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Objective The polishing effects of different compositions of chairside polishing systems on polyetheretherketone (PEEK) were compared to provide a reference for the rational selection of polishing systems for this material in clinical settings. Methods A total of 108 specimens were made from ShushijieTMPEEK crown and bridge materials, Bio-PAEK® dental PEEK, and BioHPP® PEEK. Thirty-six specimens of each material were randomly divided into 6 groups on average based on their polishing technique: OptiDisc®, Super-Snap® Rainbow Technique Kit, VITA ENAMIC®Clinical Polishing Set, Sof-LexTM Diamond Polishing System, Visio.lign Finishing Kit for Composite Veneers, and CERAMAGE Polishing Kit, LavaTM Ultimate ceramic and VITA ENAMIC ceramics were set as the control groups, and 6 specimens were made in each material, polished by Sof-LexTM Diamond Polishing System and VITA ENAMIC® Polishing Set clinical, respectively, according to the manufacturers’ suggestions. The surface roughness (Ra value and Sa value) and gloss of each set were measured. The surface morphologies of the polished specimens were observed by scanning electron microscopy. Results Surface roughness (Ra value and Sa value) and gloss were mainly influenced by the type of polishing system, and they varied between PEEK material types. The Sof-LexTM Diamond Polishing System produced the highest surface roughness and the lowest gloss values for PEEK materials, while the Super-Snap® Rainbow Technique Kit, Visio.lign Finishing Kit for Composite Veneers and CERAMAGE Polishing Kit resulted in low surface roughness values. The Visio.lign Finishing Kit for Composite Veneers and CERAMAGE Polishing Kit exhibited high gloss values. Polishing paste particles were observed embedded on the surfaces of the PEEK materials polished by the Visio.lign Finishing Kit for Composite Veneers; the surfaces of specimens polished by the CERAMAGE Polishing Kit were smooth, without polishing paste particle residue. Using the same polishing system, the best polishing results were obtained with BioHPP® among the PEEK materials tested. The surface roughness values of the three tested PEEK materials polished by the CERAMAGE Polishing Kit were similar to those of the LavaTM Ultimate ceramic and VITA ENAMIC ceramic, but the gloss was higher than that of both. Conclusion CERAMAGE Polishing Kit was recommended for polishing all three tested PEEK materials, achieving a good polishing effect, with similar surface roughness and higher gloss characteristics comparable to those of polished computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) resin-matrix ceramics.

The impact of global warming is increasing and thus exacerbating environmental stresses that affect plant yield and distribution, including the Eriobotrya japonica Lindl (Loquat tree). Eriobotrya japonica, a member of the Rosaceae family, is valued not only for its nutritious fruit but also for its medicinal purposes, landscape uses, and other pharmacological benefits. Nonetheless, the productivity of Eriobotrya japonica has raised a lot of concern in the wake of adverse environmental conditions. Understanding the characteristics of the LRR-RLK gene family in loquat is crucial, as these genes play vital roles in plant stress responses. In this study, 283 LRR-RLK genes were identified in the genome of E. japonica that were randomly positioned on 17 chromosomes and 24 contigs. The 283 EjLRR-RLK proteins clustered into 21 classes and subclasses in the phylogenetic analysis based on domain and protein arrangements. Further explorations in the promoter regions of the EjLRR-RLK genes showed an abundance of cis-regulatory elements that functioned in growth and development, phytohormone, and biotic and abiotic responses. Most cis-elements were present in the biotic and abiotic responses suggesting that the EjLRR-RLK genes are invested in regulating both biotic and abiotic stresses. Additional investigations into the responses of EjLRR-RLK genes to abiotic stress using the RT-qPCR revealed that EjLRR-RLK genes respond to abiotic stress, especially heat and salt stresses. Particularly, EjapXI-1.6 and EjapI-2.5 exhibited constant upregulation in all stresses analyzed, indicating that these may take an active role in regulating abiotic stresses. Our findings suggest the pivotal functions of EjLRR-RLK genes although additional research is still required. This research aims to provide useful information relating to the characterization of EjLRR-RLK genes and their responses to environmental stresses, establishing a concrete base for the following research.

