[Well-differentiated/dedifferentiated liposarcoma associated with myxoid-like morphology: a clinicopathological and molecular genetic characteristics analysis of 34 cases].

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological and molecular genetic characteristics of well-differentiated/dedifferentiated liposarcoma (WDLPS/DDLPS) with myxoid-like morphology, and to distinguish them from myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) with similar morphology. Methods: Twenty-nine cases of myxoid-like liposarcoma and 5 cases of MFS were collected from Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China and the First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China from January 2015 to March 2023. Relevant markers were detected using immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The literature was also reviewed. Results: There were 24 males and 10 females, with ages ranging from 41 to 73 years. The tumor sites included retroperitoneum (n=17), abdomen (n=9), lower limbs (n=5), scrotum (n=1), upper limb (n=1) and axilla (n=1). WDLPS was commonly seen as lipomatoid type (12 cases), while the dedifferentiated components of DDLPS included low-grade (13 cases) and high-grade (2 cases) morphology, with low-high grade myxofibrosarcoma, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, and low-grade fibrosarcoma structures. Twenty-nine liposarcomas had various proportions of myxoid-like morphology, while 16 showed various degrees of tumor necrosis. The myxoid-like component showed myxoid pleomorphic liposarcoma (MLPS)-like morphology, lobulated growth, characteristic slender, ramified capillary network,"chicken claw-like"morphology, mucus-rich stroma and lung edema-like morphology. Tumor cells were spindle and oval, with many variable vacuolar lipoblasts. MDM2 gene amplification was detected using FISH and present in all tested cases (29/29). DDIT3 break-apart mutation was not detected, but its cluster amplification was present (24/29). Among the MFS cases, one showed cluster amplification (1/5), but no cases showed break-apart or amplification of MDM2 gene. Conclusions: WDLPS/DDLPS with myxoid-like morphology is most commonly seen in the retroperitoneum and abdominal cavity and mostly harbors DDIT3 break-apart probe amplification, while this amplification is not specific to liposarcoma. For core biopsy specimens or very rare tumors in the limbs, when histology has mucinous stroma and MLPS-like morphology, misdiagnosis of MLPS or other non-lipomatous neoplasms with myxoid morphology should be avoided.

[Clinicopathological and genetic characteristics of common lymphatic malformations in superficial soft tissues].

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features, classification, and genetic characteristics of common lymphatic malformation (CLM) in superficial soft tissue. Methods: A retrospective study of 110 patients with the diagnosis of CLM at the Henan Province People's Hospital, China from August 2019 to August 2022 was performed. The clinicopathological features, relevant immunohistochemical (IHC) staining results, and fluorescence quantitative PCR of PIK3CA mutation were analyzed, and patients were followed up. Results: Among the 110 CLM patients, there were 53 males and 57 females; 65 cases (65/110, 59.1%) were first detected when the patients were≤2 years old. The most common location was the head and neck in 41 cases (41/110, 37.3%). Clinically, 102 cases (102/110, 92.7%) were solitary, 83 cases (83/110, 75.5%) were skin-colored, 69 cases (69/110, 62.7%) had indistinct borders, and 10 cases (10/110, 9.1%) had diffuse and severe macroscopic manifestations. There were 52 macrocystic type (52/110, 47.3%), 23 microcystic type (23/110, 20.9%), and 35 combined type (35/110, 31.8%). The macrocystic CLM presented as soft, translucent masses with large cystic cavities on the cut surface, and histologically they were composed of large, irregularly dilated channels that were thicker with irregular smooth muscle and lymphocytic infiltration. Microcystic CLM showed wartlike projections or translucent blisters on the skin, with small honeycomb structures on the cut surface, and histologically consisted of round or angular dilated small lymphatic vessels with little or no smooth muscle. The combined CLM had both macrocystic and microcystic morphologies. IHC staining showed that the lymphatic endothelial cells were positive for LYVE-1, D2-40, PROX1, CD31, and VEGFR3 but negative for CD34; in the macrocystic and combined CLM vessel walls were positive for SMA. Eight of 13 CLM had PIK3CA mutation. All patients were followed up, and 24 (24/110, 21.8%) had relapses, which more frequently occurred in combined type, followed by microcystic type. Conclusions: CLM is a congenital vascular malformation composed of dilated, abnormal lymphatic channels, with PIK3CA mutation. There are significant differences in clinicopathological characteristics among the different types. Since microcystic and combined CLM are prone to recurrence, accurate pathological subtyping is necessary to guide treatment and to predict prognosis.

