Introduction
Of 360° Virtual Reality (VR) is possibly produced and sufficiently effective as a consumer‐friendly VR learning medium. Therefore, it is also expected to be useful in the dental practice ...field, as a self‐learning medium for non‐face‐to‐face skill training during the ongoing pandemic (COVID‐19). Accordingly, this study was conducted to assess 360° VR self‐learning media for a periodontal instrument operation.
Materials and Methods
We recruited 30 participants who had never experienced instrument training. We offered basic education and initial assessment (IA), then divided them into three groups: 1) PAPER: trained only with paper handouts; 2) 2D: trained with 2D video; 3) VR: trained with 360° VR. Each group performed self‐learning and mid‐term assessment (MA). Subjects then implemented home self‐learning with the same media for one week, which was then followed by a final assessment (FA).
Result
Analysis of IA‐to‐FA improvement scores showed that VR and 2D video were significantly higher than the PAPER groups. Meanwhile, analysis of MA‐to‐FA improvement scores showed that only VR was substantially higher than the PAPER group. Although VR and 2D video groups were not considerably different, VR scores were numerically higher than 2D video in all improvement score analyses.
Discussion
Both 2D video and 360° VR training were helpful to participants for an effective self‐learning and also had good portability and accessibility as online‐based learning methods. 360° VR showed higher learning efficiency than regular 2D video, possibly due to its autonomy, 360° visual information and physical and immersive characteristics, which positively affected self‐training.
Conclusion
Our findings showed the potential of 360° VR learning media and, further, suggest its usefulness as a novel self‐learning method in future dental education.
Bone regeneration involves various complex biological processes. Many experiments have been performed using biomaterials in vivo and in vitro to promote and understand bone regeneration. Among the ...many biomaterials, calcium phosphates which exist in the natural bone have been conducted a number of studies because of its bone regenerative property. It can be directly contributed to bone regeneration process or assist in the use of other biomaterials. Therefore, it is widely used in many applications and has been continuously studied.
Calcium phosphate has been widely used in bone regeneration applications because it shows osteoconductive and in some cases osteoinductive features. The release of calcium and phosphorus ions regulates the activation of osteoblasts and osteoclasts to facilitate bone regeneration. The control of surface properties and porosity of calcium phosphate affects cell/protein adhesion and growth and regulates bone mineral formation. Properties affecting bioactivity vary depending on the types of calcium phosphates such as HAP, TCP and can be utilized in various applications because of differences in ion release, solubility, stability, and mechanical strength. In order to make use of these properties, different calcium phosphates have been used together or mixed with other materials to complement their disadvantages and to highlight their advantages. Calcium phosphate has been utilized to improve bone regeneration in ways such as increasing osteoconductivity for bone ingrowth, enhancing osteoinductivity for bone mineralization with ion release control, and encapsulating drugs or growth factors.
Calcium phosphate has been used for bone regeneration in various forms such as coating, cement and scaffold based on its unique bioactive properties and bone regeneration effectiveness. Additionally, several studies have been actively carried out to improve the efficacy of calcium phosphate in combination with various healing agents. By summarizing the properties of calcium phosphate and its research direction, we hope that calcium phosphate can contribute to the clinical treatment approach for bone defect and disease.
•Foulants from pilot-scale FO system for wastewater effluent treatment analyzed.•IGLSSLPR peptide of PilZ protein was discovered using the microbiome and proteome.•IGLSSLPR promotes bacterial ...attachment when immobilized on the membrane surface.•Adhesion force of IGLSSLPR was comparable to poly-l-lysine.
Membrane-based wastewater reclamation is used to mitigate water scarcity; however, irreversible biofouling is an elusive problem that hinders the efficiency of a forward-osmosis (FO) membrane-based process, and the protein responsible for fouling is unknown. Herein, we identified fouling proteins by analyzing the microbiome and proteome of wastewater extracellular polymeric substances responsible for strong irreversible FO-membrane fouling. The IGLSSLPR peptide of a PilZ domain-containing protein was found to recruit bacterial attachment when immobilized on the membrane surface while suppressing it when dissolved, in a similar manner to the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide in mammalian cell cultures. Bacteria adhere to IGLSSLPR and poly-l-lysine-coated membranes with similar energies and exhibit water fluxes that decline similarly, which is ascribable to interaction as strong as electrostatic interactions in the peptide-coated membranes. We conclude that IGLSSLPR is the key domain responsible for membrane fouling and can be used to develop antifouling technology against bacteria, which is similar to the current usage of RGD peptide in mammalian cell cultures.
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Background
Islet transplantation is an effective therapy for selected patients with type 1 diabetes with labile glycemic control and hypoglycemic unawareness, but donor organs are limited. Islet ...xenotransplantation using porcine islets will potentially solve this problem. Although successful proof of concept studies using clinically inapplicable anti‐CD154 monoclonal antibody (mAb) in pig‐to‐non‐human primate (NHP) islet xenotransplantation has been demonstrated by several groups worldwide, potentially clinically applicable anti‐CD40 (2C10R4) mAb‐based studies have not been reported.
