Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes ameliorate renal fibrosis in diabetic nephropathy by targeting Hedgehog/SMO signaling.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease globally. Currently, there are no effective drugs for the treatment of DN. Although several studies have reported the therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we report that both human umbilical cord MSCs (UC-MSCs) and UC-MSC-derived exosomes (UC-MSC-exo) attenuate kidney damage, and inhibit epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and renal fibrosis in streptozotocin-induced DN rats. Strikingly, the Hedgehog receptor, smoothened (SMO), was significantly upregulated in the kidney tissues of DN patients and rats, and positively correlated with EMT and renal fibrosis. UC-MSC and UC-MSC-exo treatment resulted in decrease of SMO expression. In vitro co-culture experiments revealed that UC-MSC-exo reduced EMT of tubular epithelial cells through inhibiting Hedgehog/SMO pathway. Collectively, UC-MSCs inhibit EMT and renal fibrosis by delivering exosomes and targeting Hedgehog/SMO signaling, suggesting that UC-MSCs and their exosomes are novel anti-fibrotic therapeutics for treating DN.

Synthesis of high-crystallinity Zeolite A from rare earth tailings: Investigating adsorption performance on typical pollutants in rare earth mines.

The ecological restoration of rare earth mines and the management of rare earth tailings have consistently posed global challenges, constraining the development of the rare earth industry. In this study, Zeolite A is efficiently prepared from the tailings of an ion-type rare earth mine in the southern Jiangxi Province of China. The resulting Zeolite A boasts exceptional qualities, including high crystallinity, a substantial specific surface area, and robust thermal stability. The optimum conditions for Zeolite synthesis are experimental determination and the adsorption properties of Zeolite A for typical pollutants (Cd2+, Cu2+, NH4+, PO43- and F-) in rare earth mines. The synthesised Zeolite A material is found to have strong adsorption properties. The adsorption mechanism is mainly cation exchange, and the priority of adsorption of pollutants is Cu2+> Cd2+ > NH4+ > PO43- > F-. Notably, the sodium Zeolite A material synthesized at room temperature can be effectively recycled multiple times. In summary, we propose a method to synthesise low cost and high adsorption zeolites using rare earth tailings. This will facilitate the reduction of rare earth tailings and the rehabilitation of rare earth mines. Our method has great potential as a rehabilitation technology for rare earth mines.

Metabolomics, Transcriptome and Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Analysis of the Metabolic Heterogeneity between Oral Cancer Stem Cells and Differentiated Cancer Cells.

Understanding the distinct metabolic characteristics of cancer stem cells (CSC) may allow us to better cope with the clinical challenges associated with them. In this study, OSCC cell lines (CAL27 and HSC3) and multicellular tumor spheroid (MCTS) models were used to generate CSC-like cells. Quasi-targeted metabolomics and RNA sequencing were used to explore altered metabolites and metabolism-related genes. Pathview was used to display the metabolites and transcriptome data in a KEGG pathway. The single-cell RNA sequencing data of six patients with oral cancer were analyzed to characterize in vivo CSC metabolism. The results showed that 19 metabolites (phosphoethanolamine, carbamoylphosphate, etc.) were upregulated and 109 metabolites (2-aminooctanoic acid, 7-ketocholesterol, etc.) were downregulated in both MCTS cells. Integration pathway analysis revealed altered activity in energy production (glycolysis, citric cycle, fatty acid oxidation), macromolecular synthesis (purine/pyrimidine metabolism, glycerophospholipids metabolism) and redox control (glutathione metabolism). Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis confirmed altered glycolysis, glutathione and glycerophospholipid metabolism in in vivo CSC. We concluded that CSCs are metabolically inactive compared with differentiated cancer cells. Thus, oral CSCs may resist current metabolic-related drugs. Our result may be helpful in developing better therapeutic strategies against CSC.