A deep neural network for parametric image reconstruction on a large axial field-of-view PET.

PURPOSE: The PET scanners with long axial field of view (AFOV) having ~ 20 times higher sensitivity than conventional scanners provide new opportunities for enhanced parametric imaging but suffer from the dramatically increased volume and complexity of dynamic data. This study reconstructed a high-quality direct Patlak Ki image from five-frame sinograms without input function by a deep learning framework based on DeepPET to explore the potential of artificial intelligence reducing the acquisition time and the dependence of input function in parametric imaging. METHODS: This study was implemented on a large AFOV PET/CT scanner (Biograph Vision Quadra) and twenty patients were recruited with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) dynamic scans. During training and testing of the proposed deep learning framework, the last five-frame (25 min, 40-65 min post-injection) sinograms were set as input and the reconstructed Patlak Ki images by a nested EM algorithm on the vendor were set as ground truth. To evaluate the image quality of predicted Ki images, mean square error (MSE), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), and structural similarity index measure (SSIM) were calculated. Meanwhile, a linear regression process was applied between predicted and true Ki means on avid malignant lesions and tumor volume of interests (VOIs). RESULTS: In the testing phase, the proposed method achieved excellent MSE of less than 0.03%, high SSIM, and PSNR of ~ 0.98 and ~ 38 dB, respectively. Moreover, there was a high correlation (DeepPET: [Formula: see text]= 0.73, self-attention DeepPET: [Formula: see text]=0.82) between predicted Ki and traditionally reconstructed Patlak Ki means over eleven lesions. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that the deep learning-based method produced high-quality parametric images from small frames of projection data without input function. It has much potential to address the dilemma of the long scan time and dependency on input function that still hamper the clinical translation of dynamic PET.

Olfactory decoding is positively associated with ad libitum food intake in sated humans.

The role of olfaction in eating behavior and body weight regulation is controversial. Here we reanalyzed data from a previous functional magnetic resonance imaging study to test whether central olfactory coding is associated with hunger/satiety state, food intake, and change in body weight over one year in healthy human adults. Since odor quality and category are coded across distributed neural patterns that are not discernible with traditional univariate analyses, we used multi-voxel pattern analyses to decode patterns of brain activation to food versus nonfood odors. We found that decoding accuracies in the piriform cortex and amygdala were greater in the sated compared to hungry state. Sated decoding accuracies in these and other regions were also associated with post-scan ad libitum food intake, but not with weight change. These findings demonstrate that the fidelity of olfactory decoding is influenced by meal consumption and is associated with immediate food intake, but not longer-term body weight regulation.

[Effects of different accompanying symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea on the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular and diabetes events].

Objective: To investigate the effects of different accompanying symptoms on the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular and diabetes events in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Methods: Patients diagnosed with OSA in the sleep center of Tangdu Hospital from January 4, 2011 to December 28, 2016 were retrospectively collected and divided into four groups according to accompanying symptoms: group A included OSA patients without insomnia and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), group B included OSA patients with insomnia, group C included OSA patients with EDS and group D included OSA patients with insomnia and EDS. Patients were followed up by telephone for 6 to 11 years. Outcome measures were composite cardiovascular and cerebrovascular and diabetes events (including new onset or recurrent heart disease, cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, newly diagnosed hypertension and diabetes). Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw survival curves, log-rank test was performed to compare the prognosis of OSA patients with insomnia and/or EDS symptoms, and multivariate Cox proportional hazards model was constructed to analyze the influencing factors of adverse outcome events in OSA patients. Results: Five hundred and four patients with OSA were included, and 307 patients [274 males and 33 females, aged (49±11) years] completed the follow-up, including 27 patients in group A, 143 patients in group B, 27 patients in group C, and 110 patients in group D. After a median follow-up of 7.7 years, 78 patients developed cardiovascular and cerebrovascular and diabetes events. Outcome events occurred in 1 patient (3.70%) in group A, 30 (20.98%) in group B, 10 (37.04%) in group C, and 37 (33.64%) in group D. Compared with patients in group A, there was a statistically significant difference in the incidence of outcome events in groups B (P=0.034), C (P=0.004), and D (P=0.003). After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, apnea-hypopnea index, baseline cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk factors and subsequent continuous positive airway pressure therapy, patients in group C (HR=9.67, 95%CI: 1.23-76.37, P=0.031) and group D (HR=11.35, 95%CI: 1.55-83.43, P=0.017) had an increased risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular and diabetes events when compared with group A. Conclusions: In OSA patients with successful long-term follow-up, insomnia and EDS symptoms are risk factors for the development of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular and diabetes events. Insomnia and EDS symptoms should be evaluated in patients with OSA during clinical practice to find the cause and carry out the targeted intervention.

