In this paper, we explore the properties of proto-neutron star matter. The relativistic finite-temperature Green function formalism is used to derive the equations which determine the properties of such matter. The calculations are performed for the relativistic non-linear mean-filed theory, where different combinations of lepton number and entropy have been investigated. All particles of the baryon octet as well as all electrically charged states of the Δ isobar have been included in the calculations. The presence of all these particles is shown to be extremely temperature (entropy) dependent, which should have important consequences for the evolution of proto-neutron stars to neutron stars as well as the behavior of neutron stars in compact star mergers.

Background/Objectives: Effective screening for oral cancer (OC) remains challenging. Inaccuracies contribute to delayed diagnosis and poor outcomes. Tobacco-related changes in oral mucosa may compromise the accuracy of oral screening approaches, and, in emerging “smart” screening modalities, they may overshadow the influence of other predictive variables. The objective of this study was to evaluate the screening accuracy of an imaging- and risk factor-based OC screening platform in individuals practicing different types of tobacco usage. Methods: 318 subjects who had previously screened positive for increased OC risk were recruited and sorted into “tobacco smoker”, “tobacco vaper”, “tobacco chewer”, “hookah user”, “multiple tobacco usage”, or “tobacco non-user” groups. Next, demographic information, risk factors, outcome of clinical examination, as well as AFI and pWLI were recorded using a prototype OC screening platform. The OC risk assessment outcome from the OC screening platform was compared to that from an oral medicine specialist. Results: The screening platform demonstrated high sensitivity in tobacco chewers and hookah users, and it also exceeded 90% in smokers, vapers, and multi-product users. In tobacco non-users, 80% screening sensitivity was recorded. Screening specificity was considerably better in tobacco non-users than in the tobacco-user groups, and low in tobacco chewers (33.3%), vapers (55.6%), and smokers (62.5%). Across all groups, agreement between the screening platform outcome and specialist evaluation exceeded 80%. Significant differences in probe accuracy were noted between tobacco non-users and users (p < 0.05), except for tobacco vapers. Conclusions: These findings highlight the need to consider the effects of type of tobacco use on the OC screening approach, and to integrate these variables into imaging-and risk-factor-based algorithms for OC screening.

Background/Objectives: The low-resource, minority and underserved populations (LRMU) that carry the highest risk of oral cancer (OC) experience many barriers to early detection and treatment, resulting in disproportionately poor outcomes. One major barrier to better outcomes is poor compliance with specialist referral for diagnosis and treatment. The goal of this prospective study was to compare specialist referral compliance for Telehealth vs. in-person visits in LRMU individuals screening positive for increased OC risk. Methods: Forty subjects who had screened positive for oral potentially malignant lesions (OPMLs) were recruited from community clinics. The subjects indicated whether they would prefer an in-person or Telehealth specialist visit. They were offered assistance with all aspects of the visit, and then tracked over 3 months for referral compliance. A novel, very low-cost, simple Telehealth platform located within the community clinic was used for the remote specialist visits. Results: In the Telehealth group, 16/24 subjects attended their first scheduled remote specialist visit; 4/24 attended rescheduled visits within 3 months, and 4/24 did not comply at all. All attendees and specialists were able to complete the remote visits in full. Of the 7/16 subjects who completed in-person visits, 3/16 attended their first scheduled visit, and 4/16 complied within 3 months; 9/16 subjects did not comply at all with specialist referral. Significantly more individuals complied with Telehealth specialist referral at 1 month (p = 0.0006) and after 3 months (p = 0.0154). Conclusions: This novel Telehealth platform may improve compliance with specialist referral in low-resource individuals with OPMLs.

The low-resource, minority and underserved populations (LRMU) that carry the highest risk of oral cancer (OC) experience many barriers to early detection and treatment, resulting in disproportionately poor out-comes. One major barrier to better outcomes is poor compliance with specialist referral for diagnosis and treatment. The goal of this study was to compare specialist referral compliance for Telehealth vs. in-person visits in LRMU individuals screening positive for increased OC risk. Forty subjects who had screened posi-tive for oral potentially malignant lesions (OPMLs) were recruited from community clinics. The subjects indi-cated whether they would prefer an in-person or Telehealth specialist visit. They were offered assistance with all aspects of the visit, and then tracked over 3 months for referral compliance. A novel, very low-cost, simple Telehealth platform located within the community clinic was used for the remote specialist visit. In the Telehealth group, 16/24 subjects attended the first scheduled remote specialist visit; 4/24 attended resched-uled visits within 3 months, and 4/24 did not comply at all. All attendees and specialists were able to com-plete the remote visit in full. Of the 7/16 subjects who completed the in person visit, 3/16 attended the first scheduled visit, 4/16 complied within 3 months. 9/16 did not comply at all with specialist referral. Significantly more individuals complied with telehealth specialist referral at 1 month (p=0.0006) and after 3 months (p=0.0154). A novel Telehealth platform may improve compliance with specialist referral in low-resource in-dividuals with OPMLs.