This study aimed to explore the associations between soluble epoxide hydrolase 2 gene (EPHX2) variants and non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) in Chinese Han population.

We recruited 159 NSCL/P cases from Chinese Han population and carried out targeted resequencing using the whole genome sequencing data of 542 healthy Chinese individuals from Novegene internal database as controls. We classified EPHX2 variants as common or rare according to their minor allele frequency and performed an association analysis for common variations and a burden analysis for rare variations.

The lowest P-value in NSCL/P was observed at rs57699806 (P=0.000 13, OR=2.849 and 95% CI: 1.691-4.800), followed by rs4732723 (P=0.006 50, OR=0.662 and 95%CI: 0.491-0.892), rs7829267 (P=0.009 20, OR=1.496 and 95%CI: 1.117-2.005), rs721619 (P=0.011 00, OR=1.474 and 95%CI: 1.098-1.980), and rs7816586 (P=0.040 00, OR=1.310 and 95%CI: 1.015-1.691). The odds ratios suggested the C allele at rs4732723 as a protective factor for NSCL/P and the reference alleles at other single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as the risk factors for NSCL/P. Burden analysis showed no statistical significance (P>0.05).

Through targeted resequencing, this study identified five SNPs named rs57699806, rs4732723, rs7829267, rs721619, and rs7816586 around the region of EPHX2 gene associated with NSCL/P in Chinese Han population. Four SNPs of rs57699806, rs4732723, rs7829267, and rs7816586 were first identified.

This work aimed to study the biological behavior of human gingival epithelial cells (HGECs) irradiated by non-thermal atmospheric plasma (NTAP) on a titanium surface.

Cultured HGECs (3⁃5 generations) with the best activity were digested and treated for varying times (0, 10, 20, 30, and 60 s) by NTAP and then seeded on the surface of a titanium disc. The HGECs were cultured in oral keratinocyte medium and 1% penicillin/streptomycin solution. The cells were kept in an atmosphere of 5% CO₂ at 37 ℃ and incubated for different times (4, 12, 24, and 48 h; n=5). Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) was used to detect cell adhesion capacity. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was conducted to observe the morphology of cells on titanium plates. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot were used to evaluate the gene expression of adhesion-related molecules, such as Laminin α3, Integrin β4, and Plectin.

The number of adhered cells increased at 0‑20 s, whereas that gradually decreased at 20⁃60 s. Therefore, cell culture at the two time points showed that HGECs adhesion reached the maximum when NATP was irradiated for 20 s. Compared with the control group, more cells in the treatment group adhered to the titanium surface at each time point (P<0.05). Cells in the treatment group showed more irregular polygons, more protrusions and pseudopods, and a larger cell diffusion area on the titanium surface than those in the control group. qRT-PCR showed that the expression levels of Laminin α3, Integrin β4, and Plectin adhesion-related genes on the titanium surface in the treatment group were higher than those in the control group at each culture time point (P<0.05). Western blot showed that the expression levels of Laminin α3, Integrin β4, and Plectin adhesion-related proteins on the titanium surface were higher in the treatment group than in the control group at 4 and 12 h.

After NTAP treatment, the results showed that 20 s of treatment time could maximize the number of adhered cells on the titanium surface; change the cell adhesion morphology; and significantly upregulate the expression of adhesion-related genes and proteins of Laminin α3, Integrin β4, and Plectin. Furthermore, it could promote the biological sealing effect of HGECs on the titanium surface.

To compare the expression levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-16, and IL-18 in gingival crevicular fluid between patients with invisible orthodontics treatment and fixed orthodontics treatment.

A total of 67 patients with invisible orthodontic treatment were selected as the observation group, and 40 patients with fixed orthodontic treatment were selected as the control group. The expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-16, and IL-18 in gingival crevicular fluid before, 24 h, and 12 months after orthodontic treatment were detected.

No significant difference in basic characteristics and interleukin expression levels in gingival crevicular fluid was observed between the two groups before orthodontic treatment (P>0.05). After 24 h of orthodontic treatment, the expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and IL-18 in gingival crevicular fluid increased in both groups; however, no significant difference was observed between the two groups (P>0.05). After 12 months of orthodontic treatment, the expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and IL-18 in gingival crevicular fluid in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05), and no significant difference in the expression level of IL-16 was observed between the two groups (P>0.05).

Compared with patients with fixed orthodontics treatment, those with invisible orthodontics treatment had weaker oral inflammatory response, which was conducive to the recovery of the oral microenvironment.

This study compared the accuracy of the guide-supported and the microscope-assisted fiber post removal systems by using the extracted teeth. These new idea and theory can be used by clinicians to remove fiber posts.

