Dispersive solid-phase extraction of alkaloids and polyphenols using borate hypercrosslinked polymers.

In this study, a borate hyper-crosslinked polymer was synthesized by crosslinking 1-naphthalene boric acid and dimethoxymethane via the Friedel-Crafts reaction. The prepared polymer exhibits excellent adsorption performance toward alkaloids and polyphenols with maximum adsorption capacities ranging from 25.07 to 39.60 mg/g. Adsorption kinetics and isotherms model results indicated the adsorption was a monolayer and chemical process. Under the optimal extraction conditions, a sensitive method was established for the simultaneous quantification of alkaloids and polyphenols in green tea and Coptis chinensis by coupling with the proposed sorbent and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography detection. The proposed method exhibited a wide linear range of 5.0-5000.0 ng/ml with R2 ≥ 0.99, a low limit of detection (0.66-11.25 ng/ml), and satisfactory recoveries (81.2%-117.4%). This work provides a simple and convenient candidate for the sensitive determination of alkaloids and polyphenols in green tea and complex herbal products.

Step-back anterior repositioning splint retraction for temporomandibular joint disc displacement with reduction in adult patients.

BACKGROUND: Anterior repositioning splint (ARS) is used to treat temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disc displacement with reduction (DDwR). However, high recurrence rate remains a problem especially in patients with unstable occlusions. OBJECTIVE: This study optimised standard ARS therapy and proposed a step-back ARS retraction (SAR) method in adult patients with DDwR. METHODS: Dental examinations and magnetic resonance imaging of TMJ were obtained before treatment (T0), 1 to 3 months (T1), 3 to 6 months (T2) and 6 to 12 months (T3) during treatment in 48 adults (average age 27.1 ± 5.7 years). After 3 months of basic ARS wearing, personalised treatment for patients with normal disc-condyle relationship was prescribed depending on bilaminar zone adaptations and severity of molar openbite. SAR which required sequential ARS wearing was designed for patients with deep overbite/overjet until retrodiscal tissue adaptations and stable occlusions were achieved. RESULTS: The maximum interincisal opening was increased from 44.3 ± 6.9 to 45.3 ± 6.3 mm (p < .01), and joint pain was alleviated after ARS treatment. The overall success rate of ARS wearing was 92.1% (58/63) featured by a recaptured disc. Fifteen patients who underwent SAR therapy all showed bilaminar zone adaptations in the end, and one patient had positive condylar bone remodelling. CONCLUSIONS: ARS treatment could improve mouth opening and joint symptoms in adult DDwR patients. SAR method was suitable for treating DDwR patients with deep overbite and overjet and improved retrodiscal tissue adaptations and condylar bone remodelling.

Investigation on the association between serum lipid levels and periodontitis: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Several research has considered the potential correlation between periodontitis and serum lipids. However, serum lipid profiles correlation with periodontitis remains largely unknown. The investigation objective was to examine periodontitis correlation with serum lipid levels using a bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. METHODS: The study employed a bidirectional MR analysis with two samples, utilizing a freely accessible genome-wide association study (GWAS). Furthermore, the primary analysis employed the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method. To determine whether the lipid profiles were associated with periodontitis, a variety of sensitivity analyses (including MR-Egger regression, MR-PRESSO, and weighted median), as well as multivariable MR, were employed. RESULTS: MR analysis performed by IVW did not reveal any relationship between periodontitis and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides (TG), or total cholesterol (TC). It was also found that LDL, HDL, TG, and TC were not associated to periodontitis. Furthermore, the MR estimations exhibited consistency with other MR sensitivity and multivariate MR (MVMR) analyses. These results show that the correlation between serum lipid levels and periodontitis could not be established. CONCLUSION: The finding indicates a negligible link between periodontitis and serum lipid levels were identified, despite previous observational studies reporting a link between periodontitis and serum lipid levels.

Selective Recovery of Palladium (II) from Metallurgical Wastewater Using Thiadiazole-Based Chloromethyl Polystyrene-Modified Adsorbent.

