Relationship between Dental Arch Width and Vertical Facial Morphology in Untreated Adults- A Retrospective Study

Early orthodontic research has focused on the link between face shape and malocclusion. Orthodontic treatment's effectiveness and stability are heavily influenced by a patient's dental and facial anatomy. An orthodontist's knowledge of arch shapes is essential since it affects the patient's treatment and future growth. For this study, the researchers wanted to see if there was a link between vertical face morphology and arch width, and if there was a difference in arch width between males and females. Arch width measurements (in millimetres) were utilised to determine the association. For both males and females, participants with the lowest mandibular plane angle had the widest arch, followed by those with the average mandibular angle and those with the highest.

A GWAS in Latin Americans identifies novel face shape loci, implicating VPS13B and a Denisovan introgressed region in facial variation

To characterize the genetic basis of facial features in Latin Americans, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of more than 6000 individuals using 59 landmark-based measurements from two-dimensional profile photographs and ~9,000,000 genotyped or imputed single-nucleotide polymorphisms. We detected significant association of 32 traits with at least 1 (and up to 6) of 32 different genomic regions, more than doubling the number of robustly associated face morphology loci reported until now (from 11 to 23). These GWAS hits are strongly enriched in regulatory sequences active specifically during craniofacial development. The associated region in 1p12 includes a tract of archaic adaptive introgression, with a Denisovan haplotype common in Native Americans affecting particularly lip thickness. Among the nine previously unidentified face morphology loci we identified is the VPS13B gene region, and we show that variants in this region also affect midfacial morphology in mice.

Analysis of RGB-D camera technologies for supporting different facial usage scenarios

Recently a wide variety of applications has been developed integrating 3D functionalities. Advantages given by the possibility of relying on depth information allows the developers to design new algorithms and to improve the existing ones. In particular, for what concerns face morphology, 3D has led to the possibility to obtain face depth maps highly close to reality and consequently an improvement of the starting point for further analysis such as Face Detection, Face Authentication, Face Identification and Face Expression Recognition. The development of the aforementioned applications would have been impossible without the progress of sensor technologies for obtaining 3D information. Several solutions have been adopted over time. In this paper, emphasis is put on passive stereoscopy, structured light, time-of-flight (ToF) and active stereoscopy, namely the most used technologies for the cameras design and fulfilment according to the literature. The aim of this article is to investigate facial applications and to examine 3D camera technologies to suggest some guidelines for addressing the correct choice of a 3D sensor according to the application that has to be developed.

Discrete changes in fault free-face roughness: constraining past earthquakes characteristics

<p>A driving motivator in many active tectonics studies is to learn more about the recurrence large and potentially destructive earthquakes, providing the means to assess the respective fault’s future seismic behavior. Doing so requires long records of earthquake recurrence. The lack of sufficiently long instrumental seismic records (that would be best suited for this task) has led to the development of other approaches that may constrain the recurrence of surface rupturing earthquakes along individual faults. These approaches take different forms, depending on the specific tectonic and geographic conditions of an investigated region.</p><p>For example, around the Mediterranean Sea, we frequently find bedrock scarps along normal faults. Assuming that bedrock (i.e., fault free-face) exposure is caused by the occurrence of sub-sequent large earthquakes, we may measure certain rock properties to constrain the time and size of past earthquakes as well as the fault’s geologic slip-rate. A now-classic example in this regard is the measurement of <sup>36</sup>Cl concentrations along exposed fault scarps in limestones.</p><p>For the presented study, we looked at another property of the exposed fault free-face, namely its morphologic roughness. We aim to identify whether fault free-face roughness contains information to constrain earthquake occurrence and fault slip-rates following the assumption that  sub-sequent exposure to the elements and sub-areal erosional conditions may leave a signal in how rough (or smooth) the fault free-face is (assuming a somewhat uniform pre-exposure roughness). Here, we present observations of fault free-face surface roughness for the Mt. Vettore fault (last ruptured in 2016) and the Rocca Preturo fault (The underlying models of fault free-face morphology were generated using the Structure-from-Motion approach and a large suite of unregistered optical images.). Employing different metrics to quantify morphologic roughness, we were indeed able to observe a) an increase in surface roughness with fault scarp height (i.e., longer exposure to sub-areal erosion causes higher roughness), and b) distinct (rather than gradual) changes in surface roughness, suggesting a correlation to individual exposure events such as earthquakes. Hence, fault free-face morphology of bedrock faults may serve as an additional metric to reconstruct earthquake recurrence patterns.</p>

Association of PAX3 and TMTC2 gene polymorphism with the face morphology change after excision of skin tumors