Twenty-eight human extracted premolars were randomly divided into the guide and microscope groups. After root canal treatment and fiber post restoration, the fiber posts were removed by using a digital guide and via microscope-assisted ultrasonic instrument, respectively. Mimics 10.0 was used to measure the deviation, and the accuracy of the two fiber post removal systems were compared.

In the guide group, the apical vertical deviation was 0.99 mm±0.52 mm, the apical horizontal deviation was 0.75 mm±0.19 mm, the angle deviation was 2.32°±0.64°, and the volume loss was 8.09 mm³±1.42 mm³. In the microscope group, the apical vertical deviation was 0.44 mm±0.23 mm, the apical horizontal deviation was 0.23 mm±0.07 mm, the angle deviation was 0.64°±0.31°, and the volume loss was 15.25 mm³±3.94 mm³. No significant difference was found in the apical vertical deviation between the two groups (P>0.05), whereas the apical horizontal deviation, the angle deviation, and the volume loss were significantly different between the two groups (P<0.05).

The removal of fiber post supported by a digital guide helped reduce the volume loss of post-core restoration teeth, but its accuracy was lower than that of removal by using a microscope-assisted ultrasonic instrument.

To investigate the efficacy of block iliac bone grafting in patients with unilateral alveolar cleft in mixed dentition.

A retrospective study was conducted on patients with unilateral alveolar clefts in mixed dentition who were treated in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital. All patients underwent unilateral alveolar cleft bone graft repair with autogenous block iliac bone blocks. The healing of bone blocks was analyzed at 1 week and 6-12 months after surgery. Mimics software was used for the three-dimensional reconstruction and volumetric measurement of the iliac bone blocks on the follow-up imaging data of 15 patients aged 9-12 years without the eruption of canines before surgery, and the bone resorption rate of the iliac bone blocks was comparatively analyzed.

In the 37 patients, bone grafting was successful in 32 and failed in five. The success rate of bone grafting was 86.5%. In 15 patients aged 9-12 years without the eruption of canines before surgery, eruption through the bone graft area was observed in two patients 6-12 months after the operation. Cone beam computer tomography showed that the grafted bone block exhibited good bony connections, and its resorption mainly occurred on the crests and palatal sides of the alveolar ridge. Bone resorption rates varied considerably between patients with a mean bone resorption rate of 39.0%±13.8% at 6-12 months after surgery.

For patients in mixed dentition, bone grafting with block iliac bone can achieve better osteogenesis effect.

The purpose of this study is to compare the surgical effects of the modified West China method and Millard methods for repairing unilateral cleft lip.

A total of 34 cases of unilateral cleft lip were analyzed, composed of 16 cases in the experimental group subjected to the modified West China method and 18 cases in the control group, which was subjected to the Millard method. Photographs before and after operation were compared, and SPSS 21.0 was used in statistical analysis.

After operation, no significant difference in symmetry between the healthy and affected sides of the nasal alar foot (sba), nasal alar point (al), lip peak point (cph), and mouth angle point (ch) in the experimental group (P>0.05), but no significant difference in symmetry was found between healthy and affected sides of cph and ch in the control group (P>0.05). No significant differences in the symmetry rates of the sba, cph, ch and the nasal columella regression rates were found between the experimental and control groups (P>0.05). The symmetry rates of the al in the experimental group were higher (P<0.05).

For unilateral cleft lip repair, two methods had better effects on lip repair, but the nasal symmetry showed greater improvement when the modified West China me-thod was used than when the Millard method was used.

The effects of using a maxillary skeletal expander (MSE) on the orbital volume and width between periorbital bones in the treatment of adult female patients with maxillary transverse deficiency (MTD) were evalua⁃ted.

A total of 20 adult female patients with MTD with an average age of (22.60±6.29) years were included in the study. The patients were treated with MSE. Cone beam computed tomography was performed before expansion (T0) and no more than 3 weeks after expansion (T1). Orbital volume and periorbital bone width were measured with Mimics 21.0 and analyzed with SPSS 20.0. Paired t-test was performed, and a P value of <0.05 indicated significant difference.

After expansion, the orbital volume increased by (346.80±275.31) mm³ (P<0.05). The width between the right and left zygomaticomaxillary sutures increased by (1.69±0.57) mm (P<0.05), and the width between the right and left infraorbital points increased by (1.71±0.70) mm (P<0.05). However, the width between the right and left frontozygomatic sutures increased by (0.15±0.32) mm (P>0.05). Finally, the width between the right and left supraorbital points increased by (0.23±0.52) mm (P>0.05).

The maxillary skeletal expander slightly expanded the orbital volume in the adult female patients and increased the lateral widths of the periorbital bones.

