Probiotic adjuvant treatment in combination with scaling and root planing in chronic periodontitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the impact of probiotic supplementation on treating chronic periodontal (CP) disease based on clinical and microbiological findings. Four databases were searched: Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, and the Web of Science databases. The references to relevant studies were also manually searched. Analyses were conducted using the Review Manager 5.2 software, while the quality of randomised controlled trials was assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. In total, 19 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled results revealed that the adjuvant use of probiotics in the treatment of patients with periodontal disease was largely associated with good clinical efficacy. Resulting in statistically significant improvements in plaque index (P<0.05), periodontal probing depth (P<0.05), clinical attachment level (P<0.05), gingival index (P<0.05), bleeding on probing (P<0.05), deep probing depth (P<0.05), and levels of subgingival microbes (P<0.05) following probiotic supplementation. In summary, the results of this meta-analysis suggest that the administration of probiotics together with scaling and root planing can somewhat improve CP patient clinical outcomes and reduce levels of periodontal pathogens. However, more comprehensive experiments are needed to standardise probiotics and maximise their adjuvant therapy.

[Application of pulse contour cardiac output monitoring technology in fluid resuscitation of severe burn patients in shock period].

Objective: To investigate the application of pulse contour cardiac output (PiCCO) monitoring technology in fluid resuscitation of severe burn patients in shock period. Methods: From January 2015 to December 2019, 33 patients with severe burns who were hospitalized in Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital, meeting the inclusion criteria, were recruited into a retrospective cohort study with their clinical information collected. The patients were divided into PiCCO monitoring group with 15 cases (13 males and 2 females, aged (43±13) years) and routine monitoring group with 18 cases (14 males and 4 females, aged (39±9) years) according to the monitoring method used. After admission, all the patients were rehydrated following the rehydration formula of the Third Military Medical University for shock period. In routine monitoring group, the fluid resuscitation of patients was performed by monitoring indicators such as urine volume and blood pressure, while PiCCO monitoring was performed among patients in PiCCO monitoring group, and their fluid resuscitation was guided by the patient's condition and the hemodynamic parameters (without pursuing normal levels of the parameters) of PiCCO monitoring on the basis of normal monitoring indicators in routine monitoring group. The colloids coefficients, the electrolyte coefficients (compared with the corresponding rehydration formula value of 0.75 mL·kg(-1)·% total body surface area (TBSA)(-1) of the Third Military Medical University for shock period during the first 24 h post injury), the total rehydration coefficients, and the urine volumes during the first and second 24 h post injury, the lactic acid level, the base excess level, and the oxygenation index at admission and 24, 48 h after admission, and the mechanical ventilation time, the wound healing time, and the death ratio of patients in the two groups were recorded. The cardiac index, the global end-diastolic volume index (GEDVI), the intrathoracic blood volume index (ITBVI), the extravascular lung water index (EVLWI), and the systemic vascular resistance index (SVRI) of patients in PiCCO monitoring group at post injury hour 24, 48, and 72 and the abnormal cases were recorded. Data were statistically analyzed with Fisher's exact probability test, independent-sample or one-sample t test, analysis of variance for repeated measurement, and Bonferroni correction. Results: During the first 24 h post injury, the colloids coefficients of patients in PiCCO monitoring group was (0.69±0.15) mL·kg(-1)·%TBSA(-1), which was significantly less than (0.85±0.16) mL·kg(-1)·%TBSA(-1) in routine monitoring group (t=-2.612, P<0.05). Compared with the rehydration formula value of the Third Military Medical University for shock period, only the colloids coefficient of patients in routine monitoring group during the first 24 h post injury was significantly increased (t=2.847, P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in the colloids coefficients of patients during the second 24 h post injury, or the electrolyte coefficients, the total rehydration coefficients, the urine volumes of patients during the first and the second 24 h post injury (t=0.579, -0.011, 0.417, -1.321, -0.137, 0.031, 1.348, P>0.05). The lactic acid level, the base excess level, the oxygenation index of patients at admission and 48 h after admission, and the oxygenation index of patients at 24 h after admission between the two groups were similar (t=-1.837, 0.620, 0.292, -1.792, 1.912, -0.167, 1.695, P>0.05). The levels of lactic acid and base excess of patients in PiCCO monitoring group were (4.8±1.4) and (1.2±5.5)mmol/L, respectively, which were significantly better than (7.0±1.5) and (-2.8±3.0) mmol/L in routine monitoring group at 24 h after admission (t=-3.904, 2.562, P<0.05 or P<0.01). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in the mechanical ventilation time or the wound healing time of patients (t=-0.699, -0.697, P>0.05), or the death ratio of patients (P>0.05). In PiCCO monitoring group, the GEDVI, and the ITBVI of patients were lower than the normal low values at post injury hour 24 and 48, which were in the normal range at post injury hour 72; the cardiac index of patients increased gradually and recovered to normal at post injury hour 48; the SVRI of patients increased significantly at post injury hour 24 and then gradually decreased to normal; the EVLWI average of patients at all time points post injury were less than 10 mL/kg. At post injury hour 24, most of the hemodynamic parameters of more than or equal to 8/15 patients in PiCCO monitoring group were abnormal, and the abnormal proportion decreased later. Conclusions: On the basis of traditional monitoring indicators, the use of PiCCO monitoring technology combined with the patient's condition (without pursuing normal levels of the parameters) in guiding the fluid resuscitation in severe burn patients can reduce the usage of colloid and better improve tissue perfusion, with the resuscitation effect being better than conventional monitoring.

