Design, synthesis of benzimidazole tethered 3,4-dihydro-2H-benzo[e] [1, 3] oxazines as anticancer agents.

A series of novel 3-(1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)-3,4-dihydro-2H-benzo[e][1,3] oxazine analogues synthesized through a two-step synthetic protocol. The structure of the compounds were established by interpretation 1H NMR, 13C NMR and Mass spectral data recorded after purification. All the title compounds 4a-k were screened for their in vitro anti-cancer activity against two breast cancer cell lines MCF 7 and MDA-MB-231 by using Doxorubicin as standard reference. Compound 4e displayed superior activity against both the cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 with IC50 values of 8.60 ± 0.75 and 6.30 ± 0.54 µM respectively, compared to the Doxorubicin IC50 value of 9.11 ± 0.54 and 8.47 ± 0.47 µM. Compound 4i also indicated good activity with IC50 value of 9.85 ± 0.69 µM on par with Doxorubicin against MCF-7 cells. Compound 4g demonstrated best activity on par with standard reference to IC50 value of 8.52 ± 0.62 µM against MDA-MB-231 cell line. And all other compounds demonstrated good to moderate activity compared to Doxorubicin. Docking studies against EGFR showed that all the compounds have very good binding affinities towards the target. The predicted drug-likeness properties of all compounds enable them to be used as therapeutic agents.

Is Psychiatric Illness Associated With Risk for Postoperative Complications in the Outpatient Setting?

PURPOSE: Little is known about the association between psychiatric illness and the risk for postoperative complications following outpatient oral and maxillofacial surgery treatment. The purpose of this study was to examine the significance of the presence of psychiatric illness on postoperative complications. MATERIALS/METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted in 2018 that identified patients by searching through the University of Cincinnati's electronic health records. The predictor variable in this study is the presence of psychiatric illness and the outcome variable is the presence or absence of postoperative complications. Additional covariates such as age, race, location, procedure type, and anesthesia type were also included. Results of appropriate descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression were presented. Statistical significance was set at P value < .05. RESULTS: The total number of patients who underwent procedures involving local anesthetic and intravenous sedition in clinic in 2018 were 3,874, of which 1,588 were males (40.99%) and 2,286 were females (59.01%) with a mean age of 36.14 and 35.08 years, respectively. The sample consisted of White (45.87%), Black (35.34%), Hispanic/Latino (2.27%), Asians (1.60%), other races (3.33%), and 11.59% patients have missing data on race. A psychiatric diagnosis was found in 21.37% patients (n = 828). The percentage of patients with 2 or more psychiatric diagnoses was 5.78% (n = 224). The rate of postoperative was reported as 11.33%. A bivariate logistic regression analysis of postoperative complications as an outcome variable found that postoperative complications were not associated with psychiatric history (Odds ratio = 1.049, 95% confidence interval: 0.825 to 1.333, P value = .695). However, sex (P value = < .0001), surgical procedure (P value = < .0001), and anesthetic technique (P value = < .0001) had statistically significant associations with postoperative complications. Other covariates like race (P value = .5943), American Society of Anesthesiologists score (P value = .2539), location (P value = .5323), and multiple psychiatric diagnoses (P value = .7256) were not found to be significantly associated with postoperative complications. CONCLUSION: Although our study did show a higher prevalence of psychiatric illnesses in our patient population, it did not show any statistically significant correlation between psychiatric illness and postoperative complications. In addition, there were no statistically significant differences in postoperative complications between different Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders classes.

