Measuring cultural event experiences: insights from 365 Algarve

Located in the south of Portugal, the Algarve region belongs to the top twenty travel destinations Worldwide, with a local economy relying strongly on tourism-related activities. The 365 Algarve program is a set of cultural and artistic events that was launched in 2016. Its main purpose is to increase territorial cohesion in the region by involving residents and local cultural groups in different projects, a bottom-up approach to initiate and sustain an event program. Cultural events reveal an interesting process to deliver knowledge, produce relational goods, breaking the time line of ordinary life enhancing the subjective well-being of individuals and society. Culture, tourism and territory are experience providers, creating sustainable development, adding meaning to life of residents and unique encounters to visitors. An event experience occurs when individuals are exposed to specific stimuli related to the event, besides the programme itself, such as the eventscape in its social and physical dimensions, producing an individual personal response. In terms of practical application, this research will hopefully contribute to improve measurement instruments to assess the cultural event experience. This research project has two main objectives: 1) to test the Event Experience Scale (EES), first developed to assess generic event experiences (Geus, Richards & Toepel, 2016), in cultural events settings; 2) to analyse cultural event experiences in relationship to other latent variables: eventscape, memory, and behavioural intentions. Data was collected from the attendees who were assisting the events from 365 Algarve cultural program. A sample of 394 respondents was collected. A structured methodology and descriptive measures were used. The results confirmed the four dimensions of EES (novelty, cognitive, affective and conative) and a new dimension has emerged, experiential learning. The outcome of this research is a Cultural Event Experience Scale (CEES) for assessing attendees' experiences on site in cultural events, enhancing its predictive character.O Algarve, a região mais a sul de Portugal, pertence aos 20 destinos turísticos mais importantes mundialmente, com uma economia local fortemente alicerçada em atividades relacionadas com o turismo. O programa 365 Algarve nasce da ação consertada entre a secretaria de estado da cultura e a secretaria de estado do turismo, com um investimento orçado em 1,5 milhões de euros. Uma abordagem ‘bottom-up’, inédita, para iniciar e suportar um programa de eventos culturais e artísticos na região. O objetivo principal é promover a coesão territorial na região, envolvendo residentes e agentes culturais locais em diferentes projetos. A paisagem cultural e natural do território algarvio é o ponto de partida para o ato criativo. A proposta de reflexão sobre o território conduz à descoberta, à (re) interpretação e deslumbre. É esta reflexão que informa a maioria dos eventos do programa cultural 365 Algarve. O território físico do Algarve e a comunidade que o habita são únicos, juntos garantem o carácter diferenciador deste programa cultural, expondo a identidade regional aos seus habitantes e aos que a visitam. A originalidade do programa reside na abrangência territorial: os eventos são criados e apresentados nos 16 municípios da região; as comunidades locais e residentes são o principal público alvo. Os eventos decorreram de outubro 2016 a maio de 2017, coincidindo com a época de menor fluxo turístico na região. Os eventos culturais revelam um processo interessante na promoção do conhecimento, produção de bens relacionais, interrupção positiva da linha temporal da vida quotidiana, contribuindo para o bem-estar subjetivo dos indivíduos e da sociedade. Cultura, turismo e território apresentam-se como geradores de experiências que adicionam significado à vivencia de residentes e promovem encontros únicos aos visitantes. A cultura apresenta-se como um pilar do desenvolvimento societal sustentável. Encontrar os melhores instrumentos de medição da experiência em eventos culturais é, em última análise, a aplicação prática desta investigação. Esta dissertação tem dois objetivos principais: 1) testar uma escala desenvolvida para medir a experiência de eventos (EEE), em geral (Geus, Richards & Toepel, 2016), agora no contexto especifico dos eventos culturais; 2) analisar a experiência do evento cultural na sua relação com outras variáveis latentes, concretamente: eventscape (Bonn et al., 2007), memória (Oh, Fiore & Jeoung, 2007) e intenções comportamentais (Bonn et al., 2007). A conceptualização da experiência do evento baseia-se no princípio de que os públicos dos eventos são expostos a estímulos específicos, que vão além do programa cultural em si (música, teatro, cinema, etc). O ambiente do evento, ou eventscape, ambas na sua componente social (público e profissionais), na sua componente física (local e os atributos do equipamento) e o conjunto total de estímulos (experiência do evento) produzem uma resposta pessoal (afetiva, cognitiva, conativa e à novidade) com implicações na memória e intenções comportamentais. Este estudo foi conduzido recorrendo a uma metodologia estruturada, de natureza quantitativa. Tendo em conta os objetivos definidos para a investigação, optou-se pelo inquérito por questionário, constituído por quatro secções que respondem a objetivos específicos de estudo: secção I - visa caracterizar a experiência dos eventos na perspetiva dos públicos que os assistem; secção II - pretende caracterizar o ambiente ou atmosfera do evento, eventscape; secção III - visa caracterizar os outputs da experiência do evento através da memória e intenções comportamentais; secção IV - almeja caracterizar o perfil sócio demográfico do respondente. Considerando a subjetividade da experiência pessoal do público, foram introduzidas questões abertas para controlar e validar o conteúdo das escalas. A população em estudo contempla os públicos que assistiram a um conjunto de eventos selecionados a partir do programa de eventos incluídos na programação do 365 Algarve. Os critérios de elegibilidade do respondente consideravam aptos para responder ao questionário os indivíduos com idades acima dos 14 anos. Todos os respondentes menores de 18 anos estavam autorizados pelos seus pais ou tutores legais. O cálculo da dimensão da amostra usou a estimativa mais conservadora para a proporção da amostra (p=0.5), para o nível de confiança de 95% e erro máximo da amostra de 5%. A amostra estimada foi de, pelo menos, 384 respondentes. O questionário, autoadministrado com presença de entrevistador, foi aplicado durante o período compreendido entre Março 2017 e Maio de 2017. O questionário foi distribuído à entrada do evento e todos os elementos do público presentes tiveram a oportunidade de participar. Os eventos, e suas tipologias (música, teatro, cinema, artes visuais, música-gastronomia, animação de património e artes performativas), foram selecionados no período em que decorreu a pesquisa, todos os eventos considerados nas diversas tipologias que estavam em cartaz, foram objeto de seleção aleatória através do lançamento de dados. Os eventos selecionados estavam disseminados por todo o território algarvio, ocorreram em equipamentos e horários distintos. Obteve-se amostra de 394 questionários validados. Os dados obtidos foram analisados usando o software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), versão 22. Foi produzida uma análise fatorial exploratória para inspecionar a estrutura da Escala da Experiência do Evento, a sua fiabilidade e consistência interna. Os resultados confirmaram as quatro dimensões da EEE (novidade, cognitiva, afetiva e conativa) e sugerem uma nova dimensão: a aprendizagem experiencial. Os resultados obtidos neste estudo sugerem uma Escala de Experiência de Eventos Culturais (CEES), para avaliar as experiências dos públicos durante este tipo específico de eventos. A execução de uma análise fatorial confirmatória é necessária para concluir o teste de validade da escala. Os resultados esperados devem contribuir para o conhecimento do balanço experiencial complexo que representa a interação do território com a cultura e o turismo

