The effects of gingival blood flow on pulpal blood flow detection using ultrasound Doppler flowmetry: animal study.

Objectives: This study evaluated the effect of adjacent gingival blood flow on detection of pulpal blood flow (PBF) using ultrasound Doppler flowmetry (UDF) through animal study. Materials and Methods: The study included 36 right and left maxillary the third incisors and canines in 9 experimental dogs. The study included 2 main steps: In the first step, the pulse sound level (PSL) was recorded on the cervical part of each tooth without flap elevation (Group 1), with flap elevation (Group 2), and after it was repositioned in place (Group 3). In the second step, the PSL was recorded on the cervical part of each tooth (Group 4), after pulpotomy (Group 5), after partial pulp extirpation (Group 6), after complete extirpation (Group 7), and after canal filling (Group 8). In Groups 5-8, the study was performed with and without flap elevation in the left and right teeth, respectively. The PSL was graded as follows: 0, inaudible; 1, heard faintly; and 2, heard well. The difference between each group was analyzed using Friedman's test with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests (α = 0.05). Results: In step 1, the PSL results were Group 1 > 2 and 3. In step 2, there was no significant difference between the groups when the flap was not elevated, while PSL results were Group 4 > 5 ≥ 6 and 7 ≥ 8 when the flap was elevated. Conclusions: PBF is affected by gingival blood flow when measured with UDF. UDF measurements require isolation of gingiva from the tooth.

Effect of thickness on the translucency of resin-based composites and glass-ceramics.

This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of thickness (1, 2, 3, and 4 mm) on the translucency of resin-based composites (RBCs) and glass-ceramics, and compare the influence of the thickness of those materials on the translucency parameter (TP) value. The materials were divided into two groups, eight RBCs in Group 1 and five glass-ceramics in Group 2 and TP, ΔL*, Δa*, and Δb* were compared. Statistically significant differences were present in the 2, 3, and 4 mm in the TP, in the 2 and 4 mm in ΔL*, and in all thicknesses in Δa* and Δb* betweent the two groups. The TP of RBCs and glass-ceramics decreased as thickness increased, especially from 1 mm to 2 mm. The TP values of the RBCs were more significantly decreased as the thickness of the material increased from 2 mm to 4 mm than those of the glass-ceramics.

Spatial epitranscriptomics reveals A-to-I editome specific to cancer stem cell microniches.

Epitranscriptomic features, such as single-base RNA editing, are sources of transcript diversity in cancer, but little is understood in terms of their spatial context in the tumour microenvironment. Here, we introduce spatial-histopathological examination-linked epitranscriptomics converged to transcriptomics with sequencing (Select-seq), which isolates regions of interest from immunofluorescence-stained tissue and obtains transcriptomic and epitranscriptomic data. With Select-seq, we analyse the cancer stem cell-like microniches in relation to the tumour microenvironment of triple-negative breast cancer patients. We identify alternative splice variants, perform complementarity-determining region analysis of infiltrating T cells and B cells, and assess adenosine-to-inosine base editing in tumour tissue sections. Especially, in triple-negative breast cancer microniches, adenosine-to-inosine editome specific to different microniche groups is identified.

Phosphorescent Zinc Probe for Reversible Turn-On Detection with Bathochromically Shifted Emission.

Phosphorescent molecules are attractive complements to fluorescent compounds for bioimaging. Time-gated acquisition of the long-lived phosphorescence signals provides an effective means to eliminate unwanted background noises due to short-lived autofluorescence. We have previously investigated the molecular principles governing modulation of photoinduced electron transfer in phosphorescence zinc probes that were based on biscyclometalated Ir(III) complexes (Woo, H. et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 4771-4787). The studies established that phosphorescence turn-on responses would be attainable for Ir(III) complexes with high triplet-state energies. This sets an upper limit to an emission wavelength, restricting the development of red- or near-IR-phosphorescence turn-on probes. To address this challenge, we designed and synthesized a new phosphorescent probe having an electron-deficient 2-(2-pyridyl)pyrazine diimine ligand tethering a di(2-picolyl)amine (DPA) zinc receptor. This ligand control led to red phosphorescence emission (λ(ems) = 596 nm), with an excited-state reduction potential (E*(red)) retained as high as 1.44 V versus standard calomel electrode (SCE). The E*(red) value was more positive than the ground-state oxidation potential of DPA (1.05 V vs SCE), permitting an occurrence of photoinduced electron transfer at a rate of 2 × 10(7) s(-1). Zinc binding at DPA abolished the electron transfer to produce phosphorescence turn-on signaling. The probe was capable of detecting zinc ions selectively over other competing biological metal ions in aqueous buffer solutions (pH 7.4, 20 mM piperazine-N,N'-bis(2-ethanesulfonic aid)) with the zinc dissociation constant of 109 pM. Finally, bioimaging utility of the probe has been successfully demonstrated by visualizing exogenously supplied zinc ions in live HeLa cells. The research described in this paper demonstrates that judicious ligand control enables retention of turn-on responses in the low-energy phosphorescence region.