Is Diet a Determining Factor in the Induction of Gingival Inflammation by Dental Plaque? A Secondary Analysis of Clinical Studies.

The aim was to determine the association between plaque and gingival inflammation reported by dietary interventions. Data of four clinical studies dealing with changed nutrition and gingival examination were reanalyzed with regard to gingival inflammation (GI), plaque (PI), and bleeding on probing (BOP). Dietary changes basically involved avoiding sugar, white flour and sweetened drinks and focusing on whole foods for 4 weeks.

Revisiting bicoid function: complete inactivation reveals an additional fundamental role in Drosophila egg geometry specification.

Introduction: The bicoid (bcd) gene in Drosophila has served as a paradigm for a morphogen in textbooks for decades. Discovered in 1986 as a mutation affecting anterior development in the embryo, its expression pattern as a protein gradient later confirmed the prediction from transplantation experiments. These experiments suggested that the protein fulfills the criteria of a true morphogen, with the existence of a homeodomain crucial for activation of genes along the anterior-posterior axis, based on the concentration of the morphogen.

chinmo-mutant spermatogonial stem cells cause mitotic drive by evicting non-mutant neighbors from the niche.

Niches maintain a finite pool of stem cells via restricted space and short-range signals. Stem cells compete for limited niche resources, but the mechanisms regulating competition are poorly understood. Using the Drosophila testis model, we show that germline stem cells (GSCs) lacking the transcription factor Chinmo gain a competitive advantage for niche access.

Quantification reveals early dynamics in Drosophila maternal gradients.

The Bicoid (Bcd) protein is a primary determinant of early anterior-posterior (AP) axis specification in Drosophila embryogenesis. This morphogen is spatially distributed in an anterior-high gradient, and affects particular AP cell fates in a concentration-dependent manner. The early distribution and dynamics of the bicoid (bcd) mRNA, the source for the Bcd protein gradient, is not well understood, leaving a number of open questions for how Bcd positional information develops and is regulated.

Modulating the bicoid gradient in space and time.

Background: The formation of the Bicoid (Bcd) gradient in the early Drosophila is one of the most fascinating observations in biology and serves as a paradigm for gradient formation, yet its mechanism is still not fully understood. Two distinct models were proposed in the past, the SDD and the ARTS model.

Results: We define novel cis- and trans-acting factors that are indispensable for gradient formation.

Anti-Fibrotic Activity of an Antimicrobial Peptide in a Drosophila Model.

Fibrotic lesions accompany several pathological conditions, including tumors. We show that expression of a dominant-active form of the Ras oncogene in Drosophila salivary glands (SGs) leads to redistribution of components of the basement membrane (BM) and fibrotic lesions. Similar to several types of mammalian fibrosis, the disturbed BM attracts clot components, including insect transglutaminase and phenoloxidase.

The centenary of Hereditas - almost a fairytale.

This is the Editorial for a series of articles illuminating the history and success story of Hereditas, one of the oldest journals in the area of genetics. For this reason, we invite you to read this special series on a journal with a distinct reputation and which can celebrate its Centenary in 2020.

MONOPOL - A traveling-wave magnetic neutron spin resonator for tailoring polarized neutron beams.

We report on first experimental tests of a neutron magnetic spin resonator at a very cold neutron beam port of the high flux reactor at the ILL Grenoble. When placed between two supermirror neutron polarizers and operated in a pulsed traveling-wave mode it allows to decouple its time- and wavelength-resolution and can therefore be used simultaneously as electronically tunable monochromator and fast beam chopper. As a first 'real' scientific application we intend its implementation in the PERC (p roton and e lectron r adiation c hannel) project related to high-precision experiments in neutron beta decay.

RNA localization requires the -Golgi network.

Background: The formation of the () mRNA gradient is a crucial step for Bcd protein gradient formation in . In the past, a microtubule (MT)-based cortical network had been shown to be indispensable for mRNA transport to the posterior.

Results: We report the identification of a MT-binding protein CLASP/Chb as the first component associated with this cortical MT network.

Discovery of Teneurins.

Teneurins were first discovered and published in 1993 and 1994, in as and They were initially described as cell surface proteins, and as pair-rule genes. Later, they proved to be type II transmembrane proteins, and not to be pair-rule genes. might nonetheless have had an ancestral function in clock-based segmentation as a Ten-m oscillator.

Characterization of / reveals roles in basement membrane stability, barrier function and nervous system patterning.

Basement membranes (BMs) are specialized layers of extracellular matrix (ECM) mainly composed of Laminin, type IV Collagen, Perlecan and Nidogen/entactin (NDG). Recent studies challenged the initially proposed role of NDG as a major ECM linker molecule by revealing dispensability for viability and BM formation. Here, we report the characterization of the single gene in Embryonic expression was primarily observed in mesodermal tissues and the chordotonal organs, whereas NDG protein localized to all BMs.

Private-sector investor's intention and motivation to invest in Land Degradation Neutrality.

Private-sector investors could be key players in combatting global land degradation and realising the emerging concept of Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN). To better understand how to incentivize private-sector investors for LDN, we conducted an online-survey of 68 private-sector investors. Structural equation modelling based on the theory of planned behavior was performed to investigate how cognitive, social, emotional, motivational and financial determinants influence their intention and motivation to invest in LDN.

