BACKGROUND:Hydrogen peroxide-based bleach is widely used in clinical tooth whitening treatment,but its mechanism of action has not been uniformly determined so far.OBJECTIVE:To examine the effects of two bleaching agents,neutral 10％carbamide peroxide and neutral 40％hydrogen peroxide,on teeth and explore the mechanism of teeth whitening.METHODS:Forty-five discarded teeth extracted for orthodontic treatment were collected,and the dentin sections were made and polished.After removing the smear layer,they were randomly divided into three groups.The control group(n=15)was placed in deionized water;the carbamide peroxide group(n=15)was placed in a neutral 10％carbamide peroxide solution,and the hydrogen peroxide group(n=15)was placed in a neutral 40％hydrogen peroxide solution.The treatment was continued for 6 hours every day for 1 week.The Raman absolute intensity and Raman relative intensity of the three groups of samples were detected by Raman spectrometer every day,and the fluorescence background intensity(the difference between the Raman absolute intensity and the Raman relative intensity)was calculated.The change trend of the amide peak of the three groups of samples every day was recorded by infrared spectrometer.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The relative Raman intensity of the three groups did not change significantly during the 1-7 days of treatment.The fluorescence background intensity of the control group did not change significantly during the 1-7 days of treatment.The fluorescence background intensity of the carbamide peroxide group showed a downward trend during the 1-7 days of treatment.The fluorescence background intensity of the hydrogen peroxide group decreased significantly during the 1-4 days of treatment and did not change significantly thereafter.(2)The peak areas of amide Ⅰ and amide Ⅲ did not change significantly during the 1-7 days of treatment in the control group.The peak areas of amide Ⅰ and amide Ⅲ showed a downward trend during the 1-7 days of treatment in the carbamide peroxide group and the hydrogen peroxide group,and the downward trend was more obvious in the hydrogen peroxide group.(3)The results show that the change in the laser-induced fluorescence background intensity of dentin Raman spectroscopy may be derived from the non-collagen components in dentin,and under the action of whitening agents,it may have a certain adverse effect on tooth tissue.

BACKGROUND:Hydrogen peroxide-based bleach is widely used in clinical tooth whitening treatment,but its mechanism of action has not been uniformly determined so far.OBJECTIVE:To examine the effects of two bleaching agents,neutral 10％carbamide peroxide and neutral 40％hydrogen peroxide,on teeth and explore the mechanism of teeth whitening.METHODS:Forty-five discarded teeth extracted for orthodontic treatment were collected,and the dentin sections were made and polished.After removing the smear layer,they were randomly divided into three groups.The control group(n=15)was placed in deionized water;the carbamide peroxide group(n=15)was placed in a neutral 10％carbamide peroxide solution,and the hydrogen peroxide group(n=15)was placed in a neutral 40％hydrogen peroxide solution.The treatment was continued for 6 hours every day for 1 week.The Raman absolute intensity and Raman relative intensity of the three groups of samples were detected by Raman spectrometer every day,and the fluorescence background intensity(the difference between the Raman absolute intensity and the Raman relative intensity)was calculated.The change trend of the amide peak of the three groups of samples every day was recorded by infrared spectrometer.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The relative Raman intensity of the three groups did not change significantly during the 1-7 days of treatment.The fluorescence background intensity of the control group did not change significantly during the 1-7 days of treatment.The fluorescence background intensity of the carbamide peroxide group showed a downward trend during the 1-7 days of treatment.The fluorescence background intensity of the hydrogen peroxide group decreased significantly during the 1-4 days of treatment and did not change significantly thereafter.(2)The peak areas of amide Ⅰ and amide Ⅲ did not change significantly during the 1-7 days of treatment in the control group.The peak areas of amide Ⅰ and amide Ⅲ showed a downward trend during the 1-7 days of treatment in the carbamide peroxide group and the hydrogen peroxide group,and the downward trend was more obvious in the hydrogen peroxide group.(3)The results show that the change in the laser-induced fluorescence background intensity of dentin Raman spectroscopy may be derived from the non-collagen components in dentin,and under the action of whitening agents,it may have a certain adverse effect on tooth tissue.

