Dental ceramics is a highly esthetic material and its surface properties can impact its roughness, bonding properties, as well as strength and wear. The aim of the study is to analyze the surface characteristics by the determination of the roughness parameters of three dental ceramics used in computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technique: lithium disilicate (LS₂), zirconium oxide-reinforced lithium silicate (ZLS), and zirconium oxide (ZrO₂), prepared using two different processing techniques, polishing (self-glaze) and glazing with three different glazes. Both glass ceramics, pre-crystallized LS₂ and crystallized ZLS, were cut into disks, and the surface was ground and polished. Crystallization was performed for LS₂ samples, while ZrO₂ samples were fabricated using CAD/CAM and sintered. Then, the glaze was applied and the samples were reheated as per the manufacturer’s instructions. The contact surface topographies of the tested ceramics were measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the roughness parameters: average surface roughness (Ra), root-mean-square roughness (Rq), and surface area difference (SAD) were evaluated. Changes in the morphological characteristics of the tested ceramics were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the surface chemical composition was determined by attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT—IR). In the spectroscopic analysis, a characteristic signal for ZrO₂ was obtained for ZLS samples. A significant decrease in surface roughness was observed after glazing in all tested ceramics (p < 0.05). The abstract should be an objective representation of the article and it must not contain results that are not presented and substantiated in the main text and should not exaggerate the main conclusions.

Abnormal lipid profile, increased glucose level, and elevated body weight are traditional cardiometabolic risk factors; however, the role of platelets in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is increasingly being highlighted. The aim of this study was to select platelet-related parameters (non-genetic molecular and routine laboratory measurements) that may be associated with increased cardiovascular risk among healthy populations. We evaluated the level of platelet indices, platelet-based inflammatory markers, platelet reactivity parameters, and platelet reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in relation to selected cardiometabolic risk factors. We noted the association between total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol with platelet aggregation and platelet ROS generation. We found the relationship between triglycerides, glucose, and body mass index with the relatively new multi-inflammatory indices (MII-1 and MII-3). Moreover, we noticed that the mean platelet volume-to-lymphocyte ratio in healthy subjects is not a good source of information about platelets and inflammation. We also highlighted that platelet-to-HDL-cholesterol ratio may be a promising prognostic cardiometabolic indicator. The association between platelet-related (especially molecular) and cardiometabolic parameters requires further research. However, the goal of this study was to shed light on the consideration of platelets as a non-traditional cardiovascular risk factor and a crucial element in identifying individuals at high-risk of developing CVD in the future.

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) are a range of chemical individuals produced by living cells that contribute to the proper functioning of organisms. Cells under oxidative and nitrative stress show excessive production of RONS (including hydrogen peroxide, H₂O₂, hypochlorous acid, HOCl, and peroxynitrite, ONOO^-) which may result in a damage proteins, lipids, and genetic material. Thus, the development of probes for in vivo detection of such oxidants is an active area of research, focusing on molecular redox sensors, including boronate-caged fluorophores. Here, we report a boronate-based styryl probe with a cationic pyridinium moiety (BANEP+) for the fluorescent detection of selected biological oxidants in vitro and in vivo. We compare the chemical reactivity of the BANEP+ probe toward H₂O₂, HOCl, and ONOO^- and examine the influence of the major intracellular non-enzymatic antioxidant molecule, glutathione (GSH). We demonstrate that, at the physiologically relevant GSH concentration, the BANEP+ probe is efficiently oxidized by peroxynitrite, forming its phenolic derivative HNEP+. GSH does not affect the fluorescence properties of the BANEP+ and HNEP+ dyes. Finally, we report the identification of a novel type of molecular marker, with the boronate moiety replaced by the iodine atom, formed from the probe in the presence of HOCl and iodide anion. We conclude that the reported chemical reactivity and structural features of the BANEP+ probe may be a basis for the development of new red fluorescent probes for in vitro and in vivo detection of ONOO^-.