Influence of Residency Training Program on Pursuit of Academic Career and Academic Productivity Among Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of residency training institutions on the pursuit of a career in academic oral and maxillofacial surgery and assess variables associated with academic productivity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of full-time academic oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMSs) in the United States. The primary predictor variable was program of residency training. Secondary predictors included gender, fellowship training, advanced degrees, and private practice affiliation. The primary outcome variable was the number of graduates in a ful-time academic position. Academic productivity (h-index, publication number) was a secondary outcome. Descriptive, logistic and linear regression analyses were computed. RESULTS: The study sample consisted of 294 full-time academic OMSs in 82 training programs. The top 10 high-output residency programs were identified and graduates from these programs were more likely to have a medical degree (OR = 1.99, 9% CI: 1.17 - 3.36, p=0.0108), higher h-indices (11.03 vs 7.96, p = 0.0032) and higher number of publications (40.3 vs 25.6, p = 0.003). Faculty characteristics associated with higher h-indices included a medical degree (10.33 vs 7.66, p = 0.0067), PhD (15.23 vs 8.38, p = 0.0002), MPH (17.47 vs 8.66, p = 0.0040) and fellowship training (11.15 vs 7.76, p = 0.0012). There were no significant differences between genders in having a medical degree, completing a subspecialty fellowship, or academic productivity. Female surgeons represented 16.33% of academic OMSs and were more likely to have entered academia more recently based on duration in years of academic appointment (12.48 versus 21.08; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Ten programs have trained 29.6% (n = 87) of all full-time academic OMSs. These programs' graduates were more likely to have a medical degree, higher h-indices, and greater number of publications.

Patient receptivity to receiving vaccinations in the dental clinic at a rural federally qualified health center.

BACKGROUND: More than 28 million people in the United States visited their dentists but not a physician in 2018, yet only a few states allow dentists to administer vaccines to patients, and those vaccines are limited to influenza, COVID-19, and human papillomavirus. METHODS: To assess the receptiveness of adult dental patients and caregivers of pediatric dental patients to receive necessary vaccines during their dental appointment, a survey was distributed to patients attending a dental visit at a rural federally qualified health center from June 28, 2021, through December 31, 2021. RESULTS: Among the responses from 643 adult patients and 625 pediatric caregivers, approximately one-half (54.2% and 49.9%, respectively) reported being receptive to receiving vaccines in the dental clinic, with 28.5% and 21.8% not being receptive to vaccines, respectively. Primary language, age group, number of children, and primary care center all were associated significantly with reported likelihood of receiving vaccines (P < .05). The most reported concern about receiving vaccines at a dental clinic was a preference for their primary care physician to provide all vaccinations, according to 22.2% of adult patients and 39.8% of pediatric caregivers. CONCLUSIONS: The authors' findings support efforts to administer vaccines during dental visits to improve immunization rates among adults and children. Ongoing communication with primary care physicians regarding administration of vaccines in the dental clinic could reduce concerns by adult patients and pediatric caregivers. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Strategies and policies that establish protocols to ensure the safe and effective administration of vaccines in dental visits should be implemented and supported.

Comparative Evaluation of Antimicrobial Efficacy of Fluoride-Based and Self-Assembling Peptide P11-4-based Tooth Remineralization Agents on Streptococcus mutans: A Microbiological Study.

Background: Dental caries is a biofilm-related oral disease that continues to afflict the majority of the world's population. The disease results from an interaction between specific bacteria and dietary constituents within a biofilm known as dental plaque. Among the cariogenic microorganisms, Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) plays pivotal role in caries-inducing processes. Objectives: Evaluate and compare the antimicrobial efficacy of self-assembling peptide P11-4-based tooth remineralization agents on S. mutans. Materials and Methods: An in vitro microbiological study. The antibacterial efficacy of self-assembling peptide P11-4 gel (Group 1), fluoride enhanced hydroxyapatite gel (Group 2), acidulated phosphate fluoride gel (Group 3), chlorhexidine gluconate gel 1.0% w/w (Group 4; positive control), and normal saline (Group 5; negative control) was performed using time-kill assay over a period of 24 h and the number of S. mutans colony-forming units (CFUs) were calculated. Statistical Analysis: Statistical analysis was done using Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney post hoc Test. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: Group 1 showed mean CFUs (× 103) of 841.33 ± 3.51, Group 2 showed 10035.33 ± 60.68, Group 3 showed 1058.00 ± 56.96, Group 4 showed 0.00 ± 0.00, and Group 5 showed mean CFUs with 15226.67 ± 96.67. The difference in the mean CFUs (× 103) between different groups was statistically significant at P < 0.001. Conclusion: The self-assembling peptide P11-4-based tooth remineralization agent exhibited an inhibitory influence on S. mutans and hence formation of cariogenic bacteria dominant biofilm can thus be affected by its application.

