May dental implant macro and microgeometry modifications influence peri-implant bone repair in smokers? A randomized clinical trial.

Background: This split-mouth, double-masked, randomized clinical trial aimed at evaluating the impact of different macro geometries and nano topographical modifications on peri-implant bone repair in smokers.

Methods: Thirty-two patients who smoked at least ten cigarettes/day, with the need of a single maxillary or mandibular implant bilaterally, received two implants randomly assigned to DA - Dual Acid-Etched implants (n = 32); HCAN - healing chambers and activated nano surface (n = 32). Implant stability quotient (ISQ) was evaluated 07, 30, 60, 90, and 120 days after implant placement.

Improved precision, sensitivity, and adaptability of Ordered Two-Template Relay cDNA library preparation for RNA sequencing.

Sequencing RNAs that are biologically processed or degraded to less than ~100 nucleotides typically involves multi-step, low-yield protocols with bias and information loss inherent to ligation and/or polynucleotide tailing. We recently introduced Ordered Two-Template Relay (OTTR), a method that captures obligatorily end-to-end sequences of input molecules and, in the same reverse transcription step, also appends 5' and 3' sequencing adapters of choice. OTTR has been thoroughly benchmarked for optimal production of microRNA, tRNA and tRNA fragments, and ribosome-protected mRNA footprint libraries.

Prioritizing Variables for Observational Study Design using the Joint Variable Importance Plot.

Observational studies of treatment effects require adjustment for confounding variables. However, causal inference methods typically cannot deliver perfect adjustment on all measured baseline variables, and there is often ambiguity about which variables should be prioritized. Standard prioritization methods based on treatment imbalance alone neglect variables' relationships with the outcome.