Transcriptomic analysis provides insights into the molecular mechanism of melatonin-mediated cadmium tolerance in Medicago sativa L.

Cadmium (Cd), a toxic element, often makes a serious threat to plant growth and development. Previous studies found that melatonin (Mel) reduced Cd accumulation and reestablished the redox balance to alleviate Cd stress in Medicago sativa L., however, the complex molecular mechanisms are still elusive. Here, comparative transcriptome analysis and biochemical experiments were conducted to explore the molecular mechanisms of Mel in enhancing Cd tolerance. Results showed that 7237 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were regulated by Mel pretreatment to Cd stress compared to the control condition in roots of Medicago sativa L. Besides, in comparison with Cd stress alone, Mel upregulated 1081 DEGs, and downregulated 1085 DEGs. These DEGs were mainly involved in the transcription and translation of genes and folding, sorting and degradation of proteins, carbohydrate metabolism, and hormone signal network. Application of Mel regulated the expression of several genes encoding ribosomal protein and E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase involved in folding, sorting and degradation of proteins. Moreover, transcriptomic analyse suggested that Mel might regulate the expression of genes encoding pectin lyase, UDP-glucose dehydrogenase, sucrose-phosphate synthase, hexokinase-1, and protein phosphorylation in the sugar metabolism. Therefore, these could promote sucrose accumulation and subsequently alleviate the Cd damage. In conclusion, above findings provided the mining of important genes and molecular basis of Mel in mitigating Cd tolerance and genetic cultivation of Medicago sativa L.

Accuracy of the novel digital non-cross-arch surgical guides with integration of tooth undercut retention and screw-bone support for implant placement in mandibular free-end.

BACKGROUND: Large cross-arch free-end surgical guides can obscure the visual field, compromising surgical accuracy due to insufficient stability at the free-end. This in vitro study aims to evaluate the accuracy of novel digital non-cross-arch surgical guides designed for implant placement at the mandibular free-end, incorporating tooth undercut retention and screw-bone support. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A mandibular dental model lacking left molars was utilized to fabricate unilateral (cross-arch) tooth-supported surgical guides (GT I, n = 20). Subsequently, two additional types of surgical guides were fabricated: GT II (covering two teeth, n = 20) and GT III (covering three teeth, n = 20). These novel surgical guides were designed to utilize the undercut of the supporting teeth for retention and enhance stability with screw-bone support at the guide's free-end. Furthermore, 60 identical guiding blocks were assembled on the three types of surgical guides to facilitate the implants' insertion. On a phantom head, 120 implant replicas were placed at the Federal Dentaire Internationale (FDI) teeth positions #36 and #37 on the dental model, employing a combination of surgical guides and guiding blocks. To assess accuracy, planned and placed implant positions were compared using intraoral optical scanning. Discrepancies in angulation and linear deviations, including the coronal/apical 3D deviations, lateral deviation as well as depth deviation, were measured. Statistical analysis was performed using two-way ANOVA and Bonferroni test (α = 0.05). RESULTS: GT I exhibited significantly largest discrepancies, including angular and linear deviations at the crest and apex at every implant site. Especially in depth, at implant site #36, the mean deviation value of GT I (0.27 ± 0.13 mm) was twice as large as GT III (0.13 ± 0.07 mm), and almost twice as large as GT II (0.14 ± 0.08 mm). However, at implant site #37, this deviation increased to almost a five-fold relationship between GT I (0.63 ± 0.12 mm) and II (0.14 ± 0.09 mm), as well as between GT I and III (0.13 ± 0.09 mm). No significant discrepancies existed between the novel surgical guides at either implant site #36 or #37. CONCLUSION: This study provides a practical protocol for enhancing accuracy of implant placement and reducing the size of free-end surgical guides used at mandibular molar sites.

Digital workflow of labial guides for alveolar ridge reduction during implant-supported full-arch rehabilitation.

This article presents a technique for fabricating two-piece labial guides using resin and cobalt-chromium for guided alveoloplasty, implant placement, and immediate full-arch implant-supported fixed complete denture placement. This technique reduces tissue damage and overcomes the negative effect of the anatomical position of the palatal neuropore and mobility of the tissue flap on the positioning and stability of the guide. The use of labial retention metal guides with improved mechanical properties of cobalt-chromium and fixation plugs allows the unilateral placement of the guide. Thus, minimally invasive implant surgery can be performed owing to the absence of large palatal flap elevation and obstruction. Such a design provides better stability of the guides and clear visual access during surgery.

MOCSS: Multi-omics data clustering and cancer subtyping via shared and specific representation learning.

