Fronto-orbital advancement with patient-specific 3D-printed implants and robot-guided laser osteotomy: an in vitro accuracy assessment.

Purpose: The use of computer-assisted virtual surgical planning (VSP) for craniosynostosis surgery is gaining increasing implementation in the clinics. However, accurately transferring the preoperative planning data to the operating room remains challenging. We introduced and investigated a fully digital workflow to perform fronto-orbital advancement (FOA) surgery using 3D-printed patient-specific implants (PSIs) and cold-ablation robot-guided laser osteotomy.

Patient-specific implants made of 3D printed bioresorbable polymers at the point-of-care: material, technology, and scope of surgical application.

Background: Bioresorbable patient-specific additive-manufactured bone grafts, meshes, and plates are emerging as a promising alternative that can overcome the challenges associated with conventional off-the-shelf implants. The fabrication of patient-specific implants (PSIs) directly at the point-of-care (POC), such as hospitals, clinics, and surgical centers, allows for more flexible, faster, and more efficient processes, reducing the need for outsourcing to external manufacturers. We want to emphasize the potential advantages of producing bioresorbable polymer implants for cranio-maxillofacial surgery at the POC by highlighting its surgical applications, benefits, and limitations.

Differential Gene Expression following / Knockout Is Associated with G-Quadruplex Content and Cancer.

G-quadruplexes (G4s) are secondary DNA and RNA structures stabilized by positive cations in a central channel formed by stacked tetrads of Hoogsteen base-paired guanines. G4s form from G-rich sequences across the genome, whose biased distribution in regulatory regions points towards a gene-regulatory role. G4s can themselves be regulated by helicases, such as DHX36 (aliases: G4R1 and RHAU), which possess the necessary activity to resolve these stable structures.

Three-Dimensional Printed Hydroxyapatite Bone Substitutes Designed by a Novel Periodic Minimal Surface Algorithm Are Highly Osteoconductive.

Autologous bone remains the gold standard bone substitute in clinical practice. Therefore, the microarchitecture of newly developed synthetic bone substitutes, which reflects the spatial distribution of materials in the scaffold, aims to recapitulate the natural bone microarchitecture. However, the natural bone microarchitecture is optimized to obtain a mechanically stable, lightweight structure adapted to the biomechanical loading situation.

3D-printed LEGO®-inspired titanium scaffolds for patient-specific regenerative medicine.

Despite the recent advances in 3D-printing, it is often difficult to fabricate implants that optimally fit a defect size or shape. There are some approaches to resolve this issue, such as patient-specific implant/scaffold designs based on CT images of the patients, however, this process is labor-intensive and costly. Especially in developing countries, affordable treatment options are required, while still not excluding these patient groups from potential material and manufacturing advances.

Interdisciplinary Swiss consensus recommendations on staging and treatment of advanced prostate cancer.

The management of prostate cancer is undergoing rapid changes in all disease settings. Novel imaging tools for diagnosis have been introduced, and the treatment of high-risk localized, locally advanced and metastatic disease has changed considerably in recent years. From clinical and health-economic perspectives, a rational and optimal use of the available options is of the utmost importance.

Parameter optimization in a finite element mandibular fracture fixation model using the design of experiments approach.

Only a few mandibular bone finite element (FE) models have been validated in literature, making it difficult to assess the credibility of the models. In a comparative study between FE models and biomechanical experiments using a synthetic polyamide 12 (PA12) mandible model, we investigate how material properties and boundary conditions affect the FE model's accuracy using the design of experiments approach. Multiple FE parameters, such as contact definitions and the materials' elastic and plastic deformation characteristics, were systematically analyzed for an intact mandibular model and transferred to the fracture fixation model.

The complement receptor C5aR2 regulates neutrophil activation and function contributing to neutrophil-driven epidermolysis bullosa acquisita.

Introduction: The function of the second receptor for the complement cleavage product C5a, C5aR2, is poorly understood and often neglected in the immunological context. Using mice with a global deficiency of , we have previously reported an important role of this receptor in the pathogenesis of the neutrophil-driven autoimmune disease (EBA). Based on analyses, we hypothesized that the absence of C5aR2 specifically on neutrophils is the cause of the observed differences.

