bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Implant decontamination with 2% chlorhexidine during surgical peri‐implantitis treatment: a randomized, double‐blind, controlled trial
Authors: de Waal Y. C. M. , Raghoebar G. M. , Meijer H. J. A. , Winkel E. G. , van Winkelhoff A. J. 
Published: May 2014

AbstractObjectiveThe objective of this randomized, double‐blind, controlled trial was to evaluate the clinical, radiographic, and microbiological effects of implant surface decontamination with a 2% chlorhexidine (CHX) solution in comparison with a 0.12% chlorhexidine + 0.05% cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) solution during resective surgical peri‐implantitis treatment.Material and methodsForty‐four patients (108 implants) with peri‐implantitis were treated with resective surgical treatment consisting of bone re‐contouring, surface debridement and chemical decontamination, and apically repositioned flap. Patients were randomly allocated to decontamination with a 2% CHX solution (test group) or 0.12% CHX + 0.05% CPC (control group). Clinical and radiographic parameters were recorded before treatment (baseline), and at 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment. Microbiological parameters were recorded during surgery.ResultsMultilevel analysis showed no significant differences in bleeding, suppuration, probing pocket depth, and radiographic bone loss between control and test group over three follow‐up measurements (3, 6, and 12 months) from baseline. Both decontamination procedures resulted in significant reductions in anaerobic bacterial counts on the implant surface, but no significant difference was noted between control and test group (mean log 3.37 ± 2.34 vs. 3.65 ± 2.87, P = 0.99).ConclusionsThe use of a 2% CHX solution for implant surface decontamination during resective peri‐implantitis therapy does not lead to improved clinical, radiographic, or microbiological results compared with a 0.12% CHX + 0.05% CPC solution. Overall, the additional use of CHX reduces anaerobic bacterial load on the implant surface better than mechanical debridement alone, but does not seem to enhance clinical treatment outcomes (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT01852253).
Impact of donor kidney function and donor age on poor outcome of living‐unrelated kidney transplantation (KT) in comparison with living‐related KT
Authors: Park Kyung Sun , Shin Jung‐ho , Jang Hye Ryoun , Lee Jung Eun , Huh Woo Seong , Kim Yoon Goo , Oh Ha Young , Kim Dae Joong 
Published: May 2014

AbstractLiving‐unrelated donors (LURD) have been widely used for kidney transplantation (KT). We retrospectively reviewed 779 patients who underwent living‐donor KT from 2000 to 2012, to compare outcomes of 264 KT from LURD and 515 from living‐related donors (LRD), and to identify risk factors for living KT. Median follow‐up was 67 months. Mean donor age, total human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatches, and HLA–DR mismatches were higher, and mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was lower in LURD. Acute rejection (AR)‐free survival (p = 0.018) and graft survival (p = 0.025) were lower for LURD than LRD, whereas patient survival rate was comparable. Cox regression analysis showed HLA–DR mismatches (OR 1.75 for one mismatch; OR 2.19 for two mismatches), recipient age ≤ 42 yr, and donor age > 50 yr were significant risk factors for acute rejection. For graft survival, AR and donor eGFR (OR 1.90, p = 0.035) were significant. We also identified significant impact of recipient age > 50 yr and diabetes for patient survival. However, KT from LURD was not a significant risk factor for AR (p = 0.368), graft survival (p = 0.205), and patient survival (p = 0.836). Our data suggest that donor eGFR and donor age are independent risk factors for clinical outcomes of living KT, which can be related with poor outcome of KT from LURD.
Effects of posture on tactile localization by 4 years of age are modulated by sight of the hands: evidence for an early acquired external spatial frame of reference for touch
Authors: Begum Ali Jannath , Cowie Dorothy , Bremner Andrew J. 
Published: May 2014

