Hsa_circ_0036872 has an important promotional effect in enhancing osteogenesis of dental pulp stem cells by regulating the miR-143-3p/IGF2 axis.

BACKGROUND: Circular RNAs (circRNAs), an extremely stable group of RNAs, possess a covalent closed-loop configuration. Numerous studies have highlighted the involvement of circRNAs in physiological processes and the development of various diseases. The present study aimed to investigate how circRNA regulates the osteogenic differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs). METHODS: We isolated hDPSCs from dental pulp and used next-generation sequencing analysis to determine the differentially-expressed circRNAs during osteogenic differentiation. Bioinformatics and dual-luciferase reporter assays identified the downstream targets. The role of circRNAs in osteogenic differentiation was further confirmed through the use of heterotopic bone models. RESULTS: We found that hsa_circ_0036872 expression was increased during osteogenic differentiation of hDPSCs, and downregulation of hsa_circ_0036872 inhibited their osteogenic differentiation. Dual-luciferase reporter assays showed that both miR-143-3p and IGF2 were downstream targets of hsa_circ_0036872. Overexpression of IGF2 or inhibition of miR-143-3p restored the osteogenic differentiation ability of hDPSCs after silencing hsa_circ_0036872. Overexpression of IGF2 reversed the inhibitory effect of miR-143-3p on osteogenic differentiation. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our results show that hsa_circ_0036872 exerts an important promotional effect in enhancing the osteogenesis of dental pulp stem cells by regulating the miR-143-3p/IGF2 axis. These data suggest a novel therapeutic strategy for osteoporosis treatment and periodontal tissue regeneration.

Performance of the London Atlas, Willems, and a new quick method for dental age estimation in Chinese Uyghur children.

BACKGROUND: Numerous dental age estimation methods have been devised and practised for decades. Among these, the London Atlas and Willems methods were two of the most frequently adopted, however dependent on atlantes or tables. A new estimation method less reliant on external measurement could be efficient and economical. AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the utility and applicability of the dental age estimation methods of London Atlas, Willems, and a new quick method that subtracts the number of developing teeth from the universal root mature age of 16 years in one of the lower quadrants reported in this work among Chinese Uyghur children. METHODS: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted. Subjects enrolled in the study were screened according to preset inclusion and exclusion criteria. The observer then obtained the dental age from the subjects' panoramic radiographs based on the estimated rules of the London Atlas, Willems, and a new quick method. Paired t-test was used to compare the accuracy and precision of the above three estimation methods. Independent-sample t-test was used to find the difference between gender. RESULTS: Totally, 831 radiographs entered the analyses of this study. Among the three methods evaluated, the Willems method, in particular, showed a distinct underestimated tendency. The mean error of the dental age predicted by the London Atlas, the Willems method, and the quick method was 0.06 ± 1.13 years, 0.44 ± 1.14 years, and 0.30 ± 0.63 years, respectively. The mean absolute error was 0.86 ± 0.75 years according to the London Atlas, 1.17 ± 0.89 years under the Willems method, and 0.70 ± 0.54 years under our quick method. No significant difference was found between the chronological age and dental age using the London Atlas, generally for the 10 to 15 years group (p > 0.05), but our quick method for the 15-16 years children (p < 0.05) and Willems method (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The London Atlas outperformed the Willems method with better accuracy and precision among 10-15 years Chinese Uyghur children. Our new quick method may be comparable to the London Atlas for children aged 10-14 and potentially become a more straightforward dental age prediction instrument.

The COVID-19 infection in children and its association with the immune system, prenatal stress, and neurological complications.

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)" caused by the "severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)" has caused huge losses to the world due to the unavailability of effective treatment options. It is now a serious threat to humans as it causes severe respiratory disease, neurological complications, and other associated problems. Although COVID-19 generally causes mild and recoverable symptoms in children, it can cause serious severe symptoms and death causing complications. Most importantly, SARS-CoV-2 can cause neurological complications in children, such as shortness of breath, myalgia, stroke, and encephalopathy. These problems are highly linked with cytokine storm and proinflammatory responses, which can alter the physiology of the blood-brain barrier and allow the virus to enter the brain. Despite the direct infection caused by the virus entry into the brain, these neurological complications can result from indirect means such as severe immune responses. This review discusses viral transmission, transport to the brain, the associated prenatal stress, and neurological and/or immunological complications in children.

Black soldier fly larvae effectively degrade lincomycin from pharmaceutical industry wastes.