The Case for Community-Based Global Oral Health Immersive Experiences.

We designed and implemented a collaborative immersion in Ethiopia as a service learning experience for a team of interprofessional (IP) learners. The IP team of four dental students, one dental faculty, nine medical students, two medical student leaders, and one global health faculty fully experienced this immersion. The setting was in rural Ethiopia, and the immersive experience included ecological accommodations by the Common River Non-Governmental Organization (CR-NGO).

Genetically encoded fluorescent tools: Shining a little light on ER-to-Golgi transport.

Since the first fluorescent proteins (FPs) were identified and isolated over fifty years ago, FPs have become commonplace yet indispensable tools for studying the constitutive secretory pathway in live cells. At the same time, genetically encoded chemical tags have provided a new use for much older fluorescent dyes. Innovation has also produced several specialized methods to allow synchronous release of cargo proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), enabling precise characterization of sequential trafficking steps in the secretory pathway.

C5aR2 Deficiency Ameliorates Inflammation in Murine Epidermolysis Bullosa Acquisita by Regulating Fcγ Receptor Expression on Neutrophils.

Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) is a rare blistering skin disease induced by autoantibodies directed against type VII collagen. The transfer of antibodies against murine type VII collagen into mice mimics the effector phase of EBA and results in a subepidermal blistering phenotype. Activation of the complement system, and especially the C5a/C5aR1 axis driving neutrophil activation, is critical for EBA pathogenesis.

Quantitative Assessment of Point-of-Care 3D-Printed Patient-Specific Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) Cranial Implants.

Recent advancements in medical imaging, virtual surgical planning (VSP), and three-dimensional (3D) printing have potentially changed how today's craniomaxillofacial surgeons use patient information for customized treatments. Over the years, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) has emerged as the biomaterial of choice to reconstruct craniofacial defects. With advancements in additive manufacturing (AM) systems, prospects for the point-of-care (POC) 3D printing of PEEK patient-specific implants (PSIs) have emerged.

Mechanistic Considerations About an Unexpected Ramipril Drug-Drug Interaction in the Development of a Triple Fixed-Dose Combination Product Containing Ramipril, Amlodipine, and Atorvastatin.

This open-label, repeat-dose, fixed-sequence study in healthy subjects examined pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions between the components of a novel fixed-dose combination product containing ramipril, amlodipine, and atorvastatin. Sequential 5-day monotreatments (MTs) of ramipril (5 mg/d) and atorvastatin (40 mg/d) were followed by a 9-day amlodipine MT (5 mg/d), separated by 96 hours washout intervals. After amlodipine MT, all 3 single-entity drugs were coadministered for 5 days.

Safety of Candesartan, Amlodipine, and Atorvastatin in Combination: Interaction Study in Healthy Subjects.

For efficient cardiovascular risk protection antihypertensive treatment is often combined with cholesterol-lowering treatment, although solid data of interaction and side effects are missing. This is a prospective, single-center interaction study conducted in a fixed sequence design at steady state of candesartan, amlodipine, and atorvastatin. Five-day monotherapy of candesartan 8 mg was followed by 5-day atorvastatin 40 mg monotherapy and subsequently 9-day amlodipine 5 mg monotherapy; each treatment separated by washout phases.

The E3Â Ubiquitin Ligase Mind Bomb 1 Controls Adenovirus Genome Release at the Nuclear Pore Complex.

Adenoviruses (AdVs) cause respiratory, ocular, and gastrointestinal tract infection and inflammation in immunocompetent people and life-threatening disease upon immunosuppression. AdV vectors are widely used in gene therapy and vaccination. Incoming particles attach to nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) of post-mitotic cells, then rupture and deliver viral DNA (vDNA) to the nucleus or misdeliver to the cytosol.

Interacting nanoscale magnetic superatom cluster arrays in molybdenum oxide bronzes.

