Remnant cholesterol and mild cognitive impairment: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: Emerging evidence suggests that elevated remnant cholesterol (RC) correlates with several health conditions. To explore the association of plasma RC with MCI incidence and the relationship between plasma RC and different domains of cognition in MCI patients. Methods: Thirty-six MCI patients and 38 cognitively healthy controls (HC) were enrolled in the present cross-sectional study. Using total cholesterol (TC) minus high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) minus low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) as the formula for calculating fasting RC. Cognition was assessed using the Chinese version of the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA), Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), Trail Making Test (TMT), and Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCF). Results: Compared to healthy controls, MCI patients had a higher level of RC, the median difference in RC levels between these two groups was 8.13 mg/dl (95.0%CI: 0.97-16.1). Concurrently, plasma RC level was positively associated with MCI risk (OR = 1.05, 95%CI: 1.01-1.10). Notably, elevated RC level was correlated with impaired cognition in MCI patients, such as DSST (pr = -0.45, p = 0.008), ROCF- Long Delayed Recall (pr = -0.45, p = 0.008), AVLT-Immediate Recall (pr = -0.38, p = 0.028), and TMT-A (pr = 0.44, p = 0.009). Conversely, no significant correlation was found between RC and the AVLT-Long Delayed Recall test. Conclusion: This study found that plasma remnant cholesterol was associated with MCI. Further large longitudinal studies are needed in the future to confirm the results and clarify the cause-and-effect relationship.

Effects of Arginine-calcium carbonate pretreatment on the remineralizing and bonding performance of phosphorylated dentin.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effects of Arginine-calcium carbonate (Arg-CaCO3) paste treatment of phosphorylated dentin on remineralizing and bonding performance during direct and indirect restorations under pulpal pressure. METHODS: Under simulated pulpal pressure, dentin of healthy third molars were abraded and acid etched for 15s, then randomly divided into 4 groups: negative control group; Arg-CaCO3 group (1min); 2.5% Sodium trimetaphosphate (STMP) group (3min); S-A group, 2.5% STMP + Arg-CaCO3. After 24h, remineralization and dentin tubular occlusion were assessed by Attenuated total reflection fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), Micro-Raman spectroscopy, Vickers hardness, Field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and Energy X-ray dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The liquid environment was the simulated body fluid (SBF) permeated from dentin tubules due to pulpal pressure. Stick specimens prepared with self-etch dentin adhesive were tested for microtensile bond strength (µTBS) and interfacial silver nanoleakage on both immediate direct restoration and indirect restoration with a 7-day temporary period. Data were analyzed by the Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney test, Welch ANOVA or one-way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc test (p < 0.05). RESULTS: The pretreatment of 2.5% STMP with Arg-CaCO3 significantly increased relative mineral content by ATR-FTIR, Raman and FESEM-EDS, simultaneously enhancing dentin tubular occlusion (%) and mechanical property to the most considerable extent. Furthermore, the pretreatment significantly promoted the µTBS of indirect restoration and reduced nanoleakage after 7 days. CONCLUSIONS: The application of Arg-CaCO3 paste on phosphorylated dentin could improve intra- and extra-tubular mineralization and the stability of adhesion interface. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Without exceeding the amount of conventional tooth preparation, combining 2.5% STMP with Arg-CaCO3 paste before the self-etch bonding system might be a promising clinical strategy to relieve dentin hypersensitivity and strengthen bonding performance efficiently and conveniently.

Triclosan to Improve the Antimicrobial Performance of Universal Adhesives.

To solve the proble ms of composite restoration failure caused by secondary caries, this study reports a light curable antibacterial triclosan derivative (TCS-IH), which was synthesized and added to the existing commercial universal adhesive to achieve a long-term antibacterial effect The effect of mixing different mass percentages of TCS-IH on the bond strength of dentin was also investigated.TCS-IH was synthesized by solution polymerization and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance hydrogen spectroscopy (1H NMR) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Two commercial universal adhesives, Single Bond Universal and All Bond Universal, were selected and used as the control group, and universal adhesives with different mass percentages (1 wt%, 3 wt%, 5 wt% and 7 wt%) of TCS-IH were used as the experimental group. The antibacterial properties were analysed by means of colony count experiments, biofilm formation detection, plotting of growth curves, biofilm metabolic activity detection, insoluble extracellular polysaccharide measurements and observations by confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effect of adhesives on biofilm formation, metabolism, extracellular matrix production, distribution of live and dead bacteria, and bacterial morphology of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) was analysed. The mechanical properties were evaluated by the degree of conversion and microtensile bonding strength under different conditions. Its biosafety was tested. We found that the addition of TCS-IH significantly improved the antibacterial performance of the universal adhesive, with the 5 wt% and 7 wt% groups showing the best antibacterial effect and effectively inhibiting the formation of biofilm. In addition, the adhesive strength test results showed that there was no statistical difference (p < 0.05) in the microtensile bond strength measured under various factors in all experimental groups except for the 7 wt% group in the self-etch bonding mode, and all of them had good biosafety. In summary, the 5 wt% group of antibacterial monomer TCS-IH was selected as the optimum addition to the universal adhesive to ensure the antimicrobial properties of the universal adhesive and the stability and durability of the adhesive interface. This study provides a reference for the clinical application of adhesives with antimicrobial activity to improve the stability and durability of adhesive restorations.

Biomimetic Mineralized Hydrophilic Polyurethane Primers for Inducing Dentin Tubule Fillings.

This experiment aimed to synthesize a biomimetic mineralized hydrophilic polyurethane dentin primer containing DDDEEKC peptide (DDDEEKC-PU) to fill dentin tubules and induce mineralization. The degree of conversion (DC) was tested. Dentin samples were acid-etched and treated with DDDEEKC-PU. They were immersed in stimulated human fluid (SBF) for 7, 14 and 28 days. Dentin permeability, X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and Vickers hardness were measured. After 28 days, regenerated minerals were deposited on resin tags which were confirmed to be hydroxyapatite (HAp). The minerals reduced the dentin permeability and improved the microhardness. DDDEEKC-PU was able to fill dental tubules immediately and induce mineralization simultaneously.