OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical application effect of the along-axis extraction method in the extraction of impacted mandibular third molars (IMTM) and to compare the biomechanical characteristics of different root extraction techniques through three-dimensional finite element analysis. METHODS: A total of 68 patients requiring IMTM extraction were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups: the experimental group underwent the along-axis extraction method, while the control group underwent the traditional buccal bone removal and root extraction method. The duration of the procedure, intraoperative and postoperative complications were recorded. Three-dimensional finite element analysis further revealed the stress distribution in the tooth root, jawbone, periodontal ligament, and mandibular canal during different root extraction methods. RESULTS: The duration of root extraction, pain score and swelling on the first postoperative day in the control group were (7.87±3.90) min, 4.62±1.90 and (11.37±5.12) mm, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the experimental group [(5.74±2.37) min, 3.87±1.19 and (7.22±3.39) mm, respectively]. The root fracture rate and lingual bone plate fracture rate in the control group were significantly higher than those in the experimental group (P < 0.05). The results of finite element analysis showed that the control group ' s lingual al-veolar bone had the higher peak equivalent stress, and lingual bone plate fracture was prone to occur. The periodontal ligament of the experimental group had the higher equivalent stress value, making it more likely to rip and more likely to cause root displacement. When subjected to force, the experimental group' s instantaneous root displacement was higher, but the control group ' s root displacement was more pronounced in the lingual direction. CONCLUSION This study suggests that the along-axis extraction me-thod can not only effectively shorten the operative time but also reduce postoperative complications after extraction of impacted mandibular third molars, and enhance the safety of the operation and the patient' s comfort. Three-dimensional finite element analysis shows the biomechanical characteristics of various root extraction techniques visually, serves as a valuable guide for choosing and refining clinical surgical techniques, and confirms that extracting a tooth' s root along its long axis yields better clinical results.
Humans ; Finite Element Analysis ; Tooth, Impacted/surgery* ; Tooth Extraction/methods* ; Molar, Third/surgery* ; Mandible/surgery* ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Female ; Adult ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Male ; Tooth Root/surgery* ; Young Adult ; Adolescent

Cancer immunotherapy has emerged as a promising strategy. However, low response rates and immune-related side effects have plagued immunotherapy. Metallic nanoparticles, utilizing metals as their framework, are gaining prominence in cancer immunotherapy. Metal ions have shown the ability to modulate immune status by activating the cGAS-STING pathway and inducing immunogenic cell death (ICD), thereby enabling multidimensional activation of immunotherapy. Metallic nanoparticles offer significant advantages in cancer immunotherapy, leading to their increasing use in enhancing therapeutic outcomes. In view of the ever-increasing research on metallic nanoparticles, this review presents the construction, characterization, and enhanced cancer immunotherapeutic effects of different types of metal nanosystems from the perspective of the immunoregulatory mechanisms of metal ions. We delve into the current limitations and future directions of metallic nanoparticles in this rapidly evolving field. To the best of our knowledge, this review offers the most up-to-date and systematic analysis of metallic nanoparticles in immunotherapeutic applications. It is anticipated that this review of metallic nanoparticles will inspire a more refined and intelligent design of metallic nanoparticles for future research, paving the way for advancing their clinical applications.

