1,720,954 research outputs found
Temporal dynamics of early inflammatory markers after professional dental cleaning: a meta-analysis and spline-based meta-regression of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and (hs)CRP
Get PDFIntroduction: Chronic periodontitis is linked to systemic inflammation and cardiovascular risk, yet the temporal trajectory and magnitude of systemic cytokine reduction following nonsurgical-periodontal-therapy (NSPT) remain underexplored. We conducted a meta-analysis and spline-based meta-regression to assess whether intensive NSPT, compared to standard therapy, produces sustained reductions in circulating TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). Methods: We systematically searched major databases for interventional studies published until January 2024 comparing intensive vs. standard NSPT on inflammatory markers. Using a custom R pipeline, standardized mean differences (SMDs), 95% confidence intervals (Cis) heterogeneity (I2) and stratified analyses by phenotype (e.g., smoking, diabetes) and time were performed. A spline-based mixed-effects meta-regression explored temporal dynamics of inflammatory reduction in the intensive group. Results: From 216 observations (14,374 paired values), intensive NSPT led to significantly greater reductions in TNF-α (SMD –0.59, 95% CI –1.02 to –0.16; P=0.008), IL-6 (SMD –0.20, 95% CI –0.39 to –0.00; P=0.046) and hs-CRP (SMD –1.17, 95% CI –2.18 to –0.16; P=0.024) compared to standard therapy. IL-1β showed a near-significant reduction (SMD –4.14, P=0.052). Standard therapy was paradoxically associated with greater CRP reduction (SMD –0.30, P=0.001). Age, tooth count and year of publication moderated effects. Early benefits emerged within 3 months for TNF-α and 6 months for IL-1β. Although no strong nonlinear time-response was confirmed (QM = 4.23, P=0.2372),a potential rebound in cytokine suppression was suggested. The overall anti-inflammatory effect remained significant. Discussion: Intensive NSPT reduces systemic inflammation particularly in younger, non-smoking individuals. The potential rebound in inflammatory markers underscores the need for longitudinal studies but, supports the systemic immunoregulatory effect of periodontal therapy. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO, identifier CDR42024503063
Noninferiority Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Assessing the Antiplaque Efficacy of Fatty Acids–Based Mouthrinse
Get PDFObjectivesThe market offers many plaque-controlling mouthrinse options, but recent research reveals fatty acids' antimicrobial potential. Despite limited evidence on their antiplaque effects, fatty acids are intriguing for oral care innovation.Material and MethodsThis noninferiority randomized clinical trial assessed the antiplaque efficacy of a fatty acids-based (FAG) compared to stannous fluoride (SF) mouthrinse in experimental gingivitis induced by 14 days of oral hygiene cessation. Participants used assigned treatments twice daily for 14 days. Full Mouth Plaque and Bleeding Scores (FMPS/FMBS) served as primary outcomes. Statistical analyses encompassed parametric and nonparametric methods, as well as logistic regression models.ResultsThirty-one volunteers (22.9 +/- 1.6 years, 58.1 female) completed the trial, split between FAG (n = 15) and SF (n = 16) groups. Experimental gingivitis increased in both groups, with rates of 60.0% and 50.0% for FAG and SF, respectively. After the 14-day intervention, FMPS and FMBS were reduced in both groups compared to the post-induction phase, confirming the noninferiority of FAG. Specifically, FAG's FMPS was 39.7% +/- 13.8% with FMBS at 28.9% +/- 16.9%, while SF's FMPS was 43.2% +/- 14.9% with FMBS at 21.4% +/- 11.9%. No significant FMPS/FMBS differences were observed overtime, and there were also no significant differences in gingivitis rates throughout the trial. Crude and adjusted models, accounting for baseline FMPS, age and gender, reiterated the lack of significant association between outcomes and treatments. The adjusted odds ratio was 0.71 (p = 0.662).ConclusionThis study establishes the noninferiority of fatty acids-based relative to SF mouthrinse in an experimental gingivitis model. Fatty acids offer promising avenues for oral care enhancement, necessitating further investigation and validation in broader real-life scenarios
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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