Self-Assembled DNA Nanospheres Driven by Carbon Dots for MicroRNAs Imaging in Tumor via Logic Circuit.

DNA nanostructures with diverse biological functions have made significant advancements in biomedical applications. However, a universal strategy for the efficient production of DNA nanostructures is still lacking. In this work, a facile and mild method is presented for self-assembling polyethylenimine-modified carbon dots (PEI-CDs) and DNA into nanospheres called CANs at room temperature. This makes CANs universally applicable to multiple biological applications involving various types of DNA. Due to the ultra-small size and strong cationic charge of PEI-CDs, CANs exhibit a dense structure with high loading capacity for encapsulated DNA while providing excellent stability by protecting DNA from enzymatic hydrolysis. Additionally, Mg2+ is incorporated into CANs to form Mg@CANs which enriches the performance of CANs and enables subsequent biological imaging applications by providing exogenous Mg2+. Especially, a DNAzyme logic gate system that contains AND and OR Mg@CANs is constructed and successfully delivered to tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. They can be specifically activated by endogenic human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 and recognize the expression levels of miRNA-21 and miRNA-155 at tumor sites by logic biocomputing. A versatile pattern for delivery of diverse DNA and flexible logic circuits for multiple miRNAs imaging are developed.

Orbital apex syndrome secondary to apical periodontitis of a tooth: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Orbital apex syndrome (OAS) is a rare disease with a noticeable mortality rate. Although its etiology has been repeatedly assessed, few reports have concentrated on odontogenic infection. We presented a rare case of OAS secondary to apical periodontitis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 61-year-old male was admitted to our hospital for a 3-day history of left orbital and head pain, along with diplopia for 1-day. He also had toothache symptoms before his admission. Due to the atypical early symptoms of orbital apex and cranial nerve injury, no timely and effective diagnosis and treatment were initially provided. However, as the disease progressed and complications occurred, we timely adjusted the diagnosis and successfully controlled the infection. During the one-year follow-up, no recurrence of inflammation was observed; nevertheless, the ptosis and ophthalmoplegia persisted. CONCLUSIONS: OAS is a rare, while severe complication of odontogenic infection. This case had various symptoms and nerve injury in the orbital apical area. When disease is atypical in its early stages, treatment is easily overlooked. Early detection and suspicion of orbital apex-related complications should be heightened.

Effect of Presurgical Nasoalveolar Molding on Nasal Symmetry in Unilateral Complete Cleft Lip/Palate Patients after Primary Cheiloplasty without Concomitant Nasal Cartilage Dissection: Early Childhood Evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of presurgical nasoalveolar molding (PNAM) on long-term nasal symmetry and shaping after primary cheiloplasty in patients with unilateral complete cleft lip/palate (UCL/P). DESIGN: This was a two-group, parallel, retrospective, randomized clinical trial. SETTING: The setting for this study was the Chang Gung Craniofacial Center in Taoyuan, Taiwan. PATIENTS: Patients were divided into one of the following two groups: infants with UCL/P who underwent PNAM (PNAM group, n = 42) and infants with UCL/P who did not undergo PNAM (non-PNAM group, n = 42). INTERVENTIONS: Interventions included PNAM and primary cheiloplasty without nasal cartilage dissection. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: In this study, 4- to 5-year postoperative full-face and submental oblique photographs were taken of all patients and scored from 1 to 5 points by 10 medical evaluators. The scores were statistically analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance, and P < .05 was considered to represent statistical significance. RESULTS: After 1 to 3 months of PNAM but before primary cheiloplasty, the displaced nasal and alveolar cartilage showed obvious improvement. However, the scores in the PNAM and non-PNAM groups at 4 to 5 years postoperatively were 66.62 ± 14.25 and 66.31 ± 15.08, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups ( F = 0.009, P = .923). CONCLUSION: PNAM as an early-stage adjunctive therapy for nasal deformity correction is beneficial before primary cheiloplasty, but it is insufficient to maintain long-term nostril symmetry after primary cheiloplasty without nasal cartilage dissection.

Study on the application of oral digital design in aesthetic restoration of anterior teeth of cleft lip/palate patients.

OBJECTIVES: A study was conducted to investigate the clinical effects of oral digital design on the aesthetic restoration of anterior teeth of cleft lip/palate patients. METHODS: Nine adult cleft lip/palate patients who need aesthetic restoration of anterior teeth were recruited. Digital information of patients' dental arches, the surrounding soft tissue and face were captured by digital camera and scanner. The aesthetic analysis and design were conducted using keynote and 3shape software and were demonstrated to the patients. The optimized treatment plan was ensured by communicating with the patients. Digital wax-up models were exported and printed into resin diagnostic models, which were then utilized in the treatment process to guide the doctors and the technicians in tooth preparation and in making the final restorations, respectively. The adhesive procedure was completed after satisfactory try-in. Aesthetics assessment was conducted in accordance with the anterior esthetic evaluation form. The scores of patient's satisfaction were recorded on a questionnaire containing six items of aesthetic index and doctor-patient communication. Patients were interviewed and examined after 1, 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively, and the clinical effects of restorations were evaluated. RESULTS: All nine patients had satisfactory clinical results. The aesthetic defects of the patients were effectively addressed. All treatments met the requirements of the preoperative digital designs. The patients' scores were all above 90 on the satisfaction scale. At 12 months after the operation, the clinical effects of restorations of all cases achieved A class in each evaluation indicator. CONCLUSIONS: For cleft lip/palate patients with esthetic defect in the anterior teeth, the digital design plays an important role in optimizing the treatment plan and guides the whole treatment process. This design can help clinicians achieve predictable satisfactory aesthetic results.

