First detection of Bandavirus dabieense in ticks collected from migratory birds in the Republic of Korea.

The causative agent of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is Bandavirus dabieense, an emerging tick-borne zoonotic pathogen. Migratory birds have often been suggested as potential carriers of ticks that can transmit Bandavirus dabieense; however, their role remains unclear. The Republic of Korea (ROK) holds an important position as a stopover on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. The present study aimed to investigate the potential involvement of migratory birds in the transmission of the SFTS virus (SFTSV) in the ROK. A total of 4,497 ticks were collected across various regions, including Heuksando and Daecheongdo, in the ROK, from bird migration seasons in 2022 and 2023. Genetic analysis of the SFTSV was performed for 96 ticks collected from 20 different species of migratory birds. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fragments of SFTSV were detected in one Haemaphysalis concinna nymph collected from a Black-faced Bunting (Emberiza spodocephala) and one Ixodes turdus nymph collected from an Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni) on Daecheongdo and Heuksando, respectively, during their northward migration in two spring seasons. This finding suggests that migratory birds can be considered as possible carriers and long-distance dispersers of ticks and associated tick-borne diseases. This study highlights the importance of clarifying the role and impact of migratory birds in the rapid expansion of tick-borne diseases, facilitating enhanced preparedness and the development of mitigation measures against emerging SFTS across and beyond East Asia.

Long-Term Follow-Up of a Novel Surgical Option Combining Fibula Free Flap and 3D-Bioprinted, Patient-Specific Polycaprolactone (PCL) Implant for Mandible Reconstruction.

As the fibula free flap became the gold standard in mandibular reconstruction that required both hard tissue and soft tissue, various methods have been sought to solve the height discrepancy between the mandible and fibula. The purpose of this paper was to propose a surgical option that combined the microvascular fibula free flap with a 3D-bioprinted, patient-specific polycaprolactone (PCL) implant as a safe and simple novel method that achieved the best functional and aesthetic results in mandibular reconstruction surgery for young patients with malignant tumors. The patient's reconstructed mandible maintained volume symmetry without any deformation or complications for over 6 years. Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) and 3D printing technology enabled accurate and safe surgical results.

Removal of a suture needle: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Foreign bodies may be embedded or left behind in the oral cavity during oral surgical procedure. The loss of instruments such as impression material, surgical gauze, and broken injection needles are commonly reported in the dental field. These complications are generally symptomatic and show signs of inflammation, pain, and purulent discharge. Accidental breakage of suture needles is a rare but potentially dangerous event. CASE PRESENTATION: In this report, we present one case of lost suture needle during the procedure of flap operation at local dental clinic and its successful removal under local/general anesthesia administration via CBCT with a help of two reference needles to localize the 6-0 nylon needle and consulting with the clinician. CONCLUSION: CT scanning taken while mouth-closing may not be accurate with regard to real location measurement performed while mouth-opening. If so, other up-to-date radiographic devices and methods to retrieve a needle are recommended.

Closure of oroantral fistula: a review of local flap techniques.

Oroantral fistula (OAF), also termed oroantral communication, is an abnormal condition in which there is a communicating tract between the maxillary sinus and the oral cavity. The most common causes of this pathological communication are known to be dental implant surgery and extraction of posterior maxillary teeth. The purpose of this article is to describe OAF; introduce the approach algorithm for the treatment of OAF; and review the fundamental surgical techniques for fistula closure with their advantages and disadvantages. The author included a thorough review of the previous studies acquired from the PubMed database. Based on this review, this article presents cases of OAF patients treated with buccal flap, buccal fat pad (BFP), and palatal rotational flap techniques.

Lingual Application of Pre-Bent Reconstruction Plate for Segmental Mandibular Defect: Easy and Accurate Method Through the Buccal Drilling Approach Using Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing Surgical Guides.

To prevent or treat for complications of reconstruction plate, such as metal plate fracture, plate exposure, and formation of skin fistula, the use of reconstruction plates on the mandibular lingual aspect has been introduced. However, this method increases the difficulty of surgery and lengthens the surgery time. In this study, the authors aimed to present a method to apply for reconstruction plates on the lingual side of the mandible to overcome the complications associated with the use of these plates. In the proposed method, the reconstruction plate was bent and fixed by a specially designed screws on a three-dimensional model created through a pre-operative virtual surgical simulation. Next, the model, prebent reconstruction plant, and screw were 3-dimensionally scanned and then superimposed precisely onto the three-dimensional model generated through the virtual surgical simulation. After extracting the three-dimensional path of the screws on the superimposed model, a surgical guide was prepared to drill screw holes in the buccal side of the mandible by transferring the extracted paths. The proposed surgical method using virtual surgical planning and surgical guides makes mandibular lingual application of the prebent reconstruction plates convenient, fast, and precise through drilling in the buccal side of the mandible.

