Salivary Proteome Changes in Response to Acute Psychological Stress Due to an Oral Exam Simulation in University Students: Effect of an Olfactory Stimulus

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a crucial role both in acute and chronic psychological stress eliciting changes in many local and systemic physiological and biochemical processes. Salivary secretion is also regulated by ANS. In this study, we explored salivary proteome changes produced in thirty-eight University students by a test stress, which simulated an oral exam. Students underwent a relaxation phase followed by the stress test during which an electrocardiogram was recorded. To evaluate the effect of an olfactory stimulus, half of the students were exposed to a pleasant odor diffused in the room throughout the whole session. Saliva samples were collected after the relaxation phase (T0) and the stress test (T1). State anxiety was also evaluated at T0 and T1. Salivary proteins were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis, and patterns at different times were compared. Spots differentially expressed were trypsin digested and identified by mass spectrometry. Western blot analysis was used to validate proteomic results. Anxiety scores and heart rate changes indicated that the fake exam induced anxiety. Significant changes of α-amylase, polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (PIGR), and immunoglobulin α chain (IGHA) secretion were observed after the stress test was performed in the two conditions. Moreover, the presence of pleasant odor reduced the acute social stress affecting salivary proteome changes. Therefore, saliva proteomic analysis was a useful approach to evaluate the rapid responses associated to an acute stress test also highlighting known biomarkers.     

Dental amalgam – the effect of the technology of alloy powder preparation on the corrosion behaviour and the release of mercury

Dental amalgams are based on a broad spectrum of materials differing in their chemical composition, metallurgical treatment, and in the way the initial alloys powders are prepared. In addition to their chemical composition, amalgams based on various powders differ in both their microstructure and the amount of mercury needed for preparation. All these facts may affect electrochemical processes occurring during their interaction with oral fluids, and also mercury release. While verifying the effect of the technology used for the preparation of the high‐copper ternary alloy powder on the properties of resulting amalgams, this study aimed at the mechanism of their interaction with a model saliva solution as well as mercury release was included. Measurements were done in a model saliva solution using standard electrochemical methods and exposition measurements. The interaction of individual types of amalgams with artificial saliva did not reveal any significant differences. The free corrosion potential of all these amalgams in an aerated solution settled in the range of values in which tin oxidation, resulting in a layer of insoluble corrosion producsts, turned out to be the dominant anodic process. The rate of mercury release was the lowest for amalgams based on a gas‐atomized alloy. The highest rate of mercury release, and also its dependence on time, was exhibited by lathe‐cut powder based amalgam. In addition to different volume fraction of the Ag‐Hg phase and the level of its tin alloying, this different behaviour may be explained by differences in the rate at which a layer of tin corrosion products acting as a barrier to mercury release is formed.     

不同pH值和F-浓度人工唾液对钛/瓷结合的影响

研究了不同pH值和F-浓度人工唾液对钛/瓷结合性能的影响.将实验室制备的钛瓷粉分层烧结于钛片上,浸泡于37℃,pH2.7、pH7.0/F-100 μg·mL-1与pH2.7/F-100 μg·mL-1的人工唾液中,测量了浸泡7d和30d试件的三点弯曲结合强度,应用扫描电镜观察了瓷剥脱后钛表面的形貌,并进行了EDX分析.结果显示:pH2.7/F-100 μg·mL-1组试件的钛/瓷结合强度明显低于未浸泡组,其余各组与未浸泡组相比无显著差异.研究结果提示:酸性环境中,F-的存在可使钛/瓷结合强度降低,而酸性环境和低浓度的F-环境对钛/瓷结合强度则没有明显影响,口腔内有钛瓷修复体的患者应慎用含氟口腔产品.     

