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Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy and availability of different scanning technologies, convention impression method, oral scan, and CBCT method. Materials and Methods An artificial model was used as the basic model. The basic model was scanned to obtain the standard model. The basic model was subjected to CBCT scanning, intraoral scanning, and traditional impression five times, respectively. Finally, the obtained scanned STL file information was compared with the standard model and analyzed for accuracy differences. Results The overall error of the CBCT method was 0.67 ± 0.13mm, the general error of the traditional impression method was 0.62 ± 0.15mm, and the overall error of the digital oral scan was 0.86 ± 0.32 mm, the precision of the conventional impression method is higher than others. Conclusions The accuracy of dental impression information through digital and traditional scanning techniques. Clinical Relevance Traditional impression methods have higher accuracy than digital oral scanning and CBCT methods, but all three can be used for denture restoration.

Radiotherapy (RT) is currently only used in children with high-risk neuroblastoma (NB) due to concerns of long-term side effects as well as lack of effective adjuvant. Calreticulin (CALR) has served distinct physiological roles in cancer malignancies; nonetheless, impact of radiation on chaperones and molecular roles they play remains largely unknown. In present study, we systemically analyzed correlation between CALR and NB cells of different malignancies to investigate potential role of CALR in mediating radioresistance of NB. Our data revealed that more malignant NB cells are correlated to lower CALR expression, greater radioresistance, and elevated stemness as indicated by colony- and neurospheroid-forming abilities and vice versa. Of note, manipulating CALR expression in NB cells of varying endogenous CALR expression manifested changes in not only stemness but also radioresistant properties of those NB cells. Further, CALR overexpression resulted in greatly enhanced ROS and led to increased secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. Importantly, growth of NB tumors was significantly hampered by CALR overexpression and was synergistically ablated when RT was also administered. Collectively, our current study unraveled a new notion of utilizing CALR expression in malignant NB to diminish cancer stemness and mitigate radioresistance to achieve favorable therapeutic outcome for NB.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) affects tens of thousands of people worldwide. Despite advances in cancer treatment, the 5-year survival rate of patients with late-stage OSCC is low at 50–60%. Therefore, the development of anti-OSCC therapy is necessary. We evaluated the effects of marine-derived triterpene stellettin B in human OC2 and SCC4 cells. Stellettin B dose-dependently decreased the viability of both cell lines, with a significant reduction in OC2 cells at ≥0.1 µM at 24 and 48 h, and in SCC4 cells at ≥1 µM at 24 and 48 h. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells were significantly observed at 20 µM of stellettin B at 48 h, with the overexpression of cleaved caspase3 and cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Moreover, mitochondrial respiratory functions were ablated by stellettin B. Autophagy-related LC3-II/LC3-I ratio and Beclin-1 proteins were increased, whereas p62 was decreased. At 20 µM at 48 h, the expression levels of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress biomarkers calnexin and BiP/GRP78 were significantly increased and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways were activated. Further investigation using the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA) demonstrated that it alleviated stellettin B-induced cell death and autophagy. Overall, our findings show that stellettin B induces the ER stress, mitochondrial stress, apoptosis, and autophagy, causing cell death of OSCC cells.

