Non-surgical removal of dens invaginatus in maxillary lateral incisor using CBCT: Two-year follow-up case report

A 14-year female presented with an atypical looking tooth #7 with a sinus tract on tooth #8. A gutta-percha point inserted into the sinus tract confirmed the affected tooth #7. A radiographic examination of tooth showed a lateral radiolucency with respect to tooth #7. Cone-beam computed tomographic imaging was done for the three-dimensional reconstruction analysis. Dens invaginatus (Oehler’s type III) with pulp necrosis and chronic apical periodontitis was the definitive diagnosis. Use of the dental operating microscope and ultrasonics helped in the removal of the invaginated structure. At the two year follow-up, no clinical and radiographic evidence of infection was observed

Spatio-Temporal Variation of Land-Use Intensity from a Multi-Perspective—Taking the Middle and Lower Reaches of Shule River Basin in China as an Example

The long-term human activities could influence land use/cover change and sustainability. As the global climate changes, humans are using more land resources to develop economy and create material wealth, which causes a tremendous influence on the structure of natural resources, ecology, and environment. Interference from human activities has facilitated land utilization and land coverage change, resulting in changes in land-use intensity. Land-use intensity can indicate the degree of the interference of human activities on lands, and is an important indicator of the sustainability of land use. Taking the middle and lower reaches of Shule River Basin as study region, this paper used “land-use degree (LUD)” and “human activity intensity (HAI)” models for land-use intensity, and analyzed the spatio-temporal variation of land-use intensity in this region from a multi-perspective. The results were as follows: (1) From 1987 to 2015, the land use structure in the study region changed little. Natural land was always the main land type, followed by semi-natural land and then artificial land. (2) The LUD in the study region increased by 35.36 over the 29 years. It increased the most rapidly from 1996 to 2007, and after 2007, it still increased, but more slowly. A spatial distribution pattern of “low land-use degree in east and west regions and high land-use degree in middle region” changed to “high land-use degree in east and middle regions and low land-use degree in west region”. (3) The human activity intensity of artificial lands (HAI-AL) in the study region decreased from 1987 to 1996, and then increased from 1996 to 2015. The human activity intensity of semi-artificial lands (HAL-SAL) in the study region increased over the 29 years, and more rapidly after 1996. (4) 1996–2007 was a transition period for the land-use intensity in the study region. This was related to the implementation of the socio-economy, policies such as “Integrated Development of Agricultural Irrigation and Immigrant Settlement in Shule River Basin (1996–2006)”, and technologies

Pd nanochains: Controlled synthesis by lysine and application in microbial fuel cells

Three-dimensional networks composed of one-dimensional nanomaterials are widely used in electrocatalysis owing to their high charge transfer efficiencies. In this study, we report a hydrothermal lysine-assisted route for the synthesis of the Pd nanochain networks (Pd NCNs). In addition, we demonstrate the application of Pd NCNs in microbial fuel cells (MFCs), which represent a promising technology for wastewater treatment that also directly generates electrical energy. The Pd NCNs exhibit superior activity for the oxygen reduction reaction under neutral conditions because of their unique structure and down-shifted Pd d-band center, as compared with the commercial Pd black catalyst. The maximum power density generated in a membraneless single chamber MFC operating on wastewater with the as-prepared Pd NCNs as cathode catalysts is similar to 14.10 W m(-3) or 563.99 mW m(-2), which remains stable for over 100 days, clearly demonstrating the potential application of Pd NCNs in MFCs

Protective effect of glycyrrhizin, a direct HMGB1 inhibitor, on focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion-induced inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in rats.

