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Selected AbstractsDisentangling biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning: deriving solutions to a seemingly insurmountable problemECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 6 2003Shahid Naeem Abstract Experimental investigations of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) directly manipulate diversity then monitor ecosystem response to the manipulation. While these studies have generally confirmed the importance of biodiversity to the functioning of ecosystems, their broader significance has been difficult to interpret. The main reasons for this difficulty concern the small scales of the experiment, a bias towards plants and grasslands, and most importantly a general lack of clarity in terms of what attributes of functional diversity (FD) were actually manipulated. We review how functional traits, functional groups, and the relationship between functional and taxonomic diversity have been used in current BEF research. Several points emerged from our review. First, it is critical to distinguish between response and effect functional traits when quantifying or manipulating FD. Second, although it is widely done, using trophic position as a functional group designator does not fit the effect-response trait division needed in BEF research. Third, determining a general relationship between taxonomic and FD is neither necessary nor desirable in BEF research. Fourth, fundamental principles in community and biogeographical ecology that have been largely ignored in BEF research could serve to dramatically improve the scope and predictive capabilities of BEF research. We suggest that distinguishing between functional response traits and functional effect traits both in combinatorial manipulations of biodiversity and in descriptive studies of BEF could markedly improve the power of such studies. We construct a possible framework for predictive, broad-scale BEF research that requires integrating functional, community, biogeographical, and ecosystem ecology with taxonomy. [source] Complications of Sclerotherapy: An UpdateDERMATOLOGIC SURGERY, Issue 2010FACPH, JEAN-JÉRÔME GUEX MD OBJECTIVES To describe, determine the incidence of, and explain the adverse reactions associated with the use of sclerotherapy and sclerosing agents. MATERIAL AND METHODS Review of current literature and personal research, with special attention to the French registry of 12,173 sclerotherapy sessions. RESULTS The nature and incidence of side effects of sclerosing agents vary according to the injection form: liquid or foam. They must be differentiated from complications of the method, which are less specific and often related to an inappropriate technique. Severe adverse events are rare, especially in relation to the billions of injections administered. CONCLUSION Complications and side effects of sclerotherapy are uncommon; the method has demonstrated its safety, with 0.22% of complications per session with liquid sclerosant and 0.58% with foamed sclerosant, but several points remain unclear, and more research is needed. Patient's informed consent can be better obtained thanks to the current knowledge herein summarized. Jean-Jérôme Guex, MD, FACPh, has received an honorarium from Bioform (USA). [source] Psychobiological models of adolescent risk: Implications for prevention and interventionDEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010Susan D. Calkins Abstract The papers in this special section address the phenomena of observed increases in risky behavior during the adolescent period of development. Authors provide well-documented evidence that adolescents are at greater risk for a range of psychological and behavioral problems during this period than at any other time in development. The papers share a developmental and psychobiological perspective on this period, noting that biological, social, and contextual factors interact to produce heightened risk for problematic behavior during this period. This perspective suggests several points of entry for intervention and prevention efforts aimed at reducing both mental and behavioral health problems. Gaps in current research efforts are noted, as is the need for more research focusing on mechanisms of change prior to and during adolescence. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 52: 213,215, 2010 [source] Metabolic consequences of pancreatic systemic or portal venous drainage in simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant recipientsDIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 6 2006P. Petruzzo Abstract Aims The aim was to investigate pancreatic B-cell function and insulin sensitivity in simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) recipients with systemic or portal venous drained pancreas allograft using simple and easy tests. Methods The study included 44 patients with Type 1 diabetes and end-stage renal disease who had undergone SPK transplantation: 20 recipients received a pancreas allograft with systemic venous drainage (S-SPK) and 24 with portal venous drainage (P-SPK). We studied only recipients with functioning grafts, with normal serum glucose, HbA1c and serum creatinine values, on a stable drug regimen. The subjects were studied at 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months