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Introduction: The study aimed to determine satisfaction level with the quality of education among dental students and dentists in Croatia based on the acquired knowledge and clinical and soft skills. Materials and Methods: An online cross‐sectional survey was conducted among 533 dentists and dental students. The questionnaire consisted of four sections with closed‐ended questions. The first section included personal and professional data, whereas the second to fourth sections assessed satisfaction with learned basic dental, professional technical or clinal and interpersonal social or soft skills on a 5‐point Likert scale. The data were analysed using the Mann–Whitney U‐test and linear regression analysis. The significance level was set at.05. Results: When comparing satisfaction scores between dentists and dental students in terms of basic dental knowledge and skills learned, students showed higher satisfaction scores for the categories of "Emergency Medical Situations" (p =.005) and "Ergonomic Principles of Work" (p =.004). Dentists, on the other hand, showed higher satisfaction for the categories "Selection and use of local anaesthetics and local antibiotics" (p =.005, p =.026; respectively). For the type of technical skills from the different areas of dentistry, dentists were most satisfied with "Oral Surgery" (4.26 ± 0.85), while students were most satisfied with "Oral Medicine" (4.29 ± 0.89). Finally, when comparing satisfaction scores with social skills, dentists had lower satisfaction scores in all categories studied (p ≤.05). Conclusion: Dental students showed higher overall satisfaction than dentists. The most significant satisfaction was expressed in technical skills learned, and the most considerable dissatisfaction was recorded in the unmeasurable skills category focused on "Career management". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Aim: Sports‐related dental injuries occur frequently among athletes due to inadequate knowledge and prevention measures. The aim of the study was to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices of active soccer players from all leagues in Croatia regarding traumatic dental injuries and the use of mouthguards. Material and Methods: 393 respondents completed a questionnaire‐based online survey from March 2022 to April 2022. The questionnaire consisted of 37 questions divided in four sections: demographic characteristics, experience with orofacial injuries, knowledge of emergency therapeutic procedures for dental injuries, and behaviors related to the use of a mouthguard. Results: Insufficient knowledge was confirmed by a total score of 2.8 ± 2.8 points, with a possible maximum of 11. Respondents' better knowledge can be associated with educational level (p =.002), playing position (p =.046), and personally experienced injuries to the face and jaw (p ≤.001) and teeth (p =.022). Less than 40% of respondents suffered facial and jaw injuries while playing football and 18.6% suffered dental injuries. Although most respondents (93.9%) were familiar with mouthguards and 68.9% believed that they help prevent injuries while playing football, only 16% used them. Conclusion: The study revealed significant gaps in knowledge regarding dental injuries and the practice of mouthguard usage among Croatian soccer players. Therefore, it is evident that additional education is needed to prevent dental injuries and take proper procedures when taking care of them among the examined population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening can help to reduce its incidence and mortality. Noninvasive strategies, such as plasma analysis of epigenetic alterations, can constitute important biomarkers of CRC detection. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the plasma methylation status of SEPT9 and BMP3 promoters as biomarkers for detection of CRC and its precursor lesions in a Brazilian population. Methods: Plasma samples from 262 participants of the CRC screening program of Barretos Cancer Hospital who had a positive fecal occult blood test and underwent colonoscopy and cancer patients were analyzed. Participants were grouped according to the worst lesion detected in the colonoscopy. Cell‐free circulating DNA (cfDNA) was bisulfite treated followed by the analysis of SEPT9 and BMP3 methylation status using a droplet digital PCR system (ddPCR). The best methylation cutoff value for group discrimination was calculated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: Among the 262 participants, 38 were diagnosed with CRC, 46 with advanced adenomas 119 with nonadvanced adenomas, three with sessile serrated lesions, and 13 with hyperplastic polyps. In 43 participants, no lesion was detected in the colonoscopy and were used as controls. The CRC group showed the highest cfDNA concentration (10.4 ng/mL). For the SEPT9 gene, a cutoff of 2.5% (AUC = 0.681) that discriminates between CRC and the control group resulted in CRC sensitivity and specificity of 50% and 90%, respectively. Concerning the BMP3 gene, a cutoff of 2.3% (AUC = 0.576) showed 40% and 90% of sensitivity and specificity for CRC detection, respectively. Combining SEPT9, BMP3 status, and age over 60 years resulted in a better performance for detecting CRC (AUC = 0.845) than the individual gene models, yielding 80% and 81% of sensitivity and specificity, respectively. Conclusion: The present study suggests that a combination of SEPT9 and BMP3 plasma methylation, along with age over 60 years, showed the highest performance in detecting CRC in a Brazilian population. These noninvasive biomarkers can potentially serve as useful tools for CRC screening programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aim: Dental trauma is one of the critical oral health problems in childhood and adolescence that can affect an individual's quality of life. Teachers may witness a dental injury on many occasions, and they are likely to be involved at the site of an accident. Hence, they should be capable of managing prompt and correct emergency treatment at the accident site. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the level of knowledge and experience of Croatian elementary and high school teachers concerning dental trauma. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional online survey was conducted to determine knowledge and experience about traumatic dental injuries among 803 full-time working elementary and high school teachers. The inclusion criteria were full-time employment at the time of data collection with at least 1 year of teaching experience. Retirement (teachers aged =65 years) and unwillingness to participate in the survey were the exclusion criteria. The Student t test or one-way ANOVA, with Tukey's post hoc was used to evaluate the obtained data. The level of significance was set at p = .05. Results: The overall mean level of teachers' knowledge regarding emergency management of dental trauma was 6.6 ± 2.5 points, out of a maximum possible score of 14. There were no significant differences in knowledge among teachers from lower elementary, upper elementary, and high school education (6.9 ± 2.5, 6.5 ± 2.4 vs 6.4 ± 2.6 points, respectively; p = .140). Teachers who had personally experienced dental trauma showed better knowledge (7.2 ± 2.6 vs 6.4 ± 2.5 points; p = .001). Conclusion: The knowledge of emergency management of dental trauma among elementary and high school teachers in Croatia is low. Since most of the participants expressed willingness for future education regarding this subject, educational programs are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective learning in old age, particularly in those at risk for dementia, is essential for prolonging independent living. Individual variability in learning, however, is remarkable; that is, months of cognitive training to improve learning may be beneficial for some individuals but not others. So far, little is known about which neurophysiological mechanisms account for the observed variability in learning induced by cognitive training in older adults. By combining Lövdén et al.'s (2010, A theoretical framework for the study of adult cognitive plasticity. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 659–676) framework proposing the role of adaptation capacity in neuroplasticity and a neurovisceral integration model of the relationship between autonomic nervous system (ANS) and brain with a novel shapelet analytical approach that allows for accurate and interpretable analysis of time series data, we discovered an acute, ECG‐derived ANS segment in response to cognitive training tasks at baseline that predicted learning outcomes from a 6‐week cognitive training intervention. The relationship between the ANS segment and learning was robust in both cross‐participant and cross‐task analyses among a group of older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Furthermore, the revealed ANS shapelet significantly predicted training‐induced neuroplasticity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and select frontal regions during task fMRI. Across outcome measures, individuals were less likely to prospectively benefit from the cognitive training if their ECG data were more similar to this particular ANS segment at baseline. Our findings are among the first empirical evidence to confirm that adaptation capacity, indexed by ANS flexibility, predicts individual differences in learning and associated neuroplasticity beyond individual characteristics (e.g., age, education, neurodegeneration, total training). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This is a cross‐sectional study to assess the incidence of micronuclei and other nuclear morphological changes in buccal epithelial cells of dental technicians. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 45 dental technicians versus 2 control groups: 50 dentists and 50 dental assistants. DNA damage was analyzed in exfoliated buccal mucosa cells by micronucleus assay. The differences in the frequency of detected types of cytogenetic damage between experimental groups were analyzed by applying 2‐way ANOVA with Tukey's HSD post‐hoc test. Results: Dentists and dental assistants have significantly lower incidence of micronucleated cells than technicians (mean ± SD: 0.68 ± 0.74, 0.58 ± 0.81, and 1.58 ± 2.07; p = 0.031 and p = 0.015, respectively), and this trend also holds for karyolitic cells (0.10 ± 0.30, 0.20 ± 0.49, and 1.42 ± 1.25; p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively), condensed chromatin (0.16 ± 0.37, 0.14 ± 0.35, and 0.76 ± 0.98; p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively), and pyknotic cells (0.04 ± 0.20, 0.08 ± 0.27, and 0.96 ± 1.24; p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: Cytogenetic biomarkers in dental technician buccal mucosa are increased compared with control groups. This increase may be