[Glomuvenous malformation: a clinicopathological analysis of 31 cases].

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features of glomuvenous malformation (GVM). Methods: Thirty-one cases of GVM diagnosed at the Henan Provincial People's Hospital from January 2011 to December 2021 were collected. Their clinical and pathological features were analyzed. The expression of relevant markers was examined using immunohistochemistry. The patients were also followed up. Results: There were 16 males and 15 females in this study, with an average age of 11 years (range, 1-52 years). The locations of the disease included 13 cases in the limbs (8 cases in the upper limbs, 5 cases in the lower limbs), 9 cases in the trunks, and 9 cases in the foot (toes or subungual area). Twenty-seven of the cases were solitary and 4 were multifocal. The lesions were characterized by blue-purple papules or plaques on the skin surface, which grew slowly. The lumps became larger and appeared to be conspicuous. Microscopically, GVM mainly involved the dermis and subcutaneous tissue, with an overall ill-defined border. There were scattered or clustered irregular dilated vein-like lumens, with thin walls and various sizes. A single or multiple layers of relatively uniform cubic/glomus cells were present at the abnormal wall, with scattered small nests of the glomus cells. The endothelial cells in the wall of abnormal lumen were flat or absent. Immunohistochemistry showed that glomus cells strongly expressed SMA, h-caldesmon, and collagen IV. Malformed vascular endothelial cells expressed CD31, CD34 and ERG. No postoperative recurrence was found in the 12 cases. Conclusions: GVM is an uncommon type of simple venous malformation in the superficial soft tissue and different from the classical glomus tumor. Morphologically, one or more layers of glomus cells grow around the dilated venous malformation-like lumen, which can be combined with common venous malformations.

[Discussion on how to optimize active surveillance for low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma in China].

Active surveillance, as a first-line treatment strategy for low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma, has been recommended by guidelines worldwide. However, active surveillance has not been widely accepted by doctors and patients in China. In view of the huge challenges faced by active surveillance, doctors should improve their understanding of the "low risk" of papillary thyroid micropapillary cancer, identify some intermediate or high-risk cases, be familiar with the criteria and methods of diagnosis for disease progression, and timely turn patients with disease progression into more active treatment strategies. By analyzing the long-term cost-effectiveness of active surveillance, it is clear that medical expense is only one cost form of medical activities, and the health cost (thyroid removal and surgical complications) paid by patients due to"over-diagnosis and over-treatment" is the most important. Moreover, the weakening of the patients' social function caused by surgical procedures is a more hidden and far-reaching cost. The formulation of health economic policies (including medical insurance) should promote the adjustment of diagnosis and treatment behavior to the direction which is conducive to the long-term life and treatment of patients, improving the overall health level of society and reducing the overall cost. At the same time, doctors should stimulate the subjective initiative of patients, help them fully understand the impact of various treatment methods on their psychological and physical status, support patients psychologically, and strengthen their confidence in implementing active surveillance. By strengthening multi-disciplinary treatment team and system support, doctors can achieve risk stratification of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma, accurate judgment of disease progress, timely counseling for psychological problems, and long-term adherence to active surveillance. Improving the treatment level of advanced thyroid cancer is the key point of improve the prognosis. It is important to promote the development of active surveillance for low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma. In the future, it is necessary to carry out multi-center prospective research and accumulate research evidence for promoting the standardization process of active surveillance. Standardized active surveillance will certainly benefit specific papillary thyroid microcarcinoma patients.

[Comparison of clinical effects of endoscopic thyroidectomy using the modified gasless transsubclavian approach and traditional open surgery for cN0 unilateral papillary thyroid carcinoma].

