Long-term investigation of minimally invasive alcohol-based therapy as the treatment of odontogenic keratocyst:A retrospective cohort study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of alcohol-based therapy for patients with large odontogenic keratocysts (OKCs). The study was implemented as a retrospective, single-center study. Patients treated with ethanol-based therapy for odontogenic keratocyst were retrospectively evaluated for baseline and postoperative data. The pre- and postoperative clinical situation and the extent of radiographic shrinkage were compared. The event is defined as the achievement of >50% reduction in cyst volume. The cyst reduction rate calculated on panoramic radiographs ranged from 7.4% to 99.9% (mean [standard deviation] 55.3% [27.9%]) and was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Specifically, it has been found that, radiographically, 47.6% of patients achieved >50% reduction in cyst volume within 12 months. The continuous cortical bone was rebuilt, and the cyst cavity was filled with regenerated trabecular bone. The 22 included patients presented with nonclinical problems, had no need for further intervention, and exhibited persistent impaction of the teeth. The results of this study demonstrated that ethanol-based therapy triggered marked radiographic reductions of large OKC, indicating that using this technique is efficient.

Pterostilbene, an active constituent of blueberries, enhances innate immune activation and restricts enterovirus D68 infection.

Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) is a globally re-emerging respiratory pathogen implicated in outbreaks of severe respiratory illnesses and associated with acute flaccid myelitis. However, effective vaccines or treatments for EV-D68 infections remain scarce. We demonstrated that the active constituent of blueberries, pterostilbene (Pte), and its major metabolite, pinostilbene (Pin), facilitated innate immune responses in EV-D68-infected human respiratory cells. Pte and Pin treatment clearly relieved EV-D68-triggered cytopathic effects. Importantly, both Pte and Pin disrupted viral RNA replication (EC50 rank from 1.336 to 4.997 µM) and infectious virion production in a dose-dependent manner, without cytotoxicity at virucidal concentrations. Pte- or Pin-treated respiratory cells did not show any influences on EV-D68 entry but showed substantially decreased viral RNA replication and protein synthesis. Finally, we showed that Pte and Pin broadly suppressed the replication capacity of circulating EV-D68 strains isolated from recent pandemics. In summary, our results suggest that Pte and its derivative, Pin, enhance host immune recognition of EV-D68 and suppress EV-D68 replication, which represents a promising strategy for antiviral drug development.

Enterovirus Infection Restricts Long Interspersed Element 1 Retrotransposition.

Long interspersed element 1 (LINE-1 or L1) is the only active autonomous retrotransposon in the human genome that can serve as an endogenous upstream activator of cytoplasmic nucleic acid sensing pathways to elicit an antiviral immune response. In this study, we investigated the influence of enteroviral infection on L1 mobility. The results showed that infection with different enteroviruses, both EV-D68 and EV-A71, blocked L1 transposition. We screened diverse viral accessory proteins for L1 activity and identified EV-D68 2A, 3A, 3C, and EV-A71 ORF2p proteins as viral L1 inhibitors. EV-D68 2A suppressed L1 mobility by expression suppression of L1 proteins. Viral proteins 3A and 3C restricted ORF2p-mediated L1 reverse transcription in isolated L1 ribonucleoproteins. The newly identified enteroviral protein ORF2p inhibited the expression of L1 ORF1p. Altogether, our findings shed light on the strict modulation of L1 retrotransposons during enterovirus replication.

A case of Kawasaki disease presenting with parotitis: A case report and literature review.

RATIONALE: Kawasaki disease affects multiple organ systems. Its typical symptoms include fever, rash, oropharyngeal mucosal erythema, bilateral non-exudative conjunctivitis, cervical lymphadenopathy, extremity changes, and membranous desquamation of the fingers and toes. In severe cases, cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, neurological, and genitourinary complications may occur. In the early stage, Kawasaki disease is often manifested by uncommon symptoms, such as pyuria, meningitis, shock, and retropharyngeal or parapharyngeal abscess, which may delay diagnosis and treatment. We have reported a case of Kawasaki disease presenting with mumps and reviewed the clinical features of 14 other similar cases, in order to facilitate the early diagnosis and treatment of this unusual presentation of Kawasaki disease. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 10-year-old boy presented with persistent fever and parotitis and was diagnosed with suppurative parotitis. After antibiotic therapy, the parotid swelling reduced, but the fever persisted and other typical symptoms of Kawasaki disease appeared, including bilateral conjunctival hyperaemia, cervical lymphadenopathy, oropharyngeal mucosal erythema, membranous desquamation of the fingers, and left coronary artery widening. DIAGNOSES: The patient was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease 12 days after the onset of fever. INTERVENTIONS: The patient was administered γ-globulin 1.0 g/kg·d for 2 consecutive days and oral aspirin 5 mg/kg·d. OUTCOMES: The left coronary artery returned to a width of 3.8 mm after 1 month and of 3.1 mm after 3 months. The dose of aspirin was reduced to 3 mg/kg·d after 2 months and to 1.5 mg/kg·d after 3 months. LESSONS: Physicians should be aware that Kawasaki disease may develop after parotitis.

Redox State Detection of Fruits and Vegetables by a Simple Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Method.

In order to detect the redox states of fruits and vegetables simply, a SERS (surface-enhanced Raman scattering) method was developed based on a redox-sensitive probe and a pH-sensitive probe. The two probes were dropped onto the flesh of the fresh incision of fruits and vegetables, respectively. The SERS spectra of redox-sensitive probes were used to indicate their redox states, and the SERS spectra of pH-sensitive probes were used to indicate their pH values to discount the influence of pH on the redox states. The order of redox states (redox potential) of the detected fruits and vegetables is as follows: carrot < Green delicious apple < Xinjiang kuerle fragrant pear < Chinese royal pear < Fuji apple < crystal pear < Golden marshall apple < potato. Compared with traditional methods based on the detection of extracts, the developed method is simple without any pretreatments and consumption of additional chemicals, which would become a popular evaluation methodology of the redox states of fruits and vegetables during their growth and storage stages.

A SERS protocol as a potential tool to access 6-mercaptopurine release accelerated by glutathione-S-transferase.

The developed method for monitoring GST, an important drug metabolic enzyme, could greatly facilitate researches on relative biological fields. In this work, we have developed a SERS technique to monitor the absorbance behaviour of 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) and its glutathione-S-transferase (GST)-accelerated glutathione (GSH)-triggered release behaviour on the surface of gold nanoflowers (GNFs), using the GNFs as excellent SERS substrates. The SERS signal was used as an indicator of absorbance or release of 6-MP on the gold surface. We found that GST can accelerate GSH-triggered release behaviour of 6-MP from the gold surface. We speculated that GST catalyzes nucleophilic GSH to competitively bind with the electrophilic substance 6-MP. Experimental results have proved that the presented SERS protocol can be utilized as an effective tool for accessing the release of anticancer drugs.