Knowledge of Infection Prevention and Attitudes Towards HIV/AIDS Among Chinese Dental Bachelor Interns: An Appeal for Educational Intervention.

PURPOSE: The present study aimed to assess the current situation of Chinese dental bachelor interns on HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and their attitudes towards HIV/AIDS patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional, paper-based survey involving 147 dental students from three Chinese dental schools was conducted. Students were recruited to complete the questionnaire regarding their knowledge, awareness and attitudes concerning HIV/AIDS anonymously and voluntarily. RESULTS: A total of 144 students responded to the study, generating a response rate of 98.0%. Although 97.0% of the dental students believed dentists were at high risk of HIV infection, 97.2% of students expressed no prejudice towards HIV/AIDS patients and stated their willingness to provide oral healthcare service for such patients. No statistically significant differences in the responses on attitudes and some basic knowledge were found between students who had received the relevant education about infection control and the students who had not. However, regarding most questions about oral manifestations in adult and paediatric patients living with AIDS, the students who received relevant education showed more knowledge than the students who did not (p <0.05). The cognitive level about respecting HIV/AIDS patients' autonomy and privacy was generally low in all the students. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the dental students in this survey held positive attitudes towards HIV/AIDS patients and good grasp of some basic knowledge about HIV/AIDS. On the other hand, the questionnaire results reflected gaps in education, such as respecting HIV/AIDS patients' privacy.

Contribution of Mitophagy to Cell-Mediated Mineralization: Revisiting a 50-Year-Old Conundrum.

Biomineralization in vertebrates is initiated via amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) precursors. These precursors infiltrate the extracellular collagen matrix where they undergo phase transformation into intrafibrillar carbonated apatite. Although it is well established that ACP precursors are released from intracellular vesicles through exocytosis, an unsolved enigma in this cell-mediated mineralization process is how ACP precursors, initially produced in the mitochondria, are translocated to the intracellular vesicles. The present study proposes that mitophagy provides the mechanism for transfer of ACP precursors from the dysfunctioned mitochondria to autophagosomes, which, upon fusion with lysosomes, become autolysosomes where the mitochondrial ACP precursors coalesce to form larger intravesicular granules, prior to their release into the extracellular matrix. Apart from endowing the mitochondria with the function of ACP delivery through mitophagy, the present results indicate that mitophagy, triggered upon intramitochondrial ACP accumulation in osteogenic lineage-committed mesenchymal stem cells, participates in the biomineralization process through the BMP/Smad signaling pathway.