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Many well designed clinical studies have established the effectiveness of periodontal therapy. Surgical procedures have been shown to be effective in treating periodontitis when followed by appropriate maintenance care. Scaling and root planing alone have recently been compared to scaling and root planing plus soft tissue surgery in several longitudinal trials. A review of the literature indicates several important findings including a loss of clinical attachment following flap procedures for shallow (1-3 mm) pockets and no clinically significant loss after scaling and root planing. These studies also generally report either a gain or maintenance of attachment level for both procedures in deeper pockets (≥ 7 mm). For these pockets, neither procedure has been shown to be uniformly superior with respect to attachment gain. All reports indicate that both treatment methods result in pocket reduction. However, the literature also indicates that scaling and root planing combined with a flap procedure results in greater initial pocket reduction than does scaling and root planing alone. This difference in degree of pocket reduction between procedures tends to decrease beyond 1-2 years. It has been shown that both treatment methods result in sustained decreases in gingivitis, plaque and calculus and neither procedure appears to be superior with respect to these parameters. Additional data from the study at the University of Minnesota indicate that similar results are maintained up to 6½ years following active therapy. Pocket depth did not change for shallow (1-3 mm) pockets treated by either scaling and root planing alone or scaling and root planing followed by a modified Widman flap. For pockets 4-6 mm, both treatment procedures resulted in equally effective sustained pocket reduction. Deep pockets (≥ 7 mm) were initially reduced more by the flap procedure. After 2 years, no consistent difference between treatment methods was found in degree of pocket reduction. However, as compared to baseline, pocket reduction was sustained to 6½ years with the flap and only 3 years with scaling and root planing alone. After 6½ years, sustained attachment loss in shallow (1-3 mm) pockets was found after the modified Widman flap. Scaling and root planing alone in these shallow pockets did not result in sustained attachment loss. For pockets initially 4-6 mm in depth, attachment level was maintained by both procedures but scaling and root planing resulted in greater gain in attachment as compared to the flap at all time intervals. Treatment of pockets ≥ 7 mm in depth by either procedure resulted in a sustained gain in attachment with no difference between procedures. The results of these studies indicate that both scaling and root planing as well as scaling and root planning combined with a flap procedure are effective in treating periodontitis over time up to 6½ years. Individual variations among patients were noted. Decisions for or against for or against soft tissue surgery must be made on the basis of individual patient considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the effect of location on manufacturing productivity in rural and urban areas. Input quality and cost variables; Agglomeration effects; Production flexibility; Data and variable construction methods used in the study of meat-products and household furniture industries; Size effects; Timing of entry and survival.

Negative components of variance estimates may arise when the usual specification of statistically independent random variables is false. A class of such situations is considered here, viz., those in which the assumption of sampling from infinite populations is incorrect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on the determinants of job and people movement. Influence of government on economic activity; Factors affecting growth and employment variations; Understanding on the process of population and employment growth.

There has been increasing media and political questioning of the national loyalties and identities held by young British Muslims, with a particular focus on those seen to separate themselves through strict and religiously observant dress and lifestyles. This paper draws primarily on research focusing on the meanings of ‘Britishness’ held amongst a group of visibly observant young Muslim adults. Empirical evidence is provided to demonstrate that although these young adults demonstrated an explicit and visible sense of Muslim identity, this co-existed without any conscious conflict with their British identity. The young adults’ acknowledgement of their religious attachment developed from a positive and proactive identification with Islam rather than one in opposition or rebellion against a British identity. Therefore, in a wider context, their lives must not be analysed only through the lens of religion, dress and appearance as this has repercussions in relation to national policy formation and subsequent perceptions of wider society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is one of the more common sources of environmentally induced hearing loss in adults. In a mouse model, Castaneous (CAST/Ei) is an inbred strain that is resistant to NIHL, while the C57BL/6J strain is susceptible. We have used the genome-tagged mice (GTM) library of congenic strains, carrying defined segments of the CAST/Ei genome introgressed onto the C57BL/6J background, to search for loci modifying the noise-induced damage seen in the C57BL/6J strain. NIHL was induced by exposing 6-8-week old mice to 108 dB SPL intensity noise. We tested the hearing of each mouse strain up to 23 days after noise exposure using auditory brainstem response (ABR). This study identifies a number of genetic loci that modify the initial response to damaging noise, as well as long-term recovery. The data suggest that multiple alleles within the CAST/Ei genome modify the pathogenesis of NIHL and that screening congenic libraries for loci that underlie traits of interest can be easily carried out in a high-throughput fashion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]