Seeing is believing: the Bicoid protein reveals its path.

In this commentary, I will review the latest findings on the Bicoid (Bcd) morphogen in , a paradigm for gradient formation taught to biology students for more than two decades. "Seeing is believing" also summarizes the erroneous steps that were needed to elucidate the mechanisms of gradient formation and the path of movement of Bcd. Initially proclaimed as a dogma in 1988 and later incorporated into the SDD model where the broad diffusion of Bcd throughout the embryo was the predominant step leading to gradient formation, the SDD model was irrefutable for more than two decades until first doubts were raised in 2007 regarding the diffusion properties of Bcd associated with the SDD model.

The Impact of Orthodontic Bands on the Marginal Periodontium of Maxillary First Molars: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Radiographic Analysis.

Aim: Available information on the effect of orthodontic treatment on crestal alveolar bone levels measured in radiographs is contradictory. The aim of this study was to compare the alveolar bone level and periodontal ligament space of banded upper first molars to untreated controls.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional radiographic study investigated alveolar bone levels of upper first molars of an orthodontic test group and an untreated control group of comparable age (15-16.

Correction: Cortical movement of Bicoid in early Drosophila embryos is actin- and microtubule-dependent and disagrees with the SDD diffusion model.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

The Effect of Enamel Sandblasting on Enhancing Bond Strength of Orthodontic Brackets: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Purpose: To critically appraise the evidence regarding the effect of enamel sandblasting on the bond strength of orthodontic brackets on either the labial or lingual tooth surface.

Materials And Methods: An electronic database search of published and unpublished literature was performed. Search terms included sandblasting, enamel abrasion, tooth surface, bond strength, bond failure, and adhesive remnant; data were extracted in standardized piloted forms.

exoribonuclease is a tumor suppressor, acts within the RNA machinery and is not enriched in the nuage during early oogenesis.

Background: micro RNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of many biological pathways. A plethora of steps are required to form, from a precursor, the mature miRNA that eventually acts on its target RNA to repress its expression or to inhibit translation. Recently, () has been shown to be an important player in the maturation process of miRNA and piRNA.

Cortical movement of Bicoid in early Drosophila embryos is actin- and microtubule-dependent and disagrees with the SDD diffusion model.

The Bicoid (Bcd) protein gradient in Drosophila serves as a paradigm for gradient formation in textbooks. The SDD model (synthesis, diffusion, degradation) was proposed to explain the formation of the gradient. The SDD model states that the bcd mRNA is located at the anterior pole of the embryo at all times and serves a source for translation of the Bicoid protein, coupled with diffusion and uniform degradation throughout the embryo.

Segmentation gene expression patterns in Bactrocera dorsalis and related insects: regulation and shape of blastoderm and larval cuticle.

The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, is regarded as a severe pest of fruit production in Asia. Despite its economic importance, only limited information regarding the molecular and developmental biology of this insect is known to date. We provide a detailed analysis of B.

Ancient role of / in segmentation and the transition from sequential to syncytial segmentation.

Background: Until recently, mechanisms of segmentation established for served as a paradigm for arthropod segmentation. However, with the discovery of gene expression waves in vertebrate segmentation, another paradigm based on oscillations linked to axial growth was established. The pathway and delay oscillator are basic components of this mechanism, as is the pathway.

A validation study of reconstructed rapid prototyping models produced by two technologies.

Objective: To determine the accuracy (trueness and precision) of two different rapid prototyping (RP) techniques for the physical reproduction of three-dimensional (3D) digital orthodontic study casts, a comparative assessment using two 3D STL files of two different maxillary dentitions (two cases) as a reference was accomplished.

Materials And Methods: Five RP replicas per case were fabricated using both stereolithography (SLA) and the PolyJet system. The 20 reproduced casts were digitized with a highly accurate reference scanner, and surface superimpositions were performed.

Intra-cavity frequency-doubled mode-locked semiconductor disk laser at 325 nm.

We present a passively mode-locked semiconductor disk laser (SDL) emitting at 650nm with intra-cavity second harmonic generation to the ultraviolet (UV) spectral range. Both the gain and the absorber structure contain InP quantum dots (QDs) as active material. In a v-shaped cavity using the semiconductor samples as end mirrors, a beta barium borate (BBO) crystal is placed in front of the semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) for pulsed UV laser emission in one of the two outcoupled beams.

An in vitro study on the effect of an oscillating stripping method on enamel roughness.

Background: The aim of the present study was to assess the changes in enamel roughness parameters before and after stripping with an oscillating diamond strip system.

Methods: Sound premolars extracted for orthodontic reasons were embedded up to their cervical area in a polyvinylsiloxane putty, creating four groups of four teeth with three interproximal areas each (mesial/distal). The same regions of interproximal enamel surfaces were studied by 3D optical interferometric profilometry before and after stripping with the Ortho-Strips system (Intensiv Dental SA, Montagnola, Switzerland) (n teeth = 16, n contact points = 12, n sites measured = 24).