Selective adsorption of palladium from metallurgical wastewater containing Pt (IV), Rh (III), Ca2+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Ni2+, Pb2+, V3+, and Ti4+ has tremendous economic and environmental benefits. In this paper, a novel thiadiazole-based chloromethyl polystyrene-modified adsorbent, viz. 2, 5-bis-polystyrene-1,3,4-thiadiazole (PS-DMTD), was synthesized using chloromethyl polystyrene as the backbone. The experimental results show that PS-DMTD can selectively separate Pd (II) from metallurgical wastewater in a one-step adsorption process. The calculated saturation adsorption capacity of PS-DMTD for Pd (II) was 176.3 mg/g at 25 °C. The separation factors of ßPd (II)/Mn+ (Mn+: Pt (IV), Rh (III), Ca2+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Ni2+, Pb2+, V3+, and Ti4+) were all higher than 1 × 104. FT-IR, XPS, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction showed that the adsorption of Pd (II) to PS-DMTD was primarily through a coordination mechanism. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the other base metal ions could not coordinate with the PS-DMTD. Pt (IV) could not be adsorbed to PS-DMTD due to its strong chlorophilicity. Furthermore, Rh (III) existed as a polyhydrate, which inhibited Rh (III) diffusion toward the positively charged absorption sites on the PS-DMTD. These results highlight that PS-DMTD has broad application prospects in the recovery of Pd (II) from metallurgical wastewater.

IL-1R/TLR2 through MyD88 Divergently Modulates Osteoclastogenesis through Regulation of Nuclear Factor of Activated T Cells c1 (NFATc1) and B Lymphocyte-induced Maturation Protein-1 (Blimp1).

Toll-like receptors (TLR) and the receptor for interleukin-1 (IL-1R) signaling play an important role in bacteria-mediated bone loss diseases including periodontitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteomyelitis. Recent studies have shown that TLR ligands inhibit the receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclast differentiation from un-committed osteoclast precursors, whereas IL-1 potentiates RANKL-induced osteoclast formation. However, IL-1R and TLR belong to the same IL-1R/TLR superfamily, and activate similar intracellular signaling pathways. Here, we investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the distinct effects of IL-1 and Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (LPS-PG) on RANKL-induced osteoclast formation. Our results show that LPS-PG and IL-1 differentially regulate RANKL-induced activation of osteoclast genes encoding Car2, Ctsk, MMP9, and TRAP, as well as expression of NFATc1, a master transcription factor of osteoclastogenesis. Regulation of osteoclast genes and NFATc1 by LPS-PG and IL-1 is dependent on MyD88, an important signaling adaptor for both TLR and IL-1R family members. Furthermore, LPS-PG and IL-1 differentially regulate RANKL-costimulatory receptor OSCAR (osteoclast-associated receptor) expression and Ca(2+) oscillations induced by RANKL. Moreover, LPS-PG completely abrogates RANKL-induced gene expression of B lymphocyte-induced maturation protein-1 (Blimp1), a global transcriptional repressor of anti-osteoclastogenic genes encoding Bcl6, IRF8, and MafB. However, IL-1 enhances RANKL-induced blimp1 gene expression but suppresses the gene expression of bcl6, irf8, and mafb. Our study reveals the involvement of multiple signaling molecules in the differential regulation of RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis by TLR2 and IL-1 signaling. Understanding the signaling cross-talk among TLR, IL-1R, and RANK is critical for identifying therapeutic strategies to control bacteria-mediated bone loss.

Hybrid machine learning model based predictions for properties of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-poly(vinyl alcohol) composite cryogels embedded with bacterial cellulose.

Supermacroporous composite cryogels with enhanced adjustable functionality have received extensive interest in bioseparation, tissue engineering, and drug delivery. However, the variations in their components significantly impactfinal properties. This study presents a two-step hybrid machine learning approach for predicting the properties of innovative poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-poly(vinyl alcohol) composite cryogels embedded with bacterial cellulose (pHEMA-PVA-BC) based on their compositions. By considering the ratios of HEMA (1.0-22.0 wt%), PVA (0.2-4.0 wt%), poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (1.0-4.5 wt%), BC (0.1-1.5 wt%), and water (68.0-96.0 wt%) as investigational variables, overlay sampling uniform design (OSUD) was employed to construct a high-quality dataset for model development. The random forest (RF) model was used to classify the preparation conditions. Then four models of artificial neural network, RF, gradient boosted regression trees (GBRT), and XGBoost were developed to predict the basic properties of the composite cryogels. The results showed that the RF model achieved an accurate three-class classification of preparation conditions. Among the four models, the GBRT model exhibited the best predictive performance of the basic properties, with the mean absolute percentage error of 16.04 %, 0.85 %, and 2.44 % for permeability, effective porosity, and height of theoretical plate (1.0 cm/min), respectively. Characterization results of the representative pHEMA-PVA-BC composite cryogel showed an effective porosity of 81.01 %, a permeability of 1.20 × 10-12 m2, and a range of height of theoretical plate between 0.40-0.49 cm at flow velocities of 0.5-3.0 cm/min. These indicate that the pHEMA-PVA-BC cryogel was an excellent material with supermacropores, low flow resistance and high mass transfer efficiency. Furthermore, the model output demonstrates that the alteration of the proportions of PVA (0.2-3.5 wt%) and BC (0.1-1.5 wt%) components in composite cryogels resulted in significant changes in the material basic properties. This work represents an attempt to efficiently design and prepare target composite cryogels using machine learning and providing valuable insights for the efficient development of polymers.