The present study aimed to determine the changes in the biosorption, bioaccumulation, chlorophyll-a (chl-a), phycobiliproteins, and exudation in the red seaweed Sarcodia suiae exposed to lead and zinc. The seaweed was exposed to ambient lead and zinc environments for 5 days before being transferred to fresh seawater, and the changes in biodesorption, biodecumulation, chl-a, and phycobiliprotein levels in S. suiae were investigated. Lead and zinc biosorption and bioaccumulation in the seaweed increased with the increase in the lead and zinc concentrations and exposure times. Meanwhile, the biosorption and bioaccumulation of zinc in the seaweed following exposure to zinc were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the biosorption and bioaccumulation of lead in the seaweed following exposure to lead with the same concentration at each exposure time. The chl-a, phycoerythrin (PE), phycocyanin (PC), and allophycocyanin (APC) contents in the seaweed significantly decreased with the increase in the lead and zinc concentrations and exposure times. The chl-a, PE, PC, and APC contents in S. suiae, which was exposed to 5 Pb2+ mg/L for 5 days, were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those in the seaweed exposed to zinc at the same concentration and for the same exposure times. In the lead and zinc exudation tests, the highest biodesorption and biodecumulation were observed on the 1st day of exudation after the seaweed was transferred to fresh seawater. The residual percentages of the lead and zinc in the seaweed cells were 15.86% and 73.08% after 5 days of exudation, respectively. The biodesorption rate and biodecumulation rate of the seaweed exposed to lead were higher than those of the seaweed exposed to zinc. However, the effect of lead on chl-a and phycobiliproteins was greater than that of zinc. This might be the result of lead not being a necessary metal for these algae, whereas zinc is.

Nostoc commune has abundant bioactive compounds, which are valuable in medical, cosmeceutical, and nutraceutical fields. Currently, the demand for native bioactive compounds in the cosmetic industry is greater than ever, especially with regard to algae extracts. In this study, we evaluated the biochemical compounds, safety, and effect on wound-healing and anti-allergic properties of Nostoc commune polysaccharide-rich extract (NCPE) in an in vitro study. The results showed that an extract with 221.69 ± 25.56 mg g−1 polysaccharide mainly consists of glucose (73.2%) with abundant bioactive compounds (total phenolic, total flavonoids, and sulfates) and some elements (K, Sr, Mn, Ba, and Ni). Cytotoxicity and heavy metal assays revealed that the extract was safe and available. Cell culture experiments showed that the polysaccharide effectively inhibits IL-6, and β-hexosaminidase, but promotes collagen I secretion. These findings suggest that the extract may be a useful resource in the development of wound-healing and anti-allergic cosmetics.

Surgical post-operative adhesions can lead to serious clinical complications. Barrier agent is the broad usage for the prevention of post-operative adhesions. This study aimed to evaluate the reducing adhesion efficacy of non-animal hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel in pigs undergoing conventional laparotomy pelvic surgery. HA hydrogel was applied to eighteen female pigs who underwent conventional laparotomy. The adhesion degrees and histopathology were evaluated in bilateral uterine horns as well as peritoneal sidewall excision. In the present study, all animals survived and had no complications after the surgery. The histopathological observations were demonstrated that HA obviously improved laparotomy pelvic surgery-induced adhesion in peritoneal sidewall and uterine horn. The anastomotic healing score of injury + HA group was significantly lower than the injury alone group. We conclude HA hydrogel can attenuate the post-operative adhesions in porcine.

Four new hydroperoxyfurancembranoids, briaviodiols B–E (1–4), were obtained from an octocoral identified as Briareum violaceum. The structures of cembranoids 1–4 were established by using spectroscopic methods and comparing the spectroscopic data with those of known related analogues. Compounds 1, 3, and 4 were found to exhibit significant in vitro anti-inflammatory activity in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophage cells by inhibiting the expression of iNOS protein.

Hepcidin antimicrobial peptides are difficult to produce in prokaryotic expression systems due to their complex structure and antimicrobial activity. Although synthetic hepcidin provides an alternative to solve this issue, its high cost limits its practical application in various industries. The present study used zebrafish eggs as bioreactors to produce convict cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata) hepcidin (AN-hepc) using the oocyte-specific zona pellucida (zp3) promoter. The expression plasmid pT2-ZP3-AN-hepc-ZP3-EGFP, using EGFP as a reporter of AN-hepc expression, was designed to establish the transgenic line Tg(ZP3:AN-hepc:ZP3:EGFP) for the expression of AN-hepc. The AN-hepc peptide was produced successfully in fertilized eggs, as evidenced by RT-PCR and Western blotting. The AN-hepc-expressing eggs exhibited antimicrobial activity against a variety of aquatic pathogens and antibiotic-resistant pathogens, suggesting that the AN-hepc expressed in fish eggs was bioactive. The immunomodulatory effects of AN-hepc-expressing fertilized eggs on zebrafish innate immunity were evaluated by determining the expression of indicator genes after feeding with AN-hepc-expressing fertilized eggs for two months. Zebrafish supplementation with AN-hepc-expressing fertilized eggs significantly increased the expression of innate immunity-related genes, including IL-1&beta, IL-6, IL-15, TNF-&alpha, NF-&kappa, b, complement C3b, lysozyme and TLR-4a. The zebrafish administered AN-hepc-expressing eggs exhibited higher cumulative survival than fish supplemented with wild-type and control eggs after infection with Aeromonas hydrophila and Streptococcus iniae. In conclusion, the present results showed that supplementation with AN-hepc-expressing fish eggs enhanced zebrafish innate immunity against pathogenic infections, suggesting that fertilized eggs containing AN-hepc have the potential to be developed as a food supplement for improving health status in aquaculture.

