Clear aligner treatment is a novel technique in current orthodontic practice. Distinct from traditional fixed orthodontic appliances, clear aligners have different material features and biomechanical characteristics and treatment efficiencies, presenting new clinical challenges. Therefore, a comprehensive and systematic description of the key clinical aspects of clear aligner treatment is essential to enhance treatment efficacy and facilitate the advancement and wide adoption of this new technique. This expert consensus discusses case selection and grading of treatment difficulty, principle of clear aligner therapy, clinical procedures and potential complications, which are crucial to the clinical success of clear aligner treatment.
Humans ; Consensus ; Orthodontic Appliance Design ; Orthodontic Appliances, Removable ; Tooth Movement Techniques/methods* ; Malocclusion/therapy* ; Orthodontics, Corrective/instrumentation*

Early correction of childhood malocclusion is timely managing morphological, structural, and functional abnormalities at different dentomaxillofacial developmental stages. The selection of appropriate imaging examination and comprehensive radiological diagnosis and analysis play an important role in early correction of childhood malocclusion. This expert consensus is a collaborative effort by multidisciplinary experts in dentistry across the nation based on the current clinical evidence, aiming to provide general guidance on appropriate imaging examination selection, comprehensive and accurate imaging assessment for early orthodontic treatment patients.
Humans ; Malocclusion/diagnostic imaging* ; Child ; Consensus

The prevalence of Class III malocclusion varies among different countries and regions. The populations from Southeast Asian countries (Chinese and Malaysian) showed the highest prevalence rate of 15.8%, which can seriously affect oral function, facial appearance, and mental health. As anterior crossbite tends to worsen with growth, early orthodontic treatment can harness growth potential to normalize maxillofacial development or reduce skeletal malformation severity, thereby reducing the difficulty and shortening the treatment cycle of later-stage treatment. This is beneficial for the physical and mental growth of children. Therefore, early orthodontic treatment for Class III malocclusion is particularly important. Determining the optimal timing for early orthodontic treatment requires a comprehensive assessment of clinical manifestations, dental age, and skeletal age, and can lead to better results with less effort. Currently, standardized treatment guidelines for early orthodontic treatment of Class III malocclusion are lacking. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the etiology, clinical manifestations, classification, and early orthodontic techniques for Class III malocclusion, along with systematic discussions on selecting early treatment plans. The purpose of this expert consensus is to standardize clinical practices and improve the treatment outcomes of Class III malocclusion through early orthodontic treatment.
Humans ; Malocclusion, Angle Class III/classification* ; Orthodontics, Corrective/methods* ; Consensus ; Child

The advent of bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BTKi) has offered more therapeutic choices for patients with B-cell malignancies. However, with its widespread application in recent years, the use of BTKi increases the risk of severe infections in patients. Here, we report three cases of B-cell malignancies, including one case of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and two cases of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. During treatment with BTKi zanubrutinib, different degrees of invasive fungal disease (IFD) of the central nervous system occurred in these patients. All patients fully recovered following antifungal therapy. With a median follow-up of 35 months, all patients remained in a continuous remission state, and none of them had a recurrence of IFD.

Background: The function of CD69 expressed on T cells in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remains unclear. We aimed to elucidate the roles of CD69 on T cells in the disease process and in antiviral therapy for CHB. Methods: We enrolled 335 treatment-naive patients with CHB and 93 patients with CHB on antiviral therapy. CD69, antiviral cytokine production by T cells, T-helper (Th) cells, and inhibitory molecules of T cells were measured using flow cytometry, and clinical-virological characteristics were examined dynamically during antiviral therapy. Results: CD69 expression on CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells was the lowest in the immune-active phase and was negatively correlated with liver transaminase activity, fibrosis features, inflammatory cytokine production by T cells, and Th-cell frequencies but positively with inhibitory molecules on T cells. CD69 expression on CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells decreased after 48 weeks of antiviral therapy, and patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion in week 48 showed lower CD69 expression on T cells at baseline and week 48. The area under the ROC curve of CD69 expression on T cells at baseline for predicting HBeAg seroconversion in week 48 was 0.870, the sensitivity was 0.909, and the specificity was 0.714 (P = 0.002). Conclusions CD69 negatively regulates T-cell immunity during CHB, and its expression decreases with antiviral therapy. CD69 expression predicts HBeAg seroconversion in week 48. CD69 may play an important negative role in regulating T cells and affect the efficacy of antiviral therapy.