[Pattern of sugar-sweetened beverages consumption-based on group-based trajectory modeling and its association with childhood periodontal health].

Objective: To explore the prospective association between consumption pattern of sugar-sweetened beverages and childhood periodontal health. Methods: This study was based on a 4-year longitudinal cohort of children from Bengbu, Anhui province. Pattern of sugar-sweetened beverages was determined by group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) through annual child-reported questionnaire. Association between sugar-sweetened beverages pattern with plague index and gingivitis was explored through multivariate linear and logistic regression. Results: A total of 997 children including 418 boys and 579 girls were included in this study, with an average age of (11.00±0.70) years at the final wave. Four consumption patterns on sugar-sweetened beverages were identified by GBTM: persistent low group (80.70%), gradually decreasing group (12.40%), decreasing after increasing group (2.20%) and gradually increasing group (4.70%). Compared with the persistent low group (1.08±0.70), the Plague index among gradually increasing group (1.73±0.80) was significantly higher (t=4.00, P<0.001). The prevalence of gingivitis was significantly higher among children in the gradually increasing group (12.80%) than that in the persistent low group (3.00%) (χ(2)=12.40, P<0.001). After controlling for related confounders, results suggested that Plague index increased by 0.58 (95%CI: 0.27-0.89) and 0.38 (95%CI: 0.03-0.73) in the gradually increasing group and "decreasing follow the increase" group, respectively when compared with the persistent low group. The risk for gingivitis was 4.42 times (95%CI: 1.65-12.20, P=0.003) higher in the gradually increasing group. Conclusion: Our data suggested that children with higher sugar-sweetened beverages consumption during the transition period from childhood to adolescence were under higher risk for periodontal diseases.

BIOINFORMATIC ANALYSIS IDENTIFIES POTENTIALLY KEY DIFFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED GENES AND PATHWAYS IN ORBITAL ADIPOSE TISSUES OF PATIENTS WITH THYROID EYE DISEASE.

CONTEXT: Thyroid eye disease (TED), an orbital inflammatory status, generally occurred in Graves' disease. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to acquire further insight into molecular mechanisms of TED, especially several key involved genes and pathways. DESIGN: The microarray dataset GSE58331 including expression data for orbital adipose tissue samples, isolated from TED patients and normal controls, was downloaded from a publicly accessible Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified from 23 adipose tissues of TED patients versus 20 samples from normal controls. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A protein-protein interaction network of DEGs was constructed by using Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes and Cytoscape 3.6.0. Several hub genes/proteins were extracted from the protein-protein interaction network based on connectivity degree. Furthermore, we used the iRegulon plugin of Cytoscape3.6.0 to predict the transcription factors (TFs). RESULTS: A total of 678 DEGs (538 up- and 140 down-regulated genes) were identified in TED patients. Proopiomelanocortin (POMC), interleukin 2 (IL-2), G protein subunit gamma 3 (GNG3), CXC motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4), toll like receptor 4 (TLR4), colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R), lysophosphatidic acid receptor 3 (LPAR3), CXC motif chemokine ligand-8 (CXCL8), etc., were considered as the hub genes among the DEGs. There were 6 TFs predicted to be differentially expressed in regulating the DEGs related to TED. A total of 71 DEGs had been reported to be associated with TED in the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database. CONCLUSIONS: Through this analysis, we have identified plenty of potential biomarkers and pathways which may have an important role in the pathogenesis of TED. However, these findings require verification by more detailed future experimental studies.

Antiferromagnetic Order in Epitaxial FeSe Films on SrTiO_{3}.