after transplantation. Insulin sensitivity and B-cell function indices were derived from blood samples and oral glucose tolerance tests. Results All patients from both groups had normal fasting glucose, body mass index and HbA1c values by selection. The homeostatic model (HOMA) ,-cell index was significantly lower in P-SPK recipients at several points of the follow-up. HOMA-IR was significantly higher in S-SPK recipients at 6 and 24 months after transplantation and was positively correlated with fasting insulin values, but never exceeded 3.2. There was no significant difference in QUICKI index values between the two groups. Although all patients from both groups always had normal glucose tolerance, the area under the insulin curve was higher in the S-SPK group. Cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and triglycerides were higher in the P-SPK group. Conclusions The results suggest sustained long-term endocrine function in both groups and show that portal venous drainage does not offer major metabolic advantages. [source] Testosterone and innate immune function inversely covary in a wild population of breeding Dark-Eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis)FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 5 2006T. J. GREIVES Summary 1Innate immunity refers to the non-specific components of the primary immune response, which act broadly to destroy pathogens. Effective innate immune responses may save an individual the energetic costs associated with activating subsequent specific immune responses. 2Testosterone can suppress immune function in vitro and in vivo. Most studies examining testosterone's effects on immunity have focused on experimentally elevated testosterone and acquired immune responses (e.g. humoral and cell-mediated responses to foreign antigens). Few studies have investigated the relationship between endogenous levels of testosterone and innate immunity. 3In a wild breeding population of Dark-Eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis Linnaeus), we asked whether endogenous levels of testosterone measured at several points during the breeding season covaried with two components of innate immunity: total levels of non-specific immunoglobulin-G (IgG), and complement levels. 4Testosterone levels were significantly negatively correlated with both total IgG and complement activity. Both immune measures were also positively correlated with body mass. Taken together with experimental results from the same species, these results suggest that elevated testosterone levels may compromise innate as well as acquired immune function. [source] Determination of upward/downward groundwater fluxes using transient variations of soil profile temperature: test of the method with Voyons (Aube, France) experimental dataHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 18 2005Hocine Bendjoudi Abstract The temperature variations recorded at several points of a vertical shallow-depth profile are governed both by conductive and convective heat transfers and can be used to calculate the vertical component of the Darcy velocity and thermal diffusivity in the soil. This paper describes such calculations when transient variations over tens of days are considered and tests them using data collected at Voyons (Aube, France). The temperature was recorded during a year and a half period with a 1 h sampling time step at three different depths: 0·2, 0·4 and 0·75 m. By processing the annual variation of temperature, we obtained a value of the Darcy velocity in good agreement with the value of actual/potential evapotranspiration ratio. By processing transient variations, despite the limitation of the calculations due to the lack of sensitivity of the sensors, results obtained at Voyons were in good correlation with tensiometric data. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] THE SPIRIT OF DEMOCRACY AND THE RHETORIC OF EXCESSJOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS ETHICS, Issue 1 2007Jeffrey Stout ABSTRACT If militarism violates the ideals of liberty and justice in one way, and rapidly increasing social stratification violates them in another, then American democracy is in crisis. A culture of democratic accountability will survive only if citizens revive the concerns that animated the great reform movements of the past, from abolitionism to civil rights. It is crucial, when reasoning about practical matters, not only to admit how grave one's situation is, but also to resist despair. Therefore, the fate of democracy depends, to some significant degree, on how we choose to describe the crisis. Saying that we have already entered the new dark ages or a post-democratic era may prove to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, because anyone who accepts this message is apt to give up on the hard work of organizing and contestation that is needed to hold political representatives accountable to the people. This paper asks how one might strike the right balance between accuracy and hope in describing the democracy's current troubles. After saying what I mean by democracy and what I think the current threats to it are, I respond to Romand Coles's criticisms of reservations I have expressed before about rhetorical excess in the works of Stanley