Flexible silk-fibroin-based microelectrode arrays for high-resolution neural recording.

High-precision neural recording plays a pivotal role in unraveling the intricate mechanisms that underlie information transmission of the nervous system, raising increasing interest in the development of implantable microelectrode arrays (MEAs). The challenge lies in providing a truly soft, highly conductive and low-impedance neural interface for precise recording of the electrophysiological signals of individual neurons or neural networks. Herein, by implementing a novel topological regulation strategy of silk fibroin (SF) crosslinking, we prepared a flexible, hydrophilic, and biocompatible MEA substrate, facilitating a biocompatible neural interface that minimizes mechanical mismatch with biological tissues. Additionally, we established a strategy involving screen-printing combined with post-coating to prepare MEAs with high conductivity, low impedance and high capacitance, by coating PEDOT:PSS on titanium carbide (Ti3C2) microarrays. The Ti3C2 nanosheets, as the conductive track of the MEAs, avoided the charge drifting associated with metals and facilitated the processing of the MEAs. Further coating PEDOT:PSS on the electrode points reduced the impedance 100-fold, from 105 to 103 Ω. Experimental validation confirmed the superior electrophysiological signal recording capabilities of the SF-based MEA (SMEA) in peripheral and cerebral nerves with a much higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 20. In particular, we achieved high-precision recording of the action potential (AP) induced by flash visual stimulation, demonstrating high performance in weak signal recording. In summary, the development of SMEA provides a robust foundation for future investigations into the mechanisms and principles of neural circuit information transmission in complex nervous systems.

Giant liposarcoma of esophagus: a rare case report.

BACKGROUND: Liposarcoma is a malignant mesenchymal tumor that most commonly involves the retroperitoneum and lower extremities. However, liposarcoma of esophagus has been rarely reported in the literature. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a 46-year-old man with complaint of intermittent dysphagia for 6 years, accompanied with paroxysmal vomiting of pedicled tumor to the mouth. Imaging studies showed a huge mixed density lesion in the middle esophageal lumen. Surgical resection of the tumor was performed through an external cervical approach. Microscopically, the tumor was composed of mature adipocytes in normal adipose tissue prominently intersected by sparsely cellular fibrous septa containing atypical, enlarged spindle cells with hyperchromatic nuclei. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were positive for Vimentin, S-100, CD34 and MDM2. Besides, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis indicated the presence of amplification involving MDM2 gene. The patient was diagnosed as having esophageal well-differentiated liposarcoma and recovered well after the operation. CONCLUSIONS: Esophageal liposarcoma is an extremely rare tumor. Due to the nonspecific clinical manifestation and lack of experience, it is challenging to make a clear diagnosis before operation. Definite diagnosis of esophageal liposarcoma depends on histopathology, immunohistochemistry and molecular analysis.

Development and validation of a nomogram to predict occult cervical metastasis in early oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Lack of adequate objectivity and universality, available models are still difficult to be applied to clinical practice in predicting occult cervical metastasis of early oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Taking abnormal metabolic state into consideration, the current model is helpful to distinguish those patients with or without occult cervical metastasis. Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed 330 OSCC patients initially diagnosed cT1-2N0M0 stage and received neck dissection from January 2020 to July 2022. The occult cervical metastasis was identified by pathological examination.. After screening independent risk factors using logistic regression, patients were divided into training and validation cohorts at the ratio of 2:1 randomly, and a novel diagnostic model was constructed. Performances of this model were evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC), calibrating curve, decision curve analysis (DCA) and clinical impact curve (CIC). Results: Of the 330 included patients {age mean [standard deviation (SD)], 61.24 (12.99) years; 202 (61.2%) males}, 49 (14.8%) had occult nodal metastasis. Five variables, including body mass index (BMI) [high odds ratio (OR): 1.132; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.019-1.258, P=0.021], primary tumor site (tongue & floor of mouth (TF) OR: 3.756; 95% CI: 1.295-10.898, P=0.015), depth of invasion (DOI) (5-10 mm OR: 2.973; 95% CI: 1.266-6.981; P=0.012), pathological differentiation (Poor differentiation OR: 2.65; 95% CI: 1.341-5.239; P=0.005), and diabetes (OR: 3.123; 95% CI: 1.23-7.929; P=0.017) were screened to establish the predictive model. In training cohort (n=220), this model achieved an AUC of 0.814 and had a sensitivity of 78.1% and specificity of 70.2%. Calibration plots showed favorable consistency between the prediction of the model and actual observations (Hosmer-Lemeshow value >0.05). Decision curve analysis (DCA) and clinical impact curve (CIC) showed the model was clinically useful and had better discriminative ability under the threshold probability of 0.5. Above evaluations were verified in the validation cohort (n=110). Compared to previous reported models, the concordance index (C-index), net reclassification index (NRI), and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) values were superior in both training and validation cohorts (P<0.05). Conclusions: This constructed model might have reference value for clinicians in making neck management decisions of early OSCC patients.

