Construction of CaF2-appended PVA nanofibre scaffold

In this work, a new material, calcium fluoride ( CaF2 )-appended poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofibre scaffold, was prepared through electrospinning technique successfully. Scanning electron microscopy result showed that the morphology of the fibres was uniform and smooth, and the average diameter of the fibres was about 200 nm. Transmission electron microscopy results showed that many CaF2 nanoparticles were well dispersed in the PVA fibre matrix. The water-resistant ability of the scaffold was improved through intermolecular crosslinking of PVA by formaldehyde vapour. This novel material seems to be a promising scaffold for bone tissue engineering

Role of catecholamine levels and quality-of-life domains in patients with oral neoplasms

Background: Oral cancer has a profound impact on quality of life, but the relationship between quality of life and tumorigenesis, catecholamine levels, and disease stage in oral cancer patients is not well understood. Methods: Pre-surgical quality of life was determined using the Short Form 36 (SF-36) health-related quality of life questionnaire in 75 oral neoplasm patients, including 40 oral carcinoma patients and 35 benign oral tumor patients. The plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine concentrations were assessed using high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry, and data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression models. Results: There were significant differences in pain, general health, and mental health SF-36 subscores between the oral carcinoma and benign oral tumor groups. Multivariate logistic regression models showed that the SF-36 scores in the oral carcinoma group were significantly lower than those in the benign oral tumor group. Conclusions: These findings show that general health is affected in oral neoplasm patients and stress hormones can affect quality of life in oral carcinoma patients; furthermore, plasma catecholamines and mental health contribute to the progression of oral carcinoma

Privacy-Preserving Distributed Set Intersection *

Abstract With the growing demand of databases outsourcing and its security concerns, we investigate privacy-preserving set intersection in a distributed scenario. We propose a one-round protocol for privacy-preserving set intersection based on a combination of secret sharing scheme and homomorphic encryption. We then show that, with an extra permutation performed by each contacted server, the cardinality of set intersection can be computed efficiently. All protocols constructed in this paper are provably secure against an honest-but-curious adversary under the Decisional Diffie-Hellman assumption

Assessment of the osteogenic effect after maxillary sinus floor elevation and simultaneous implantation with or without bone grafts by analyzing trabecular bone parameters: a retrospective study

Objective: The aim of this population-based retrospective study was to compare the osteogenic effect of newly formed bone after maxillary sinus floor elevation (MSFE) and simultaneous implantation with or without bone grafts by quantitatively analyzing trabecular bone parameters. Methodology:A total of 100 patients with missing posterior maxillary teeth who required MSFE and implantation were included in this study. Patients were divided into two groups: the non-graft group (n=50) and the graft group (n=50). Radiographic parameters were measured using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), and the quality of newly formed bone was analyzed by assessing trabecular bone parameters using CTAn (CTAnalyzer, SkyScan, Antwerp, Belgium) software. Results: In the selected regions of interest, the non-graft group showed greater bone volume/total volume (BV/TV), bone surface/total volume (BS/TV), trabecular number (Tb. N), and trabecular thickness (Tb. Th) than the graft group (p<0.001). The non-graft group showed lower trabecular separation (Tb. Sp) than the graft group (p<0.001). The incidence of perforation and bleeding was higher in the graft group than in the non-graft group (p<0.001), but infection did not significantly differ between groups (p>0.05). Compared to the graft group, the non-graft group showed lower postoperative bone height, gained bone height and apical bone height (p<0.001). Conclusion: MSFE with and without bone grafts can significantly improve bone formation. In MSFE, the use of bone grafts hinders the formation of good quality bone, whereas the absence of bone grafts can generate good bone quality and limited bone mass

Application of thermosensitive-hydrogel combined with dental pulp stem cells on the injured fallopian tube mucosa in an animal model

Objectives: Fallopian tube (FT) injury is an important factor that can lead to tubal infertility. Stem-cell-based therapy shows great potential for the treatment of injured fallopian tube. However, little research has shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be used to treat fallopian tube damage by in situ injection. In this study, we in situ transplanted PF127 hydrogel encapsulating dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) into the injured sites to promote the repair and regeneration of fallopian tube injury.Materials and methods: The properties of dental pulp stem cells were evaluated by flow cytometry, immunofluorescence analysis, and multi-differentiation detection. The immunomodulatory and angiogenic characteristics of dental pulp stem cells were analyzed on the basis of the detection of inflammatory factor expression and the formation of capillary-like structures, respectively. The biocompatibility of PF127 hydrogel was evaluated by using Live/Dead and CCK-8 assays. The effects of PF127 hydrogel containing dental pulp stem cells on the repair and regeneration of fallopian tube injury were evaluated by histological analysis [e.g., hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Masson’s trichrome staining, TUNEL staining, immunofluorescence staining, and immunohistochemistry], Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and RT-PCR detections.Results: Dental pulp stem cells had MSC-like characteristics and great immunomodulatory and angiogenic properties. PF127 hydrogel had a thermosensitive feature and great cytocompatibility with dental pulp stem cells. In addition, our results indicated that PF127 hydrogel containing dental pulp stem cells could promote the repair and regeneration of fallopian tube damage by inhibiting cell apoptosis, stimulating the secretion of angiogenic factors, promoting cell proliferation, modulating the secretion of inflammatory factors, and restoring the secretion of epithelial cells.Conclusion: In this study, our results reported that in situ injection of PF127 hydrogel encapsulating dental pulp stem cells into the injured sites could provide an attractive strategy for the future treatment of fallopian tube injury in clinical settings

