Reliability assessment and correlation analysis of evaluating orthodontic treatment outcome in Chinese patients

This study aimed to assess the reliability of experienced Chinese orthodontists in evaluating treatment outcome and to determine the correlations between three diagnostic information sources. Sixty-nine experienced Chinese orthodontic specialists each evaluated the outcome of orthodontic treatment of 108 Chinese patients. Three different information sources： study casts （SC）, lateral cephalometric X-ray images （LX） and facial photographs （PH） were generated at the end of treatment for 108 patients selected randomly from six orthodontic treatment centers throughout China. Six different assessments of treatment outcome were made by each orthodontist using data from the three information sources separately and in combination. Each assessment included both ranking and grading for each patient. The rankings of each of the 69 judges for the 108 patients were correlated with the rankings of each of the other judges yielding 13 873 Spearman rs values, ranging from -0.08 to ＋0.85. Of these, 90% were greater than 0.4, showing moderate-to-high consistency among the 69 orthodontists. In the combined evaluations, study casts were the most significant predictive component （R2=0.86, P〈0.000 1）, while the inclusion of lateral cephalometric films and facial photographs also contributed to a more comprehensive assessment （R2=0.96, P〈0.000 1）. Grading scores for SC＋LX and SC＋PH were highly significantly correlated with those for SC＋LX＋PH （r（SC＋LX）vs.（SC＋LX＋PH）=0.96, r（SC＋PH）vs.（SC＋LX＋PH）=0.97）, showing that either SC＋LX or SC＋PH is an excellent substitute for all three combined assessment,

(D-Ser2) oxyntomodulin recovers hippocampal synaptic structure and theta rhythm in Alzheimer’s disease transgenic mice

In our previous studies,we have shown that(D-Ser2)oxyntomodulin(Oxm),a glucagon-like peptide 1(GLP-1)receptor(GLP1R)/glucagon receptor(GCGR)dual agonist peptide,protects hippocampal neurons against Aβ1-42-induced cytotoxicity,and stabilizes the calcium homeostasis and mitochondrial membrane potential of hippocampal neurons.Additionally,we have demonstrated that(D-Ser2)Oxm improves cognitive decline and reduces the deposition of amyloid-beta in Alzheimer’s disease model mice.However,the protective mechanism remains unclear.In this study,we showed that 2 weeks of intraperitoneal administration of(D-Ser2)Oxm ameliorated the working memory and fear memory impairments of 9-month-old 3×Tg Alzheimer’s disease model mice.In addition,electrophysiological data recorded by a wireless multichannel neural recording system implanted in the hippocampal CA1 region showed that(D-Ser2)Oxm increased the power of the theta rhythm.In addition,(D-Ser2)Oxm treatment greatly increased the expression level of synaptic-associated proteins SYP and PSD-95 and increased the number of dendritic spines in 3×Tg Alzheimer’s disease model mice.These findings suggest that(D-Ser2)Oxm improves the cognitive function of Alzheimer’s disease transgenic mice by recovering hippocampal synaptic function and theta rhythm.

Accuracy Assessment of Three-dimensional Surface Reconstructions of In vivo Teeth from Cone-beam Computed Tomography

Background： The accuracy of three-dimensional （3 D） reconstructions from cone-beam computed tomography （CBCT） has been particularly important in dentistry, which will affect the effectiveness of diagnosis, treatment plan, and outcome in clinical practice. The aims of this study were to assess the linear, volumetric, and geometric accuracy of 3 D reconstructions from CBCT and to investigate the influence of voxel size and CBCT system on the reconstructions results. Methods： Fifty teeth from 18 orthodontic patients were assigned to three groups as NewTom VG 0.15 mm group （NewTom VG; voxel size： 0.15 ram; n = 17）, NewTom VG 0.30 mm group （NewTom VG; voxel size： 0.30 ram; n - 16）, and VATECH DCTPRO 0.30 mm group （VATECH DCTPRO; voxel size： 0.30 ram; n = 17）. The 3D reconstruction models of the teeth were segmented from CBCT data manually using Mimics 18.0 （Materialise Dental, Leuven, Belgium）, and the extracted teeth were scanned by 3Shape optical scanner （3Shape A/S, Denmark）. Linear and volumetric deviations were separately assessed by comparing the length and volume of the 3D reconstruction model with physical measurement by paired t-test Geometric deviations were assessed by the root mean square value of the imposed 3D reconstruction and optical models by one-sample t-test. To assess the influence of voxel size and CBCT system on 3D reconstruction, analysis of variance （ANOVA） was used （α = 0.05）. Results： The linear, volumetric, and geometric deviations were -0.03±0.48 mm, -5.4 ±2.8%, and 0.117 ± 0.018 mm for NewTom VG 0.15 mm group; -0.45 ± 0.42 mm, -4.5±3.4%, and 0.116 ＋ 0.014 mm for NewTom VG 0.30 mm group; and 0.93 ± 0.40 ram, 4.8 ± 5.1%, and 0.194 ± 0.117 mm for VATECH DCTPRO 0.30 mm group, respectively. There were statistically significant differences between groups in terms of linear measurement （P 〈 0.001）, but no significant difference in terms of volumetric measurement （P 0.774）. No statistically significant difference were found on geometric measurement between NewTom VG 0.15 mm and NewTom VG 0.30 mm groups （P - 0.999） while a significant difference was found between VATECH DCTPRO 0.30 mm and NewTom VG 0.30 mm groups （P = 0.006）. Conclusions： The 3D reconstruction from CBCT data can achieve a high linear, volumetric, and geometric accuracy. Increasing voxel resolution from 0.30 to 0.15 mm does not result in increased accuracy of 3D tooth reconstruction while different systems can affect the accuracy.

Novel Mutation of Cleidocranial Dysplasia-related Frameshift Runt-related Transcription Factor 2 in a Sporadic Chinese Case

Background： Cleidocranial dysplasia （CCD） is an autosomal dominant disease that affects the skeletal system. Common symptoms of CCD include hypoplasia or aplasia of the clavicles, delayed or even absent closure of the fontanels, midface hypoplasia, short stature, and delayed eruption of permanent and supernumerary teeth. Previous studies reported a connection between CCD and the haploinsufficiency of runt-related transcription factor 2 （RUNX2）. Here, we report a sporadic Chinese case presenting typical symptoms of CCD. Methods： We made genetic testing on this sporadic Chinese case and identified a novel RUNX2 ffameshift mutation： c.1111 dupT. In situ immunofluorescence microscopy and osteocalcin promoter luciferase assay were performed to compare the functions of the RUNX2 mutation with those of wild-type RUNX2. Results： RUNX2 mutation was observed in the perinuclear region, cytoplasm, and nuclei. In contrast, wild-type RUNX2 was confined in the nuclei, which indicated that the subcellular compartmentalization of RUNX2 mutation was partially perturbed. The transactivation function on osteocalcin promoter of the RUNX2 mutation was obviously abrogated. Conclusions： We identified a sporadic CCD patient carrying a novel insertion/frameshift mutation of RUNX2. This finding expanded our understanding of CCD-related phenotypes.