Tooth wear in Australian aboriginal populations from the River Murray Valley

The study of tooth wear among prehistoric and recent populations has frequently been concerned with the rate and pattern of wear over the dental arches. In this report we considered the question of tooth wear variation among collections of Australian Aboriginal crania recovered from several sites along the Murray River in Southeastern Australia. These crania represent the remains of relatively recent populations from about 2,000 years ago until the early 19th century. The degree of tooth wear for each dental arch was recorded by an established method of determining the ratio of exposed dentin. The pattern or distribution of wear over each arch was summarized by principal component analysis. The mean wear degree and pattern were compared among four geographical grouping of crania separated by up to 700 miles of river frontage. Our results showed, as expected, a significant difference between the well-defined population at the Lower Murray site (Swanport) and the three upriver groups. However, there were significant differences among these three collections as well. Sexual dimorphism was noted but was only significant in the Lower Murray group; the mean wear was greater and also more variable among the males. At the second of the Middle Murray sites the pattern of wear was different and the degree of wear was significantly less than in the other groups. A possible explanation for this diversity may be environmental and subsistence base differences. The evidence from the Lower Murray supports this possibility, but the differences among the other three groups are not as clearly established. However, our results do suggest that the Murray Black collection, from which these crania were obtained, may not be as homogeneous a group as previously believed.     

The presence of a side population and its marker ABCG2 in human deciduous dental pulp cells

Stem cells have been identified using the DNA-binding dye Hoechst 33342 and flow cytometry (FCM) in various tissues known as the side population (SP). The present study shows, for the first time, the presence of side population cells in human deciduous dental pulp cells (DPCs). Flow cytometric identification revealed that 2% of human deciduous DPCs were SP cells and that this SP profile disappeared in the presence of verapamil. The SP marker ABCG2 protein was localized to DPCs in the cell membrane by immunofluorescence staining, and flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that 3.6% of DPCs were ABCG2-positive. Furthermore, quantitative real-time PCR proved that ABCG2 mRNA expression in DPCs isolated from human exfoliated deciduous teeth was higher than in DPCs from permanent teeth. Our findings demonstrate that DPCs from human exfoliated deciduous teeth contain a higher proportion of the SP phenotype than permanent teeth and that they may constitute a stem cell population.     

Long noncoding RNA C21orf121/bone morphogenetic protein 2/microRNA-140-5p gene network promotes directed differentiation of stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth to neuronal cells

Previous studies have revealed that long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and microRNA play a crucial role in autism, which is a childhood neurodevelopmental disorder with complicated genetic origins. Hence, the study concerns whether lncRNA C21orf121/bone morphogenetic proteins 2 (BMP2)/miR-140-5p gene network affects directed differentiation of stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) to neuronal cells in rats with autism. Autism models were successfully established. The neuron cells that differentiated from SHED cell were identified. The expression of lncRNA C21orf121, miR-140-5p, BMP2, Nestin, βIII-tubulin, and microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) and the expression of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) were examined. Besides, the gap junction (GJ) function of SHED, the intracellular free Ca ²⁺ concentration, and the social behavior and repetitive stereotyped movements of rats in autism were detected. The target relationship between lncRNA C21orf121 and miR-140-5p and that between miR-140-5p and BMP2 were also verified. Firstly, we successfully isolated SHED and identified the differentiated neurons of SHED. Besides, the expression of BMP2, MAP2, Nestin, βIII-tubulin, NSE positive rate, GJ function, and intracellular free Ca ²⁺ concentration were increased with the upregulation of C21orf121 and downregulation of miR-140-5p, and accumulated time of repetitive stereotyped movements decreased and the frequency of social behavior increased. The results indicate that lncRNA C21orf121 as a competing endogenous RNA competes with BMP2 binding to miR-140-5p, thereby promoting SHED to differentiate into neuronal cells via upregulating BMP2 expression.     

