Publications by authors named "Kurt Werner Alt"

Tooth Shell Technique (TST) with the use of autologous dentin has proven to be a suitable method of grafting in the context of lateral ridge augmentation. This present feasibility study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the preservation by lyophilization of processed dentin. Thus, the frozen stored processed dentin matrix (FST: 19 patients with 26 implants) was re-examined with that of processed teeth used immediately after extraction (IUT: 23 patients with 32 implants).

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Plaque control is one of the most recommended approaches in the prevention and therapy of caries and periodontal diseases. However, although most individuals in industrialized countries already perform daily oral hygiene, caries and periodontal diseases still are the most common diseases of mankind. This raises the question of whether plaque control is really a causative and effective approach to the prevention of these diseases.

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We assembled genome-wide data from 271 ancient Iberians, of whom 176 are from the largely unsampled period after 2000 BCE, thereby providing a high-resolution time transect of the Iberian Peninsula. We document high genetic substructure between northwestern and southeastern hunter-gatherers before the spread of farming. We reveal sporadic contacts between Iberia and North Africa by ~2500 BCE and, by ~2000 BCE, the replacement of 40% of Iberia's ancestry and nearly 100% of its Y-chromosomes by people with Steppe ancestry.

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From around 2750 to 2500 bc, Bell Beaker pottery became widespread across western and central Europe, before it disappeared between 2200 and 1800 bc. The forces that propelled its expansion are a matter of long-standing debate, and there is support for both cultural diffusion and migration having a role in this process. Here we present genome-wide data from 400 Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age Europeans, including 226 individuals associated with Beaker-complex artefacts.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers analyzed ancient DNA from 69 Europeans dating back 8,000 to 3,000 years using advanced techniques that reduced sequencing time significantly, enabling the study of more individuals.
  • They discovered that during the Neolithic period, diverse populations of early farmers emerged in Western Europe while Eastern Europe maintained a distinct hunter-gatherer population with ties to ancient Siberians.
  • The study also highlighted a major migration event around 4,500 years ago, where the Corded Ware people from Germany mixed heavily with steppe herders from the east, contributing to modern European ancestry and supporting the theory of a steppe origin for some Indo-European languages.
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The number of ancient human DNA studies has drastically increased in recent years. This results in a substantial record of mitochondrial sequences available from many prehistoric sites across Western Eurasia, but also growing Y-chromosome and autosomal sequence data. We review the current state of research with specific emphasis on the Holocene population events that likely have shaped the present-day genetic variation in Europe.

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Article Synopsis
  • The ancestry of modern Europeans is debated among scientists regarding the influence of Neolithic farmers versus Paleolithic hunter-gatherers.
  • Researchers extracted and sequenced ancient mitochondrial DNA from 24 Neolithic skeletons across Germany, Austria, and Hungary.
  • The results showed that Neolithic farmers had a specific mtDNA type that is now rare in modern Europeans, suggesting a weaker genetic impact from these early farmers compared to ancient hunter-gatherers.
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A refined PCR-RFLP based method was established to genotype ABO blood groups. The main objective of this study was to make the techniques also suitable for working with degraded DNA. Specific primer design was carried out to choose fragments shorter than 200 bp as necessary in forensic and archaeological applications.

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