Non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma-conditioned root dentin promotes attraction and attachment of primary human dental pulp stem cells in real-time Ex Vivo

This study investigated if non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma (NTAPP) treatment of root dentin surfaces promotes human dental pulp stem cell (hDPSCs) adhesion. Freshly extracted human single-rooted teeth (n = 36) were decoronated and cut (first vertically, then horizontally) into root dentin slices (3 mm thick). Primary hDPSCs cultures were seeded onto slices randomly assigned to pretreatment groups (n = 9/group): NaOCl (1.5%), EDTA (17%) then NTAPP (Group I); NaOCl then NTAPP (Group II); NaOCl then EDTA (Group III); and NaOCl alone (Group IV). Cell viability and proliferation were measured using MTT assay with log-linear statistical analysis. Cell attachment and spreading morphologies on dentin slices (n = 3/group) were examined through scanning electron microscopy. Early cell adhesion events and subcellular activities were observed in real time by live-cell imaging through holotomographic microscopy. Cell viability and proliferation were significantly higher on NTAPP-treated dentin (p \u3c 0.05), without interactions with EDTA (p \u3e 0.05). The attachment, spreading, extensions and multiple layers of hDPSCs were heightened on NTAPP-treated dentin. Cell adhesion, spreading, and dentinal tubule penetration were hastened on NTAPP-treated dentin surfaces in real-time, with elevated subcellular activities and intracellular lipid droplet formation. NTAPP-treated root dentin surfaces support enhanced cellular responses, potentially promoting pulp-dentin regeneration

Initial growth pattern of children with cleft before alveolar bone graft stage according to cleft type Unilateral cleft lip and alveolus, unilateral cleft lip and palate, and cleft palate

Objective: To test the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the initial growth pattern among three cleft types before alveolar bone graft (ABG) according to cleft type (unilateral cleft lip and alveolus [UCLA], unilateral cleft lip and palate [UCLP], and cleft palate [CP]). Materials and Methods: Samples consisted of the UCLA group, the UCLP group, and the CP group. Individuals were treated with the identical surgical technique by the same surgeon and had no history of orthodontic/orthopedic treatment. Lateral cephalograms taken 1 month before ABG were analyzed using 29 variables. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) testing and bivariate and logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: An increasing tendency for Class III relationships in the order of UCLA, UCLP, and CP was noted (ANB, AB-to-facial plane angle, AB-to-mandibular plane angle; P < .001, respectively). UCLP and CP groups demonstrated more posterior positioning of the maxilla (SNA, A-to-N-perp; P < .001, respectively) and a hyperdivergent pattern (gonial angle, SN-GoMe angle, FMA; P < .001, respectively) compared with the UCLA group. Because no differences in palatal plane angle and SN-to-occlusal plane angle were noted among the three groups, the hyperdivergent pattern in the UCLP and CP groups might be due to an innate growth pattern and eventual adaptation of the mandible to maxillary growth. UCLP and CP groups showed more Class III relationships (ANB: P < .05, P < .001, respectively) and a more hyperdivergent pattern (FMA: P < .05, P < .01, respectively) than the UCLA group. Conclusion: When the degree of cleft involvement increases from the primary palate to the secondary palate, the predominance of the Class III relationship and the hyperdivergent pattern increases also. (c) 2011 by The EH Angle Education and Research Foundation, Inc.

Preparation and evaluation of polymeric microparticulates for improving cellular uptake of gemcitabine

