bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Biological mediators and periodontal regeneration: a review of enamel matrix proteins at the cellular and molecular levels
Authors: Bosshardt Dieter D. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractBackground: Despite a large body of clinical and histological data demonstrating beneficial effects of enamel matrix proteins (EMPs) for regenerative periodontal therapy, it is less clear how the available biological data can explain the mechanisms underlying the supportive effects of EMPs.Objective: To analyse all available biological data of EMPs at the cellular and molecular levels that are relevant in the context of periodontal wound healing and tissue formation.Methods: A stringent systematic approach was applied using the key words “enamel matrix proteins” OR “enamel matrix derivative” OR “emdogain” OR “amelogenin”. The literature search was performed separately for epithelial cells, gingival fibroblasts, periodontal ligament cells, cementoblasts, osteogenic/chondrogenic/bone marrow cells, wound healing, and bacteria.Results: A total of 103 papers met the inclusion criteria. EMPs affect many different cell types. Overall, the available data show that EMPs have effects on: (1) cell attachment, spreading, and chemotaxis; (2) cell proliferation and survival; (3) expression of transcription factors; (4) expression of growth factors, cytokines, extracellular matrix constituents, and other macromolecules; and (5) expression of molecules involved in the regulation of bone remodelling.Conclusion: All together, the data analysis provides strong evidence for EMPs to support wound healing and new periodontal tissue formation.
Clinical outcomes with bioactive agents alone or in combination with grafting or guided tissue regeneration
Authors: Trombelli Leonardo , Farina Roberto 
Published: August 2008

AbstractAim: The purpose of the present review was to determine the clinical effect of the use of bioactive agents (BAs) for the treatment of intra‐osseous and furcation defects.Material and Methods: The effectiveness of the BAs was evaluated when used in addition to open flap debridement either alone or in association with grafts and/or guided tissue regeneration (GTR). Among the included agents, recombinant human platelet‐derived growth factor‐BB (rhPDGF‐BB), platelet‐rich plasma (PRP), commercially available enamel matrix derivative (cEMD) and peptide P‐15 (P‐15) have been clinically tested for treating periodontal defects.Results and Conclusions: The results of the present review indicate that: (1) cEMD either alone or in combination with grafts can be effectively used to treat intra‐osseous defects and the clinical results appear to be stable long term; (2) the additional use of a graft seems to enhance the clinical outcome of cEMD; (3) the combined use of rhPDGF‐BB and P‐15 with a graft biomaterial has shown beneficial effects in intra‐osseous defects; (4) contrasting results were reported for PRP and graft combinations; and (5) limited evidence supports the use of BAs either alone or in association with graft/GTR for the treatment of furcation defects.
Soft tissue management at implant sites
Authors: Cairo Francesco , Pagliaro Umberto , Nieri Michele 
Published: August 2008