Methods
Nine streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced diabetic rhesus monkeys were transplanted with adult porcine islets isolated from designated pathogen‐free (DPF) miniature pigs. They were treated with anti‐CD40 mAb‐based immunosuppressive regimen and were divided into 3 groups: anti‐CD40 only group (n = 2), belatacept group (anti‐CD40 mAb+belatacept, n = 2), and tacrolimus group (anti‐CD40 mAb+tacrolimus, n = 5). All monkeys received anti‐thymocyte globulin (ATG), cobra venom factor (CVF), adalimumab, and sirolimus. Blood glucose levels (BGL) and serum porcine C‐peptide concentrations were measured. Humoral and cellular immune responses were assessed by ELISA and ELISPOT, respectively. Liver biopsy and subsequent immunohistochemistry were conducted.
Results
All animals restored normoglycemia immediately after porcine islet transplantation and finished the follow‐up without any severe adverse effects except for one animal (R092). Most animals maintained their body weight. Median survival, as defined by a serum porcine C‐peptide concentration of >0.15 ng/mL, was 31, 27, and 60 days for anti‐CD40 only, belatacept, and tacrolimus groups, respectively. Anti‐αGal IgG levels in serum and the number of interferon‐γ secreting T cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells did not increase in most animals.
Conclusion
These results showed that anti‐CD40 mAb combined with tacrolimus was effective in prolonging porcine islet graft survival, but anti‐CD40 mAb was not as effective as anti‐CD154 mAb in terms of preventing early islet loss.
This study examined the distribution of pharmaceuticals in Yeongsan River and at point sources (PSs) in the associated water system, and performed a risk assessment based on our findings. The samples ...included effluents collected from three sewage treatment plants (PS1, PS2, and PS3) and two industrial complexes (PS4 and PS5) as well as surface water collected from seven mainstreams and 11 tributaries of the river. The target pharmaceuticals were acetylsalicylic acid, carbamazepine, clarithromycin, naproxen, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, sulfathiazole, and trimethoprim, which were detected by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. All pharmaceuticals except acetylsalicylic acid and sulfathiazole were found in PS1, PS2, and PS3 samples, whereas acetylsalicylic acid, carbamazepine, sulfamethazine, and sulfamethoxazole were found in PS4, most of the pharmaceuticals were not present in PS5. The rank order of pharmaceutical concentration in surface water was carbamazepine (97.2%, 0.2067 μg/L) > sulfamethoxazole (88.9%, 0.1132 μg/L) > naproxen (51.4%, 0.0516 μg/L) > clarithromycin (43.1%, 0.0427 μg/L). The distribution of pharmaceuticals in the Yeongsan River at PSs and non-PSs differed, and higher concentrations of human pharmaceuticals were detected in upstream and midstream areas whereas higher concentrations of animal pharmaceuticals were found downstream. Hazard quotients (HQs) evaluated at each sites based on mean concentration and 95% upper confidence limits (95% UCLs) were all less than one, indicating a low risk of toxicity. The findings of this study are expected to be useful for risk assessment of aquatic ecosystems.
Inactivation of tumor suppressor Runt-related transcription factor 3 (RUNX3) plays an important role during early tumorigenesis. However, posttranslational modifications (PTM)-based mechanism for the ...inactivation of RUNX3 under hypoxia is still not fully understood. Here, we demonstrate a mechanism that G9a, lysine-specific methyltransferase (KMT), modulates RUNX3 through PTM under hypoxia. Hypoxia significantly increased G9a protein level and G9a interacted with RUNX3 Runt domain, which led to increased methylation of RUNX3 at K129 and K171. This methylation inactivated transactivation activity of RUNX3 by reducing interactions with CBFβ and p300 cofactors, as well as reducing acetylation of RUNX3 by p300, which is involved in nucleocytoplasmic transport by importin-α1. G9a-mediated methylation of RUNX3 under hypoxia promotes cancer cell proliferation by increasing cell cycle or cell division, while suppresses immune response and apoptosis, thereby promoting tumor growth during early tumorigenesis. Our results demonstrate the molecular mechanism of RUNX3 inactivation by G9a-mediated methylation for cell proliferation and antiapoptosis under hypoxia, which can be a therapeutic or preventive target to control tumor growth during early tumorigenesis.
