Professional phagocytes are recruited for the clearance of obsolete nonprofessional phagocytes in the ovary.

Cell death is an important process in the body, as it occurs throughout every tissue during development, disease, and tissue regeneration. Phagocytes are responsible for clearing away dying cells and are typically characterized as either professional or nonprofessional phagocytes. Professional phagocytes, such as macrophages, are found in nearly every part of the body while nonprofessional phagocytes, such as epithelial cells, are found in every tissue type.

The Common Retention Practices Among Orthodontists from Different Countries.

Objective: To investigate the most common retention practices, factors influencing the retention protocol, and the differences among orthodontists regarding retention practices.

Methods: An online validated questionnaire was anonymously sent to 3,000 orthodontic residents and clinicians. The survey consisted of 19 questions regarding the participants' demographics, prescribed retention appliances, factors affecting retention appliance choices, and adjunctive retention procedures.

Faeces-derived extracellular vesicles participate in the onset of barrier dysfunction leading to liver diseases.

The role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) from faeces (fEVs) and small circulating EVs (cEVs) in liver diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty diseases (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has not been demonstrated. fEVs and cEVs of healthy donors, NAFLD and NASH patients were isolated and characterized. The effects of EVs were evaluated in intestinal, endothelial, Kupffer and stellate cells.

A 3D, Compartmental Tumor-Stromal Microenvironment Model of Patient-Derived Bone Metastasis.

Bone is a frequent site of tumor metastasis. The bone-tumor microenvironment is heterogeneous and complex in nature. Such complexity is compounded by relations between metastatic and bone cells influencing their sensitivity/resistance to chemotherapeutics.

Small extracellular vesicle targeting of hypothalamic AMPKα1 promotes weight loss in leptin receptor deficient mice.

Background And Aims: Leptin receptor (LEPR) deficiency promotes severe obesity and metabolic disorders. However, the current therapeutic options against this syndrome are scarce.

Methods: db/db mice and their wildtypes were systemically treated with neuronal-targeted small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) harboring a plasmid encoding a dominant negative mutant of AMP-activated protein kinase alpha 1 (AMPKα1-DN) driven by steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1) promoter; this approach allowed to modulate AMPK activity, specifically in SF1 cells of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH).

Global survey to assess preferences for attending virtual orthodontic learning sessions: Pre-webinar settings.

Objectives: To assess technical factors and audience preferences before attending orthodontic online learning activity, the demand for which increased dramatically in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Online survey.

Global survey to assess preferences for attending virtual orthodontic learning sessions.

Introduction: Nowadays, there is a tremendous increase in the conducting of virtual orthodontic learning sessions (VOLSs). This study aimed to investigate the fundamental technical and settings aspects of VOLSs.

Methods: Three thousand orthodontic residents and specialists worldwide were invited via e-mail to complete an anonymous survey, including 23 prevalidated questions.

A novel 3D co-culture platform for integrating tissue interfaces for tumor growth, migration and therapeutic sensitivity: "PP-3D-S".

Metastatic cancers can be highly heterogeneous, show large patient variability and are typically hard to treat due to chemoresistance. Personalized therapies are therefore needed to suppress tumor growth and enhance patient's quality of life. Identifying appropriate patient-specific therapies remains a challenge though, due mainly to non-physiological in vitro culture systems.

Global survey to assess preferences when attending virtual orthodontic learning sessions: optimising uptake from virtual lectures.

Objectives: Understanding the issues concerning the conducting of virtual orthodontic learning sessions (VOLSs) is essential. This study aims to identify attendees- and host-related aspects that could optimise learning and uptake from the VOLSs.

Methodology: Fourteen pre-validated questions were anonymously and electronically sent to 3000 orthodontic residents and specialists globally.

Separable pupillary signatures of perception and action during perceptual multistability.

The pupil provides a rich, non-invasive measure of the neural bases of perception and cognition and has been of particular value in uncovering the role of arousal-linked neuromodulation, which alters both cortical processing and pupil size. But pupil size is subject to a multitude of influences, which complicates unique interpretation. We measured pupils of observers experiencing perceptual multistability-an ever-changing subjective percept in the face of unchanging but inconclusive sensory input.

Three-dimensional nasolabial changes after maxillary advancement osteotomy in class III individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background Class III malocclusions with maxillary retrognathia are commonly treated with single jaw Le Fort I maxillary advancement. The three-dimensional (3D) effects of surgery on the nasolabial region varies among the clinical studies. Quantifying these changes is of great importance for surgical planning and obtaining valid consent.

Phone-based audience response system as an adjunct in orthodontic teaching of undergraduate dental students: a cross-over randomised controlled trial.

Background: The advent of electronic teaching facilities improves tutor-student communication. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of Phone-Based Audience Response System (PB-ARS), as an adjunctive pedagogy tool to enhance the retention of orthodontic information by dental students; and to explore the students' perception of PB-ARS.

Methods: This cross-over clustered randomised control trial included 34 males who were in the final year of their undergraduate dental training.

Energy conversion efficiency in low- and atmospheric-pressure plasma polymerization processes with hydrocarbons.

Since the earliest days of this field there has been an interest in correlating the structure of plasma polymer (PP) coatings with deposition parameters, most particularly with energy input per monomer molecule, Em. Both of our laboratories have developed methods for measuring Em (or somewhat equivalent, the apparent activation energy, Ea) in low- (LP) and atmospheric-pressure (AP) electrical discharge plasmas. We recently proposed a new parameter, energy conversion efficiency (ECE), which for the first time permits direct comparison of LP and AP experiments.

