Differences of temporomandibular joint symmetry in patients with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate at different developmental stages. / ä¸åŒå‘è‚²æ—¶æœŸå•ä¾§å®Œå ¨æ€§å”‡è ­è£‚æ‚£è€ é¢žä¸‹é¢Œå ³èŠ‚å¯¹ç§°æ€§çš„å·®å¼‚.

OBJECTIVES: Currently, the research results regarding the bilateral temporomandibular joint symmetry in patients at different ages with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate (UCLP) are still controversial. In this study, the position of condyle in the articular fossa and morphology of condyle in UCLP patients at different developmental stages was measured and analyzed to explore the asymmetry difference, which can provide a new theoretical basis for the sequential therapy. METHODS: A total of 90 patients with UCLP were divided into a mixed dentition group (31 cases), a young permanent dentition group (31 cases) and an old permanent dentition group (28 cases) according to age and dentition development. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images were imported into Invivo5 software for 3D reconstruction, and the joint space, anteroposterior diameter, medio-lateral diameter, and height of condylar were measured, and its asymmetry index was calculated. RESULTS: The asymmetry index of condylar height and anteroposterior diameter among the 3 groups, from small to large, was the mixed dentition group0.05), all of them were lower than those in the old permanent dentition group (both P<0.05). Compared with the normal side, the height of fracture condyle was smaller among the 3 groups (all P<0.05), and the anterior joint space was smaller (P<0.05) and the posterior joint space was larger (P<0.05) in the mixed dentition group. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with UCLP, the asymmetry of condylar morphology increases with age, but the condylar position tends to normal. These results suggest that early treatment has important clinical significance for the morphologic development of temporomandibular joint in UCLP patients.

Research review on the pollution of antibiotic resistance genes in livestock and poultry farming environments.

Increasingly serious pollution of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) caused by the abuse of antibiotics in livestock and poultry industry has raised worldwide concerns. ARGs could spread among various farming environmental media through adsorption, desorption, migration, and also could transfer into human gut microbiome by hori-zontal gene transfer (HGT), posing potential threats to public health. However, the comprehensive review on the pollution patterns, environmental behaviors, and control techniques of ARGs in livestock and poultry environments in view of One Health is still inadequate, resulting in the difficulties in effectively assessing ARGs transmission risk and developing the efficient control strategies. Here, we analyzed the pollution characteristics of typical ARGs in various countries, regions, livestock species, and environmental media, reviewed the critical environmental fate and influencing factors, control strategies, and the shortcomings of current researches about ARGs in the livestock and poultry farming industry combined with One Health philosophy. In particular, we addressed the importance and urgency of identifying the distribution characteristics and environmental process mechanisms of ARGs, and developing green and efficient ARG control means in livestock farming environments. We further proposed gaps and prospects for the future research. It would provide theoretical basis for the research on health risk assessment and technology exploitation of alleviating ARG pollution in livestock farming environment.

Hormetic Effect of Pyroligneous Acids on Conjugative Transfer of Plasmid-mediated Multi-antibiotic Resistance Genes within Bacterial Genus.

Spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) by conjugation poses great challenges to public health. Application of pyroligneous acids (PA) as soil amendments has been evidenced as a practical strategy to remediate pollution of ARGs in soils. However, little is known about PA effects on horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of ARGs by conjugation. This study investigated the effects of a woody waste-derived PA prepared at 450°C and its three distillation components (F1, F2, and F3) at different temperatures (98, 130, and 220°C) on conjugative transfer of plasmid RP4 within Escherichia coli. PA at relatively high amount (40-100 µL) in a 30-mL mating system inhibited conjugation by 74-85%, following an order of PA > F3 ≈ F2 ≈ F1, proving the hypothesis that PA amendments may mitigate soil ARG pollution by inhibiting HGT. The bacteriostasis caused by antibacterial components of PA, including acids, phenols, and alcohols, as well as its acidity (pH 2.81) contributed to the inhibited conjugation. However, a relatively low amount (10-20 µL) of PA in the same mating system enhanced ARG transfer by 26-47%, following an order of PA > F3 ≈ F2 > F1. The opposite effect at low amount is mainly attributed to the increased intracellular reactive oxygen species production, enhanced cell membrane permeability, increased extracellular polymeric substance contents, and reduced cell surface charge. Our findings highlight the hormesis (low-amount promotion and high-amount inhibition) of PA amendments on ARG conjugation and provide evidence for selecting an appropriate amount of PA amendment to control the dissemination of soil ARGs. Moreover, the promoted conjugation also triggers questions regarding the potential risks of soil amendments (e.g., PA) in the spread of ARGs via HGT.

BTC as a Novel Biomarker Contributing to EMT via the PI3K-AKT Pathway in OSCC.

Purpose: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors of the head and neck, while metastasis is the main cause of OSCC-related death. There is an urgent need to explore novel prognostic biomarkers and identify biological targets related to metastasis in OSCC treatment. Methods: Analysis of differential expression was performed using datasets in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was conducted to assess the expression of betacellulin (BTC) in OSCC. SCC4 and CAL27 cells were used for in vitro experiments, in which CCK-8, transwell assays, and wounding healing assays were performed to verify the biological functions of BTC. The role of BTC in EMT was analyzed by EMT score and Western blot. Results: Through the analysis of the mRNA expression profile data from TCGA database in OSCC, we found that only low expression of BTC was significantly correlated with a poor prognosis in OSCC patients. The results of IHC assays and TCGA databases showed that the expression level of BTC was related to the tumor stage, histological grade, and metastasis status. In vitro analysis showed that overexpression of BTC significantly suppressed the proliferation and migration of OSCC cells. Furthermore, we confirmed that BTC could affect EMT through the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. Conclusion: The overexpression of BTC suppresses the proliferation, migration, and EMT of OSCC cells via the PI3K-AKT pathways, leading to a better prognosis in OSCC. BTC may be used as a novel molecular marker to assess the prognosis of OSCC patients.

A regulatory mechanism of a stepwise osteogenesis-mimicking decellularized extracellular matrix on the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

A cell-derived decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) plays a vital role in controlling cell functions because of its similarity to the in vivo microenvironment. In the process of stem cell differentiation, the composition of the dECM is not constant but is dynamically remolded. However, there is little information regarding the dynamic regulation by the dECM of the osteogenic differentiation of stem cells. Herein, four types of stepwise dECMs (0, 7, 14, and 21 d-ECM) were prepared from bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) undergoing osteogenic differentiation for 0, 7, 14, and 21 days after decellularization. In vitro experiments were designed to study the regulation of BMSC osteogenesis by dECMs. The results showed that all the dECMs could support the activity and proliferation of BMSCs but had different effects on their osteogenic differentiation. The 14d-ECM promoted the osteogenesis of BMSCs significantly compared with the other dECMs. Proteomic analysis demonstrated that the composition of dECMs changed over time. The 14d ECM had higher amounts of collagen type IV alpha 2 chain (COL4A2) than the other dECMs. Furthermore, COL4A2 was obviously enriched in the activated focal adhesion kinase (FAK)/phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathways. Thus, the 14d-ECM could promote the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, which might be related to the high content of COL4A2 in the 14d-ECM by activating the FAK/PI3K/AKT signaling pathways.