Objective: To compare the clinical effects of endoscopic thyroidectomy using a modified gasless transsubclavian approach and the traditional neck approach for unilateral papillary thyroid carcinoma (cN0). Methods: The clinical data of 135 patients with cN0 papillary thyroid carcinoma who underwent unilateral thyroidectomy in the Department of Thyroid Surgery, the First Hospital of Jilin University from October 2020 to November 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 37 males and 98 females, aging (43.2±8.8) years (range: 21 to 59 years). There were 51 cases using the modified gasless transsubclavian approach (TS group) and 84 cases using the traditional neck approach (TN group). Comparative analyses were performed between the operative results of the 2 groups by t-test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, and χ2 test. Results: All endoscopic operations were successfully completed without conversion to the traditional neck approach. Compared to the TN group, the TS group had a longer operation time (M(IQR)) (73.5 (22.5) minutes vs. 90.0 (30.0) minutes, Z=-5.831, P<0.01), more postoperative drainage (60 (25) ml vs. 95 (45) ml, Z=-6.275, P<0.01), higher hospitalization costs (22 687 (3 488) yuan vs. 26 652 (2 431) yuan, Z=-6.944, P<0.01), and a higher rate of parathyroid autotransplantation (15.5% (13/84) vs. 60.8% (31/51), χ2=29.651, P<0.01). There was no significant difference in the total exposure rate of the central compartment, postoperative hospitalization time, the number of dissected lymph nodes, the number of metastatic lymph nodes, C-reactive protein ratio before and after operation, and preoperative and postoperative parathyroid hormone (all P>0.05). Conclusion: Endoscopic thyroidectomy using the modified gasless transsubclavian approach is safe for cN0 papillary thyroid carcinoma, with longer operating time, more postoperative drainage, higher hospitalization costs, and more difficulty in preserving the inferior parathyroid gland in situ compared to traditional open surgery.

Evaluating the impact of metformin targets on the risk of osteoarthritis: a mendelian randomization study.

OBJECTIVE: To provide some causal evidence concerning the effects of metformin on osteoarthritis (OA) using two metformin targets, namely AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) as metformin proxies. METHODS: This is a 2-sample Mendelian randomization design. We constructed 44 AMPK-related variants genetically predicted in HbA1c (%) as instruments for AMPK and five variants strongly predicted GDF-15 as instruments for GDF-15. Summary-level data for three OA phenotypes, including OA at any site, knee OA, and hip OA were obtained from the largest genome-wide meta-analysis across the UK Biobank and arcOGEN with 455,211 Europeans. Main analyses were conducted using the inverse-variance weighted method. Weighted median and MR-Egger were conducted as sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness of our results. RESULTS: Genetically predicted AMPK were negatively associated with OA at any site (OR: 0.60; 95% CI: 0.43-0.83) and hip OA (OR: 0.42; 95% CI: 0.22-0.80), but with not knee OA (OR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.49-1.50). Higher levels of genetically predicted GDF-15 reduced the risk of hip OA (OR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.90-0.99), but not OA at any site (OR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.98-1.02) and knee OA (OR: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.98-1.07). CONCLUSION: This study indicates that AMPK and GDF-15 can be potential therapeutic targets for OA, especially for hip OA, and metformin would be repurposed for OA therapy which needs to be verified in randomized controlled trials.

Effects of weight loss on bone turnover, inflammatory cytokines, and adipokines in Chinese overweight and obese adults.

PURPOSE: Plenty of studies have examined the long term effect of weight loss on bone mineral density. This study aimed to explore the effects of 10% weight loss on early changes in bone metabolism as well as the possible influencing factors. METHODS: Overweight and obese outpatients (BMI > 24.0 kg/m2) were recruited from the nutrition clinic and followed a calorie-restricted, high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet program. Dietary intake, body composition, serum procollagen type I N-propeptide (PINP), ß-Crosslaps, PTH, 25(OH) VitD, a series of inflammatory cytokines and adipokines were measured for the participants before starting to lose weight and after 10% weight loss (NCT04207879). RESULTS: A total of 75 participants were enrolled and 37 participants achieved a weight loss of at least 10%. It was found that PINP decreased (p = 0.000) and the ß-Crosslaps increased (p = 0.035) in female participants. Decreases in PTH (p = 0.001), serum IL-2 (p = 0.013), leptin (p = 0.001) and increases in 25(OH) VitD (p = 0.001), serum ghrelin (p = 0.033) were found in 37 participants after 10% of their weight had been lost. Change in PINP was detected to be significantly associated with change in lean body mass (r = 0.418, p = 0.012) and change in serum ghrelin(r = - 0.374, p = 0.023). CONCLUSIONS: Bone formation was suppressed and bone absorption was increased in female subjects after a 10% weight loss. Bone turnover was found to be associated with lean body mass and affected by the circulating ghrelin level.