Metabolomics reflects the endogenous metabolite changes in organisms through qualitative and quantitative detection of small molecules in biological samples, revealing the metabolic changes during disease development. Metabolomic studies of periodontitis further elucidate the etiology, diagnosis and predictive markers of periodontitis at the levels of metabolites and metabolic pathways. In this paper, the concept and research methods of metabonomics were summarized, and the current status of the metabonomics of saliva and gingival crevicular fluid in the study of periodontitis was reviewed. Previous studies have shown that metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids and amino acids and metabolic pathways such as glutamic acid and pyrimidine metabolism might promote the occurrence of periodontitis, and it was suggested that lactic acid, γ-amino-butyrate, butyric acid and lysophosphatidic acid might be potential diagnostic markers of periodontitis. The metabolomics study of periodontitis still faces challenges such as high heterogeneity of results and fluctuation of metabolites. In the future, its study could be optimized through multicenter prospective studies to provide fresh approaches for the etiology and diagnosis of periodontitis.

Patients with impaired quality of life associated with xerostomia need long-term treatment, and a nerve stimulator has the advantage of providing natural saliva and long-term management for patients with xerostomia by electrically stimulating the relevant secretory nerves to promote saliva production. A number of clinical trials have preliminarily demonstrated the efficacy of nerve electrical stimulation in the treatment of xerostomia. However, electrical stimulation has not yet become the mainstream treatment for xerostomia. Large prospective randomized controlled clinical trials are still needed to confirm its long-term effectiveness and safety. In addition, the design of nerve stimulators is of great significance for clinical application. The large volume and inconvenient treatment associated with the extra oral nerve stimulator and the first generation intraoral nerve stimulator hinder their clinical application and popularization. The second- and third-generation intraoral nerve stimulator devices are small, convenient to use and have great application prospects. Research on electrical nerve stimulators for xerostomia treatment is mainly concentrated in European and American countries, while there is very little domestic research. It is urgent to master the core technology for the research and development of electrical nerve stimulators. The innovation of miniaturization, efficient power supply, data feedback and packaging will be the key issues of electrical nerve stimulators in the future. In this paper, the treatment and research of electrical nerve stimulation for xerostomia are reviewed to provide a reference for related basic research and the clinical application of electrical stimulators treating xerostomia in China.

Parkinson's disease (PD), a common degenerative disease of the central nervous system, can affect the respiratory system. Pulmonary complications remain its leading cause of death, but the pathogenesis and its relationship to the severity of motor symptoms and non⁃motor symptoms, medication, and disease phenotype in PD have not been fully elucidated. This article reviews the advances in research on the anatomical and physiological basis, the disease itself and treatment⁃related respiratory disturbances to deepen the understanding of respiratory dysfunction associated with PD and to provide new insights for treatment.

The basic leucine zipper (bZIP) is a transcription factor family that plays critical roles in abiotic and biotic stress responses as well as plant development and growth. A comprehensive genome-wide study in Liriodendron chinense was conducted to identify 45 bZIP transcription factors (LchibZIPs), which were divided into 13 subgroups according the phylogenetic analysis. Proteins in the same subgroup shared similar gene structures and conserved domains, and a total of 20 conserved motifs were revealed in LchibZIP proteins. Gene localization analysis revealed that LchibZIP genes were unequally distributed across 16 chromosomes, and that 4 pairs of tandem and 9 segmental gene duplications existed. Concluding that segmental duplication events may be strongly associated with the amplification of the L. chinense bZIP gene family. We also assessed the collinearity of LchibZIPs between the Arabidopsis and Oryza and showed that the LchibZIP is evolutionarily closer to O. sativa as compared to the A. thaliana. The cis-regulatory element analysis showed that LchibZIPs clustered in one subfamily are involved in several functions. In addition, we gathered novel research suggestions for further exploration of the new roles of LchibZIPs from protein-protein interactions and gene ontology annotations of the LchibZIP proteins. Using the RNA-seq data and qRT-PCR we analyzed the gene expression patterns of LchibZIP genes, and showed that LchibZIP genes regulate cold stress, especially LchibZIP4 and LchibZIP7; and LchibZIP2 and LchibZIP28 which were up-regulated and down-regulated by cold stress, respectively. Studies of genetic engineering and gene function in L. chinense can benefit greatly from the thorough investigation and characterization of the L. chinense bZIP gene family.