Clinical accuracy of partially guided implant placement in edentulous patients: A computed tomography-based retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: This retrospective study was intended to evaluate the clinical accuracy of partially guided template in guiding implant placement in edentulous patients. METHODS: A total of 120 implants were placed in 24 patients with at least one completely edentulous arch with a partially guided system. Based on CBCT data, a repeatable method was used to measure linear and angular deviations of implants at 3D level in Mimics medical software. The influence of supporting tissue and implant region on the accuracy was assessed, followed by the evaluation of direction of linear deviations in biologically vital areas. RESULTS: Linear deviations of all implants were 1.91 ± 0.68 mm, 1.47 ± 0.68 mm, and 1.02 ± 0.69 mm at apical, apical lateral, and apical vertical levels. When at the cervical, cervical lateral, and cervical vertical levels, the linear deviations were 1.53 ± 0.65 mm, 0.98 ± 0.53 mm, and 1.01 ± 0.69 mm, respectively. Angular deviation of all implants was 7.14 ± 3.41°. Implants guided by mucosa + tooth-supported templates showed higher linear deviations at apical vertical level (1.21 ± 0.72 mm vs. 0.86 ± 0.63 mm, p < .05) and cervical vertical level (1.18 ± 0.72 mm vs. 0.87 ± 0.63 mm, p < .05) than mucosa-supported templates, and implants in maxilla were found higher angular deviation than mandible (7.89 ± 3.61° vs. 6.29 ± 2.97°, p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The partially guided template served as clinically viable surgical assistance in implant placement in edentulous patients. When using mucosa + tooth-supported template or placing implants in maxilla, more caution was required, especially in biologically vital areas.

Odontogenic infections in the antibiotic era: approach to diagnosis, management, and prevention.

PURPOSE: The prevalence of odontogenic infections remains one of the highest in the world. If untreated, odontogenic infections can break through the limitation, disseminate to other organs or spaces, and cause high mortality rates. However, it is still difficult to rapidly target limited or disseminated infections in clinical practice. The type of disseminated odontogenic infections and the responsible bacteria have not been described in detail. METHODS: Search databases (e.g., PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase) for reports published from 2018.1 to 2022.9. Use search strategies: ("odontogenic infections" OR "pulpitis" OR "periapical lesions" OR "periodontal diseases") AND ("disseminated infections" OR "complication"). RESULTS: Fourteen different types of disseminated odontogenic infections, most of which are polymicrobial infections, can spread through the body either direct or through hematogenous diffusion. Multiple microbial infections can be more invasive in the transmission of infection. Secondary infections are commonly associated with bacteria like Fusobacterium spp., Streptococcus spp., Peptostreptococcus spp., Prevotella spp., and Staphylococcus spp. Antibiotics with broad-spectrum activity are fundamental as first-line antimicrobial agents based on the microorganisms isolated from disseminated infections. CONCLUSION: This review elaborates on the epidemiology, microorganisms, risk factors, and dissemination routes, and provides evidence-based opinions on the diagnosis, multidisciplinary management, and prevention of odontogenic infections for dentists and clinicians.

Observation of a Photonic Orbital Gauge Field.

Gauge field is widely studied in natural and artificial materials. With an effective magnetic field for uncharged particles, many intriguing phenomena are observed in several systems like photonic Floquet topological insulator. However, previous researches about the gauge field mostly focus on limited dimensions such as the Dirac spinor in graphene materials. Here, an orbital gauge field based on photonic triangular lattices is first proposed and experimentally observed. Disclination defects with Frank angle Ω created on such lattices breaks the original lattice symmetry and generates purely geometric gauge field operating on orbital basis functions. Interestingly, it is found that bound states near zero energy with the orbital angular momentum (OAM) l = 2 are intensively confined at the disclination as gradually expanding Ω. Moreover, the introduction of a vector potential field breaks the time-reversal symmetry of the orbital gauge field, experimentally manifested by the chiral transmission of light on helical waveguides. The orbital gauge field further suggests fantastic applications of manipulating the vortex light in photonic integrated devices.

Air-ground coordinated unmanned swarm systems: A multitasking framework for control design.

An air-ground heterogeneous unmanned swarm system coordination is considered. The system consists of N unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and one unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). This forms a complicated mission, which consists of the following four different tasks. First, the aerial vehicles are in a compact formation, while avoiding collision with each other. Second, the aerial vehicles should stay close to the ground, while avoiding collision with the ground. Third, the aerial vehicles should stay close to the ground vehicle. Fourth, the ground vehicle should follow a desired trajectory. These tasks reflect two seemingly contradictory nature: close to (due to tracking) and away from (due to avoidance). The effective control design should address all four tasks even in the presence of uncertainty. By two creative transformations, this multitude of tasks are consolidated in a χ-measure. An adaptive robust control, which includes a robust control scheme and an online adaptation law, is then proposed to render guarantee boundedness performance of this χ-measure. As a result, the control design is able to accomplish the combined tracking-avoidance mission for the uncertain swarm system. Despite the presence of conflicting aspects between these tasks, the designed controller exhibits outstanding performance.

