This study was aimed at evaluating the correlation and reproducibility of gingival thickness quantification using digital and direct clinical assessment methods.
 
  Patients in need of tooth extraction were allocated into two groups according to the gingival thickness measurement method, either using an endodontic spreader (pre-extraction) or a spring caliper (post-extraction), both on the mid-facial (FGT) and mid-lingual (LGT). Pre-extraction Digital Imaging and COmmunications in Medicine (DICOM) and STereoLithography (STL) files of the arch of interest were obtained and merged for corresponding digital measurements. Inter-rater reliability between digital and direct assessment methods was analyzed using inter-class correlation coefficients (ICC).
 
  Excellent inter-rater reliability agreement was demonstrated for all parameters. Comparison between the endodontic spreader and the digital method revealed excellent agreement, with ICC of 0.79 (95% CI 0.55, 0.91) for FGT and 0.87 (95% CI 0.69, 0.94) for LGT, and mean differences of 0.08 (- 0.04 to 0.55) and 0.25 (- 0.30 to 0.81) mm for FGT and LGT, respectively. Meanwhile, the comparison between the caliper and the digital method demonstrated poor agreement, with ICC of 0.38 (95% CI - 0.06, 0.70) for FGT and 0.45 (95% CI - 0.02, 0.74) for LGT, and mean differences of 0.65 (0.14 to 1.16) and 0.64 (0.12 to 1.17) mm for FGT and LGT, respectively.
 
  Digital measurement of gingival thickness is comparable with direct clinical assessments performed with transgingival horizontal probing using an endodontic spreader.
 
  Digital assessment of gingival thickness is a non-tissue invasive, reliable, and reproducible method that could be utilized as an alternative to horizontal transgingival probing.
 Digital assessment of gingival thickness is a non-tissue invasive, reliable, and reproducible method that could be utilized as an alternative to horizontal transgingival probing.Swallowing disorders can adversely affect quality of life (QOL). To develop the Chinese version of the Swallowing Quality of Life Questionnaire (ChSWAL-QOL) and evaluate its reliability and validity, the ChSWAL-QOL was generated by forward translation of the original SWAL-QOL, backward translation, cultural adaptation, and revision using the Delphi method. The ChSWAL-QOL was administered to 376 patients with dysphagia treated at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between November 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018. Reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's α and test-retest reliability. Content validity was assessed using the content validity index (CVI). Structural validity was evaluated by exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analyses. The 44-item, 11-dimension of ChSWAL-QOL was considered semantically relevant, clearly expressed and easy to understand in a preliminary study. The final analysis included 360 of 376 questionnaires (95.7%). Cronbach's α was 0.906 for the whole scale and ranged from 0.815 to 1.000 for the individual dimensions, and the test-retest reliability was 0.847, indicating that the ChSWAL-QOL had excellent internal consistency. CVI was 0.964 overall and ranged from 0.870 to 1.000 for the individual dimensions. Exploratory factor analysis identified a dysphagia-related component (psychological burden, feeding duration, swallowing symptoms, eating desire, communication, feeding fear, mental health, and social function) and a generic component (fatigue and sleep) explaining 52.8% and 10.8% of the variance, respectively. The ChSWAL-QOL has excellent reliability and validity. This scale could be used as a tool to assess the QOL of patients with dysphagia in mainland China.The current study was aimed to define clinical practice, knowledge and awareness, and best practice regarding dysphagia in children with esophageal atresia with/without tracheoesophageal fistula (EA-TEF) from the perspective of pediatric surgeons in Turkey. Pediatric surgeons practice EA repair were included. A survey related to clinical practice, knowledge and awareness, and best practice regarding dysphagia in EA-TEF was used. The survey was electronically sent to potential participants. Seventy-two pediatric surgeons with a mean professional experience of 14.73 ± 9.66 years (min = 1, max = 41) completed the survey. 19.4% (n = 14) had a standardized protocol for dysphagia screening and %51.4 (n = 37) provided swallowing rehabilitation to their patients. Most of the participants (80.6%) reported that they do not have an appropriate team approach for dysphagia management. The mean knowledge and awareness score was 11.04 ± 1.27 (min = 7, max = 12). The mean VAS score related to the need for standardized protocol in dysphagia management was 9.23 ± 1.44 (min = 3, max = 10). The mean VAS score related to the need for routine screening for dysphagia after surgery was 8.67 ± 2.17 (min = 1, max = 10). The mean score for the degree of the contribution of diagnosis and management of dysphagia to the surgical treatment in children operated for EA-TEF was 7.98 ± 2.08 (min = 3, max = 10). The participants mostly suggested the necessity of a standardized protocol in dysphagia and routine dysphagia screening in children with EA-TEF. Knowledge and awareness is found to be high among pediatric surgeons in Turkey. However, their clinical practice does not include a standardized protocol regarding dysphagia screening and management.We investigated the capacity for dysphagia prognosis prediction using diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) to assess the state of the corticobulbar tract (CBT) during the initial period following lateral medullary infarction (LMI). Twenty patients with LMI and 20 control subjects were recruited for this study. The patients were classified into two subgroups subgroup A (16 patients with nasogastric tube required for six months or less after LMI onset) and subgroup B (4 patients with nasogastric tube required for more than six months after onset). DTT was used to reconstruct the CBTs of each patient and control subject, and the fractional anisotropy (FA) and tract volume (TV) measurements were obtained. In the affected hemisphere, the FA value of the CBT was significantly lower in subgroup B than in subgroup A and the control group (p  less then  0.05), with no significant difference between subgroup A and the control group.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/nvp-2.html  In the affected and unaffected hemispheres, the TV values of CBT in subgroups A and B were lower than those of the control group (p  less then  0.