Objective:To explore and compare the clinical application value of 8-channel head phased-array coil, an 8-channel temporomandibular joint (TMJ)-specific surface coil, and a single-channel surface coil in TMJ MRI examinations.Methods:A total of 600 temporomandibular disorders (TMD) patients (1 200 joints) who underwent TMJ MRI examination in the First People′s Hospital of Jinzhong from June 2020 to January 2025 were retrospectively screened. Based on inclusion/exclusion criteria, 120 TMD patients (240 joints) with closed-mouth oblique sagittal proton density weighted imaging (OSag PDWI), coronal T2 fat-suppression weighted imaging (OCor fs T2WI) and open-mouth oblique sagittal proton density weighted imaging (OSag PDWI) were included. Patients were divided into groups A, B, and C, with 40 cases in each group. Group A (31female, 9male, median age 24 years old), underwent 8-channel head phased-array coil imaging. Group B (29 female, 11male, median age 23.5 years old) underwent TMJ imaging with an 8-channel surface coil. Group C (29 female, 11male, median age 22.5 years old) underwent single-channel surface coil imaging. There were no significant differences in age, gender, type or disease types among groups ( P>0.05). Six healthy volunteers without TMD (4 female, 2 male, range 19 to 45 years old) underwent imaging with all three coils as self-control. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and image quality were compared for five regions of interest (ROI) in both patients and volunteers. Results:Under the same sequence and the same parameters, SNR and CNR in group B were higher than those in group A, and SNR and CNR in group C were also higher than those in group A, the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). However, there were significant differences in SNR and CNR between group B and group C in the closed and open positions of ROI1, the open positions of ROI3 and the open positions of ROI5 ( P<0.05), and there were no significant differences in other positions ( P>0.05). Group B had the best image quality, followed by group C and group A had the worst image quality. There were significant differences in the visualization of OSag PDWI in the closed mouth position, OCor T2WI in the coronal position, and OSag PDWI in the open mouth position, such as condyle, anterior attachment, joint disc, double lamina area, joint cavity and lateral pterygoid muscle ( P<0.05). There were significant differences between group B and group C in showing the joint cavity in the closed mouth position and showing the structure of the bilaminar area in the open mouth position ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in other regions of interest ( P>0.05). The subjective scores of condyle, anterior attachment, articular disc, bilaminar area, articular cavity, lateral pterygos muscle and other structures were medium to high in group A, high in group B, and high or high in group C by two radiologists independently. In the five rois, the 8-channel TMJ surface coil showed more details, especially in the articular disc, condyle and lateral pterygoid muscle regions, and had more advantages in both volunteers and patients. Conclusions:The 8-channel TMJ-specific surface coil provides significantly clearer visualization of critical anatomical details within the ROIs, demonstrating the highest clinical application value and is recommended as the preferred choice.