Adsorption and aggregation of Cu2+ on carboxymethylated sugarcane bagasse: Adsorption behavior and mechanism.

Abundant biomass resources provide us with sufficient material basis, while a large amount of bio-waste is also produced and the high-value utilization of bio-waste is still highly desirable. Herein, we reported a facile one-pot fabrication approach towards efficient utilization of sugarcane bagasse via carboxymethylation to adsorb and recycle Cu2+ ions. The modified sugarcane bagasse possessed outstanding adsorption efficiency, with a maximum capacity of 263.7 mg g-1, owing to the functional groups such as carboxyl and hydroxyl groups, as well as aromatic structure. It was noted that the carboxymethylated sugarcane bagasse (MSB40) swelled rapidly when suffering Cu2+ ions solution, and more adsorption sites were available since the physical diffusion barrier was removed, thereby enhancing the absorption capacity. Interestingly, Cu2+ ions could induce the aggregation of MSB40 due to the Cu2+ ions compress colloid double layer, neutralizes surface charges, which benefited the following separation process. Ultimately, copper oxide was recovered and the purity reached 97.9%. Additionally, in the presence of both Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions, MSB40 exhibited excellent selectivity for the adsorption of Cu2+ ions. This strategy offers a facile and novel clue for the high-value utilization of bio-waste and the recovery of copper for biomaterial and environmental applications.

Mesenchymal stem cells and dental implant osseointegration during aging: from mechanisms to therapy.

Dental implants are widely used to replace missing teeth, providing patients with unparalleled levels of effectiveness, convenience, and affordability. The biological basis for the clinical success of dental implants is osseointegration. Bone aging is a high-risk factor for the reduced osseointegration and survival rates of dental implants. In aged individuals, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the bone marrow show imbalanced differentiation with a reduction in osteogenesis and an increase in adipogenesis. This leads to impaired osseointegration and implant failure. This review focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying the dysfunctional differentiation of aged MSCs, which primarily include autophagy, transcription factors, extracellular vesicle secretion, signaling pathways, epigenetic modifications, microRNAs, and oxidative stress. Furthermore, this review addresses the pathological changes in MSCs that affect osseointegration and discusses potential therapeutic interventions to enhance osseointegration by manipulating the mechanisms underlying MSC aging.

Exoskeleton Partial-Coated Stem Cells for Infarcted Myocardium Restoring.

The integration of abiotic materials with live cells has emerged as an exciting strategy for the control of cellular functions. Exoskeletons consisting ofmetal-organic frameworks are generated to produce partial-coated bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) to overcome low cell survival leading to disappointing effects for cell-based cardiac therapy. Partially coated exoskeletons can promote the survival of suspended BMSCs by integrating the support of exoskeletons and unimpaired cellular properties. In addition, partial exoskeletons exhibit protective effects against detrimental environmental conditions, including reactive oxygen species, pH changes, and osmotic pressure. The partial-coated cells exhibit increased intercellular adhesion forces to aggregate and adhere, promoting cell survival and preventing cell escape during cell therapy. The exoskeletons interact with cell surface receptors integrin α5ß1, leading to augmented biological functions with profitable gene expression alteration, such as Vegfa, Cxcl12, and Adm. The partial-coated BMSCs display enhanced cell retention in infarcted myocardium through non-invasive intravenous injections. The repair of myocardial infarction has been achieved with improved cardiac function, myocardial angiogenesis, proliferation, and inhibition of cell apoptosis. This discovery advances the elucidation of potential molecular and cellular mechanisms for cell-exoskeleton interactions and benefits the rational design and manufacture of next-generation nanobiohybrids.

Influence of edentulism on the structure and function of temporomandibular joint.

Background: With the acceleration of the aging process of the population, the number of edentulous patients continuously increased. Edentulism induces the loss of occlusal relationship and cause adverse effects on the stomatognathic system. Temporomandibular joint (TMJ), as a significant component of this system, may also be affected by edentulism in the process of supporting mandibular movement. Purpose: Provide a comprehensive review of the structure and function of TMJ in the edentulous population, as well as the prevalence of temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) in edentulous group. Study selection: An electronic search was conducted on articles prior to December 2022 to filter all papers relevant to the structure and function of TMJ in edentulous population. The internet databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase) were searched using various combinations of keywords for "edentulism" or "edentulous" and "TMJ" or "TMD". Results: Firstly, 522 articles were selected from the internet database, and finally, a total of 44 articles met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The research content of these articles mainly focuses on the structure and function of TMJ in edentulous patients, as well as the clinical signs and symptoms of TMD. Conclusions: Edentulous arch induces the loss of occlusal relationship, which may lead to degenerative changes of TMJ components consisting of changes in morphology and bone mass density of condyle, articular fossa, and articular eminence. In addition, the condyle could be shifted backward and upward, and displacement of the articular disc may occur after dentition loss. And the condyle and the articular disc may be guided back to the normal position after effective prosthodontic treatment. But the conclusions of the study on the function of TMJ and the prevalence of TMD in edentulous people are inconsistent. The condition of TMJ, especially the position of condyle-fossa and the symptoms and signs of TMD should not be ignored. If necessary, radiographic examinations should be performed.

