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OBJECTIVES: To determine the association of plasma homocysteine levels with retinal layer thickness in a large community cohort of older adults. METHODS: The Rugao Longevity and Ageing Study is an observational, prospective and community-based cohort study. A total of 989 older adults who underwent spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) were included and analyzed. Foveal, macular retinal nerve fibre layer (mRNFL) and ganglion cell layer plus inner plexiform layer (GC-IPL) thicknesses were measured by SD-OCT. Plasma homocysteine levels were measured using chemiluminescence immunoassay. Linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship between plasma homocysteine and retinal layer thickness while controlling for confounding factors. RESULTS: Of the 989 participants, 500 (50.56%) were men. The mean age was 78.26 (4.58) years, and the mean plasma homocysteine level was 16.38 (8.05) μmol/L. In multivariable analyses, each unit increase in plasma homocysteine was associated with an 8.84 × 10(−2) (95% CI: −16.54 × 10(−2) to −1.15 × 10(−2), p = 0.032) μm decrease in the average inner thickness of the GC-IPL after controlling for confounding factors. The association remained significant even in participants without major cardiovascular disease or diabetes (β = −10.33 × 10(−2), 95% CI: −18.49 × 10(−2) to −2.18 × 10(−2), p = 0.013). No significant associations of plasma homocysteine levels with macular thickness or mRNFL were found in primary and sensitivity analyses (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Increased plasma homocysteine levels are associated with a thinner GC-IPL. Plasma homocysteine may be a risk factor for thinner retinas in older adults.

Background The aim of this study is to identify the genetic defects in a Chinese family with fundus albipunctatus. Methods Complete ophthalmic examinations, including slit-lamp biomicroscopy, dilated indirect ophthalmoscopy, fundus photography, autofluorescence, swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) and full-field electroretinography (ffERG) were performed. Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples and whole genome sequencing was performed. Variants were validated with Sanger sequencing. Results Six members in this Chinese family, including three affected individuals and three controls, were recruited in this study. The ophthalmic examination of three recruited patients was consistent with fundus albipunctatus. Three variants, a novel frameshift deletion c.39delA [p.(Val14CysfsX47] and a haplotype of two rare missense variants, c.683G > A [p.(Arg228Gln)] along with c.710A > G [p.(Tyr237Cys], within the retinal dehydrogenase 5 (RDH5) gene were found to segregate with fundus albipunctatus in this family in an autosomal recessive matter. Conclusion We identified novel compound heterozygous variants in RDH5 responsible for fundus albipunctatus in a large Chinese family. The results of our study further broaden the genetic defects of RDH5 associated with fundus albipunctatus.

Using bioactive nanomaterials in clinical treatment has been widely aroused. Nanomaterials provide substantial improvements in the prevention and treatment of oral and maxillofacial diseases. This review aims to discuss new progresses in nanomaterials applied to oral and maxillofacial tissue regeneration and disease treatment, focusing on the use of nanomaterials in improving the quality of oral and maxillofacial healthcare, and discuss the perspectives of research in this arena. Details are provided on the tissue regeneration, wound healing, angiogenesis, remineralization, antitumor, and antibacterial regulation properties of nanomaterials including polymers, micelles, dendrimers, liposomes, nanocapsules, nanoparticles and nanostructured scaffolds, etc. Clinical applications of nanomaterials as nanocomposites, dental implants, mouthwashes, biomimetic dental materials, and factors that may interact with nanomaterials behaviors and bioactivities in oral cavity are addressed as well. In the last section, the clinical safety concerns of their usage as dental materials are updated, and the key knowledge gaps for future research with some recommendation are discussed. This article is categorized under: Implantable Materials and Surgical Technologies > Nanomaterials and Implants Implantable Materials and Surgical Technologies > Nanotechnology in Tissue Repair and Replacement.

Background: The simple, convenient and well-validated biomarkers are imperative for detection of cognitive decline (CD). The powerful evidence is lacked for verifying the reliability and clinical utility of retinal biomarkers for detection of CD with repeated assessments. To investigate the association of retinal thickness with CD using repeated assessments. Methods: This study included 446 older adults with three-time repeated assessments of cognitive function during 5-years follow-up. Retinal thickness measured on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Logistic regression models were conducted to analyze the association of retinal thickness with cognitive function. Results: According to cognitive status in three assessments, individuals were categorized into consistently normal cognition groups (N = 159), persistently CD groups (N = 134), progressed to CD groups (N = 70), and reverting or fluctuating CD groups (N = 83). Thinner ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GC-IPL) was associated with persistently CD (odds ratio [OR] per 1-μm decrease: 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.18; per standard deviation [SD] decrease: 1.78, 95%CI, 1.04-3.19) rather than progressed to CD, reverting or fluctuating CD. No significant relationship was found between retinal nerve fiber layer and any CD subgroups (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Thinner GC-IPL was associated with persistently CD, suggesting retinal neurodegeneration may be a promising biomarker for persistently CD. Further studies, including both longitudinal and repeated measurements of retinal layer thickness and cognitive function, are needed to assess the possibility of retinal thickness as a biomarker for persistent CD.