AbstractAdults show a deficit in their ability to localize tactile stimuli to their hands when their arms are in the less familiar, crossed posture. It is thought that this ‘crossed‐hands deficit’ arises due to a conflict between the anatomical and external spatial frames of reference within which touches can be encoded. The ability to localize a single tactile stimulus applied to one of the two hands across uncrossed‐hands and crossed‐hands postures was investigated in typically developing children (aged 4 to 6 years). The effect of posture was also compared across conditions in which children did, or did not, have visual information about current hand posture. All children, including the 4‐year‐olds, demonstrated the crossed‐hands deficit when they did not have sight of hand posture, suggesting that touch is located in an external reference frame by this age. In this youngest age group, when visual information about current hand posture was available, tactile localization performance was impaired specifically when the children's hands were uncrossed. We propose that this may be due to an early difficulty with integrating visual representations of the hand within the body schema.
Neurocognitive mechanisms of learning to read: print tuning in beginning readers related to word‐reading fluency and semantics but not phonology
Authors: Eberhard‐Moscicka Aleksandra K. , Jost Lea B. , Raith Margit , Maurer Urs 
Published: May 2014

AbstractDuring reading acquisition children learn to recognize orthographic stimuli and link them to phonology and semantics. The present study investigated neurocognitive processes of learning to read after one year of schooling. We aimed to elucidate the cognitive processes underlying neural tuning for print that has been shown to play an important role for reading and dyslexia. A 128‐channel EEG was recorded while 68 (Swiss‐)German monolingual first grade children (mean age: 7.6) performed a one‐back task with different types of letter and false‐font strings. Print tuning was indexed by the N1 difference in the ERPs between German words and false‐font strings, while the N1 lexicality effect was indexed by the difference between German words and pseudowords. In addition, we measured reading fluency, rapid automatized naming, phonological awareness, auditory memory span, and vocabulary. After one year of formal reading instruction N1 print tuning was clearly present at the group level, and could be detected at the individual level in almost 90% of the children. The N1 lexicality effect, however, could not be reliably found. On the cognitive level, next to word‐reading fluency, vocabulary was also associated with N1 print tuning, but not measures reflecting phonological processing. These results demonstrate the presence of print tuning in the first year of reading acquisition and its development at the individual level. Moreover, individual differences in print tuning are not only related to word‐reading fluency, but also to semantic knowledge, indicating that at early stages of learning to read the top‐down modulation of print tuning is semantic rather than phonological in nature.
Variable outcome for epilepsy after neonatal hypoglycaemia
Authors: Fong Choong Yi , Harvey A Simon 
Published: May 2014

AimTo evaluate the electroclinical features of epilepsy secondary to neonatal hypoglycaemia.MethodThis was a retrospective study of children who had seizures beyond infancy after neonatal hypoglycaemia treated at The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne between 1996 and 2012. Patients with perinatal asphyxia were excluded. Clinical details were obtained from medical records. Digital electroencephalography (EEG) and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were reviewed. Eleven patients met the inclusion criteria (six males, five females; mean age 10y 5mo, range 4–18y at the time of review).ResultsAge at seizure onset ranged from 4 months to 5 years. Seizures were focal occipital in nine and generalized tonic in two patients. MRI showed gliosis with or without cortical atrophy in the occipital lobe with or without parietal lobe in all. Predominant EEG findings were stereotyped occipital sharp‐slow discharges in five, polymorphic occipital spike‐wave or paroxysmal fast activity in three, and generalized slow spike‐wave and fast activity in two. Seizures were infrequent or remitted in six of the nine children with focal occipital seizures, and frequent and refractory in both children with generalized seizures.InterpretationDespite the common antecedent and bilateral occipital lobe injury, the seizure manifestations and course of epilepsy after neonatal hypoglycaemia were variable, with mild occipital, refractory occipital, and symptomatic generalized epilepsy recognized.
Effects of age and expertise on tactile learning in humans
Authors: Reuter Eva‐Maria , Voelcker‐Rehage Claudia , Vieluf Solveig , Godde Ben 
Published: May 2014