Vaccine hesitancy and the willingness to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine to children in a rural country on the United States-Mexico border.

Introduction: As of October 26, 2022, only 9% of children in the United States aged 6 months to 4 years have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine despite FDA approval since June 17, 2022. Rates are better yet still low for children aged 5 to 11 years as nearly 30% were fully vaccinated as of August 23, 2022. Vaccine hesitancy among adults is one of the major factors affecting low vaccine uptake rates in children against COVID-19, yet most studies examining vaccine hesitancy have targeted school-age and adolescent children. Methods: With the aim of assessing the willingness to recommend the COVID-19 vaccination to children under 5 years compared to children 5 to 12 years of age, a county-wide survey was conducted between January 11 and March 7, 2022, among adults on the United States-Mexico border. Results: Among the 765 responses, 72.5% were female and 42.3% were Latinx. The most significant factor associated with likelihood to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine to children less than 5 years and 5-12 years of age was adult vaccination status. Ordinal logistic regression also indicated that ethnicity, primary language, being a parent, previous COVID-19 infection, and concern about getting COVID-19 in the future were significantly associated with likelihood of COVID-19 vaccine recommendation to children < 5 years and 5-12 years old. Discussion: This study found high consistency among respondents in their willingness to vaccinate children aged < 5 years compared with children aged 5-12 years. Our findings support public health strategies that target adult vaccinations as an avenue to improve childhood vaccinations for young children.

Restoration of tumor suppression in prostate cancer by targeting the E3 ligase E6AP.

Restoration of tumor suppression is an attractive onco-therapeutic approach. It is particularly relevant when a tumor suppressor is excessively degraded by an overactive oncogenic E3 ligase. We previously discovered that the E6-associated protein (E6AP; as classified in the human papilloma virus context) is an E3 ligase that has an important role in the cellular stress response, and it directly targets the tumor-suppressor promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) for proteasomal degradation. In this study, we have examined the role of the E6AP-PML axis in prostate cancer (PC). We show that knockdown (KD) of E6AP expression attenuates growth of PC cell lines in vitro. We validated this finding in vivo using cell line xenografts, patient-derived xenografts and mouse genetics. We found that KD of E6AP attenuates cancer cell growth by promoting cellular senescence in vivo, which correlates with restoration of tumor suppression by PML. In addition, we show that KD of E6AP sensitizes cells to radiation-induced death. Overall, our findings demonstrate a role for E6AP in the promotion of PC and support E6AP targeting as a novel approach for PC treatment, either alone or in combination with radiation.

Free radicals antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation in different types of leukemias.

Free radicals are highly reactive species that have been implicated in the pathogenesis of many diseases. Reactive oxygen species can initiate lipid peroxidation and DNA damage leading to mutagenesis, carcinogenesis and cell death, if the antioxidant system is impaired. This study was undertaken to examine the prevalence of oxidative stress and the role of antioxidant defence in untreated leukemia patients. The generation of superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide by leukocytes, plasma malondialdehyde levels, red cell copper zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu-Zn SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) activities were determined in 30 patients with different types of leukemias prior to therapy. The superoxide anion generation by polymorphonuclear leukocytes was found to be significantly increased in leukemia patients especially those with acute lymphocytic and nonlymphocytic leukemias, while the hydrogen peroxide levels were comparable to the control values. Plasma lipid peroxidation products in untreated leukemia patients were in the normal range. Red cell Cu-Zn SOD and GSH-PX activities were significantly increased and showed no correlation with the hemoglobin content. Although superoxide generation was high, lipid peroxide levels were normal in these patients. This might be due to the increased activities of the antioxidant enzymes (SOD, GSH-PX) which counteract lipid peroxidation. Increased free radical generation, especially superoxide anion in leukemia patients and increased antioxidant defence enzymes, which is an adaptive protective response, are indicative of mild oxidative stress. There were no significant differences for the parameters cited above between different types of leukemias, suggesting that the changes are not specific to the type of leukemia.