We compared several group and individual testing strategies in terms of cost and accuracy and then showed which one is more accurate while costing as little as possible for a specified prevalence rate. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Background: HIV drug resistance limits the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy. Adequate surveillance of HIV drug resistance prevalence is challenged by heterogenous and inadequate data reporting. In this study, we sought to identify a list of reporting items for studies of HIV drug resistance prevalence and an understanding of why these items are important to report. Methods: We used a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design involving authors and users of studies of HIV drug resistance prevalence. In the quantitative phase we conducted a cross-sectional electronic survey (n=51). Survey participants rated various reporting items on whether they are essential to report, producing validity ratios which were used to produce a draft reporting item checklist. In the qualitative phase, two focus group discussions (n=9 in total) discussed this draft item checklist and which of the items should be reported and why. We also conducted a thematic analysis of the group discussions to identify emergent themes regarding items to be considered for the reporting guideline. Results: We identified 38 potential reporting items including participant characteristics, sampling methods, and resistance testing methods. The strongest themes that emerged from the discussions were agreement over the importance of reporting certain items, concerns over the availability and ethics of reporting certain participant data, the importance of interpretability and comparability, and the necessity for reporting guidelines to appreciate context-specific prevalence research. Conclusions: We have identified a list of reporting items for studies of the prevalence of HIV drug resistance along with an explanation of why researchers believe these items are important. The next steps involve further elaborating upon these findings in the reporting guidelines. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Drug resistant HIV is very challenging to treat and is an important global health problem. It is difficult to know how common HIV drug resistance is around the world because the studies on HIV drug resistance are not reported similarly. This is because there are no standard guidelines for these studies. In this study, we asked HIV drug resistance researchers to complete a survey on what they thought should be reported is studies measuring HIV drug resistance. Then, we had group conversations where we asked them to explain why they believed the items were important. We identified 38 potential reporting items, most of which would require authors of HIV drug resistance studies to clarify the settings, participants and methods used in their research. These items will make up a reporting checklist for authors of HIV drug resistance studies and make research in this area more comparable

The current study examined the prevalence of severe weather phobia in high school students who had experienced a traumatic weather event and considered possible predictor variables to distinguish between students who did and did not develop severe weather phobia after experiencing the traumatic weather event. Participants (N = 17) completed a diagnostic interview and various questionnaires. Severe weather phobia symptoms (e.g., excessive fear, avoidance, anticipatory anxiety, realization that fear is excessive, distress or dysfunction) were common in the sample. Higher levels of PTSD symptoms and certain coping styles distinguished between those with phobia or subclinical phobia and those without, indicating that traumatic responses to severe weather and coping with severe weather by using social support or restraint predicts the development of severe weather phobia.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of intraosseous vascular canals in the lateral wall of the maxillary sinus by utilizing high quality Cone Beam Computerized tomography (CBCT) scans. Material and Methods: 111 CBCTs that were obtained in a private practice were randomly selected from 500 CBCTs. The CBCTs were obtained from 2007 to 2011 with an iCAT CBCT unit. Then were reconstructed and imported into Simplant pro 15 software. Among the 111 selected CBCT images 13 scans that were not covering the sinus cavity entirely or had poor quality (e.g. scattering) were excluded from the study. All the CT scans were examined for presence or absence of intraosseous anastomosis by a single investigator. All the para-axial sections were carefully observed on both left and right side. The focus was on the area that most commonly the lateral window is prepared. In other words, the main area that was evaluated was from Distal of canine to distal of second molar on each side. Result: From initial 111 selected CBCTs, 13 were excluded due to either quality or the range of coverage. 52 (53%) were female and the rest 46 (47%) were male. 54 (55.1%) anastomosis noted among the 98 CBCTs that were evaluated. In other words, in 196 sinuses that were evaluated 27.5% of them had intraosseous anastomosis. Conclusion: the presence of intraosseous vascular canals in the lateral wall of the maxillary sinus is not a prevalent finding. Learning of the presence of intraosseous anastomosis in the lateral wall of the maxillary sinus would help with minimizing bleeding complications associated with the lateral wall approach sinus augmentation technique. Therefore, evaluation of the CBCT for anatomical variations is recommended prior to sinus augmentation surgeries. / Oral Biology

Objectives: There is increasing research regarding pathology of the maxillary sinus in dentistry. This may be attributed to the increasing routine use of cone beam computerized tomography (CBCT) for diagnosis and treatment planning of complex dental treatments, and incidental findings identified by clinicians during the process. This study aims to compare two different CBCT viewing software programs, and evaluate their detection of pathological findings in the maxillary sinus of a group of patients at Temple University School of Dentistry. Methods: A total of 316 CBCT scans taken on 176 females and 140 males (202 Caucasian, 69 African-American, 30 Asian, and 15 Hispanic) between 2009 and mid- 2013 by the Division of Oral & Maxillofacial Radiology at Temple University School of Dentistry were evaluated using i-CAT and INFINITT viewing software programs. The CBCT scans were examined with both viewing programs, and classified each time by independent evaluators as yielding one of 5 categories of maxillary sinus pathology as follows: healthy status with mucosal thickening ≤ 3 millimeters, mucosal thickening > 3 millimeters, polypoidal mucosal thickening, partial opacification, or complete opacification. Results: The i-CAT viewing program revealed 193 (61.1%) scans with a healthy maxillary sinus presenting with mucosal thickening ≤ 3 millimeters, and 123 (38.9%) scans yielding various forms of maxillary sinus pathology. In comparison, the INFINITT viewing program found 194 (61.4%) scans with healthy maxillary sinus conditions without pathology, and 122 (38.6%) scans with various types of maxillary sinus pathology. The difference in detection of maxillary sinus pathology between the i-CAT and INFINITT viewing programs was not statistically significant. Conclusions: The i-CAT and INFINITT viewing software programs for evaluation of human CBCT scans used in dental treatment planning provided nearly identical information relative to detection of maxillary sinus pathology. This suggests that both viewing programs may be employed interchangeably by clinicians in their pre- treatment evaluation of the maxillary sinus in dental patients. / Oral Biology