The immunomodulatory effect of IL-4 accelerates bone substitute material-mediated osteogenesis in aged rats via NLRP3 inflammasome inhibition.

Background: Bone defect repair by implanting bone substitute materials has been a common clinical treatment. With the understanding of substance-immune system interactions and increasing evidence indicating that the post-implantation immune response determines the fate of bone substitute materials, active modulation of host macrophage polarization is considered a promising strategy. However, whether the same regulatory effects exist when an individual immune system is altered with aging is unclear.

An efficient removal mechanism for different hydrophilic antibiotics from aquatic environments by Cu-Al-Fe-Cr quasicrystals.

The work studied the adsorption properties and mechanism of Cu-Al-Fe-Cr quasicrystals (QCs) for the adsorption of ibuprofen (IBU), tedizolid phosphate (TZD), and sulbactam sodium (SAM) for the first time. The experimental results showed that quasicrystals were good adsorbents with great potential. The structure, surface morphology, and elemental composition of QCs were investigated by XPS, XRD, SEM, EDX, particle size, DSC-TG, and FTIR.

Glucosylceramide synthase regulates hepatocyte repair after concanavalin A-induced immune-mediated liver injury.

Background: Sphingolipids produce pleiotropic signaling pathways, and participate in the pathological mechanism of hepatocyte apoptosis and necrosis during liver injury. However, the role of glucosylceramide synthase (GCS)-key enzyme that catalyzes the first glycosylation step, in liver injury is still vague.

Methods: All experiments were conducted using 7-9-week-old pathogen-free male C57BL/6 mice.

Biomechanical Role of Trabecular Microstructure on Peri-implant Strain Based on Micro-CT Finite Element Modeling of Aging Mice.

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of age and trabecular microstructure on peri-implant strain in aging and young mice models under compressive load.

Materials And Methods: Eighteen 4-week-old female C57BL/6 mice (n = 6) were subjected to a 1.2% calcium content diet (young normal calcium group), and 7-month-old mice (n = 12) were randomly subjected to 0.

Dental and Dental Hygiene Students' Knowledge and Perception on Fluoride Use in Dentistry.

Aim: The 75th anniversary of community water fluoridation in the United States was celebrated in 2020. However, there are studies that stimulate polarized discussion over the use of fluoride in dentistry. The purpose of this study was to evaluate dental and dental hygiene students' knowledge and perception of fluoride use in dentistry.

Fenofibrate improves GLOBE and UK-PBC scores and histological features in primary biliary cholangitis.

Background: Fenofibrate (FF) has been suggested as a second-line therapy for primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) with suboptimal response to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). But its long-term effect is unclear.

Methods: From a retrospective cohort (N.

Single-component and competitive adsorption of tetracycline and Zn(ii) on an NHCl-induced magnetic ultra-fine buckwheat peel powder biochar from water: studies on the kinetics, isotherms, and mechanism.

Single-component and competitive adsorption of tetracycline (TC) and Zn(ii) on an NHCl-induced magnetic ultra-fine buckwheat peel powder biochar (NHCl-BHP-char/FeO) was investigated in batch experiments. NHCl-BHP-char/FeO exhibited a large surface area of 1119.097 m g and a total pore volume of 0.

Studying Human Neurodevelopment and Diseases Using 3D Brain Organoids.

differentiation of pluripotent stem cells provides a systematic platform to study development and disease. Recent advances in brain organoid technology have created new opportunities to investigate the formation and function of the human brain, under physiological and pathological conditions. Brain organoids can be generated to model the cellular and structural development of the human brain, and allow the investigation of the intricate interactions between resident neural and glial cell types.

Essential long-range action of Wingless/Wnt in adult intestinal compartmentalization.

Signal transduction activated by Wingless/Wnt ligands directs cell proliferation and fate specification in metazoans, and its overactivation underlies the development of the vast majority of colorectal cancers. In the conventional model, the secretion and movement of Wingless to cells distant from its source of synthesis are essential for long-range signaling in tissue patterning. However, this model was upended recently by an unanticipated finding: replacement of wild-type Drosophila Wingless with a membrane-tethered form produced viable adults with largely normal external morphology, which suggested that Wingless secretion and movement are dispensable for tissue patterning.

Daptomycin adsorption on magnetic ultra-fine wood-based biochars from water: Kinetics, isotherms, and mechanism studies.