AbstractBackground: Dental implants are widely used to replace lost teeth. It was suggested that surgical manipulation/augmentation of peri‐implant soft tissue may be beneficial to increase the width/thickness of keratinized tissue (KT) and to enhance aesthetic outcomes of implant therapy. The aim of this paper was to provide a narrative review of the literature concerning soft tissue management at implant sites.Material and Methods: Clinical studies were identified with both medline and hand searches. Three topics were considered in this review: (i) the significance of KT at implant sites, (ii) the surgical techniques to increase KT and (iii) soft tissue stability around implants.Results: Several papers concerning soft tissue management at implant sites were identified, mainly expert opinions, case reports and case series. In addition, a systematic review was selected. Generally, the level of evidence was weak. So far, literature analysis showed that (i) the width of KT did not influence the survival rate of dental implants; (ii) there is no evidence to recommend a specific technique to preserve/augment KT; and (iii) factors including bone level, KT and implant features have not been shown to be associated with future mucosal recession around dental implants.Conclusion: Although scientific evidence in most part is lacking, soft tissue augmentation at implant sites may need to be considered in some clinical situations.
Assessment of the potential of growth factors for localized alveolar ridge augmentation: a systematic review
Authors: Jung Ronald E. , Thoma Daniel S. , Hammerle Christoph H. F. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractObjective: To systematically assess the literature regarding the clinical, histological, and radiographic outcome of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP‐2, BMP‐7), growth/differentiation factor‐5 (GDF‐5), platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF), and parathyroid hormone (PTH) for localized alveolar ridge augmentation.Material and Methods: Five separate Medline searches were performed in duplicate for human and animal studies, respectively. The primary outcome of the included studies was bone regeneration of localized alveolar ridge defects or craniofacial defects.Results: In six human studies, BMP‐2 affected local bone augmentation with increasing volume for higher doses. A majority (43 of 45) of animal studies using BMP‐2 showed a positive effect in favour of the growth factor (GF). In six of eight studies, a positive effect was associated with the use of BMP‐7. Only one animal study was included for GDF‐5 revealing statistically significantly higher bone volume. Regarding PDGF, statistically significantly higher bone volume was observed in five of 10 included studies. Four animal studies using PTH revealed statistically significantly more bone regeneration compared with controls.Conclusions: Differing levels and quantity of evidence were noted to be available for the GFs evaluated, revealing that BMP‐2, BMP‐7, GDF‐5, PDGF, and PTH may stimulate local bone augmentation to various degrees. Human data for the potential of rhBMP‐2 are supportive.
A systematic review of the success of sinus floor elevation and survival of implants inserted in combination with sinus floor elevation
Authors: Pjetursson Bjarni E. , Tan Wah Ching , Zwahlen Marcel , Lang Niklaus P. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractObjectives: The objectives of this systematic review were to assess the survival rate of grafts and implants placed with sinus floor elevation.Material and Methods: An electronic search was conducted to identify studies on sinus floor elevation, with a mean follow‐up time of at least 1 year after functional loading.Results: The search provided 839 titles. Full‐text analysis was performed for 175 articles resulting in 48 studies that met the inclusion criteria, reporting on 12,020 implants. Meta‐analysis indicated an estimated annual failure rate of 3.48% [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.48%–4.88%] translating into a 3‐year implant survival of 90.1% (95% CI: 86.4%–92.8%). However, when failure rates was analyzed on the subject level, the estimated annual failure was 6.04% (95% CI: 3.87%–9.43%) translating into 16.6% (95% CI: 10.9%–24.6%) of the subjects experiencing implant loss over 3 years.Conclusion: The insertion of dental implants in combination with maxillary sinus floor elevation is a predictable treatment method showing high implant survival rates and low incidences of surgical complications.The best results (98.3% implant survival after 3 years) were obtained using rough surface implants with membrane coverage of the lateral window.
Periodontal diseases and health: Consensus Report of the Sixth European Workshop on Periodontology
Authors: Kinane Denis , Bouchard Phillippe ,   on behalf of group E of the European Workshop on Periodontology
Published: August 2008

AbstractIntroduction: The remit of this group was to update the knowledge base on periodontal diseases and health.Material and Methods: The literature was systematically searched and critically reviewed in five specific topics.Results: Prevalence of periodontitis: The data suggest a trend towards a lower prevalence of periodontitis in recent years. Adverse pregnancy outcome: The findings indicate a likely association between periodontal disease and an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. There is no evidence that treating periodontal disease decreases the rate of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Prevalence and distribution of periodontal pathogens: Genetic analysis of bacteria has demonstrated an unanticipated diversity within species. Carriage rates and particular subsets of these species vary between ethnic groups. Few of these differences can be related to differences in disease prevalence. Diabetes mellitus: Evidence on the association supports the concept of increased severity but not extent of periodontitis in subjects with poorly controlled diabetes. It is inconclusive that periodontal treatment results in improved metabolic control. Cardiovascular diseases: Evidence suggests that having periodontitis contributes to the total infectious and inflammation burden and may contribute to cardiovascular events and stroke in susceptible subjects. The impact of periodontal therapy must be further investigated.
A critical assessment of adverse pregnancy outcome and periodontal disease
Authors: Wimmer Gernot , Pihlstrom Bruce L. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractBackground: Pre‐term birth is a major cause of infant mortality and morbidity that has considerable societal, medical, and economic costs. The rate of pre‐term birth appears to be increasing world‐wide and efforts to prevent or reduce its prevalence have been largely unsuccessful.Aim: To review the literature for studies investigating periodontal disease as a possible risk factor for pre‐term birth and adverse pregnancy outcomes.Main Findings and Conclusion: Variability among studies in definitions of periodontal disease and adverse pregnancy outcomes as well as widespread inadequate control for confounding factors and possible effect modification make it difficult to base meaningful conclusions on published data. However, while there are indications of an association between periodontal disease and increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcome in some populations, there is no conclusive evidence that treating periodontal disease improves birth outcome. Based on a critical qualitative review, available evidence from clinical trials indicates that, although non‐surgical mechanical periodontal treatment in the second trimester of pregnancy is safe and effective in reducing signs of maternal periodontal disease, it does not reduce the rate of pre‐term birth. Clinical trials currently underway will further clarify the potential role of periodontal therapy in preventing adverse birth outcomes. Regardless of the outcomes of these trials, it is recommended that large, prospective cohort studies be conducted to assess risk for adverse pregnancy outcome in populations with periodontal disease. It is critical that periodontal exposure and adverse birth outcomes be clearly defined and the many potential confounding factors and possible effect modifiers for adverse pregnancy outcome be controlled in these studies. If periodontal disease is associated with higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcome in these specific populations, large multicenter randomized‐controlled trials will be needed to determine if prevention or treatment of periodontal disease, perhaps combined with other interventions, has an effect on adverse pregnancy outcome in these women.
Is there a standard measuring rod in the Universe?
Authors: Jackson J. C. 
Published: August 2008