Lincomycin fermentation residues (LFR) are the byproducts from the pharmaceutical industry, and contain high concentrations of antibiotics that could pose a threat to the environment. Here, we report that black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) and associated microbiota can effectively degrade LFR and accelerate the degradation of lincomycin in LFR. The degradation rate of lincomycin in LFR can reach 84.9% after 12 days of BSFL-mediated bioconversion, which is 3-fold greater than that accomplished with natural composting. The rapid degradation was partially carried out by the BSFL-associated microbiota, contributing 22.0% of the degradation in the final composts. Based on microbiome analysis, we found that the structure of microbiota from both BSFL guts and BSFL composts changed significantly during the bioconversion, and that several bacterial genera were correlated with lincomycin degradation. The roles of the associated microbiota in the degradation were further verified by the ability of two larval intestinal bacterial isolates and one bacterial isolate from BSFL composts to lincomycin degradation. The synergy between BSFL and the isolated strains resulted in a 2-fold increase in degradation compared to that achieved by microbial degradation alone. Furthermore, we determined that the degradation was correlated with the induction of several antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) associated with lincomycin degradation in larval guts and BSFL composts. Moreover, the environmental conditions in the BSFL composts were found to be conducive to the degradation. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate that the BSFL-mediated bioconversion of LFR could effectively reduce residual lincomycin and that the associated microbiota play crucial roles in the process.

A review of the berberine natural polysaccharide nanostructures as potential anticancer and antibacterial agents.

Despite the promising medicinal properties, berberine (BBR), due to its relatively poor solubility in plasma, low bio-stability and limited bioavailability is not used broadly in clinical stages. Due to these drawbacks, drug delivery systems (DDSs) based on nanoscale natural polysaccharides, are applied to address these concerns. Natural polymers are biodegradable, non-immunogenic, biocompatible, and non-toxic agents that are capable of trapping large amounts of hydrophobic compounds in relatively small volumes. The use of nanoscale natural polysaccharide improves the stability and pharmacokinetics of the small molecules and, consequently, increases the therapeutic effects and reduces the side effects of the small molecules. Therefore, this paper presents an overview of the different methods used for increasing the BBR solubility and bioavailability. Afterwards, the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic of BBR nanostructures were discussed followed by the introduction of natural polysaccharides of plant (cyclodextrines, glucomannan), the shells of crustaceans (chitosan), and the cell wall of brown marine algae (alginate)-based origins used to improve the dissolution rate of poorly soluble BBR and their anticancer and antibacterial properties. Finally, the anticancer and antibacterial mechanisms of free BBR and BBR nanostructures were surveyed. In conclusion, this review may pave the way for providing some useful data in the development of BBR-based platforms for clinical applications.

Correction: Characterization of a carboxyl methyltransferase in Fusarium graminearum provides insights into the biosynthesis of fusarin A.

Correction for 'Characterization of a carboxyl methyltransferase in Fusarium graminearum provides insights into the biosynthesis of fusarin A' by Qian Yang et al., Org. Biomol. Chem., 2021, DOI: 10.1039/d1ob01010g.

Characterization of a carboxyl methyltransferase in Fusarium graminearum provides insights into the biosynthesis of fusarin A.

Fusarium graminearum is a major fungal pathogen that causes a series of devastating crop diseases by producing a variety of mycotoxins. Fusarins are a class of polyketide-nonribosomal peptide hybrids. In Fusarium mycotoxins, a variable 2-pyrrolidone ring conjugates with a polyene chain substituted with a methyl ester moiety. The enzymatic route through which fusarin A, a major member of the fusarin family with a characteristic tetrohydrofuran-coupled pyrrolidone ring, is formed in F. graminearum has not been established. By targeting the final step in the biosynthesis of fusarin A, we report here an S-adenosyl methionine-dependent carboxyl methyltransferase responsible for the formation of the methyl ester moiety by in vivo gene inactivation, isolation and characterization of a key fusarin intermediate, and in vitro biochemical characterization. Related findings provide insights into the poorly understood biosynthetic pathway of fusarin A. Additionally, bioactivity assays demonstrate that the methyl ester is necessary for fusarin cytotoxicity.

Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Dental Care Providers on the Front Lines in China.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease that emerged at the end of 2019. On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified it as a pandemic. To examine the psychological effects on dental care providers in China in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak and factors closely associated with those effects, we conducted a cross-sectional study online with 4 widely used self-administered questionnaires: the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the General Anxiety Disorder-7, the Perceived Stress Scale-10, and the Acute Stress Disorder Scale. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the variables that potentially affected the mental health of emergency dental care providers. As a result, 969 out of 1035 questionnaires were included in the analysis, with 642 respondents reporting more than 1 symptom (66.3%). The symptom of perceived stress was reported by the largest proportion of the respondents (66.2%, n = 641), and anxiety the least (7.1%, n = 69). After adjustment for confounders, it was found that dental practitioners with preexisting physical health conditions were at higher risk of depression (odds ratio [OR], 1.972; 95% CI, 1.128-3.448; P = .017), and perceived stress (odds ratio, 2.397 95% CI, 1.283-4.478; P = .006). Additionally, feelings of fear, helplessness, or terror resulting from the possibility of contracting COVID-19 were significantly associated with the prevalence of all the 4 psychological symptoms observed (P < .05). In the present study, we found that dental care providers suffered psychological depression, stress, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during COVID-19, which indicates the importance of psychological support at times of major epidemic outbreaks. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry number: ChiCTR2000031538.

hsa_circ_0026827 Promotes Osteoblast Differentiation of Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells Through the Beclin1 and RUNX1 Signaling Pathways by Sponging miR-188-3p.

Previous studies have found that circular RNA (circRNA) hsa_circ_0026827 plays a role during osteoblast differentiation, but the mechanism is unclear. The aim of this study was to illuminate the role of hsa_circ_0026827 in human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) during osteoblast differentiation. The results show that hsa_circ_0026827 expression significantly increased during osteoblast differentiation, while knockdown of hsa_circ_0026827 suppressed DPSC-derived osteoblast differentiation. microRNA (miRNA) expression profile analysis showed that downregulation of hsa_circ_0026827 promoted miR-188-3p expression. miR-188-3p downregulation restored osteogenic differentiation of DPSCs after hsa_circ_0026827 was silenced. Luciferase reporter assays verified that miR-188-3p was the target of hsa_circ_0026827 and also demonstrated that Beclin1 and RUNX1 were miR-188-3p downstream targets. miR-188-3p overexpression suppressed DPSC osteogenic differentiation by targeting Beclin-1-mediated autophagy and runt-related transcription factor 1 (RUNX1). In vivo studies using a heterotopic bone model also found that hsa_circ_0026827 overexpression plays an important role in promoting heterotopic bone formation. In conclusion, our research indicates that hsa_circ_0026827 promotes osteoblast differentiation of DPSCs via Beclin1 and the RUNX1 signaling pathways by sponging miR-188-3p, which suggests novel therapeutics for osteoporosis treatment.

A novel zinc oxide eugenol modified by polyhexamethylene biguanide: Physical and antimicrobial properties.

This study was to prepare and screen a novel root canal sealing agent modified by polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) that was in accordance with the ISO 6876:2001 standard and to study its physical and antimicrobial properties. The modified sealers were produced by mixing a certain amount of zinc oxide with eugenol containing different concentrations of PHMB (0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8%) at a ratio of 1:1 (w/v). The setting time, flow, film thickness, solubility and dimensional change after solidifying were assessed to screen out the modified sealing agents that the physical properties met the mentioned standards. The modified direct contact test (DCT) was used to evaluate the antimicrobial activity against Enterococcus faecalis. The results suggested that when the concentrations of PHMB were 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2%, the modified root canal sealers showed the best performance in physical and antimicrobial properties.

Temperature-dependent variations in sulfate-reducing communities associated with a terrestrial hydrocarbon seep.

Terrestrial hydrocarbon seeps are an important source of naturally emitted methane over geological time. The exact community compositions responsible for carbon cycling beneath these surface features remain obscure. As sulfate reduction represents an essential process for anoxic organic mineralization, this study collected muddy fluids from a high-temperature hydrocarbon seep in Taiwan and analyzed community structures of sulfate-supplemented sediment slurries incubated anoxically at elevated temperatures. The results obtained demonstrated that sulfate consumption occurred between 40°C and 80°C. Dominant potential sulfate reducers included Desulfovibrio spp., Desulfonatronum spp., Desulforhabdus spp., and Desulfotomaculum spp. at 40°C, Thermodesulfovibrio spp. at 50°C, Thermodesulfovibrio spp. and Thermacetogenium spp. at 60°C, Thermacetogenium spp. and Archaeoglobus spp. at 70°C, and Archaeoglobus spp. at 80°C. None of these potential sulfate reducers exceeded 7% of the community in the untreated sample. Since no exogenous electron donor was provided during incubation, these sulfate reducers appeared to rely on the degradation of organic matter inherited from porewater and sediments. Aqueous chemistry indicated that fluids discharged in the region represented a mixture of saline formation water and low-salinity surface water; therefore, these lines of evidence suggest that deeply-sourced, thermophilic and surface-input, mesophilic sulfate-reducing populations entrapped along the subsurface fluid transport could respond rapidly once the ambient temperature is adjusted to a range close to their individual optima.