Apical microsurgery is accurate and minimally invasive, produces few complications, and has a success rate of more than 90%. However, due to the lack of awareness and understanding of apical microsurgery by dental general practitioners and even endodontists, many clinical problems remain to be overcome. The consensus has gathered well-known domestic experts to hold a series of special discussions and reached the consensus. This document specifies the indications, contraindications, preoperative preparations, operational procedures, complication prevention measures, and efficacy evaluation of apical microsurgery and is applicable to dentists who perform apical microsurgery after systematic training.
Microsurgery/standards* ; Humans ; Apicoectomy ; Contraindications, Procedure ; Tooth Apex/diagnostic imaging* ; Postoperative Complications/prevention & control* ; Consensus ; Treatment Outcome

Pulpotomy, which belongs to vital pulp therapy, has become a strategy for managing pulpitis in recent decades. This minimally invasive treatment reflects the recognition of preserving healthy dental pulp and optimizing long-term patient-centered outcomes. Pulpotomy is categorized into partial pulpotomy (PP), the removal of a partial segment of the coronal pulp tissue, and full pulpotomy (FP), the removal of whole coronal pulp, which is followed by applying the biomaterials onto the remaining pulp tissue and ultimately restoring the tooth. Procedural decisions for the amount of pulp tissue removal or retention depend on the diagnostic of pulp vitality, the overall treatment plan, the patient's general health status, and pulp inflammation reassessment during operation. This statement represents the consensus of an expert committee convened by the Society of Cariology and Endodontics, Chinese Stomatological Association. It addresses the current evidence to support the application of pulpotomy as a potential alternative to root canal treatment (RCT) on mature permanent teeth with pulpitis from a biological basis, the development of capping biomaterial, and the diagnostic considerations to evidence-based medicine. This expert statement intends to provide a clinical protocol of pulpotomy, which facilitates practitioners in choosing the optimal procedure and increasing their confidence in this rapidly evolving field.
Humans ; Calcium Compounds/therapeutic use* ; Consensus ; Dental Pulp ; Dentition, Permanent ; Oxides/therapeutic use* ; Pulpitis/therapy* ; Pulpotomy/standards*

Endodontic diseases are a kind of chronic infectious oral disease.Common endodontic treatment concepts are based on the removal of inflamed or necrotic pulp tissue and the replacement by gutta-percha.However,it is very essential for endodontic treatment to debride the root canal system and prevent the root canal system from bacterial reinfection after root canal therapy(RCT).Recent research,encompassing bacterial etiology and advanced imaging techniques,contributes to our understanding of the root canal system's anatomy intricacies and the technique sensitivity of RCT.Success in RCT hinges on factors like patients,infection severity,root canal anatomy,and treatment techniques.Therefore,improving disease management is a key issue to combat endodontic diseases and cure periapical lesions.The clinical difficulty assessment system of RCT is established based on patient conditions,tooth conditions,root canal configuration,and root canal needing retreatment,and emphasizes pre-treatment risk assessment for optimal outcomes.The findings suggest that the presence of risk factors may correlate with the challenge of achieving the high standard required for RCT.These insights contribute not only to improve education but also aid practitioners in treatment planning and referral decision-making within the field of endodontics.

Chemical cleaning and disinfection are crucial steps for eliminating infection in root canal treatment.However,irrigant selection or irrigation procedures are far from clear.The vapor lock effect in the apical region has yet to be solved,impeding irrigation efficacy and resulting in residual infections and compromised treatment outcomes.Additionally,ambiguous clinical indications for root canal medication and non-standardized dressing protocols must be clarified.Inappropriate intracanal medication may present side effects and jeopardize the therapeutic outcomes.Indeed,clinicians have been aware of these concerns for years.Based on the current evidence of studies,this article reviews the properties of various irrigants and intracanal medicaments and elucidates their effectiveness and interactions.The evolution of different kinetic irrigation methods,their effects,limitations,the paradigm shift,current indications,and effective operational procedures regarding intracanal medication are also discussed.This expert consensus aims to establish the clinical operation guidelines for root canal irrigation and a position statement on intracanal medication,thus facilitating a better understanding of infection control,standardizing clinical practice,and ultimately improving the success of endodontic therapy.