Cancer is an extremely complex disease and each type of cancer usually has several different subtypes. Multi-omics data can provide more comprehensive biological information for identifying and discovering cancer subtypes. However, existing unsupervised cancer subtyping methods cannot effectively learn comprehensive shared and specific information of multi-omics data. Therefore, a novel method is proposed based on shared and specific representation learning. For each omics data, two autoencoders are applied to extract shared and specific information, respectively. To reduce redundancy and mutual interference, orthogonality constraint is introduced to separate shared and specific information. In addition, contrastive learning is applied to align the shared information and strengthen their consistency. Finally, the obtained shared and specific information for all samples are used for clustering tasks to achieve cancer subtyping. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively capture shared and specific information of multi-omics data and outperform other state-of-the-art methods on cancer subtyping.

Simultaneous implantation and tooth preparation technology guided by 3D-printed guide.

Using digital technologies in concurrently performing missing tooth implantation and preparation of remaining teeth is a solution to reduce the number of visits and improve efficiency. This paper proposes a digital process for simultaneously implanting and preparing teeth. It integrates implant surgical guide and 3D-printed tooth preparation guide into a single guide and completes guided implant placement and precise tooth preparation. Based on "repair-oriented" virtual implant planning, the implant surgical guide can improve the efficiency and predictability of implant placement, and its linear accuracy is about 1 mm. The tooth preparation guide precisely guides tooth preparation and restoration space visualization, ensuring the quality of the tooth preparation. The two guides have different design accuracy requirements, and thus their combination improves the overall guiding accuracy requirements. The concurrent application of the two guides minimizes the clinical operation time, number of visits, and economic burden of patients.

A digital strategy for intraoperative acquisition of actual drill position and rapid assessment of bony preparation accuracy using an intraoral scanner.

A digital workflow to acquire actual position of the drill and assess bony preparation accuracy intraoperatively was described. Based on the widely used intraoral scanner, this digital workflow was a relatively practical and economical option for digital intraoperative measurement. As a result, it could help the clinician in accurate verification and immediate correction of the drill position and consequently facilitating the accurate implant placement in implant surgery.

Accuracy of Intraoperative Measuring Guide and Conventional Surgical Guide in Anterior Implant Surgery: A Retrospective Case-Control Study

PURPOSE: To verify a novel method that improves the accuracy of static computer-aided implant surgery (sCAIS) through intraoperative measurement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-seven patients were selected for this study, each with a missing tooth or a tooth that required extraction from the anterior area. The patients were divided into the intraoperative measuring guide (MG) and conventional guide (CG) groups. Following the preoperative implant planning, the surgical guides were designed and fabricated. In the MG group, the drill was guided by double-armed zirconia sleeves, and the axial direction of the drill was assessed using the indicator components. The implant was guided using a resin guide tube. In the CG group, the drills were guided using a metal sleeve and handles, and the implants were placed with the guidance of the metal sleeve only. The angular and linear deviations at the entry and apex between the planned and actual implant positions were measured after matching the preoperative and postoperative CBCT data. The independent-samples t test was used to compare the deviation between the MG and CG groups. RESULTS: The 3D deviations for the MG group at the entry and apex were 0.67 ± 0.44 mm and 0.93 ± 0.40 mm, respectively. The angular deviation was 2.27 ± 0.96 degrees. Statistical differences were found in the 3D deviation at the entry point and apical position between the MG and CG groups, yielding relatively smaller deviations in the MG group. CONCLUSION: The use of an intraoperative measuring guide could improve the accuracy of implant placement in sCAIS.

Application of measurable surgical guides in immediate implant placement and immediate restoration.

This article reports a case of using immediate implant placement and immediate restoration combined with measurable implant surgical guides to restore compromised maxillary incisors caused by dental trauma. Target restoration was designed in the exoCAD software preoperatively, intraoral measurements were obtained in three directions, and the correct position of virtual implants was determined in BlueSky Plan 4. Afterward, measurable implant guides were designed and fabricated by 3D printing. Under the guidance of the measurable implant surgical guides and intraoperative measurement, the entry point was determined, the axial direction was verified when drilling to half the depth, and the 3D position was verified when drilling to total depth. Implants were inserted followed by verification once again. The temporary restoration, which was designed based on the target restoration and emergence profile of the original teeth and milled preoperatively, was connected to the implant immediately after surgery. Postoperative accuracy analysis showed that the mean linear deviations between the actual implant position and the pre-planned position were (0.57±0.17) mm at the entry point and (0.82±0.27) mm at the apex, and the mean angular deviation was (1.86±0.89) °, demonstrating that precise implant placement and immediate restoration were implemented.

A digital workflow for the fabrication of an immediate implant-supported interim restoration.