Based on the hazards of dust in the process of coal mining, transportation, storage and coal processing and utilization, as well as the economic burden brought to laborers, enterprises and the country, the application characteristics and latest research results of coal dust suppressor in recent years are discussed. The results show that the development of coal dust suppressor has gradually changed from the traditional efficiency enhanced type to the current multi-functional, multi-component, economic and environmental protection material type. Among them, microbial dust suppressor has gradually become a research hotspot in the field of coal dust suppressor with the advantages of high dust suppression efficiency, low cost and remarkable environmental protection performance.

Chidamide, a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, displays antitumor activities in different tumor cells. Tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) is the most prevalent oral cavity malignancy with a high incidence and a high mortality rate. We describe the antitumor effects of chidamide on human TSCC SCC9 cells, which has not been reported before. Cell viability and wound healing assay and flow cytometry analysis were used to determine the proliferation, migration, cell cycle and apoptosis of chidamide-treated SCC9 cells in vitro. Western blotting was used to detect relative changes in protein levels. Our results reveal that chidamide inhibits SCC9 cell proliferation by decreasing ERK1/2 and mTOR phosphorylation and arresting the cell cycle in G0/G1 phase. Chidamide decreased cell migration in dose- and time-dependent manner by increasing E-cadherin expression. Chidamide induced SCC9 cells apoptosis by increasing the level of cleaved caspase-3 and decreasing the expression of Bcl-2. To sum up, chidamide displayed potent antitumor effects on SCC9 cells through multiple signaling pathways and has the potential to be developed as a new therapeutic agent to treat TSCC.

CRISPR/Cas-based genome editing technology provides straightforward, proficient, and multifunctional ways for the site-directed modification of organism genomes and genes. The application of CRISPR-based technology in plants has a vast potential value in gene function research, germplasm innovation, and genetic improvement. The complexity of woody plants genome may pose significant challenges in the application and expansion of various new editing techniques, such as Cas9, 12, 13, and 14 effectors, base editing, particularly for timberland species with a long life span, huge genome, and ploidy. Therefore, many novel optimisms have been drawn to molecular breeding research based on woody plants. This review summarizes the recent development of CRISPR/Cas applications for essential traits, including wood properties, flowering, biological stress, abiotic stress, growth, and development in woody plants. We outlined the current problems and future development trends of this technology in germplasm and the improvement of products in woody plants.

Cold stress limits plant geographical distribution and influences plant growth, development, and yields. Plants as sessile organisms have evolved complex biochemical and physiological mechanisms to adapt to cold stress. These mechanisms are regulated by a series of transcription factors and proteins for efficient cold stress acclimation. It has been established that the ICE-CBF-COR signaling pathway in plants regulates how plants acclimatize to cold stress. Cold stress is perceived by receptor proteins, triggering signal transduction, and Inducer of CBF Expression (ICE) genes are activated and regulated, consequently upregulating the transcription and expression of the C-repeat Binding Factor (CBF) genes. The CBF protein binds to the C-repeat/Dehydration Responsive Element (CRT/DRE), a homeopathic element of the Cold Regulated genes (COR gene) promoter, activating their transcription. Transcriptional regulations and post-translational modifications regulate and modify these entities at different response levels by altering their expression or activities in the signaling cascade. These activities then lead to efficient cold stress tolerance. This paper contains a concise summary of the ICE-CBF-COR pathway elucidating on the cross interconnections with other repressors, inhibitors, and activators to induce cold stress acclimation in plants.