To investigate the effect of Guijiajiao (Colla Carapacis et Plastri, CCP), the glue of tortoise shell, on bone regeneration in zebrafish and male Wistar rats.In this study, we applied in vitro and in vivo models, tissue section analysis, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction to assess the effects of CCP on bone repair. MG-63 cells were used in alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and mineralization assays. Zebrafish and male Wistar rats were used to evaluate the effects of CCP on bone repair in vivo.A simple preparation of CCP promoted osteogenesis in vivo and in vitro, and promoted MG-63 cell proliferation as well as ALP activity and mineralization. In addition, CCP activated Akt and extracellular signaling-regulated kinase pathways and significantly increased the expression of ossification-related genes and proteins such as runt-related transcription factor-2, osteocalcin, and osteopontin. The in vivo results revealed promotion of osteogenesis by immersing zebrafish in CCP for 72 h. An oral dose of 1.25 g/kg CCP significantly improved skull defects in rats, which was accompanied by an increase in serum ALP levels.One of the ingredients of Guilu Erxianjiao (tortoise shell and deer horn formula) provides a practical alternative therapy for bone regeneration.

This study investigated the changes in bioaccumulation, bioabsorption, photosynthesis rate, respiration rate, and photosynthetic pigments (phycoerythrin, phycocyanin, and allophycocyanin) of Sarcodia suiae following cadmium exposure within 24 h. The bioabsorption was significantly higher than the bioaccumulation at all cadmium levels (p &lt, 0.05). The ratios of bioabsorption/bioaccumulation in light and dark bottles were 2.17 and 1.74, respectively, when S. suiae was exposed to 5 Cd2+ mg/L. The chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentration, oxygen evolution rate (photosynthetic efficiency), and oxygen consumption rate (respiratory efficiency) decreased with increasing bioaccumulation and ambient cadmium levels. The levels of bioaccumulation and bioabsorption in light environments were significantly higher than those in dark environments (p &lt, 0.05). In addition, the ratios of phycoerythrin (PE)/Chl-a, phycocyanin (PC)/Chl-a, and allophycocyanin (APC)/Chl-a were also higher in light bottles compared to dark bottles at all ambient cadmium levels. These results indicated that the photosynthesis of seaweed will increase bioaccumulation and bioabsorption in a cadmium environment.

Rice husk (RH) contains abundant silica such that RH silica (RHS) may be useful for possible industrial exploitation. Here, amorphous silica nanoparticles with multiple pore structures were acquired from RH by simple thermochemical processes. RHS antimicrobial activity and effects on zebrafish innate immunity against pathogen infections were evaluated. A toxicity assay showed that zebrafish exposed to an RHS dose lower than 200 &mu, g/mL did not exhibit damage to zebrafish embryonic development or juvenile survival. RHS showed a wide spectrum of bacteriostatic activity against a variety of pathogens including antibiotic-resistant pathogens, implying its potential application as an antimicrobial agent in diverse industries. Fish exposed to 20 or 200 &mu, g/mL RHS exhibited significantly increased mRNA expression of immune-related genes, including IL-1&beta, IL-6, IL-15, TNF-&alpha, COX-2a, TLR-4a, lysozyme, and complement C3b. RHS-treated zebrafish exhibited a higher cumulative survival compared to that in control fish after infecting with Aeromonas hydrophila and Streptococcus iniae. The present results showed that a safe RHS dose enhanced innate immunity against infections without toxic effects in healthy fish, suggesting that RHS may be developed as an immunostimulant for improving health status in aquaculture.

