• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.451-459
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• 2021

Background: Lignocaine with adrenaline is routinely used as a local anesthetic for dental procedures. Adrenaline was added to increase the duration of anesthesia. However, epinephrine containing a local anesthetic solution is not recommended in conditions such as advanced cardiovascular diseases and hyperthyroidism. Recently, ropivacaine has gained popularity as a long-acting anesthetic with superior outcomes. The goal of this study was to assess and compare the effectiveness of 0.75% ropivacaine alone and 2% lignocaine with adrenaline (1:80,000) in the removal of bilateral maxillary wisdom teeth using the posterior superior alveolar nerve block technique. Methods: This was a single-blind, randomized, split-mouth, prospective study assessing 15 systemically sound outpatients who needed bilateral removal of maxillary third molars. We randomly allocated the sides and sequences of ropivacaine and lignocaine with adrenaline administration. We evaluated the efficacy of both anesthetics with regard to the onset of anesthesia, intensity of pain, variation in heart rate, and blood pressure. Results: The onset of anesthesia was faster with lignocaine (138 s) than with ropivacaine (168 s), with insignificant differences (p = 0.001). There was no need for additional local anesthetics in the ropivacaine group, while in the lignocaine with adrenaline group, 2 (13.3%) patients required additional anesthesia. Adequate intraoperative anesthesia was provided by ropivacaine and lignocaine solutions. No significant difference was observed in the perioperative variation in blood pressure and heart rate. Conclusion: Ropivacaine (0.75%) is a safe and an adrenaline-free local anesthetic option for posterior superior alveolar nerve block, which provides adequate intraoperative anesthesia and a stable hemodynamic profile for the removal of the maxillary third molar.

• Medical Lasers
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2021

Background and Objectives Several predicted optimal parameters for laser treatment have been suggested, making the settings subject to variation. Thus, picosecond lasers may require more data and studies to optimize the laser parameters, increase the efficacy of each session, and minimize the total number of sessions. This study evaluated the results of picosecond laser tattoo removal in variable locations, focusing on the aesthetic outcome, number of procedures, and adverse effects. Materials and Methods Nine patients who underwent picosecond laser treatment from February 2014 to July 2020 were enrolled. Before the procedures, the required number of sessions was estimated using the Kirby-Desai scale. At the end of the treatment, the patients assessed their satisfaction. The patient and two plastic surgeons assessed the clearance of the tattoo. Results The mean of the clearance was 86.6% in both the patient and investigators assessment. The patients reported satisfaction for an average score of 5.1 ± 0.78 for the aesthetic outcome, 4.5 ± 0.78 for pain, 4.1 ± 0.92 for the number of procedures, and 4.7 ± 0.97 for adverse effects. The average number of actual procedures was 6.7 ± 1.20. The average Kirby-Desai score was 7.1 ± 1.45. Their correlation coefficient was 0.803, which is considered a strong positive correlation. Conclusion Picosecond lasers have a remarkable ability to degrade smaller tattoo pigments through a photoacoustic effect. Moreover, a picosecond laser treatment for tattoo removal can be a safe and effective method. Picosecond lasers are a promising technology with the potential to optimize the treatment of tattoos.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.353-360
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• 2021

Background Despite evidence supporting the safety of breast implants, some women associate their implants with adverse health effects and have called this syndrome "breast implant illness." We sought to characterize breast implant illness symptoms and to report how implant removal affects their symptoms. Methods An anonymous 20 question survey was administered to the Facebook group: "UTAH Breast Implant Illness" to characterize the symptoms these women attributed to their breast implants. Several questions allowed us to evaluate how implant removal affected women's symptoms. Results Of the 182 respondents, 97% report that implants negatively affect their health and 95% identify these symptoms with breast implant illness. Ninety-six percent of respondents had implants placed for cosmetic reasons and 51% had silicone implants. The most common symptoms associated with breast implant illness are brain fog (95%), fatigue (92%), joint pain (80%), and hair loss (74%). Sixty percent of respondents learned about breast implant illness from family/friends and/or social media platforms (56%), 40% of respondents had their implants removed, and 97% report relief of their symptoms post-removal (23% complete, 74% partial). Following explantation, there was a significant improvement in all but one reported symptom. An association was found between the number of symptoms reported prior to explantation and the number of symptoms resolving following explantation. Conclusions Breast implant illness is a syndrome characterized by fatigue, decreased focus, hair loss, and joint pain after the placement of breast implants. Nearly all patients report improvement of symptoms after implant removal. Significant efforts should be made to better understand breast implant illness and its etiology.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.46.1-46.12
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• 2023