In this study, we examine several reduced ternary molybdates in the family of yellow rare earth molybdenum bronzes produced by electrochemical synthesis with composition LnMoO. These compounds contain an array of electrically isolated but magnetically interacting multi-atom clusters with composition MoO. These arrayed superatom clusters support a single hole shared among the eight molybdenum atoms in the unit, corresponding to a net spin moment of 1μ, and exhibit magnetic exchange between the units via the MoO tetrahedra (containing Mo ions) and the LnO cubes (containing Ln ions).

Advanced Experimental Methods for Low-temperature Magnetotransport Measurement of Novel Materials.

Novel electronic materials are often produced for the first time by synthesis processes that yield bulk crystals (in contrast to single crystal thin film synthesis) for the purpose of exploratory materials research. Certain materials pose a challenge wherein the traditional bulk Hall bar device fabrication method is insufficient to produce a measureable device for sample transport measurement, principally because the single crystal size is too small to attach wire leads to the sample in a Hall bar configuration. This can be, for example, because the first batch of a new material synthesized yields very small single crystals or because flakes of samples of one to very few monolayers are desired.

Stability engineering of the Geobacillus stearothermophilus alcohol dehydrogenase and application for the synthesis of a polyamide 12 precursor.

The thermostable NAD(+)-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase from Geobacillus stearothermophilus (BsADH) was exploited with regard to the biocatalytic synthesis of ω-oxo lauric acid methyl ester (OLAMe), a key intermediate for biobased polyamide 12 production, from the corresponding long-chain alcohol. Recombinant BsADH was produced in Escherichia coli as a homogeneous tetrameric enzyme and showed high activity towards the industrially relevant substrate ω-hydroxy lauric acid methyl ester (HLAMe) with K M = 86 μM and 44 U mg(-1). The equilibrium constant for HLAMe oxidation to the aldehyde (OLAMe) with NAD(+) was determined as 2.

Survival after somatostatin based radiopeptide therapy with (90)Y-DOTATOC vs. (90)Y-DOTATOC plus (177)Lu-DOTATOC in metastasized gastrinoma.

We aimed to explore the effects of (90)Y-DOTATOC and (90)Y-DOTATOC plus (177)Lu-DOTATOC on survival of patients with metastasized gastrinoma. Patients with progressive metastasized gastrinoma were treated with repeated cycles of (90)Y-DOTATOC or with cycles alternating between (90)Y-DOTATOC and (177)Lu-DOTATOC until tumor progression or permanent toxicity. Multivariable Cox regression analyses were used to study predictors of survival.

Pharmacokinetic study between a bilayer matrix fentalyl patch and a monolayer matrix fentanyl patch: single dose administration in healthy volunteers.

Aims: Transdermal fentanyl is a well established treatment for cancer pain. The aim of the present study is to assess the relative bioavailability of fentanyl from two different transdermal systems by evaluating plasma drug concentrations after single administration of Fentalgon® (test), a novel bilayer matrix type patch, and Durogesic SMAT (reference), a monolayer matrix type patch. In the Fentalgon patch the upper 6% fentanyl reservoir layer maintains a stable concentration gradient between the lower 4% donor layer and the skin.

[Robot-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty in adults: Excellent long-term results of primary pyeloplasty].

Purpose: With the development of the robot-assisted surgical technique, robot-assisted pyeloplasty (RAP) has become established as an alternative to open and laparoscopic surgery. Currently there are only a few single-center studies with larger numbers of cases and long-term results. The aim of this study was to investigate perioperative and long-term postoperative success rates of Anderson-Hynes robot-assisted pyeloplasty (RAP) at a single center.

[Patterns of care of patients with localized prostate cancer in Germany: a health care study with focus on active surveillance].

Background: To date, evidence on active surveillance (AS) is restricted to protocol-based studies and the current practice pattern outside medical centers is unknown.

Objectives: The goal of this work was to capture the current treatment pattern of AS for localized prostate cancer (PCa) in patients managed by office-based urologists in Germany.

Materials And Methods: Our cohort consisted of 361 patients included in the AS arm of the HAROW (Hormonal Treatment, Active Surveillance, Radiation Therapy, OP, Watchful Waiting) study, an observational health service study in Germany.