Deep learning for the early identification of periodontitis: a retrospective, multicentre study.

AIM: To develop a deep-learning model to help general dental practitioners diagnose periodontitis accurately and at an early stage. MATERIALS AND METHODS: First, the panoramic radiographs (PARs) from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University were input into the convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture to establish the PAR-CNN model for healthy controls and periodontitis patients. Then, the PARs from the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine were included in the second testing set to validate the effectiveness of the model with data from two centres. Heat maps were produced using a gradient-weighted class activation mapping method to visualise the regions of interest of the model. The accuracy and time required to read the PARs were compared between the model, periodontal experts, and general dental practitioners. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) were used to evaluate the performance of the model. RESULTS: The AUC of the PAR-CNN model was 0.843, and the AUC of the second test set was 0.793. The heat map showed that the regions of interest predicted by the model were periodontitis bone lesions. The accuracy of the model, periodontal experts, and general dental practitioners was 0.800, 0.813, and 0.693, respectively. The time required to read each PAR by periodontal experts (6.042 ± 1.148 seconds) and general dental practitioners (13.105 ± 3.153 seconds), which was significantly longer than the time required by the model (0.027 ± 0.002 seconds). CONCLUSION: The ability of the CNN model to diagnose periodontitis approached the level of periodontal experts. Deep-learning methods can assist general dental practitioners to diagnose periodontitis quickly and accurately.

[A descriptive analysis of tea consumption in adult twins in China].

Objective: To describe the distribution characteristics of tea consumption in adult twins recruited in the Chinese National Twin Registry (CNTR) and provide clues to genetic and environmental influences on tea consumption. Methods: Enrolled in CNTR during 2010-2018, 25 264 twin pairs aged 18 years and above were included in subsequent analysis. Random effect models were used to estimate tea consumption in the population and regional distribution characteristics. The concordance rate of the behavior and difference in consumption volume of tea within pairs were also described. Results: The mean age of all subjects was (35.38±12.45) years old. The weekly tea consumers accounted for 17.0%, with an average tea consumption of (3.36±2.44) cups per day. The proportion of weekly tea consumers was higher among males, 50-59 years old, southern, urban, educated, and the first-born in the twin pair (P<0.05), and lower among unmarried individuals (P<0.001). Within-pair analysis showed that the concordance rate of tea consumption of monozygotic (MZ) twins was higher than that of dizygotic (DZ) twins and the overall heritability of tea consumption was 13.45% (11.38%-15.51%). Stratified by the characteristics mentioned above, only in males, the concordance rate of MZ showed a tendency to be greater than that of DZ (all P<0.05). The differences in consumption volume of tea within twin pairs were minor in MZ among males (P<0.05), while the differences were not significant in female twins. Conclusion: There were discrepancies in the distribution of tea consumption among twins of different demographic and regional characteristics. Tea consumption was mainly influenced by environmental factors and slightly influenced by genetic factors. The size of genetic factors varied with gender, age, and region, and gender was a potential modified factor.

[Feasibility and safety of MRgFUS ablation for uterine fibroids and adenomyosis: a preliminary study].

Objective: To investigate the feasibility and safety of magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) ablation treatment for uterine fibroids and adenomyosis. Methods: From February 2017 to July 2018, a total of 61 women in Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine with uterine fibroids or adenomyosis (36 cases of fibroids and 25 cases of adenomyosis) were included for treatment of MRgFUS, mean age was 27-48 (39±5) years. The treatment status, treatment effect and complications were recorded, and the differences between myoma and adenomyosis were compared. Results: Thirty-two (88.9%) patients of fibroid group and twenty-one (84.0%) patients of adenomyosis group were completed MRgFUS treatment respectively (P>0.05). The spot energy of adenomyosis group was 1 039-5 698(2 852±991) J, which was higher than 600-6 466(2 485±1 137) J of fibroid group (P<0.01). There was no significant statistical difference in mean temperature of spot and ablation time between the two groups (P>0.05).The non-perfusion volume ratio (NPVR) of the fibroid and adenomyosis group was 54%-99%(84%±15%) and 60%-98%(82%±12%) and there was no significant statistical difference (P>0.05), but the ablation efficiencies of adenomyosis group was less than fibroid group (0.8-4.3(2.1±0.9) cm(3)/min vs 1.3-7.8(3.6±1.5)cm(3)/min, P<0.01).The incidence of complications of adenomyosis group was 47.6%(10/21), it was higher than fibroid group 18.8%(6/32) (P<0.05). Conclusions: MRgFUS is a non-invasive, safe and effective treatment for both uterine fibroids and adenomyosis. Compared with uterine fibroids, MRgFUS treatment of adenomyosis has some disadvantages such as higher energy, lower ablation efficiency and more adverse reactions, and further optimization is needed.

Efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine in treating cancer.

The morbidity associated with cancer has rapidly increased in recent years, and in the previous 5 years has had a tendency to be the leading cause of fatality compared with cardiovascular disease. Therefore, effective measures are required with an aim to reduce the incidence. Based on the results of clinical investigation, a multidisciplinary treatment strategy for cancer, which includes radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery, targeted therapy and immunotherapy, are prominently used in clinical practice. However, the therapies are insufficient due to multidrug resistance, adverse effects and the presence of the root of the cancer. Therefore, there is a necessity to develop more effective or adjunctive therapies for cancer prevention and treatment. Cancer is now widely recognized as a systemic humoral disease. Similarly, the function of herbal drugs is to modulate the whole body system in a more holistic way. Recently, herbal drugs have been applied to one of the efficient approaches for cancer therapy. Furthermore, there is evidence that various herbal medicines have been proven to be useful and effective in sensitizing the conventional agents against the various factors at the cellular and molecular levels that are associated with the occurrence of cancer and in prolonging survival time, alleviating side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and improving the quality of life in cancer patients.

Effect of Rhizoma paridis total saponins on apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells and imbalance of the JAK/STAT3 molecular pathway induced by IL-6 suppression.

We observed the influence of different concentrations of Rhizoma paridis total saponins (RPTS) on the apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells and explored the internal mechanism involved. We determined whether RPTS influences the interleukin-6 (IL-6)/Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3) apoptosis molecular pathway and looked for colon cancer-related signal transduction pathways or targets inducing apoptosis. We also cultured SW480 colorectal cancer cells using different concentrations of RPTS (10, 20, 40, and 80 µg/ mL), and observed the effect of RPTS on SW480 cell morphology under a fluorescence inverted microscope. We detected serum IL-6 using the polymerase chain reaction and the expression of JAK-STAT3 protein by western blot. After treating SW480 with RPTS and Hoechst 33258 dyeing, we found that the typical apoptosis morphology had changed. Secretion of IL-6 in the serum decreased significantly (P < 0.05), and STAT3 levels were reduced. RPTS can significantly promote apoptosis in SW480 colorectal cancer cells. The mechanism may be that it suppresses the secretion of IL-6 and inhibits the IL-6/JAK-STAT3 protein signaling pathway.

Cantharidin as an antitumor agent: a retrospective review.

This review summarizes the progress that has been made recently in the medicinal chemistry of cantharidin, a potent antitumor agent from traditional Chinese medicine. Thousands of analogs have been synthesized on the basis of cantharidin, a part of which shows excellent properties, in particular, norcantharidin and norcantharimide. Despite the enormous efforts made, the intriguing bioactivities, mechanism, indications, and their interplay are still ill-defined. This review provides our up-to-date understanding in connection with the therapeutic use, mechanism, structure-activity relationship (SAR) and interesting properties of cantharidin analogs. Considerable development in the design of cantharidin analogs, in combination with mechanistic studies, has laid a foundation for transforming novel antitumor drugs into the clinic.

Effects of Bacillus subtilis natto on milk production, rumen fermentation and ruminal microbiome of dairy cows.

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of Bacillus subtilis natto, which was initially isolated from fermented soybeans on milk production, rumen fermentation and ruminal microbiome in dairy cows. In Experiment 1, 36 early lactation Chinese Holstein dairy cows (56 ± 23 days in milk) were randomly assigned to three groups: Control, cows were fed total mixed ration (TMR); BSNLOW, TMR plus 0.5 × 1011 colony-forming units (cfu) of B. subtilis natto/cow per day; and BSNHIGH, TMR plus 1.0 × 1011 cfu of B. subtilis natto/cow per day. During the 70-day treatment period, daily milk production and daily milk composition were determined in individual cows. The results showed that supplementing dairy cows with 0.5 × 1011 and 1.0 × 1011 cfu of B. subtilis natto linearly increased (P < 0.01) milk production (25.2 and 26.4 kg/day v. 23.0 kg/day), 4% fat-corrected milk (27.3 and 28.1 kg/day v. 24.2 kg/day), energy-corrected milk (27.3 and 28.2 kg/day v. 24.2 kg/day), as well as milk fat (1.01 and 1.03 kg/day v. 0.88 kg/day), protein (0.77 and 0.82 kg/day v. 0.69 kg/day) and lactose yield (1.16 and 1.22 kg/day v. 1.06 kg/day) but decreased milk somatic cell counts (SCC) by 3.4% to 5.5% (P < 0.01) in BSNLOW and BSNHIGH treatments compared with Control. In Experiment 2, four rumen-cannulated dairy cows were fed the basal diet from 1 to 7 days (pre-trial period) and rumen samples were collected on days 6 and 7; the same cows then were fed 1.0 × 1011 cfu/day B. subtilis natto from days 8 to 21 (trial period) and rumen samples were collected on days 20 and 21. B. subtilis natto was discontinued from days 22 to 28 (post-trial period) and rumen samples were collected on days 27 and 28. Compared with the pre- and post-periods, ruminal pH decreased by 2.7% to 3.0% during the trial period (P < 0.01), whereas ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), total volatile fatty acids and molar proportion of propionate (P < 0.01) and valerate (P < 0.05) increased. Molar proportion of acetate decreased and the acetate to propionate ratio was lower (P < 0.01) during the trial period. However, no differences for 24-h in sacco dry matter digestibility were detected among different periods (treatments) though NDF digestibility was reduced in the trial and post-trial periods (P < 0.01). Compared with pre-trial period, total ruminal bacteria, proteolytic and amylolytic bacteria in rumen enumerated by culture methods increased by 15.0%, 16.2% and 11.7%, respectively (P < 0.01) but protozoa decreased to 5.35 log10 cfu/ml (P < 0.01) during the trial period. These results demonstrate that B. subtilis natto improves milk production and milk components yield, decreases SCC and promotes the growth of total ruminal bacteria, proteolytic and amylolytic bacteria, which indicate that B. subtilis natto has potential to be applied as a probiotic for dairy cows.