The adsorption of a new antibiotic, daptomycin, on two magnetic ultra-fine wood-based biochars were investigated in detail using batch experiments. The adsorbent materials was prepared by ball milling method, which was characterized by laser particle size analyzer, elemental analyzer, ICP-OES, VSM, BET, TG-DTG, FTIR and SEM. Furthermore, the effects of most important variables in the adsorption process, including solution pH, contact time, initial concentration and temperatures were investigated.

Wingless/Wnt Signaling in Intestinal Development, Homeostasis, Regeneration and Tumorigenesis: A Drosophila Perspective.

In mammals, the Wnt/β-catenin signal transduction pathway regulates intestinal stem cell maintenance and proliferation, whereas Wnt pathway hyperactivation, resulting primarily from the inactivation of the tumor suppressor Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), triggers the development of the vast majority of colorectal cancers. The Drosophila adult gut has recently emerged as a powerful model to elucidate the mechanisms by which Wingless/Wnt signaling regulates intestinal development, homeostasis, regeneration, and tumorigenesis. Herein, we review recent insights on the roles of Wnt signaling in Drosophila intestinal physiology and pathology.

APC Inhibits Ligand-Independent Wnt Signaling by the Clathrin Endocytic Pathway.

Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) mutations cause Wnt pathway activation in human cancers. Current models for APC action emphasize its role in promoting β-catenin degradation downstream of Wnt receptors. Unexpectedly, we find that blocking Wnt receptor activity in APC-deficient cells inhibits Wnt signaling independently of Wnt ligand.

Axin phosphorylation in both Wnt-off and Wnt-on states requires the tumor suppressor APC.

The aberrant activation of Wnt signal transduction initiates the development of 90% of colorectal cancers, the majority of which arise from inactivation of the tumor suppressor Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC). In the classical model for Wnt signaling, the primary role of APC is to act, together with the concentration-limiting scaffold protein Axin, in a "destruction complex" that directs the phosphorylation and consequent proteasomal degradation of the transcriptional activator β-catenin, thereby preventing signaling in the Wnt-off state. Following Wnt stimulation, Axin is recruited to a multiprotein "signalosome" required for pathway activation.

Intestinal stem cell overproliferation resulting from inactivation of the APC tumor suppressor requires the transcription cofactors Earthbound and Erect wing.

Wnt/β-catenin signal transduction directs intestinal stem cell (ISC) proliferation during homeostasis. Hyperactivation of Wnt signaling initiates colorectal cancer, which most frequently results from truncation of the tumor suppressor Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC). The β-catenin-TCF transcription complex activates both the physiological expression of Wnt target genes in the normal intestinal epithelium and their aberrantly increased expression in colorectal tumors.

The ADP-ribose polymerase Tankyrase regulates adult intestinal stem cell proliferation during homeostasis in Drosophila.

Wnt/β-catenin signaling controls intestinal stem cell (ISC) proliferation, and is aberrantly activated in colorectal cancer. Inhibitors of the ADP-ribose polymerase Tankyrase (Tnks) have become lead therapeutic candidates for Wnt-driven cancers, following the recent discovery that Tnks targets Axin, a negative regulator of Wnt signaling, for proteolysis. Initial reports indicated that Tnks is important for Wnt pathway activation in cultured human cell lines.

Wnt pathway activation by ADP-ribosylation.

Wnt/β-catenin signalling directs fundamental processes during metazoan development and can be aberrantly activated in cancer. Wnt stimulation induces the recruitment of the scaffold protein Axin from an inhibitory destruction complex to a stimulatory signalosome. Here we analyse the early effects of Wnt on Axin and find that the ADP-ribose polymerase Tankyrase (Tnks)--known to target Axin for proteolysis-regulates Axin's rapid transition following Wnt stimulation.

Regulation of Stem Cell Proliferation and Cell Fate Specification by Wingless/Wnt Signaling Gradients Enriched at Adult Intestinal Compartment Boundaries.

Intestinal stem cell (ISC) self-renewal and proliferation are directed by Wnt/β-catenin signaling in mammals, whereas aberrant Wnt pathway activation in ISCs triggers the development of human colorectal carcinoma. Herein, we have utilized the Drosophila midgut, a powerful model for ISC regulation, to elucidate the mechanisms by which Wingless (Wg)/Wnt regulates intestinal homeostasis and development. We provide evidence that the Wg signaling pathway, activation of which peaks at each of the major compartment boundaries of the adult intestine, has essential functions.