Abstract
The Caltech-Jodrell Bank very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) Surveys give detailed 5 GHz VLBI images of several hundred milliarcsecond (mas) radio sources, and the full width at half-maximum angular sizes of the corresponding compact cores. Using the latter, I have constructed an angular-diameter/redshift diagram comprising 271 objects, which shows clearly the expected features of such a diagram, without redshift binning. Cosmological parameters are derived which are compatible with existing consensus values, particularly when the VLBI data are combined with recent Baryon Acoustic Oscillations observations; the figures are presented as indications of what might be expected of larger samples of similar data. The importance of beaming and relativistic motion towards the observer is stressed; a model of the latter indicates that the emitting material is close to the observer's line of sight and moving with a velocity which brings it close to the observer's rest frame. With respect to linear size, these objects compare reasonably well in variance with the absolute luminosity of type Ia supernovae; the efficacy of the latter is improved by the brighter-slower and brighter-bluer correlations, and by the inverse-square law.
Intelligent Space Tube Optimization for Speeding Ground Water Remedial Design
Authors: Kalwij Ineke M. , Peralta Richard C. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractAn innovative Intelligent Space Tube Optimization (ISTO) two‐stage approach facilitates solving complex nonlinear flow and contaminant transport management problems. It reduces computational effort of designing optimal ground water remediation systems and strategies for an assumed set of wells. ISTO’s stage 1 defines an adaptive mobile space tube that lengthens toward the optimal solution. The space tube has overlapping multidimensional subspaces. Stage 1 generates several strategies within the space tube, trains neural surrogate simulators (NSS) using the limited space tube data, and optimizes using an advanced genetic algorithm (AGA) with NSS. Stage 1 speeds evaluating assumed well locations and combinations. For a large complex plume of solvents and explosives, ISTO stage 1 reaches within 10% of the optimal solution 25% faster than an efficient AGA coupled with comprehensive tabu search (AGCT) does by itself. ISTO input parameters include space tube radius and number of strategies used to train NSS per cycle. Larger radii can speed convergence to optimality for optimizations that achieve it but might increase the number of optimizations reaching it. ISTO stage 2 automatically refines the NSS‐AGA stage 1 optimal strategy using heuristic optimization (we used AGCT), without using NSS surrogates. Stage 2 explores the entire solution space. ISTO is applicable for many heuristic optimization settings in which the numerical simulator is computationally intensive, and one would like to reduce that burden.
Ground Water Sustainability: Methodology and Application to the North China Plain
Authors: Liu Jie , Zheng Chunmiao , Zheng Li , Lei Yuping 
Published: August 2008

AbstractThis article analyzes part of a ground water flow system in the North China Plain (NCP) subject to severe overexploitation and rapid depletion. A transient ground water flow model was constructed and calibrated to quantify the changes in the flow system since the predevelopment 1950s. The flow model was then used in conjunction with an optimization code to determine optimal pumping schemes that improve ground water management practices. Finally, two management scenarios, namely, urbanization and the South‐to‐North Water Transfer Project, were evaluated for their potential impacts on the ground water resources in the study area. Although this study focuses on the NCP, it illustrates a general modeling framework for analyzing the sustainability, or the lack thereof, of ground water flow systems driven by similar hydrogeologic and economic conditions. The numerical simulation is capable of quantifying the various components of the overall flow budget and evaluating the impacts of different management scenarios. The optimization modeling allows the determination of the maximum “sustainable pumping” that satisfies a series of prescribed constraints. It can also be used to minimize the economic costs associated with ground water development and management. Furthermore, since the NCP is one of the most water scarce and economically active regions in the world, the conclusions and insights from this study are of general interest and international significance.
Asymmetric Abstraction and Allocation: The Israeli‐Palestinian Water Pumping Record
Authors: Zeitoun Mark , Messerschmid Clemens , Attili Shaddad 
Published: August 2008

