Objective To understand the levels of water fluoride,tea fluorosis and the severity of drinking tea type of endemic fluorosis in Xinjiang from 2014 to 2016,and to provide a basis for making prevention and control measures.Methods In 2014-2016,a cross-sectional study was conducted to select six counties with serious fluorosis in Xinjiang as monitor counties,one diseased township was selected from five directions including east,south,west,north and center in each county,one village was selected in each township,and 10 families were selected to investigate the situation of brick tea drinking.Drinking water and brick tea samples were collected for detection of fluorine content,and epidemiological methods were used to analyze the prevalence of dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis.Results In 2014-2016,resident population per capita brick tea consumptions were 3.9-4.4 kg,per capita brick tea fluorine intakes were 4.6-6.1 mg,and the mean of tea fluorine was 433.1,385.2,432.7 mg/kg,respectively,the differences were not statistically significant (F =0.33,P ＞ 0.05);the means of water fluorine were 0.06-1.26 mg/L,and they were 0.38,0.37,0.33 mg/L,respectively,the differences were not statistically significant (F =2.64,P ＞ 0.05).The survey results showed that dental fluorosis of children aged 8-12 was 243 in three years,with a detection rate of 4.47％ (243/5 442) and the range of 0.08-0.14,which was negative.The skeletal fluorosis of adults aged 36-45 was 25 in 2015,with a detection rate of 2.75％ (25/910).Conclusions The fluorine content of some tea in drinking tea type of endemic fluorosis areas in Xinjiang is high,and the fluorine content of some water samples has exceed the standard of drinking water type disease area (1.2 mg/L).The prevalences of dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis are acceptable;it is recommended to maintain the previous prevention and control policies and to further monitor the tea market.

Objective:To estimate the iodine nutrition level of pregnant women and children in Xinjiang.Methods:Using cluster random sampling method, from March to September in 2018, in the whole district, county (city, district) was treated as a unit to conduct sampling; each county (city, district) was divided into five areas (east, west, south, north, middle), 40 children aged 8 - 10 and 20 pregnant women in each area were randomly selected, salt samples and urine samples were collected to measure iodine content, and B-ultrasound method was used to detect thyroid volume in children.Results:Among 94 counties (cities, districts), 18 859 salt samples were collected from children and 9 070 salt samples from pregnant women. The median salt iodine (interquartile range) for children was 26.65 (23.70, 29.80) mg/kg, and the median salt iodine (interquartile range) for pregnant women was 26.60 (23.80, 29.80) mg/kg. Totally 17 736 qualified iodized salt samples and 109 non-iodized salt samples consumed by children were tested, the coverage rate of iodized salt was 99.42% (18 750/18 859), qualified rate of iodized salt was 94.59% (17 736/18 750), the consumption rate of qualified iodized salt was 94.05% (17 736/18 859), and the non-iodized salt rate was 0.58% (109/18 859). Totally 8 533 qualified iodized salt samples and 57 non-iodized salt samples consumed by pregnant women were tested, the coverage rate of iodized salt was 99.37% (9 013/9 070), the qualified rate of iodized salt was 94.67% (8 533/9 013), the consumption rate of qualified iodized salt was 94.08% (8 533/9 070), and the non-iodized salt rate was 0.63% (57/9 070). Twelve counties (cities, districts) had a consumption rate of qualified iodized salt lower than 90% for children, and 14 counties (cities, districts) had a consumption rate of qualified iodized salt lower than 90% for pregnant women. Totally 18 862 8 - 10 years old children's urine samples were detected, median urinary iodine was 227.0 μg/L, no county (city, district) was found with median urinary iodine < 100 μg/L. A total of 9 070 pregnant women's urine samples were detected, median urinary iodine was 182.0 μg/L, and 23 counties (cities, districts) had a median urinary iodine less than 150 μg/L. B ultrasound was used to detect thyroid volume in 18 787 children aged 8 - 10 years, 231 children had goiter, and the goiter rate was 1.23%, ranged from 0 to 12.05%, and 2 counties (cities, districts) had goiter rate > 5%.Conclusions:There are still some areas in Xinjiang with the consumption rate of qualified iodized salt < 90%. Children's iodine nutrition is greater than the appropriate amount (200 - 299 μg/L), pregnant women's iodine nutrition is appropriate (150 - 249 μg/L), and children's goiter rate generally meets national elimination and control standards (< 5%). Monitoring of iodized salt should be strengthened, and iodine nutrition levels in children and pregnant women should be continuously monitored.

Malocclusion,identified by the World Health Organization(WHO)as one of three major oral diseases,profoundly impacts the dental-maxillofacial functions,facial esthetics,and long-term development of～260 million children in China.Beyond its physical manifestations,malocclusion also significantly influences the psycho-social well-being of these children.Timely intervention in malocclusion can foster an environment conducive to dental-maxillofacial development and substantially decrease the incidence of malocclusion or reduce the severity and complexity of malocclusion in the permanent dentition,by mitigating the negative impact of abnormal environmental influences on the growth.Early orthodontic treatment encompasses accurate identification and treatment of dental and maxillofacial morphological and functional abnormalities during various stages of dental-maxillofacial development,ranging from fetal stages to the early permanent dentition phase.From an economic and societal standpoint,the urgency for effective early orthodontic treatments for malocclusions in childhood cannot be overstated,underlining its profound practical and social importance.This consensus paper discusses the characteristics and the detrimental effects of malocclusion in children,emphasizing critical need for early treatment.It elaborates on corresponding core principles and fundamental approaches in early orthodontics,proposing comprehensive guidance for preventive and interceptive orthodontic treatment,serving as a reference for clinicians engaged in early orthodontic treatment.