Synthetic anionic surfaces can replace microparticles in stimulating burst coagulation of blood plasma.

Biomaterials are frequently evaluated for pro-coagulant activity but usually in the presence of microparticles (MPs), cell-derived vesicles in blood plasma whose phospholipid surfaces allow coagulation factors to set up as functional assemblies. We tested the hypothesis that synthetic anionic surfaces can catalyze burst thrombin activation in human blood plasma in the absence of MPs. In a thromboelastography (TEG) assay with plastic sample cups and pins, recalcified human citrated platelet-poor plasma spontaneously burst-coagulated but with an unpredictable clotting time whereas plasma depleted of MPs by ultracentrifugation failed to coagulate.

VUV Photodeposition of Thiol-Terminated Films: A Wavelength-Dependent Study.

Photoinitiated chemical vapor deposition (PICVD) has become attractive for selective and specific surface functionalization, because it relies on a single energy source, the photons, to carry out (photo-) chemistry. In the present wavelength (λ)-dependent study, thiol (SH)-terminated thin film deposits have been prepared from gas mixtures of acetylene (CH) and hydrogen sulfide (HS) via PICVD using four different vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) sources, namely, KrL (λ = 123.6 nm), XeL (λ = 147.

Combining Electrospun Fiber Mats and Bioactive Coatings for Vascular Graft Prostheses.

The patency of small-diameter (<6 mm) synthetic vascular grafts (VGs) is still limited by the absence of a confluent, blood flow-resistant monolayer of endothelial cells (ECs) on the lumen and of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) growth into the media layer. In this research, electrospinning has been combined with bioactive coatings based on chondroitin sulfate (CS) to create scaffolds that possess optimal morphological and bioactive properties for subsequent cell seeding. We fabricated random and aligned electrospun poly(ethylene terephthalate), ePET, mats with small pores (3.

In Vitro and Pilot In Vivo Evaluation of a Bioactive Coating for Stent Grafts Based on Chondroitin Sulfate and Epidermal Growth Factor.

Purpose: To evaluate the potential of a bioactive coating based on chondroitin sulfate (CS) and tethered epidermal growth factor (EGF) for improvement of healing around stent grafts (SGs).

Materials And Methods: The impact of the bioactive coating on cell survival was tested in vitro on human vascular cells using polyethylene terephthalate films (PET) as a substrate. After being transferred onto a more "realistic" material (expanded polytetrafluoroethylene [ePTFE]), the durability and mechanical behavior of the coating and cell survival were studied.

Energetics of Molecular Excitation, Fragmentation, and Polymerization in a Dielectric Barrier Discharge with Argon Carrier Gas.

We report experiments at atmospheric pressure (AP) using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor designed for plasma polymerization (PP) with "monomers" at ‰ concentrations in ca.10 standard liters per minute of argon (Ar) carrier gas. We have perfected a method for measuring Eg, the energy dissipated per cycle of the applied a.

Fusion peptide P15-CSP shows antibiofilm activity and pro-osteogenic activity when deposited as a coating on hydrophilic but not hydrophobic surfaces.

In the context of porous bone void filler for oral bone reconstruction, peptides that suppress microbial growth and promote osteoblast function could be used to enhance the performance of a porous bone void filler. We tested the hypothesis that P15-CSP, a novel fusion peptide containing collagen-mimetic osteogenic peptide P15, and competence-stimulating peptide (CSP), a cationic antimicrobial peptide, has emerging properties not shared by P15 or CSP alone. Peptide-coated surfaces were tested for antimicrobial activity toward Streptoccocus mutans, and their ability to promote human mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) attachment, spreading, metabolism, and osteogenesis.

An Unusual Cause of a Breast Mass in a Patient from China.

Sparganosis is a parasitic infection caused by Spirometra spp. and often presents as a subcutaneous swelling, most commonly noticed in the abdominal wall or extremities. Amphibians such as frogs ingest infected copepods (crustaceans that have ingested coracidia, i.

Music, thinking, perceived motion: the emergence of Gestalt theory.

Histories of psychology typically assert that Gestalt theory began with the publication of Max Wertheimer's 1912b paper on the phi phenomenon, the compelling visual apparent motion of actually stationary stimuli. The current author discusses the origin of Gestalt theory, as told by the historical record starting with M. Wertheimer's upbringing and ending with his most recent Gestalt theories.

Max Wertheimer centennial celebration in Germany.

Introduces a celebration of Max Wertheimer. The articles presented here should help clarify some significant aspects of the history of Gestalt psychology and of Max Wertheimer's biography.

Electrospun nanofiber scaffolds and plasma polymerization: a promising combination towards complete, stable endothelial lining for vascular grafts.

In the quest to reduce risk of thrombosis in vascular grafts, it is essential to provide a surface with morphological and mechanical properties close to those of the extracellular matrix beneath the luminal endothelium, and to favor the growth of a confluent, stable monolayer of endothelial cells. This is accomplished here by combining electrospun poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) mats with an amine-rich thin plasma-polymerized coating, designated "L-PPE:N." Its deposition does not modify the open, highly porous mats and leads only to small changes in mechanical properties.