Hauerwas, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Richard Rorty. This leads to a discussion of several points raised against me by Hauerwas. A digression offers some of my reasons for doubting that John Howard Yoder's biblical scholarship vindicates Hauerwas's version of pacifism. The paper concludes by arguing that Sheldon Wolin's work on the evisceration of democracy, though admirably accurate in its treatment of the dangers posed by empire and capital, abandons the project of democratic accountability too quickly in favor of the romance of the fugitive. [source] ON BEING HEARD BUT NOT SEEN: MILBANK AND LASH ON AQUINAS, ANALOGY AND AGNOSTICISMMODERN THEOLOGY, Issue 2 2010PAUL De HART The article investigates an important recent dispute within systematic theology over the interpretation of Thomas Aquinas. John Milbank has defended the view that the doctrine of analogy in Aquinas is peculiarly implicated with his entire ontology, that it cannot be understood in merely semantic terms, and that it involves a less "agnostic" position on knowledge of God than is often assumed. The article critically engages this position in two ways. It offers an archaeology of the prior polemical context out of which the claim arose, for the meaning and purpose of Milbank's claim are illuminated once it is seen as the vigorous repudiation of a "grammatical" or "linguistic" interpretation of Thomas on analogy which had been proffered earlier by Nicholas Lash. It will also provide a close investigation of the citations and interpretations of Aquinas texts that Milbank uses to ground his position, in order to adjudicate the dispute with Lash. The result will be to call strongly into question the plausibility of Milbank's readings of Aquinas. The article also indicates at several points the way in which those readings are shaped by an overriding anti-Kantian thrust in Milbank's entire approach to the discussion. In conclusion, it adumbrates the larger and older question which subtends the entire dispute: to what degree is some kind of vision or intuitive grasp of being as such, or of God's being, granted human beings in this life? [source] Edge assembly-based memetic algorithm for the capacitated vehicle routing problemNETWORKS: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2009Yuichi Nagata Abstract Vehicle routing problems are at the heart of most decision support systems for real-life distribution problems. In vehicle routing problem a set of routes must be determined at lowest total cost for a number of resources (i.e., fleet of vehicles) located at one or several points (e.g., depots, warehouses) to efficiently service a number of demand or supply points. In this article a new memetic algorithm is suggested for the standard capacitated vehicle routing problem. The proposed algorithm combines the edge assembly (EAX) crossover with well-known local searches and allows for infeasible solutions with respect to capacity and route duration constraints after invoking the crossover. To address the constraint violation, an efficient modification algorithm is also suggested. Experimental tests on 47 standard benchmarks demonstrate that the suggested method is robust and competitive, finding new best-known solution to 20 well-studied instances and repeating the existing best-known solution for 24 problems in a reasonable computing time. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. NETWORKS, 2009 [source] Age and sex as factors of response to RSV infections among those with previous history of wheezingPEDIATRIC ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 5 2006Yoko Nagayama Although enhanced immune reaction caused by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in allergen-sensitized animal model has been reported, RSV illnesses in children already sensitized or having recurrent wheezing episodes have not been completely studied. In addition, the reason for male dominances in RSV infection at young ages was also inconclusive. Therefore, gender analysis in recurrent wheezing children with RSV infection can shed light on asthma pathogenesis. We studied the clinical features and the laboratory data of RSV infections in children who had recurrent wheezing histories. The subjects with RSV infection consisted of 98 boys and 58 girls. The children under 4 yr of age were 123 (78.8%) in number. Children with pneumonia were 78 and those with febrile episode were 119. Children above 1 yr of age were highly sensitized with mite antigen (75/96, 78.1%). The clinical symptoms and signs differed according to their ages. Children in each age group behaved differently in their immune reaction to RSV. Above all, 3-yr-old children deteriorated clinically during acute RSV infection, accompanied by transient elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) and suppressed blood eosinophil counts. Clinical features differed in several points between boys and girls. In general, the white blood cell count and the CRP levels were higher in girls in every age group. Blood eosinophil counts at the acute illness were significantly higher in boys than girls aged 2 and 3< yr. Age and gender comparison in already sensitized children might suggest a clue to asthma pathogenesis. [source] Synergistic neuroprotective effect via simian lentiviral vector-mediated simultaneous