AbstractThe increased attention given to international transboundary aquifers may be nowhere more pressing than on the western bank of the Jordan River. Hydropolitical analysis of six decades of Israeli and Palestinian pumping records reveals how ground water abstraction rates are as asymmetrical as are water allocations. The particular hydrogeology of the region, notably the variability in depth to ground water, variations in ground water quality, and the vulnerability of the aquifer, also affect the outcome. The records confirm previously drawn conclusions of the influence of the agricultural lobby in maintaining a supply‐side water management paradigm. Comparison of water consumption rates divulges that water consumed by all sectors of the farming‐based Palestinian economy is less than half of Israeli domestic consumption. The overwhelming majority of “reserve” flows from wet years are sold at subsidized rates to the Israeli agricultural sector, while very minor amounts are sold at normal rates to the Palestinian side for drinking water. An apparent coevolution of water resource variability and politics serves to explain increased Israeli pumping prior to negotiations in the early 1990s. The abstraction record from the Western Aquifer Basin discloses that the effective limit set by the terms of the 1995 Oslo II Agreement is regularly violated by the Israeli side, thereby putting the aquifer at risk. The picture that emerges is one of a transboundary water regime that is much more exploitative than cooperative and that risks spoiling the resource as it poisons international relations.
The role of marine aquaculture in meeting the future demand for animal protein
Authors: Langan Richard 
Published: August 2008

AbstractFarm‐raised seafood is expected to play a major role in meeting the future demand for animal protein; however, the growth of marine aquaculture as currently practiced is constrained by space, economics and environmental concerns. For aquaculture to continue to expand, the potential of farming offshore ocean waters must be explored. Over the past decade, there has been worldwide interest in exploring the potential for offshore production, and the USA has emerged as one of the leaders in developing and demonstrating technologies for farming in the open ocean culture. Offshore research and development projects in New Hampshire, Hawaii and Puerto Rico have led to small‐scale commercial production, demonstrating that open ocean culture is indeed feasible and has great potential for future expansion. Despite the evidence that offshore farming is possible, a number of technical, economic and political challenges must be addressed before large‐scale production can be realized.
Environmental sources of microbial contaminants in shellfish and their public health significance
Authors: Jones Stephen H. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractShellfish‐harvesting waters are subject to a variety of pollution sources. Different sources pose different public threats; human sources are of more concern than nonhuman, and domestic animals are of more concern than wild animals. The type of source is also important because management strategies for eliminating sources may not be available for some wild animal sources. Water samples were collected from shellfish waters at two sites in coastal New Hampshire (NH) and on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, and were analyzed for Escherichia coli. E. coli isolates were ribotyped, and their ribopatterns were statistically compared to databases containing patterns from known source species. Each study area was significantly impacted by different types of source species including humans and pets at one NH site, wild animals at the other NH site, and birds at Martha's Vineyard. Strategies are available for managing these sources to improve water quality and reduce the public health threat.
Balancing the risks and benefits of fish for sensitive populations
Authors: Santerre Charles R. 
Published: August 2008

AbstractIn recent years, a number of concerns have been raised about the safety of fish. Environmental pollutants that accumulate in selected seafood products have caused some to regard fish as potentially dangerous for fetuses, nursing infants and young children. Yet, nutritionists contend that seafood can provide benefits which far outweigh the risks. In this review, we will briefly discuss the health benefits of eating fish, and compare these to the risks from two environmental pollutants (mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs). In addition, we will provide advice for sensitive populations (women who will become pregnant, pregnant or nursing women, and children younger than 6 years of age), which can help them to make informed decisions involving fish consumption. The ultimate goal is to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks from eating seafood.
Understanding the factors related to the consumers' choices of oysters in Australia: an empirical study
Authors: Kow Felicia , Yu Liu , FitzGerald Des , Grewal Devinder 
Published: August 2008

AbstractOysters, one of the most popular shellfish, constitute an important food commodity in Australia. With the rapid growth of production, Australian oyster suppliers have realized the need for a better understanding of oyster consumption patterns to maximize economic returns. This study examines oyster consumer demographics and attitudes towards oysters, which in turn identify antecedent variables influencing consumer choice of oysters. Relevant antecedent variables such as quality, safety, labelling and preferred values were identified by factor analysis. A logistic regression analysis predicts consumer choice of oysters using those antecedent variables and the demographic factors. We recommend factors to be considered in the marketing of oysters.
The influence of foreign direct investment on contracting confidence in developing countries
Authors: Ahlquist John S. , Prakash Aseem 
Published: August 2008

AbstractThis paper examines whether foreign direct investment (FDI) influences confidence in commercial contracts in developing countries. While the research on how host countries’ policy environments encourage FDI inflows has flourished, scholars have paid less attention to how the policy environment and local actors’ beliefs might, in turn, be affected by FDI. This is surprising because multinational enterprises are well‐recognized political and economic actors across the world. We expect that their increasing economic salience will influence the policy environments in which they function. By employing an innovative measure of property rights protection – contract‐intensive money – we examine how foreign direct investment influences host countries’ contract‐intensive money ratio in a large panel time series of both developed and developing countries from 1980 to 2002. Our analysis suggests that higher levels of FDI inflows are associated with greater confidence in commercial contracts and, by extension, the protection of property rights in developing countries.