3S, 3'S-Astaxanthin is the most powerful antioxidant to scavenge free radicals in the world. In this study, a 3S, 3'S-astaxanthin biosynthesis pathway was constructed in a probiotic yeast, Kluveromyces marxianus, denoted YEAST, and its bioactive metabolites were extracted for biofunctional assessments. The bio-safety examination was achieved by two animal models as following: First, no significant toxic effects on YEAST groups were found in zebrafish; Second, after feeding YEAST for 4 weeks, the rat-groups showed no visible abnormality, and no significant change of the body weight and blood biochemistry tests. The inhibition of lung metastasis of melanoma cells and the increment of the survival rate were demonstrated by feeding YEAST and injecting the intravenous commercial astaxanthin in vivo rodent model. Based on in vitro assays of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging analysis, ferrous ion chelating ability, reducing power assessment, and mushroom tyrosinase inhibition evaluation, YEAST-astaxanthin showed anti-oxidative and tyrosinase suppressive properties. Taken together, the 3S, 3'S-astaxanthin producing probiotic yeast is safe to be used in the bio-synthesis of functional and pharmaceutical compounds, which have broad industrial applications on cosmetic, food and feed additive and healthcare.

Background The study proposed a novel method for converting a radiographic guide into a surgical guide and evaluated its accuracy. Materials and Methods Radiographic guide was reformed with the addition of index rods for geometric conversion method (GCM). Planning implants were projected on geometric projection planes, and the implant positions were measured. The radiographic guide was converted into surgical guide using a generic bench drill machine with GCM data. Two experiments were designed to validate the GCM. (1) In vitro test: Twenty implants were placed on five edentulous dental models by using the GCM (group 1) and Stereolithography (SLA) method (group 2), respectively. The deviations of planned and placed implant were calculated, and the precision error (PE) value was calculated to evaluate the stability of the GCM and SLA. (2) In vivo test: Nine edentulous subjects were selected for clinical implant surgery with the GCM guide. Two level of the index rods of radiographic guides were prepared for surgical guides forming. The differences between the planned and actual implants were calculated in implant head, apex, and angulation. Results The in vitro test revealed no significant differences in the planned and placed angulations between groups 1 and 2 (P > .05). The PE was not significantly different between groups 1 and 2 (P > .05). The in vivo test revealed a successful treatment of the subjects, and 16 implant sites were evaluated. The results indicated that GCM guide could achieve the three-dimensional (3D) offset deviations of 1.03 ± 0.27 mm and 1.17 ± 0.24 mm at the implant head and apex, respectively, and 1.37° ± 0.21° for the 3D angulation. Conclusion The novel method for converting a radiographic guide into a surgical guide appears accurate and stable compared with SLA.