AbstractRepetitive tactile stimulation is a well‐established tool for inducing somatosensory cortical plasticity and changes in tactile perception. Previous studies have suggested that baseline performance determines the amount of stimulation‐induced learning differently in specific populations. Older adults with lower baseline performance than young adults, but also experts, with higher baseline performance than non‐experts of the same age, have been found to profit most from such interventions. This begs the question of how age‐related and expertise‐related differences in tactile learning are reflected in neurophysiological correlates. In two experiments, we investigated how tactile learning depends on age (experiment 1) and expertise (experiment 2). We assessed tactile spatial and temporal discrimination accuracy and event‐related potentials (ERPs) in 57 persons of different age and expertise groups before and after a 30‐min tactile stimulation intervention. The intervention increased accuracy in temporal (found in experiment 1) and spatial (found in experiment 2) discrimination. Experts improved more than non‐experts in spatial discrimination. Lower baseline performance was associated with higher learning gain in experts and non‐experts. After the intervention, P300 latencies were reduced in young adults and amplitudes were increased in late middle‐aged adults in the temporal discrimination task. Experts showed a steeper P300 parietal‐to‐frontal gradient after the stimulation. We demonstrated that tactile stimulation partially reverses the age‐related decline in late middle‐aged adults and increases processing speed in young adults. We further showed that learning gain depends on baseline performance in both non‐experts and experts. In experts, however, the upper limit for learning seems to be shifted to a higher level.
Distinct age‐matched serum biomarker profiles in patients with cutaneous T‐cell lymphoma
Authors: Geskin Larisa J. , Akilov Oleg E. , Lin Yan , Lokshin Anna E. 
Published: May 2014

AbstractImmunological functions decline with age. Because MS/SzS predominately affects the elderly, it is important to distinguish age‐related from cancer‐specific changes. Also, MF and SzS are malignancies of CD4+ T‐lymphocytes, further compromising an immune state of the patients. The objectives of this study were to distinguish disease‐specific immunological deterioration by performing comparative age‐matched Luminex multiplex assessment of 34 serum biomarkers between patients with MF/SzS, HIV‐infected individuals and normal controls. Controlling for age, expression level appears to significantly differ between patients with MF/SzS and controls for the following biomarkers: G‐CSF, IL‐5, MIP‐1β, TNF‐α, VEGF, EOTAXIN, IL‐8, IL‐12, IL‐2R, IP10, MCP‐1, MIG, TNFR1 and TNFR2 (P < 0.05), while others showed normal age‐related changes. Interestingly, cluster analysis placed MF/SzS profiles closer to HIV. This further underscores an immunologically compromised state of patients with MF/SzS and suggests its potential self‐perpetuating role in disease progression.
Merkel cells and touch domes: more than mechanosensory functions?
Authors: Xiao Ying , Williams Jonathan S. , Brownell Isaac 
Published: May 2014

AbstractThe touch dome (TD) is an innervated structure in the epidermis of mammalian skin. Composed of specialized keratinocytes and neuroendocrine Merkel cells, the TD has distinct molecular characteristics compared to the surrounding epidermal keratinocytes. Much of the research on Merkel cell function has focused on their role in mechanosensation, specifically light touch. Recently, more has been discovered about Merkel cell molecular characteristics and their cells of origin. Here we review Merkel cell and TD biology, and discuss potential functions beyond mechanosensation.
Regenerative healing, scar‐free healing and scar formation across the species: current concepts and future perspectives
Authors: Ud‐Din Sara , Volk Susan W. , Bayat Ardeshir 
Published: May 2014

AbstractAll species have evolved mechanisms of repair to restore tissue function following injury. Skin scarring is an inevitable and permanent endpoint for many postnatal organisms except for non‐amniote vertebrates such as amphibians, which are capable of tissue regeneration. Furthermore, mammalian foetuses through mid‐gestation are capable of rapid wound repair in the absence of scar formation. Notably, excessive cutaneous scar formation, such as hypertrophic and keloid scars, is a species limited clinical entity as it occurs only in humans, although wounds on the distal limbs of horses are also prone to heal with fibroproliferative pathology known as equine exuberant granulation tissue. Currently, there are no reliable treatment options to eradicate or prevent scarring in humans and vertebrates. The limited number of vertebrate models for either hypertrophic or keloid scarring has been an impediment to mechanistic studies of these diseases and the development of therapies. In this viewpoint essay, we highlight the current concepts of regenerative, scar‐free and scar‐forming healing compared across a number of species and speculate on areas for future research. Furthermore, in‐depth investigative research into the mechanisms of scarless repair may allow for the development of improved animal models and novel targets for scar prevention. As the ability to heal in both a scarless manner and propensity for healing with excessive scar formation is highly species dependent, understanding similarities and differences in healing across species as it relates to the regenerative process may hold the key to improve scarring and guide translational wound‐healing studies.
Mesenchymal stem cell therapy for immune‐modulation: the donor, the recipient, and the drugs in‐between
Authors: Nemeth Krisztian 
Published: May 2014