Development of MacroPics: A novel food picture set to dissociate the effects of carbohydrate and fat on eating behaviors.

Emerging evidence suggests that fat and carbohydrate interact to potentiate the reward value of food (DiFeliceantonio et al., 2018). The primary goal of the current study was to develop a novel picture set to facilitate research into the effects of macronutrient composition on food choice and eating behavior. Toward this aim, we developed "MacroPics." In Experiment 1, we photographed 120-kcal portions of 60 snack foods falling into one of the three macronutrient categories: (1) mostly carbohydrate, (2) mostly fat, or (3) a combination of fat and carbohydrate. Sixty-one participants rated the images for liking, familiarity, frequency of consumption, healthiness, estimated energy content (in kcal), and expected satiation. A subset of these images consisting of 36 items was then selected in an iterative process to minimize differences in ratings between the macronutrient categories while simultaneously ensuring similar within-category variability on a number of food characteristics (e.g., energy density, portion size, retail price) and visual properties (e.g., color, complexity, visual area). In Experiment 2, an independent sample of 67 participants rated the pictures of the final 36-item MacroPics. Both experiments reveal similar participant ratings across categories for item liking, familiarity, frequency, healthiness, and estimated energy content. Protein content was higher in the fat compared to the carbohydrate and combination categories, leading to higher ratings of estimated satiety and energy density for fatty foods. Item and macronutrient category characteristics of the final MacroPics set are reported.

No evidence for an association between obesity and milkshake liking.

BACKGROUND: Prevailing models of obesity posit that hedonic signals override homeostatic mechanisms to promote overeating in today's food environment. What researchers mean by "hedonic" varies considerably, but most frequently refers to an aggregate of appetitive events including incentive salience, motivation, reinforcement, and perceived pleasantness. Here we define hedonic as orosensory pleasure experienced during eating and set out to test whether there is a relationship between adiposity and the perceived pleasure of a palatable and energy-dense milkshake. METHODS: The perceived liking, wanting, and intensity of two palatable and energy-dense milkshakes were assessed using the Labeled Hedonic Scale (1), visual analog scale (VAS), and Generalized Labeled Magnitude Scale (2) in 110 individuals ranging in body mass index (BMI) from 19.3 to 52.1 kg/m2. Waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, and percent body fat were also measured. Importantly, unlike the majority of prior studies, we attempted to standardize internal state by instructing participants to arrive to the laboratory neither hungry nor full and at least 1-h fasted. Data were analyzed with general linear and linear mixed effects models (GLMs). Hunger ratings were also examined prior to hedonic measurement and included as covariates in our analyses. RESULTS: We identified a significant association between ratings of hunger and milkshake liking and wanting. By contrast, we found no evidence for a relationship between any measure of adiposity and ratings of milkshake liking, wanting, or intensity. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that adiposity is not associated with the pleasure experienced during consumption of our energy-dense and palatable milkshakes. Our results provide further evidence against the hypothesis that heightened hedonic signals drive weight gain.

Fibrogrowth factor-2 protects against acute lung injury by activating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Acute lung injury (ALI)/Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a very dangerous disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of fibrogrowth factor-2 (FGF-2) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lung injury and its mechanisms. C57/BL6 mice were used in the study and LPS was used to construct the ALI/ARDS model. In addition, human normal lung epithelial cell line BEAS-2B was cultured to investigate the effect of FGF-2 on the lung and its mechanism of action in vitro. FGF-2 significantly reduced wet/dry weight ratio of mice, the number of cells and inflammatory factors in BALF, and MPO activity in lung tissue. In addition, FGF-2 also reduced the level of oxidative stress in mouse lung tissue. In vitro, FGF-2 effectively reduced LPS-induced inflammatory and apoptotic levels of BEAS-2B cells and increased the activity of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. However, LY294002, an inhibitor of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, alleviated the protective effect of FGF-2 on lung tissue. Therefore, FGF-2 attenuated inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis in alveolar epithelial cells by activating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Death-inducer obliterator 1 (DIDO1) silencing suppresses growth of bladder cancer cells through decreasing SAPK/JNK signaling cascades.