This study aimed to study the effect of the protein kinase D (PKD) inhibitor CRT0066101 on the cell migration of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC) cells in vitro and explore its related mechanisms to provide new strategies into the clinical treatment of SACC cells.

SACC-LM cells were treated with different concentrations of CRT0066101, and the effect of active phospho-PKD was detected through Western blot and cell immunofluorescence staining. Transwell assay was performed to test cell migration. The effect of CRT0066101 on the protein expression related to the epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) was detected through Western blot, cell immunofluorescence staining, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The cells were treated with the proteasome inhibitor after CRT0066101 administration, and the expression of Snail protein was detected by Western blot.

CRT0066101 inhibited PKD activity and reduced the number of invaded cells in SACC-LM cells. CRT0066101 decreased the expression of N-cadherin and Snail and increased the expression of E-cadherin in SACC-LM cells. The regulation of snail protein degradation by CRT0066101 was dependent on the proteasome pathway.

CRT0066101 can inhibit the migration of SACC-LM cells in SACC and regulate the expression of proteins and genes related to EMT. The mechanism may be associated with the proteasome-dependent degradation of Snail.

This study aims to identify risk factors of postoperative dysphagia in patients with oral cancer by systematic review.

Cohort studies in Chinese or English on risk factors of postoperative dysphagia in patients with oral cancer were searched from CNKI, Wanfang database, VIP Chinese Journal Database, China Biomedical Literature Service System, Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Clinical Trials from the beginning to June 30, 2021. Subject words combined with free words were used to retrieve related articles. The included studies were evaluated, and the effective data were processed with Revman 5.3.

Ten studies were selected, and they included 1 241 patients consisting of 473 patients in the exposed group and 768 patients in the control group. After the meta-analysis, the risk factors with statistical significance were as follows: age>60 years, tumor located in oropharynx or mouth floor, tumor size of T3 or T4, TNM stage of Ⅳ, resection involving suprahyoid muscle or tongue resection>50%, combination of neck dissection, tracheotomy, or reconstruction, and postoperative radiotherapy.

Age>60 years, tumor in oropharynx or mouth floor, tumor size of T3 or T4, TNM stage of Ⅳ, resection involving suprahyoid muscle or tongue resection>50%, combination of neck dissection, tracheotomy, or reconstruction, and postoperative radiotherapy were significant risk factors of postoperative dysphagia in patients with oral cancer.

A study was conducted to investigate the value of preoperative peripheral blood inflammatory indicators in the prediction of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) prognosis.

This retrospective analysis included 210 patients who underwent radical resection for TSCC in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2010 to December 2017. Receiver operating characteristic curve was conducted to determine the best cut-off values of platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR). The Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank test were conducted for univariate analysis, and the Cox proportional hazard regression model was conducted for multivariate analysis. A Nomogram model was established based on the independent risk factors, which were screened by Cox regression model.

The univariate analysis showed that PLR, NLR, tumor differentiation, and T, N, and TNM stages were TSCC’s prognostic factors (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that PLR and N and TNM stages were TSCC's independent risk factors (P<0.05). The C-index of the Nomogram was 0.701 (95%CI: 0.651-0.752). The calibration curve shows that the predicted survival rate of the nomogram was in good agreement with the relative survival rate.

Preoperative peripheral blood inflammatory indicators can potentially be used to predict TSCC prognosis.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of transfecting SOX2-shRNA vector lentivirus to SACC cell lines on the biological behavior of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC)-LM and SACC-83.

Three types of SOX2-shRNA lentiviral vectors (817, 818, and 819) were constructed and transfected successfully. The shRNA with the best inhibitory effect was screened out and transfected into SACC cells. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blot were used to detect the expressions of Survivin, E-cadherin, and N-cadherin of SACC-LM and SACC-83. CCK-8 and flow cytometry were used to detect SACC-LM and SACC-83 proliferation and apoptosis. Cell scratch test and Transwell method were used to detect the migration and invasion capabilities of SACC-LM and SACC-83.

SOX2-shRNA-819 had the best interference effect among the three lentiviruses. After transfecting SOX2-shRNA-819 into SACC-LM and SACC-83, the expressions of SOX2, Survivin, and N-cadherin were significantly reduced, and that of E-cadherin was significantly increased (P<0.05). The cell proliferation ability decreased, and the number of apoptotic cells increased (P<0.05). The cell migration and invasion ability decreased (P<0.05).

shRNA interference technology reduced SOX2 expression while downregulating Survivin expression. These two expressions may be related. Low SOX2 expression inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion of SACC cells and promotes the apoptosis of SACC cells. SOX2 may be involved in the epithelial⁃mesenchymal transition process. This study provided a relevant theoretical basis for targeting SOX2 gene therapy in SACC.