Association of age with class VI composite restoration

Dental caries is the major oral health problem in most of the countries, affecting 60-90% of school children and a vast majority of adults. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the association of age with Class VI defects restored with composite restorations. We used 102 cases with data regarding Class VI composite restorations in a datasheet of 86,000 records at Saveetha Dental College, India for this study. Data shows that Class VI restorations were commonly seen in upper anterior teeth in the age group of 51 and above. The cavities prepared to receive Class VI restoration followed a conservative design of caries removal and used direct restoration techniques for reconstruction of the lost tooth structure.     

Optimization of factors influencing enzyme activity and product selectivity and the role of proton transfer in the catalytic mechanism of patchoulol synthase

The patchoulol synthase (PTS) from Pogostemon cablin is a versatile sesquiterpene synthase and produces more than 20 valuable sesquiterpenes by conversion of the natural substrate farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP). PTS has the potential to be used as a biocatalyst for the production of valuable sesquiterpenes such as (−)-patchoulol. The objective of the present study is to develop an efficient biotransformation and to characterize the biocatalytic mechanism of the PTS in detail. For this purpose, soluble PTS was prepared using an optimized cultivation protocol and continuous downstream process with a purity of 98%. The PTS biotransformation was then optimized regarding buffer composition, pH-value, and temperature for biotransformation as well as functional and kinetic properties to improve productivity. For the bioconversion of FPP, the highest enzyme activity was reached with the 2-(N-morphlino)ethanesulfonic acid (MES) buffer containing 10% (v/v) glycerol and 10 mM MgCl₂ at pH 6.4 and 34°C. The PTS showed an unusual substrate inhibition for sesquiterpene synthases indicating an intermediate sesquiterpene formed in the active center. Deuteration experiments were used to gain further insights into the biocatalytic mechanism described in literature. Thus it could be shown that a second substrate binding site must be responsible for substrate inhibition and that further protonation and deprotonation steps are involved in the reaction mechanism.     

Aidi injection,a traditional Chinese biomedical preparation for gynecologic tumors: a systematic review and PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis

Aidi injection (ADI), a traditional Chinese biomedical preparation, is a promising adjuvant therapy for gynecologic tumors (GTs), including cervical cancer (CC), endometrial cancer (EC), and ovarian cancer (OC). Although studies have reported positively on ADI therapy, its exact effects and safety in GT patients remain controversial. Therefore, a wide-ranging systematic search of electronic databases was performed for this meta-analysis. Data from 38 trials including 3309 GT patients were analyzed. The results indicated that the combination of conventional treatment and ADI markedly improved the patients’ overall response rate (P<0.00001), disease control rate (P<0.00001), and quality of life (P<0.05) compared with conventional treatment alone. Furthermore, patient immunity was enhanced with combined treatment, as indicated by significantly increased percentages of CD3⁺ (P=0.005) and CD4⁺ (P<0.00001) and increased CD4⁺/CD8⁺ ratio (P=0.001). Most of the adverse events caused by radiochemotherapy such as gastrointestinal issues, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and hepatotoxicity, (P<0.05 for all) were significantly alleviated when ADI was used in the GT patients. However, other adverse events such as nephrotoxicity, diarrhea, alopecia, and neurotoxicity did not significantly differ between the two groups. Overall, these results suggest that the combination of conventional and ADI treatment is more effective than conventional treatment alone.     

LBX2-AS1 promotes ovarian cancer progression by facilitating E2F2 gene expression via miR-455-5p and miR-491-5p sponging

LBX2-AS1 is a long non-coding RNA that facilitates the development of gastrointestinal cancers and lung cancer, but its participation in ovarian cancer development remained uninvestigated. Clinical data retrieved from TCGA ovarian cancer database and the clinography of 60 ovarian cancer patients who received anti-cancer treatment in our facility were analysed. The overall cell growth, colony formation, migration, invasion, apoptosis and tumour formation on nude mice of ovarian cancer cells were evaluated before and after lentiviral-based LBX2-AS1 knockdown. ENCORI platform was used to explore LBX2-AS1-interacting microRNAs and target genes of the candidate microRNAs. Luciferase reporter gene assay and RNA pulldown assay were used to verify the putative miRNA-RNA interactions. Ovarian cancer tissue specimens showed significant higher LBX2-AS1 expression levels that non-cancerous counterparts. High expression level of LBX2-AS1 was significantly associated with reduced overall survival of patients. LBX2-AS1 knockdown significantly down-regulated the cell growth, colony formation, migration, invasion and tumour formation capacity of ovarian cancer cells and increased their apoptosis in vitro. LBX2-AS1 interacts with and thus inhibits the function of miR-455-5p and miR-491-5p, both of which restrained the expression of E2F2 gene in ovarian cancer cells via mRNA targeting. Transfection of miRNA inhibitors of these two miRNAs or forced expression of E2F2 counteracted the effect of LBX2-AS1 knockdown on ovarian cancer cells. LBX2-AS1 was a novel cancer-promoting lncRNA in ovarian cancer. This lncRNA increased the cell growth, survival, migration, invasion and tumour formation of ovarian cancer cells by inhibiting miR-455-5p and miR-491-5p, thus liberating the expression of E2F2 cancer-promoting gene.     