Death inducer obliterator (DIDO) is involved in apoptosis and embryonic stem cell self-renewal. Here, we investigate the effect of DIDO1 on bladder cancer cells and clarify the underlying molecular mechanism. Bladder cancer tissues and cell lines (T24, ScaBER, 5637), as well as normal bladder epithelial cells (SV-HUC-1), were used to measure the levels of DIDO1 mRNA and protein by qRT-PCR and western blot, respectively. The results indicated that DIDO1 was highly expressed in bladder cancer tissues and cell lines. And the expression of DIDO1 in T24 and 5637 cells was higher than that in ScaBER and SV-HUC-1 cells. The expression of DIDO1 was knocked down in T24 and 5637 cells by infection with shDIDO1-1 and shDIDO1-2 lentivirus. The growth of T24 and 5637 cells was monitored using Celigo, MTT assays, and colony formation assay. Apoptosis was examined by flow cytometric analysis. The effect of DIDO1 knockdown on tumorigenesis of T24 xenograft tumors was determined in nude mice. Reduction of DIDO1 mRNA resulted in reduced proliferation, decreased cell colony formation, increased apoptosis in vitro, and inhibited tumorigenesis in vivo. Furthermore, we identified signaling molecules involved in stress and apoptosis using the PathScan Antibody Array Kit and western blot. The depletion of DIDO1 significantly decreased the levels of phosphorylated SAPK/JNK, and Chk1/2, as well as the upregulating cleaved Caspase-7 expression. These results indicated that the potential mechanism of DIDO1 action might involve SAPK/JNK signaling cascades.

[Study of masking ability of laminate veneers for discolored teeth].

OBJECTIVE: To select the most effective method among different masking treatments, such as different thickness and transparence, tissue surface's opaque coating, and opaque resin cement to restore discolored teeth esthetically by porcelain veneer. METHODS: Four extracted intact maxillary central incisors were prepared for porcelain veneer restoration and each three heat pressed porcelain veneers from three thicknesses (0.8 mm, 1.0 mm, 1.2 mm) and two transparency(high transparence, HT and low transparence, LT))in Vita shade A2 were fabricated for each tooth, in total of 72 pieces. The surfaces of three prepared teeth were then painted to mimic situations of severe dental fluorosis, severe tetracycline teeth, and necrotic teeth. Each of the veneers was temporarily cemented to the corresponding tooth surface using try-in cements with three different colors (transparent, opaque, and yellow), then used the shade guide (3D master) and electronic colorimeter (easy shade) to record the shade of each porcelain veneer through hue, lightness, and chroma reading. After that, high-transparence porcelain veneers in thickness of 0.8 mm was fused with a layer of opaque porcelain in tissue surface, and were shade matched again after cementation. Statistic treatments were performed to analyze the difference in each masking method. RESULTS: For each 0.2 mm increase in the veneer thickness of porcelain, the average lightness was reduced by 1 unit, while the chroma was not changed which was independent of the type of the resin cements. When the thickness of the porcelain veneer was decreased to 0.8 mm, the opacity effect was not remarkable even if a low-transparence porcelain veneer was used. Transparent and yellow resin cements had poor opaque performance, while opaque resin cement could reduce the lightness by 2 units and the chroma was also reduced. The opaque layer of the tissue surface could be applied uniformly, and the lightness and chroma could be reduced to Vita 2M1 to 2M1.5 levels regardless of the color of resin cements, which suggested a stable opacity effect for different discolored teeth in this study. CONCLUSION: For porcelain veneer restoration of discolored teeth, thickened veneers are the most effective means to display a natural transmittance and color. Tissue surface's opacity coatings and opaque resin cements can also be used to reduce grayscale and increase lightness.