associated with more extensive exposure to potentially harmful components of the materials used in everyday dental practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is important to understand how the psychological status of parents affects oral health in children. Aim: This study aimed to assess the level of depression, anxiety, and stress of parents whose children have early‐childhood caries. Design: The study included 235 children and their parents who visited the Dental clinic at the School of Medicine of the University of Split between October 2016 and July 2017. The dental status of each child was recorded, while parents filled out the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale questionnaire and the questionnaire related to the demographic characteristics, questions related to child's habits of the tooth brushing, eating sweets. Results: Multiple regression analysis showed that the incidence of active caries in the children was statistically significantly related not only to the level of parent depression (β = −0.289; P = 0.040) but also the level of anxiety (β = 0.186; P = 0.038) and stress (β = −0.120; P = 0.036). The dmft index in the examined children was negatively significant associated with the parental level of depression (β = −0.305; P = 0.032). Conclusion: Considering the results of our research it is essential to emphasize the need for better health education of parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key points The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is critical for adaptation to environment demands., Alzheimer's disease (AD), via frontal compensatory processes, may affect PNS regulation, thereby compromising older adults' capacity for adaptation, and increasing morbidity and mortality risk., Here we found that AD-associated neurodegeneration accompanied an overactive anterior cingulate cortex, which in turn resulted in a high level of PNS activity at rest, as well as strong PNS activity withdrawal in response to the mental effort., This discovery provides the first line of evidence to suggest that AD-associated neurodegeneration links to altered PNS regulation during mental effort in older adults, and that the compensatory processes accompanying frontal hyperactivation appear to be responsible for these alterations., Abstract The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is critical for adaptation to environment demands. PNS can reflect an individual's regulatory capacity of frontal brain regions and has been linked to cognitive capacity. Yet, the relationship of PNS function to cognitive decline and abnormal frontal function that characterize preclinical progression toward Alzheimer's disease (AD) is unclear. Here, we aimed to elucidate the relationship between PNS function and AD-associated neurodegeneration by testing two competing hypotheses involving frontal regions' activity (neurodegeneration vs. compensation). In 38 older human adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) or normative cognition, we measured AD-associated neurodegeneration (AD signature cortical thickness; ADSCT), resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging of frontal regions' spontaneous activation, and an electrocardiography measure of PNS (high frequency heart rate variability; HF-HRV). HF-HRV was assessed at rest and during a cognitive task protocol designed to capture HF-HRV reactivity. Higher HF-HRV at rest was significantly related to both more severe AD-associated neurodegeneration (lower ADSCT scores) and worse cognitive ability. Cognitive impairments were also related to greater suppression of HF-HRV reactivity. High activities of the anterior cingulate cortex significantly mediated relationships between ADSCT and both HF-HRV at rest and HF-HRV reactivity. Notably, these relationships were not affected by the clinical phenotype. We show that AD-associated neurodegeneration is associated with altered PNS regulation and that compensatory processes linked to frontal overactivation might be responsible for those alterations. This finding provides the first line of evidence in a new framework for understanding how early-stage AD-associated neurodegeneration affects autonomic regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To examine the cognitive and neural effects of vision-based speed-of-processing ( VSOP) training in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment ( aMCI) and contrast those effects with an active control (mental leisure activities ( MLA)). Design Randomized single-blind controlled pilot trial. Setting Academic medical center. Participants Individuals with aMCI (N = 21). Intervention Six-week computerized VSOP training. Measurements Multiple cognitive processing measures, instrumental activities of daily living ( IADLs), and two resting state neural networks regulating cognitive processing: central executive network ( CEN) and default mode network ( DMN). Results VSOP training led to significantly greater improvements in trained (processing speed and attention: F1,19 = 6.61, partial η2 = 0.26, P = .02) and untrained (working memory: F1,19 = 7.33, partial η2 = 0.28, P = .01; IADLs: F1,19 = 5.16, partial η2 = 0.21, P = .03) cognitive domains than MLA and protective maintenance in DMN ( F1, 9 = 14.63, partial η2 = 0.62, P = .004). VSOP training, but not MLA, resulted in a significant improvement in CEN connectivity ( Z = −2.37, P = .02). Conclusion Target and transfer effects