During tooth development, after the completion of crown formation, the apical mesenchyme forms the developing periodontium while the inner and outer enamel epithelia fuse below the level of the crown cervical margin to produce a bilayered epithelial sheath termed Hertwig's epithelial root sheath (HERS). The role of HERS cells in root formation is widely accepted; however, the precise function of these cells remains controversial. Functions suggested have ranged from structural (subdivide the dental ectomesenchymal tissues into dental papilla and dental follicle), regulators of timing of root development, inducers of mesenchymal cell differentiation into odontoblasts and cementoblasts, to cementoblast cell precursors. The characterization of the HERS phenotype has been hindered by the small amount of tissue present at a given time during root formation. In this study, we report the establishment of an immortal HERS-derived cell line that can be maintained in culture and then induced to differentiate in vitro. Characterization of the HERS phenotype using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot immunostaining suggests that HERS cells initially synthesize and secrete some enamel-related proteins such as ameloblastin, and then these cells appear to change their morphology and produce a mineralized extracellular matrix resembling acellular cementum. These studies suggest that the acellular and cellular cementum are synthesized by two different types of cells, the first one by HERS-derived cementoblasts and the later by neural crest-derived cementoblasts. Developmental Dynamics 228:651-663, 2003.
Background & Aims An elevated neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has received attention as a prognostic surrogate across chronic liver diseases. However, an exact threshold has not been fully elucidated. Methods A total number of 589 patients with cirrhosis (LC) were included. The value of NLR was calculated and its optimal cut‐off was initially determined by X‐tile program. Independent predictors of 90‐day mortality were identified with Cox regression model. The Kaplan‐Meier method was used to generate survival curves. To reduce influences of selection bias and possible confounders, a 1:2 propensity score matching (PSM) was performed. Results The X‐tile indicated that the difference in survival was most significant for NLR more than 8.9. Serum NLR > 8.9 was an independent indicator in the entire cohort and PSM subset (HR 4.268, 95% CI 2.211‐8.238, P < .001; HR 4.209, 95% CI 1.448‐12.238, P = .008 respectively). Subgroup analysis showed that NLR > 8.9 was an independent risk factor of 90‐day mortality regardless of age, gender, CTP or MELD score. Conclusions The value of NLR more than 8.9 is a feasible cut‐off across clinical settings among applicable population. The adding of NLR to other conventional predictive systems has the potential to provide incremental value without extra economic cost.
As the world's most populated and rapidly aging country, there is limited information on sex-related differences in factors regarding uncomplicated colonic diverticulosis in China. We aimed to investigate sex differences in individual risk factor in a northern metropolis. Patients with colonic diverticulosis who underwent indicated colonoscopy were queried with respect to medical history and demographic features. Demographic information, life style factors and co-morbidities were retrieved from a prospective dataset. Multiple regression analyses were performed to determine precipitating factors of diverticula. Of 4,386 enrolled patients, colonic diverticulosis were detected in 218 cases (4.97%). Multiple logistic regression analysis implicated increasing age (OR = 1.05, 95%CI 1.03-1.06, P < 0.001), red meat ≥100 g/d (OR = 2.53, 95%CI 1.72-3.70, P < 0.001), smoking (OR = 2.14, 95%CI 1.05-4.33, P = 0.035), rheumatologic diseases (OR = 3.38, 95%CI 1.09-10.5, P = 0.035) and NSAIDs (OR = 2.11, 95%CI 1.12-3.97, P = 0.020) were significantly associated with diverticulosis in men, whilst advancing age (OR = 1.03, 95%CI 1.01-1.05, P = 0.013), BMI (OR = 1.12, 95%CI 1.04-1.19, P = 0.001), smoking (OR = 10.2, 95%CI 2.81-37.4, P < 0.001), rheumatologic diseases (OR = 8.04, 95%CI 3.05-21.2, P < 0.001), hypertension (OR = 1.76, 95%CI 1.01-3.06, P = 0.047), colonic polyps (OR = 3.12, 95%CI 1.82-5.36, P < 0.001) and antihypertensive medications (OR = 2.99, 95%CI 1.66-5.39, P < 0.001) in women. In conclusion, it is pivotal to take account of differentially sex-related factors in regard to the development of uncomplicated colonic diverticulosis.China has underwent rapid growth of aging population during recent decades; those aged ≥ 75 years accounted for 3.5% of the population in 2013, and there were 200 million elderly residents aged ≥ 65 years in 20141 . Therefore the burden of diseases, especially entity with a higher prevalence among the elderly, including uncomplicated colonic diverticulosis, is predicted to increase in the future 2,3 . As a matter of fact, the rates of diverticula have dramatically increased from 2.78% in 2011 to 4.98% in 2015 according to dataset from our endoscopy center (data not shown). Aside from aging, the pathogenesis of diverticulosis is thought to be multifactorial, including diet, colonic motility, obesity, medications and genetic factors 4 . More recently, it has been recognized that altered gut microbiota composition and abnormal immune signatures may contribute to the development and progression of uncomplicated diverticular disease 5,6 . Of note, explicit sex-specific diet-microbiota correlations have been documented in humans 7 . After reviewing current body of literature, gender was evidently associated with the presence of diverticulosis 5,[8][9][10] . Thus, it is plausible to hypothesize that sex-related differences regarding risk factors for the formation of diverticula. Collectively, we aimed to assess potential factors related to diverticulosis by capturing and analyzing demographic, env...
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