Background/Aim. The group of genes, known as PAX (paired box), has a great role in organogenesis, as well as in maintaining the normal function of certain cells after the birth. In addition to these genes, the impact on the organogenesis, at the cellular level, has a transmembrane tetratricopeptid group of genes (TMTC). The term polymorphism in the human genome implies variations in the hereditary basis that occur in human populations, the presence of two or more different alleles of one genome in the population. The aim of the work was to determine whether there is an association of PAX3 and TMTC2 genes polymorphism with changes of the face morphology after skin tumor excision and direct suture closure. Methods. The study included 130 patients of both sexes, older than 50 years, with the medical indication for the elliptical surgical excision of the skin tumor. DNA was isolated from 5 mL of peripheral blood. Gene polymorphisms were analyzed with pre-designed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) assays, by allelic discrimination method on REAL-TIME apparatus. The patients were subjected to a laser scanning preoperatively, and 7 and 90 days postoperatively, in order to obtain x, y and z coordinates of 5 cephalometric points on the face, which determined the shape of the medial cheek region. The shape of the medial cheek region, as well as the coordinates of 5 cepahlometric points, were compared among genotypes of both genes preoperatively, as well as 7 days and 90 days postoperatively. Results. A statistically significant difference in the shape of the medial cheek region between wildtype and mutant of PAX3 gene was found preoperatively, while the statistically significant difference in the shape of the medial cheek region was not found between wild-type and heterozygote, nor between wild-type and heterozygote and mutant of PAX3 gene, nor among genotypes of TMTC2 gene. Seven days and 90 days postoperatively, there were no statistically significant differences in the shape of the examined region among genotypes of both genes. Conclusion. Polymorphisms of PAX3 and TMTC2 genes are not associated with the change in the face morphology after the skin tumor excision and direct suture closure of the defect.

Hydrodynamic Drivers of Dissolved Oxygen Variability within a Tidal Creek in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Beach erosion and water quality degradation have been observed in Singleton Swash, a tidal creek that traverses the beach-face connecting land and ocean in Myrtle Beach, SC. The objective of this study in Singleton Swash is to explore relationships between water quality and hydrodynamics, where the latter are influenced by beach face morphology. We measure water velocities, water levels, and dissolved oxygen concentrations (DO) (a proxy for water quality) and apply correlation analysis to examine the relationships between physical processes and dissolved oxygen variations. Results show that larger tidal ranges are associated with higher mean levels of DO in the tidal creek. The larger tidal ranges are linked to larger magnitude currents, which increase both the DO transport via larger fluxes of oxygenated oceanic water into the swash and the magnitude of Reynolds shear stresses; due to tidal asymmetries, flood currents are stronger than ebb currents in this system. Based on these results, it is concluded that the combined transport of oxygenated waters into the tidal creek from the ocean on large flood tides and subsequent mixing due to large Reynolds shear stresses result in the observed net DO concentration increases in the creek over tidal cycles.

Orthodontic Treatment of a Kabuki Syndrome Patient

Kabuki syndrome (KS) is a rare disorder characterized by somatic and psychological disturbances including special face morphology, skeletal anomalies, and other systemic disorders. Because of the diverse clinical manifestation, the management of a patient with KS may involve several medical and dental specialists, including orthodontics. The aim of the article is to present successful orthodontic treatment performed in a 14-year-old boy diagnosed with the KS. Dental relations and smile aesthetics were normalized after orthodontic treatment; however, problems with patient compliance and cooperation and an increased risk of root resorption may influence treatment outcomes. Interdisciplinary cooperation between medical and dental specialists is essential in patients with KS.

Face morphology of brazilian and peruvian populations: analysis of proportion and linear measurement indexes

<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To compare the proportion and linear measurement indexes between Brazilian and Peruvian population through 3D stereophotogrammetry and to stablish the face profile of these two Latin American populations. <strong>Material and Methods: </strong>40 volunteers (Brazilian n=21– 10 males and 11 females; Peruvian n=19 – 8 males and 11 females) aged between 18 and 40 years (mean of 28.7±9.1) had landmarks marked on the face. Then, 3D images were obtained (VECTRA M3) and the indexes of proportion and linear measurement (face, nose, and lips) were calculated. The data were statistically analyzed by One-Way ANOVA (p&lt;0.05). <strong>Results: </strong>The proportion indexes did not reveal marked differences either between the studied populations or genders (p&gt;0.05). The following linear measurements showed intergroup statistically significant differences: face width and height, nose width and height, upper facial height, mouth width, protrusion of the nose tip (p&lt;0.05). The Brazilian females showed the smallest significant differences. <strong>Conclusions: </strong>Despite the different ethnic compositions, the Brazilian and Peruvian populations did not differ regarding the proportions of the face, nose, and lips. The differences observed in Brazilian females may be related to gender and/or to the Caucasian heritage of the Brazilian sample.</p><p><strong>Keywords</strong></p><p>Photogrammetry; Face; Tridimensional Image.<strong></strong></p>