The dental operative microscope has been widely employed in the field of dentistry, particularly in endodontics and operative dentistry, resulting in significant advancements in the effectiveness of root canal therapy, endodontic surgery, and dental restoration. However, the improper use of this microscope continues to be common in clinical settings, primarily due to operators' insufficient understanding and proficiency in both the features and established operating procedures of this equipment. In October 2019, Professor Jingping Liang, Vice Chairman of the Society of Cariology and Endodontology, Chinese Stomatological Association, organized a consensus meeting with Chinese experts in endodontics and operative dentistry. The objective of this meeting was to establish a standard operation procedure for the dental operative microscope. Subsequently, a consensus was reached and officially issued. Over the span of about four years, the content of this consensus has been further developed and improved through practical experience.
Humans ; Dentistry, Operative ; Consensus ; Endodontics ; Root Canal Therapy ; Dental Care

Dravet syndrome is a epileptic syndrome characterized by drug-resistant epilepsy occuring at childhood. It is often accompanied by status epilepticus and cognitive and language impairment appearing gradually as the disease progresses. The effect of antiepileptic drugs and resection epilepsy surgery on Dravet syndrome is poor although neuromodulation surgery, especially vagus nerve stimulation, is an effective and feasible treatment for Dravet syndrome. In this article we reported a case of Dravet syndrome treated with vagus nerve stimulation, relevant literature was reviewed and summarized at the same time. A total of 141 cases of Dravet treated by vagus nerve stimulation were collected, and the overall effective rate was 53.9%.

Pichia pastoris is one of the most widely used recombinant protein expression systems. In this study, a novel method for rapid screening of P. pastoris strains capable of efficiently expressing recombinant proteins was developed. Firstly, the ability to express recombinant proteins of the modified strain GS115-E in which a functional Sec63-EGFP (Enhanced green fluorescent protein) fusion protein replaced the endogenous endoplasmic reticulum transmembrane protein Sec63 was tested. Next, the plasmids carrying different copy numbers of phytase (phy) gene or xylanase (xyn) gene were transformed into GS115-E to obtain recombinant strains with different expression levels of phytase or xylanase, and the expression levels of EGFP and recombinant proteins in different strains were tested. Finally, a flow cytometer sorter was used to separate a mixture of cells with different phytase expression levels into sub-populations according to green fluorescence intensity. A good linear correlation was found between the fluorescence intensities of EGFP and the expression levels of the recombinant proteins in the recombinant strains (0.8<|R|<1). By using the flow cytometer, high-yielding P. pastoris cells were efficiently screened from a mixture of cells. The expression level of phytase of the selected high-fluorescence strains was 4.09 times higher than that of the low-fluorescence strains after 120 h of methanol induction. By detecting the EGFP fluorescence intensity instead of detecting the expression level and activity of the recombinant proteins in the recombinant strains, the method developed by the present study possesses the greatly improved performance of convenience and versatility in screening high-yielding P. pastoris strains. Combining the method with high-throughput screening instruments and technologies, such as flow cytometer and droplet microfluidics, the speed and throughput of this method will be further increased. This method will provide a simple and rapid approach for screening and obtaining P. pastoris with high abilities to express recombinant proteins.
6-Phytase/genetics* ; Pichia/genetics* ; Plasmids ; Recombinant Proteins/genetics* ; Saccharomycetales

