Ecuador's left is down but far from out

Significance The first round's leading candidate, former Vice-President Lenin Moreno, of the leftist ruling party Alianza Pais, will face former banker and centre-right candidate Guillermo Lasso on April 2. The announcement came amid accusations of fraud and growing criticism over the delays in releasing the official results. Impacts The election results will increase economic uncertainty and dampen economic activity in the short term. Political tensions will rise as the two presidential candidates battle to secure votes outside of their core constituencies. Whatever the runoff result, Alianza Pais will hold its National Assembly majority, exerting significant influence over legislative matters. With economic woes hindering the new government, four years of unpopular right-wing rule could pave the way for a Correa comeback in 2021.

Evaluation of a new concept of myofunctional therapy in children

This prospective study was designed to evaluate a new concept of myofunctional therapy in comparison with conventional myofunctional therapy. 45 children aged three to sixteen years in need of myofunctional therapy were randomly divided into two groups: 19 children were referred to myofunctional therapy in private practices in Hamburg and served as controls. The remaining 26 children were treated with face former therapy at the Department of Orthodontics by a medical assistant specializing in myofunctional therapy. The overall observation time was six months. Every three months an overall clinical assessment was performed at the Department of Orthodontics by a speech pathologist and an orthodontist, who documented the clinical situation. The clinical examination included measurement of lip strength, palatography to document the swallowing pattern, logopedic diagnosis, and an orthodontic examination with reference to a standardized diagnostic sheet. In all children’s orofacial function could be improved. Children treated with the Face Former showed a statistically significantly improvement in palatal tongue position during swallowing. They achieved stronger lip pressure within a shorter time than children who did not use the Face Former. However, at the end of the observation time there was no statistically significant difference in lip strength between the two groups. Habitual mouth closure was also achieved within a shorter time for children treated with the FaceFormer than children with myofunctional therapy. Face Former therapy seems to offer a good alternative to conventional myofunctional therapy. Longitudinal studies will follow to judge whether the established orofacial balance could be stabilized, i.e. the established physiological orofacial function becomes automatic.