ObjectiveTo explore the efficacy and mechanism of Danshen Zexie decoction in treating the rats with metabolic-associated fatty liver disease （MAFLD）. MethodSixty male SD rats were randomized into control group， model group， essentiale （polyene phosphatidylcholine capsules， 0.144 g·kg^-1） group， and low-， medium-， and high-dose Danshen Zexie decoction （1.16， 2.32， and 4.64 g·kg^-1， respectively） groups. The rat model of MAFLD was established with high fat diet， and 8-week therapy started at the induction of MAFLD. The serum levels of total cholesterol （TC）， triglyceride （TG）， alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， and aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， as well as the liver levels of TC， TG， free fatty acid （FFA）， superoxide dismutase （SOD）， glutathione （GSH）， and malondialdehyde （MDA）， were measured. The pathological changes of liver were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining and oil red O staining， and the steatosis score and oil red O staining area were calculated. The level of reactive oxygen species （ROS） in the liver was detected by immunofluorescence. The protein levels of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase （AMPK）， p-AMPK， nuclear factor E₂-related factor 2 （Nrf2）， glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit （GCLC）， glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit （GCLM）， and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate： quinine oxidoreductase （NQO1） in the liver were determined by Western blot. ResultCompared with control group， the modeling of MAFLD elevated the levels of TC， TG， ALT， and AST in the serum and TC， TG， FFA， MDA， and ROS in the liver （P<0.01）， lowered the levels of SOD and GSH and down-regulated the protein levels of phosphorylation（p）-AMPK， Nrf2， GCLC， GCLM， and NQO1 in the liver （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Further， a large number of lipid droplet vacuoles and balloon-like lesions appeared in the hepatocytes， and the steatosis score and oil red O staining area increased in the model group （P<0.01）. Compared with model group， Danshen Zexie decoction lowered the levels of TC， TG， ALT， and AST in the serum and TC， TG， FFA， MDA， and ROS in the liver （P<0.01）， increased the levels of SOD and GSH and up-regulated the protein levels of p-AMPK， Nrf2， GCLC， GCLM， and NQO1 in the liver （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Moreover， the decoction alleviated the degree of liver steatosis （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionDanshen Zexie decoction protects against MAFLD by activating AMPK/Nrf2 signaling pathway and suppressing oxidative stress.

The review summarizes the kidney protective mechanism of sodium-glucose-coupled transporter 2 inhibitors and their efficacy and safety for diabetic recipients of kidney transplantation.It is intended to improve patient outcomes.

Objective To investigate the characteristics of liver deformation and changes in abdominal vascular diameter under artificial pneumoperitoneum based on CT images,and also to reveal the impact of intestinal adhesion on these characteristics.Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 61 patients who underwent abdominal CT scan and artificial pneumoperitoneum CT.Eight cases did not meet the inclusion criteria.The sample included 41 patients with postoperative intestinal adhesion(POIA)and 12 patients without POIA.A three-dimensional post-processing software was used to quantify the gas volume,liver volume,liver surface area,and lumen of the abdominal aorta,inferior vena cava,and portal vein on CT images of patients who underwent abdominal CT scan and artificial pneumoperitoneum CT.The measured indices were compared before and after artificial pneumoperitoneum in all patients,and the impact of intestinal adhesion on the aforementioned indices was evaluated.Results At equivalent levels of pneumoperitoneum pressure,no statistically significant difference was observed in the quantity of gas in the abdominal cavity between patients with and without POIA(P=0.753).In the absence of pneumoperitoneum,POIA patients exhibited a significantly higher liver volume than non-adhesion patients(P＜0.01).Following the application of artificial pneumoperitoneum pressure,both liver volume and liver surface area were reduced in all patients,with a more pronounced decrease in POIA group(P=0.003,P=0.002).In addition,the reductions in the internal diameters of the inferior vena cava at three locations and the portal vein position 1 were also observed in all patients(P＜0.05).Notably,the POIA group exhibited more significant decrease in the internal diameters of inferior vena cava position 1 and the portal vein position 1(P=0.022,P=0.038).No significant differences were observed in the changes of internal diameter of other blood vessels or in the intergroup comparison.Conclusion Artificial pneumoperitoneum can reduce the volum,the surface area of liver,and the inner diameter of some abdominal vessels,which provides a scientific basis for navigation and real-time correction in laparoscopic abdominal surgery for patients,especially for patients with POIA.

