No abstract

Background/purpose Formocresol has been a popular pulpotomy medicament for primary molars, however, its toxicity and potential carcinogenicity leaves room for other alternatives such as sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical and radiographic success rate of 5% NaOCl pulpotomy in primary molars. Materials and methods A retrospective research of patient records from January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2012 was conducted to evaluate the clinical and radiographic success rate of 5% NaOCl pulpotomy in primary molars. Results A total of 147 NaOCl primary molar pulpotomies in 52 patients were included in the study. Clinical success rates at 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months were 100%, 97%, and 97%, respectively. Radiographic success rates at 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months were 99%, 89%, and 77%, respectively. Internal root resorption was the most common radiographic pathologic finding. Conclusion The clinical and radiographic success rate for NaOCl pulpotomies is comparable with formocresol and ferric sulfate pulpotomy success rates reported in previous studies.

The transcription-translation feedback loop (TTFL) is the core mechanism of the circadian rhythm. In mammalian cells, CLOCK-BMAL1 proteins activate the downstream genes by binding on the E-box sequence of the clock-controlled genes. Among these gene products, CRY1, CRY2, PER1, PER2, NR1D1, and NR1D2 can regulate the CLOCK-BMAL1-mediated transcription to form the feedback loop. However, the detailed mechanism of the TTFL is unclear because of the complicated inter-regulation of these proteins. Here, we generated a cell line lacking CRY1, CRY2, PER1, PER2, NR1D1, and NR1D2 (Cry/Per/Nr1d_KO) to study TTFL. We compared the Dbp transcription after serum-shock and dexamethasone-shock between Cry/Per/Nr1d_KO cells and cells expressing endogenous CRY (Per/Nr1d_KO) or NR1D (Cry/Per_KO). Furthermore, we found that CRY1-mediated repression of Dbp could persist more than 24 h in the absence of other proteins in the negative limb of the TTFL. Our Cry/Per/Nr1d_KO cells is a suitable system for the studying of differential roles of CRY, PER, and NR1D in the TTFL.

Sex chromosome translocations are unique and must be considered separately from translocations between autosomes. Here, we describe the first prenatal case of one twin fetus with an unbalanced translocation between chromosome Y and chromosome 15, presenting a 46,XY,der(15)t(Y;15) karyotype. The other twin had a normal 46,XY karyotype. Cytogenetic analysis of the parental chromosomes revealed that the father had a normal 46,XY karyotype, whereas the mother exhibited a 46,XX,der(15) t(Y;15) karyotype. Thus, the proband inherited this translocation from the mother. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses demonstrated that the breakpoint on chromosome Y involved a heterochromatin region (Yq12), while that on chromosome 15 involved a p-arm region (15p13). At 37 gestational weeks, healthy twins were delivered vaginally. We conclude that accurate identification of der(15) chromosomal content can facilitate not only prenatal diagnosis of a chromosomal aberration in one twin, but also prediction of the fetal phenotype.

In 2000, the da Vinci Surgery System was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for general laparoscopic surgery and it became the first commercially available robotic surgery system. The aim of this study was to identify the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) in patients undergoing da Vinci surgery and to observe whether the incidence of PPCs was affected by the usage of Sugammadex. Sugammadex is a gamma-cyclodextrin that encapsulates and subsequently inactivates steroidal neuromuscular blocking agents. A retrospective study was conducted on patients who had undergone da Vinci surgery in a single medical center in southern Taiwan during the period from January 2018 to December 2018. We extracted data on patient characteristics, usage of Sugammadex and PPCs for analysis. Three hundred and thirty-three patients were enrolled in the final analysis. While the overall incidence of PPCs was 30.3% (101/333 patients), the incidence of PCC in patients who received Sugammadex (24.2%) was significantly lower than those without (37.3%) (p = 0.001). Risk factors that appeared to be closely associated with PCC included age, malignancy, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, blood loss amount and anemia. The use of Sugammadex decreased the risk of PPC. In order to enhance early recovery after da Vinci surgery, the use of Sugammadex to rapidly reverse muscle relaxants may be an appropriate choice.