Three-dimensional assessment of condylar position following orthognathic surgery using the centric relation bite and the ramal reference line: A retrospective clinical study.

Orthognathic surgery (OGS) is a relatively common procedure for solving functional and aesthetic problems in facial and jaw areas in patients with dentofacial deformities. The positioning of the mandibular condylar segment during OGS has an impact on the surgical outcome. This study aimed to investigate the changes in the condyle-fossa relationship three dimensionally after OGS using the centric relation (CR) bite and the ramal reference line (RRL).Thirty-two patients with skeletal malocclusion underwent OGS. Condylar repositioning was performed using the CR bite, as previously reported. A RRL was added to the existing method and used during the surgery. Cone-beam computed tomography scans were acquired at 4 time points. Sixty-four condyles were evaluated in the coronal, sagittal, and axial views. Two groups were created according to the amount of mandible setback (SB1 vs SB2), and another 2 groups were created according to the maxillary operation (1-jaw vs 2-jaw). Each was then compared at the 4 time points. Differences between the values before (T0) and a year after surgery (T3) were also investigated. The positions of the pogonion and the menton were examined at T2 and T3 for the simple evaluation of relapse.The change in the condylar position was significant over a time-course (P < .001) but not between T0 and T3 (P > .05). Neither the setback amount nor the maxillary operation affected the positional change (P > .05). There were no significant changes between T2 and T3 in the relapse evaluation.This condylar repositioning method using the CR bite and a RRL showed stable results after OGS. This method is noninvasive and cost-effective and can be easily performed even by an inexperienced surgeon because it reduces errors in repositioning the condyle during OGS.

Finite Element Stress Analysis of Keyhole Plate System in Sagittal Split Ramus Osteotomy.

A new miniplate applied differently from conventional application method for bone fixation has been developed. The novel approach is the insertion of the screw into the bone before miniplate installation. This study aimed to assess the stress distribution of a newly designed Yang's Keyhole (YK)- plate for segmental-bone fixation during sagittal split ramus osteotomy (SSO). Moreover, the effectiveness of the YK-plate system based on the clinical results was determined. The YK-plate system has a widened hole in the anterior region to permit a screw-head to be screwed through the system. The stress distribution using the finite-element analysis method was compared between in the case of the YK-plate system and the case of existing mini-plate fixation technique. Moreover, the clinical results of patients were evaluated during the follow-up examination periods. No critical complications in any of the six patients were reported during the four-month follow-up period. The result of the stress distribution using finite-element analysis showed a similar trend in all four fixation methods. The YK-plate system can be applied to fixation during SSO and allow for mechanically stable and convenient application.

Cervical small cell neuroendocrine tumor mutation profiles via whole exome sequencing.

Cervical small cell neuroendocrine tumors (CSCNETs) are rare, aggressive neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). Reliable diagnostic and prognostic CSCNET markers are lacking, making diagnosis and prognosis prediction difficult, and treatment strategies limited. Here we provide mutation profiles for five tumor-normal paired CSCNETs using whole exome sequencing (WES). We expanded our assessment of frequently mutated genes to include publicly available data from 55 small intestine neuroendocrine tumors, 10 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, 42 small cell lung cancers, six NET cell lines, and 188 cervical cancers, along with our five CSCNETs. We identified 1,968 somatic mutations, including 1,710 missense, 106 nonsense, 144 splice site, 4 lncRNA, 3 nonstop, and 1 start codon mutation. We assigned functions to the 114 most frequently mutated genes based on gene ontology. ATRX, ERBB4, and genes in the Akt/mTOR pathway were most frequently mutated. Positive cytoplasmic ERBB4 immunohistochemical staining was detected in all CSCNET tumors tested, but not in adjacent normal tissues. To our knowledge, this study is the first to utilize WES in matched CSCNET and normal tissues to identify somatic mutations. Further studies will improve our understanding of how ATRX and ERBB4 mutations and AKT/mTOR signaling promote CSCNET tumorigenesis, and may be leveraged in novel anti-cancer treatment strategies.

cDNA microarray gene expression analysis and toxicological phenotype for anticancer drug.

Toxicogenomics, the subdiscipline that merges genomics with toxicology, hold the promise to contributing toward the goal of elucidating mechanism by studying genomic profiling related with various drugs. The application of gene expression profiling technology to examine multiple genes and signaling pathways promises a significant advance in understanding the toxic mechanisms of various drugs and prediction of new drug candidate. Toxicogenomics is emerging field combining genomics and bioinformatics to identify and characterize mechanisms of toxicity of drug and various compounds. The principal hypothesis underlying on this field is that chemical-specific pattern of altered gene expression is related with each chemicals properties, especially toxicological property, and it will be revealed using high-density microarray analysis of sample from exposed organisms. So, in this study we compare the gene expression pattern of two anticancer drugs paclitaxel and orally absorbable paclitaxel, using the cDNA microarray. And from the result of this study, it is possible to provide the new possibility for genome-wide insight into mechanism of their anticancer activity and toxicological phenotype.