World Workshop on Oral Medicine VII: Functional pathways involving differentially expressed lncRNAs in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) modulate gene expression at the epigenetic, transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels and are involved in tumorigenesis. They can form complex secondary and tertiary structures and have been shown to act as precursors, enhancers, reservoirs and decoys in the complex endogenous RNA network. They were first reported in relation to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in 2013. Here, we summarise the functional roles and pathways of the most commonly studied lncRNAs in OSCC. Existing research demonstrates the involvement of lncRNA within pivotal pathways leading to the development and spread of OSCC, including interactions with key cancer-associated microRNAs such as miR-21. The number of studies on lncRNA and OSCC remains limited in this new field. As evidence grows, the tissue-specific expression patterns of lncRNAs should further advance our understanding of the altered regulatory networks in OSCC and possibly reveal new biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

World Workshop on Oral Medicine VII: Clinical evidence of differential expression of lncRNAs in oral squamous cell carcinoma: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have important roles in regulating gene expression pertaining to cell proliferation, survival, migration and genomic stability. Dysregulated expression of lncRNAs is implicated in cancer initiation, progression and metastasis. OBJECTIVES: To explore, map and summarize the extent of evidence from clinical studies investigating the differential expression of lncRNAs in oral/tongue squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS: PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were used as search engines. Clinical, full-length, English language studies were included. PRISMA-ScR protocol was used to evaluate and present results. The present scoping review summarizes relationships of the differential expression of lncRNAs with the presence of tumour and with clinicopathological features including survival. RESULTS: Almost half of the investigated transcripts have been explored in more than one study, yet not always with consistent results. The collected data were also compared to the limited studies investigating oral epithelial dysplasia. Data are not easily comparable, first because of different methods used to define what differential expression is, and second because only a limited number of studies performed multivariate analyses to identify clinicopathological features associated with the differentially expressed lncRNAs. CONCLUSIONS: Standard methods and more appropriate data analyses are needed in order to achieve reliable results from future studies.

Completing a Charge Transport Chain for Artificial Photosynthesis.

A ruthenium polypyridyl chromophore with electronically isolated triarylamine substituents has been synthesized that models the role of tyrosine in the electron transport chain in photosystem II. When bound to the surface of a TiO2 electrode, electron injection from a Ru(II) Metal-to-Ligand Charge Transfer (MLCT) excited state occurs from the complex to the electrode to give Ru(III). Subsequent rapid electron transfer from the pendant triarylamine to Ru(III) occurs with an observed rate constant of ∼1010 s-1, which is limited by the rate of electron injection into the semiconductor. Transfer of the oxidative equivalent away from the semiconductor surface results in dramatically reduced rates of back electron transfer, and a long-lived (τ = ∼165 µs) triarylamine radical cation that has been used to oxidize hydroquinone to quinone in solution.

Elevating dental training to prioritize prevention efforts for reducing HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer incidence.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are commonly recognized in the United States with associations to cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and oropharynx; the incidence of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) in the United States is on the rise.1 The aims of this scoping review were to examine the curricula of pre-doctoral dental students with respect to dental students: (1) awareness of the connection between OPC and HPV; (2) readiness to screen for OPC; and (3) ability to deliver patient education about OPC and its relation to HPV. We also codified published educational materials related to OPC and HPV for pre-doctoral dental students. Literature searches were performed in PubMed, Scopus, the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (EBSCO), and Dissertation Abstracts-ProQuest. After screening titles and abstracts, we selected 36 articles for full text review. Only articles reporting pre-doctoral dental training in HPV and OPC were included in the review, which resulted in 15 articles being excluded from the study. Only two studies in this review specifically discussed a curriculum that would involve educating dental students on HPV-related OPC. This scoping review also found that the majority of existing training opportunities for OPC and HPV are through post-graduate continuing education. To address these deficiencies, competencies regarding the HPV-OPC connection should be included within pre-doctoral dental training programs. As such, we identified four key strategies for advancing HPV-OPC content within pre-doctoral dental training curricula.

It Is Good to Be Flexible: Energy Transport Facilitated by Conformational Fluctuations in Light-Harvesting Polymers.

We investigate the mechanism of energy transfer between ruthenium(II) (Ru) and osmium(II) (Os) polypyridyl complexes affixed to a polyfluorene backbone (PF-RuOs) using a combination of time-resolved emission spectroscopy and coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CG MD). Photoexcitation of a Ru chromophore initiates Dexter-style energy hopping along isoenergetic complexes followed by sensitization of a lower-energy Os trap. While we can determine the total energy transfer rate within an ensemble of solvated PF-RuOs from time-dependent Os* emission spectra, heterogeneity of the system and inherent polymer flexibility give rise to highly multiexponential kinetics. We developed a three-part computational kinetic model to supplement our spectroscopic results: (1) CG MD model of PF-RuOs that simulates molecular motions out to 700 ns, (2) energy transfer kinetic simulations in CG MD PF-RuOs that produce time-resolved Ru and Os excited-state populations, and (3) computational experiments that interrogate the mechanisms by which motion aids energy transfer. Good agreement between simulated and experimental emission transients reveals that our kinetic model accurately simulates the molecular motion of PF-RuOs during energy transfer. Simulated results indicate that pendant flexibility allows 81% of the excited state to sensitize an Os trap compared to a 48% occupation when we treat pendants statically. Our computational experiments show how static pendants are only able to engage in local energy transfer. The excited state equilibrates across a domain of complexes proximal to the initial excitation and becomes trapped within that unique, frozen locality. Side-chain flexibility enables pendants to swing in and out of the original domain spreading the excited state out to ±30 pendant complexes away from the initial excitation.

The non-ossifying fibroma: a case report and review of the literature.

The non-ossifying fibroma (NOF) is a benign, non-neoplastic lesion most commonly seen in the metaphyses of the long bones in children. While rare, the NOF has been reported in the mandible. The NOF in the extra-gnathic skeleton has a characteristic radiographic appearance, is typically asymptomatic and has a variable histologic make-up. Correlation of the radiographic appearance, clinical presentation and histopathology allows for differentiation of the NOF from odontogenic and non-odontogenic cysts and tumors. We report a new case of this interesting entity and review the radiographic, clinical and histologic features of the gnathic NOF reported in the literature. A thorough search of the English language literature returned a total of 19 cases of NOF involving the gnathic bones.