gene transfer of human pigment epithelium-derived factor and human fibroblast growth factor-2 in rodent models of retinitis pigmentosaTHE JOURNAL OF GENE MEDICINE, Issue 12 2008Masanori Miyazaki Abstract Background We previously demonstrated that a new lentiviral vector derived from nonpathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVagm) was efficient and safe for long-lasting retinal gene transfer, and that it provided the significant therapeutic effect of expressing human pigment epithelium-derived factor (hPEDF) in Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats. In the present study, to obtain a more pronounced outcome, we assessed the potential synergistic effect of the simultaneous gene transfer of hPEDF and human fibroblast growth factor-2 (hFGF-2) by improved third-generation SIV on RCS rats and retinal degeneration slow (rds) mice, because the former targets the primary neurons, including photoreceptor cells (PCs), whereas the latter is effective for targeting secondary neural cells, including Muller cells. Methods Vector solution (SIV-hPEDF, SIV-hFGF-2, a 1 : 1 mixture of SIV-hPEDF and SIV-hFGF-2, or SIV-enhanced green fluorescent protein) was injected into the peripheral subretinal space of 3-week-old RCS rats or rds mice. Histopathological and electroretinographic assessments were made at several points after gene transfer. Results Administration of SIV-hPEDF or SIV-hFGF-2 significantly delayed the histological PC degeneration and electrical deficit in RCS rats, and these delays were synergistically and significantly pronounced by SIV-hPEDF + SIV-hFGF-2 (1 : 1 mixture). In rds mice, functional therapeutic effects were observed even by SIV-PEDF, or SIV-FGF-2 alone and, moreover, both SIV-PEDF and SIV-FGF-2 showed higher therapeutic effects. Conclusions These synergistic rescues of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) model animals are the ,proof concept' that the ,dual' expression of hPEDF and hFGF-2 dramatically improved therapeutic efficacy by keeping lower titers. This strategy may contribute to safer and more effective gene therapy for RP. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] CONSTRAINING HEAT INPUT BY TRAJECTORY OPTIMIZATION FOR MINIMUM-FUEL HYPERSONIC CRUISEASIAN JOURNAL OF CONTROL, Issue 4 2006M. Wächter ABSTRACT Unsteady heat input effects are considered for the range cruise of a future hypersonic vehicle equipped with a turbo/ram jet engines combination. A realistic mathematical model for describing the unsteady heat effects has been developed. It is coupled to the model for the dynamics of the vehicle. To compute the heat load in hypersonic flight, several points on the vehicle surface are treated simultaneously. A two-step technique consisting of an efficient optimization algorithm and an ordinary differential equations (ODE) solver is applied to generate a solution. The results show that the heat load can be significantly reduced, with only a small increase in fuel consumption. [source] Estimating the Species Accumulation Curve Using MixturesBIOMETRICS, Issue 2 2005Chang Xuan Mao Summary As a significant tool in ecological studies, the species accumulation curve or the collector's curve is the graph of the expected number of detected species as a function of sampling effort. The problem of estimating the species accumulation curve based on an empirical data set arising from quadrat sampling is studied in a nonparametric binomial mixture model. It will be shown that estimating the species accumulation curve not only is independent of the unknown number of species but also includes estimating the number of species as a limiting case. For the purpose of interpolation, moment-based estimators, associated with asymptotic confidence intervals, are developed from several points of view. A likelihood-based procedure is developed for the purpose of extrapolation, associated with bootstrap confidence intervals. The proposed methods are illustrated by ecological data sets. [source] Molecular dynamics calculations on amylose fragments.BIOPOLYMERS, Issue 2 2002Abstract Molecular dynamics simulations (NPT ensembles, 1 atm) using the all atom force field AMB99C (F. A. Momany and J. L. Willett, Carbohydrate Research, Vol. 326, pp 194,209 and 210,226), are applied to a periodic cell containing ten maltodecaose fragments and TIP3P water molecules. Simulations were carried out at 25 K intervals over a range of temperatures above and below the expected glass transition temperature, Tg, for different water concentrations. The amorphous cell was constructed through successive dynamic equilibration steps at temperatures above Tg and the temperature lowered until several points of reduced slope (1/T vs volume) were obtained. This procedure was carried out at each hydration level. Each dynamics simulation was continued until the volume remained constant without up or down drift for at least the last 100 ps. For a given temperature, most simulations required 400,600 ps to reach an equilibrium state, but longer times were necessary as the amount of water in the cell was reduced. A total of more than 30 ns of simulations were required for the complete study. The Tg for each hydrated cell was taken as that point at which a discontinuity in slope of the volume (V), potential energy (PE), or density (,) vs 1/T was observed. The average calculated Tg values were 311, 337, 386, and 477 K for hydration levels of 15.8, 10, 5, and 1%, respectively, in generally good agreement with experimental values. The Tg for anhydrous amylose is above the decomposition temperature for carbohydrates and so cannot be easily measured. However, it has also been difficult to obtain a value of Tg for anhydrous amylose using simulation methods. Other molecular parameters such as end-to-end distances, mean square distributions, and pair distributions are discussed. Published 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biopolymers 63: 99,110, 2002 [source] The effect of topical lignocaine gel in pain relief for colposcopic assessment and biopsy: is it useful?BJOG : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 8 2008GCY Wong We investigated the use of topical ligocaine gel in pain relief for colposcopy and cervical punch biopsy. Ninety women referred for colposcopy due to abnormal cervical cytology were randomised to receive 5 ml of either 2% xylocaine gel or KY jelly to the cervix and the upper part of the vagina for at least 10 minutes prior to the colposcopic procedures. Pain score was obtained at several points of the procedure. Topical lignocaine gel did not significantly relieve pain from cervical punch biopsy and alleviate the stinging sensation from application of acetic acid and Lugol's iodine to cervix and vagina. However, it may be beneficial to a subgroup of women with prior unpleasant experience towards speculum examination. [source] Representative marketing-oriented study on implants in the Austrian population.CLINICAL ORAL IMPLANTS RESEARCH, Issue 5 2003Abstract: The number of dental implants inserted annually worldwide has been estimated to come close to a million. But the level of information available to patients about realistic, evidence-based treatment options by implants is often enough more than fragmentary, and what is disseminated by the media and the industry does not always reflect evidence-based empirical data. This survey of 1000 adults presented with 18 questions was designed to shed light on several points. These were (1) level of subjective patient information, (2) sources of information and prejudices, (3) future demand for implant treatment and target groups for patient information campaigns, and (4) potential misinformation, information deficits, discrepancies of information and how these come about. Of those questioned, 20% said unprompted that implants were a possibility to replace missing teeth. When prompted, 72% said that they knew about dental implants. Most of those questioned felt poorly informed about the options for replacing missing teeth and many knew less about implants than about other alternatives. The dentist was said to be the desired source of information, but 77% of those questioned reported that their dentists did not practice implant dentistry. More than 79% of those questioned did not know whether their dentist worked with implants. Forty-four percent thought that implants should only be placed by specially trained doctors. Sixty-one percent were of the opinion that dentists who provide implant dentistry were better qualified than their nonimplanting colleagues. Half of those questioned attributed implant failures to allergies and incompatibilities, the other half to poor medical care. Only 29% incriminated poor oral hygiene as a cause of implant failure. Future strategies should be geared to more professional public relations and patient information. Internationally operating qualified implant institutions could contribute much to balance discrepant information. Résumé Le nombre d'implants dentaires insérés annuellement dans le monde se chiffrerait à environ un million. Mais le niveau d'information disponible du patient en ce qui concerne les options de traitement basées sur l'évidence est souvent fragmentaire, et l'information dispensée par les média et l'industrie ne reflète pas toujours ces options. Cette enquête réalisée sur mille adultes ayant reçu un questionnaire de 18 questions a été effectuée afin de mettre en évidence certains points. Ces derniers étaient 1) le niveau de l'information subjective du patient, 2) les sources d'information et préjudices, 3) la demande future pour le traitement implantaire et les groupes cibles pour les campagnes d'information des patients, 4) les mauvaises informations potentielles, les déficits d'information, les désaccords de l'information et les causes de ces derniers. De ces personnes questionnées, 20% ont répondu spontanément que les implants étaient un moyen de remplacer les dents manquantes. Lorsqu'ils étaient interrogés, 72% ont répondu connaître les implants dentaires. La plupart de ces personnes se sentaient cependant peu informées sur les options de remplacement des dents manquantes et beaucoup d'entre-elles possédaient très peu d'information sur les implants par rapport aux autres possibilités existantes. Le dentiste semblait être la source préférentielle d'information mais 77 % des personnes questionnées ont rapporté que leur dentiste ne plaçait pas d'implant. Plus de 79% ne savaient pas si leur dentiste pratiquait l'implantologie. Quarante-quatre pour cent étaient persuadés que les implants ne pouvaient être placés que par des spécialistes. Soixante