Continuous Single-Phase Synthesis of [Au(Cys)] Nanoclusters and their Photobactericidal Enhancement.

Thiolate-gold nanoclusters have various applications. However, most of the synthesis methods require prolonged synthesis times from several hours to days. In the present study, we report a rapid synthesis method for [Au(Cys)] nanoclusters and their application for photobactericidal enhancement.

Chemical Modification of Bacterial Cellulose for the Development of an Antibacterial Wound Dressing.

Bacterial cellulose is a bacterially derived polymer with great potential for application in wound healing due to its innate properties such as high biocompatibility and biodegradability. In addition to this, it is naturally biosynthesized by bacteria as a hydrogel, which makes it an optimal substrate for the treatment of dry wounds, where additional moisture is required to facilitate the healing process. However, this polymer lacks antibacterial properties.

What the general dental practitioner needs to know about HPV-related oropharyngeal malignancy.

The rates of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma have continued to rise secondary to the increasing prevalence of the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV-related disease is typically found in younger patients who do not have the traditional risk factors for malignancy. General dental practitioners (GDPs) often examine patients regularly and may therefore have an opportunity to identify oropharyngeal malignancies at an early stage.

Is systemic inflammation a missing link between periodontitis and hypertension? Results from two large population-based surveys.

Objective: The primary objective was to investigate the relationship between periodontitis and hypertension in two independent large surveys. The secondary objective was to ascertain whether systemic inflammation had a mediation effect in the association.

Methods: This cross-sectional study analysed representative samples of the US (n = 3460; NHANES 2009/10) and Korean (n = 4539; 2015 KNHANES VI-3) populations.

Investigating perceptions of patient-centred care in orthodontics.

Objectives: To assess and compare patient and clinician perceptions of patient-centredness for adults about to commence active orthodontic treatment, and to assess whether the following variables affected perceptions of patient-centredness: patient gender and age; clinician gender and grade; and stage of treatment.

Design: A prospective, cross-sectional questionnaire study.

Setting: Eastman Dental Hospital, UCLH NHS Foundation Trust.

The Sheldon Friel Memorial Lecture 2020 It's not just about the teeth: Patient-centred Orthodontics.

The provision of high-quality health care involves many different aspects, including safety, effectiveness, efficiency, and patient centredness. In order for care to be truly patient centred requires patients' views being sought and considered, and this may be achieved through patient-centred research. Patient-centred research is fundamentally important in contemporary health care and has many benefits; for example, it ensures that research is relevant, identifies those aspects of care that are important to patients, provides information that is important to current and future patients, and allows the integration of patients' views regarding how services may be enhanced in the future.

Active gingival inflammation is linked to hypertension.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) including hypertension, are characterized by underlying systemic inflammation. Periodontitis, which can impact the systemic inflammatory burden has recently been linked to high blood pressure (BP). However, the relationship of gingival bleeding, as an easily accessible marker of periodontal disorder, with hypertension, remains unclear.

Health-related quality of life and its associated predictors in patients with oral lichen planus: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To investigate levels of quality of life (QoL) and determine associated predictors in patients with oral lichen planus (OLP).

Materials And Methods: A total of 300 patients with OLP at one tertiary Oral Medicine clinic in the UK were recruited in a cross-sectional study from January 2018 to July 2019. The 15-item Chronic Oral Mucosal Disease Questionnaire (COMDQ-15) and 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) were used to assess the level of QoL related to OLP.

In-vivo usefulness of optical coherence tomography in atrophic-erosive oral lichen planus: Comparison between histopathological and ultrastructural findings.

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a common premalignant chronic inflammatory disorder. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) provides a real-time, non-invasive, and in-situ optical signature using light of varying wavelengths to examine tissue. Aim of the present study was to assess the possible role of OCT as diagnostic tool for atrophic-erosive OLP by examining OCT scans of healthy buccal mucosa, and comparing their ultrastructural features with those of a buccal mucosa affected by atrophic-erosive OLP, using their histopathological counterparts as the gold standard.

Nanotherapeutics for regeneration of degenerated tissue infected by bacteria through the multiple delivery of bioactive ions and growth factor with antibacterial/angiogenic and osteogenic/odontogenic capacity.

Therapeutic options are quite limited in clinics for the successful repair of infected/degenerated tissues. Although the prevalent treatment is the complete removal of the whole infected tissue, this leads to a loss of tissue function and serious complications. Herein the dental pulp infection, as one of the most common dental problems, was selected as a clinically relevant case to regenerate using a multifunctional nanotherapeutic approach.

General Data Protection Regulation - are we up to date?

Introduction The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is now at the core of data protection and provides more rights than ever before for individuals to control the data that is held about them, and holds organisations accountable.Materials and methods Questionnaire-based knowledge audit consisting of 18 questions relating to GDPR, which was created and distributed to all staff at departmental audit meetings. The gold standard was set that all members of staff were required to pass the questionnaire, with the pass mark set at 14/18.

Controlled local release of PPARγ agonists from biomaterials to treat peripheral nerve injury.

