Association Between Toothbrushing and Behavioral Risk Factors of Non-communicable Diseases: A population Based Survey of 4500 adults in China.

Non-communicable Disease (NCD) related behavioral risk factors (BRF) plays a crucial role in NCD prevention, as does oral hygiene behavior in oral health promotion. We examined the association between NCD BRF and toothbrushing using data from a population-based survey, which recruited 4485 adults aged 18+ years, in Chongqing city, China. Prevalence of five NDC BRF and their clustering within individual were determined by toothbrushing frequency. Ordinal logistic regression examined the association between toothbrushing and BRF clustering. Prevalence of current smoking, insufficient intake of vegetable and fruit, and harmful use of alcohol increased significantly with toothbrushing frequency. Respondents who brushed teeth ≥2 times daily consumed more red meat than those with less frequent toothbrushing. Relative to those with no BRF, the adjusted cumulative odds ratio of brushing teeth less frequently was 2.1 (95% CI: 1.4-3.1) for respondents with 3+ BRF. The adjusted cumulative odds ratio was 1.5 (1.1-2.1) and 1.4 (1.0-1.8) for those who had two BRF and those who had one, respectively. Significant correlation between toothbrushing and NCD BRF implied that integrated intervention strategy involving the both may be beneficial in public health programs targeting at either oral health or NCDs, or both.

Effects of Programmed Local Delivery from a Micro/Nano-Hierarchical Surface on Titanium Implant on Infection Clearance and Osteogenic Induction in an Infected Bone Defect.

The two major causes for implant failure are postoperative infection and poor osteogenesis. Initial period of osteointegration is regulated by immunocytes and osteogenic-related cells resulting in inflammatory response and tissue healing. The healing phase can be influenced by various environmental factors and biological cascade effect. To synthetically orchestrate bone-promoting factors on biomaterial surface, built is a dual delivery system coated on a titanium surface (abbreviated as AH-Sr-AgNPs). The results show that this programmed delivery system can release Ag+ and Sr2+ in a temporal-spatial manner to clear pathogens and activate preosteoblast differentiation partially through manipulating the polarization of macrophages. Both in vitro and in vivo assays show that AH-Sr-AgNPs-modified surface renders a microenvironment adverse for bacterial survival and favorable for macrophage polarization (M2), which further promotes the differentiation of preosteoblasts. Infected New Zealand rabbit femoral metaphysis defect model is used to confirm the osteogenic property of AH-Sr-AgNPs implants through micro-CT, histological, and histomorphometric analyses. These findings demonstrate that the programmed surface with dual delivery of Sr2+ and Ag+ has the potential of achieving an enhanced osteogenic outcome through favorable immunoregulation.

Spring maize yield, soil water use and water use efficiency under plastic film and straw mulches in the Loess Plateau.

To compare the soil water balance, yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of spring maize under different mulching types in the Loess Plateau, a 7-year field experiment was conducted in the Changwu region of the Loess Plateau. Three treatments were used in this experiment: straw mulch (SM), plastic film mulch (PM) and conventional covering without mulch (CK). Results show that the soil water change of dryland spring maize was as deep as 300 cm depth and hence 300 cm is recommended as the minimum depth when measure the soil water in this region. Water use (ET) did not differ significantly among the treatments. However, grain yield was significantly higher in PM compared with CK. WUE was significantly higher in PM than in CK for most years of the experiment. Although ET tended to be higher in PM than in the other treatments (without significance), the evaporation of water in the fallow period also decreased. Thus, PM is sustainable with respect to soil water balance. The 7-year experiment and the supplemental experiment thus confirmed that straw mulching at the seedling stage may lead to yield reduction and this effect can be mitigated by delaying the straw application to three-leaf stage.

Toothbrushing, Blood Glucose and HbA1c: Findings from a Random Survey in Chinese Population.

Both diabetes and periodontal disease are prevalent in China. Poor oral hygiene practice is the major cause of periodontal disease. An association between oral hygiene practice and blood glucose level was reported in individuals with diabetes, but not in the general population. We examined the association in a population-based random survey recruiting 2,105 adults without previously diagnosed diabetes in Chongqing city, China. Plasma glucose and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) were measured, and a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test was conducted for each respondent. Self-reported toothbrushing frequency was used as a proxy for oral hygiene practice. In a linear model controlling for potential confounders (demographic characteristics, socio-economic status, lifestyle risk factors, BMI, dental visit frequency, etc.), urban residents who barely brushed their teeth had an increase of 0.50 (95% CI: 0.10-0.90) mmol/L in fasting plasma glucose, and an increase of 0.26% (0.04-0.47%) in HbA1c, relative to those brushing ≥twice daily; for rural residents, the effects were 0.26 (0.05-0.48) mmol/L in fasting plasma glucose and 0.20% (0.09-0.31%) in HbA1c. Individuals with better oral practice tended to have lower level of blood glucose and HbA1c. Establishing good oral health behavioral habits may be conducive to diabetes prevention and control in the general population.