Immediate interim restorations in the esthetic region are usually fabricated in situ by using the pick-up technique, which is time-consuming and has a potential for cross-infection. This article describes a rapid and precise workflow for the fabrication of an immediate implant-supported interim restoration. A cast with gingival contours and an extended tube to accommodate the implant analogs is generated preoperatively based on the virtual implant planning and a predesigned restoration. After guided osteotomy and implant insertion, the actual three-dimensional (3D) implant position is transferred precisely from the mouth to the printed cast by using the surgical guide. This technique can achieve the rapid and precise fabrication of the interim restoration with guidance immediately after the surgery, decreasing the risk of cross-infection and reducing clinical steps and time.

Effect of in vitro digestion on chestnut outer-skin and inner-skin bioaccessibility: The relationship between biotransformation and antioxidant activity of polyphenols by metabolomics.

Chestnut skin is rich in polyphenols that have been linked to health for their antioxidant activity. However, chestnut outer-skin extract (COE), chestnut inner-skin extract (CIE), and their digested products have different compositions of polyphenols, and therefore their antioxidant activities might differ as well. Here, we study the effect of in vitro digestion on their total phenol content, antioxidant capacity, and individual phenolic profile to clarify the relationship between biotransformation and antioxidant activity. Compared to undigested samples, total phenol content and antioxidant activity of digested chestnut outer-skin extract (DCOE) and digested chestnut inner-skin extract (DCIE) had significantly higher values. The changes of phenolic composition and antioxidant activity after digestion were mainly due to the anthocyanin biosynthesis involving glycosylation, acylation, methoxylation and their reverse processes. All these data suggest that as chestnut processing by-products, COE and CIE are raw material sources of antioxidant-rich active substances and need more sufficient utilization.

[Effect of CO2 fractional laser on the early control of scar post-secondary repair in patients with a cleft lip].

OBJECTIVE: To observe and compare the clinical efficacy of CO2 fractional laser in the early control of scar post-secondary repair in patients with a cleft lip. METHODS: In the treatment group, 43 patients with secondary repair of cleft lip were treated via CO2 fractional laser. The control group covered 70 patients post-cheiloplasty. The effect in the two groups after six months was compared. The duration from the beginning of the laser treatment to surgery and patient gender were analyzed to determine if they affected the efficacy of the laser treatment for scars. RESULTS: 1) The curative effect in the treatment group was better than that in the control group (P<0.000 1), the total effectiveness rate was 90.7% in the treatment group. 2) No significant statistical difference in efficacy was observed between men and women (P=0.487). Moreover, no significant statistical difference in efficacy (P=0.055) was observed among patients one year after surgery, within the duration of <3 months, and within the duration of ≥3 months. CONCLUSIONS: CO2 fractional laser had a definite effect on the treatment of scar post-secondary repair in patients with a cleft lip. No significant correlation was observed between treatment effect and patient gender, and no difference was noted among patients one year after surgery. In the beginning of the laser treatment, no difference was observed between the durations of <3 months and ≥3 months after the reconstruction, Therefore, early intervention of scars a year after secondary repair of a cleft lip can achieve good results.

Gegen Qinlian decoction enhances immunity and protects intestinal barrier function in colorectal cancer patients via gut microbiota.

BACKGROUND: We previously showed, using the Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology Database, that Gegen Qinlian decoction (GQD) had a direct antitumor effect, and was combined with programmed cell death protein (PD)-1 inhibitors to treat microsatellite stable (MSS) tumor-bearing mice. However, the effect of GQD on patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) is not clear. AIM: To determine the therapeutic mechanism of GQD in improving immune function, reducing inflammation and protecting intestinal barrier function. METHODS: Seventy patients with CRC were included in this study: 37 in the control group and 33 in the treatment group. The proportions of CD4+ T, CD8+ T, natural killer (NK), NKT and T regulatory cells were measured by flow cytometry. Levels of the cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6, IL-10 and serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) in serum were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of zonula occludens (ZO)-1, occludin, nuclear factor (NF)-κB and TNF-α in tumor and normal tissues was measured by immunohistochemistry. The composition of gut microbiota from patients in the treatment group was assessed using 16S rDNA analysis. RESULTS: There were no adverse events in the treatment group. The proportion of CD4+ T cells and NKT cells in the post-treatment group was significantly higher than that in the pre-treatment and control groups (P < 0.05). The level of TNF-α in the post-treatment group was significantly lower than that in the pre-treatment and control groups (P < 0.05). The concentration of 5-HT in the post-treatment group was significantly lower than that in the pre-treatment group (P < 0.05). The expression of ZO-1 and occludin in tumor tissues in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The expression of ZO-1 in normal tissues of the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P = 0.010). Compared with the control group, expression of NF-κB and TNF-α in tumor tissues of the treatment group was significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Compared with the pre-treatment group, GQD decreased the relative abundance of Megamonas and Veillonella. In addition, GQD increased the relative abundance of Bacteroides, Akkermansia and Prevotella. CONCLUSION: GQD enhances immunity and protects intestinal barrier function in patients with CRC by regulating the composition of gut microbiota.