Association between Periodontitis and Aortic Calcification: A Cohort Study.

The present study investigated the association between the presence of periodontitis and aortic calcification (AC) risk among Chinese adults. A total of 6059 individuals who underwent regular health check-ups and received a diagnosis of periodontitis between 2009 and 2016 were included. The outcome was AC, assessed by a chest low-dose spiral CT scan. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to assess the association between periodontitis and AC risk after adjusting for several confounders. After a median follow-up period of 2.3 years (interquartile range: 1.03-4.97 years), 843 cases of AC were identified, with 532 (12.13%) and 311 (18.59%) patients in the non-periodontitis group and periodontitis group, respectively. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that, compared with those without periodontitis, the hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval for AC risk in participants with periodontitis was 1.18 (1.02-1.36) (P = .025) in the fully adjusted model. Stratified analyses showed that the positive relationship between periodontitis and AC was more evident in males and participants <65 years of age (pinteraction = .005 and .004, respectively). Our results show that the presence of periodontitis was positively associated with AC among Chinese adults, especially among males and younger participants.

Preparation and application of polystyrene-divinylbenzene sorbent with weak cation-exchange character for the selective extraction of illicit drugs in environmental water.

A novel mixed-mode weak cation-exchange sorbent (PS-DVB-WCX-II) was prepared by the modification of polystyrene-divinylbenzene with mercaptosuccinic acid for the selective extraction of illicit drugs in environmental water. The PS-DVB-WCX-II was synthesized through the Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction on the surface of polystyrene-divinylbenzene, followed by nucleophilic substitution reaction and thiol-ene click reaction. The sorbent can selectively absorb illicit drugs through the reverse-phase interactions provided by benzene ring on the polymer backbone and the ion-exchange interactions provided by functional group (-COOH). As compared with the extraction performance of three commercial SPE cartridges, it was found that the prepared sorbent had better adsorption performance with the recovery values between 84.1% and 106.0% for the selected 11 illicit drugs under the optimized SPE conditions. Illicit drugs in environmental water were extracted by the sorbent, prior to the detection of UHPLC-MS/MS. Two quantitative methods were established respectively for the detection of 11 illicit drugs in different matrices of river water and wastewater. Both methods had good determination coefficient (r2>0.992) in the range of 0.5-50 ng/L, 2.5-250 ng/L, 5-500 ng/L, and low limits of detection (S/N = 3) of 0.17-1.67 ng/L. In the real wastewater samples, the concentration of morphine was 18.3-126.3 ng/L, and the methamphetamine was 12.7-27.4 ng/L. Meanwhile, PS-DVB-WCX-II was compared with Oasis MCX and Oasis HLB in the detection of real wastewater samples. The results revealed that PS-DVB-WCX-II and Oasis MCX had better performance in absorbing methamphetamine than Oasis HLB, and PS-DVB-WCX-II had better ability to remove the matrix. The results suggested that the prepared weak cation-exchange sorbent had the potential in the application of illicit drug detection in environmental water.

Application analysis of a modified retroauricular hairline incision in the resection of a benign parotid gland tumor.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the application value of a modified retroauricular hairline incision and a sternocleidomastoid flap with an inferior pedicle in the resection of benign parotid gland tumors. METHODS: Forty-eight patients with benign parotid gland tumors were retrospectively analyzed: 19 cases were included in the experimental group with an improved retroauricular hairline incision and a sternocleidomastoid flap with an inferior pedicle, and 29 cases were assigned in the control group with a modified facelift incision. Operation time, postoperative drainage, postoperative esthetic degree, and incidence of facial nerve paralysis, salivary fistula, and Frey's syndrome were compared. RESULTS: After the esthetic procedure, the average score of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group, and the esthetic effect of the former was better than that of the latter (P<0.05). The incidence of the operation time, facial nerve paralysis, salivary fistula, and Frey's syndrome of both groups had no statistically significant differences (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The modified retroauricular hairline incision and sternocleidomastoid flap with an inferior pedicle can be applied to resect benign parotid gland tumors safely. It shows a better cosmetic effect and does not cause obvious postoperative complications. Therefore, it should be promoted for tumor treatments.

[The effect of overdose fluoride on the expression of TGF-beta1 in rat's dental pulps].

PURPOSE: To observe the effect of overdose fluoride on the expression of TGF-beta1 in rat's dental pulps. METHODS: 20 wister rats were divided into two groups. In the control group, equal dose distilled water were given to the rats. In the experimental group, 20 mg.kg(-1).d(-1) NaF were given. After 8 weeks of treatment, immunohistochemical staining was adopted for detection of the expression of TGF-beta1 in dental pulps of the rats. SPSS10.0 software package was used for Student's t test. RESULTS: Image analysis results showed that the expression of TGF-beta1 in the dental pulp and inner dentin were inhibited in the experimental group as compared with the control group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The overdose fluoride will inhibit the secretion of TGF-beta1, which leads to abnormal development of the teeth.