AIM:To investigate the role of NLR family CARD domain containing 3(NLRC3)in endothelial cells and evaluate its diagnostic value in coronary artery disease.METHODS:Twenty male ApoE-/-C57BL/6 mice,aged eight weeks,were randomly assigned into two groups:an experimental group and a control group,with each group com-prising ten mice.The experimental group was subjected to a high-fat diet for 8 weeks to induce atherosclerosis(AS),whereas the control group was maintained on a standard diet.The expression of NLRC3 in the aorta was evaluated using RT-qPCR and immunofluorescence techniques.Additionally,human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs)were ex-posed to interleukin-1β(IL-1β)to investigate the expression levels of NLRC3.Lentiviral vectors or plasmid vectors were employed to either overexpress or knock down NLRC3 in endothelial cells,and subsequently subjected to inflammation in-duced by IL-1β.The RT-qPCR and ELISA were employed to assess the impact of NLRC3 on inflammation in endothelial cells.Western blot and immunofluorescence techniques were utilized to investigate the modulation of the NF-κB signaling pathway in endothelial cells by NLRC3.Plasma NLRC3 levels in coronary artery disease patients and healthy controls were measured using ELISA,and its diagnostic potential was assessed through ROC curve analysis.RESULTS:In AS mice,distinct plaque lesions were observed in the aorta,accompanied by a significantly reduced expression of NLRC3 in the aortic arch relative to the control group.Expression of NLRC3 exhibited a significant down-regulation in IL-1β-stimu-lated HUVECs,demonstrating both time-dependent and dose-dependent effects(P<0.01).Overexpression of NLRC3 markedly suppressed the levels of IL-6,IL-8,monocyte chemoatbactant protein-1(MCP-1),p-p65,and p-IκBα in endo-thelial cells stimulated with IL-1β(P<0.01).Conversely,knockdown of NLRC3 resulted in elevated levels of IL-6,IL-8,MCP-1,p-p65 and p-IκBα in endothelial cells(P<0.01).Coronary artery disease patients had significantly lower plasma NLRC3 levels than controls,with an AUC of 0.851(95%CI:0.785～0.918,P<0.01).A diagnostic threshold of 1.605 μg/L yielded a sensitivity of 93.8%and a specificity of 71.3%.CONCLUSION:The NLRC3 may modulate endothelial inflammation and suppress AS progression through inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway,and it holds potential as a diagnostic biomarker for coronary artery disease.

Objective:To explore and compare the clinical application value of 8-channel head phased-array coil, an 8-channel temporomandibular joint (TMJ)-specific surface coil, and a single-channel surface coil in TMJ MRI examinations.Methods:A total of 600 temporomandibular disorders (TMD) patients (1 200 joints) who underwent TMJ MRI examination in the First People′s Hospital of Jinzhong from June 2020 to January 2025 were retrospectively screened. Based on inclusion/exclusion criteria, 120 TMD patients (240 joints) with closed-mouth oblique sagittal proton density weighted imaging (OSag PDWI), coronal T2 fat-suppression weighted imaging (OCor fs T2WI) and open-mouth oblique sagittal proton density weighted imaging (OSag PDWI) were included. Patients were divided into groups A, B, and C, with 40 cases in each group. Group A (31female, 9male, median age 24 years old), underwent 8-channel head phased-array coil imaging. Group B (29 female, 11male, median age 23.5 years old) underwent TMJ imaging with an 8-channel surface coil. Group C (29 female, 11male, median age 22.5 years old) underwent single-channel surface coil imaging. There were no significant differences in age, gender, type or disease types among groups ( P>0.05). Six healthy volunteers without TMD (4 female, 2 male, range 19 to 45 years old) underwent imaging with all three coils as self-control. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and image quality were compared for five regions of interest (ROI) in both patients and volunteers. Results:Under the same sequence and the same parameters, SNR and CNR in group B were higher than those in group A, and SNR and CNR in group C were also higher than those in group A, the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). However, there were significant differences in SNR and CNR between group B and group C in the closed and open positions of ROI1, the open positions of ROI3 and the open positions of ROI5 ( P<0.05), and there were no significant differences in other positions ( P>0.05). Group B had the best image quality, followed by group C and group A had the worst image quality. There were significant differences in the visualization of OSag PDWI in the closed mouth position, OCor T2WI in the coronal position, and OSag PDWI in the open mouth position, such as condyle, anterior attachment, joint disc, double lamina area, joint cavity and lateral pterygoid muscle ( P<0.05). There were significant differences between group B and group C in showing the joint cavity in the closed mouth position and showing the structure of the bilaminar area in the open mouth position ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in other regions of interest ( P>0.05). The subjective scores of condyle, anterior attachment, articular disc, bilaminar area, articular cavity, lateral pterygos muscle and other structures were medium to high in group A, high in group B, and high or high in group C by two radiologists independently. In the five rois, the 8-channel TMJ surface coil showed more details, especially in the articular disc, condyle and lateral pterygoid muscle regions, and had more advantages in both volunteers and patients. Conclusions:The 8-channel TMJ-specific surface coil provides significantly clearer visualization of critical anatomical details within the ROIs, demonstrating the highest clinical application value and is recommended as the preferred choice.

