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Measurement of the periodontal soft tissue dimension is crucial for clinical decision-making and aesthetic prognosis. However, the effectiveness of different measuring methods remains unclear. This systematic review aimed to explore the diagnostic accuracy of two non-invasive methods (namely CBCT and ultrasound) for gingival thickness measurement at different tooth positions.A systematic search was performed using PubMed (including Medline), PubMed Central, OVID, Cochrane Library, LILACS and OpenGrey. Studies focusing on comparisons between CBCT, ultrasound and direct transgingival probing were included. The means, SDs and correlation coefficients with 95% confidence intervals were extracted and analyzed using Review Manager and R software.Twelve studies were selected. No significant difference was found between CBCT measurement and transgingival probing in the anterior and posterior dentition, and a moderate correlation was observed between these two methods (r = 0.41). A weak correlation was found between ultrasound measurement and transgingival probing (r = 0.32), and a slight but statistically significant difference was found when comparing ultrasonic devices and transgingival probing in the posterior area.CBCT can be considered a relatively reliable method for gingival thickness measurement in both the anterior and posterior areas compared with direct probing. Ultrasonic devices provide limited accuracy in the posterior area but are relatively comparable with direct clinical assessments in the anterior area.Measurement location may affect the diagnostic accuracy and repeatability of gingival thickness measurements. Appropriate method selection in different clinical scenarios is crucial to aesthetic outcome prediction and decision-making.

Strategic bone grafts are required to regenerate periodontal bone defects owing to limited self-healing. Current bioceramic particle or deproteinized bovine bone (DBB) products are not able to ideally meet clinical requirements, such as insufficient operability and slow degradation rates. Herein, a strong-interacted bone graft was designed and synthesized by modifying hydroxyapatite (HA) with a lactide-caprolactone copolymer (PLCL) to improve component homogeneity and mechanical properties. The physical-chemical analysis indicated that HA particles were homogenously distributed in HA/PLCL bone grafts, possessed outstanding thermoplasticity, and facilitated clinic operability and initial mechanical support. The

Hydrophobic curcumin and hydrophilic epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) are reported to exhibit a variety of biological activities and may exhibit synergistic effects when used in combination. A co-encapsulation system was developed to improve their applicability and bioavailability. This delivery system consisted of a water-in-oil-in-water (W

The mechanisms of inflammation in bone and joint tissue are complex and involve long non‑coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which play an important role in this process. The aim of the present study was to screen out differentially expressed genes in human osteoblasts stimulated by inflammation, and to further explore the mechanisms underlying inflammatory responses and the functional activity of human osteoblasts through bioinformatics methods and in vitro experiments. For this purpose, MG63 cells were stimulated with various concentrations of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for different periods of time to construct an optimal inflammatory model and RNA sequencing was then performed on these cells. The levels of nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1), various inflammatory factors, Nod‑like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) protein and osteogenesis‑related proteins, as well as the levels of cell apoptosis‑ and cell cycle‑related markers were measured in MG63 cells stimulated with LPS, transfected with NEAT1 overexpression plasmid and treated with bexarotene by western blot analysis, RT‑qPCR, immunofluorescence, FISH, TEM and flow cytometry. There were 427 differentially expressed genes in the LPS‑stimulated MG63 cells, in which NEAT1 was significantly downregulated. LPS upregulated the expression of inflammatory cytokines and NLRP3, inhibited the expression of autophagy‑related and osteogenesis‑related proteins, promoted apoptosis and altered the cell cycle, which was partially inhibited by NEAT1 overexpression and promoted by bexarotene. LPS stimulated inflammation in the MG63 cells and inhibited the retinoid X receptor (RXR)‑α to downregulate the expression of NEAT1 and decrease levels of autophagy, which promoted the activation of NLRP3 and the release of inflammatory factors, and impaired the functional activity of osteoblasts, thus promoting the development of inflammation.

Treatment of hyperdivergent skeletal Class III malocclusion is challenging for orthodontists, and orthognathic-orthodontic treatment is usually required. This report presents the successful nonsurgical treatment of a 20-year-old man who had a skeletal Class III malocclusion with anterior open bite, anterior and posterior crossbite, hyperdivergent growth pattern, steep occlusal plane, early loss of three first molars, and an uncommon convex profile with a retruded chin. An orthodontic camouflage treatment plan was chosen based on the etiology and the patient's complaints. Tooth #37 was extracted. Miniscrews were used for uprighting and intruding of the lower molars, distalization of the lower dentition, and flattening of the occlusal plane. After 34 months of active treatment, Class I relationships, proper anterior overjet and overbite, flat occlusal plane, and an esthetic facial profile were achieved. The results demonstrated that the biomechanics involved in the nonsurgical treatment assisted with miniscrews to distalize the mandibular dentition and flatten the occlusal plane while keeping the mandibular plane stable was effective for treating this hyperdivergent skeletal Class III patient with a convex profile and anterior open bite.