Interferon-γ and interleukin-4 detected in serum and saliva from patients with oral lichen planus.

Our previous salivary study had demonstrated an apparent T helper 2 (Th2)-predominance in saliva of oral lichen planus (OLP) patients and suggested a potential of salivary interleukin-4 (IL-4) as a biomarker for monitoring disease severity. To further determine the consistency of Th1/Th2 bias of OLP, this study investigated the expression profile of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and IL-4 in serum and the relationship of the serum levels of these cytokines with their saliva partners. Sixty ethnic Chinese patients with OLP (40 of the erythematous/ulcerative form and 20 of the reticular form) were recruited for this study, with 40 age-sex-matched healthy volunteers as control group. IFN-γ and IL-4 levels in serum and paired saliva samples were screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. OLP patient showed a low-level IFN-γ but high-level IL-4 expression profile in both serum and saliva, with a lower IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio. Serum IL-4 level in the erythematous/ulcerative group was significantly higher than that in the reticular group. Serum levels of IFN-γ and IL-4 were significantly and positively correlated with their saliva partners. These results provided more evidence for Th2 cytokine-predominant immune imbalance in OLP, as well as the potential of IL-4 as the biomarker for monitoring severity of OLP.

Salivary and serum interleukin-18 in patients with oral lichen planus: a study in an ethnic Chinese population.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential pro-inflammatory role of the cytokine interleukin (IL-18) in oral lichen planus (OLP) so as to provide a reliable and early indicator for the diagnosis of OLP. One hundred three ethnic Chinese patients with OLP were enrolled in this study, as were 48 age- and sex-matched controls. IL-18 concentrations in serum and saliva were screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The protein content was expressed as picograms per milliliter. OLP patients showed a high-level of IL-18 expression profile in serum compared with the control group (OLP = 21.32 ± 8.26 pg/mL, control = 12.29 ± 5.11 pg/mL, P < 0.05), and the saliva partner had significantly higher concentrations of IL-18 compared to the control (OLP = 20.12 ± 5.78 pg/mL, control = 15.60 ± 4.17 pg/mL, P < 0.05). In patients with OLP, serum and salivary IL-18 are elevated, correlating with the severity of illness. These findings may be considered to improve the predictive or prognostic values of inflammatory cytokines for OLP and also to design possible novel therapeutic approaches.

Elevated IL-10 concentrations in serum and saliva from patients with oral lichen planus.

OBJECTIVE: IL-10 is a cytokine that plays a complex role in the control of immune responses. A case-control study was conducted to investigate the expression pattern of IL-10 in both serum and the whole unstimulated saliva from ethnic Chinese patients with oral lichen planus. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Seventy-nine Chinese patients with oral lichen planus were recruited for this study, and 41 healthy volunteers served as a control group. The levels of IL-10 and IFN-g in the serum and saliva were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The IFN-g/IL-10 ratio was calculated by direct counting. RESULTS: The results demonstrated an expression profile of high IL-10 level and low IFN-g level and IFN-g/IL-10 ratio in both serum and saliva from oral lichen planus patients, compared to the controls. Saliva levels of IL-10 and IFN-g were positively correlated to their serum partners. No significant difference was found among subtypes of oral lichen planus. CONCLUSION: Elevation of IL-10 level might be involved in the pathogenesis of oral lichen planus, and saliva might be a substitute for serum to reflect the disease-related cytokine production in oral lichen planus patients.

[The oral exosyndrome and diagnosis of 3 patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome].

The aim of the report is to increase the dentists', vigilance to the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) by means of analyzing the oral exosyndrome and discussing the experience of diagnosis to 3 patients with AIDS. Vigilance to AIDS can make us to discover, diagnose and treat it in the early stage, and prevent us from transmission of the disease.

IFN-gamma and IL-4 in saliva of patients with oral lichen planus: a study in an ethnic Chinese population.

Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) represent T helper 1 (Th1) and T helper 2 (Th2) cytokines involved in oral lichen planus (OLP), respectively. This study was to investigate the expression profile of IFN-gamma and IL-4 in saliva of OLP patients. Seventy-nine ethnic Chinese patients with OLP were recruited for this study, together with 41 age-sex-matched healthy volunteers served as control group. IFN-gamma and IL-4 levels in whole unstimulated saliva were screened by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. OLP patient showed a low-level IFN-gamma but high-level IL-4 expression profile in saliva, with a lower ratio of salivary IFN-gamma/IL-4 compared to healthy controls. With regards to subtypes, salivary IL-4 level in erythematous/ulcerative group was significantly higher than that in reticular group. Imbalance of Th1/Th2 cytokines with Th2-predominant profile in saliva may be involved in OLP. Salivary IL-4 level may be a fine biomarker reflecting the severity of OLP.