AIM:To investigate the role of NLR family CARD domain containing 3(NLRC3)in endothelial cells and evaluate its diagnostic value in coronary artery disease.METHODS:Twenty male ApoE-/-C57BL/6 mice,aged eight weeks,were randomly assigned into two groups:an experimental group and a control group,with each group com-prising ten mice.The experimental group was subjected to a high-fat diet for 8 weeks to induce atherosclerosis(AS),whereas the control group was maintained on a standard diet.The expression of NLRC3 in the aorta was evaluated using RT-qPCR and immunofluorescence techniques.Additionally,human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs)were ex-posed to interleukin-1β(IL-1β)to investigate the expression levels of NLRC3.Lentiviral vectors or plasmid vectors were employed to either overexpress or knock down NLRC3 in endothelial cells,and subsequently subjected to inflammation in-duced by IL-1β.The RT-qPCR and ELISA were employed to assess the impact of NLRC3 on inflammation in endothelial cells.Western blot and immunofluorescence techniques were utilized to investigate the modulation of the NF-κB signaling pathway in endothelial cells by NLRC3.Plasma NLRC3 levels in coronary artery disease patients and healthy controls were measured using ELISA,and its diagnostic potential was assessed through ROC curve analysis.RESULTS:In AS mice,distinct plaque lesions were observed in the aorta,accompanied by a significantly reduced expression of NLRC3 in the aortic arch relative to the control group.Expression of NLRC3 exhibited a significant down-regulation in IL-1β-stimu-lated HUVECs,demonstrating both time-dependent and dose-dependent effects(P<0.01).Overexpression of NLRC3 markedly suppressed the levels of IL-6,IL-8,monocyte chemoatbactant protein-1(MCP-1),p-p65,and p-IκBα in endo-thelial cells stimulated with IL-1β(P<0.01).Conversely,knockdown of NLRC3 resulted in elevated levels of IL-6,IL-8,MCP-1,p-p65 and p-IκBα in endothelial cells(P<0.01).Coronary artery disease patients had significantly lower plasma NLRC3 levels than controls,with an AUC of 0.851(95%CI:0.785～0.918,P<0.01).A diagnostic threshold of 1.605 μg/L yielded a sensitivity of 93.8%and a specificity of 71.3%.CONCLUSION:The NLRC3 may modulate endothelial inflammation and suppress AS progression through inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway,and it holds potential as a diagnostic biomarker for coronary artery disease.

Objective:To evaluate the predictive value of mechanical power (MP) on the risk of in-hospital mortality in critical ill patients in emergency department.Methods:A total of 105 critical ill patients with invasive mechanical ventilation in the Department of Emergency of Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University between December 1, 2017 and October 31, 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Based on the clinical prognosis, the patients were divided into the in-hospital survival group (80 patients) and the in-hospital death group (25 patients). The clinical data and ventilator parameters were recorded, and the MP of the two groups was calculated in order to assess the predictive efficacy of MP on in-hospital death.Results:Compared to the in-hospital death group, the oxygenation index PaO 2/FiO 2 was significantly higher (271 mmHg vs. 217 mmHg, P=0.020) and blood lactate (1.59 mmol/L vs. 2.56 mmol/L, P<0.001) and procalcitonin (0.31 ng/mL vs. 3.55 ng/mL, P=0.028), minute ventilation (7.03 L/min vs.8.32 mmol/L, P=0.013), MP (14.37 J/min vs. 16.12 J/min, P=0.041), SOFA score (5 vs. 8, P=0.001) and APACHE II score (16 vs. 22, P=0.041) were significantly lower in the in-hospital survival group. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that PaO 2/FiO 2( OR=1.015, P=0.044), MP ( OR=1.813, P=0.039) and SOFA score( OR=2.651, P=0.010) were independent risk factors for predicting hospital mortality in patients with mechanical ventilation. The areas under the ROC curves (AUC) were 0.62, 0.63 and 0.75, respectively. Moreover, the MP combined with SOFA score for predicting in-hospital death was significantly higher than that of MP alone (0.77 vs. 0.63, P<0.05). Conclusions:MP is associated with in-hospital death in patients with invasive mechanical ventilation in emergency department. MP combined with SOFA score can enhance its predictive efficacy

