White enamel lesions are a common presentation to the general dentist and aesthetic concerns are the most frequent presenting problem. Aetiology may be multifactorial and management of such lesions is heavily dependent on the cause. In the paediatric patient, differentiating white lesions caused by caries, fluorosis and genetic and developmental disorders is key to offering optimal long-term treatment outcomes. Early intervention allows for carefully planned management of less common disorders. Many of these disorders exist along a spectrum, and white lesions offer a useful clue to prompt intervention and referral to the relevant specialists. This article overviews common white lesions of the teeth and outlines the hierarchy of management options available.There are around 8,500 new cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) diagnosed in the UK each year and the incidence appears to be increasing. Although surgical and non-surgical treatment options have improved significantly in the last few decades, five-year survival has not, with an average five-year survival of 56% in the UK. Providing patients have access, there are frequent opportunities for oral cancer screening by their general dental practitioner. We present two cases of SCC managed in our department, both of whom were referred following a protracted period of review in general dental practice, where the initial 'benign diagnoses' were not re-evaluated during this time. This delay can considerably impact on patient outcomes, including survival. We outline each patient's clinical course, and key learning points to help dental practitioners detect lesions that require prompt referral to the oral and maxillofacial service for urgent investigation.Registering as a dentist and working in the UK is a goal that many overseas dentists aspire to. Overseas-qualified dentists need to either pass a registration exam to be able to practise dentistry in the UK or, under certain circumstances, they can register through assessment. Additionally, temporary registration gives overseas-qualified dentists the opportunity to practise dentistry under supervision for up to five years. However, these routes are difficult and it could take a few years before a dentist is registered. These dentists have the academic route as well, but similar to the registration route, it is not easy and very competitive and expensive. Brexit and COVID-19 had their impact on the journey of these dentists and altered their plans to pursue their career in the UK. To sum up, the current system could probably be modified to be more in line with that of neighbouring countries. To my colleagues who have graduated from the UK or EU and are registered with the General Dental Council, please be aware that it is not an easy journey, requires a lot of money and time, and is an incredibly stressful time.Introduction Molar-incisor hypomineralisation (MIH) is a common occurrence in primary and secondary care settings. While severe cases may need specialist care, mild cases should be managed in primary care.Aims To assess how UK-based general dental practitioners (GDPs) plan treatment for children with MIH using two clinical vignettesDesign An electronic vignette survey was designed using clinical photographs and radiographs. Vignette one presented a child with mild MIH who was unhappy about the appearance of his teeth. Vignette two presented an anxious child with severe MIH, caries and sensitivity. Further questions relating to confidence in management of MIH and referral were included. Participants were UK-based GDPs who regularly treat children. The survey was distributed by email and across social media platforms. Data collection occurred between February and May 2019.Results Fifty-eight GDPs completed the survey. Around half of participants addressed the aesthetic concerns of the child in vignette one. The majority of participants demonstrated sound treatment planning in terms of preventive care and management of molars. More GDPs identified increased caries risk in vignette two.Conclusion These findings demonstrate most GDPs in this study were working as effective tier one and two providers when faced with management of children with MIH.Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is characterized by a high incidence of metastasis and poor survival. As epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is well recognized as a major factor initiating tumor metastasis, developing EMT inhibitor could be a feasible treatment for metastatic NSCLC. Recent studies show that triptolide isolated from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F attenuated the migration and invasion of breast cancer, colon carcinoma, and ovarian cancer cells, and EMT played important roles in this process. In the present study we investigated the effect of triptolide on the migration and invasion of NSCLC cell lines. We showed that triptolide (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 nM) concentration-dependently inhibited the migration and invasion of NCI-H1299 cells. Triptolide treatment concentration-dependently suppressed EMT in NCI-H1299 cells, evidenced by significantly elevated E-cadherin expression and reduced expression of ZEB1, vimentin, and slug. Furthermore, triptolide treatment suppressed β-catenin expression in NCI-H1299 and NCI-H460 cells, overexpression of β-catenin antagonized triptolide-caused inhibition on EMT, whereas knockout of β-catenin enhanced the inhibitory effect of triptolide on EMT. https://www.selleckchem.com/pharmacological_epigenetics.html Administration of triptolide (0.75, 1.5 mg/kg per day, ip, every 2 days) for 18 days in NCI-H1299 xenograft mice dose-dependently suppressed the tumor growth, restrained EMT, and decreased lung metastasis, as evidence by significantly decreased expression of mesenchymal markers, increased expression of epithelial markers as well as reduced number of pulmonary lung metastatic foci. These results demonstrate that triptolide suppresses NSCLC metastasis by targeting EMT via reducing β-catenin expression. Our study implies that triptolide may be developed as a potential agent for the therapy of NSCLC metastasis.The processes and mechanisms underlying the origin and maintenance of biological diversity have long been of central importance in ecology and evolution. The competitive exclusion principle states that the number of coexisting species is limited by the number of resources, or by the species' similarity in resource use. Natural systems such as the extreme diversity of unicellular life in the oceans provide counter examples. It is known that mathematical models incorporating population fluctuations can lead to violations of the exclusion principle. Here we use simple eco-evolutionary models to show that a certain type of population dynamics, boom-bust dynamics, can allow for the evolution of much larger amounts of diversity than would be expected with stable equilibrium dynamics. Boom-bust dynamics are characterized by long periods of almost exponential growth (boom) and a subsequent population crash due to competition (bust). When such ecological dynamics are incorporated into an evolutionary model that allows for adaptive diversification in continuous phenotype spaces, desynchronization of the boom-bust cycles of coexisting species can lead to the maintenance of high levels of diversity.