Knowledge of Infection Prevention and Attitudes Towards HIV/AIDS Among Chinese Dental Bachelor Interns: An Appeal for Educational Intervention.

Purpose: The present study aimed to assess the current situation of Chinese dental bachelor interns on HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and their attitudes towards HIV/AIDS patients.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional, paper-based survey involving 147 dental students from three Chinese dental schools was conducted. Students were recruited to complete the questionnaire regarding their knowledge, awareness and attitudes concerning HIV/AIDS anonymously and voluntarily.

Influence of epigallocatechin-3-gallate in promoting proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament cells.

Background: Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) was recently proposed to have the potential to regulate bone metabolism, however, its influence on osteogenesis remains controversial. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of EGCG on the proliferation and osteogenesis of human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLCs).

Methods: Cells were cultured in osteogenic medium and treated with EGCG at various concentrations.

Energy Storage and Dissipation of Human Periodontal Ligament during Mastication Movement.

As a layer of soft fibrous tissue, the periodontal ligament (PDL) protects against mechanical shock when transmitting mastication force from tooth to its surrounding alveolar bone. Currently, no quantitative method is available to estimate the shock resistance ability of the PDL. To solve this problem, in the present study we developed a finite element (FE) model of the tooth-PDL-bone complex and analyzed the energy storage and dissipation during the mastication movements.

Contribution of Mitophagy to Cell-Mediated Mineralization: Revisiting a 50-Year-Old Conundrum.

Biomineralization in vertebrates is initiated via amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) precursors. These precursors infiltrate the extracellular collagen matrix where they undergo phase transformation into intrafibrillar carbonated apatite. Although it is well established that ACP precursors are released from intracellular vesicles through exocytosis, an unsolved enigma in this cell-mediated mineralization process is how ACP precursors, initially produced in the mitochondria, are translocated to the intracellular vesicles.

PTENp1, a natural sponge of miR-21, mediates PTEN expression to inhibit the proliferation of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

PTENp1, non-coding RNA (ncRNA) pseudogene, is involved in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The precise effects mediated by PTENp1 transcripts within intricate regulatory networks involving molecular interactions with ancestral gene PTEN and tumorigenicity in OSCC remain unclear. Here, we found that PTENp1 was aberrantly expressed in OSCC.