No abstract

BackgroundThe current oral health status and possible dental risk factors among children in rural Shaanxi Province, western China are unreported. This study aimed to describe the oral health status and to analyze the possible risk factors for the oral health status in this population.MethodsA multi-stage cluster sampling method was used to survey 12- to 15-year-olds and 4- to 6-year-olds in villages in Shaanxi Province. The structured questionnaires were provided to the 12- to 15-year-olds and to the caregivers of the 4- to 6-year-olds to collect information on the subjects’ oral health knowledge, attitudes and behavior. A clinical examination was performed to assess dental caries and gingival bleeding (only 12- to 15-year-olds). SPSS 17.0 statistical software was used to analyze the data.ResultsThe decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT) index scores of 12- to 15-year-olds and 4-to 6-year-olds averaged 0.45 and 3.05, respectively. The caries prevalence was 23.9% in 12- to 15-year-olds and 67% in 4-to 6-year-olds. Additionally, 45.2% of the 12- to 15-year-olds had gingival bleeding and 62.8% had calculus. The oral health knowledge of the subjects was generally poor, whereas they held very positive attitudes toward oral health. A low number of participants reported that they brushed their teeth at least twice daily. Moreover, a statistically significant relationship was found between oral health knowledge scores, tooth brushing frequency and DMFT scores as well as gingival bleeding in the 12- to 15-year-olds. Frequency of sweets consumption was strongly related to dmft scores in the 4- to 6-year-olds.ConclusionThe oral health status, oral health knowledge and behaviors among village children in Shaanxi Province are poor. Oral health education to improve oral health knowledge and to increase the frequency of tooth brushing should be undertaken in the rural schools in western China.

Acute effects of oxidative damage induced by benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) on various organs are still not clear. In this study, we investigated oxidative stress and DNA damage in liver, lung, stomach, brain and kidney of ICR male mice induced by acute B[a]P treatment. B[a]P treatment led to a significant decrease at the different doses in body weight. For the variations of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione (GSH) and GSH/GSSG, significant increases were observed at 24 h, then decreased till 72 h after B[a]P injection. The increase percent indicated in a dose- dependent decrease manner. However, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), GSSG and MDA were significantly increased in a time- and dose-dependent increase manner. DNA damage showed the significant and top levels at 24 h, and increased in proportion to the doses of B[a]P treatment. The total induction could be indicated by the variation of MDA at 24 h after B[a]P injection and showed the following order of predominance: lung > liver > kidney = stomach > brain. This was further certificated by histopathological changes in the examined organs. Additionally, the levels of serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT), and blood urea nitrogen (UN), creatinine were also significantly increased at 24 h after B[a]P injection. These findings suggested the disturbance of antioxidant responses and aggravation of DNA damages, and the different responses on various organs induced by acute B[a]P treatment in organism.

Current and future opportunities and challenges with respect to radiology are provided with emphasis on cardiothoracic imaging.

No abstract