This study examined a single center’s experience with regards to etiology and distribution of fractures treated from July 2015 to August 2016 in Shanghai, China. The medical records of 621 patients with craniomaxillofacial fractures were reviewed. Patient notes and radiographic images were analyzed for detailed injury data. Age, gender, etiology, and site of fracture were examined. Chi-square test was used to analyze the causes of single and multiple fractures. p

Polyamines (PAs) have been demonstrated to be involved in plant in response to abiotic stresses including chilling stress. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of seed priming with 5 mM of spermidine (Spd) and 8.5 mM of 5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) on seed polyamines metabolism associated with the improvement of chilling tolerance in two rice cultivars, Zhu Liang You 06 (ZY) and Qian You No.1 (QY). Germination percentage, seedling growth and seedling vigor index was decreased under chilling stress, but this physiological parameters was improved by Spd and ALA priming in both studied cultivars as compared with unprimed seeds. As well, total phenolics, flavonoids and glycine-betaine were improved by priming treatment. Contrarily, significant decrease of α-amylase activity, soluble sugars and soluble protein contents of both cultivars was observed in chilling stressed plants as compared with normal growth condition (25 °C). However, priming with Spd and ALA significantly increased α-amylase activity, soluble sugars and soluble protein contents with more prominent increase in QY cultivar. Results showed that chilling stress significantly improved superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and further enhancement was observed by Spd and ALA-primed seeds. Spd and putrescine (Put) were decreased under chilling stress, while a reverse tendency was observed in case of spermine (Spm) content. The enzymes involved in the PAs biosynthesis, arginine decarboxylase (ADC), ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) was improved by priming treatment. The relative expressions of genes encoding enzymes involved in PAs biosynthesis increased by Spd and ALA priming. Additionally, priming treatment improved leaf cell and grain structure as compared with the unprimed seeds.

Electrospun fiber scaffolds, due to their mimicry of bone extracellular matrix (ECM), have become an important biomaterial widely applied in bone tissue engineering in recent years. While topographic cues of electrospun membranes such as alignment and diameter played vital roles in determining cellular behaviors. Yet few researches about the effects of these two significant parameters on osteogenesis have been reported. Thus, the present work explored the influence of aligned and random poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) fiber matrices with diameters of nanoscale (0.6 μm) and microscale (1.2 μm), respectively, on cellular responses of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), such as cell adhesion, migration, proliferation and osteogenesis. Our results revealed that aligned nanofibers (AN) could affect cell morphology and promote the migration of BMSCs after 24 h of cell culturing. Besides, AN group was observed to possess excellent biocompatibility and have significantly improved cell growth comparing with random nanofibers. More importantly, in vitro osteogenesis researches including ALP and Alizarin Red S staining, qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence staining demonstrated that BMSCs culturing on AN group exhibited higher osteogenic induction proficiency than that on aligned microfibers (AM) and random fiber substrates (RN and RM). Accordingly, aligned nanofiber scaffolds have greater application potential in bone tissue engineering.

The delayed seed germination and poor seedling growth caused by imbibitional chilling injury was common phenomenon in maize seedling establishment. In this study, RNA sequencing technology was used to comprehensively investigate the gene expressions in chilling-imbibed maize embryo and to reveal the underlying mechanism of chilling injury at molecular level. Imbibed seeds for 2 hours at 5°C (LT2) were selected and transcriptomic comparative analysis was performed. Among 327 DEGs indentified between dry seed (CK0) and LT2, 15 specific genes with plasma membrane (PM) relevant functions belonging to lipid metabolism, stress, signaling and transport were characterized, and most of them showed down-regulation pattern under chilling stress. When transferred to 25°C for recovery (LT3), remarkable changes occurred in maize embryo. There were 873 DEGs including many PM related genes being identified between LT2 and LT3, some of which showing significant increase after 1 hour’s recovery. Moreover, 15 genes encoding intracellular vesicular trafficking proteins were found to be exclusively differential expressed at recovery stage. It suggested that the intracellular vesicle trafficking might be essential for PM recovery through PM turnover. Furthermore, transcriptome analyses on imbibed embryos under normal condition (25°C) were also made as a contrast. A total of 651 DEGs were identified to mainly involved in protein metabolism, transcriptional regulation, signaling and energy productions. Overall, the RNA-Seq results provided us a deep knowledge of imbibitional chilling injury on plasma membrane and a new view on PM repaired mechanism during early seed imbibition at transcriptional level. The DEGs identified in this work would be useful references in future seed germination research.