Growth Factors Regulate Expression of Mineral Associated Genes in Cementoblasts

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141778/1/jper1591.pd

Leucine‐Rich Amelogenin Peptide: A Candidate Signaling Molecule During Cementogenesis

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141564/1/jper1126.pd

A phase IIa randomized controlled pilot study evaluating the safety and clinical outcomes following the use of rhGDF-5/β-TCP in regenerative periodontal therapy

To present the safety profile, the early healing phase and the clinical outcomes at 24weeks following treatment of human intrabony defects with open flap debridement (OFD) alone or with OFD and rhGDF-5 adsorbed onto a particulate β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) carrier. Twenty chronic periodontitis patients, each with at least one tooth exhibiting a probing depth ≥6mm and an associated intrabony defect ≥4mm entered the study. Ten subjects (one defect/patient) were randomized to receive OFD alone (control) and ten subjects OFD combined with rhGDF-5/β-TCP. Blood samples were collected at screening, and at weeks 2 and 24 to evaluate routine hematology and clinical chemistry, rhGDF-5 plasma levels, and antirhGDF-5 antibody formation. Plaque and gingival indices, bleeding on probing, probing depth, clinical attachment level, and radiographs were recorded pre- and 24weeks postsurgery. Comparable safety profiles were found in the two treatment groups. Neither antirhGDF-5 antibody formation nor relevant rhGDF-5 plasma levels were detected in any patient. At 6months, treatment with OFD + rhGDF-5/β-TCP resulted in higher but statistically not significant PD reduction (3.7 ± 1.2 vs. 3.1 ± 1.8mm; p = 0.26) and CAL gain (3.2 ± 1.7 vs. 1.7 ± 2.2mm; p = 0.14) compared to OFD alone. In the tested concentration, the use of rhGDF-5/β-TCP appeared to be safe and the material possesses a sound biological rationale. Thus, further adequately powered, randomized controlled clinical trials are warranted to confirm the clinical relevance of this new approach in regenerative periodontal therapy. rhGDF-5/β-TCP may represent a promising new techology in regenerative periodontal therap