BACKGROUND: Standard two-dimensional (2D) culture has confirmed the mechanism of mast cells (MCs) in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the regulation of signaling responses of MCs may well differ in three-dimensional (3D) microenvironments. The aim of the study was to develop a 3D culture model based on decellularized intestinal scaffolds (DIS) and verify how MCs influenced fibroblasts phenotype in the 3D model. METHODS: DIS were achieved using the detergent technique and extracellular matrix (ECM) components were verified by histologic analysis, quantification and scanning electron microscope. After human colon fibroblasts recellularized into the scaffolds and activated by MCs tryptase and TGFb1, the changes in genes and signaling pathways during fibroblasts activation in 3D were studied and compared with the changes in 2D cell culture on plastic plates. RESULTS: Decellularization process effectively removed native cell debris while retaining natural ECM components and structure. The engrafted fibroblasts could penetrate into the scaffolds and maintain its phenotype. No matter whether fibroblasts were cultured in 2D or 3D, MCs tryptase and transforming growth factor b1 (TGF-b1) could promote the differentiation of fibroblasts into fibrotic-phenotype myofibroblasts through Akt and Smad2/3 signaling pathways. Furthermore, the pro-collagen1a1 and fibronectin synthesis of myofibroblasts in 3D was higher than in 2D culture. CONCLUSION Our results demonstrated that the DIS can be used as a bioactive microenvironment for the study of intestinal fibrosis, providing an innovative platform for future intestinal disease modeling and screening of genes and signaling pathways.

Objective:To explore the visual fixation patterns during facial emotion recognition and the association between fixation duration percentage (FDP) of eye region with social impairment among high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD).Methods:Children were recruited from the Child and Adolescent Behavior Research Center of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, between July and December 2019 for case control study. A total of 42 children with HFASD and 23 age-and gender-matched typical development (TD) children were enrolled. Based on their performance during the facial emotion recognition task, HFASD children were further divided into ASD-1 group (correctly recognized both happy and fear emotions) and ASD-2 group (recognized happy emotions only). During the free viewing task, an infrared eye tracker was used to record the gazing data of children in the three groups. The social responsiveness scales (SRS) was utilized to evaluate HFASD children′s social impairment, with the cutoff score of 75 to differentiate those from mild and severe social impairment. The differences of FDP among the three groups were analyzed by the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) model. Mixed linear regression model was conducted to evaluate the associations between social impairment and FDP of eye region among HFASD children.Results:The final sample consists of 25 ASD-1 (20 males, aged (7.9±1.0) years), 17 ASD-2(14 males, aged (7.2±1.2) years), and 23 TD (12 males, aged (7.7±1.3) years) children. There were no significant differences in age and gender among three groups ( F=2.05, χ2 =10.08, P=0.14 and 0.07, respectively). For the happy emotion, there are significant differences in eye FDP among the three groups (TD: 0.37±0.20, ASD-1: 0.35±0.20, ASD-2: 0.47±0.24, F=3.97, P=0.02). Mixed linear regression model revealed that, adjusting for emotion, gender, age and intelligence quotient, ASD children′s eye FDP negatively associates with social impairment ( OR=0.15, 95% CI: 0.06-0.35, P<0.01). Conclusions:Longer FDP is associated with milder social impairment among HFASD children. HFASD children with facial emotion recognition difficulties require longer fixation to recognize happy emotions.