Charge-reversal nanomedicine based on black phosphorus for the development of A Novel photothermal therapy of oral cancer.

Driven by the lifestyle habits of modern people, such as excessive smoking, drinking, and chewing betel nut and other cancer-causing foods, the incidence of oral cancer has increased sharply and has a trend of becoming younger. Given the current mainstream treatment means of surgical resection will cause serious damage to many oral organs, so that patients lose the ability to chew, speak, and so on, it is urgent to develop new oral cancer treatment methods. Based on the strong killing effect of photothermal therapy on exposed superficial tumors, we developed a pH-responsive charge reversal nanomedicine system for oral cancer which is a kind of classic superficial tumor. With excellent photothermal properties of polydopamine (PDA) modified black phosphorus nanosheets (BP NSs) as basal material, then used polyacrylamide hydrochloride-dimethylmaleic acid (PAH-DMMA) charge reversal system for further surface modification, which can be negatively charged at blood circulation, and become a positive surface charge in the tumor site weakly acidic conditions due to the breaking of dimethylmaleic amide. Therefore, the uptake of oral cancer cells was enhanced and the therapeutic effect was improved. It can be proved that this nanomedicine has excellent photothermal properties and tumor enrichment ability, as well as a good killing effect on oral cancer cells through in vitro cytotoxicity test and in vivo photothermal test, which may become a very promising new model of oral cancer treatment.

Mussel-Inspired Polydopamine: The Bridge for Targeting Drug Delivery System and Synergistic Cancer Treatment.

Polydopamine (PDA), a mussel-inspired molecule, has been recognized as attractive in cancer therapy due to a number of inherent advantages, such as good biocompatibility, outstanding drug-loading capacity, degradability, superior photothermal conversion efficiency, and low tissue toxicity. Furthermore, due to its strong adhesive property, PDA is able to functionalize various nanomaterials, facilitating the construction of a PDA-based multifunctional platform for targeted or synergistic therapy. Herein, recent PDA research, including targeted drug delivery, single-mode therapy, and diverse synergistic therapies against cancer, are summarized and discussed. For synergistic therapy, advanced developments are highlighted, such as photothermal/radiotherapy, chemo-/photothermal/gene therapy, photothermal/immune therapy, and photothermal/photodynamic/immune therapy. Finally, the challenges and promise of PDA for biomedical applications in the future are discussed.

Evaluation of osteoinductive calcium phosphate ceramics repairing alveolar cleft defects in dog model.

BACKGROUND: Alveolar cleft repair is an important step in the sequence of treatments for cleft lip and palate. Intrinsically osteoinductive materials have been the subject of research interest. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the use of osteoinductive biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) ceramics to repair alveolar cleft defects in dogs. METHODS: We prepared two kinds of BCP ceramic with different physical characteristics: osteoinductive BCP (OBCP) and non-osteoinductive BCP (NBCP). Bilateral alveolar cleft models were surgically established in dogs. On one side, OBCP was implanted in the defect; on the opposite side NBCP was implanted as a control. The materials were also implanted in the femoral muscles to test their properties at non-osseous sites. The osteogenic ability of materials was evaluated with imaging, spiral CT, histology and fluorescent dye tests. RESULTS: At the muscular implantation sites, new bone formed in all of the OBCP samples, but none in the NBCP samples. Imaging and spiral CT revealed good appearance and continuity of the alveolar cleft postoeration, with normal eruption of the bilateral permanent teeth in the groups. Histological and fluorescent dye testing revealed new bone formation in both groups in situ. However, earlier osteogenesis initiation and bone remodeling were superior with OBCP. Osteogenic process in the intramuscular samples with OBCP was similar to that seen in situ. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated that osteoinductive biphasic calcium phosphate ceramics (OBCP) have superior characteristics in alveolar cleft repair compared with non-osteoinductive calcium phosphate ceramics (NBCP).

[Investigation of related risk factors of temporomandibular disorders in 109 patients].

PURPOSE: To investigate the related risk factors of temporomandibular disorders(TMD), and to provide evidences for clinical prevention. METHODS: One hundred and nine TMD patients were included in the study as case group, while 109 people with no TMJ symptoms and signs were selected randomly as control group. All subjects fulfilled questionaires. Logistics regression analysis was used to analyze the data with SPSS 22.0 software package. RESULTS: Females patients were more common than males, with 20~29 age group accounting for 44%. The proportions of patients with habits of bruxism or clenching, unilateral mastication and maxillofacial injure history were significantly greater than those of control group (P<0.05). The proportions of patients with life stress and habits of stay-up late, chewing hard food and orthodontic treatment history showed no significant difference compared with the control group (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: TMD has a higher prevalence in female than in male, with a peak incidence in 20-29 age group. Habits of bruxism or clenching, unilateral mastication and maxillofacial injury history may be risk factors of TMD, while life stress, habits of stay-up late, chewing hard food and orthodontic treatments show no significant correlation with TMD.