Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a class of manmade chemicals commonly used in consumer product manufacturing. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are two of the most highly studied PFASs. Both are present in the blood of the most Americans. PFASs are associated with intermediate cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes, but their relationship with obesity, a risk factor for intermediate and advanced CVD, remains largely unconfirmed. In this context, we aimed to explore the relationship between PFASs and both overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity among children.

We examine associations between PFOA and PFOS levels, and Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in a representative sample (N=2473) of US children, aged 12-18 years from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2012. Overweight/obesity is defined as age-, sex-specific BMI z-score ≥ 85th percentile; abdominal obesity is defined as age-, sex-specific waist circumference ≥90th percentile.

Associations between PFASs and anthropometric outcomes show a dose-response relationship overall. For overweight/obese BMI z-score, findings indicate OR=1.42 and 95% CI 0.85-2.38 for quartile 2 of PFOA exposure; OR=2.22 (95% CI 1.20-4.13) for quartile 3 of PFOA exposure; and OR=2.73 (95% CI1.10-6.74) for quartile 4 of PFOA exposure.

Findings indicate an association between elevated PFOA and overweight/obesity among children after multivariable adjustment.

Findings indicate an association between elevated PFOA and overweight/obesity among children after multivariable adjustment.Iron sulfide (FeS) is an important scavenger for hexavalent molybdate (Mo(VI)) in an anoxic environment; it plays a crucial role in the mobilization and transformation of Mo(VI), although the underlying reaction mechanisms between Mo(VI) and FeS remain unclear. This study investigates the Mo(VI) reaction kinetics with the amorphous FeS over a pH range 5.0-9.0 and Mo’s chemical form on the FeS surface. It is found that the Mo(VI) reaction kinetics with FeS follow a pseudo first-order model, and the reaction rate constant (kobs) increases with a decrease in the pH value. The kobs at pH 5.0 is 0.027 min-1, which is about 38 times higher than that at pH 9.0. The rapid Mo(VI) removal under acidic conditions is due to quick Mo(VI) transformation into stable MoS2 and thiomolybdate (MoVOxSy). The amount of MoS2 formed on the surface of FeS increases with a decrease in the pH value. Under neutral and alkaline conditions, Mo(VI) is not transformed into MoS2 by FeS because the precipitation of iron oxy-hydroxide passivates the active sites of FeS. The study also investigates the effect of the initial dosage of FeS (20-200 mg L-1) and Mo(VI) (10-50 mg L-1) on the reaction kinetics of Mo(VI) with FeS. The results provides important information on the environmental fate of Mo(VI) in the anoxic environment containing amorphous FeS.Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in women with a high incidence and mortality worldwide. A great number of studies have indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play significant roles in the initiation and development of human cancers. Although it has been revealed that lncRNA GAS6-AS1 is involved in the regulation of several cancer types, the role and regulatory mechanism of GAS6-AS1 in breast cancer remain unclear. In this paper, our findings showed that GAS6-AS1 expression was significantly elevated in breast cancer tissues and cell lines, and the high level of GAS6-AS1 reflected a poor prognosis of patients with breast cancer. Moreover, GAS6-AS1 knockdown suppressed cell proliferation, migration and invasion as well as facilitated cell apoptosis. We further found that the depletion of GAS6-AS1 suppressed the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway through inhibiting the levels of pathway-related proteins. Mechanically, GAS6-AS1 acted as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to sponge miR-324-3p and upregulate SETD1A expression. Besides, GAS6-AS1 activated the PI3K/AKT pathway by targeting the miR-324-3p/SETD1A axis. Rescue assays showed that SETD1A overexpression or 740Y-P treatment reversed the inhibitory effect of silenced GAS6-AS1 on cellular progresses of breast cancer. In summary, this work first explored the molecular regulatory mechanism of GAS6-AS1 in breast cancer cells and revealed that GAS6-AS1 facilitated the malignant behaviors of breast cancer cells by the miR-324-3p/SETD1A axis to activate the PI3K/AKT pathway.Novel Glycyrrhetinic Acid (GA) derivatives with fused heterocycles on A ring were structure-based designed and synthesized. Their potential anti-inflammatory effects were investigated by a classical LPS stimulated macrophage model. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was used to verify the binding of GA analogues with HMGB1. A preliminary structure-activity relationship was summarized and an analogue GA-60 with ortho-methoxybenzyl pyrozole showed stronger anti-inflammatory effect and higher affinity for HMGB1 with a Kd value of 12.5 μM. In addition, this compound exhibited excellent inhibitory functions on NO (96%), TNF-α (94%), and IL-6 (100%), by interfering with phosphorylation of p38, ERK, JNK MAPKs, as well as that of NF-κB p65 and IKKα/β. Moreover, GA-60 extended the survival of either the classic CLP-induced or LPS-induced sepsis mouse models. Molecular modeling predictions further supported these findings, clearly indicating that inhibiting HMGB1 release, using fused heterocyclic GA derivatives, is a promising strategy for treatment of sepsis.Donor-Acceptor type BODIPYs with strong absorption and fluorescence in the red region (550-800 nm) are reported. The aromatic groups like N-butylcarbazole/ N-butylphenothiazine/ benzothiadiazole were attached to the C-8 position of the BODIPY core with furan or thiophene spacers. TD-DFT studies indicated significant charge distribution between C-8 aromatic heterocycles and BODIPY core in all the molecules. The in-vitro studies of the N-butylcarbazole substituted BODIPYs indicated significant localization in the endoplasmic reticulum and lysosomes of the cancer cells. The BODIPYs showed decent cytotoxicity after 48 h incubation period (14.9 to 31.8 μM) in HeLa and A549 cancer cells, indicating their potential application as theranostic agents.In this study, we prepared a novel amino cellulose derivative (benzyl cellulose-g-poly [2-(N,N-Dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate]) via a homogeneous ATRP method. The successful synthesis of the novel amino cellulose was confirmed by FT-IR and 1H NMR. This study addressed the different characteristics of the prepared polymer including the thermal stability, solubility, and X-ray diffraction pattern. The antibacterial activity of the synthesized cellulose derivative was investigated using the diffusion disk method against both gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica) and gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis) bacteria. Based on the inhibition zone, it was confirmed that the prepared benzyl cellulose-g-PDMAEMA possesses acceptable antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, and Staphylococcus aureus while Bacillus subtilis is resistant to the prepared polymer. Also according to the inhibition zone, it was shown that benzyl cellulose-g-PDMAEMA has more impact on E. coli and Salmonella enterica than Staphylococcus aureus. Molecular dynamics simulation was also used to study the interaction of the synthesized cellulose derivative with a model membrane which presented atomistic details of the polymer-lipid interactions. According to the results obtained from the molecular dynamics simulation, the polymer was able to destabilize the structure of the membrane and clearly express its signs of degradation.Enuresis and encopresis can be stressful for children and parents. We investigated the comorbid psychiatric disorders and the emotional and behavioral symptoms associated with elimination disorders. A total of 97 children and adolescents (aged 4-17 years) with an elimination disorder participated in this study. The elimination disorder group consisted of three subgroups 50 subjects with enuresis nocturna, 26 with encopresis, and 21 subjects with enuresis+encopresis. The control group with no elimination disorder comprised 50 healthy subjects. All children were interviewed by a child and adolescent psychiatrist. Comorbid psychiatric disorders were assessed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime version (K-SADS-PL). Parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The most common diagnosis was attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, followed by oppositional defiant disorder. The highest rate of psychiatric comorbidity was observed in the enuresis+encopresis subgroup, followed by the enuresis nocturna and encopresis subgroups. All the subgroups had higher total difficulties scores than the control group. Screening for psychiatric disorders should be performed for all children with incontinence.This clinical report describes the treatment of a patient with a large defect area in the maxillary central incisor, left lateral incisor, canine, and first premolar area after a partial maxillectomy. Computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) techniques including rapid prototyping and milling were applied together to fabricate a removable partial denture.