Biocompatibility and safety evaluation of a silk fibroin-doped calcium polyphosphate scaffold copolymer in vitro and in vivo

For the reconstruction of cartilage and bone defects, bone repair scaffolds with porous network structures have been extensively studied. In our previous study, CPP-type bioceramics showed higher compressive strength and enhanced degradation after silk fibroin doping, and SF/CPP could be considered a suitable bioceramic for bone tissue-engineering. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biocompatibility and safety of SF/CPP in vitro and in vivo. The cell biocompatibility was evaluated with regard to the cytotoxicity of the scaffolds using co-culture and MTT tests in vitro. The in vivo biocompatibility of SF/CPP was evaluated by implanting the scaffolds in the subcutaneous and intramuscular regions of experimental animals. We established an experimental animal model to prepare critical-sized cranial defects and evaluated the biodegradability and osteoconductivity of the scaffolds in vivo. The results indicated that the SF/CPP scaffold yielded better biocompatibility and safety performance than the CPP scaffold in vitro and in vivo. Immunohistochemistry staining in vivo for OPN and OCN also indicated that SF/CPP has potential to promote the regeneration of critical-sized cranial defects. The SF/CPP scaffold has good biocompatibility and safety for experimental animals and could also serve as a potential effective bioceramic for a range of bone regeneration applications

SIRT6 Promotes Osteogenic Differentiation of Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Through Antagonizing DNMT1

BackgroundAdipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are increasingly used in regenerative medicine because of their potential to differentiate into multiple cell types, including osteogenic lineages. Sirtuin protein 6 (SIRT6) is a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)-dependent deacetylase that plays important roles in cell differentiation. NOTCH signaling has also been reported to involve in osteogenic differentiation. However, the function of SIRT6 in osteogenic differentiation of ADSCs and its relation to the NOTCH signaling pathways are yet to be explored.MethodsThe in vitro study with human ADSCs (hADSCs) and in vivo experiments with nude mice have been performed. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) assays and ALP staining were used to detect osteogenic activity. Alizarin Red staining was performed to detect calcium deposition induced by osteogenic differentiation of ADSCs. Western blot, RT-qPCR, luciferase reporter assay, and co-immunoprecipitation assay were applied to explore the relationship between of SIRT6, DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) and NOTCHs.ResultsSIRT6 promoted ALP activity, enhanced mineralization and upregulated expression of osteogenic-related genes of hADSCs in vitro and in vivo. Further mechanistic studies showed that SIRT6 deacetylated DNMT1, leading to its unstability at protein level. The decreased expression of DNMT1 prevented the abnormal DNA methylation of NOTCH1 and NOTCH2, resulting in the upregulation of their transcription. SIRT6 overexpression partially suppressed the abnormal DNA methylation of NOTCH1 and NOTCH2 by antagonizing DNMT1, leading to an increased capacity of ADSCs for their osteogenic differentiation.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that SIRT6 physical interacts with the DNMT1 protein, deacetylating and destabilizing DNMT1 protein, leading to the activation of NOTCH1 and NOTCH2, Which in turn promotes the osteogenic differentiation of ADSCs

Simultaneous Extraction and Identification of Phenolic Compounds in Anoectochilus roxburghii Using Microwave-Assisted Extraction Combined with UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and Their Antioxidant Activities

This study used MAE and RSM to extract phenolic compounds from Anoectochilus roxburghii, and the optimum conditions defined by the model to give an optimum yield of 1.31%. The antioxidant activity in vitro showed when the concentration of phenolic compounds was reached 1 mg mL-1, the clearance rates were 82.58% for DPPH and 97.62% for ABTS+. In vivo antioxidant experiments used D-galactose to build oxidative damage in healthy Kunming mice. The result showed that the extractions of A. roxburghii can improve the antioxidant ability and the medium and low dose groups had better ability to scavenge free radicals. The UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS was developed to identify 21 kinds of phenolic compounds by molecular mass, ms/ms fragmentation, as well as retention time. The result showed that the phenolic compounds of A. roxburghii had significant potential as a natural antioxidant to promote health and to reduce the risk of disease