Publications by authors named "Siena F"

Article Synopsis
  • Coral diseases pose a growing threat to reef ecosystems, prompting increased coral restoration efforts, yet the impact of these diseases on restoration success is not well understood.
  • A study in the Maldives monitored two coral species, Pocillopora and Acropora, cultivated in different environments, revealing that disease prevalence and survival rates varied significantly between the reef and lagoon conditions.
  • Findings suggest that while Pocillopora can be effectively outplanted despite some disease presence, lagoon-reared Acropora is unsuitable for restoration due to high disease levels, highlighting the need for disease monitoring and management in coral gardening projects.
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This health literacy intervention study, conducted on adolescent students, aimed to evaluate the impact of a comprehensive educational program on promoting healthy eating habits. The intervention sought to enhance adolescents' knowledge about nutrition, foster self-regulation skills, and ultimately improve their overall health, including their body mass index (BMI). Through a multi-component approach that combined theoretical learning with practical activities and the integration of digital tools such as the MyFitnessPal app, the study targeted improvements in food literacy, which encompasses nutrition knowledge, food label interpretation skills, and cooking abilities.

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The Mediterranean is known for its marine biodiversity, especially gorgonian forests. Unfortunately, these are experiencing rapid declines due to climate change, manifested by repeated marine heat waves resulting in mass mortality events since the early 1990 s. To better understand why gorgonians are declining, more systematic approaches to investigate the exact causes are needed, and pathology may aid in this goal.

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Article Synopsis
  • Coral reefs are experiencing a rapid decline in biodiversity due to climate change and increased disease outbreaks, making it difficult to assess the dynamics of coral diseases in the Maldives.
  • A study around Thudufushi Island evaluated four coral diseases over a 12-year period, finding an overall increase in disease prevalence, particularly skeletal eroding band (SEB), which showed the largest rise since the last assessment in 2010.
  • The research highlights a significant rise in coral diseases, with a recommendation for a national monitoring protocol to understand and predict future disease trends in the region.
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(1) Background. The post-COVID-19 era has imposed unique challenges on educators, significantly impacting their psychological and physical well-being. This study examines the interrelationships among psychological stress, sleep quality, and somatization in a sample of teachers, elucidating the impact of these factors during the ongoing recovery from the pandemic.

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  • The Mediterranean Sea's biodiversity is suffering from climate change and human activities, especially due to pollution from plastics and emerging contaminants like phthalic acid esters (PAEs) and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).
  • A study analyzed four anthozoan species for these contaminants using advanced techniques, finding that all specimens had some level of contamination.
  • P. axinellae showed the highest contamination levels, suggesting it is more prone to bioaccumulation, while the study emphasizes the need to understand the harmful effects of these pollutants on important marine species.
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Background: Administering cancer drugs is a high-risk process, and mistakes can have fatal consequences. Failure Mode, Effect and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) is a widely recognized method for identifying and preventing potential risks, applied in various settings, including healthcare. The aim of this study was to recognize potential failures in cancer treatment prescription and administration, with a view to enabling the adoption of measures to prevent them.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously revolutionized the management of patients who need an implanted cardiac implantable electronic device. We report, for the first time, a successful cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator implantation procedure in an 82-year-old man affected by COVID-19, recent myocardial infarction, second-degree 2:1 atrioventricular block and left bundle branch block.

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Article Synopsis
  • Coral restoration efforts are becoming more important globally, but maintaining coral nurseries is challenging, and lapses in care can threaten these projects, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • A study across nine coral nurseries in Colombia, Seychelles, and Maldives found that after being abandoned for up to 61 weeks, coral fragment survival rates varied greatly, ranging from 40% to 95%.
  • Although some nurseries fared well, interruptions in monitoring can stall progress and jeopardize future funding, emphasizing the need for better resilience and self-sufficiency in coral restoration initiatives.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries adopted various non-pharmacological interventions to contain the number of infections. The most often used policy was school closures. We describe the strategy adopted by the Veneto Regional Authority to contain transmission in school settings.

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The aim of our study was to ascertain the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the general population during a period of moderate risk, just before Italy started to implement its vaccination campaign. A third-generation antigenic nasal swab sample was collected by a healthcare provider, and all individuals testing positive subsequently had a nasopharyngeal swab for molecular testing; the result was used to calculate the positive predictive value. The population consisted of 4467 asymptomatic adults with a mean age of 46.

