy to the patients and their families. A customized surgical guide and distraction osteogenesis device were designed. Cephalometric analysis evaluated AMSDO changes and long-term stability. Patient satisfaction was assessed. The Chinese version of the Child Oral Health Impact Profile was used to evaluate the children's oral health-related quality of life before and after treatment. The postoperative outcomes were compared with the planned outcomes by superimposing the actual postoperative data onto the simulated soft tissue models and calculating the linear and angular differences between them. Results: One patient experienced postoperative gingivitis, yielding an 8.33% complication rate. Most patients (83.33%) were highly satisfied with the target position, with the rest content. Cephalometric analysis showed significant improvements in various indices post-traction. Quality-of-life scores significantly improved post-treatment. The discrepancies in facial soft tissue between the simulated and actual results were within clinically satisfactory ranges. Conclusions: Digitally designed surgical guides effectively treat maxillary hypoplasia in adolescents with CLP, ensuring stability, reducing complications, reducing dependency on operator experience, and enhancing satisfaction and health outcomes. Although the simulated results were clinically acceptable, it is important to inform patients of potential variations in the predicted soft tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A large maxillary odontogenic cyst could intrude into the maxillary sinus. The traditional approach following surgery for such a cyst is the Caldwell–Luc procedure. However, the traditional CDL procedure is associated with more complications and damage of the sinus mucosa. The purpose of this study was to assess a new method with easier operation, which not only prevented postoperative infection but also caused less damage to the maxillary sinus mucosa. A large odontogenic cyst in the maxillary sinus of 40 patients was diagnosed through radiographic imaging and postoperative histopathology. Twenty patients were treated with maxillary sinus saline irrigation after surgery, while 20 patients underwent the traditional Caldwell–Luc procedure. The therapeutic efficacy was evaluated by clinical examination and radiographic imaging; the longest follow-up was 36 months. The postoperative reaction was evaluated. There was a statistically significant difference in facial swelling, visual analog scale (VAS) and temperature elevation between the 2 groups. Sinus irrigation following large odontogenic cyst surgery involving the maxillary sinus can serve as an alternative to standard CDL and has the advantages of fewer complications, reduced trauma, restoration of the mucosa and more satisfactory results.

Objective: This study aimed to identify a quantitative index for optical coherence tomography (OCT) images to discriminate tumours from surrounding tissues. Subjects and methods: Based on OCT measurements, mean grey values were determined from 432 locations on fifty-four human tissue specimens (eighteen cancerous, para-cancerous, and normal tissues each). These results were histologically evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin staining (H&E). Results: The mean grey values of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) measurements were significantly different from those of the surrounding healthy tissue (p value < 0.0001), with the former being higher. The sensitivity and specificity of detecting tumourous tissue using this approach were 93 and 94%, respectively. Conclusions: OCT as a non-invasive, real-time imaging method, correlates well with H&E pathological images. It can effectively distinguish squamous cell carcinoma from normal tissues with high sensitivity and specificity and is thus expected to assist and guide tumour margin evaluation. Clinical relevance: This discovery highlights the potential of OCT in the objective evaluation of tumour margin during surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spherical and flaky particles are mixed during hard rock tunneling. In particular, flakey particles are difficult to load, resulting in conveying machines that have difficultly operating efficiently. Based on the characteristics of flakey particles and the present conveying structures, such as star wheels, three new conveying structures are introduced in this paper, and the parameters related to the conveying ability are evaluated with theoretical analysis. Then, the flow and trajectory of particles under different conveying structures and the difference in their working capabilities were investigated with the help of the discrete element method (DEM). Finally, conveying machines with different conveying structures are made with 3D printing technology and experiments for validation of the conveying ability are performed. The results show that the conveying structures can be divided into two categories: those with a rotational speed proportional to the loading rate and those with the opposite condition. The propulsion status has a stable loading phase with a long time period relative to the non-propulsion status. The findings can be used to guide conveying machine designs, and they can be helpful for the enhancement of the working ability in conveying particles with flakey shapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to explore the potential predictive value of oral microbial signatures for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) risk based on machine learning algorithms. Methods: The oral microbiome signatures were assessed in the unstimulated saliva samples of 80 OSCC patients and 179 healthy individuals using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Four different machine learning classifiers were used to develop prediction models. Results: Compared with control participants, OSCC patients had a higher microbial dysbiosis index (MDI, p < 0.001). Among four machine learning classifiers, random forest (RF) provided the best predictive performance, followed by the support vector machines, artificial neural networks and naive Bayes. After controlling the potential confounders using propensity score matching, the optimal RF model was further developed incorporating a minimal set of 20 bacteria genera, exhibiting better predictive performance than the MDI (AUC: 0.992 vs. 0.775, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The novel MDI and RF model developed in this study based on oral microbiome signatures may serve as noninvasive tools for predicting OSCC risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the prognostic role of pretreatment lymphocyte percentage (LY%) for patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Methods: A large‐scale prospective cohort study between July 2002 and March 2021 was conducted. Propensity score‐matched (PSM) analysis and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analysis were performed to adjust for potential confounders. Using random survival forest (RSF), the relative importance of pretreatment LY% in prognosis prediction was also assessed. Results: A total of 743 patients were enrolled and followed up (median: 2.75 years, interquartile range: 1.25–4.42 years). A high pretreatment LY% was significantly associated with better disease‐specific survival of patients with OSCC (Hazard ratio [HR] = 0.60, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.42, 0.84). The same tendency was observed in PSM (HR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.38, 0.85) and IPTW analysis (HR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.40, 0.82). RSF showed that LY% ranked the fifth among importance ranking of all prognostic factors. Conclusion: Pretreatment LY% showed a moderate predictive ability, suggesting it might be a valuable tool to predict prognosis for patients with OSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore the effects of oral hygiene, vegetables and fruits intake on gingival cancer. Methods A case-control study including 131 patients pathologically confirmed as gingival cancer from October 2010 to November 2016 and 669 health controls was performed by questionnaire survey. Unconditional Logistic regression was used to assess the effect of oral hygiene, vegetables and fruits intake on gingival cancer. Results Teeth brushing < 2 times/day, lacking of teeth, wearing dentures, irregular dental visits and recurrent dental ulceration were risk factors of gingival cancer. We developed a composite oral hygiene score to measure the combined effects of various oral hygiene. The risk of gingival cancer among patients scored 3-5 was 6.991 times(95%CI: 4.267, 11.453) as those scored 0-2. Eating green leafy vegetables < 2 times/day, non-green leafy vegetables < 2 times/day, fruit < 1 time/day were risk factors of gingival cancer. The people scored 3-5 had higher risk of gingival cancer in all subgroups. Furthermore, the people with lower frequency consumption of green leafy vegetables, non-leafy vegetables and fruits had the higher risk of gingival cancer. Multiplicative interaction of green leafy vegetables, non-leafy vegetables, fruits with oral hygiene was observed. Conclusion The people with higher oral hygiene index have higher risk of gingival cancer. Eating green leafy vegetables < 2 times/day, non-green leafy vegetables < 2 times/day, fruit < 1 time/day could increase the risk of gingival cancer.