Objective: Poor clinical outcomes following peripheral nerve injury (PNI) are partly attributable to the limited rate of neuronal regeneration. Despite numerous potential drug candidates demonstrating positive effects on nerve regeneration rate in preclinical models, no drugs are routinely used to improve restoration of function in clinical practice. A key challenge associated with clinical adoption of drug treatments in nerve injured patients is the requirement for sustained administration of doses associated with undesirable systemic sideeffects.

Smile esthetic evaluation of mucogingival reconstructive surgery.

To assess the difference in smile esthetic impact of Coronally Advanced Flap (CAF) with or without the adjunct of a collagen matrix (CMX) used as root coverage procedures. Subjects with esthetic demands showing multiple upper gingival recessions of at least 2 mm, without interproximal attachment loss and cervical abrasion no more than 1 mm were recruited and randomized to CAF plus CMX or CAF alone. The Smile Esthetic Index (SEI) was adopted to quantify the quality of the smile recorded at baseline and 12 months after treatment for each treatment group.

Enhancing Distraction Osteogenesis With Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polyether Ether Ketone Bone Pins and a Three-Dimensional Printed Transfer Device to Permit Artifact-Free Three-Dimensional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Objectives: To: (1) design an artifact-free 3D-printed MR-safe temporary transfer device, (2) engineer bone-pins from carbon fiber reinforced polyether ether ketone (CFR-PEEK), (3) evaluate the imaging artifacts of CFR-PEEK, and (4) confirm the osteointegration potential of CFR-PEEK, thus enhancing 3D-planning of bony advancements in hemifacial microsomia using sequential magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Study Design: Engineered CRF-PEEK bone pins and a 3D printed ex-fix device were implanted into a sheep head and imaged with MRI and computed tomography . The osseointegration and bony compatibility potential of CFR-PEEK was assessed with scanning electron microscopy images of MC3T3 preosteoblast cells on the surface of the material.

Effect of Novel Antibacterial Composites on Bacterial Biofilms.

Continuing cariogenic bacterial growth demineralizing dentine beneath a composite filling is the most common cause of tooth restoration failure. Novel composites with antibacterial polylysine (PLS) (0, 4, 6, or 8 wt%) in its filler phase were therefore produced. Remineralising monocalcium phosphate was also included at double the PLS weight.

Iron Deposits in Periaqueductal Gray Matter Are Associated with Poor Response to OnabotulinumtoxinA in Chronic Migraine.

Previous studies have reported increased brain deposits of iron in patients with chronic migraine (CM). This study aims to determine the relation between iron deposits and outcome after treatment with OnabotulinumtoxinA (OnabotA). Demographic and clinical data were collected for this study through a prospective cohort study including 62 CM patients treated with OnabotA in the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela (Spain).

Early Polylysine Release from Dental Composites and Its Effects on Planktonic Growth.

The study aim was to assess the effect of incorporating polylysine (PLS) filler at different mass fractions (0.5, 1 and 2 wt%) on PLS release and planktonic growth. Composite containing PLS mass and volume change and PLS release upon water immersion were assessed gravimetrically and via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), respectively.

Knowledge of, and attitudes to, shared decision-making in orthodontics in the UK.

Objective: To establish UK orthodontic treatment providers' knowledge of, and attitudes to, shared decision-making (SDM). SDM involves patients as equal partners in decisions about treatment.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Mental capacity assessment: a descriptive, cross-sectional study of what doctors think, know and do.

Background: The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) (2005) was enacted in 2007 in England and Wales, but the assessment of mental capacity still remains an area of professional concern. Doctors' compliance with legal and professional standards is inconsistent, but the reasons for poor compliance are not well understood. This preliminary study investigates doctors' experiences of and attitudes toward mental capacity assessment (MCAx).

Enrichment of the airway microbiome in people living with HIV with potential pathogenic bacteria despite antiretroviral therapy.

Background: Long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART) enables people living with HIV (PLW-HIV) to be healthier and live longer; though they remain at greater risk of pneumonia and chronic lung disease than the general population. Lung microbial dysbiosis has been shown to contribute to respiratory disease.

Methods: 16S-rRNA gene sequencing on the Miseq-platform and qPCR for typical respiratory pathogens were performed on sputum samples collected from 64 PLW-HIV (median blood CD4 count 676 cells/μL) and 38 HIV-negative participants.

3D culture technologies of cancer stem cells: promising ex vivo tumor models.

Cancer stem cells have been shown to be important in tumorigenesis processes, such as tumor growth, metastasis, and recurrence. As such, many three-dimensional models have been developed to establish an microenvironment that cancer stem cells experience under conditions. Cancer stem cells propagating in three-dimensional culture systems show physiologically related signaling pathway profiles, gene expression, cell-matrix and cell-cell interactions, and drug resistance that reflect at least some of the tumor properties seen .

Information seeking behaviour of dental trauma patients and their parents.

Background And Aim: Dental trauma is a common public health issue that can be associated with high costs and lifelong treatment. Children and parents should have the correct information regarding its management to reduce the potential long-term sequelae. Understanding their information seeking behaviour is therefore important to ensure that they are able to access, understand and retain the relevant information.