Objective:To establish a three-dimensional （3D） quantitative measurement and evaluate the condylar bone remodeling of temporomandibular joint (TMJ).Methods:Pre-and post-treatment cone-beam CT (CBCT) data were obtained from 41 patients ［10 males, 31 females, mean age of (19.7±4.4) years (12-30 years old)］, who visited the Center for TMD and Orofacial Pain, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology from November 2014 to August 2019, and diagnosed with acute disc displacement without reduction or disc displacement with reduction, with intermittent locking and treated by manual disc reduction followed by anterior repositioning splint. First, condylar bone remodeling was evaluated according to the number of “double contour image” and qualitatively classified as no remodeling (no double contour image), partial remodeling (1-4 double contour images) and remarkable remodeling (5-6 double contour images). Then, condylar bone remodeling was quantitatively evaluated by CBCT based 3D measurement: segmenting condylar images using a semi-automatic method of the manually preliminary mark combined with watershed algorithm, reconstructing the surface models, superimposing the pre-and post-treatment condylar images and finally calculating the volumetric differences of condyle and condylar head, respectively.Results:The Kappa values of two-dimensional (2D) qualitative evaluation were 0.66-0.87, and 3D quantitative measurements of condyle and condylar head volume were also reliable, with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values of intra-observer 0.998/0.941 and inter-observer 0.999/0.942 respectively. The volumetric increment of the condyle and condylar head after treatment was (41.7±90.2) mm3 and (62.8±70.9) mm3, respectively. Eighty-two condyles were divided into three sub-groups: no remodeling (21), partial remodeling (20) and remarkable remodeling (41). Ranking of the volumetric increment of the condyle and condylar head after treatment was as follows: remarkable remodeling group>partial remodeling group>no remodeling group ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The 3D quantitative measurement for evaluating condylar bone remodeling had excellent consistency and reliability, which was consistent with the qualitative classification for condylar bone remodeling. The condylar head as a region of interest was more sensitive to the volumetric changes.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy and influence factors of direct pulp capping using a bioactive ceramic in mature permanent teeth with carious pulp exposure, in order to explore the feasibility and indications of vital pulp therapy for such teeth.Methods:From January 2016 to September 2017, 57 patients (57 teeth) with carious pulp exposure in mature permanent teeth were selected from the Department of Cariology and Endodontology, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology. All the teeth were preoperatively diagnosed as deep caries with normal pulp or reversible pulpitis. After rubber dam isolation, all the carious dentin was removed and the exposed pulp tissue was observed under microscope. Hemostasis should be achieved within 3 min by using 2.5% sodium hypochlorite cotton pellets with a gently press. A resin composite restoration was performed immediately or 2 weeks later after direct pulp capping by using a bioceramic material (iRoot BP Plus). The patients were re-examined 12 to 50 months after operation (average 30 months) and the outcomes were evaluated by symptoms, clinical examination and X-ray. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to calculate the success rate and influence factors were analyzed by Log-Rank test.Results:Totally 50 patients [age (32±13) years old (13-68 years old), 12 males and 38 females] received the follow-up examination more than one year. The overall success rate was 90% (45/50) and the success rates at 1 year, 2 years, 3 years and more were 98%, 89% and 81%, respectively. Age, gender, symptom, tooth and cavity type, pulpal exposure size and coronal restoration material had no significant correlations with the treatment outcome ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Direct pulp capping of mature permanent teeth with carious pulp exposure by using iRoot BP Plus might have high success rate. There′s no significant correlations between the major clinical factors and the treatment outcome.

Objective: Remuzzi scoring system is utilized for assessing the degree of renal tissue damage in donors with hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage and donors with brain trauma after cardiac death. To explore the prognosis of hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage donor kidney in renal transplant recipients. Methods: The kidney donated by DCD between January 1, 2016 to June 1, 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Pathological biopsy was performed before transplantation and hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining after sectioning. The degree of renal tissue lesions was evaluated by Remuzzi scoring system. According to the source of donor kidney, they were divided into two groups of donors with heart failure due to hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage (HCH) and those with brain trauma (BT). Both groups of donor kidneys were preserved by low-temperature machine perfusion. The immunosuppressive regimen was identical in both groups. The prognosis of two groups was compared by serum creatinine (Scr) at Month 1/6/12 post-operation and cumulative graft survival rate over a follow-up period of 12-36 months. Results: The renal Remuzzi score of HCH donors was significantly higher than that of BT donors. The maximal creatinine clearance rate was significantly lower than that of BT donors [(86.8±27.8) vs (115.4±23.2) ml/min, P<0.05]. At 1/6/12 months post-transplantation, serum creatinine levels were (76.1±18.5), (72.4±16.2) and (71.4±16.8) μmol/L in BT group and (160.3±33.4), (154.3±32.6) and (146.4±29.1) μmol/L in HCH group. The SCr in BT group at 1/6/12 months was lower than that in HCH group (P<0.05). Kaplan-meier analysis showed no significant inter-group difference in graft survival between two groups over a follow-up period of 12 to 36 months (Log-Rank test, P=0.485). Conclusions No significant difference exists in short-term survival rate of kidneys from HCH and BT donors. The recipients of HCH donor's kidney have higher serum creatinine levels than those of BT donors. Selective use of kidney transplants in patients with cardiac death caused by HCH may greatly reduce the waste of donor kidney and improve the quality-of-life of patients with end-stage renal disease.