Ji-Ho Lim1,*, Sung-Kyun You1,*, Jong-Suep Baek1, Chan-Ju Hwang1, Young-Guk Na1, Sang-Chul Shin2, Cheong-Weon Cho11College of Pharmacy and Institute of Drug Research and Development, Chungnam National University, Gungdong, Yuseonggu, Daejeon, South Korea, 2College of Pharmacy, Chonnam National University, Buggu, Gwangju, South Korea *These authors contributed equally to this workBackground: Gemcitabine must be administered at high doses to elicit the required therapeutic response because of its very short plasma half-life due to rapid metabolism. These high doses can have severe adverse effects.Methods: In this study, polymeric microparticulate systems of gemcitabine were prepared using chitosan as a mucoadhesive polymer and Eudragit L100-55 as an enteric copolymer. The physicochemical and biopharmaceutical properties of the resulting systems were then evaluated.Results: There was no endothermic peak for gemcitabine in any of the polymeric gemcitabine microparticulate systems, suggesting that gemcitabine was bound to chitosan and Eudragit L100-55 and its crystallinity was changed into an amorphous form. The polymeric gemcitabine microparticulate system showed more than 80% release of gemcitabine in 30 minutes in simulated intestinal fluid. When mucin particles were incubated with gemcitabine polymeric microparticulates, the zeta potential of the mucin particles was increased to 1.57 mV, indicating that the polymeric gemcitabine microparticulates were attached to the mucin particles. Furthermore, the F53 polymeric gemcitabine microparticulates having 150 mg of chitosan showed a 3.8-fold increased uptake of gemcitabine into Caco-2 cells over 72 hours compared with gemcitabine solution alone.Conclusion: Overall, these results suggest that polymeric gemcitabine microparticulate systems could be used as carriers to help oral absorption of gemcitabine.Keywords: gemcitabine, polymeric microparticulates, mucoadhesive, enteric coating, cellular uptake, oral absorptio

Associations between the risk of tooth agenesis and single-nucleotide polymorphisms of MSX1 and PAX9 genes in nonsyndromic cleft patients

Objective: To investigate the association between the risk of tooth agenesis and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of MSX1 and PAX9 genes in nonsyndromic cleft patients. Materials and Methods: The subjects were 126 Korean nonsyndromic cleft patients. Tooth agenesis type (TAT) was classified as none (0); cleft area (1); cleft area + other area (2); and other area (3) based on agenesis of the maxillary lateral incisor (MXLI) and another tooth within or outside the cleft area. TAT was further grouped into two subcategories (0 and 1) and four subcategories (0, 1, 2, and 3). Three SNPs of MSX1 and 10 SNPs of PAX9 were investigated using Fisher's exact test and logistic regression analysis. Results: Although the association between genotype distribution of PAX9-rs7142363 and TAT was significant (P < .05 in four subcategories#, genotypic odds ratios #GORs# of SNPs in each TAT were not meaningful. However, for MSX1-rs12532 and PAX9-rs2073247, associations between genotypic distribution and TAT were significant #P < .01 in four subcategories and P < .05 in two subcategories; P < .01 in two subcategories, respectively#. In cleft area, GORs of MXLI agenesis in genotypes GA of MSX1-rs12532 and CT of PAX9-rs2073247 were increased by 3.14-fold and 4.15-fold compared with genotype GG of MSX1-rs12532 and CC of PAX9-rs2073247, respectively #P <. 01; P < .05#. In cleft area + other area, the GOR of agenesis of MXLI and another tooth in genotype AA of MSX1-rs12532 was increased by fivefold compared with genotype GG #P < .05). Conclusion: Genetic disturbances of MSX1 and PAX9 genes are associated with tooth agenesis within and outside the cleft area.OAIID:oai:osos.snu.ac.kr:snu2013-01/102/0000004298/13SEQ:13PERF_CD:SNU2013-01EVAL_ITEM_CD:102USER_ID:0000004298ADJUST_YN:YEMP_ID:A072100DEPT_CD:852CITE_RATE:1.184FILENAME:seoyj-msx1-pax9-missing-ao-2013.pdfDEPT_NM:치의과학과SCOPUS_YN:YCONFIRM:

Association between MSX1 SNPs and Nonsyndromic Cleft Lip with or without Cleft Palate in the Korean Population