Floating septum technique: easy and safe method maxillary sinus septa in sinus lifting procedure.

BACKGROUND: The presence of septa increases the risk of Schneiderian membrane perforation during sinus lift procedure, and therefore, the chance of graft failure increases. We present a safe method of managing septa and, in particular, overcoming small and palatally located septa. METHODS: After the elevation of the flap and the creation of a small bony window positioned anterior to the septum, the Schneiderian membrane is lifted carefully. A thin and narrow osteotome is then placed at the indentation created at the base of the septum, and mobilization of the septum is achieved by gentle malleting. The membrane is again carefully lifted up behind the septum. RESULTS: There was one small membrane perforation case in all 16 cases, and none of these patients showed postoperative complications such as implant failure, infection, or maxillary sinusitis. CONCLUSIONS: This technique is useful for overcoming the problem of maxillary sinus septa hindering the sinus floor elevation procedure, leading to fewer complications.

Printed fabric heater based on Ag nanowire/carbon nanotube composites.

The increasing demand for smart fabrics has inspired extensive research in the field of nanomaterial-based wearable heaters. However, existing stretchable heaters employ polymer substrates, and hence require additional substrate-fabric bonding that can result in high thermal contact resistance. Moreover, currently used stretchable fabric heaters suffer from high sheet resistance and require complex fabrication processes. In addition, conventional fabrication methods do not allow for patternability, thus hindering the fabrication of wearable heaters with diverse designs. Herein, we propose an improved spray coating method well suited for the preparation of patternable heaters on commercial fabrics, combining the structural stability of carbon nanotubes with the high electrical conductivity of Ag nanowires to fabricate a stretchable fabric heater with excellent mechanical (stretchability ≈ 50%) and electrical (sheet resistance ≈ 22 Ω sq-1) properties. The fabricated wearable heater reaches typical operating temperatures of 35 °C-55 °C at a low driving voltage of 3-5 V with a proper surface power density of 26.6-72.2 [Formula: see text] (heater area: [Formula: see text]) and maintains a stable heating temperature for more than 30 h. This heater shows a stable performance even when folded or rolled, thus being well suited for the practical wearable applications.

Microneedles integrated with a triboelectric nanogenerator: an electrically active drug delivery system.

In this study, a combined system of microneedles and a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has been developed for drug delivery. A triboelectric device, which converts mechanical energy into alternating current (AC), was chosen to replace the electrophoresis (EP) effect. To directly generate triboelectricity from salmon deoxyribonucleic acid (SDNA)-based microneedles, a triboelectric series of SDNA film and chargeable polymers (polyimide and Teflon) was studied. The electrical output of the two charged polymers was compared to find a material that could be highly charged with SDNA. The electrical output was also compared as a function of the concentration of a drug embedded in the SDNA film, and the results confirmed that drug intercalation affected the carrier diffusion. The mechanical strength of the microneedles was assessed by histological analysis of their penetration into porcine cadaver skin. Furthermore, the output voltage of a system incorporating microneedles and TENG in cadaver skin, and in vitro drug release into gelatin were evaluated to examine potential application as an electrically active drug delivery system. The electrical output voltage of this system was ∼95 V. The mechanism of triboelectric perturbation to the skin has also been discussed. The system developed in this work is a new, facile approach toward effective drug delivery that replaces the existing EP method and expands the application of TENGs.

Transparent Displays Utilizing Nanopatterned Quantum Dot Films.

We report the realization of a transparent display using glass covered by a nanopatterned quantum dot (QD) film with good transmittance. The film was fabricated by nanoimprint lithography (NIL) and spin coating of colloidal QDs with specificexcitation maxima. The produced nanopatterned QD film was attached to transparent glass, enabling active image generation using a laser light source of a specific wavelength. Selective light emission was induced by strongly exciting the laser-exposed film surface, creating desired images, with color modulationenabled by controlling the QD layer (dozens of nanometers in size) via nanopatterning. The nanopatterned QD film used for image generation exhibits excellent transmittance (>80%), and can be used for transparent displays, with image realization in both bright and dark spaces. The fabricated displays have wide viewing anglesowing to their good light emission characteristics, and the fabrication through spin coating renders the fabrication process simple and applicable to large areas.