Background: Heartworm infection in dogs is caused by Dirofilaria immitis and common in shelter animals and outdoors dogs. Caval syndrome can develop with severe infection and physical heartworm removal is essential with heartworm burdens. In this study, we used an improved transvenous heartworm extraction brush, which was expected to cause less cardiovascular damage and allow easier manipulation. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate efficacy of this improved transvenous heartworm extraction brush. Methods: The brush was designed to improve upon the limitations of the previous brush-type devices. The brush was made of a polyvinyl chloride tube and threads of polyamides or polyglyconates. Metal material was inserted at the front tip for easy visualization under fluoroscopy. The eight dogs diagnosed with caval syndrome with large numbers of heartworms and pulmonary hypertension were used in this study. The removal procedure began with the dissection of the subcutaneous tissue around the right jugular vein. The device was inserted through the jugular vein. After insertion, the tube was rotated to catch the heartworms and extracted with the heartworms hanging on the threads. The procedure was repeated several times. Lastly, jugular vein and skin sutures were made. Adulticidal therapy was administered after heartworm removal. Results: The mean number of removed heartworms was 10.5 ± 4.24 and mean number of remaining heartworms was 0.63 ± 1.06. Total procedure time was 72.63 ± 51.36. Except for three cases, heartworms were not detected on ultrasonography after the procedure. No procedure-related side effects were observed within the 1- to 2-mon. Conclusions: An improved transvenous heartworm extraction brush is efficient for heartworm removal in dogs with caval syndrome.

• Journal of Rhinology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.86-90
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• 2018

Background and Objectives: Although polyvinyl acetate ($Merocel^{(R)}$) has been widely used as a packing material after septoplasty, removable nasal packing can increase patient discomfort, local pain, and pressure. Furthermore, the removal of nasal packing has been described as the most uncomfortable and distressing feature associated with septoplasty. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of polyvinyl acetate with carboxymethyl cellulose sheet ($Rhinocel^{(R)}$) nasal packing on patient subjective symptoms, degree of bleeding, hemostasis, and wound healing following septoplasty. Subjects and Method: Forty patients with nasal septum deviation requiring septoplasty were included. Following surgery, one nasal cavity was packed with $Rhinocel^{(R)}$ and the other one with $Merocel^{(R)}$. Patient subjective symptoms while the packing was in situ, hemostatic properties, pain on removal, degree of bleeding on removal, duration of hemostasis after removal, postoperative wound healing, and the cost of the pack were evaluated. Results: Although the two types of packing materials were equally effective in controlling postoperative bleeding after septoplasty, $Rhinocel^{(R)}$ was significantly more comfortable while in situ and less painful on removal than $Merocel^{(R)}$, which was associated with significantly more bleeding on removal and so more time was needed to control hemorrhage. There was no significant difference in postoperative wound healing or pack cost. Conclusion: The use of $Rhinocel^{(R)}$ after septoplasty has less discomfort, greater patient satisfaction, and less bleeding on removal with no adverse reactions compared to $Merocel^{(R)}$ packing. Therefore, $Rhinocel^{(R)}$ may be a useful packing material after septoplasty.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.163-171
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• 2023

Background: Surgical extraction of impacted mandibular third molars is the most common procedure performed by oral surgeons. The procedure cannot be performed effectively without achieving profound anesthesia. During this procedure, patients may feel pain during surgical bone removal (at the cancellous level) or during splitting and luxation of the tooth, despite administration of routine nerve blocks. Administration of intraosseous (IO) lignocaine injections during third molar surgeries to provide effective anesthesia for pain alleviation has been documented. However, whether the anesthetic effect of lignocaine is the only reason for pain alleviation when administered intraosseously remains unclear. This conundrum motivated us to assess the efficacy of IO normal saline versus lignocaine injections during surgical removal of impacted mandibular third molars. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of IO normal saline as a viable alternative or adjunct to lignocaine for alleviation of intraoperative pain during surgical removal of impacted mandibular third molars. Methods: This randomized, double-blind, interventional study included 160 patients who underwent surgical extraction of impacted mandibular third molars and experienced pain during surgical removal of the buccal bone or sectioning and luxation of the tooth. The participants were divided into two groups: the study group, which included patients who would receive IO saline injections, and the control group, which included patients who would receive IO lignocaine injections. Patients were asked to complete a visual analog pain scale (VAPS) at baseline and after receiving the IO injections. Results: Of the 160 patients included in this study, 80 received IO lignocaine (control group), whereas 80 received IO saline (study group) following randomization. The baseline VAPS score of the patients and controls was 5.71 ± 1.33 and 5.68 ± 1.21, respectively. The difference between the baseline VAPS scores of the two groups was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The difference between the numbers of patients who experienced pain relief following administration of IO lignocaine (n=74) versus saline (n=69) was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The difference between VAPS scores measured after IO injection in both groups was not statistically significant (P >0.05) (1.05 ± 1.20 for the control group vs. 1.72 ± 1.56 for the study group) Conclusion: The study demonstrates that IO injection of normal saline is as effective as lignocaine in alleviating pain during surgical removal of impacted mandibular third molars and can be used as an effective adjunct to conventional lignocaine injection.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.555-564
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• 2014