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of postsystolic shortening (PSS) and early systolic lengthening (ESL) on myocardial microvascular dysfunction in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).Methods:A total of 83 patients with STEMI who received emergency PCI in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from June to October 2021 were retrospectively collected. All patiets underwent two-dimensional echocardiography and myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) within 7 days after PCI. The patients were divided into global normal perfusion group and poor perfusion group according to global myocardial perfusion score index (MPSI). Left ventricular myocardium was divided into left anterior descending branch (LAD), left circumflex branch (LCx) and right coronary artery (RCA) regions, which were divided into regional normal perfusion group and poor perfusion group based on whether there were segments with microvascular dysfunction. Left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were measured by modified biplane Simpson method. Tomtec software was used to obtain conventional echocardiographic parameters, global longitudinal strain (GLS), as well as PSS and ESL parameters including postsystolic index (PSI), duration of postsystolic shortening (PSSduration), early systolic index (ESI) and duration of early systolic lengthening (ESLduration). Differences of parameters of global normal and poor perfusion groups, as well as regional normal and poor perfusion groups were compared. ROC curve was used to analyze the diagnostic value of PSS and ESL parameters and GLS in myocardial regions with microvascular dysfunction.Results:Significant differences were observed in LVEF, LVESV, GLS, PSI, ESI and PSSduration between global poor perfusion group and global normal perfusion group (all P<0.05). Compared with regional normal perfusion group, PSI, ESI and ESLduration of LAD and LCx regions, as well as PSI of RCA region in regional poor perfusion group were increased (all P<0.05). For GLS in different myocardial regions, LAD-GLS was the only parameter that decreased in regional poor perfusion group compared to regional normal perfusion group ( P<0.05). ROC curve analysis showed LAD-PSI, LAD-GLS, LCx-PSI, LCx-ESLduration and RCA-PSI were valuable parameters for diagnosis of myocardial microvascular dysfunction in different regions, among which LAD-PSI had the highest area under curve (AUC=0.809). Conclusions:PSS and ESL parameters are helpful for early diagnosis of myocardial microvascular dysfunction in STEMI patients after PCI, and can provide regional myocardial perfusion information according to the blood supply of different coronary arteries.

Previously, we reported that Y, a new epigallocatechin gallate derivative, is efficacious in reversing doxorubicin (DOX)--mediated resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma BEL-7404/DOX cells. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of Y in reversing drug resistance both and by determining its effect on the adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette protein B1 transporter (ABCB1 or P-glycoprotein, P-gp). Our results showed that Y significantly sensitized cells overexpressing the ABCB1 transporter to anticancer drugs that are ABCB1 substrates. Y significantly stimulated the adenosine triphosphatase activity of ABCB1. Furthermore, Y exhibited a higher docking score as compared with epigallocatechin gallate inside the transmembrane domain of ABCB1. In addition, in the nude mouse tumor xenograft model, Y (110 mg/kg, intragastric administration), in combination with doxorubicin (2 mg/kg, intraperitoneal injection), significantly inhibited the growth of BEL-7404/DOX cell xenograft tumors, compared to equivalent epigallocatechin gallate. In conclusion, Y significantly reversed ABCB1-mediated multidrug resistance and its mechanisms of action may result from its competitive inhibition of the ABCB1 drug efflux function.