et un pour cent pensaient que les dentistes pratiquant de la dentisterie implantaire étaient plus qualifiés que les autres collègues. La moitié attribuait les échecs implantaires aux allergies et aux incompatiblités, l'autre moitié aux mauvais soins médicaux. Seul 29% incriminaient la mauvaise hygiène buccale comme une cause d'échec implantaire. Des stratégies futures devraient être orientées vers davantage de relations publiques professionnelles et d'informations du patient. Des institutions d'implants internationales pourraient grandement contribuer à changer cette mauvaise information. Zusammenfassung Eine repräsentative marketing-orientierte Studie über Implantate in der Bevölkerung von Oesterreich. Teil I: Stand der Information, Informationsquellen und Bedürfnis bezüglich Patienteninformation Die Anzahl weltweit gesetzter Implantate pro Jahr wird auf fast eine Million geschätzt. Aber die den Patienten zur Verfügung stehende Information über realistische, auf Evidenz basierende Behandlungsmöglichkeiten mit Implantaten ist mehr als lückenhaft. Was durch die Medien und durch die Industrie verbreitet wird, wiederspiegelt nicht immer auf Evidenz basierende empirische Daten. Diese Untersuchung an 1000 Erwachsenen, welchen 18 Fragen gestellt wurden, wurde entwickelt, um Licht auf verschiedene Punkte zu werfen. Die Punkte betrafen (1) Stand der subjektiven Patienteninformation; (2) Informationsquellen und Vorurteile; (3) zukünftiger Bedarf an Implantatbehandlungen und Zielgruppen für Propaganda zur Patienteninformation; (4) potentielle Fehlinformation, Informationsdefizite, Diskrepanzen in der Information und wie diese zustande kommen. Von den gefragten Individuen sagten ohne Vorinformation 20%, dass Implantate eine Varainte für den Ersatz von fehlenden Zähnen darstellen. Mit Vorinformation sagten 72%, dass sie von dentalen Implantaten Kenntnis haben. Die meisten der Befragten fühlten sich über die Möglichkeiten bezüglich Ersatz fehlender Zähne schlecht informiert und viele wussten weniger über Implantate als über andere Behandlungsvarianten. Es wurde gesagt, der Zahnarzt sei die gewünschte Informationsquelle, aber 77% der Befragten berichteten, dass ihr Zahnarzt keine Behandlungen mit Implantaten anbietet. Mehr als 79% der Befragten wussten nicht, ob ihr Zahnarzt mit Implantaten arbeitet. Vierundvierzig Prozent dachten, dass Implantate nur durch speziell ausgebildete Aerzte gesetzt werden sollten. Einundsechzig Prozent waren der Meinung, dass Zahnärzte, welche Implantatbehandlungen anbieten, besser qualifiziert sind als ihre nicht-implantierenden Kollegen. Die Hälfte der Befragten führten Implantatmisserfolge auf Allergien und Unverträglichkeiten zurück, die andere Hälfte auf schlechte medizinische Nachsorge. Nur 29% bezeichneten eine schlechte Mundhygiene als Ursache für Implantatmisserfolge. Zukünftige Studien sollten Richtung professioneller Publikums- und Patienteninformation gesteuert werden. International tätige qualifizierte Implantatinstitutionen könnten beträchtlich zum Ausgleich von widersprüchlichen Informationen beitragen. Resumen El número de implantes dentales insertados anualmente en todo el mundo se ha estimado cercano al millón. Pero el nivel de información disponible para los pacientes acerca de opciones de tratamiento reales con implantes basados en la evidencia es frecuentemente mas bien fragmentaria y lo que se disemina por los medios y la industria no siempre refleja los datos empíricos basados en la evidencia. Esta encuesta de 1000 adultos que presentaba 18 preguntas fue diseñada para dar luz en determinados puntos. Estos fueron (1) nivel subjetivo de información de los pacientes; (2) fuentes de información y prejuicios; (3) demanda futura para tratamiento de implantes y grupos diana para campañas de información; (4) desinformación potencial, déficit de información, discrepancias de información y como se generan. De aquellos a los que se preguntó, 20% dijeron espontáneamente que los implantes eran una posibilidad para reemplazar dientes ausentes. Cuando se les preguntó, 72% dijeron que sabían acerca de los implantes dentales. La mayoría de los encuestados se sentían pobremente informados acerca de las opciones para reemplazar dientes ausentes y muchos sabían menos acerca de los implantes que sobre otras alternativas. Se dijo que el dentista era la fuente de información mas deseada, pero 77% de los encuestados manifestó que sus dentistas no practicaban implantología. Mas del 79% de los encuestados no sabían si su dentista trabajaba con implantes. El 44% pensaba que los implantes debían ponerse solamente por doctores especialmente entrenados. El 61% eran de la opinión de que los dentistas que realizaban odontología de implantes estaban mejor cualificados que sus colegas que no lo hacían. La mitad de los encuestados atribuían los fracasos de los implantes a alergias e incompatibilidades, la otra mitad a pobres cuidados médicos. Solo el 29% incriminó a la pobre higiene oral como causa de fracaso de los implantes. La futura estrategia debe ser encaminada a unas relaciones públicas más profesionales y a más información del paciente. Las instituciones de implantes cualificadas que operan internacionalmente podrían contribuir a equilibrar la información discrepante. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||