Classification of Quantitative Light-Induced Fluorescence Images Using Convolutional Neural Network

Images are an important data source for diagnosis and treatment of oral diseases. The manual classification of images may lead to misdiagnosis or mistreatment due to subjective errors. In this paper an image classification model based on Convolutional Neural Network is applied to Quantitative Light-induced Fluorescence images. The deep neural network outperforms other state of the art shallow classification models in predicting labels derived from three different dental plaque assessment scores. The model directly benefits from multi-channel representation of the images resulting in improved performance when, besides the Red colour channel, additional Green and Blue colour channels are used.Comment: Full version of ICANN 2017 submissio

Association of serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels against two periodontal pathogens and prothrombotic state: a clinical pilot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>Periodontitis is associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In our previous studies a prothrombotic state has been observed in periodontitis, which contributes to the risk of CVD. The aim of this study was to investigate whether serum IgG levels against <it>Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) </it>and <it>Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) </it>in periodontitis were associated with a prothrombotic state.</p> <p>Materials and methods</p> <p>Patients with moderate (n = 38) and severe periodontitis (n = 30) and controls (n = 24) were recruited. We explored correlations between serum anti-<it>Aa </it>and anti-<it>Pg </it>IgG and plasma levels of markers of prothrombotic state (von Willebrand Factor [vWF], prothrombin fragment 1+2 [F1+2], plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 [PAI-1] and D-dimer). Multivariate analyses were performed considering several major potential contributing factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Periodontitis patients showed higher anti-<it>Aa </it>IgG (<it>p </it>= 0.015) than controls but not for <it>Pg </it>(<it>p </it>= 0.320). In periodontitis patients, body mass index and anti-<it>Aa </it>IgG showed a positive correlation with vWF (β = 0.297, <it>p </it>= 0.010 and β = 0.248, <it>p </it>= 0.033 respectively).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In periodontitis, infection with <it>Aa </it>together with other well accepted risk factors for CVD, may play a role in increasing the risk for prothrombotic state.</p

A salivary metabolite signature that reflects gingival host-microbe interactions: instability predicts gingivitis susceptibility

Several proteins and peptides in saliva were shown to stimulate gingival wound repair, but the role of salivary metabolites in this process remains unexplored. In vitro gingival re-epithelialization kinetics were determined using unstimulated saliva samples from healthy individuals collected during an experimental gingivitis study. Elastic net regression with stability selection identified a specific metabolite signature in a training dataset that was associated with the observed re-epithelialization kinetics and enabled its prediction for all saliva samples obtained in the clinical study. This signature encompassed ten metabolites, including plasmalogens, diacylglycerol and amino acid derivatives, which reflect enhanced host-microbe interactions. This association is in agreement with the positive correlation of the metabolite signature with the individual’s gingival bleeding index. Remarkably, intra-individual signature-variation over time was associated with elevated risk for gingivitis development. Unravelling how these metabolites stimulate wound repair could provide novel avenues towards therapeutic approaches in patients with impaired wound healing capacity.</p

Human IgG2- and IgG4-expressing memory B cells display enhanced molecular and phenotypic signs of maturity and accumulate with age

The mechanisms involved in sequential immunoglobulin G (IgG) class switching are still largely unknown. Sequential IG class switching is linked to higher levels of somatic hypermutation (SHM) in vivo, but it remains unclear if these are generated temporally during an immune response or upon activation in a secondary response. We here aimed to uncouple these processes and to distinguish memory B cells from primary and secondary immune responses. SHM levels and IgG subclasses were studied with 454 pyrosequencing on blood mononuclear cells from young children and adults as models for primary and secondary immunological memory. Additional sequencing and detailed immunophenotyping with IgG subclass-specific antibodies was performed on purified IgG+ memory B-cell subsets. In both children and adults, SHM levels were higher in transcripts involving more downstream-located IGHG genes (esp. IGHG2 and IGHG4). In adults, SHM levels were significantly higher than in children, and downstream IGHG genes were more frequently utilized. This was associated with increased frequencies of CD27+ IgG+ memory B cells, which contained higher levels of SHM, more IGHG2 usage, and higher expression levels of activation markers than CD27-IgG+ memory B cells. We conclude that secondary immunological memory accumulates with age and these memory B cells express CD27, high levels of activation markers, and carry high SHM levels and frequent usage of IGHG2. These new insights contribute to our understanding of sequential IgG subclass switching and show a potential relevance of using serum IgG2 levels or numbers of IgG2-expressing B cells as markers for efficient generation of memory responses