Objective:To investigate the effect of rapamycin (Rapa) on apoptosis of acute myeloid leukemia THP-1 cells induced by idarubicin (IDA) and its molecular mechanism.Methods:The THP-1 cells were treated with 10, 20, 40 and 80 nmol/L Rapa for 1 h, and the cells without Rapa treatment were set up. Western blot was used to detect the conversion of autophagy marker LC3 protein in THP-1 cells (the ratio of LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ), flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptotic rate, and the pretreatment concentration of Rapa was determined. THP-1 cells were treated with different concentrations of IDA for 24 h, the cell proliferation inhibition rate of IDA for THP-1 cells was detected by CCK-8 method, and the half maximal inhibitory concentration ( IC50) was calculated. THP-1 cells with or without Rapa treatment were treated by IDA with the concentration of lower than IC50 for 24 h, CCK-8 method was used to detect cell proliferation inhibition rate, flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis, real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression changes of autophagy-related genes Beclin-1, LC3 and p62, and Western blot was used to detect the conversion of autophagy marker LC3 protein. Results:The ratio of LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ in THP-1 cells treated by 20 nmol/L Rapa was higher than that in the untreated cells ( P=0.002 4). The apoptotic rate in THP-1 cells treated by 80 nmol/L Rapa was higher than that in the untreated cells ( P=0.007 3). According to the results of Western blot and flow cytometry, 20 nmol/L Rapa was selected as the pretreatment concentration. The IC50 of IDA for THP-1 cells treated with IDA for 24 h was 59.874 nmol/L. After treated with 50 nmol/L IDA for 24 h, the proliferation inhibitory [(69.67±5.03)% vs. (41.67±3.51)%] and apoptotic rates [(74.35±4.83)% vs. (41.25±5.24)%] in THP-1 cells pretreated by Rapa were higher than those in the unpretreated cells (both P<0.05); the Beclin-1 and LC3 mRNA expression levels and the ratio of LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ in THP-1 cells pretreated by Rapa were higher than those in the unpretreated cells, and the expression of p62 mRNA was lower than that in the unpretreated cells (all P<0.05). Conclusion:Rapa can enhance the apoptosis of THP-1 cells induced by a relative low dose of IDA, which may be achieved through inducing excessive autophagy in THP-1 cells.

Objective:To investigate the treatment and prognosis of children with propionic acidemia (PA).Methods:This study involved 82 children with PA treated in the Department of Pediatric Endocrinol-ogy and Genetic Metabolism, Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine from December 2002 to June 2020. Clinical data, including manifestations, laboratory test results, treatment strategy, and follow-up data, were summarized and analyzed using t-test or Mann-Whitney U test. Results:(1) Among the 82 cases consisting of 50 (61.0%) boys and 32 (39.0%) girls, 59 (72.0%) were diagnosed after clinical onset; 22 (26.8%) were diagnosed by newborn screening, including eight asymptomatic ones; the other one (1.2%) was asymptomatic but confirmed after the diagnosis of PA in the patient's sibling. The average age at first onset was 4.5 months (2 d-5 years) in 73 subjects, of which 28 (38.4%) were early-onset PA (within three months after birth). (2) Cranial MRI was performed on 26 cases, and abnormality was identified in 19 (73.1%) cases. (3) Hyperlactatemia was found in 16 cases among 30(53.3%) who underwent relevant examination with the average lactic acid level of 3.5 (2.1-4.3) μmol/L, while 35 out of 40 patients (87.5%) had hyperammonemia with an average blood ammonia level of 105.4 (34-907) μmol/L. (4) Among the 28 early-onset PA cases, 16 (57.1%) died, and 12 (42.9%) survived. There was no significant difference in the serum propionylcarnitine level, propionylcarnitine to acetylcarnitine ratio, urine 3-hydroxypropionic acid, or methylcitrate level between the survival and death cases. (5) Genetic mutations were detected in 75 patients (91.5%), among which 26 (34.7%) carried PCCA gene mutations and 48 (64%) with PCCB gene mutations. One patient (1.3%) harbored one known pathogenic mutation in each of the PCCA and PCCB genes. All mutations were inherited from the parents. (6) Followed up to June 2020, 57 (69.5%) patients survived, and 25 (30.5%) died from multiple organ failure secondary to severe acidosis, including 16 early-onset and nine late-onset cases. Conclusions:The primary treatment of PA is dietary control. Most PA patients are diagnosed after clinical onset, but symptoms may recur and even have developmental retardation despite treatment. Some of those diagnosed through newborn screening are asymptomatic after treatment. Newborn screening using tandem mass spectrometry is recommended for early diagnosis and treatment of PA.

For the last two decades, high-frequency oscillations have been considered highly correlated with brain tissue epileptic activity. High frequency oscillations are usually detected from electroencephalography (EEG) signals recorded by intracranial electrodes. Recent studies have shown that high frequency oscillations can also be detected in scalp EEG. As a safe, non-invasive and simple recording method, the study of scalp EEG in detecting high frequency oscillations has attracted wide attention. In this paper, we summarize the research progress and clinical significance of high-frequency oscillations in scalp EEG in the diagnoses and treatments of epilepsy.