The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of Cameriere's methods on dental age estimation in the northern Chinese population. A sample of orthopantomographs of 785 healthy children (397 girls and 388 boys) aged between 5 and 15 years was collected. The seven left permanent mandibular teeth were evaluated with Cameriere's method. The sample was split into a training set to develop a Chinese-specific prediction formula and a test set to validate this novel developed formula. Following the training dataset study, the variables gender (g), x 3 (canine teeth), x 4 (first premolar), x 7 (second molar), N 0, and the first-order interaction between s and N 0 contributed significantly to the fit, yielding the following linear regression formula: Age = 10.202 + 0.826 g - 4.068x 3 - 1.536x 4 - 1.959x 7 + 0.536 N 0 - 0.219 s [Symbol: see text] N 0, where g is a variable, 1 for boys and 0 for girls. The equation explained 91.2 % (R (2) = 0.912) of the total deviance. By analyzing the test dataset, the accuracy of the European formula and Chinese formula was determined by the difference between the estimated dental age (DA) and chronological age (CA). The European formula verified on the collected Chinese children underestimated chronological age with a mean difference of around -0.23 year, while the Chinese formula underestimated the chronological age with a mean difference of -0.04 year. Significant differences in mean differences in years (DA - CA) and absolute difference (AD) between the Chinese-specific prediction formula and Cameriere's European formula were observed. In conclusion, a Chinese-specific prediction formula based on a large Chinese reference sample could ameliorate the age prediction accuracy in the age group of children.
Developing safe and precise image‐guided photodynamic therapy is a challenge. In this study, the hypoxic properties of solid tumors are exploited to construct a hypoxia‐responsive photosensitizer, TPA‐Azo. Introducing the azo group into the photosensitizer TPA‐BN with aggregation‐induced emission quenches its fluorescence. When the nonfluorescent TPA‐Azo enters hypoxic tumors, it is reduced by the overexpressed azoreductase to generate a fluorescent photosensitizer TPA‐BN with an amino group that exhibits fluorescence‐activatable image‐guided photodynamic therapy with dual‐organelle (lipid droplets and lysosomes) targeting. This design strategy provides a basis for the development of fluorescence‐activatable photosensitizers.
Emerging evidence indicates that the redistribution of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) across the bilayer of the plasma membrane is an important molecular marker for apoptosis. However, the effect of PE on apoptosis and the underlying mechanism of PE remain unclear. In the current study, MTT and flow cytometric assays were used to examine the effects of PE on apoptosis in SMMC-7721 cells. The level of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and the expression of Bax, Bcl-2, caspase-3, phospho-Erk and phospho-Stat1/2 in SMMC-7721 cells that were exposed to PE were also investigated. The results showed that PE inhibited proliferation, caused G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest and induced apoptosis in SMMC-7721 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Rhodamine 123 staining showed that the treatment of SMMC-7721 cells with different concentrations of PE for 24 h significantly decreased the level of ΔΨm and exerted dose-dependent effects. Using immunofluorescence and western blotting, we found that the expression of Bax was upregulated, whereas that of Bcl-2 was downregulated in PE-induced apoptotic cells. In addition, these events were accompanied by an increase in caspase-3 expression in a dose-dependent manner following PE treatment. PE-induced apoptosis was accompanied by a decrease in Erk phosphorylation and by the activation of Stat1/2 phosphorylation in SMMC-7721 cells. In conclusion, the results suggested that PE-induced apoptosis is involved in upregulating the Bax/Bcl-2 protein ratio and decreasing the ΔΨm. Moreover, the results showed that the Erk and Stat1/2 signalling pathways may be involved in the process of PE-induced apoptosis.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.