Comparison of the clinical outcome of defect reconstruction after oral cancer resection using forearm flap and trapezius myocutaneous flap pedicled with the transverse cervical artery / 中华整形外科杂志

Objective@#To compare and analyze the effects of forearm flap and superior trapezius myocutaneous flap in repairing oral cancer defects.@*Methods@#56 cases of defect repair after oral cancer radical surgery were treated with the forearm flap (29 cases) and superior trapezius myocutaneous flap (27 cases). The success rate, postoperative quality of life and postoperative recovery time of the two groups were compared. The t-test was used for statistical analysis.@*Results@#The success rate of forearm flap group was 96.6%(28/29) compared to 96.3%(26/27) in the trapezius myocutaneous flap group (P=0.920). The postoperative recovery time was (9.4±2.7) d (forearm flap group) and (9.3±2.6) d (trapezius myocutaneous flap group), respectively (P=0.489). The score of postoperative quality of life was 576.3±76.2 (forearm flap group) and 568.4±79.3 (trapezius myocutaneous flap group), respectively (P=0.471). There was no significant difference in all comparisons (P>0.05).@*Conclusions@#The free forearm flap and the superior trapezius myocutaneous flap pedicled with the transverse cervical artery can be used to repair the oral cancer, and satisfactory function and ideal clinical effect can be achieved. Both two kinds of flaps have high success rate and good clinical practical value. The latter has little influence on the donor site, and can be used as the first choice.

Attention and Working Memory Task-Load Dependent Activation Increase with Deactivation Decrease after Caffeine Ingestion

PURPOSE: Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychostimulant. It is often adopted as a tool to modulate brain activations in fMRI studies. However, its pharmaceutical effect on task-induced deactivation has not been fully examined in fMRI. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of caffeine on both activation and deactivation under sustained attention. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Task fMRI was acquired from 26 caffeine naive healthy volunteers before and after taking caffeine pill (200 mg). RESULTS: Statistical analysis showed an increase in cognition-load dependent task activation but a decrease in load dependent de-activation after caffeine ingestion. Increase of attention and memory task activation and its load-dependence suggest a beneficial effect of caffeine on the brain even though it has no overt behavior improvement. The reduction of deactivation by caffeine and its load-dependence indicate reduced facilitation from task-negative networks. CONCLUSION: Caffeine affects brain activity in a load-dependent manner accompanied by a disassociation between task-positive network and task-negative network.

Mesenchymal stem cells modified with Runt-related transcription factor 2 promote bone regeneration in rabbit mandibular distraction osteogenesis / 华西口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>This work investigated mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) modified with Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) therapy for bone regeneration in rabbit mandibular distraction osteogenesis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-eight New Zealand mature white rabbits were randomly divided into three groups after the rabbit model of mandibular distraction osteogenesis was established: reconstruction plasmid modified with Runx2 (group A), plasmid without Runx2 (group B), and the same dose of saline as control (group C). At the fifth day of distraction phase, MSCs with reconstruction plasmid modified with adv-hRunx2-gfp were injected into the distraction gap of group A. MSCs with reconstruction plasmid modified with adv-gfp was injected into the distraction gap of group B, whereas group C was injected with the same dose of saline. At 8 weeks after injection, all animals were sacrificed, and the distracted mandibles were harvested. The general imaging histological observation and three-point bending test were used for evaluation.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>CT plain scan and histological analysis confirmed that the amount of new bone forming in the distraction gap of group A was significantly higher than those in groups B and C. Dual-energy X ray and three-point bending test results also showed that the bone mineral density, bone mineral content, and maximum load of the distraction gap of group A were significantly higher than those of groups B and C (P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Runx2-ex vivo gene therapy based on MSCs can effectively promote the bone regeneration in rabbit mandibular distraction osteogenesis and shorten the stationary phase. Therefore, reconstruction of craniofacial fracture would be a valuable strategy</p>

Denervation effects on bone regeneration and expression of Runx2 during distraction osteogenesis / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND:During the healing of fractures, removal of sciatic nerve can result in insufficient mechanical rigidity of newborn woven bone. However, there are less reports concerning the denervation effects during distraction osteogenesis. OBJECTIVE:To observe the effect of removal of the sciatic nerve on bone regeneration and the expression of Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) protein during distraction osteogenesis in a rabbit model. METHODS:Twenty-four adult male New Zealand rabbits were selected and underwent left tibial osteodistraction to construct animal models of distraction osteogenesis. Before distraction, the animals were randomly divided into group R (resecting the left sciatic nerve) and group I (intact left sciatic nerve). Six weeks after completion of distraction, the animals were kil ed and the lengthened tibias were harvested for radiography, three-dimensional CT reconstruction, histological evaluation, connectivity density (Conn.D) evaluation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:New regenerated bone was present and Runx2 protein was expressed in the distraction gaps of al animals at the end of the study, as revealed by radiography, three-dimensional CT reconstruction, and histological observation. However, less new bone formation and a lower degree of mineralization and expression of Runx2 protein were observed in group R compared with group I. The results suggest that the denervation appears to have an inhibitory effect on bone formation and the expression of Runx2 protein during distraction osteogenesis.

Exploitation and utilization of rich lipids-microalgae, as new lipids feedstock for biodiesel production--a review / 生物工程学报

As a renewable energy sources to replace conventional fossil fuels, biodiesel fuels have been becoming increasingly requirements to global fuels market. Biodiesel derived from oil crops cannot realistically satisfy even more fraction of the raw material existing costs and soil competitive demand for its growth. Microalgae appear to be the advantage of costs that is capable of higher photosynthetic efficiency, larger biomass, faster growth compared to those of oil crops. Lipid content of many microalgae is usually 80% of its dry weight. Genetic microalgae with high-oil productivity by genetic manipulations are capable of making microalgal biodiesel economically competitive with petrodiesel through large-scale production of genetic microalgal biomass. As demonstrated here, the use of biodiesel fuels in home and abroad are currently introduced, and the cost advantage of microalgae as the raw material is analyzed; And moreover, the progress of microalgal genetic engineering in regulation of lipid metabolism and the problems in the construct of genetic microalgae strains as well as approaches for making microalgal biodiesel appear to be an important source of renewable fuel that has the potential to completely displace fossil diesel are discussed in this review.