Objective To explore the role of neogambogic acid in the characteristics of colorectal cancer stem cells (CRC-CSCs) through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Methods The colorectal cells SW480 and HCT166 were divided into control group and neogambogic acid groups (1.5, 3, 6, and 12 μmol/L). The viability of CRC-CSCs was determined by MTT method, and spheroid and clone formation assays were used to assess the capacity of spheroid formation and self-renewal ability of the cells. The effects of neogambogic acid on the apoptosis and cell cycle of CRC-CSCs were evaluated by flow cytometry assays. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression levels of relative markers (CD133, CD44, ALDH1, Oct4, and Nanog) of CRC-CSCs, and the protein expression levels of the self-renewal marker (PCNA), apoptosis markers (cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9), and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway markers (p-GSK3β, GSK3β, β-catenin, and Wnt) were analyzed using Western blot. Results Compared with the control group, after neogambogic acid treatment, the viability of SW480 and HCT116 cells decreased (P<0.05), the spheroid forming ability and the clone numbers of CRC-CSCs decreased (P<0.001, P<0.01) but the cell apoptosis rate increased (P<0.01), and cell cycle was arrested in G₀/G₁ phase. Moreover, neogambogic acid downregulated the mRNA and protein expression of relative markers of CRC-CSCs (CD133, CD44, ALDH1, Oct4, and Nanog), PCNA, p-GSK3β, β-catenin, and Wnt (P<0.05) and upregulated the expression of cleaved caspase-3, cleaved caspase-9, and GSK3β (P<0.01). Conclusion Neogambogic can inhibit the stem cell properties of colorectal cells via inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. As a result, neogambogic acid may be an attractive agent against colorectal cancer.

Objective To explore the risk factors for oral mucosal pressure injuries(OMPI)in patients with endotracheal intubation in the emergency intensive care unit(EICU)and to construct a nomogram prediction model based on these factors.Methods A case-control study design was adopt-ed to retrospectively collect clinical data from 209 adult patients with endotracheal intubation admitted to EICU.The patients were divided into OMPI group(53 patients)and non-OMPI group(156 pa-tients)based on whether OMPI occurred during the observation period.The clinical data of the two groups were analyzed,and multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to screen risk factors for OMPI in patients with endotracheal intubation in the EICU.R software was used to draw a nomogram prediction model,and the predictive performance of the model was evaluated through the receiver oper-ating characteristic(ROC)curve,calibration curve,and decision curve analysis.Results Statistical-ly significant differences were observed between the two groups in prone position ventilation,vasocon-strictor use,consciousness at the time of intubation,Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Ⅱ(APACHE Ⅱ)score at the time of intubation,and duration of endotracheal intubation(P＜0.05).The results of multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that prone position ventilation(OR=2.545,95％CI,1.261 to 5.135),vasoconstrictor use(OR=1.984,95％CI,1.162 to 3.387),inability to express complaints at time of intubation(OR=3.618,95％CI,1.891 to 6.924),high APACHE 11 score(OR=2.394,95％CI,1.322 to 4.336),and long duration of endotracheal in-tubation(OR=3.995,95％CI,1.857 to 8.593)were all risk factors for OMPI in patients with en-dotracheal intubation in the EICU(P＜0.05).ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve of the nomogram prediction model was 0.881;calibration curve analysis showed that the mean absolute error between the predicted probability and the actual probability of the model was 0.016;and decision curve analysis showed that the prediction model had practical value in clinical practice.Conclusion Prone position ventilation,vasoconstrictor use,inability to express complaints at the time of intubation,high APACHE Ⅱ score,and long duration of endotracheal intubation are all risk factors for OMPI in patients with endotracheal intubation in the EICU.The nomogram model con-structed based on these factors has good predictive performance for OMPI risk.