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  • Parkinson's disease is a widespread neurodegenerative condition affecting over 10 million people, leading to increased interest in wearables for better assessment of movement disorders beyond traditional methods like the UPDRS and Hoehn and Yahr scales.
  • A qualitative study involving interviews and focus groups highlighted the limitations of current clinical assessment methods, noting that many healthcare professionals and patients find them time-consuming and subjective, emphasizing the need for more objective evaluation tools.
  • Participants expressed a generally positive outlook towards wearable devices, particularly if they were involved in the design process, with preferences for comfort, wrist placement, and an emphasis on cost-effectiveness and ease of use for healthcare providers.
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This proof-of-concept study aimed to assess the ability of a mobile application and cloud analytics software solution to extract facial expression information from participant selfie videos. This is one component of a solution aimed at extracting possible health outcome measures based on expression, voice acoustics and speech sentiment from video diary data provided by patients. Forty healthy volunteers viewed 21 validated images from the International Affective Picture System database through a mobile app which simultaneously captured video footage of their face using the selfie camera.

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Clear dental aligners are commonly manufactured using thermoplastic materials such as Duran and Durasoft. Using conventional thermoforming methods there are inherent disadvantages including time consumption and poor geometrical accuracies that often occur. The use of digital technologies and 3D printing techniques for producing dental aligners is often preferred where possible.

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Introduction: The aim of this research was to compare compressive mechanical properties and geometric inaccuracies between conventionally manufactured thermoformed Duran clear dental aligners and 3D printed Dental Long Term (LT) resin-based clear aligners using 3D modeling and printing techniques.

Methods: Impressions of the patient's dentition were scanned and using 3D modeling software, dental models were designed and 3D printed. These printed models then underwent vacuum thermoforming to thermoform a clear Duran thermoplastic sheet of 0.

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Applications utilising 3D Camera technologies for the measurement of health outcomes in the health and wellness sector continues to expand. The Intel® RealSense™ is one of the leading 3D depth sensing cameras currently available on the market and aligns itself for use in many applications, including robotics, automation, and medical systems. One of the most prominent areas is the production of interactive solutions for rehabilitation which includes gait analysis and facial tracking.

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It has been suggested that anti-desmoglein autoantibody titers could be helpful in follow-up and therapeutic management of pemphigus patients. However, there is no consensus regarding the relationship between anti-desmoglein autoantibody titers and clinical activity of pemphigus.The aim of our study was to evaluate if clinical remission of pemphigus relates to the presence of anti-desmoglein autoantibodies.

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Objectives: The aim of this study was to make a comparative evaluation of professional oral hygiene with or without the adjunct of glycine air-powder system for the treatment of peri-implant mucositis.

Methods: After the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, patients were divided in two groups: in control group, patients were treated with professional oral hygiene manoeuvres (POH) while in the test group, glycine air-powder system (SGA) was adjuncted to professional oral hygiene. Probing depth (PD), bleeding index (BI) and plaque index (PI) were measured at baseline, and 3 and 6 months after the treatment.

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Purpose: To test different Cerec CAD/CAM system ceramic blocks, comparing mean flexural strength (sigma), Weibull modulus (m), and Weibull characteristic strength (sigma0) in an ISO standardized set-up.

Methods: Following the recent ISO Standard (ISO 6872:2008), 11 types of ceramic blocks were tested: IPS e.max CAD MO, IPS e.

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Aims/introduction: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether non-surgical periodontal treatment reduces glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels in diabetic patients.

Materials And Methods: An electronic search was carried out on MEDLINE (through PubMed interface), EMBASE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Randomized controlled trials with a minimum of 3 months follow up were included.

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Purpose: This study tested the materials available on the market for Cerec CAD/CAM, comparing the mean flexural strength in an ISO standardized set-up, since the ISO standard for testing such materials was issued later than the marketing of the materials tested.

Methods: Following the recent Standard ISO 6872:2008, eight types of ceramic blocks were tested: Paradigm C, IPS Empress CAD LT, IPS Empress CAD Multi, Cerec Blocs, Cerec Blocs PC, Triluxe, Triluxe Forte, Mark II. Specimens were cut out from ceramic blocks, finished, polished, and tested in a three-point bending test apparatus until failure.

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Objective: We review the state of the art in meta-analysis and data pooling following the evolution of the statistical models employed.

Methods: Starting from a classic definition of meta-analysis of published data, a set of apparent antinomies which characterized the development of the meta-analytic tools are reconciled in dichotomies where the second term represents a possible generalization of the first one. Particular attention is given to the generalized linear mixed models as an overall framework for meta-analysis.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of mouthrinses containing 0.05% chlorhexidine + 0.05% fluoride solution on early dental plaque regrowth.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the use of two chlorhexidine-based antimicrobial agents as an adjunct to mechanical therapy for the treatment of peri-implant mucositis.

Materials And Methods: Thirty patients with peri-implant mucositis were included in the study and randomized in two groups. In addition to mechanical therapy, group A was treated with chlorhexidine 0.

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