Single monolayer FeSe film grown on a Nb-doped SrTiO_{3}(001) substrate shows the highest superconducting transition temperature (T_{C}∼100 K) among the iron-based superconductors (iron pnictides), while the T_{C} value of bulk FeSe is only ∼8 K. Although bulk FeSe does not show antiferromagnetic order, calculations suggest that the parent FeSe/SrTiO_{3} films are antiferromagnetic. Experimentally, because of a lack of a direct probe, the magnetic state of FeSe/SrTiO_{3} films remains mysterious. Here, we report direct evidence of antiferromagnetic order in the parent FeSe/SrTiO_{3} films by the magnetic exchange bias effect measurements. The magnetic blocking temperature is ∼140 K for a single monolayer film. The antiferromagnetic order disappears after electron doping.

Hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (HIF-2α) mediates the effects of hypoxia on the promotion of HeLa cell viability, colony formation, and invasion capacity in vitro.

Hypoxia reduces the oxygen supply to tumor cells and may limit tumor cell growth. However, hypoxia promotes tumor cell metabolic adaptation, apoptosis resistance, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis. Hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (HIF-2α) may be responsible for these hypoxia-induced changes. In this study, we investigated the effects of hypoxia and HIF-2α knockdown in HeLa cells. HIF-2α shRNA lentivirus was used to knock down HIF-2α expression; cell viability, colony formation, invasion capacity, and gene expression were assessed. Hypoxia promoted HeLa cell growth, whereas knockdown of HIF-2α expression reduced HeLa cell viability under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions, with a greater effect observed under hypoxic conditions. Knockdown of HIF-2α expression also reduced HeLa cell colony formation and invasion capacity under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Expression of cyclooxygenase 2 and vascular endothelial growth factor was reduced after knockdown of HIF-2α expression, with a greater effect observed under hypoxic conditions. HIF-2α mediated the hypoxia-induced effect on the promotion of HeLa cell viability, colony formation, and invasion capacity in vitro. Further studies are needed to confirm the in vivo relevance of hypoxia and HIF-2α.

Refining the continuous tracking paradigm to investigate implicit motor learning.

In two experiments we investigated factors that undermine conclusions about implicit motor learning in the continuous tracking paradigm. In Experiment 1, we constructed a practice phase in which all three segments of the waveform pattern were random, in order to examine whether tracking performance decreased as a consequence of time spent on task. Tracking error was lower in the first segment than in the middle segment and lower in the middle segment than in the final segment, indicating that tracking performance decreased as a function of increasing time-on-task. In Experiment 2, the waveform pattern presented in the middle segment was identical in each trial of practice. In a retention test, tracking performance on the repeated segment was superior to tracking performance on the random segments of the waveform. Furthermore, substitution of the repeated pattern with a random pattern (in a transfer test) resulted in a significantly increased tracking error. These findings imply that characteristics of the repeated pattern were learned. Crucially, tests of pattern recognition implied that participants were not explicitly aware of the presence of a recurring segment of waveform. Recommendations for refining the continuous tracking paradigm for implicit learning research are proposed.

Generation of pancreatic insulin-producing cells from rhesus monkey induced pluripotent stem cells.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provides a promising possibility for type 1 diabetes therapy. However, the generation of insulin-producing cells from iPSCs and evaluation of their efficacy and safety should be achieved in large animals before clinically applying iPSC-derived cells in humans. Here we try to generate insulin-producing cells from rhesus monkey (RM) iPSCs. METHODS: Based on the knowledge of embryonic pancreatic development, we developed a four-stage protocol to generate insulin-producing cells from RM iPSCs. We established a quantitative method using flow cytometry to analyse the differentiation efficiency. In addition, to evaluate the differentiation competence and function of RM iPSC-derived cells, transplantation of stage 3 and 4 cells into immunodeficient mice was performed. RESULTS: RM iPSCs were sequentially induced to definitive endoderm (DE), pancreatic progenitors (PP), endocrine precursors (EP) and insulin-producing cells. PDX1(+) PP cells were obtained efficiently from RM iPSCs (over 85% efficiency). The TGF-ß inhibitor SB431542 promoted the generation of NGN3(+) EP cells, which can generate insulin-producing cells in vivo upon transplantation. Finally, after this four-stage differentiation in vitro, insulin-producing cells that could secrete insulin in response to glucose stimulation were obtained. When transplanted into mouse models for diabetes, these insulin-producing cells could decrease blood glucose levels in approximately 50% of the mice. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: We demonstrate for the first time that RM iPSCs can be differentiated into functional insulin-producing cells, which will provide the basis for investigating the efficacy and safety of autologous iPSC-derived insulin-producing cells in a rhesus monkey model for type 1 diabetes therapy.