Mucoadhesive Phenolic Pectin Hydrogels for Saliva Substitute and Oral Patch

Oral disease is one of the most common conditions worldwide, negatively affecting general health, reducing the quality of life, and often developing into systemic illness. However, the design of therapeutic agents for oral diseases is challenging due to various unique features of the oral cavity, including its wet and dynamic environment and curved shape. Herein, the development of highly biocompatible mucoadhesive functional hydrogels for oral applications is reported, generated by introducing bio-inspired phenolic moieties into a pectin polymer. Pyrogallol-functionalized pectin (Pec-PG) can be crosslinked in situ via autoxidation without chemical agents and readily fabricated as various formulations. Sprayable Pec-PG hydrogel exhibits strong mucoadhesion and outstanding hydration ability ex vivo and in vivo, thus displaying significant potential as a novel saliva substitute for dry mouth. The authors further show that topical application of mucoadhesive Pec-PG patches pre-loaded with corticosteroid significantly promotes the repair of diabetic oral ulcer tissue via prolonged drug release, free radical scavenging, and physical barrier effects. Moreover, similar applications for oral ulcer treatment using a pectin hydrogel modified with catechol (Pec-CA), another phenolic moiety are demonstrated. Together, these findings suggest that mucoadhesive phenolic pectin derivatives can provide highly biocompatible, convenient, and effective hydrogel platforms for treating oral diseases.     

Adhesion of resin cements to contaminated zirconia resin cements on zirconia: effect saliva-contamination and surface conditioning

This study evaluated the adhesion of resin cements to zirconia after saliva contamination using resin cements with different chemistries. Zirconia discs (N?=?240, n?=?10 per group) were randomly divided into three groups: (a) C: No contamination (Control), (b) S: Contamination with saliva, (c) S?+?AA: Contamination with saliva followed by air-abrasion (CoJet). While half of the specimens were not conditioned, the other half were conditioned with 37.5% H₃PO₄ for 60?s. After rinsing, all specimen surfaces were silanized (Monobond Plus). Resin cements based on either methacrylate (Variolink II–VL) or MDP monomer (Panavia 21-PN) were polymerized on the substrates. The specimens were randomly divided into two further groups to be tested either after (a) 24?h dry storage at 37?°C or (b) thermocycling (×5000, 5–55?°C). Microshear bond (MSB) tests were conducted in a Universal Testing Machine and failure types were analyzed. Data were analyzed using Univariate analysis and Tukey’s tests (alpha = 0.05). While saliva contamination, 37.5% H₃PO₄ application (p?<?.001) and aging (p?<?.05) significantly affected the bond results, cement type did not show significant difference after aging (p?>?.05). Adhesive strength of PN (1.2–4.4?MPa) on saliva contaminated and etched zirconia was more stable than that of VL (0–2.8?MPa). After aging, bond strength results decreased the most with VL (3–100%) compared to PN (32–71%) but the decrease was less in the air-abraded groups after aging (VL: 3%; PN: 32%). Exclusively adhesive failures were experienced in all groups.     

Investigation of in vitro mineralization of silicate-based 45S5 and 13-93 bioactive glasses in artificial saliva for dental applications

Bioactive glasses are important class of materials that have a wide range of applications in tissue engineering and dentistry. In dental tissue engineering, nanofibrous structures exhibit interesting features, such as high surface area, surface functionalization and porosity. In this study, silicate-based 45S5 and 13-93 bioactive glass fibers were fabricated using electrospinning technique and their in vitro mineralization behavior was investigated in two different artificial saliva solutions for various time intervals. Results revealed that both 45S5 and 13-93 bioactive glass fibers show high mineralization behavior in artificial saliva solutions. However different hydroxyapatite (HA) formation rates were observed depending on the glass type and the artificial saliva composition. HA formation initiated earlier in 45S5 glass fibers treated in artificial saliva compared to 13-93 glass. On the other hand, after 30 days of treatment, the surface of 13-93 glass fibers converted to pure crystalline HA, whereas, 45S5 glass surface contained some additional crystalline phases such as aragonite and calcite. Treatment in SAGF medium resulted with better HA conversion ability compared to Carter-Brugirard saliva for both types of glass fibers. In conclusion, the use of electrospun nanofibrous 45S5 and 13-93 bioactive glass scaffolds could be one approach suitable to dental applications.     

