Evidence associating serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations and cardiometabolic risk factors is inconsistent and studies have largely been conducted in adult populations. We examined the prospective associations between serum 25(OH)D concentrations and cardiometabolic risk factors from adolescence to young adulthood in the West Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations, BMI, homoeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), TAG, HDL-cholesterol and systolic blood pressure (SBP) were measured at the 17-year (n 1015) and 20-year (n 1117) follow-ups. Hierarchical linear mixed models with maximum likelihood estimation were used to investigate associations between serum 25(OH)D concentrations and cardiometabolic risk factors, accounting for potential confounders. In males and females, respectively, mean serum 25(OH)D concentrations were 73·6 (sd 28·2) and 75·4 (sd 25·9) nmol/l at 17 years and 70·0 (sd 24·2) and 74·3 (sd 26·2) nmol/l at 20 years. Deseasonalised serum 25(OH)D3 concentrations were inversely associated with BMI (coefficient −0·01; 95 % CI −0·03, −0·003; P=0·014). No change over time was detected in the association for males; for females, the inverse association was stronger at 20 years compared with 17 years. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were inversely associated with log-HOMA-IR (coefficient −0·002; 95 % CI −0·003, −0·001; P<0·001) and positively associated with log-TAG in females (coefficient 0·002; 95 % CI 0·0008, 0·004; P=0·003). These associations did not vary over time. There were no significant associations between serum 25(OH)D concentrations and HDL-cholesterol or SBP. Clinical trials in those with insufficient vitamin D status may be warranted to determine any beneficial effect of vitamin D supplementation on insulin resistance, while monitoring for any deleterious effect on TAG.

Dentinogenesis imperfecta type II (DGI-II) lacks intrafibrillar mineral with severe compromise of dentin mechanical properties. A Dspp knockout (Dspp–/–) mouse, with a phenotype similar to that of human DGI-II, was used to determine if poly-L-aspartic acid [poly(ASP)] in the “polymer-induced liquid-precursor” (PILP) system can restore its mechanical properties. Dentin from six-week old Dspp–/– and wild-type mice was treated with CaP solution containing poly(ASP) for up to 14 days. Elastic modulus and hardness before and after treatment were correlated with mineralization from Micro x-ray computed tomography (Micro-XCT). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)/Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) were used to compare matrix mineralization and crystallography. Mechanical properties of the Dspp–/– dentin were significantly less than wild-type dentin and recovered significantly (P < 0.05) after PILP-treatment, reaching values comparable to wild-type dentin. Micro-XCT showed mineral recovery similar to wild-type dentin after PILP-treatment. TEM/SAED showed repair of patchy mineralization and complete mineralization of defective dentin. This approach may lead to new strategies for hard tissue repair.

Despite the importance of skeletal growth during adolescence, there is limited research reporting vitamin D status and its predictors in adolescents. Using prospective data from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study, we investigated vitamin D status and predictors of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations in adolescents. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were measured in the same participants at 14 and 17 years (n 1045 at both time points). The percentage of adolescents with serum 25(OH)D concentrations < 50, 50–74·9 and ≥ 75 nmol/l was reported year-round and by month of blood collection. We examined the predictors of serum 25(OH)D concentrations, including sex, race, month of blood collection, physical activity, BMI, family income, and Ca and vitamin D intakes (n 919 at 14 years; n 570 at 17 years), using a general linear mixed model. At 14 years, 31 % of adolescents had serum 25(OH)D concentrations between 50 and 74·9 nmol/l and a further 4 % had concentrations < 50 nmol/l. At 17 years, 40 % of adolescents had serum 25(OH)D concentrations between 50 and 74·9 nmol/l and 12 % had concentrations < 50 nmol/l. Caucasian ethnicity, being sampled at the end of summer, exercising more, having a lower BMI, a higher Ca intake and a higher family income were significantly associated with higher serum 25(OH)D concentrations. The proportion of adolescents with serum 25(OH)D concentrations < 50 nmol/l was low in this Western Australian cohort. There is a need for international consensus on defining adequate vitamin D status in order to determine whether strategies to increase vitamin D status in adolescents are warranted.