The minipig intraoral dental implant model: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives The objective of this report was to provide a review of the minipig intraoral dental implant model including a meta-analysis to estimate osseointegration and crestal bone remodeling. Methods A systematic review including PubMed and EMBASE databases through June 2021 was conducted. Two independent examiners screened titles/abstracts and selected full-text articles. Studies evaluating titanium dental implant osseointegration in native alveolar bone were included. A quality assessment of reporting was performed. Random-effects meta-analyses and meta-regressions were produced for bone-implant contact (BIC), first BIC, and crestal bone level. Results 125 out of 249 full-text articles were reviewed, 55 original studies were included. Quality of reporting was generally low, omissions included animal characteristics, examiner masking/calibration, and sample size calculation. The typical minipig model protocol included surgical extraction of the mandibular premolars and first molar, 12±4 wks post-extraction healing, placement of three narrow regular length dental implants per jaw quadrant, submerged implant healing and 8 wks of osseointegration. Approximately 90% of studies reported undecalcified incandescent light microscopy histometrics. Overall, mean BIC was 59.88% (95%CI: 57.43–62.33). BIC increased significantly over time (p 90%, p<0.001). Conclusions The minipig intraoral dental implant model appears to effectively demonstrate osseointegration and alveolar bone remodeling similar to that observed in humans and canine models

Screening of Hydroxyapatite Biomaterials for Alveolar Augmentation Using a Rat Calvaria Critical-Size Defect Model: Bone Formation/Maturation and Biomaterials Resolution

Background: Natural (bovine-/equine-/porcine-derived) or synthetic hydroxyapatite (HA) biomaterials appear to be the preferred technologies among clinicians for bone augmentation procedures in preparation for implant dentistry. The aim of this study was to screen candidate HA biomaterials intended for alveolar ridge augmentation relative to their potential to support local bone formation/maturation and to assess biomaterial resorption using a routine critical-size rat calvaria defect model. Methods: Eighty adult male Sprague Dawley outbred rats obtained from a approved-breeder, randomized into groups of ten, were used. The calvaria defects (ø8 mm) either received sham surgery (empty control), Bio-Oss (bovine HA/reference control), or candidate biomaterials including bovine HA (Cerabone, DirectOss, 403Z013), and bovine (403Z014) or synthetic HA/ß-TCP (Reprobone, Ceraball) constructs. An 8 wk healing interval was used to capture the biomaterials’ resolution. Results: All biomaterials displayed biocompatibility. Strict HA biomaterials showed limited, if any, signs of biodegradation/resorption, with the biomaterial area fraction ranging from 22% to 42%. Synthetic HA/ß-TCP constructs showed limited evidence of biodegradation/erosion (biomaterial area fraction ≈30%). Mean linear defect closure in the sham-surgery control approximated 40%. Mean linear defect closure for the Bio-Oss reference control approximated 18% compared with 15–35% for the candidate biomaterials without significant differences between the controls and candidate biomaterials. Conclusions: None of the candidate HA biomaterials supported local bone formation/maturation beyond the native regenerative potential of this rodent model, pointing to their limitations for regenerative procedures. Biocompatibility and biomaterial dimensional stability could suggest their potential utility as long-term defect fillers

An Oligodeoxynucleotide with Promising Modulation Activity for the Proliferation and Activation of Osteoblast

The paper explored the regulatory role of oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) with specific sequences in the proliferation and activation of osteoblast, using human osteoblast-like cell line MG 63 as the model. Through the administration of ODNs to MG 63 cells at a concentration of 1.0 μg/mL, ODN MT01 with positive effects on proliferation and activation of osteoblast was selected from 11 different ODNs by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity measurement. To get a deeper insight into the molecular mechanism, effects of ODN MT01 treatment on the expression level of Sp7, runx-2, collagen-I, osteoprotegerin (OPG) and RANK ligand (RANKL) were determined using quantitative real time PCR and Western blotting. Remarkably, the mRNA and protein expression levels of Sp7, runx-2, collagen-I and OPG were improved after ODN MT01 treatment. Meanwhile, the protein expression level of RANKL was dramatically decreased. These results suggested that ODN MT01 had a significant impact in facilitating osteogenic proliferation and activation, and provided a direct evidence for the notion that single strand ODN could regulate the balance of bone formation and resorption, and thus was of great potential in the rebuilding of alveolar bone

Future Prospects for Periodontal Bioengineering Using Growth Factors

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142015/1/cap0088.pd

A comprehensive review of techniques for biofunctionalization of titanium

A number of surface modification techniques using immobilization of biofunctional molecules of Titanium (Ti) for dental implants as well as surface properties of Ti and Ti alloys have been developed. The method using passive surface oxide film on titanium takes advantage of the fact that the surface film on Ti consists mainly of amorphous or low-crystalline and non-stoichiometric TiO2. In another method, the reconstruction of passive films, calcium phosphate naturally forms on Ti and its alloys, which is characteristic of Ti. A third method uses the surface active hydroxyl group. The oxide surface immediately reacts with water molecules and hydroxyl groups are formed. The hydroxyl groups dissociate in aqueous solutions and show acidic and basic properties. Several additional methods are also possible, including surface modification techniques, immobilization of poly(ethylene glycol), and immobilization of biomolecules such as bone morphogenetic protein, peptide, collagen, hydrogel, and gelatin