Abstract As the only nutritional source for newborn piglets, porcine colostrum and milk contain critical nutritional and immunological components including carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins (immunoglobulins). However, porcine milk composition is more complex than these three components. Recently, scientists identified additional and novel components of sow colostrum and milk, including exosomes, oligosaccharides, and bacteria, which possibly act as biological signals and modulate the intestinal environment and immune status in piglets and later in life. Evaluation of these nutritional and non-nutritional components in porcine milk will help better understand the nutritional and biological function of porcine colostrum and milk. Furthermore, some important functions of the porcine mammary gland have been reported in recent published literature. These preliminary studies hypothesized how glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids are transported from maternal blood to the porcine mammary gland for milk synthesis. Therefore, we summarized recent reports on sow milk composition and porcine mammary gland function in this review, with particular emphasis on macronutrient transfer and synthesis mechanisms, which might offer a possible approach for regulation of milk synthesis in the future.

In order to know influence factors and laws of electric field distribution with air gap defects in cable insulation, taking mine-used high-voltage XLPE cable as research object, ANSYS finite element software was used to establish cable structure model contained air gap defect. Influence of shape, size and location of the air gap and thickness of the insulating layer on electric field distribution in the air gap was simulated and studied based on theoretical analysis of relationship between shape, size and electric field strength of air gap in insulation. Results show that electric field intensity of elliptic cylinder air gap defect is the largest of four different shapes of air gap, and the larger the air gap length in direction of insulation perpendicular to the field strength, the greater the field strength in the air gap. For size of the air gap, the larger the r value, the greater the field strength at the air gap, and change of the air gap size has little influence on the field strength at the air gap. For different radius size of the air gap, the maximum electric field strength at the air gap increases first and then decreases with increasing of distance between the air gap and the conductor shield. For a given size of the air gap, the field strength in the air gap and the insulation increase accordingly with decreasing of thickness of the insulation. These conclusions lay foundation for partial discharge of air gap defects, and also provide technical guidance for cable operation and maintenance.

Real-world memories are formed in a particular context and are often not acquired or recalled in isolation1-5. Time is a key variable in the organization of memories, as events that are experienced close in time are more likely to be meaningfully associated, whereas those that are experienced with a longer interval are not1-4. How the brain segregates events that are temporally distinct is unclear. Here we show that a delayed (12-24 h) increase in the expression of C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5)-an immune receptor that is well known as a co-receptor for HIV infection6,7-after the formation of a contextual memory determines the duration of the temporal window for associating or linking that memory with subsequent memories. This delayed expression of CCR5 in mouse dorsal CA1 neurons results in a decrease in neuronal excitability, which in turn negatively regulates neuronal memory allocation, thus reducing the overlap between dorsal CA1 memory ensembles. Lowering this overlap affects the ability of one memory to trigger the recall of the other, and therefore closes the temporal window for memory linking. Our findings also show that an age-related increase in the neuronal expression of CCR5 and its ligand CCL5 leads to impairments in memory linking in aged mice, which could be reversed with a Ccr5 knockout and a drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that inhibits this receptor, a result with clinical implications. Altogether, the findings reported here provide insights into the molecular and cellular mechanisms that shape the temporal window for memory linking.

BackgroundVascular dementia (VaD) is the accumulation of vascular lesions in the subcortical white matter of the brain. These lesions progress and there is no direct medical therapy.AimsTo determine the specific cellular responses in VaD so as to provide molecular targets for therapeutic development.Materials and methodsSingle-nucleus transcriptome analysis was performed in human periventricular white matter (PVWM) samples of VaD and normal control (NC) subjects.ResultsDifferential analysis shows that cell type-specific transcriptomic changes in VaD are associated with the disruption of specific biological processes, including angiogenesis, immune activation, axonal injury and myelination. Each cell type in the neurovascular unit within white matter has a specific alteration in gene expression in VaD. In a central cell type for this disease, subcluster analysis of endothelial cells (EC) indicates that VaD contains a disease-associated EC subcluster that expresses genes associated with programmed cell death and a response to protein folding. Two other subpopulations of EC in VaD express molecular systems associated with regenerative processes in angiogenesis, and in axonal sprouting and oligodendrocyte progenitor cell maturation.ConclusionThis comprehensive molecular profiling of brain samples from patients with VaD reveals previously unknown molecular changes in cells of the neurovascular niche, and an attempt at regeneration in injured white matter.