AIM: Glycyrrhizin (GL) has been reported to protect against ischemia and reperfusion (I/R)-induced injury by inhibiting the cytokine activity of high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1). In the present study, the protective effects of GL against I/R injury, as well as the related molecular mechanisms, were investigated in rat brains. METHODS: Focal cerebral I/R injury was induced by intraluminal filamentous occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) in Male Sprague-Dawley rats. GL alone or GL and rHMGB1 were administered intravenously at the time of reperfusion. Serum levels of HMGB1 and inflammatory mediators were quantified via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Histopathological examination, immunofluorescence, RT-PCR and western blotting analyses were performed to investigate the protective and anti-apoptotic effects and related molecular mechanisms of GL against I/R injury in rat brains. RESULTS: Pre-treatment with GL significantly reduced infarct volume and improved the accompanying neurological deficits in locomotor function. The release of HMGB1 from the cerebral cortex into the serum was inhibited by GL administration. Moreover, pre-treatment with GL alleviated apoptotic injury resulting from cerebral I/R through the inhibition of cytochrome C release and caspase 3 activity. The expression levels of inflammation- and oxidative stress-related molecules including TNF-α, iNOS, IL-1β, and IL-6, which were over-expressed in I/R, were decreased by GL. P38 and P-JNK signalling were involved in this process. All of the protective effects of GL could be reversed by rHMGB1 administration. CONCLUSIONS: GL has a protective effect on ischemia-reperfusion injury in rat brains through the inhibition of inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptotic injury by antagonising the cytokine activity of HMGB1

Tetramethylpyrazine suppresses transient oxygen-glucose deprivation-induced connexin32 expression and cell apoptosis via the ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK pathway in cultured hippocampal neurons.

Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) has been widely used in China as a drug for the treatment of various diseases. Recent studies have suggested that TMP has a protective effect on ischemic neuronal damage. However, the exact mechanism is still unclear. This study aims to investigate the mechanism of TMP mediated ischemic hippocampal neurons injury induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). The effect of TMP on hippocampal neurons viability was detected by MTT assay, LDH release assay and apoptosis rate was measured by flow cytometry. TMP significantly suppressed neuron apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. TMP could significantly reduce the elevated levels of connexin32 (Cx32) induced by OGD. Knockdown of Cx32 by siRNA attenuated OGD injury. Moreover, our study showed that viability was increased in siRNA-Cx32-treated-neurons, and neuron apoptosis was suppressed by activating Bcl-2 expression and inhibiting Bax expression. Over expression of Cx32 could decrease neurons viability and increase LDH release. Furthermore, OGD increased phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and p38, whose inhibitors relieved the neuron injury and Cx32 up-regulation. Taken together, TMP can reverse the OGD-induced Cx32 expression and cell apoptosis via the ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK pathways

Efficacy of fluorides and CPP-ACP vs fluorides monotherapy on early caries lesions: A systematic review and meta-analysis

<div><p>The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the combination of CPP-ACP and fluorides compared with fluorides monotherapy on patients with early caries lesions. The Medline, Embase and Cochrane databases up to August 2017 were scanned, with no restrictions. Studies satisfied the guideline of randomised controlled trials (RCTs), the patients with early caries lesions and data considering the efficacy of fluorides and CPP-ACP versus fluorides alone were selected. There was no language restriction during the literature search process, however, only papers in English or Chinese were included during the selection process. Outcome variables include laser fluorescence, quantitative light-induced fluorescence, lesion area and visual inspection scores. Mean differences were calculated during the data extraction process. Ten studies including 559 patients were selected in the meta-analysis. Fluorides combined with CPP-ACP achieved the same efficacy for early caries lesions on smooth surfaces compared with fluorides monotherapy (mean difference: -13.90, 95% confidence interval: [-39.25, 11.46], <i>P</i> = 0.28), and the combination treatment showed significantly better efficacy than fluorides monotherapy for occlusal early caries lesions (mean difference: -21.02, 95% confidence interval: [-27.94, -14.10], <i>P</i><0.01). However, further well-designed studies are still needed.</p></div

Efficacy in CPP-ACP and fluorides vs fluorides alone using LF value.

<p>Efficacy in CPP-ACP and fluorides vs fluorides alone using LF value.</p

Efficacy in CPP-ACP and fluorides vs fluorides alone using QLF value.

<p>Efficacy in CPP-ACP and fluorides vs fluorides alone using QLF value.</p

Efficacy in CPP-ACP and fluorides vs fluorides alone using the value of total lesion area divided by total surface area of teeth tested.

<p>Efficacy in CPP-ACP and fluorides vs fluorides alone using the value of total lesion area divided by total surface area of teeth tested.</p

Ascertainment of the risk of bias in the included studies.

<p>Ascertainment of the risk of bias in the included studies.</p