Early development and replacement of the stickleback dentition

Teeth have long served as a model system to study basic questions about vertebrate organogenesis, morphogenesis, and evolution. In nonmammalian vertebrates, teeth typically regenerate throughout adult life. Fish have evolved a tremendous diversity in dental patterning in both their oral and pharyngeal dentitions, offering numerous opportunities to study how morphology develops, regenerates, and evolves in different lineages. Threespine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) have emerged as a new system to study how morphology evolves, and provide a particularly powerful system to study the development and evolution of dental morphology. Here, we describe the oral and pharyngeal dentitions of stickleback fish, providing additional morphological, histological, and molecular evidence for homology of oral and pharyngeal teeth. Focusing on the ventral pharyngeal dentition in a dense developmental time course of lab‐reared fish, we describe the temporal and spatial consensus sequence of early tooth formation. Early in development, this sequence is highly stereotypical and consists of seventeen primary teeth forming the early tooth field, followed by the first tooth replacement event. Comparing this detailed morphological and ontogenetic sequence to that described in other fish reveals that major changes to how dental morphology arises and regenerates have evolved across different fish lineages. J. Morphol. 277:1072–1083, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

ACCURACY OF AGE DETERMINATION IN THE GREY SEAL HALICHOERUS GRYPUS OF EASTERN CANADA

The ages of 82 grey seals of known age from 1 to 10 yr were determined from growth layer groups in the cementum, readily seen in longitudinal sections 150 μm thick viewed under transmitted light. The sample of teeth was read five times in a series of blind replicates.
With only one reading, an accuracy of 84% was achieved. This increased to 93% on the basis of three readings but improved only marginally to 94% when all five readings were considered. Accuracy was best in the middle range of ages (3–6 yr) which are the critical years for estimating age-specific reproductive rates in population models.     

Odontometry of a Spanish neolithic-Bronze age sample. Comparison with other populations of the iberian peninsula. I.-Permanent teeth

The present study concerns the morphometric characteristics of two hundred permanent teeth from the Neolithic-Bronze Age human remains found in «Galería del Sílex» (Atapuerca Cave, Burgos, Spain). The crown index reveals that all the upper maxillary teeth (except incisors) and the mandibular first incisors, canines and premolars have a vestibulo-lingual diameter greater than the mesio-distal. The dental module and the surface value show that the mandibular teeth (except the molars) are smaller than those of the upper maxillary. These results are very similar to other European populations. Finally, the Sílex Gallery sample was compared with five other series of the Iberian Peninsula which have a chronology from the Mesolithic to the Middle Age. The results indicate a general decrease for both diameters (ØMD and ØVL) throughout time.     

Accuracy and precision of age determination using growth layer groups for California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) with known ages

Age determination from counts of growth layer groups (GLGs) in tooth dentine is a common method for aging marine mammals. Using known‐aged animals, we validated this method for acid etched teeth of California sea lions (CSLs), Zalophus californianus. Between 1991 and 2013, the upper left canine (n = 33) was collected opportunistically during necropsy from animals tagged or branded as pups that later died. Overall, 55%–61% of age estimates by GLG counting were within 1 yr of the known‐age in the sample of 1–30‐yr‐old CSLs. Accuracy of age estimates was found to be dependent on age of the CSLs, however. 71%–79% of age estimates were within 1 yr of the known‐age in CSLs <10 yr old. These findings support the validity of counting GLGs to estimate age for CSLs <10 yr old to within 1 yr of accuracy.     

三种根管充填材料对 乳牙根尖周炎常见细菌的抑菌性

目的评估和比较3种乳牙根管充填材料对乳牙根尖周炎常见细菌的抗菌功效。方法在体外实验中,采用纸片扩散法检测并观察3种乳牙根管充填材料及蒸馏水作用于粪肠球菌、牙龈卟啉单胞菌和具核梭杆菌后形成的抑菌环直径(mm),用SPSS 24.0软件进行统计分析。结果三重抗生素糊剂对乳牙根尖周炎根管中3种细菌均显示出最强的抗菌潜力,其次是Vitapex?、氢氧化钙糊剂,结果差异具有统计学意义(P0.05);蒸馏水对3种细菌是非抑制性的。粪肠球菌对3种药物反应最敏感,其次是牙龈卟啉单胞菌、具核梭杆菌,结果差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论三重抗生素糊剂是最推荐用于治疗乳牙根尖周炎的根管充填材料。