A combined planning approach for improved functional and esthetic outcome of bimaxillary rotation advancement for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea using 3D biomechanical modeling.

In recent years, bimaxillary rotation advancement (BRA) has become the method of choice for surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). As dislocation of the jaw bones affects both, airways and facial contours, surgeons are facing the challenge of finding an optimal jaw position that allows for the reestablishment of normal airway ventilation and esthetic surgical outcome. Owing to the complexity of the facial anatomy and its mechanical behavior, individual planning of surgical OSA treatment under consideration of functional and esthetic aspects presents a challenge that surgeons typically approach in a non-quantitative manner using subjective evaluation and clinical experience.

Opposing effects of oxidative challenge and carotenoids on antioxidant status and condition-dependent sexual signalling.

Several recent hypotheses consider oxidative stress to be a primary constraint ensuring honesty of condition-dependent carotenoid-based signalling. The key testable difference between these hypotheses is the assumed importance of carotenoids for redox homeostasis, with carotenoids being either antioxidant, pro-oxidant or unimportant. We tested the role of carotenoids in redox balance and sexual signalling by exposing adult male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) to oxidative challenge (diquat dibromide) and manipulating carotenoid intake.

Customized planning of augmentation mammaplasty with silicon implants using three-dimensional optical body scans and biomechanical modeling of soft tissue outcome.

The aesthetic results of augmentation mammaplasty are essentially determined by the size and the shape of the implant as well as its position on the chest. To achieve successful aesthetic results, customized surgery planning based on a reliable visual concept of the prospective surgery outcome and quantitative methods for assessment of three-dimensional (3D) breast shape could be of considerable additional value. This report evaluates a novel method for customized planning and quantitative optimization of breast augmentation based on 3D optical body scanning of the patient's breast and computational modeling of soft tissue mechanics.

Chromatin dynamics during DSB repair.

We show that double strand breaks (DSBs) induced in chromatin of low as well as high density by exposure of human cells to gamma-rays are repaired in low-density chromatin. Extensive chromatin decondensation manifested in the vicinity of DSBs by decreased intensity of chromatin labelling, increased H4K5 acetylation, and decreased H3K9 dimethylation was observed already 15 min after irradiation. Only slight movement of sporadic DSB loci for short distances was noticed in living cells associated with chromatin decondensation around DSBs.