[Clinical performance of rensin-bonded composite strip crowns in primary incisors].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical success of the treatment of maxillary anterior primary incisors caries with composite resin strip crowns. METHODS: Children who presented with severe early childhood caries and were treated comprehensive caries under general anesthesia from January to December 2016 were enrolled in this study. Composite crowns using preformed celluloid crown (3M ESPE, USA) called as "strip crown technique" were applied to treat vital primary incisors with two or multiple surface cavities. Selective etchings of enamel, Universal Bond adhesive and 3M Z350 resin were used to make strip crowns. The patients returned at the end of 6, 12 and 18 months and received clinical and radiologic examinations. Dentists who did not attend the treatment evaluated the strip crowns clinically by modified United States Public Health Service (USPHS) criteria. RESULTS: Four hundred eighteen restorations, placed in 127 children aged 1.17-5.75 years (average of 3.22), were evaluated. The overall retention rate was 97.8% at the end of 6 months, 93.6% at 12 months and 89.2% at 18 months. After 18 months, 28 restorations (6.7%) were totally lost and 4.1% were rated as having lost some resin material. Only four teeth (1.0%) had secondary caries at the end of 18 months and 1.4% teeth had pulpal pathology requiring root canal treatment. Composite crowns had good performance in contour and adjacent contact and improved aesthetics significantly. Twenty-nine teeth (6.9%) showed mild gingivitis and 93.1% showed healthy gingival. 11.2% of the teeth demonstrated color change because plaque accumulation and the polish could remove the stains. The complete loss of strip crowns was mainly related to eating bites. CONCLUSION: Strip crowns performed well for restoring primary incisors with large or multisurface caries for periods of over 18 months. The strip crowns can be a durable and aesthetic restoration for vital carious primary incisors with adequate tooth structure after caries removal. Functional movement is an important cause of complete loss. Because of the high technical sensitivity and its requirement of the cooperation of children, strip crowns are more suitable for older and cooperative children as well as children receiving dental treatment under sedation or general anesthesia.

Time-resolved imaging of bound and dissociating nuclear wave packets in strong-field ionized iodomethane.

We report the results of a time-resolved coincident ion momentum imaging experiment probing nuclear wave packet dynamics in the strong-field ionization and dissociation of iodomethane (CH3I), a prototypical polyatomic system for photochemistry and ultrafast laser science. By measuring yields, kinetic energies, and angular distributions of CH3+ + I+ and CH3+ + I++ ion pairs as a function of the delay between two 25 fs, 790 nm pump and probe pulses, we map both, bound and dissociating nuclear wave packets in intermediate cationic states, thereby tracking different ionization and dissociation pathways. In both channels, we find oscillatory features with a 130 fs periodicity resulting from vibrational motion (C-I symmetric stretch mode) in the first electronically excited state of CH3I+. This vibrational wave packet dephases within 1 ps, in good agreement with a simple wave packet propagation model. Our results indicate that the first excited cationic state plays a key role in the dissociative ionization of CH3I and that it represents an important intermediate in the sequential double and multiple ionization at moderate intensities.

Phosphorylation of nucleopolyhedrovirus 39K is essential for the regulation of viral gene transcription in silkworm cells.

39K protein was proven to be the most notable hyperphosphorylated protein of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV), since its amino acid 136 has the highest phosphorylation ratio (16.683) among all of BmNPV phosphorylated proteins (Shobahah et al., 2017). Therefore, we inserted positive (mimicking phosphorylation) and negative (mimicking dephosphorylation) mutants of the highest phosphorylated site of 39K and the wild type 39k into the 39k-ko-Bacmid using the Bac-to-Bac system. These three kinds of recombinant Bacmids along with wild type and knocked-out Bacmid were then transfected into the Bombyx mori cells (BmN) and further investigated by qPCR analysis. The results of the qPCR showed that 39K phosphorylation had no significant effect on viral genome replication, unlike the positive mutation that reduced the viral gene transcription drastically compared to the wild type. Thus, phosphorylation of BmNPV 39K protein does not appear to be the essential mechanism for viral genome replication, even though it has an important role in the viral gene transcription. Keywords: BmNPV; 39K; phosphorylation; virus replication; virus transcription.

[A comparison of clinical characteristics between 2 pedigrees of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A with different RET mutations].

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A (MEN2A) is a hereditary syndrome. Here, two different RET proto-oncogen mutation were identified from family members of two MEN2A pedigrees by genetic screening. One RET mutations were found at codons 1893 and 1895 in exon 11 (1893-1895delCGA) from pedigree 1, which is a novel mutation, the other occurs at codon 634 (Cys634Arg) in exon 11 from pedigree 2. However, the clinical characteristics were similar in the patients of the two pedigrees. All the patients were in middle-age at onset. Most of them were firstly diagnosed with bilateral adrenal pheochromocytoma with different degrees of thyroid abnormalities (elevated serum calcitonin with or without thyroid mass, or had been diagnosed with medullary thyroid carcinoma). Some family members were with elevated serum parathyroid hormone but with no other evidences for hyperparathyroidism.