Effects of different sources and levels of dietary gossypol on gossypol residues in plasma and milk of lactating cows.

Free gossypol residues in tissues or milk from feeding whole cottonseed and cottonseed meal were measured for their effect on health of dairy cows and humans. Forty lactating cows were randomly assigned to 5 treatments in a 60-d experiment to investigate the effects of sources and dietary level of gossypol on plasma and milk gossypol concentrations in lactating cows. Five experimental diets had identical net energy for lactation and crude protein content on a dry matter (DM) basis. Soybean meal was the main protein ingredient used in the control diet. Cottonseed meal (CSM) or whole cottonseed (WCS) substituted for part of the soybean meal in the other 4 diets. Gossypol levels in the 5 diets were 0 (control), 91.15 mg/kg of DM in CSM1, 117.31mg/kg of DM in CSM2, 385.43 mg/kg of DM in WCS1, and 611.13 mg/kg in WCS2. Yields of 3.5% fat-corrected milk were significantly higher for cows in the WCS2 group; cows in the CSM1 and WCS1 groups showed no differences but both were numerically higher than the control and CSM2 groups. Milk protein concentration was lower for cows consuming WCS1 compared with the control group. Lactose concentration was lower for cows in the CSM2 group compared with the WCS2 group, but no differences were observed among other diets. Aspartate aminotransferase in serum was significantly higher for the WCS2 group compared with the control and WCS1 groups, but no difference was observed with the CSM1 and CSM2 groups. Concentrations of gossypol in plasma and milk of cows in the WCS1 and WCS2 groups were both higher than those of the other groups. No adverse effects were observed on cows fed diets containing 12.0% CSM, and no gossypol was found in plasma and milk. When WCS comprised 15% of the diet DM, yields of 3.5% fat-corrected milk were increased in cows and gossypol was detected in plasma and milk but not at harmful levels.

High Ca(2+)-phosphate transfection efficiency enables single neuron gene analysis.

Introducing exogenous genes into cells is one of the most important molecular techniques to study gene functions. Comparing to other type of cells, neurons are more difficult to transfect with cDNAs because they are very sensitive to microenvironmental changes. Among various gene transfer techniques, the Ca(2+)-phosphate transfection method is one of the most popular tools in neuroscience research because of its low cell toxicity and easiness to use. However, it is well known that the Ca(2+)-phosphate transfection efficiency in neurons is very low, typically in the range of 1-5%, which has limited its applications in gene functional analyses. Here we report a novel Ca(2+)-phosphate transfection protocol that dramatically increased the transfection efficiency by 10-fold, up to 60%, while maintaining low cell toxicity. The critical factors are the formation of homogenous snow-like precipitate with particle size about 1-3 microm and the subsequent removal of the precipitate. Using this new transfection protocol, we were able to routinely transfect single autaptic neurons in hippocampal microisland cultures and combine it with electrophysiology and fluorescent imaging methods to study gene functions. This high efficiency, low toxicity, and simple to use gene transfer method will have a broad application in gene research at the single cell level.

Selenium deficiency-induced alterations in the vascular system of the rat.

To enunciate the mechanisms whereby Se protects against cardiovascular diseases, weanling male Wistar rats were fed deficient (0.022 mg/kg diet) and adequate (0.159 mg/kg diet) Se diets for 14 and/or 39 wk. As the Se content and glutathione peroxidase activity were decreased and the lipid peroxide level was increased, the plasma 6-keto-PGF1alpha concentration of the Se-deficient group was markedly decreased in blood and tissues of the Se-deficient rats, as compared with the Se-adequate animals. Furthermore, the Se-deficient group had significantly lower plasma nitric oxide content and vascular nitric oxide synthase activity, higher erythrocyte sedimentation equation K value and aggregation index, and lower erythrocyte deformability than the Se-adequate group. Experimental Se deficiency also resulted in significant increases in serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and a significant decrease in serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level. These results give some experimental supports to the hypothesis that low Se status and lipid peroxidation are involved in the etiology of cardiovascular diseases.

Altered gene expression in kidneys of mice with 2,8-dihydroxyadenine nephrolithiasis.

BACKGROUND: We have developed a knockout mouse model for adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) deficiency, a condition that often leads to 2,8-dihydroxyadenine (DHA) nephrolithiasis in humans. Aprt knockout male mice develop severe renal damage by three months of age, but this is strain specific. Renal damage in female mice is less pronounced than in males. The gene level changes that promote renal injury in APRT-deficient mice are not known. METHODS: We used mRNA differential display polymerase chain reaction (DD-PCR) to analyze renal gene expression changes in APRT-deficient male and female mice (strain C3H) compared with age- and sex-matched Aprt heterozygote controls. The differentially amplified bands were reamplified, cloned, sequenced, and queried against the National Center for Biotechnology Information nonredundant databases using the Basic Alignment Search Tool. Relative quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to confirm the results of DD-PCR for a selected number of genes in one-, three-, and six-month-old male and female mice. RESULTS: Sixty-three differentially amplified bands were identified, including 21 for known genes, and 8 of these were examined further. In three-month-old APRT-deficient male mice, the expression of C10 was increased tenfold, and there was a fourfold to sevenfold increase in the expression of a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS-1), MGP (matrix Gla protein), and lysyl oxidase (LOX). The expression of cholecystokinin-A receptor (CCKAR), imprinted multimembrane-spanning polyspecific transporter-like gene 1 (IMPT-1), and kidney androgen-regulated protein (KAP) was diminished twofold to fourfold, but there was little or no change in the expression of organic anion transporter (OATP). Except for a more than tenfold increase in C10 expression and up to tenfold decrease in KAP expression, APRT-deficient female mice did not show significant changes in gene expression compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that (1) there are sex-related differences in gene expression in DHA lithiasis, possibly caused by increased deposition of DHA crystals in male compared with female kidneys; and (2) the expression of certain genes (for example, C10) may simply be an indication of nonspecific cellular stimulation and may not be related to renal injury.

Synthesis, cancericidal and antimicrotubule activities of 3-(haloacetamido)-benzoylureas.

The four title compounds (not hitherto reported) were synthesized from 3-aminobenzoic acid through its trifluoroacetic acid-acid chloride derivative, reaction with urea and aminolytic deprotection to yield 3-aminobenzoylurea, followed by unconventional haloacetylation. Three key factors were found essential for antitumor activity: (i) the cytotoxic nature of the halogen: I > Br > Cl > F (ID90 0.014->10 microM); (ii) the position of the halogen: only the 3-position (meta) expressed relevant activity; and (iii) the presence of the urea group (1-position). The selectivity of the bromo and iodo compounds were higher than those of vinblastine and paclitaxel in terms of cytotoxicity (ID50 ratios in nonmalignant myocardial fibroblasts and CEM leukemia cells) and therapeutic indices (P338 leukemia bearing mice). Relevant mechanisms of bioactivity were mitotic arrest and apoptosis. Complete inhibition of microtubule assembly occurred in cell-free systems (at 2.8 versus 2.1 microM for vinblastine); in contrast to paclitaxel, the target compounds did not interfere with microtubule disassembly. The strong cancericidal and antimicrotubular activities of the bromine and iodine compounds justify further exploration of their potential in antineoplastic chemotherapy.

[Effects of iodine nutritional status of fetuses, infants and young children on their intelligence development in the areas with iodine-deficiency disorders].

Intelligence in children without iodine supplement during their fetal and infant periods, and in those born three to four years after the implementation of stable supply of iodized salt in the areas with endemic cretinism and goiter was tested with Standord-Binet method. Results indicated there existed a lot of mental retarded children in the iodine-deficiency areas, with most of them born before the implementation of iodine supplement. In order to study the changes of intelligence development in children probably induced by stable supply with iodine, the tested children living in the areas with endemic cretinism were followed-up for two years, and no improvement in children's intelligence could been seen. It suggested that impairment to children's intelligence development caused by iodine deficiency during their fetal and infant periods was irreversible.