Comparing measured and modelled PFOS concentrations in a UK freshwater catchment and estimating emission rates

The lifecycle, sources and fate of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) continue to generate scientific and political interest, particularly since PFOS was listed by the Stockholm Convention and largely restricted in Europe. It continues to be detected in aquatic environments, with only limited studies into the on-going sources. This paper explores PFOS emissions discharged by the general population into a small catchment comprising two rivers in the UK. A sampling campaign was undertaken to improve our understanding of population-derived PFOS sources from sewage treatment plants (STPs) and in rivers. A corresponding modelling exercise allowed an emission estimate of 13 μg/day/per capita to be derived for the Aire and Calder rivers. PFOS emission was linked to STP discharges bylinear regression of measured and modelled concntrations (R2 = 0.49–0.85). The model was able to accurately estimate the spatial trends of PFOS in the rivers, while predicted concentrations were within a factor of three based on per capita emission values taken from the literature. Measured PFOS concentrations in rivers suggested that emissions from STPs are partially dependent on treatment type, where plants with secondary or tertiary treatment such as activated sludge processes emit less PFOS, possibly due to increased partitioning and retention. With refinements based on the type of treatment at each STP, predictions were further improved. The total PFOS mass discharged annually via rivers from the UK has been estimated to be between 215 and 310 kg, based on the per capita emission range derived in this study

An adaptive meta-search engine considering the user’s field of interest

AbstractExisting meta-search engines return web search results based on the page relevancy to the query, their popularity and content. It is necessary to provide a meta-search engine capable of ranking results considering the user’s field of interest. Social networks can be useful to find the users’ tendencies, favorites, skills, and interests. In this paper we propose MSE, a meta-search engine for document retrieval utilizing social information of the user. In this approach, each user is assumed to have a profile containing his fields of interest. MSE extracts main phrases from the title and short description of receiving results from underlying search engines. Then it clusters the main phrases by a Self-Organizing Map neural network. Generated clusters are then ranked on the basis of the user’s field of interest. We have compared the proposed MSE against two other meta-search engines. The experimental results show the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed method

Contemporary educational methods in periodontology.

AIM The 1st European Workshop on Periodontal Education in 2009 made recommendations regarding the scope of periodontal education at undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG) and continuing professional development (CPD) levels, defining competencies and learning outcomes that were instrumental at the time in helping to define periodontal teaching curricula. The 19th European Workshop on Periodontology and 2nd European Consensus Workshop on Education in Periodontology (Education in Periodontology in Europe) was held in 2023 to identify changes and future developments in periodontal education (including those informed by the COVID-19 pandemic) and embracing methods and formats of periodontal teaching and training. The aim of this review was to assess current knowledge regarding education methods in periodontology, including traditional face-to-face (F2F) teaching and the move to student-centred methods, virtual learning methods and use of digital technology, as well as blended teaching and learning (including teaching delivery and assessment) at UG, PG and CPD levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS Systematic searches were conducted to identify relevant studies from the literature. Data were extracted and descriptive summaries collated. RESULTS The pandemic was a major disruptor of traditional F2F teaching but provided opportunities for rapid implementation of alternative and supplementary teaching methods. Although online learning has become an integral part of periodontal education, teachers and learners alike favour some form of F2F teaching. Blended teaching and learning are feasible in many areas of periodontal education, both for knowledge and skills acquisition as well as in assessment. Student-centred methods and blended approaches such as the flipped classroom seem highly effective, and online/virtual classrooms with both synchronous and asynchronous lectures are highly valued. Learning with haptic methods and virtual reality (VR) enhances the educational experience, especially when VR is integrated with traditional methods. The quality of the teacher continues to be decisive for the best knowledge transfer in all its forms. CONCLUSIONS Live F2F teaching continues to be highly trusted; however, all types of student-centred and interactive forms of knowledge transfer are embraced as enhancements. While digital methods offer innovation in education, blended approaches integrating both virtual and traditional methods appear optimal to maximize the achievement of learning outcomes. All areas of periodontal education (UG, PG and CPD) can benefit from such approaches; however, more research is needed to evaluate their benefits, both for knowledge transfer and skills development, as well as in assessment