Neural co-activation as a yardstick of implicit motor learning and the propensity for conscious control of movement.

Two studies examined EEG co-activation (coherence) between the verbal-analytical (T3) and motor planning (Fz) regions during a golf putting task. In Study 1, participants with a strong propensity to consciously monitor and control their movements, determined psychometrically by high scores on a movement specific Reinvestment Scale, displayed more alpha2 T3-Fz co-activation than participants with a weak propensity. In Study 2, participants who practiced a golf putting task implicitly (via an errorless learning protocol) displayed less alpha2 T3-Fz co-activation than those who practiced explicitly (by errorful learning). In addition, explicit but not implicit motor learners displayed more T3-Fz co-activation during golf putting under pressure, implying that verbal-analytical processing of putting movements increased under pressure. These findings provide neuropsychological evidence that supports claims that implicit motor learning can be used to limit movement specific reinvestment.

EEG activity during the verbal-cognitive stage of motor skill acquisition.

This study examined changes in EEG activity associated with motor performance during the verbal-cognitive stage of skill learning. Participants (n=14) were required to practice a sequential finger tapping task. EEG activity was recorded both before and after short-term practice, during finger tapping and during two control conditions. EEG power (Fz, Cz, Pz, T3, T4) and coherence (T3-Fz, T4-Fz, Fz-Cz, Fz-Pz) were computed for the theta (4-8 Hz), slow alpha (8-10 Hz), fast alpha (10-12 Hz), slow beta (12-20 Hz), and fast beta (20-28 Hz) bandwidths. Changes in motor performance were rapid during the very early stages of practice and then slowed in accord with the law of practice. These changes were accompanied by increases of theta power at Fz and beta coherence at T4-Fz, suggesting that progression through the verbal-cognitive stage of a sequential finger tapping task is accompanied by more narrowed attention and improved mapping between the stimuli and the finger movements.

Characteristics of different phenotypes of polycystic ovary syndrome based on the Rotterdam criteria in a large-scale Chinese population.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the phenotypic spectrum of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and determine the association between metabolic, hormonal and new ultrasonographic criteria. DESIGN: Clinical cross-sectional study. SETTING: University teaching hospital. POPULATION: A total of 804 Chinese women, among whom 719 cases were diagnosed as PCOS based on the 2003 Rotterdam criteria. Eighty-five women with regular menstrual cycles and without hyperandrogenism were recruited as controls. METHODS: PCOS patients were divided into four subgroups: (i) oligo- and/or anovulation (O), hyperandrogenism (H), and polycystic ovary morphology (P); (ii) O + H; (iii) H + P; and (iv) O + P. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Clinical history, ultrasonographic (ovarian follicle number and volume), hormonal and metabolic parameters. RESULTS: The composition of the two new phenotypes created by the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology/The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ESHRE/ASRM) 2003 was 65.6% (O + P and H + P). BMI and F-G scores were highest in the O + H + P group and lowest in O + P and controls. Serum testosterone concentrations and insulin resistance were highest in cases with O + H + P and O + H, intermediate in cases with H + P, and lowest in cases with O + P and controls. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the five groups was 28.5% (O + H + P), 25.5% (O + H), 8.3% (H + P), 7.2% (O + P) and 3.5% (controls), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Nonclassic phenotypes for PCOS (O + P, H + P and O + H + P) were more frequent than the classic phenotype (O + H). The nonhyperandrogenic PCOS phenotype (O + P), one of the new phenotypes created by the Rotterdam criteria, may represent a form of PCOS associated with milder metabolic profile compared with the other phenotypes.

[Clinical analysis of 318 cases of new-mode cesarean section].

OBJECTIVES: To study types of new mode cesarean section (CS) and its clinical value. METHODS: Four hundred and sixty-eight pregnant women with operative indications were randomly divided into three groups: the new mode CS group whose peritoneum was not sewed, the new mode CS group whose peritoneum was sewed, and the lower segmental CS group. The duration of operation, bleeding volume, morbidity after operation, and B type ultrasound for examining the incision were observed. RESULTS: There were significant difference in the duration of operation, bleeding volume, and morbidity after operation between the lower segmental CS and the two types of the new mode CS (P < 0.05). There was no significant differences in the bleeding volume and morbidity after operation between the two types of the new mode CS (P > 0.05), but there were significant difference in the duration of operation and the incision examined by B type ultrasound (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The new mode CS has shorter operative period, less bleeding, weak pain, faster recovery of peristalsis, and lower incidence of post-operative morbidity.