Age-related bone loss and disease strongly affect the quality of life of the elderly population. Cellular circadian rhythms have been reported to regulate bone aging, and micro RNAs (miRNAs) play crucial posttranscriptional regulatory roles in the peripheral clock network. Proliferation capability, osteogenic lineage commitment, senescence-associated secreted phenotype (SASP) and circadian oscillation of clock genes under osteogenic condition were assessed in bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs) from young adult and aged adult mice. miRNAs targeting the core clock gene brain and muscle arntl-like protein 1 (Bmal1) were screened and verified in young and old BMSCs with RT-qPCR and Western Blot analysis. ChIP-seq and RNA-seq datasets were mined to define the downstream mechanism and gain- and loss-of-function genetic experiments were performed to confirm the hypothesis. To compare the therapeutic effect of these clock-engineered BMSCs, SASP and osteogenic capability of Bmal1-overexpressing and miR-142-3p-inhibited BMSCs were investigated in vitro and transplanted into bone defects and femur cavities of aged mice. Aged BMSCs displayed an abolished circadian rhythm, impaired self-renewal capability and decreased osteoblast differentiation. miR-142-3p was elevated with aging, which downregulated Bmal1 and diminished the osteogenic potential of BMSCs. In addition, Bmal1 inhibited YAP expression to promote BMSCs osteogenesis, which was independent from the activation of Hippo signaling pathway. Overexpression of Bmal1 or inhibition of miR-142-3p rescued the molecular temporal rhythm and osteoblast differentiation ex vivo. Cell-based circadian therapy showed improved bone formation and higher turnover levels in vivo. This study demonstrates that transcriptional and post-transcriptional level clock-modified BMSCs rescued circadian oscillation and age-related bone loss via miR-142-3p/Bmal1/YAP signaling axis. These data provide promising clinical prospects of circadian-mediated stromal cell-based therapy and bone tissue regeneration.

[Image: see text] The clinical applications of many photosensitizers (PSs) are limited because of their poor water solubility, weak tissue penetration, low chemical purity, and severe toxicity in the absence of light. We designed a novel chlorin-based PS (designated as HPS) to achieve fluorescence image-guided photodynamic therapy (PDT) with efficient ROS generation. In addition to its simple fabrication process, HPS has other advantages such as excellent water solubility, strong NIR absorption, and high biocompatibility upon chemical functionalization for enhanced phototherapy. HPS exhibited high photodynamic performance against lung cancer and breast cancer cells by generating a large amount of singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)) under 654 nm laser irradiation. HPS accumulated into multiple organelles such as mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum and triggered cell apoptosis by laser exposure. In the tumor-bearing mice, in vivo, HPS showed an optimal half-life in circulation and achieved fluorescence-image-guided PDT within the irradiation window, resulting in effective tumor growth inhibition and the prolonged survival of animals. Moreover, the antitumor PDT effect of HPS was close to the clinical trial phase II stage of HPPH even at the low dosage of 0.32 mg/kg (under 75 J/cm(2) laser), while the systemic safety of HPS was much higher. In conclusion, HPS is a novel water-soluble chlorin derivative with excellent PDT potential for clinical transformation.

Aging has been proven to be one of the major causes of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disability and pain in older people. Peripheral circadian rhythms play a crucial role in endochondral ossification and chondrogenesis. However, the age-related alterations of circadian clock in TMJ structures are seldom reported. In the current study, TMJ condyles were extracted from young (4-month-old), middle-aged (10-month-old), and old-aged (20-month-old) adults to detect the morphology and circadian oscillation changes in TMJ condyles with aging. The transcriptome profile of Bmal1-deleted bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and controls were explored to reveal the circadian-related differences at the molecular level. Furthermore, the reparative effects of Bmal1-overexpressed BMSCs-based cytotherapy in aged TMJ condyles were investigated in vitro and in vivo. Aged TMJ condyles displayed damaged tissue structure and an abolished circadian rhythm, accompanied by a progressively decreasing chondrogenesis capability and bone turnover activities. The deletion of Bmal1 significantly down-regulated chondrogenesis-related genes Prg4, Sox9, and Col7a1. Bmal1-overexpressed BMSCs presented improved migration capability ex vivo and attenuated age-related TMJ condylar degeneration in vivo. These data demonstrate the crucial role of circadian timing in the maintenance of osteochondral homeostasis, and indicate the potential clinical prospects of circadian-modified MSCs therapy in tissue regeneration.

Background The incisors and molars showed different patterns of tooth eruption in rodents and the dental follicle cells play key roles in tooth eruption. Little is known about the differences in incisors and molars dental follicle cells during tooth eruption in rodents. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences between incisor dental follicle cells and molar dental follicle cells during tooth eruption in rat.Methods Incisor dental follicle cells and molar dental follicle cells were obtained as previously described. Immunofluorescence was used to identify the cells. Gene expression was measured by real-time qPCR and western blot.Results Compared with molar dental follicle cells, the incisor dental follicle cells showed higher expression of OPG, BMP-2 and BMP-3. The molar dental follicle cells showed higher expression of MCP-1 and RANKL.Conclusions The expression patterns of genes related to tooth eruption were different in incisors and molars dental follicle cells in rat.

50 subjects viewed an optokinetic rotating drum for 12 min. Subjective ratings of motion sickness were obtained during the development of motion sickness. The tonic and phasic skin-conductance responses were recorded from the sites of finger, palm, and forehead during the baseline and drum-rotation periods. Analysis showed subjects' subjective ratings of motion sickness gradually increased during the 12 min. of the drum-rotation period. Both phasic and tonic skin conductance also gradually increased during drum rotation for all subjects. Pearson correlations for 50 subjects showed their ratings of motion sickness during the drum-rotation period were significantly correlated with ratios of phasic skin conductance recorded at the forehead between drum rotation and baseline periods ( r = .62), followed by ratios of tonic skin conductance recorded at the finger palmar site ( r = .48), ratios of phasic skin conductance recorded at the finger palmar site ( r = .43), and ratios of tonic skin conductance recorded at the forehead site ( r = .39). In conclusion, the phasic skin-conductance responses recorded at the forehead site were most sensitive physiological correlates of motion sickness induced by viewing an optokinetic rotating drum.