The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of MSX1 gene to the risk of nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NS-CL +/- P) in the Korean population. The samples consisted of 142 NS-CL +/- P families (9 with cleft lip, 26 with cleft lip and alveolus, and 107 with cleft lip and palate; 76 trios and 66 dyads). Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs: rs3821949, rs12532, and rs4464513) were tested for association with NS-CL +/- P case-parent trios using transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) and conditional logistic regression models (CLRMs). Minor allele frequency, heterozygosity, chi(2) test for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, and pairwise linkage disequilibrium (LD) at each SNP were computed. The family- and haplotype-based association test programs were used to perform allelic and genotypic TDTs for individual SNPs and to fabricate sliding windows of haplotypes. Genotypic odds ratios (GORs) were obtained from CLRMs using R software. Although the family-based TDT indicated a meaningful association for rs3821949 (P = 0.028), the haplotype analysis did not reveal any significant association with rs3821949, rs12532, or rs4464513. The A allele at rs3821949 had a significant increased risk of NS-CL +/- P (GOR, 1.64; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-2.63; P = 0.038, additive model). A positive association is suggested between MSX1 rs3821949 and NS-CL +/- P in the Korean population.OAIID:oai:osos.snu.ac.kr:snu2013-01/102/0000004298/4SEQ:4PERF_CD:SNU2013-01EVAL_ITEM_CD:102USER_ID:0000004298ADJUST_YN:YEMP_ID:A072100DEPT_CD:852CITE_RATE:1.249FILENAME:kimny-cleft-msx1-manuscript-jkms-final.pdfDEPT_NM:치의과학과SCOPUS_YN:YCONFIRM:

Customized Energy Down-Shift using Iridium Complexes for Enhanced Performance of Polymer Solar Cells

School of Molecular Sciences(Chemistry)For the higher performance of polymer solar cells (PSCs), many researchers tried to develop new polymers that can absorb broader range of spectrum. However, there are some limits to absorb broader range with single donor. Therefore, multi donor systems and energy transfer systems have been researched. With two different donors it is easier to enhance absorption range. As a result, multi donor and energy transfer was successful to increase performance. However, the existing systems are applying polymer-polymer systems. When two different polymers are mixed, the compatibility between two polymers is critical to morphology of blend film. Also, in polymer-polymer energy transfer, the boundary between charge transfer and energy transfer is unclear. Therefore, for the first time, we developed customized iridium (Ir(III)) complexes, with Ir(III) complex incorporated into the active materials poly(thieno[3,4-b]-thiophene/benzodithiophene) (PTB7, amorphous) or poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT, high crystalline) as energy donor additives. The Ir(III) complex with the 2-phenyl quinolone ligand energy donor increased the power conversion efficiency of the corresponding devices by approximately 20%. The enhancements are attributed to the improved molecular compatibility and energy level between the Ir(III) complex and the active materials, long F??rster resonance energy transfer radius, and high energy down-shift efficiency. Overall, we reveal Ir(III) complex additives for amorphous and highly crystalline polymer active materialsthese additives would enable efficient energy transfer in polymer solar cells, while retaining the desirable active layer morphology, thereby resulting in improved light absorption and conversion.ope

Anchoring Competition on Nanosurface Boundaries with Conflicting Mixed Nematic Anchoring Properties

We propose a technique for continuously controlling the full range of pretilt angles with a high process margin. The proposed method is characterized by tuning the thickness of a heterogeneous polyimide layer that consists of homeotropic and planar polyimides. The thickness of the mixture can be controlled by varying the concentration of the solvent. The liquid crystal (LC) pretilt generated at the very thin mixture film is insensitive to some incorrect mixing ratio, since the segregation of the depth direction of the mixture including the van der Waals effect in interactions with LCs decreases ultimately. Consequently, we can obtain continuous LC pretilt angles with a high process margin by controlling mixing ratio in a very thin heterogeneous polyimide film. Furthermore, it is possible to achieve excellent reliability, uniformity, and productivity using this technique. A simple mathematical model based on van der Waals interaction provides a good description of the experimental results