CDKN2BAS is associated with periodontitis in different European populations and is activated by bacterial infection

Epidemiological studies have indicated a relationship between coronary heart disease (CHD) and periodontitis. Recently, CDKN2BAS was reported as a shared genetic risk factor of CHD and aggressive periodontitis (AgP), but the causative variant has remained unknown. To identify and validate risk variants in different European populations, we first explored 150 kb of the genetic region of CDKN2BAS including the adjacent genes CDKN2A and CDKN2B, covering 51 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (tagSNPs) in AgP and chronic periodontitis (CP) in individuals of Dutch origin (n=313). In a second step, we tested the significant SNP associations in an independent AgP and CP population of German origin (n=1264). For the tagSNPs rs1360590, rs3217992, and rs518394, we could validate the associations with AgP before and after adjustment for the covariates smoking, gender and diabetes, with SNP rs3217992 being the most significant (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.85; p=0.0004). We further showed in vivo gene expression of CDKN2BAS, CDKN2A, CDKN2B, and CDK4 in healthy and inflamed gingival epithelium (GE) and connective tissue (CT), and detected a significantly higher expression of CDKN2BAS in healthy CT compared to GE (p=0.004). After 24 h of stimulation with Porphyromonas gingivalis in Streptococcus gordonii pre-treated gingival fibroblast (HGF) and cultured gingival epithelial cells (GECs), we observed a 25-fold and fourfold increase of CDKN2BAS gene expression in HGFs (p=0.003) and GECs (p=0.004), respectively. Considering the global importance of CDKN2BAS in the disease risk of CHD, this observation supports the theory of inflammatory components in the disease physiology of CHD

Contemporary educational methods in periodontology

Aim: The 1st European Workshop on Periodontal Education in 2009 made recommendations regarding the scope of periodontal education at undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG) and continuing professional development (CPD) levels, defining competencies and learning outcomes that were instrumental at the time in helping to define periodontal teaching curricula. The 19th European Workshop on Periodontology and 2nd European Consensus Workshop on Education in Periodontology (Education in Periodontology in Europe) was held in 2023 to identify changes and future developments in periodontal education (including those informed by the COVID-19 pandemic) and embracing methods and formats of periodontal teaching and training. The aim of this review was to assess current knowledge regarding education methods in periodontology, including traditional face-to-face (F2F) teaching and the move to student-centred methods, virtual learning methods and use of digital technology, as well as blended teaching and learning (including teaching delivery and assessment) at UG, PG and CPD levels. Materials and Methods: Systematic searches were conducted to identify relevant studies from the literature. Data were extracted and descriptive summaries collated. Results: The pandemic was a major disruptor of traditional F2F teaching but provided opportunities for rapid implementation of alternative and supplementary teaching methods. Although online learning has become an integral part of periodontal education, teachers and learners alike favour some form of F2F teaching. Blended teaching and learning are feasible in many areas of periodontal education, both for knowledge and skills acquisition as well as in assessment. Student-centred methods and blended approaches such as the flipped classroom seem highly effective, and online/virtual classrooms with both synchronous and asynchronous lectures are highly valued. Learning with haptic methods and virtual reality (VR) enhances the educational experience, especially when VR is integrated with traditional methods. The quality of the teacher continues to be decisive for the best knowledge transfer in all its forms. Conclusions: Live F2F teaching continues to be highly trusted; however, all types of student-centred and interactive forms of knowledge transfer are embraced as enhancements. While digital methods offer innovation in education, blended approaches integrating both virtual and traditional methods appear optimal to maximize the achievement of learning outcomes. All areas of periodontal education (UG, PG and CPD) can benefit from such approaches; however, more research is needed to evaluate their benefits, both for knowledge transfer and skills development, as well as in assessment.</p