Identification of crucial modules and genes associated with backfat tissue development by WGCNA in Ningxiang pigs.

Fat deposition is an economically important trait in pigs. Ningxiang pig, one of the four famous indigenous breeds in China, is characterized by high fat content. The underlying gene expression pattern in different developmental periods of backfat tissue remains unclear, and the purpose of this investigation is to explore the potential molecular regulators of backfat tissue development in Ningxiang pigs. Backfat tissue (three samples for each stage) was initially collected from different developmental stages (60, 120, 180, 240, 300, and 360 days after birth), and histological analysis and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) were then conducted. Fragments per kilobase of transcript per million (FPKM) method was used to qualify gene expressions, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Furthermore, strongly co-expressed genes in modules, which were named by color, were clustered by Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) based on dynamic tree cutting algorithm. Gene ontology (GO) and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment were subsequently implemented, and hub genes were described in each module. Finally, QPCR analysis was employed to validate RNA-seq data. The results showed that adipocyte area increased and adipocyte number decreased with development of backfat tissue. A total of 1,024 DEGs were identified in five comparison groups (120 days vs. 60 days, 180 days vs. 120 days, 240 days vs. 180 days, 300 days vs. 240 days, and 360 days vs. 300 days). The turquoise, red, pink, paleturquoise, darkorange, and darkgreen module had the highest correlation coefficient with 60, 120, 180, 240, 300, and 360 days developmental stage, while the tan, black and turquoise module had strong relationship with backfat thickness, adipocyte area, and adipocyte number, respectively. Thirteen hub genes (ACSL1, ACOX1, FN1, DCN, CHST13, COL1A1, COL1A2, COL6A3, COL5A1, COL14A1, OAZ3, DNM1, and SELP) were recognized. ACSL1 and ACOX1 might perform function in the early developmental stage of backfat tissue (60 days), and FN1, DCN, COL1A1, COL1A2, COL5A1, COL6A3, and COL14A1 have unignorable position in backfat tissue around 120 days developmental stage. Besides, hub genes SELP and DNM1 in modules significantly associated with backfat thickness and adipocyte area might be involved in the process of backfat tissue development. These findings contribute to understand the integrated mechanism underlying backfat tissue development and promote the progress of genetic improvement in Ningxiang pigs.

Adjacent tooth migration after maxillary first molar loss in patients with sinus augmentation: A retrospective research.

PURPOSE: The objectives of this study are to: (1) investigate the extent of antagonistic and distal neighboring tooth migration in the maxillary posterior single tooth-missing site during the healing period of bone augmentation and implant surgery; (2) identify factors associated with tooth migration. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and forty-three cases that lost the maxillary first molar were included, and their CBCT data during the edentulous period were obtained. Dentition models were reconstructed from CBCT, and superimpositions were performed, followed by measuring migration distances and calculating migration rates of antagonistic and distal neighboring teeth. Factors were analyzed using multivariate generalized estimating equations (GEE). RESULTS: The mean migration distances were 208 ± 137 µm and 403 ± 605 µm for antagonistic teeth and distal teeth, and the mean migration rates were 26.8 ± 21.2 µm/month and 48.5 ± 76.7 µm/month, respectively. One hundred and nineteen out of 143 distal neighboring teeth migrated toward the edentulous site, and all antagonistic teeth migrated occlusally. Occlusal contact loss and chronic apical periodontitis both significantly accelerated antagonistic tooth migration (p < 0.05), the latter also accelerated distal tooth migration (p < 0.05). Besides, the displacement of the distal teeth was somewhat accelerated by the impacted adjacent third molar and root protrusion into the sinus. CONCLUSIONS: The neighboring teeth tend to migrate toward the edentulous gap in the maxillary posterior region. Occlusal contact loss and chronic apical periodontitis are two significant risk factors for accelerating antagonistic tooth migration, and for distal teeth, chronic apical periodontitis is the risk factor. The impacted adjacent third molar and root protrusion into the sinus are also potential risk factors for accelerating the migration of the maxillary distal tooth. Thus, to prevent maxillary edentulous gap reduction, the factors mentioned above should be taken into consideration when planning treatment flow.

