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Successful application of deep machine learning could reduce time-consuming and labor-intensive clinical work of calculating the amount of radiographic bone loss (RBL) in diagnosing and treatment planning for periodontitis. This study aimed to test the accuracy of RBL classification by machine learning.A total of 236 patients with standardized full mouth radiographs were included. Each tooth from the periapical films was evaluated by three calibrated periodontists for categorization of RBL and radiographic defect morphology. Each image was pre-processed and augmented to ensure proper data balancing without data pollution, then a novel multitasking InceptionV3 model was applied.The model demonstrated an average accuracy of 0.87 ± 0.01 in the categorization of mild ( 15%) or severe (≥ 15%) bone loss with fivefold cross-validation. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive, and negative predictive values of the model were 0.86 ± 0.03, 0.88 ± 0.03, 0.88 ± 0.03, and 0.86 ± 0.02, respectively.Application of deep machine learning for the detection of alveolar bone loss yielded promising results in this study. Additional data would be beneficial to enhance model construction and enable better machine learning performance for clinical implementation.Higher accuracy of radiographic bone loss classification by machine learning can be achieved with more clinical data and proper model construction for valuable clinical application.

The species-rich Gesneriaceae are typically a tropical family in Asia, showing a monophyletic radiation and high endemism in Southwest China and Hainan Island. The Chinese species have diverse floral traits and pollination systems, but the detailed patterns of diversity and possible differentiations between Hainan Island and the Chinese mainland remain unclear. Here, we enumerate the species diversity and proportion of endemics of Gesneriaceae for Hainan Island and the nearby Chinese provinces of Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Guangdong. We then investigate the species evolutionary histories and main floral traits to evaluate speciation and pollination syndromes for the island and mainland flora. We recognize 24 (eight endemic) species on Hainan Island, 236 (106 endemic) in Yunnan, 211 (120 endemic) in Guangxi, 97 (28 endemic) in Guizhou, and 60 (20 endemic) in Guangdong. Although Hainan Island harbors fewer species than nearby regions, probably due to its smaller area, its endemic ratio is high, only slightly lower than Guangxi. A phylogenetic tree based on nuclear ITS 1/2 and chloroplast Trn L-F indicated most Hainan-endemic species were genetically close to species from Southeast Asia, rather than mainland China. For most floral traits, e.g., growth form, corolla type and color, Hainan Island species show no differences from other regions. Hainan Island and Yunnan Province have equal proportions of species with four or two stamens, whereas most species in other regions have two stamens. Hainan Island has a much higher percentage (21%) of actinomorphic species than other regions (< 10%). Most species in Hainan Island have exserted stamens, while stamens are included in most species in other regions. We did not find any increased tendency in floral traits that promote selfing for the island flora. Generalist pollination mechanisms, supported by characters such as actinomorphic corolla, appear to provide sufficient reproductive assurance in pollinator-depauperate Hainan Island.

Keratin is an important protein used in wound healing and tissue recovery. In this study, keratin was modified chemically with iodoacetic acid (IAA) to enhance its solubility in organic solvent. Poly(hydroxybutylate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and modified keratin were dissolved in hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) and electrospun to produce nanofibrous mats. The resulting mats were surface-characterized by ATR-FTIR, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). The purem-keratin mat was cross-linked with glutaraldehyde vapor to make it insoluble in water. The biodegradation testin vitro showed that the mats could be biodegraded by PHB depolymerase and trypsin aqueous solution. The results of the cell adhesion experiment showed that the NIH 3T3 cells adhered more to the PHBV/m-keratin nanofibrous mats than the PHBV film. The BrdU assay showed that the keratin and PHBV/m-keratin nanofibrous mats could accelerate the proliferation of fibroblast cells compared to the PHBV nanofibrous mats.

Lactobionic acid, bearing a beta -galactose group, was coupled with poly(allyl amine) to provide synthetic extracellular matrices together with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). The hepatocytes were encapsulated in Ba-alginate capsules with galactosylated poly(allyl amine) (GA) and PVA as extracellular matrices. From microscopic observation, it was revealed that the microcapsule prepared has a highly porous structure with interconnected pores and pore sizes ranging between 50-150 nm on both the surface and the cross-section. It was found, from the permeability experiment of microcapsules using FITC-dextrans with different molecular weights, that the capsule has a molecular weight cut off (MWCO) of 120 kDa, showing the potential that it can function as an immunoprotecting wall. The hepatocytes, cultured with GA and PVA in the core of the microcapsule, rapidly aggregated within a day, thus resulting in good metabolic functions such as albumin synthesis and ammonia removal.

The biodegradable and biocompatible poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), a copolymer of microbial polyester, was fabricated as nanofibrous mats by electrospinning. Image analysis of the electrospun nanofibers fabricated from a 2 wt% 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol solution revealed a unimodal distribution pattern of fiber diameters with an observed average diameter of ca. 185 nm. The fiber diameter of electrospun fabrics could be controlled by adjusting the electrospinning parameters, including the solvent composition, concentration, applied voltage, and tip-to-collector distance. Chondrocytes derived from rabbit ear were cultured on a PHBV cast film and an electrospun PHBV nano-fibrous mat. After incubation for 2 h, the percentages of attached chondrocytes on the surfaces of the flat PHBV film and the PHBV nanofibrous mat were 19.0 and 30.1%, respectively. On the surface of the electrospun PHBV fabric, more chondrocytes were attached and appeared to have a much greater spreaded morphology than did that of the flat PHBV cast film in the early culture stage. The electrospun PHBV nanofabric provides an attractive structure for the attachment and growth of chondrocytes as cell culture surfaces for tissue engineering.

We have fabricated gelatin-immobilized polyurethane foams (PUFG) by dipping polyurethane foam (PUF) in an aqueous solution containing gelatin and by subsequent reaction with glutaraldehyde after freeze-drying. Gelatin aqueous solutions of different concentrations were used as the dipping solutions to control the amount of immobilized gelatin. The average pore size of PUF decreased with an increase in gelatin concentration. It was found from the hepatocyte adhesion experiment that the amount of hepatocytes seeded on PUFG1, prepared by using a 1% aqueous gelatin solution, was higher than that on other PUFGs. The hepatocytes inoculated in PUFG1 were slightly aggregated as the incubation time increased. The cells inoculated in PUFG1 showed higher ammonia removal ability than those monolayer-cultured on a gelatin-immobilized polystyrene dish (PSG) after 1 and 4 days of incubation time. The inoculated cells exhibited higher albumin secretion relative to monolayer-cultured hepatocytes on PSG. Albumin secretion by hepatocytes seeded on PUFG1 was increased by the presence of serum and was further increased by both the presence of serum and cytokines. The results obtained from a 3-(3,4-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay indicated that PUFG can provide a better microenvironment for hepatocyte culture along with nutrition and metabolite transfer through the high porosity of PUF.