atropine + pralidoxime chloride (Duodote)

Final-year dental students' self-perceived knowledge and self-reported clinical approaches to vital pulp therapy: a single-institution cross-sectional survey.

Sivas Yılmaz Özlem Ö, Güven Kömürcü Ayşegül A, Dinger Esma E, Ateş Melis Oya MO

Undergraduate dental education should prepare students to understand and apply contemporary vital pulp therapy (VPT) procedures in permanent teeth. However, students' self-perceived knowledge, stated treatment preferences, and self-reported clinical approaches regarding VPT may vary according to their theoretical and clinical training. This study aimed to describe final-year dental students' self-perceived knowledge, recognition of VPT procedures, stated treatment preferences, and self-reported clinical approaches regarding VPT. This single-institution cross-sectional survey was conducted among final-year dental students at a dental faculty in Türkiye in June 2025. Of 100 eligible students, 88 completed a 17-item questionnaire (response rate, 88.0%) addressing self-perceived knowledge, sources of information, treatment preferences, reported clinical approaches, rubber dam isolation, hemostatic agents, and material selection in VPT. Data were summarized descriptively using frequencies and percentages. Most students rated their self-perceived knowledge of VPT as moderate (60.2%), while theoretical courses (42.0%) and clinical practice (36.4%) were the main reported sources of VPT information. Direct pulp capping (94.3%), partial pulpotomy (Cvek; 89.8%), and indirect pulp capping (86.4%) were most frequently identified as vital pulp therapy procedures, whereas total pulpotomy was identified as a vital pulp therapy procedure by 53.4% of students. In mature teeth, direct pulp capping was reported more frequently than partial or total pulpotomy. Treatment preferences varied according to pulp exposure size, with a shift from direct pulp capping for 0-1 mm exposures to partial pulpotomy for 1-2 mm exposures and total pulpotomy or root canal treatment for exposures larger than 2 mm. Only 15.9% of students reported applying rubber dam isolation at the beginning of the treatment, and the combined response option "ferric sulfate or aluminum chloride" was selected most frequently for hemostasis (46.6%). Final-year dental students reported moderate self-perceived knowledge of VPT and recognized several commonly used VPT procedures, but their self-reported approaches varied, particularly regarding pulpotomy procedures, rubber dam timing, hemostatic-agent selection, and simplified pulp-exposure scenarios. These findings should be interpreted as self-reported educational indicators rather than objective evidence of clinical competence or broad curricular inadequacy. Multicenter studies using case-based and performance-based assessments are needed to guide undergraduate VPT teaching.

Retraction notice to "Combined diosmin and bisoprolol attenuate cobalt chloride-induced cardiotoxicity and endothelial dysfunction through modulating miR-143-3P/MAPK/MCP-1, ERK5/CXCR4, Orai-1/STIM-1 signaling pathways" [Int. Immunopharmacol. 140 (2024) 112777].

El-Shoura Ehab A M EAM, Mohamed Ahmed A N AAN, Atwa Ahmed M AM, Salem Esraa A EA et al.

Ellagic acid counteracts mercury chloride-induced oxidative stress and thiol oxidation in Drosophila melanogaster.

Adedara Adeola Oluwatosin AO, Adenekan Oluwaseun B OB, Oladele Sebastian S, Oyewole Precious P et al.

Toxic effects arising due to mercury exposure are major global health issues and they require attention  to combat these effects. Ellagic acid (EA) is a polyphenol containing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, we researched the potential ameliorative role of EA in Mercury Chloride (HgCl2)-induced toxicity using Drosophila melanogaster. Flies were treated with graded doses of EA for 7 days via the diet to determine the appropriate concentrations for the study. Afterwards, flies were fed with HgCl2 and EA concurrently for 7 days; thereafter, markers of antioxidant and oxidative stress were determined in the supernatants. Results showed that EA improved the survivability of flies fed with HgCl2, and restored the altered redox status of the flies. Although, no significant improvement was observed in the offspring emergence rate, EA improved climbing activity and reduced acetylcholinesterase activity, disrupted by HgCl2. Furthermore, EA restored to control levels the HgCl2-induced alterations in mRNA expression of Sod1, Hsp70, and Relish (orthologue of human NF-ƙB). These findings indicate ellagic acid's anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities in HgCl2-induced toxicity in D. melanogaster.

Untapped enzymatic potential: dehalogenase- and peroxidase-driven PVC degradation by gene carriers in Tibetan plateau pikas.

Zhou Chunxiu C, Fu Baotong B, Hou Xiaoxiao X, Wu Wei-Min WM et al.

Wide distribution of polyvinyl chloride microplastics (PVC-MPs) has been documented in remote regions such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). Microbial degradation of plastics is frequently coupled with lignocellulose-degrading enzymatic machinery. As a ubiquitous biological sampler on the QTP, the herbivore plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae), which harbors diverse lignocellulose-degrading enzymes, represents a promising reservoir for novel PVC-degrading enzymes. In this study, a PVC-MPs feeding trial of plateau pikas revealed gut microbiota recruitment of plastic degraders. Subsequent enrichment experiment yielded a PVC-degrading consortium that depolymerized PVC into long-chain alkanes, with Rhodococcus and Leifsonia identified as PVC-response specialist and generalist, respectively. Multi-omics analysis supported a putative degradation pathway initiated by haloalkane dehalogenase (HLD) and involving oxidases. Furthermore, novel RhHLD (from Rhodococcus MAG) released 11.5 mg L-1 chloride ions from PVC films, whereas dye-decolorizing peroxidase LeDyP from Leifsonia MAG generated PVC-degrading intermediates. Analysis of 39 metagenomic datasets further confirmed that haloalkane dehalogenase and dye-decolorizing peroxidase are prevalent in the gut of wild pikas. This study elucidates the PVC-degrading potential of herbivore gut microbiota and expands the catalytic toolkit for plastic bioremediation, underscoring the bioprospecting potential in extreme ecosystems Video Abstract.