Injectable rBMSCs-laden hydrogel microspheres loaded with naringin for osteomyelitis treatment.

Osteomyelitis, caused by purulent bacteria invading bone tissue, often occurs in long bones and seriously affects the physical and mental health and working ability of patients; it can even endanger life. However, due to bone cavity structure, osteomyelitis tends to occur inside the bone and thus lacks an effective treatment; anti-inflammatory treatment and repair of bone defects are necessary. Here, we developed injectable hydrogel microspheres loaded with naringin and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, which have anti-inflammatory and osteogenic properties. These homogeneous microspheres, ranging from 200 to 1000µm, can be rapidly fabricated using an electro-assisted bio-fabrication method. Interestingly, it was found that microspheres with relatively small diameters (200µm) were more conducive to the initial cell attachment, growth, spread, and later osteogenic differentiation. The developed microspheres can effectively treat tibial osteomyelitis in rats within six weeks, proving their prospects for clinical application.

Research progress in effect of chewing-side preference on temporomandibular joint and its relationship with temporo-mandibular disorders. / åä¾§å’€åš¼å¯¹é¢žä¸‹é¢Œå ³èŠ‚ç»“æž„çš„å½±å“åŠå ¶ä¸Žé¢žä¸‹é¢Œå ³èŠ‚ç´Šä¹±çš„å ³ç³».

Chewing-side preference is one of the risk factors for temporomandibular disorders (TMD), and people with chewing-side preference is more prone to have short and displaced condyles, increased articular eminence inclination and glenoid fossa depth. The proportion of TMD patients with chewing-side preference is often higher than that of the normal subjects. Clinical studies have shown a strong correlation between chewing-side preference and TMD symptoms and signs; and animal studies have shown that chewing-side preference can affect the growth, development, damage and repair of the mandible. After long-term unilateral mastication, changes in the stress within the joint cause the imbalance of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) structural reconstruction, the transformation and even destruction of the fiber structure of masticatory muscle, resulting in uncoordinated movement of bilateral muscles. The joint neurogenic diseases caused by the increase of neuropeptide substance P and calcitonin-gene-related-peptide (CGRP) released locally by TMJ may be the mechanism of TMD. This article reviews the research progress of the influence of chewing-side preference on the structure of TMJ, the relationship between chewing-side preference and TMD, and the related mechanisms.

A multi-stimuli-responsive nanochannel inspired by biological disulfide bond.

Disulfide bonds exist widely in channel protein and play an essential role in matter exchange and signal transduction (e.g., rhodopsin, canonical transient receptor potential 5 (TRPC5)). The research on disulfide bond in nanochannel is significant for the cognition of their biological functions. However, the fragility of biological channel limits the in-situ study and practical application. Herein, an innovative biologically-inspired artificial nanochannel based on disulfide bond (NCDS) with excellent durability, adjustable surface property is proposed. The constructed NCDS has a multi-response to UV-light, thiol (e.g., cysteine (Cys)) or pH stimulation, and can obtain reversibility after regulation by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or H+. The biomimetic NCDS shows great potential in biosensor and intelligent response design. This study also shines new light to channel protein based on disulfide bond that despite the nanochannel has specificity, it will be modulated by the change of nature environment, such as UV-light and chemical microenvironment (e.g., redox state and pH), which might be the reason of some disease.

Dynamic pruning group equivariant network for motor imagery EEG recognition.

Introduction: The decoding of the motor imaging electroencephalogram (MI-EEG) is the most critical part of the brain-computer interface (BCI) system. However, the inherent complexity of EEG signals makes it challenging to analyze and model them. Methods: In order to effectively extract and classify the features of EEG signals, a classification algorithm of motor imagery EEG signals based on dynamic pruning equal-variant group convolutional network is proposed. Group convolutional networks can learn powerful representations based on symmetric patterns, but they lack clear methods to learn meaningful relationships between them. The dynamic pruning equivariant group convolution proposed in this paper is used to enhance meaningful symmetric combinations and suppress unreasonable and misleading symmetric combinations. At the same time, a new dynamic pruning method is proposed to dynamically evaluate the importance of parameters, which can restore the pruned connections. Results and Discussion: The experimental results show that the pruning group equivariant convolution network is superior to the traditional benchmark method in the benchmark motor imagery EEG data set. This research can also be transferred to other research areas.

