A systematic review of microsurgical reconstruction of the jaws using vascularized fibula flap technique in patients with bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this systematic review was to assess the role of microsurgical reconstruction of the jaws in patients with bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis, and biological complications after an observation period of at least 12 months. Material and methods: An electronic MEDLINE search supplemented by manual searching was conducted to identify studies reporting data of at least 12 months observation on the microsurgical reconstruction of the jaws in patients with bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis. RESULTS: Four studies resulted eligible for the analysis yielded. Three out of five studies were free of complications, with a success rate of 100% as no recurrence of osteonecrosis was registered. CONCLUSIONS: Microsurgical reconstruction of the jaws represents a valid treatment modality in patients with bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis at 3rd stage of the disease

Dynamics and evolution of Turbulent Taylor rolls

In many shear- and pressure-driven wall-bounded turbulent flows secondary motions spontaneously develop and their interaction with the main flow alters the overall large-scale features and transfer properties. Taylor-Couette flow, the fluid motion developing in the gap between two concentric cylinders rotating at different angular velocity, is not an exception, and toroidal Taylor rolls have been observed from the early development of the flow up to the fully turbulent regime. In this manuscript we show that under the generic name of ``Taylor rolls'' there is a wide variety of structures that differ for the vorticity distribution within the cores, the way they are driven and their effects on the mean flow. We relate the rolls at high Reynolds numbers not to centrifugal instabilities, but to a combination of shear and anti-cyclonic rotation, showing that they are preserved in the limit of vanishing curvature and can be better understood as a pinned cycle which shows similar characteristics as the self-sustained process of shear flows. By analyzing the effect of the computational domain size, we show that this pinning is not a product of numerics, and that the position of the rolls is governed by a random process with the space and time variations depending on domain size.Comment: Submitted to JF

The impact of lockdown on sleep patterns of children and adolescents with ADHD

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The current study examined the impact of home confinement (lockdown) due to the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep patterns of children and adolescents with ADHD.METHODS: Nine hundred ninety-two parents of children and adolescents with ADHD filled out an anonymous online survey through the ADHD family association website. The survey investigated the sleep patterns and disturbances (using a modified version of the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children) and screen exposure time before and during the lockdown.RESULTS: During the lockdown, 59.3% of children and 69.4% of adolescents with ADHD reported a change of bedtime with significant increase of ADHD patients that went to sleep at 11pm or later. Sleep duration, in contrast, resulted in two opposing processes with more children and adolescent sleeping either less than 6 hours/night or 10-11 hours/night. Among children and adolescents, respectively, 19.9% and 22% slept less than they did before lockdown, while 21.4% and 27.4% slept more hours. Bedtime delay and decreased sleep duration were associated with an increase in the screen time exposure. Moreover, ADHD patients reported an increase in sleep disturbances when compared to previous condition, including mainly difficulties falling asleep, anxiety at bedtime, night awakenings, nightmares and daytime sleepiness.CONCLUSIONS: The lockdown impacted on sleep-wake rhythms by strengthening the maladaptive sleep patterns reported in usual life conditions in ADHD children

DOMINO: a database of domain–peptide interactions

Many protein interactions are mediated by small protein modules binding to short linear peptides. DOMINO () is an open-access database comprising more than 3900 annotated experiments describing interactions mediated by protein-interaction domains. DOMINO can be searched with a versatile search tool and the interaction networks can be visualized with a convenient graphic display applet that explicitly identifies the domains/sites involved in the interactions

Regulatory T cells with multiple suppressive and potentially pro-tumor activities accumulate in human colorectal cancer

Tregs can contribute to tumor progression by suppressing antitumor immunity. Exceptionally, in human colorectal cancer (CRC), Tregs are thought to exert beneficial roles in controlling pro-tumor chronic inflammation. The goal of our study was to characterize CRC-infiltrating Tregs at multiple levels, by phenotypical, molecular and functional evaluation of Tregs from the tumor site, compared to non-tumoral mucosa and peripheral blood of CRC patients. The frequency of Tregs was higher in mucosa than in blood, and further significantly increased in tumor. Ex vivo, those Tregs suppressed the proliferation of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ and CD4+ T cells. A differential compartmentalization was detected between Helioshigh and Helioslow Treg subsets (thymus-derived versus peripherally induced): while Helioslow Tregs were enriched in both sites, only Helioshigh Tregs accumulated significantly and specifically in tumors, displayed a highly demethylated TSDR region and contained high proportions of cells expressing CD39 and OX40, markers of activation and suppression. Besides the suppression of T cells, Tregs may contribute to CRC progression also through releasing IL-17, or differentiating into Tfr cells that potentially antagonize a protective Tfh response, events that were both detected in tumor-associated Tregs. Overall, our data indicate that Treg accumulation may contribute through multiple mechanisms to CRC establishment and progression