Dietary Strategies to Optimize Wound Healing after Periodontal and Dental Implant Surgery: An Evidence-Based Review

Methods to optimize healing through dietary strategies present an attractive option for patients, such that healing from delicate oral surgeries occurs as optimally as possible with minimal patient-meditated complications through improper food choices. This review discusses findings from studies that have investigated the role of diet, either whole foods or individual dietary components, on periodontal health and their potential role in wound healing after periodontal surgery. To date, research in this area has largely focused on foods or individual dietary components that may attenuate inflammation or oxidant stress, or foster de novo bone formation. These studies suggest that a wide variety of dietary components, including macronutrients and micronutrients, are integral for optimal periodontal health and have the potential to accelerate oral wound healing after periodontal procedures. Moreover, this review provides guidance regarding dietary considerations that may help a patient achieve the best possible outcome after a periodontal procedure

Report on the State of Available Data for the Study of International Trade and Foreign Direct Investment

This report, prepared for the Committee on Economic Statistics of the American Economic Association, examines the state of available data for the study of international trade and foreign direct investment. Data on values of imports and exports of goods are of high quality and coverage, but price data suffer from insufficient detail. It would be desirable to have more data measuring value-added in trade as well as prices of comparable domestic and imported inputs. Value data for imports and exports of services are too aggregated and valuations are questionable, while price data for service exports and imports are almost non-existent. Foreign direct investment data are of high quality but quality has suffered from budget cuts. Data on trade in intellectual property are fragmentary. The intangibility of the trade makes measurement difficult, but budget cuts have added to the difficulties. Modest funding increases would result in data more useful for research and policy analysis.

Sustained Calcium(II)-Release to Impart Bioactivity in Hybrid Glass Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

In this study, we integrated different calcium sources into sol-gel hybrid glass scaffolds with the aim of producing implants with long-lasting calcium release while maintaining mechanical strength of the implant. Calcium(II)-release was used to introduce bioactivity to the material and eventually support implant integration into a bone tissue defect. Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) derived silica sols were cross-linked with an ethoxysilylated 4-armed macromer, pentaerythritol ethoxylate and processed into macroporous scaffolds with defined pore structure by indirect rapid prototyping. Triethyl phosphate (TEP) was shown to function as silica sol solvent. In a first approach, we investigated the integration of 1 to 10% CaCl2 in order to test the hypothesis that small CaCl2 amounts can be physically entrapped and slowly released from hybrid glass scaffolds. With 5 and 10% CaCl2 we observed an extensive burst release, whereas slightly improved release profiles were found for lower Calcium(II) contents. In contrast, introduction of melt-derived bioactive 45S5 glass microparticles (BG-MP) into the hybrid glass scaffolds as another Calcium(II) source led to an approximately linear release of Calcium(II) in Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (TRIS) buffer over 12 weeks. pH increase caused by BG-MP could be controlled by their amount integrated into the scaffolds. Compression strength remained unchanged compared to scaffolds without BG-MP. In cell culture medium as well as in simulated body fluid, we observed a rapid formation of a carbonated hydroxyapatite layer on BG-MP containing scaffolds. However, this mineral layer consumed the released Calcium(II) ions and prevented an additional increase in Calcium(II) concentration in the cell culture medium. Cell culture studies on the different scaffolds with osteoblast-like SaOS-2 cells as well as bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) did not show any advantages concerning osteogenic differentiation due to the integration of BG-MP into the scaffolds. Nonetheless, via the formation of a hydroxyapatite layer and the ability to control the pH increase, we speculate that implant integration in vivo and bone regeneration may benefit from this concept

Predictors for severe persisting pain in rheumatoid arthritis are associated with pain origin and appraisal of pain

Objectives: To determine the proportion of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with severe persisting pain and to identify predictive factors despite treatment-controlled disease activity. Methods: This prospective multicentre study included outpatients with RA scheduled for escalation of anti-inflammatory treatment due to active disease and severe pain (Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28)>3.2 and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)>50). At week 24, patients were stratified into reference group (DAS28 improvement>1.2 or DAS28≤3.2 and VAS pain score3.2, regardless of VAS pain score) and persisting pain group (DAS28 improvement>1.2 or DAS28≤3.2 and VAS pain score≥50). The former two subgroups ended the study at week 24. The latter continued until week 48. Demographic data, DAS28-C reactive protein, VAS for pain, painDETECT Questionnaire (PD-Q) to identify neuropathic pain (NeP) and the Pain Catastrophising Scale were assessed and tested for relation to persisting pain. Results: Of 567 patients, 337 (59.4%) were classified as reference group, 102 (18.0%) as non-responders and 128 (22.6%) as patients with persisting pain. 21 (8.8%) responders, 28 (35.0%) non-responders and 27 (26.5%) persisting pain patients tested positive for NeP at week 24. Pain catastrophising (p=0.002) and number of tender joints (p=0.004) were positively associated with persisting pain at week 24. Baseline PD-Q was not related to subsequent persisting pain. Conclusions: Persisting and non-nociceptive pain occur frequently in RA. Besides the potential involvement of NeP, pain catastrophising and a higher number of tender joints coincide with persisting pain

Conservation of grassland birds in North America: understanding ecological processes in different regions