Introduction To date, the effects of various screw configurations on the stability of tibial tubercle osteotomy (TTO) are not completely understood. Hence, the first aim of this study is to evaluate the stability of TTO under various screw configurations. The second aim is to evaluate the internal stresses in the bone and the contact forces on the bone fragment that are developed by the tibia and screws in response to the applied load after the equilibrant is revealed. Methods To calculate the biomechanical responses of the bone and screw under loading, finite element (FE) method was used in this study. Six types of screw configurations were studied in the simulation: two parallel horizontal screws placed at a 20 mm interval, two parallel horizontal screws placed at a 30 mm interval, two parallel upward screws, two parallel downward screws, two trapezoid screws, and two divergent screws. The displacement of the bone fragment, contact forces on the fragment, and the internal stress in the bone were used as indices for comparison. Results Among all configurations, the configuration of two parallel downward screws yielded the highest stability with the lowest fragment displacement and gap opening. Although the maximum displacement of the TTO with the configuration of two parallel horizontal screws was slightly higher than that of the downward configuration, the difference was only 0.2 mm. The configuration of two upward screws resulted in the highest fragment displacement and gap deformation between the fragment and tibia. The stress of the osteotomized bone fragment was highest with the configuration of two upward screws. Conclusion Based on the present model, the current configuration of two parallel horizontal screws is recommended for TTO. If this is inappropriate in a specific clinical scenario, then the downward screw configuration may be used as an alternative. By contrast, the configuration of two parallel upward screws is least suggested for the fixation of TTO.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a common malignant bone cancer. The relatively high density of a person’s bone structure means low permeability for drugs, and so finding drugs that can be more effective is important and should not be delayed. MSPs are marine antimicrobial peptides (AMP) and natural compounds extracted from Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). MSP-4 is a part of the AMPs series, with the advantage of having a molecular weight of about 2.7-kDa and anticancer effects, although the responsible anticancer mechanism is not very clear. The goal of this study is to determine the workings of the mechanism associated with apoptosis resulting from MSP-4 in osteosarcoma MG63 cells. The study showed that MSP-4 significantly induced apoptosis in MG63 cells, with Western blot indicating that MSP-4 induced this apoptosis through an intrinsic pathway and an extrinsic pathway. Thus, a pretreatment system with a particular inhibitor of Z-IETD-FMK (caspase-8 inhibitor) and Z-LEHD-FMK (caspase-9 inhibitor) significantly attenuated the cleavage of caspase-3 and prevented apoptosis. These observations indicate that low concentrations of MSP-4 can help induce the apoptosis of MG63 through a Fas/FasL- and mitochondria-mediated pathway and suggest a potentially innovative alternative to the treatment of human osteosarcoma.

The study proposed a novel method for converting a radiographic guide into a surgical guide and evaluated its accuracy.Radiographic guide was reformed with the addition of index rods for geometric conversion method (GCM). Planning implants were projected on geometric projection planes, and the implant positions were measured. The radiographic guide was converted into surgical guide using a generic bench drill machine with GCM data. Two experiments were designed to validate the GCM. (1) In vitro test: Twenty implants were placed on five edentulous dental models by using the GCM (group 1) and Stereolithography (SLA) method (group 2), respectively. The deviations of planned and placed implant were calculated, and the precision error (PE) value was calculated to evaluate the stability of the GCM and SLA. (2) In vivo test: Nine edentulous subjects were selected for clinical implant surgery with the GCM guide. Two level of the index rods of radiographic guides were prepared for surgical guides forming. The differences between the planned and actual implants were calculated in implant head, apex, and angulation.The in vitro test revealed no significant differences in the planned and placed angulations between groups 1 and 2 (P.05). The PE was not significantly different between groups 1 and 2 (P.05). The in vivo test revealed a successful treatment of the subjects, and 16 implant sites were evaluated. The results indicated that GCM guide could achieve the three-dimensional (3D) offset deviations of 1.03 ± 0.27 mm and 1.17 ± 0.24 mm at the implant head and apex, respectively, and 1.37° ± 0.21° for the 3D angulation.The novel method for converting a radiographic guide into a surgical guide appears accurate and stable compared with SLA.

Four new marine sterols, (22E,24R)-ergosta-5,22-diene-3β,11α-diol (1), (24S)-ergosta-5-ene-3β,11α-diol (2), 5α,6α-epoxy-23-demethylgorgost-8-ene-3β,7α-diol (3), and 5α,6α-epoxy-23-demethylgorgost-8(14)-ene-3β,7α-diol (4), along with a known metabolite, 23-demethylgorgost-7-ene-3β,5α,6β-triol (5), were isolated from an algal-bearing gorgonian coral Pinnigorgia sp., collected off the waters of Taiwan. The structures of these sterols were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods. Sterols 1-5 were tested for in vitro cytotoxicity in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Proliferation of HSCs plays a key role in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis.