Depletion of abundant human serum proteins by per se imprinted cryogels based on sample heterogeneity.

Macroporous cryogels were prepared and used to deplete abundant proteins. It was accomplished based on the sample heterogeneity rather than any exogenous assistance. Human serum was added in monomer solutions to synthesize molecularly imprinted polymers; therein some abundant proteins were imprinted in the polyacrylamide cryogels. Meanwhile the rare components remained aqueous. Chromatography and electrophoresis showed that albumin, serotransferrin, and most globulins were depleted by columns packed with the molecularly imprinted polymers. After the depletion, lower abundance proteins were revealed by SDS-PAGE, peptide fingerprint analysis, and identified by MALDI-TOF-MS. This is an example that a "per se imprint" protocol enables to gradually dimidiate proteomes, simplify sample complexities, and facilitate further proteome profiling or biomarker discovery.

Electrostatic assemblies of molecularly imprinted polymers on the surface of electrospun nanofiber membranes for the point-of-care detection of thiodiglycol, a sulfur mustard poisoning metabolic marker.

In this study, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were assembled on the surface of ethylene imine polymer (PEI)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) electrospun nanofiber membranes for the point-of-care testing (POCT) of thiodiglycol (TDG), a sulfur mustard poisoning metabolic marker, using concentrated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as the signal reporting units. The MIPs/PEI/PVA nanofiber membranes could capture TDG specifically through the recognition interaction between MIPs and TDG. Then, AuNPs were adsorbed onto the MIPs/PEI/PVA nanofiber membranes through the Au-S interaction between TDG and AuNPs to produce a visible red color. In order to improve the sensitivity, the silver-enhanced solutions were used to deepen the color of the nanofiber membranes and the software Image J was used to read the gray value as the signal response for subsequent analysis. There was a good linear relationship between the color change of the MIPs/PEI/PVA nanofiber membranes and the TDG concentration from 0.1 ng mL-1 to 1.0 µg mL-1, and the limit of detection was 38 pg mL-1. This method was applied for the selective detection of TDG in urine, showing great potential for the clinical diagnosis of mustard gas poisoning.

Effect and Safety of Painless and Conventional Endoscopic Management of Denture Impaction in the Esophagus.

Objective: To improve the level of clinical diagnosis and treatment, reduce the incidence of complications, and provide the basis for clinicians to choose an appropriate treatment, this research explores the removal methods of the impacted denture in the esophagus by endoscopy. Methods: Based on the clinical information, treatment methods and complications of 72 patients with denture impaction in the esophagus admitted to our hospital from January 2016 to March 2021, which were divided into the group treated with painless endoscopy and the group treated with conventional endoscopy, retrospective analysis of the therapeutic effect and complications was conducted. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of denture removal rate (P > 0.05). There were statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of operating time and incidence rates of complications during and after the procedure. The operating time of the group treated with painless endoscopy was significantly shorter than the group treated with conventional endoscopy (P < 0.05). The incidence rates of complications during and after the procedure of the group treated with painless endoscopy were significantly lower than the group treated with conventional endoscopy (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Compared with the conventional endoscopy, painless endoscopic management of denture impaction in the esophagus under general anesthesia with tracheal intubation improves the clinical efficacy and reduces the adverse reactions. Thus, it is worthy of clinical popularization and application.

The mechanical anisotropy on a longitudinal section of human enamel studied by nanoindentation.

Nanoindentation has been widely used for probing the mechanical properties of tooth, especially for characterizing its complex hierarchical structures. Previous studies have confirmed the anisotropic mechanical behaviors caused by the alternated orientations of enamel rods and the alignment of fibril-like hydroxyapatite crystals, but the longitudinal section of enamel, which was composed of parallel-arranged rods, was regarded as a homogeneous continuum as always. In this study, nanoindentation combined with SEM was carried out with the indenter rotating on the longitudinal section of enamel to evaluate the relativity between the nano-mechanical properties and the orientation of indentation impressions. It has been shown that the enamel presented different elastic modulus and hardness with different angles of indenter on its longitudinal section, and its anisotropy was also confirmed by the remarkable asymmetric morphologies of impressions. We observed that the parallel arrangement of crystal fibrils and enamel rods might trigger the expansion of the micro-cracks in preferred orientation, and result in scalene triangle indentation impressions, altering contact areas as well as inconsistent mechanical behaviors. Consequently, it is considered that the longitudinal sections of enamel should be modeled as anisotropic.

[Study on soft and hard tissue changes and stability of early treatment of Class â ¡ division 1 malocclusion with T4K appliances].

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of early treatment of Class II division 1 malocclusion with T4K appliance on soft and hard tissue changes and prognosis of patients with mixed teeth. METHODS: Twenty patients with Class II malocclusion, 11 males and 9 females, aged from 9 to 14 years, with an average age of 11.05 years, were selected. All patients were treated with T4K appliance for 12 months. The changes of soft and hard tissues before, 12 months after and 36 months after orthodontic treatment were measured and compared, to explore the stability of T4K appliance in the treatment of Class Ⅱ division 1 malocclusion. The data were analyzed with SPSS 25.0 software package. RESULTS: The hard tissue indexes U1-NA, U1-NA, L1-NB, L1-NB were significantly decreased (P<0.05) and U1-L1 was significantly increased (P<0.05). Soft tissue index UL-U1, LL-L1 increased significantly (P<0.05);overjet, overbite, E-upper-lip, E-lower-lip decreased significantly (P<0.05); nasolabial angle, sulcus dip, soft tissue thickness significantly increased (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between 12 months and 36 months after treatment (P>0.0.5). CONCLUSIONS: T4K appliance used for early treatment of Class Ⅱ malocclusion can correct patients' poor oral habits, improve the relationship between oral and maxillofacial soft and hard tissues, with good long-term efficacy and stable curative effect.

Dental caries and risk indicators for patients with leprosy in China.

BACKGROUND: In leprosy, oral health is often neglected and poorly understood. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and risk indicators of dental caries in patients with leprosy in China. METHODS: This cross-sectional, multicentre study included 613 patients with leprosy and 602 control subjects. Based on the established standards of the World Health Organization, we investigated dental caries in cluster samplings from six so-called 'leprosy villages' in three Chinese provinces. Clinical oral examinations were performed and data were reported as decayed (D), missing (M) and filled (F) teeth (DMFT scores). RESULTS: The average DMFT scores were 10.39 in patients with leprosy (D = 4.43; M = 5.94; and F = 0.02) and 4.39 in control individuals (D = 2.29; M = 2.02; F = 0.08). The DMFT scores were statistically significantly different in patients with different ages, educational backgrounds and daily brushing frequency (P < 0.05). High DMFT scores were related to age, low educational levels and poor toothbrushing habits. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that patients with leprosy have a high prevalence of severe dental caries. Effective therapy and oral health education should be enhanced for this group of patients.

Enamel distribution, structure and mechanical alterations in col1-caPPR mice molar.

Enamel mineralisation is a highly controlled process in which the deposition, growth, and maturation of inorganic crystallites are regulated by secreted matrix proteins at the molecular and cellular level. Maxillary and mandibular first molars from the col1-caPPR mutants as well as normal controls aged for 12 weeks were observed by SEM and nanoindentation, respectively. Several types of aberrations in enamel distribution and crystal organisation were encountered in the transgenic molars. Also, the gene alteration resulted in degradation by as much as 23.42% in hardness and 17.56% in the elastic modulus. These data suggested that gene mutation altered the ameloblastic differentiation and movement, resulting in variations of crystal arrangement patterns, aberrations of enamel distribution, and degradation of mechanical behaviour. Furthermore, the col1-caPPR mouse model was determined as useful for studying how the genes modulate the biomineralisation process.