The low affinity of composite materials for the hard tissue of human teeth poses a challenge to restorative dentists. This study was undertaken to explore molecular and chemical characteristics of the interface between the dental cement, the buffer layer formed from a next generation biomimetic material that mimics the organic mineral composition of human enamel and dentin, and the intact native hard dental tissue. Seven plane-parallel dental slices were analyzed using synchrotron IR microspectroscopy. The obtained absorption spectra of functional molecular groups were organized into cluster maps. This allowed us to identify the intact tissue, the adhesive agent and the biomimetic layer at their interface and to localize and measure concentrations of functional groups involved in the integration of the biomimetic composite into the hard tissue of the human tooth. The proposed biomimetic material is based on nanocrystal carbonate-substituted calcium hydroxyapatite synthesized from a biogenic calcium source and a complex of basic polar amino acids copying the composition of the human tooth and can form a functional bond with hard dental tissue.
VIEWS 4506
  The impact of excessive exposure to electronic devices (ED) on youth health remains understudied. There is a pressing need to develop recommendations for the safe use of stationary and mobile ED aimed at minimizing health risks. In this work, we assess the effect of ED on the physical growth and development of high-school and university students and provide recommendations for preventing the negative impact of prolonged screen time on health. The study recruited 460 high-school and 598 university students. Standard anthropometric measurements were taken. The psychological and emotional state of the participants was evaluated using the Test Anxiety Inventory by Spielberg (modified by Khanin). To estimate daily and weekly exposure to ED the participants were asked to fill out standardized questionnaires. In high school students, the average screen time was 7 h a day; in university students, 8.5 to 10 h a day. Only 60% of the participants, regardless of their place of residence or the type of educational institution they were attending, were physically healthy. We conclude that prolonged and frequent exposure to ED is one of the factors that can interfere with normal physical growth and development in youth. Regular daily use of stationary ED increases the risk of developing body weight deficit by 24% and gaining excess body weight by 10%. We recommend that students should eliminate computers, laptops and stationary ED from their daily activities for at least one day at the weekend and reduce total screen time to 3 hours a day.
VIEWS 4579
Desmoid-type fibromatosis (DF) is a rare mesenchymal tumor occurring in only 2 to 4 people per 1,000,000 population a year. Desmoid tumors are either seen sporadically or in individuals with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). The etiology of sporadic DF is uncertain. The aim of this study was to estimate the potential significance of germline mutations in the АРС gene in patients with sporadic DF. АРС exons were amplified, studied using conformation sensitive gel electrophoresis and then Sanger-sequenced. The obtained data were processed in Statistica 10. Mutations were detected in 6 (12%) of 51 participants with sporadic DF. Those 6 patients shared a typical DF phenotype characterized by early age of onset (5.8 years on average, in contrast to the patients without APC mutations, who developed DF at 19 years of age; р = 0.02), severe clinical course, multifocal localization on the trunk, and poor prognosis. All of the detected APC mutations were localized to the 3'-end of the gene. For the purpose of comparison, we analyzed a sample of 12 patients with FAP-associated DF. Of those patients, 6 carried mutations in the APC gene. In the analyzed sample, the patients with FAP and the mutant APC gene developed DF at older age (35 years) than the patients with sporadic DF (p = 0.004) and their tumors were not multifocal. This means that sporadic and FAP-associated desmoids have different phenotypes in patients with APC mutations. Patients with sporadic tumors have mutations at the 3'-end of the АРС gene more often than individuals with FAP-associated DF. To our knowledge, this is the first study to characterize the subtype of sporadic desmoid fibromatosis phenotypically determined by germline mutations in the APC gene.
VIEWS 4488
DNA quantification is a routine yet important procedure that determines the efficacy of long-term sample storage and further manipulations with the sample. There are a few well-established methods for measuring DNA concentrations. However, it still not fully clear how concordant their results are. The aim of this work was to measure DNA concentrations in a set of samples using different quantification methods and to compare the obtained values. In 2 independent experiments, a total of 100 genomic DNA samples were analyzed using 3 different DNA quantification methods, including spectrophotometry (NanoDrop), fluorometry (Qubit) and real-time PCR (Quantifiler). The obtained relative concentrations demonstrated an excellent correlation (the correlation coefficients were as high as 0.98 to 0.99). However, the absolute concentrations showed a considerable variation and even a twofold difference. Spectrophotometry yielded the highest concentrations, whereas fluorometry yielded the lowest. The real-time PCR results were intermediate. The differences were more pronounced for the samples with low DNA concentrations. We recommend that such differences should be accounted for when estimating DNA concentrations using an arsenal of different quantification methods.
VIEWS 4765