IMPORTANCE The number of geriatric patients who undergo surgery has been increasing, but there are insufficient tools to predict postoperative outcomes in the elderly. OBJECTIVE To design a ...predictive model for adverse outcomes in older surgical patients. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS From October 19, 2011, to July 31, 2012, a single tertiary care center enrolled 275 consecutive elderly patients (aged ≥65 years) undergoing intermediate-risk or high-risk elective operations in the Department of Surgery. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was the 1-year all-cause mortality rate. The secondary outcomes were postoperative complications (eg, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, delirium, acute pulmonary thromboembolism, and unplanned intensive care unit admission), length of hospital stay, and discharge to nursing facility. RESULTS Twenty-five patients (9.1%) died during the follow-up period (median interquartile range, 13.3 11.5-16.1 months), including 4 in-hospital deaths after surgery. Twenty-nine patients (10.5%) experienced at least 1 complication after surgery and 24 (8.7%) were discharged to nursing facilities. Malignant disease and low serum albumin levels were more common in the patients who died. Among the geriatric assessment domains, Charlson Comorbidity Index, dependence in activities of daily living, dependence in instrumental activities of daily living, dementia, risk of delirium, short midarm circumference, and malnutrition were associated with increased mortality rates. A multidimensional frailty score model composed of the above items predicted all-cause mortality rates more accurately than the American Society of Anesthesiologists classification (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.821 vs 0.647; P = .01). The sensitivity and specificity for predicting all-cause mortality rates were 84.0% and 69.2%, respectively, according to the model’s cutoff point (>5 vs ≤5). High-risk patients (multidimensional frailty score >5) showed increased postoperative mortality risk (hazard ratio, 9.01; 95% CI, 2.15-37.78; P = .003) and longer hospital stays after surgery (median interquartile range, 9 5-15 vs 6 3-9 days; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The multidimensional frailty score based on comprehensive geriatric assessment is more useful than conventional methods for predicting outcomes in geriatric patients undergoing surgery.
Objective
Rett syndrome (RTT) and epileptic encephalopathy (EE) are devastating neurodevelopmental disorders with distinct diagnostic criteria. However, highly heterogeneous and overlapping clinical ...features often allocate patients into the boundary of the two conditions, complicating accurate diagnosis and appropriate medical interventions. Therefore, we investigated the specific molecular mechanism that allows an understanding of the pathogenesis and relationship of these two conditions.
Methods
We screened novel genetic factors from 34 RTT‐like patients without MECP2 mutations, which account for ∼90% of RTT cases, by whole‐exome sequencing. The biological function of the discovered variants was assessed in cell culture and Xenopus tropicalis models.
Results
We identified a recurring de novo variant in GABAB receptor R2 (GABBR2) that reduces the receptor function, whereas different GABBR2 variants in EE patients possess a more profound effect in reducing receptor activity and are more responsive to agonist rescue in an animal model.
Interpretation
GABBR2 is a genetic factor that determines RTT‐ or EE‐like phenotype expression depending on the variant positions. GABBR2‐mediated γ‐aminobutyric acid signaling is a crucial factor in determining the severity and nature of neurodevelopmental phenotypes. Ann Neurol 2017;82:466–478
Calorie restriction (CR) is the most frequently studied mechanism for increasing longevity, protecting against stress, and delaying age‐associated diseases. Most studies have initiated CR in young ...animals to determine the protective effects against aging. Although aging phenomena are well‐documented, the molecular mechanisms of aging and CR remain unclear. In this study, we observe changes in hepatic proteins upon age‐related and diet‐restricted changes in the rat liver using quantitative proteomics. Quantitative proteomes are measured using tandem mass tag labeling followed by LC‐MS/MS. We compare protein levels in livers from young (6 months old) and old (25 months old) rats with 40% calorie‐restricted (YCR and OCR, respectively) or ad libitum diets. In total, 44 279 peptides and 3134 proteins are identified and 260 differentially expressed proteins are found. Functional enrichment analysis show that these proteins are mainly involved in glucose and fatty acid metabolism‐related processes, consistent with the theory that energy metabolism regulation is dependent on age‐related and calorie‐restricted changes in liver tissue. In addition, proteins mediating inflammation and gluconeogenesis are increased in OCR livers, but not YCR livers. These results show that CR in old rats might not have antiaging benefits because liver inflammation is increased.
Platelet-derived growth factor type BB (PDGF-BB) regulates vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) migration and proliferation, which play critical roles in the development of vascular conditions. p90 ...ribosomal S6 kinase (p90RSK) can regulate various cellular processes through many different target substrates in several cell types, but the regulatory function of p90RSK on PDGF-BB-mediated cell migration and proliferation and subsequent vascular neointima formation has not yet been extensively examined. In this study, we investigated whether p90RSK inhibition protects VSMCs against PDGF-BB-induced cellular phenotypic changes and the molecular mechanisms underlying the effect of p90RSK inhibition on neointimal hyperplasia in vivo. Pretreatment of cultured primary rat VSMCs with FMK or BI-D1870, which are specific inhibitors of p90RSK, suppressed PDGF-BB-induced phenotypic changes, including migration, proliferation, and extracellular matrix accumulation, in VSMCs. Additionally, FMK and BI-D1870 repressed the PDGF-BB-induced upregulation of cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase-4 expression. Furthermore, p90RSK inhibition hindered the inhibitory effect of PDGF-BB on Cdk inhibitor p27 expression, indicating that p90RSK may induce VSMC proliferation by regulating the G0/G1 phase. Notably, treatment with FMK resulted in attenuation of neointima development in ligated carotid arteries in mice. The findings imply that p90RSK inhibition mitigates the phenotypic switch and neointimal hyperplasia induced by PDGF-BB.
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