Comparison between anterior segmental osteotomy versus conventional orthodontic treatment in root resorption: a radiographic study using cone-beam computed tomography.

BACKGROUND: Patients who received orthodontic treatment are likely to have apical root shortening. It appears that external apical root resorption results from a combination of patient-related risk factors such as genetic influences, systemic factors, and orthodontic treatment-related factors. Regarding the fact that the anterior segmental osteotomy (ASO) has been known for its possibility of complementing external apical root resorption and of buffering periodontal problems, it has been the preferred treatment. However, the studies on the efficacy of ASO in preserving the root are not sufficient. In this study, we compared the amount of root resorption between the patients who only received orthodontic treatment and the patients who received orthodontic treatment with ASO. METHODS: This study included 28 patients (the number of incisor = 198) who received orthodontic treatment with or without ASO. We categorize them into groups A and B by the type of orthodontic treatment (group A: conventional orthodontic treatment; group B: orthodontic treatment with ASO). Cone-beam computed tomographic and cephalometric evaluations were retrospectively performed on the radiographs taken for the diagnosis of the treatment before treatment and at the end of active treatment. RESULTS: In group B, root resorption itself and its rate both turned out to have significantly lower than those in group A. Also, the change of incisal angle is significantly smaller in group B than in group A. On the other hand, in group A, the change of incisal angle was positively correlated with the change of AP (anteroposterior) position. In group B, the change of incisal angle was negatively correlated with the duration of the orthodontic treatment. In group B, amount of root resorption (mm) was positively correlated with the duration of the orthodontic treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The results show lesser root resorption and shorter treatment duration with ASO than with conventional orthodontic treatment. Therefore, if the indications are accurately determined, ASO can be an effective treatment option when the amount of root resorption is expected to be high, especially in late adults.

Flexible Plasmonic Color Filters Fabricated via Nanotransfer Printing with Nanoimprint-Based Planarization.

We investigated the preparation and performance of large-area transmission-type flexible plasmonic color filters (PCFs). These large-area PCFs were fabricated based on a nanotransfer printing (nTP) process that involves nanoimprint-based planarization. This process is a simple surface treatment for easy transfer of a metal to a flexible plastic substrate and formation of patterned aluminum nanodots and nanoholes on a substrate surface with poor roughness. Rabbit-ear structures can form during the nTP process, and this phenomenon was analyzed by numerical simulation. As defects were not detected in a 10 000-round bending test, the PCFs fabricated using this nTP process have excellent mechanical properties.

Three-dimensional plasmonic Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite architectures on flexible substrates for visible-light photocatalytic activity.

In this study, a periodic three-dimensional (3D) Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite architecture of nanowires was fabricated on a flexible substrate to enhance the plasmonic photocatalytic activity of the composite. Layer-by-layer nanofabrication based on nanoimprint lithography, vertical e-beam evaporation, nanotransfer, and nanowelding was applied in a new method to create different 3D Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite architectures. The fabricated samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, focused ion-beam imaging, X-ray photoelectron spectrometry, and UV-visible spectroscopy. The experiment indicated that the 3D nanocomposite architectures could effectively enhance photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methylene blue solution under visible light irradiation. We believe that our method is efficient and stable, which could be applied to various fields, including photocatalysis, solar energy conversion, and biotechnology.

Post annealing effects on the electrical characteristics of pentacene thin film transistors on flexible substrates.

This work studies the effect of post annealing of pentacene on a flexible substrate through the examination of electrical properties and surface morphologies. It is confirmed that the best performance of devices is achieved when the post annealing temperature is 60 degrees C, since the grain size increases, which decrease grain boundaries caused charge transport limit. We can also confirmed the large threshold voltage shift of device annealed at 60 degrees C that means the lower trap density between channel and insulator interface. The device annealed at 60 degrees C exhibits a saturation mobility of 1.99 cm2/V x s, an on/off ratio of 1.87 x 10(4), and a subthreshold slope of 2.5 V/decade.