Crohn's disease (CD), a chronic and recurrent inflammatory bowel disease, requires repeated intestinal evaluations. As a non-radioactive, non-invasive, well-tolerated, inexpensive and easily reproducible detection tool, intestinal ultrasound (IUS) has been more and more widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of CD in recent years. Various parameters of IUS, such as bowel wall thickness, bowel wall stratification, color doppler signals, and inflammatory mesenteric fat, provide a lot of critical information in the diagnosis and treatment of CD. IUS can not only accurately diagnose CD and its complications, but also well evaluate CD disease activity and treatment response, and effectively predict CD transmural remission, disease duration, surgical risk, and postoperative recurrence. IUS has demonstrated good accuracy in the diagnosis, evaluation and prediction of CD.

Objective:To explore the application efficacy of the continuous oral care program led by dental nurses in adolescent patients with fixed orthodontics and to provide a reference for continuous care to enhance the oral health level of patients.Methods:A randomized controlled trial was carried out in the Orthodontic Department of Shanghai Stomatological Hospital from June to December 2022. A total of 132 adolescent patients with fixed orthodontics were selected through the convenience sampling method and divided into the experimental group and the control group by the random number table method, with 66 patients in each group. The experimental group was provided with the continuous oral care program led by dental specialist nurses, while the control group received routine care. The intervention lasted for 12 months. The Oral Health Impact Scale, the Oral Health Self-Management Ability Questionnaire, and the plaque index were utilized to assess the intervention effect before and after the intervention.Results:A total of 65 participants in the experimental group completed the study, with an age of (14.41 ± 1.60) years, comprising 32 males and 33 females. In the control group, 64 participants completed the study, with an age of (14.15 ± 1.69) years, including 28 males and 36 females. Prior to intervention, there were no statistically significant differences in scores for oral health self-management ability, Oral Health Impact Profile-14, or total plaque index between the experimental and control groups (all P>0.05). Following intervention, the score for oral health self-management ability in the experimental group was (77.42 ± 11.70) points, significantly higher than (70.47 ± 17.49) points of the control group ( t = 2.65, P<0.05). Additionally, the score on the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 for the experimental group was (16.40 ± 3.45) points and their total plaque index was measured at 1.68 ± 0.55 both significantly lower than those recorded in the control group at (18.16 ± 3.79) points and a total plaque index of 1.92 ± 0.47 respectively ( t = - 2.75, - 2.55, both P<0.05). Conclusions:The implementation of the continuous oral care program led by dental specialist nurses is conducive to improving the oral health self-management ability of adolescent patients with fixed orthodontics, reducing dental plaque, improving oral cleanliness, and improving the oral health-related quality of life of patients.

Crohn's disease (CD), a chronic and recurrent inflammatory bowel disease, requires repeated intestinal evaluations. As a non-radioactive, non-invasive, well-tolerated, inexpensive and easily reproducible detection tool, intestinal ultrasound (IUS) has been more and more widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of CD in recent years. Various parameters of IUS, such as bowel wall thickness, bowel wall stratification, color doppler signals, and inflammatory mesenteric fat, provide a lot of critical information in the diagnosis and treatment of CD. IUS can not only accurately diagnose CD and its complications, but also well evaluate CD disease activity and treatment response, and effectively predict CD transmural remission, disease duration, surgical risk, and postoperative recurrence. IUS has demonstrated good accuracy in the diagnosis, evaluation and prediction of CD.