Chemical Composition and Pharmacological Evaluation and of Toddalia asiatica (Rutaceae) Extracts and Essential Oil by in Vitro and in Silico Approaches.

Toddalia asiatica (L.) Lam. is extensively used in traditional medicinal systems by various cultures. Despite its frequent use in traditional medicine, there is still a paucity of scientific information on T. asiatica growing on the tropical island of Mauritius. Therefore, the present study was designed to appraise the pharmacological and phytochemical profile of extracts (methanol, ethyl acetate and water) and essential oil obtained from aerial parts of T. asiatica. Biological investigation involved the evaluation of in vitro antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory potentials. The chemical profile of the EO was determined using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis, while for the extracts, the total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid content were quantified as well as their individual phenolic compounds by LC/MS/MS. Quinic acid, fumaric acid, chlorogenic acid, quercitrin and isoquercitrin were the main compounds in the extracts. Highest total phenolic (82.5±0.94 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE/g)) and flavonoid (43.8±0.31 mg rutin equivalent (RE/g)) content were observed for the methanol extract. The GC/MS analysis has shown the presence of 26 compounds with linalool (30.9 %), linalyl acetate (20.9 %) and β-phellandrene (7.9 %) being most abundant components in the EO. The extracts and EO showed notable antioxidant properties, with the methanol extract proved to be superior source of antioxidant compounds. Noteworthy anti-acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and anti-butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) effects were recorded for the tested samples, while only the methanol and ethyl acetate extracts were active against tyrosinase. With respect to antidiabetic effects, the extracts and EO were potent inhibitors of α-glucosidase, while modest activity was recorded against α-amylase. Docking results showed that linalyl acetate has the highest affinity to interact with the active site of BChE with docking score of −6.25 kcal/mol. The findings amassed herein act as a stimulus for further investigations of this plant as a potential source of bioactive compounds which can be exploited as phyto-therapeutics.     

Volatiles from Marina neglecta: Biocide effect on insect vectors of tropical diseases in Southern Mexico

Preventive measures based in the control of insect vectors are considered as the best choice to decrease the incidence of insect-borne diseases. Herein we report on the volatile content of the leaf essential oils from Marina neglecta, a medicinal plant distributed in the tropical regions of southern Mexico. In order to investigate the chemical variation of the essential oils, a volatile screening was performed during the four seasons of the years 2016–2019. Simultaneously, their biological activity was tested on distinct life stages of Meccus pallidipennis, M. bassolsae, Aedes aegypti and A. albopictus. Essential oils were mainly constituted of β-pinene (>30%) β-caryophyllene (>25%) and germacrene D (>13%). Dorsal-abdomen application of essential oils on triatomines, revealed an efficient LC₅₀ for nymphs of the stages I to III (4 µg/insect), nymphs of the stages IV to V (5–6 µg/insect), and adults (7–8 µg/insect). The LT₅₀ for the stages I to III was between 6 and 8 h, whereas that for the stages IV to V and adults oscillated between 12 and 16 h and 22 to 26 h, respectively. Fumigation experiments performed on nymph V, demonstrated that 300 µg L^?1 air produced 100% mortality after 72 h post-treatment. Among tested volatiles, β-pinene and β-caryophyllene produced a comparable mortality rate (p < 0.01) than that of essential oils in the stages assayed. Essential oils showed strong larvicidal (LC₅₀, 24–36 µg mL^?1) and adulticidal (35–48 µg mL^?1) activities in mosquito species with an LT₅₀ of 4.5 h and 25–35 min, respectively. The evaluation of β-pinene produced a significant mortality rate (p < 0.01) in larvae whereas germacrene D was the most effective volatile (p < 0.01) against adults of both mosquito species. According to our results, β-pinene was the most effective volatile against the four insect species evaluated and its effect was comparable to that of the essential oil.