The authors would like to take this opportunity to rectify a derivational error in our recently published research article. Equation (12) (p. 2824) in the original manuscript pertains to the calculation of the Young's modulus from nanoindentation data considering a Johnson, Kendall, Roberts (JKR) adhesion model:

With the potential to map mechanical properties of heterogeneous materials on a micrometer scale, there is growing interest in nanoindentation as a materials characterization technique. However, nanoindentation has been developed primarily for characterization of hard, elasto-plastic materials, and the technique has not been validated for very soft materials with moduli less than 5 MPa. The current study attempted to use nanoindentation to characterize the elastic moduli of soft, elastomeric polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) samples (with different degrees of crosslinking) and determine the effects of adhesion on these measurements using adhesion contact mechanics models. Results indicate that nanoindentation was able to differentiate between elastic moduli on the order of hundreds of kilo-Pascals. Moreover, calculations using the classical Hertz contact model for dry and aqueous environment gave higher elastic modulus values when compared to those obtained from unconfined compression testing. These data seem to suggest that consideration of the adhesion energy at the tip-sample interface is a significantly important parameter and needs to be taken into account for consistent elastic modulus determination of soft materials by nanoindentation.

Mice are commonly considered the model mammal for many biomedical studies. In this work, mouse and human dentin were compared to specify structural and mechanical differences to establish a baseline for comparison of dental tissues between these species. Atomic force microscopy revealed tubules of about 1.0 to 1.6 μm in diameter as the main structural feature in dentin of both species. Nanoindentation yielded the elastic modulus about 15% lower in murine intertubular dentin while the hardness was almost equal. Dynamic stiffness mapping confirmed the lower elastic properties and also revealed that the peritubular region of increased mineralization around tubules is drastically reduced or maybe absent in murine dentin of this age. This study suggests that structural and mechanical differences need to be considered when murine dentin is used as a model system.

Amelogenin proteins are assumed to control the calcification of dental enamel with a nanoscale precision that facilitates the formation of fibrous apatite crystals organized in a remarkable microstucture. In this study, recombinant full-length human amelogenin induced protein-guided mineralization and the formation of an enamel-like composite material at specific physical-chemical conditions as observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Amelogenin bound specifically to fluoroapatite crystals (FAP) of a glass-ceramic substrate at Ca2+ and PO43- concentrations similar to in-vivo conditions and at pH 8. Layers up to 400 nm high, containing elongated crystals, formed on the (001)-planes of FAP within 24h in supersaturated solutions. In contrast, (hk0)-faces grew by only 10-30 nm, but showed nanospheres aligned parallel to the c-axis of FAP. At pHs different from 8, proteins bound non-specifically to substrate and layers on FAP reached only 5-15 nm thickness. Micro-Raman spectroscopy and AFM revealed the formation of a composite material that resembled a structure and composition comparable to human enamel. These observations suggest that certain conditions are required to activate amelogenin to control and promote crystal growth of apatite along the c-axis and to synthesize an enamel-like material.

This study evaluated the affects of 2 different solutions, e. g. deionized water and Hanks' Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS), on nanohardness and elastic modulus of dentin and enamel from human third molars at storage times of 0, 1, 7, 14 and 28 days using a modified AFM (Triboscope). The pH values of the solutions were monitored throughout the test periods. Storing the specimens in deionized water resulted in a large decrease of mechanical properties, e.g. the reduced elastic modulus of dentin decreased from 24.0 ±1.5 GPa to 21.0 ±1.6, 8.6 ±1.1 and 5.2 ±1.1 GPa for storage times of 1, 7 and 14 days, respectively. Mechanical properties of dentin and enamel dropped by more than 12% after one day and more than 50% after a week when stored in deionized water. The observed changes in mechanical response were attributed to a superficial demineralization process during storage. In contrast, storing teeth in HBSS did not significantly alter the mechanical properties of dentin or enamel over the time studied.