AbstractAdoptive transfer of cultured bone marrow stromal cells (mesenchymal stem cells also known as MSCs) is a promising new way to aid tissue regeneration and treat a wide variety of diseases where regulation of inflammatory responses is derailed. Although significant advances have been made in the field, pinpointing important mechanistic details about how MSCs function in vitro and in vivo, there are still many unanswered questions that need to be addressed before welcoming MSCs in the therapeutic arsenal of immune mediated diseases. In this viewpoint, we highlight and discuss a few factors that we believe are critical in terms of therapeutic success employing cultured MSCs. Selecting the right donor population, choosing the best culture conditions and picking the patient population that is most likely to give a favourable therapeutic response is just as important as considering interactions between MSCs and the combination of drugs in the recipient's body. Given the complexity of MSC–host interactions, it is also imperative to develop screening tools that account for as many variables as possible and predict precisely the in vivo response rates before MSCs enter the body. To achieve this, a multidisciplinary approach is required with comprehensive knowledge of basic MSC biology, immunology, pharmacology and good clinical practice.
Promotion and nucleation of carbonate precipitation during microbial iron reduction
Authors: Zeng Z. , Tice M. M. 
Published: May 2014

AbstractIron‐bearing early diagenetic carbonate cements are common in sedimentary rocks, where they are thought to be associated with microbial iron reduction. However, little is yet known about how local environments around actively iron‐reducing cells affect carbonate mineral precipitation rates and compositions. Precipitation experiments with the iron‐reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR‐1 were conducted to examine the potential role of cells in promoting precipitation and to explore the possible range of precipitate compositions generated in varying fluid compositions. Actively iron‐reducing cells induced increased carbonate mineral saturation and nucleated precipitation on their poles. However, precipitation only occurred when calcium was present in solution, suggesting that cell surfaces lowered local ferrous iron concentrations by adsorption or intracellular iron oxide precipitation even as they locally raised pH. Resultant precipitates were a range of thermodynamically unstable calcium‐rich siderites that would likely act as precursors to siderite, calcite, or even dolomite in nature. By modifying local pH, providing nucleation sites, and altering metal ion concentrations around cell surfaces, iron‐reducing micro‐organisms could produce a wide range of carbonate cements in natural sediments.
Land‐use drivers of forest fragmentation vary with spatial scale
Authors: Cattarino Lorenzo , McAlpine Clive A. , Rhodes Jonathan R. 
Published: May 2014

