Patients’ Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence in Dentistry: A Controlled Study

Background: As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly important in modern dentistry, we aimed to assess patients' perspectives on AI in dentistry specifically for radiographic caries detection and the impact of AI-based diagnosis on patients' trust. Methods: Validated questionnaires with Likert-scale batteries (1: "strongly disagree" to 5: "strongly agree") were used to query participants' experiences with dental radiographs and their knowledge/attitudes towards AI as well as to assess how AI-based communication of a diagnosis impacted their trust, belief, and understanding. Analyses of variance and ordinal logistic regression (OLR) were used (p < 0.05). Results: Patients were convinced that "AI is useful" (mean Likert +/- standard deviation 4.2 +/- 0.8) and did not fear AI in general (2.2 +/- 1.0) nor in dentistry (1.6 +/- 0.8). Age, education, and employment status were significantly associated with patients' attitudes towards AI for dental diagnostics. When shown a radiograph with a caries lesion highlighted by an arrow, patients recognized the lesion significantly less often than when using AI-generated coloured overlays highlighting the lesion (p < 0.0005). AI-based communication did not significantly affect patients' trust in dentists' diagnosis (p = 0.44; OLR). Conclusions: Patients showed a positive attitude towards AI in dentistry. AI-supported diagnostics may assist communicating radiographic findings by increasing patients' ability to recognize caries lesions on dental radiographs

Dichotomous Impact of Myc on rRNA Gene Activation and Silencing in B Cell Lymphomagenesis

A major transcriptional output of cells is ribosomal RNA (rRNA), synthesized by RNA polymerase I (Pol I) from multicopy rRNA genes (rDNA). Constitutive silencing of an rDNA fraction by promoter CpG methylation contributes to the stabilization of these otherwise highly active loci. In cancers driven by the oncoprotein Myc, excessive Myc directly stimulates rDNA transcription. However, it is not clear when during carcinogenesis this mechanism emerges, and how Myc-driven rDNA activation affects epigenetic silencing. Here, we have used the E&micro;-Myc mouse model to investigate rDNA transcription and epigenetic regulation in Myc-driven B cell lymphomagenesis. We have developed a refined cytometric strategy to isolate B cells from the tumor initiation, promotion, and progression phases, and found a substantial increase of both Myc and rRNA gene expression only in established lymphoma. Surprisingly, promoter CpG methylation and the machinery for rDNA silencing were also strongly up-regulated in the tumor progression state. The data indicate a dichotomous role of oncogenic Myc in rDNA regulation, boosting transcription as well as reinforcing repression of silent repeats, which may provide a novel angle on perturbing Myc function in cancer cells

Indikatoren und Methoden zur Erfassung und Bewertung von Ökosystemleistungen in metropolitanen Räumen

In diesem Beitrag wird am Beispiel eines ausgewählten metropolitanen Raums ein wissenschaftlich fundierter und zugleich praxisrelevanter Vorschlag für Indikatoren und Methoden zur Erfassung und Bewertung von Ökosystemleistungen mit Relevanz für die Flächennutzungs- und Landschaftsplanung unterbreitet. Die Forschungsfragen zielen auf geeignete Ökosystemleistungen, Indikatoren und Methoden sowie auf eine Bewertung der vorgeschlagenen Ökosystemleistungsindikatoren hinsichtlich der Datenverfügbarkeit und des Erhebungsaufwandes. Als Fallbeispiel dient der Ballungsraum Frankfurt/Rhein-Main. Das methodische Vorgehen besteht aus der Erarbeitung einer angepassten Indikatorenliste auf der Basis relevanter Vorarbeiten und einer expertenbasierten, anwendungsorientierten Evaluation. Die entwickelte Vorschlagsliste für den Ballungsraum Frankfurt/Rhein-Main umfasst insgesamt 27 Ökosystemleistungen mit jeweils einem oder mehreren Indikatoren. Die anwendungsorientierte Evaluation zeigt, dass in metropolitanen Räumen üblicherweise für fast alle Ökosystemleistungsindikatoren geeignete Daten vorliegen, die mit insgesamt moderatem, aber individuell unterschiedlichem Aufwand erhoben und bewertet werden können. Abschließend werden Empfehlungen für die Umsetzung in der Praxis gegeben.This paper presents a scientifically credible and practically relevant set of indicators and methods to assess and evaluate ecosystem services of relevance for land use and landscape planning. The research questions are (i) to identify suitable ecosystem services, indicators, and methods, and (ii) to assess the proposed indicators regarding the respective data availability and assessment effort. The region of Frankfurt/Rhein-Main (Germany) serves as the case study. The methods include the synthesis of a specifically adapted list of ecosystem services indicators based on relevant prior research and an expert-based and application-oriented evaluation. The proposed list for the region of Frankfurt/Rhein-Main contains 27 ecosystemservices, with one or more associated indicators each. The evaluation reveals that metropolitan regions in Germany usually provide sufficient data to assess almost all ecosystem services. The assessment effort differs, but is generally moderate. The paper concludes with recommendations for practical application in the Frankfurt region and beyond

Endoplasmic reticulum stress and the unfolded protein response in skeletal muscle of subjects suffering from peritoneal sepsis

We provide a descriptive characterization of the unfolded protein response (UPR) in skeletal muscle of human patients with peritoneal sepsis and a sepsis model of C57BL/6J mice. Patients undergoing open surgery were included in a cross-sectional study and blood and skeletal muscle samples were taken. Key markers of the UPR and cluster of differentiation 68 (CD68) as surrogate of inflammatory injury were evaluated by real-time PCR and histochemical staining. CD68 mRNA increased with sepsis in skeletal muscle of patients and animals (p < 0.05). Mainly the inositol-requiring enzyme 1α branch of the UPR was upregulated as shown by elevated X-box binding-protein 1 (XBP1u) and its spliced isoform (XBP1s) mRNA (p < 0.05, respectively). Increased expression of Gadd34 indicated activation of PRKR-Like Endoplasmic Reticulum Kinase (PERK) branch of the UPR, and was only observed in mice (p < 0.001) but not human study subjects. Selected cell death signals were upregulated in human and murine muscle, demonstrated by increased bcl-2 associated X protein mRNA and TUNEL staining (p < 0.05). In conclusion we provide a first characterization of the UPR in skeletal muscle in human sepsis

PI(18:1/18:1) is a SCD1-derived lipokine that limits stress signaling

Cytotoxic stress activates stress-activated kinases, initiates adaptive mechanisms, including the unfolded protein response (UPR) and autophagy, and induces programmed cell death. Fatty acid unsaturation, controlled by stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD)1, prevents cytotoxic stress but the mechanisms are diffuse. Here, we show that 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(1’-myo-inositol) [PI(18:1/18:1)] is a SCD1-derived signaling lipid, which inhibits p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase activation, counteracts UPR, endoplasmic reticulum-associated protein degradation, and apoptosis, regulates autophagy, and maintains cell morphology and proliferation. SCD1 expression and the cellular PI(18:1/18:1) proportion decrease during the onset of cell death, thereby repressing protein phosphatase 2 A and enhancing stress signaling. This counter-regulation applies to mechanistically diverse death-inducing conditions and is found in multiple human and mouse cell lines and tissues of Scd1-defective mice. PI(18:1/18:1) ratios reflect stress tolerance in tumorigenesis, chemoresistance, infection, high-fat diet, and immune aging. Together, PI(18:1/18:1) is a lipokine that links fatty acid unsaturation with stress responses, and its depletion evokes stress signaling