DLP printed hDPSC-loaded GelMA microsphere regenerates dental pulp and repairs spinal cord.

Dental pulp regeneration is ideal for irreversible pulp or periapical lesions, and in situ stem cell therapy is one of the most effective therapies for pulp regeneration. In this study, we provided an atlas of the non-cultured and monolayer cultured dental pulp cells with single-cell RNA sequencing and analysis. Monolayer cultured dental pulp cells cluster more closely together than non-cultured dental pulp cells, suggesting a lower heterogeneous population with relatively consistent clusters and similar cellular composition. We successfully fabricated hDPSC-loaded microspheres by layer-by-layer photocuring with a digital light processing (DLP) printer. These hDPSC-loaded microspheres have improved stemness and higher multi-directional differentiation potential, including angiogenic, neurogenic, and odontogenic differentiation. The hDPSC-loaded microspheres could promote spinal cord regeneration in rat spinal cord injury models. Moreover, in heterotopic implantation tests on nude mice, CD31, MAP2, and DSPP immunofluorescence signals were observed, implying the formation of vascular, neural, and odontogenetic tissues. In situ experiments in minipigs demonstrated highly vascularized dental pulp and uniformly arranged odontoblast-like cells in root canals of incisors. In short, hDPSC-loaded microspheres can promote full-length dental pulp regeneration at the root canals' coronal, middle, and apical sections, particularly for blood vessels and nerve formation, which is a promising therapeutic strategy for necrotic pulp.

Endoscope-assisted maxillary sinus floor augmentation with a mini-lateral window: A retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of endoscope-controlled sinus floor augmentation through a mini-lateral window, compared with traditional lateral window approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective research included 19 patients and 20 augmented sinuses using lateral window approach with simultaneous implant placement (test group: a 3-4 mm round osteotomy; control group: a 10 × 8 mm rectangular osteotomy). Preoperatively (T0), immediately after surgery (T1), and 6 months postoperatively (T2), cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were obtained. Residual bone height (RBH), lateral window dimension (LWD), endo-sinus bone gain (ESBG), apical bone height (ABH), and bone density were measured. Intraoperative and postoperative complications were recorded. Patients' evaluation of pain first day after surgery and a week later was assessed by visual analog scale (VAS). RESULTS: No significant difference was found in ESBG, ABH between the two groups at T1, T2 or their changes from T1 to T2. However, the increase of bone density value in the test group was significantly higher than control group (356.28 ± 149.59 vs. 242.99 ± 129.54; p < 0.05). The sinus perforation rate of test and control group was 10% and 20%, respectively. The VAS score of the test group at the first day after surgery was significantly lower than control group (4.20 ± 1.03 vs. 5.60 ± 1.71; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Endoscope-controlled maxillary sinus floor augmentation through a mini-lateral window yield similar result with traditional approach in terms of bone height gain. The modified approach could facilitate new bone formation, reducing sinus perforation rate and postoperative pain.

4D Printing of Personalized-Tunable Biomimetic Periosteum with Anisotropic Microstructure for Accelerated Vascularization and Bone Healing.

An ideal biomimetic periosteum is expected to wrap various bone surfaces to orchestrate an optimal microenvironment for bone regeneration, including facilitating local vascularization, recruiting osteoblasts, and mineralizing the extracellular matrix (ECM). To mimic the role of the natural periosteum in promoting bone repair, a 4D printing technique to inlay aligned cell sheets on shape-shifting hydrogel is used, containing biophysical signals and spatially adjustable physical properties, for the first time. The outer hydrogel layer endows the biomimetic periosteum with the ability to digitally coordinate its 3D geometry to match the specific macroscopic bone shape to maintain a bone healing microenvironment. The inner aligned human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) layer not only promotes the migration and angiogenesis of co-cultured cells but also exhibits excellent osteogenic differentiation properties. In vivo experiments show that apart from morphing preset shapes as physical barriers, the aligned biomimetic periosteum can actively facilitate local angiogenesis and early-stage osteogenesis. Altogether, this present work provides a novel route to construct a personalized biomimetic periosteum with anisotropic microstructure by introducing a tunable shape to maintain the bone reconstruction microenvironment and this strategy can be extended to repair sophisticated bone defects.