Although studies have reported on selective laser melting (SLM)-fabricated removable partial dentures (RPDs), research addressing the trueness of SLM-fabricated RPD metal frameworks is sparse.

The purpose of this invitro study was to evaluate the trueness of powdered cobalt-chromium (Co-Cr) or titanium-6 aluminum-4 vanadium (Ti-6Al-4V) alloy frameworks for RPDs fabricated by SLM.

A digital scan of a Kennedy class II mandible typodont was obtained to design an RPD framework by using a computer-aided design (CAD) software program (denoted as CRF). Two experimental groups of frameworks were fabricated from the CRF by using SLM in alloys of Co-Cr (SLM-Co-Cr, n=6) and in Ti-6Al-4V (SLM-Ti-6Al-4V, n=6) while a control group was fabricated by using traditional lost-wax casting following stereolithography (CA-Co-Cr, n=6). In total, 18 RPD frameworks were digitally scanned (denoted as CRF), with each scan then superimposed on the CRF and evaluated for discrepancies by using a 3D analysis software program. A nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test was performed to determine differences in trueness among groups (α=.05).

The CA-Co-Cr group showed the highest discrepancy between CEF and CRF. Statistically significant differences were found between the CA-Co-Cr and SLM-fabricated groups (P=.03 for Co-Cr, and P=.016 for Ti-6Al-4V). However, no significant difference was found between the SLM-Co-Cr and SLM-Ti-6Al-4V groups (P=.787).

SLM-fabricated RPD frameworks exhibited higher trueness than CA-Co-Cr fabricated ones, indicating the potential of selective laser melting to produce the geometric shapes required for accurate dental restorations.

SLM-fabricated RPD frameworks exhibited higher trueness than CA-Co-Cr fabricated ones, indicating the potential of selective laser melting to produce the geometric shapes required for accurate dental restorations.