Numerical simulation of pharyngeal bolus flow influenced by bolus viscosity and apparent slip

Pharyngeal bolus flow was simulated numerically using a finite element method. The bolus liquids were X-ray medium, glucose, and thickener solutions. For a low-viscosity bolus, the simulation showed a reasonable agreement of bolus velocity with X-ray measurements. The influence of bolus density on swallowing velocity was investigated numerically. Although a higher density resulted in a higher bolus velocity, the increase in velocity was modest. When the bolus viscosity was high, it was necessary to apply the slip boundary condition to obtain an agreement for bolus velocity between the simulation and X-ray measurements. The simulations also showed that the method of characteristic shear rate proposed by Zhu et al., Journal of Texture Studies, 2014, 45, 430–439 is effective for predicting the bolus velocity for shear-thinning fluids. In order to discuss the effect of saliva lubrication and the physical meaning of the characteristic shear rate, an immiscible two-layer flow of the core and wall layer was analyzed theoretically by analogy with mesopharyngeal bolus flow. The characteristic shear rate enabled us to correlate the macroscopic flow behavior and the viscosity of the core layer fluid. Lubrication due to the wall layer caused the apparent slip and enhanced the transfer of viscous core fluid. For viscous fluid that presented a large apparent slip in the two-layer model, the slip boundary condition was needed in the swallowing simulation. The numerical simulation and model flow analysis revealed the usefulness of characteristic shear rate and the importance of saliva-layer lubrication in swallowing.     

Simulation of retronasal aroma of white and red wine in a model mouth system. Investigating the influence of saliva on volatile compound concentrations

The influence of saliva on aroma release from white and red wines was studied in a model mouth system. Aroma compounds were analysed in the dynamic headspace of wines by solid phase micro extraction/gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. Volatile compounds were identified by solid phase micro extraction/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, resulting in a total of 43 compounds in white wine and 41 in red wine. The results showed a greater influence of saliva on aroma release in white wine than red wine. In white wine treated with human saliva, esters and fusel alcohols, responsible for fruity and fusel oil odours, were reduced of 32–80%; by contrast, the concentration of 2-phenylethanol and furfural, responsible for rose and toasted almond notes, increased by 27% and by 155%, respectively. In red wine, treated with human saliva, only a few esters decrease, with a reduction of 22–51% due to protein-binding ability of polyphenols that are able to inhibit the activity of the saliva. C-13 norisoprenoids, vitispirane (eucalyptol) and TDN (kerosene), decreased both in white and red wine, showing a comparable variation while, for β-damascenone, the variation was insignificant.     

Electrochemical and XPS surface analytical study on the reactivity of Ni‐free stainless steel in artificial saliva

Nowadays, there is a strong demand to replace CrNi stainless steels used for biomedical applications such as brackets in orthodontics with a new generation of more biocompatible austenitic, nickel‐free alloys. The aim of this work is the investigation of the growth and stability of the surface films formed on DIN 1.4456 Ni‐free stainless steel (18% Cr, 18% Mn, 2% Mo) in artificial saliva (pH 7.9) at 37 °C by electrochemistry and XPS surface analyses and the assessment of the ions that leach from the steel. These results show that the open circuit potential asymptotically increases and the corrosion current density decreases from 1 to 24 h exposure time to the artificial saliva. XPS provides evidence that the surface film present on the surface after mechanical polishing transforms into a passive film that becomes progressively enriched in Cr (III) oxy‐hydroxides whereas iron and manga­nese oxides are depleted. It is found that the instantaneous corrosion rate decreases exponentially with the amount of Cr (III) in the passive film. The results are discussed regarding the biocompatibility, thus the release of ions into solution, of the new nickel‐free stainless steel. Based on the results presented in this paper and literature evidence, a comprehensive model is proposed that substantiates the biocompatibility of these alloys.