Contemporary Concepts (contemporary + concept)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Development of the corneal stroma, and the collagen,proteoglycan associations that help define its structure and function

DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 10 2008
Andrew J. Quantock
Abstract The cornea of the eye is a unique, transparent connective tissue. It is comprised predominantly of collagen fibrils, remarkably uniform in diameter and regularly spaced, organized into an intricate lamellar array. Its establishment involves a precisely controlled sequence of developmental events in which the embryonic cornea undergoes major structural transformations that ultimately determine tissue form and function. In this article, we will review corneal developmental dynamics from a structural perspective, consider the roles and interrelationships of collagens and proteoglycans, and comment on contemporary concepts and current challenges pertinent to developmental processes that result in an optically clear, mature cornea. Developmental Dynamics 237:2607,2621, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Stem cells in the periodontal ligament

ORAL DISEASES, Issue 4 2006
S Ivanovski
The ability to identify and manipulate stem cells has been a significant advancement in regenerative medicine and has contributed to the development of tissue engineering-based clinical therapies. Difficulties associated with achieving predictable periodontal regeneration, means that novel techniques such as tissue engineering need to be developed in order to regenerate the extensive soft and hard tissue destruction that results from periodontitis. One of the critical requirements for a tissue engineering approach is the delivery of ex vivo expanded progenitor populations or the mobilization of endogenous progenitor cells capable of proliferating and differentiating into the required tissues. By definition, stem cells fulfill these requirements and the recent identification of stem cells within the periodontal ligament represents a significant development in the progress toward predictable periodontal regeneration. In order to explore the importance of stem cells in periodontal wound healing and regeneration, this review will examine contemporary concepts in stem cell biology, the role of periodontal ligament progenitor cells in the regenerative process, recent developments in identifying periodontal stem cells and the clinical implications of these findings. [source]


The Maka femur and its bearing on the antiquity of human walking: Applying contemporary concepts of morphogenesis to the human fossil record

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2002
C. Owen Lovejoy
Abstract MAK-VP-1/1, a proximal femur recovered from the Maka Sands (ca. 3.4 mya) of the Middle Awash, Ethiopia, and attributed to Australopithecus afarensis, is described in detail. It represents the oldest skeletal evidence of locomotion in this species, and is analyzed from a morphogenetic perspective. X-ray, CT, and metric data are evaluated, using a variety of methods including discriminant function. The specimen indicates that the hip joint of A. afarensis was remarkably like that of modern humans, and that the dramatic muscle allocation shifts which distinguish living humans and African apes were already present in a highly derived form in this species. Its anatomy provides no indication of any form of locomotion save habitual terrestrial bipedality, which very probably differed only trivially from that of modern humans. Am J Phys Anthropol 119:97,133, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


The management of superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder: a critical assessment of contemporary concepts and future perspectives

BJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 8 2005
Thomas-Alexander Vögeli
First page of article [source]