Microenvironmental biophysical factors play a fundamental role in controlling cell behaviors including cell morphology, proliferation, adhesion and differentiation, and even determining the cell fate. Cells are able to actively sense the surrounding mechanical microenvironment and change their cellular morphology to adapt to it. Although cell morphological changes have been considered to be the first and most important step in the interaction between cells and their mechanical microenvironment, their regulatory network is not completely clear. In the current study, we generated silicon-based elastomer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates with stiff (15:1, PDMS elastomer vs. curing agent) and soft (45:1) stiffnesses, which showed the Young's moduli of ~450 kPa and 46 kPa, respectively, and elucidated a new path in cytoskeleton re-organization in chondrocytes in response to changed substrate stiffnesses by characterizing the axis shift from the secreted extracellular protein laminin β1, focal adhesion complex protein FAK to microfilament bundling. We first showed the cellular cytoskeleton changes in chondrocytes by characterizing the cell spreading area and cellular synapses. We then found the changes of secreted extracellular linkage protein, laminin β1, and focal adhesion complex protein, FAK, in chondrocytes in response to different substrate stiffnesses. These two proteins were shown to be directly interacted by Co-IP and colocalization. We next showed that impact of FAK on the cytoskeleton organization by showing the changes of microfilament bundles and found the potential intermediate regulators. Taking together, this modulation axis of laminin β1-FAK-microfilament could enlarge our understanding about the interdependence among mechanosensing, mechanotransduction, and cytoskeleton re-organization.
Cell Adhesion ; Chondrocytes ; Cytoskeleton/metabolism* ; Elastomers/metabolism* ; Laminin/metabolism* ; Mechanotransduction, Cellular

Periodontitis patients are at risk of alveolar bone loss during orthodontic treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate whether intermittent parathyroid hormone (1-34) treatment (iPTH) could reduce alveolar bone loss during orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) in individuals with periodontitis and the underlying mechanism. A rat model of OTM in the context of periodontitis was established and alveolar bone loss was observed. The control, iPTH and iPTH + stattic groups received injections of vehicle, PTH and vehicle, or PTH and the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) inhibitor stattic, respectively. iPTH prevented alveolar bone loss by enhancing osteogenesis and suppressing bone resorption in the alveolar bone during OTM in rats with periodontitis. This effect of iPTH was along with STAT3 activation and reduced by a local injection of stattic. iPTH promoted osteoblastic differentiation and might further regulate the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in a STAT3-dependent manner. The findings of this study suggest that iPTH might reduce alveolar bone loss during OTM in rats with periodontitis through STAT3/β-catenin crosstalk.
Animals ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Osteogenesis ; Parathyroid Hormone ; Periodontitis/drug therapy* ; Rats ; STAT3 Transcription Factor/metabolism* ; Tooth Movement Techniques ; beta Catenin

The syndrome of dampness stagnancy due to spleen deficiency (DSSD) is relatively common globally. Although the pathogenesis of DSSD remains unclear, evidence has suggested that the gut microbiota might play a significant role. Radix Astragali, used as both medicine and food, exerts the effects of tonifying spleen and qi. Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) comprises a macromolecule substance extracted from the dried root of Radix Astragali, which has many pharmacological functions. However, whether APS mitigates the immune disorders underlying the DSSD syndrome via regulating gut microbiota and the relevant mechanism remains unknown. Here, we used DSSD rats induced by high-fat and low-protein (HFLP) diet plus exhaustive swimming, and found that APS of moderate molecular weight increased the body weight gain and immune organ indexes, decreased the levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, and endotoxin, and suppressed the Toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factor-‍κB (TLR4/NF-‍κB) pathway. Moreover, a total of 27 critical genera were significantly enriched according to the linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe). APS increased the diversity of the gut microbiota and changed its composition, such as reducing the relative abundance of Pseudoflavonifractor and Paraprevotella, and increasing that of Parasutterella, Parabacteroides, Clostridium XIVb, Oscillibacter, Butyricicoccus, and Dorea. APS also elevated the contents of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Furthermore, the correlation analysis indicated that 12 critical bacteria were related to the body weight gain and immune organ indexes. In general, our study demonstrated that APS ameliorated the immune disorders in DSSD rats via modulating their gut microbiota, especially for some bacteria involving immune and inflammatory response and SCFA production, as well as the TLR4/NF-κB pathway. This study provides an insight into the function of APS as a unique potential prebiotic through exerting systemic activities in treating DSSD.
Rats ; Animals ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; Spleen ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Toll-Like Receptor 4 ; Polysaccharides/pharmacology* ; Astragalus Plant/metabolism* ; Immune System Diseases/drug therapy* ; Body Weight