Many species of birds that depend on grassland or savanna habitats have shown substantial overall population declines in North America. To understand the causes of these declines, we examined the habitat requirements of birds in six types of grassland in different regions of the continent. Open habitats were originally maintained by ecological drivers (continual and pervasive ecological processes) such as drought, grazing, and fire in tallgrass prairie, mixed-grass prairie, shortgrass prairie, desert grassland, and longleaf pine savanna. By contrast, grasslands were created by occasional disturbances (e.g., fires or beaver [Castor canadensis] activity) in much of northeastern North America. The relative importance of particular drivers or disturbances differed among regions. Keystone mammal species grazers such as prairie-dogs (Cynomys spp.) and bison (Bison bison) in western prairies, and dam-building beavers in eastern regions of the continent. Deciduous forests played a crucial, and frequently unappreciated, role in maintaining many grassland systems. Although fire was important in preventing invasion of woody plants in the tallgrass and moist mixed prairies, grazing played a more important role in maintaining the typical grassland vegetation of shortgrass prairies and desert grasslands. Heavy grazing by prairiedogs or bison created a low \u27grazing lawn\u27 that is the preferred habitat for many grassland bird species that are restricted to the shortgrass prairie and desert grasslands. Ultimately, many species of grassland birds are vulnerable because people destroyed their breeding, migratory, and wintering habitat, either directly by converting it to farmland and building lots, or indirectly by modifying grazing patterns, suppressing fires, or interfering with other ecological processes that originally sustained open grassland. Understanding the ecological processes that originally maintained grassland systems is critically important for efforts to improve, restore, or create habitat for grassland birds and other grassland organisms. Consequently, preservation of large areas of natural or seminatural grassland, where these processes can be studied and core populations of grassland birds can flourish, should be a high priority. However, some grassland birds now primarily depend on artificial habitats that are managed to maximize production of livestock, timber, or other products. With a sound understanding of the habitat requirements of grassland birds and the processes that originally shaped their habitats, it should be possible to manage populations sustainably on \u27working land\u27 such as cattle ranches, farms, and pine plantations. Proper management of private land will be critical for preserving adequate breeding, migratory, and winter habitat for grassland and savanna species

Instances and connectors : issues for a second generation process language

This work is supported by UK EPSRC grants GR/L34433 and GR/L32699Over the past decade a variety of process languages have been defined, used and evaluated. It is now possible to consider second generation languages based on this experience. Rather than develop a second generation wish list this position paper explores two issues: instances and connectors. Instances relate to the relationship between a process model as a description and the, possibly multiple, enacting instances which are created from it. Connectors refers to the issue of concurrency control and achieving a higher level of abstraction in how parts of a model interact. We believe that these issues are key to developing systems which can effectively support business processes, and that they have not received sufficient attention within the process modelling community. Through exploring these issues we also illustrate our approach to designing a second generation process language.Postprin

Solar Wind Neon from Genesis: Implications for the Lunar Noble Gas Record

Lunar soils have been thought to contain two solar noble gas components with distinct isotopic composition. One has been identified as implanted solar wind, the other as higher-energy solar particles. The latter was puzzling because its relative amounts were much too large compared with present-day fluxes, suggesting periodic, very high solar activity in the past. Here we show that the depth-dependent isotopic composition of neon in a metallic glass exposed on NASA's Genesis mission agrees with the expected depth profile for solar wind neon with uniform isotopic composition. Our results strongly indicate that no extra high-energy component is required and that the solar neon isotope composition of lunar samples can be explained as implantation-fractionated solar wind

Extrusion-Printing of Multi-Channeled Two-Component Hydrogel Constructs from Gelatinous Peptides and Anhydride-Containing Oligomers

The performance of artificial nerve guidance conduits (NGC) in peripheral nerve regeneration can be improved by providing structures with multiple small channels instead of a single wide lumen. 3D-printing is a strategy to access such multi-channeled structures in a defined and reproducible way. This study explores extrusion-based 3D-printing of two-component hydrogels from a single cartridge printhead into multi-channeled structures under aseptic conditions. The gels are based on a platform of synthetic, anhydride-containing oligomers for cross-linking of gelatinous peptides. Stable constructs with continuous small channels and a variety of footprints and sizes were successfully generated from formulations containing either an organic or inorganic gelation base. The adjustability of the system was investigated by varying the cross-linking oligomer and substituting the gelation bases controlling the cross-linking kinetics. Formulations with organic N-methyl-piperidin-3-ol and inorganic K2HPO4 yielded hydrogels with comparable properties after manual processing and extrusion-based 3D-printing. The slower reaction kinetics of formulations with K2HPO4 can be beneficial for extending the time frame for printing. The two-component hydrogels displayed both slow hydrolytic and activity-dependent enzymatic degradability. Together with satisfying in vitro cell proliferation data, these results indicate the suitability of our cross-linked hydrogels as multi-channeled NGC for enhanced peripheral nerve regeneration

Early Deglaciation in the Tropical Andes

Analysis of sediment records from lakes located beyond the glacial limit in the Andes has provided, for the first time, an independent assessment of effective moisture ( precipitation minus evaporation) and the timing of the last glaciation (1). Conditions were wet at the LGM and remained so until approximately 15,000 cal yr B.P. (2). However, deglaciation was under way from the LGM between 22,000 and 19,500 cal yr B.P., which reinforces the observation that deglaciation in the tropical Andes was primarily forced by an increase in mean annual temperature during a wet postglacial interval (3, 4)

Early Deglaciation in the Tropical Andes

Analysis of sediment records from lakes located beyond the glacial limit in the Andes has provided, for the first time, an independent assessment of effective moisture ( precipitation minus evaporation) and the timing of the last glaciation (1). Conditions were wet at the LGM and remained so until approximately 15,000 cal yr B.P. (2). However, deglaciation was under way from the LGM between 22,000 and 19,500 cal yr B.P., which reinforces the observation that deglaciation in the tropical Andes was primarily forced by an increase in mean annual temperature during a wet postglacial interval (3, 4)