AbstractAimImproving our understanding of the drivers of forest fragmentation is fundamental to mitigating the consequences of anthropogenic fragmentation for biodiversity. Moreover, the impacts of fragmentation on biodiversity depend on the spatial scale at which fragmentation occurs. Therefore, understanding how the effect of land use on fragmentation patterns varies across scales is critical to ensure that fragmentation is managed at scales relevant to the ecology of target species or to land management. Here, we quantified the influence of land use on patterns of forest fragmentation at different scales using Queensland, Australia, as a case study.LocationNorth‐eastern Australia.MethodsWe combined fractal analysis with piecewise linear regression to measure patterns of forest fragmentation across a range of scales in 5309 landscapes of c. 50 km2, with different proportions of land used for cropping and grazing. A significant change in fragmentation patterns occurred at approximately 1 km2. We used beta regression to quantify the impact of land use on the degree of fragmentation at scales finer and coarser than 1 km2.ResultsThe use of land for grazing tended to create more fragmented forest patterns than use of land for cropping. This difference was more pronounced at coarser than finer scales.Main conclusionsOur finding suggests that the choice of land use where conservation actions, such as revegetation and retention of forest patches, are to be prioritized depends on the scale at which we measure fragmentation. This information contributes to reducing the risk of mismatches between the scale at which fragmentation is managed and the scale at which fragmentation is measured, which is often dictated by the scale of species movements or the scale of land management. Our finding also improves our capacity to discern between fragmentation patterns that are typical of land‐sharing and land‐sparing conservation strategies, as spatial scale varies, thus aiding the implementation of land sparing and land sharing at scales relevant to biodiversity conservation and land management.
Global patterns of soil microbial nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry in forest ecosystems
Authors: Li Pin , Yang Yuanhe , Han Wenxuan , Fang Jingyun 
Published: May 2014

AbstractAimTo investigate broad‐scale patterns of soil microbial nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry and their environmental drivers.LocationGlobal forests.MethodsBy synthesizing 652 observations of soil microbial biomass N and P derived from the published literature, we investigated global patterns of soil microbial N, P and N:P ratios and their relationships with climate, soil and vegetation types.ResultsMicrobial N and P concentrations varied widely among forest types, with relatively low N and P concentrations but high N:P ratios in tropical forests. The N and P concentrations increased and the N:P ratio decreased with increasing latitude (or decreasing temperature). The N:P ratio showed a similar pattern along the precipitation gradient to that along the temperature gradient, whereas microbial N and P displayed weak trends along the precipitation gradient. Edaphic variables also regulated the patterns of microbial N and P stoichiometry: microbial N and P concentrations increased with soil N and P concentrations as well as with soil pH. Mixed‐effects models revealed that edaphic factors explained the largest part of the variation in microbial N, P and the N:P ratio, suggesting their dominant role.Main conclusionsOur findings highlight that there are broad‐scale patterns in microbial N, P and the N:P ratio along the gradients of latitude, temperature and precipitation, which are similar to those reported in plants and soils. The consistency of these patterns in plant–soil–microbe ecosystems supports the hypothesis that P is more often the major limiting element at low latitudes than at high latitudes.
Functional relationships beyond species richness patterns: trait matching in plant–bird mutualisms across scales
Authors: Dehling D. Matthias , Töpfer Till , Schaefer H. Martin , Jordano Pedro , Böhning‐Gaese Katrin , Schleuning Matthias 
Published: May 2014

AbstractAimFunctional relationships between species groups on macroecological scales have often been inferred from comparisons of species numbers across space. On large spatial scales, however, it is difficult to assess whether correlations of species numbers represent actual functional relationships. Here, we investigated the functional relationship between a feeding guild (fruit‐eating birds) and its resource (fleshy‐fruited plants) by studying the matching of their functional traits across spatial scales, from individual interactions to regional patterns.LocationA 3000‐m elevational gradient in the tropical Andes.MethodsWe sampled plant–bird interactions at two sites along the elevational gradient, and using multivariate statistics (fourth‐corner analysis) we identified corresponding morphological traits of birds and plants that influenced which bird species fed from which plant species. We then tested whether the functional trait diversities of the bird species assemblages matched those of the plant species assemblages along the elevational gradient.ResultsCorresponding functional traits of birds and plants were closely and significantly correlated on the scale of individual plant–bird interactions. On the regional scale, the functional diversities, but not species numbers, of bird and plant assemblages correlated significantly along the elevational gradient.Main conclusionsThe analysis of species interaction networks with multivariate statistics was a powerful tool for identifying relationships between functional traits of interacting species. The close functional relationships between birds and plants on the scale of individual interactions and on the regional scale show that comparisons of functional trait diversities, based on matching traits of interacting species, are better suited than correlations of species numbers to reveal the mechanisms behind large‐scale diversity patterns of interacting species. The identification of functional interdependences between interacting species on large spatial scales will be important for improving predictive models of species distributions in space and time.