Objective To explore the value of plasma histones in predicting the prognosis of sepsis patients. Methods The patients with sepsis admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) of Subei People's Hospital of Jiangsu Province Affiliated to Yangzhou University from May 2016 to June 2018 were enrolled as the research subjects, and healthy volunteers were selected as healthy control at the same period. The plasma levels of histones, cardiac troponin I (cTnI), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, lactate (Lac), procalcitonin (PCT) on admission 24 hours, and use of vasoconstrictor agents, the length of ICU stay and ICU mortality were recorded. The patients were divided into survival group and death group according to the prognosis, and the differences of each index between the two groups were compared. Multivariate binary Logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify the independent risk factors of death. The correlation between histone and the levels of cTnI, NT-proBNP, PCT and Lac was analyzed. The value of plasma histone, cTnI, NT-proBNP, PCT and Lac in predicting the prognosis of patients was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. According to the threshold value of histone in predicting prognosis, the patients were divided into two groups, and the differences of various indicators between the two groups were compared. Results ① A total of 93 sepsis patients were included, with 29 cases of ICU death, and the mortality was 31.2%. ② Compared with the healthy control group, histones, cTnI, NT-proBNP were significant increased, besides, histones, cTnI in the death group were further increased compared with the survival group;in addition, SOFA, proportion of vasoconstrictor use were also significant higher than those in the survival group [histones (mg/L): 0.33 (0.28,0.45) vs. 0.22 (0.17,0.29), cTnI (μg/L): 0.25±0.13 vs. 0.20±0.08, SOFA: 11 (8, 12) vs. 9 (8, 11), the rate of vasopressor use: 93.1% (27/29) vs. 68.8% (44/64), all P < 0.05]. Statistically significant indicators between the two groups were included in multivariate binary Logistic regression analysis. The result showed that the independent risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients were the rate of vasopressor use [odds ratio (OR) = 5.277, P = 0.043] and the level of histone (OR = 79.244, P = 0.036). ③ The plasma histone level were positively correlated with cTnI (r = 0.577, P = 0.000), SOFA (r = 0.469, P = 0.000), NT-proBNP (r = 0.349, P = 0.001) and Lac (r = 0.357, P = 0.000), while there was no significant correlation between histone and PCT (r = 0.133, P = 0.205). ④ ROC curve analysis showed that the area under ROC curve (AUC) of histone predicting prognosis was 0.769 (P = 0.000); when the cut-off point was 0.30 mg/L, the sensitivity and specificity were 72.4% and 81.2% respectively. The AUC of SOFA score was 0.653 (P = 0.018), and the sensitivity and specificity were 58.6% and 70.3% respectively when the cut-off point was 10.50; while cTnI, NT-proBNP, Lac and PCT had little value in predicting the prognosis of patients. ⑤ Compared with the group with histone level lower than 0.3 mg/L, the group with histones level greater than 0.3 mg/L had higher SOFA score, more doses of vasopressor, higher cTnI, NT-proBNP, Lac and PCT levels, and higher ICU mortality [SOFA: 11 (10, 12) vs. 9 (8, 10), use of vasopressor: 84.8% (28/33) vs. 76.7% (46/60), cTnI (μg/L): 0.28 (0.19, 0.32) vs. 0.18 (0.12, 0.22), NT-proBNP (ng/L): 3 624.0 (2 800.0, 5 260.0) vs. 2 512.0 (1 361.8, 3 590.8), Lac (mmol/L): 2.25 (1.85, 3.50) vs. 1.60 (1.25, 2.35), PCT (μg/L): 2.10 (1.30, 4.03) vs. 1.60 (1.26, 2.33), ICU mortality: 48.5% (16/33) vs. 21.7% (13/60), all P < 0.05], while no statistical difference in the length of ICU stay was found. Conclusions The independent risk factors for ICU mortality of sepsis patients were high histone level and the use of vasopressor. Plasma histone can be regarded as an indicator in predicting the prognosis of patients with sepsis.