of VSOP training were identified, and links between VSOP training and two neural networks associated with aMCI were found. These findings highlight the potential of VSOP training to slow cognitive decline in individuals with aMCI. Further delineation of mechanisms underlying VSOP-induced plasticity is necessary to understand in which populations and under what conditions such training may be most effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The benefits of novel oral anticoagulants are hampered by bleeding. Since coagulation factor IX ( fIX) lies upstream of fX in the coagulation cascade, and intermediate levels have been associated with reduced incidence of thrombotic events, we evaluated the viability of fIXa as an antithrombotic target. We applied translational pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics ( PK/ PD) principles to predict the therapeutic window ( TW) associated with a selective small molecule inhibitor ( SMi) of fIXa, compound 1 ( CPD1, rat fIXa inhibition constant (Ki, 21 nmol/L) relative to clinically relevant exposures of apixaban (rat fXa Ki 4.3 nmol/L). Concentrations encompassing the minimal clinical plasma concentration ( Cmin) of the 5 mg twice daily ( BID) dose of apixaban were tested in rat arteriovenous shunt ( AVS/thrombosis) and cuticle bleeding time ( CBT) models. An Imax and a linear model were used to fit clot weight ( CW) and CBT. The following differences in biology were observed: (1) antithrombotic activity and bleeding increased in parallel for apixaban, but to a lesser extent for CPD1 and (2) antithrombotic activity occurred at high (>99%) enzyme occupancy ( EO) for fXa or moderate (>65% EO) for fIXa. translational PK/ PD analysis indicated that noninferiority was observed for concentrations of CPD1 that provided between 86% and 96% EO and that superior TW existed between 86% and 90% EO. These findings were confirmed in a study comparing short interfering (si) RNA-mediated knockdown ( KD) modulation of fIX and fX mRNA. In summary, using principles of translational biology to relate preclinical markers of efficacy and safety to clinical doses of apixaban, we found that modulation of fIXa can be superior to apixaban. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between hypercholesterolemia and elevated serum apolipoprotein B (APOB) has generated interest in APOB as a therapeutic target for patients at risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In the clinic, mipomersen, an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) APOB inhibitor, was associated with a trend toward increased hepatic triglycerides, and liver steatosis remains a concern. We found that siRNA-mediated knockdown of ApoB led to elevated hepatic triglycerides and liver steatosis in mice engineered to exhibit a human-like lipid profile. Many genes required for fatty acid synthesis were reduced, suggesting that the observed elevation in hepatic triglycerides is maintained by the cell through fatty acid uptake as opposed to fatty acid synthesis. Fatty acid transport protein 5 ( Fatp5/ Slc27a5) is required for long chain fatty acid (LCFA) uptake and bile acid reconjugation by the liver. Fatp5 knockout mice exhibited lower levels of hepatic triglycerides due to decreased fatty acid uptake, and shRNA-mediated knockdown of Fatp5 protected mice from diet-induced liver steatosis. Here, we evaluated if siRNA-mediated knockdown of Fatp5 was sufficient to alleviate ApoB knockdown-induced steatosis. We determined that, although Fatp5 siRNA treatment was sufficient to increase the proportion of unconjugated bile acids 100-fold, consistent with FATP5's role in bile acid reconjugation, Fatp5 knockdown failed to influence the degree, zonal distribution, or composition of the hepatic triglycerides that accumulated following ApoB siRNA treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tadin-Strapps M, Warburton D, Salas-Alanis JC, Lopez-Cepeda LD, Christiano AM. Fishing for new genes in skin biology: impact of cytogenetics on gene discovery. Research into the field of skin biology has grown exponentially over the past two decades. Even though the fundamental molecular pathways are still not fully understood, there have been significant advances in our understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of genodermatosis. The cloning of many candidate genes involved in the etiology of skin diseases has been facilitated by initial cytogenetic evidence. This review will synthesize recent findings that led to the discovery of candidate genes for anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, Williams-Beuren syndrome, neurofibromatosis-I and tricho-rhino-phalangeal syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a large Mexican kindred with a variant form of congenital universal hypertrichosis that is inherited in an apparent X-linked recessive manner. In addition to the generalized hypertrichosis, the affected individuals have dental malformations and deafness. Males are more severely affected than females who exhibit only mild hypertrichosis, but not deafness or dental anomalies. Haplotype analysis in this pedigree revealed linkage to a 13-cM region on chromosome Xq24-q27.1 between markers GATA198A10 and DXS8106. Localization of the gene underlying this form of hypertrichosis is the initial step in identifying genes on the X chromosome that are involved in the control of hair growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]