The boundary noise in image syntheses using DIBR consists of noisy pixels that are separated from foreground objects into background region. It is generated mainly by edge misalignment between the reference image and depth map or blurred edge in the reference image. Since hole areas are generally filled with neighboring pixels, boundary noise adjacent to the hole is the main cause of quality degradation in synthesized images. To solve this problem, a new boundary noise removal algorithm using a preprocessing of the depth map is proposed in this paper. The most common way to eliminate boundary noise caused by boundary misalignment is to modify depth map so that the boundary of the depth map can be matched to that of the reference image. Most conventional methods, however, show poor performances of boundary detection especially in blurred edge, because they are based on a simple boundary search algorithm which exploits signal gradient. In the proposed method, a two-step hierarchical approach for boundary detection is adopted which enables effective boundary detection between the transition and background regions. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms conventional ones subjectively and objectively.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.104-110
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• 2016

To get the empirical data of GPR detection and to develop the image prosessing program of GPR detection data, GPR detection were proceed by the underground pipes and cavities buried in the Chamber. In the case of non pavement and asphalt pavement, water filled cavity that was buried in 0.7m depth was able to detection. But in the case of 1.0 m and 1.3 m buring depth, water filled cavity was not able to detection. In the case of non-reinforced and reinforced concrete pavement, it was difficult to detect the cavity caused by signal interference. GPRiPP programs was developed for image processing of the GPR detection data. The major processing algorithm were background removal, stacking and gain function. With proper image processing of gain function and background removal in GPRiPP program, it was showed that similar results can be obtained with conventional image processing program.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.216-222
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• 2011

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to evaluate the effects of environmental factors and heavy metals on the growth and phosphorus removal capacity of Alcaligenes sp., which was well known as one of PAOs(Phosphorus Accumulating Microorganisms). METHODS AND RESULTS: The environmental factors used in this study were temperature, pH and carbon sources, and the heavy metals included Cu, Cd, Zn, As, and Ni. The growth and P removal efficiency of Alcaligenes sp. was maximal as temperature, pH, and carbon source were $25^{\circ}C$, 7, and glucose+acetate, respectively. Also, the $IC_{50}$(median inhibitory Concentration) values of Alcaligenes sp. for the Cu, Cd, Zn, As, and Ni were 5.03, 0.08, 0.73, 282.20 and 4.74 mg/L, respectively. CONCLUSION(S): Based on the results obtained from this study, it appears that the growth and P removal efficiency of Alcaligenes sp. were affected by the environment factors and at the best optimum condition for its growth and P removal efficiency, as the concentrations of heavy metals were gradually increased, its growth was correspondingly decreased.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.42
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• pp.6.1-6.6
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• 2020

Background: Various types of miniplates have been developed and used for the reduction of facial bone fractures. We introduced Yang's Keyhole (YK) plate, and reported on its short-term stability. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term stability of the YK plate, as a follow-up study, by examining the patients who had used the YK plate among the patients with the reduction of mandible fractures and who visited for plate removal. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 16 patients who underwent mandibular fracture fixation using a YK plate (group I) and 17 patients who underwent mandibular fracture fixation using a conventional plate (group II). Assessment was then made on malunion, occlusal stability, discomfort during the application, and clinical symptoms. Results: From January 2015 to December 2017, a total of 36 patients underwent mandibular fracture surgery using a YK plate. A total of 16 patients received plate removal. Among them, 15 were male and 1 female. The average age was 26 years. The applied surgical sites were the 12 on mandibular angle, 4 on mandibular symphysis, and 2 on subcondyle. The application period of YK plate was an average of 335 days. During the same period, 45 people underwent surgery on the conventional plate. A total of 17 patients received plate removal. Among them, 15 were male and 2 females. The average age was 36 years. The applied surgical sites were the 8 on mandibular angle, 4 on mandibular symphysis, and 2 on subcondyle. The application period of the conventional plate was an average of 349 days. No malocclusion occurred at the time of removal, and occlusion was stable. No patient complained of joint disease or discomfort. Conclusion: The YK plate system, in which the screw was first inserted and the plate was applied, for clinical convenience did not cause any particular problem and no significant difference from the conventional plate.