[Cytotoxicity of a new type silicone rubber for maxillofacial prosthesis: an in vitro evaluation].

This study evaluated the cytotoxicity of a new type silicone rubber for maxillofacial prosthesis, which was developed by the present authors. According to the GB/T16886. 5- 2003, the samples were prepared and tested with cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, the relative growth rate (RGR) was calculated, and morphology of L929 cells were observed by scanning electron microscope and phase contrast microscope.

[The biological safety evaluation of a new developed silicone rubber for inflatable silastic prosthesis].

Objective: The biological safety of a new developed silicone rubber for inflatable silastic prosthesis (SRISP) was evaluated.

Methods: Following the GB/T 16886.10-2005 standard, YY/T 0127.

Osteoblast response to titanium surfaces coated with strontium ranelate-loaded chitosan film.

Purpose: Improving the peri-implant bone quality has notable clinical value in cases of osteoporosis following implant insertion.

Materials And Methods: In this study, strontium ranelate-loaded chitosan film was produced on a titanium surface in different concentrations of strontium ranelate (SR) (0, 2, 20, 40, and 80 mmol/L of the strontium ion [Sr2+]) with the expectation of utilizing the bone healing-enhancement effect of Sr2+. The physicochemical properties of SR-loaded chitosan films were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).

Masticatory efficiency and oral health-related quality of life with implant-retained mandibular overdentures.

Objectives: To evaluate masticatory efficiency (ME) and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in patients rehabilitated with implant-retained mandibular overdentures.

Methods: In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 50 edentulous patients visiting the Implant Center and Department of Prosthodontics, West China College of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China between June 2010 and June 2012 were selected and received 2 implant-retained mandibular overdenture treatments. All patients were rehabilitated with maxillary complete dentures.

Meta-analysis of the association between common interleukin-1 polymorphisms and dental implant failure.

Interleukin-1 (IL) plays a pivotal role in immune-inflammatory response that maintains periodontal homeostasis. A number of epidemiological studies have been conducted to investigate the associations between common polymorphisms of IL-1 (IL-1A, IL-1B) genes and risk of peri-implant disease, but the findings remain inconclusive. Thirteen studies evaluating the association between IL-1 polymorphisms and risk for peri-implant diseases (implant failure/loss, peri-implantitis) were included.

Physicochemical, pharmacologic, and in vitro cellular effects of loading collagen membranes with zoledronic acid.

Purpose: There is a need for improved methods of reducing peri-implant bone loss. This study evaluated the structural, drug loading, drug release, and in vitro characteristics of collagen membranes impregnated with zoledronic acid (ZA).

Materials And Methods: Two commercially available collagen barrier membranes (Bio-Gide and BME-10X) were loaded with ZA.

Erect Wing facilitates context-dependent Wnt/Wingless signaling by recruiting the cell-specific Armadillo-TCF adaptor Earthbound to chromatin.

During metazoan development, the Wnt/Wingless signal transduction pathway is activated repetitively to direct cell proliferation, fate specification, differentiation and apoptosis. Distinct outcomes are elicited by Wnt stimulation in different cellular contexts; however, mechanisms that confer context specificity to Wnt signaling responses remain largely unknown. Starting with an unbiased forward genetic screen in Drosophila, we recently uncovered a novel mechanism by which the cell-specific co-factor Earthbound 1 (Ebd1), and its human homolog jerky, promote interaction between the Wnt pathway transcriptional co-activators β-catenin/Armadillo and TCF to facilitate context-dependent Wnt signaling responses.

Jerky/Earthbound facilitates cell-specific Wnt/Wingless signalling by modulating β-catenin-TCF activity.

Wnt/Wingless signal transduction directs fundamental developmental processes, and upon hyperactivation triggers colorectal adenoma/carcinoma formation. Responses to Wnt stimulation are cell specific and diverse; yet, how cell context modulates Wnt signalling outcome remains obscure. In a Drosophila genetic screen for components that promote Wingless signalling, we identified Earthbound 1 (Ebd1), a novel member in a protein family containing Centromere Binding Protein B (CENPB)-type DNA binding domains.