Dopamine induced multiple bonding in hyaluronic acid network to construct particle-free conductive hydrogel for reliable electro-biosensing.

Conductive hydrogel (CH) as flexible electrophysiology interface has become the new trend of bioelectronics, but still challenging in synergizing the biocompatibility, mechanics and comprehensive electrical performance. Hyaluronic acid (HA), featured with abundant active sites for personalized-modification and well-known biocompatibility, is one of the alterative candidates. The obstacle lies in the unstable conductivity from the ionic conduction, and the electronic conduction by embedding conductive nanoparticles (NPs) is likely to result in inhomogeneous CH with poor stretchability and discontinuous conductive network. Herein, inspired by catechol chemistry, dopamine (DA)-modified HA was homogeneously composited with DA-modified poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS, named PP), to produce particle-free conductive hydrogel (HA-DA-PP). The DA-introduced multiple bondings in HA network and PP molecules brought aqueous conductive PP into HA hydrogel to form a homogeneous crosslinking network, imparted the flexible stretchability. By accurately regulation, HA-DA-PP achieved high stretchability with large tensile deformation (over 470 %) in the category of natural polymer-based hydrogels. Moreover, the interaction between DA and PP (conformational transition and charge transfer) could effectively enhance the hydrogel's conductivity. Consequently, HA-DA-PP hydrogel showed high sensibility to human movement, epidermal and in vivo electrophysiological signals monitoring. Overall, DA-mediated multiple bonding is a powerful strategy for constructing CH with high performance for bioelectronics.

Long-term Pegylated GH for Children With GH Deficiency: A Large, Prospective, Real-world Study.

CONTEXT: The evidence of long-term polyethylene glycol recombinant human GH (PEG-rhGH) in pediatric GH deficiency (GHD) is limited. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness and safety of long-term PEG-rhGH in children with GHD in the real world, as well as to examine the effects of dose on patient outcomes. DESIGN: A prospective, observational, posttrial study (NCT03290235). SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTION: Children with GHD were enrolled from 81 centers in China in 4 individual clinical trials and received weekly 0.2 mg/kg/wk (high-dose) or 0.1 to <0.2 mg/kg/wk (low-dose) PEG-rhGH for 30 months. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Height SD score (Ht SDS) at 12, 24, and 36 months. RESULTS: A total of 1170 children were enrolled in this posttrial study, with 642 patients in the high-dose subgroup and 528 in the low-dose subgroup. The Ht SDS improved significantly after treatment in the total population (P < 0.0001), with a mean change of 0.53 ± 0.30, 0.89 ± 0.48, 1.35 ± 0.63, 1.63 ± 0.75 at 6 months, 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months, respectively. In addition, the changes in Ht SDS from baseline were significantly improved in the high-dose subgroup compared with the low-dose subgroup at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months after treatment (all P < 0.05). A total of 12 (1.03%) patients developed serious adverse events. There was no serious adverse event related to the treatment, and no AEs leading to treatment discontinuation or death occurred. CONCLUSIONS: PEG-rhGH showed long-term effectiveness and safety in treating children with GHD. Both dose subgroups showed promising outcomes, whereas PEG-rhGH 0.2 mg/kg/wk might show additional benefit.

Preparation of QSS@AuNPs and Solvent Inducing Enhancement Strategy for Raman Determination of Salivary Thiocyanate.

Making the substrates form highly dense, homogeneous, and stable hotspots regions is important for the sensitive detection of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). A new strategy based on solvent-induced (SI) SERS substrate to form a stable interval of the hotspot for detection was explored and the enhancement factor (EF) of our SERS substrates could reach about 1.4 × 109. By preferential adsorption of alcohol solutions by Q-Sepharose microsphere (QSS) in mixed water and alcohol solutions, the size of QSS@AuNPs was dynamically adjusted and the spacing between gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was adjusted to keep the substrate in the optimal hotspot mode for the sensitive detection of SERS in the liquid state. As a real application case, such a SI-SERS strategy was employed to determine SCN- in saliva and a limit of detection (LOD) of about 10-10 M could be achieved.

Multifunctional nanoplatform based on star-shaped copolymer for liver cancer targeting therapy.

With high morbidity and death rates, liver cancer has become one of the most common cancers in the world. But, most chemotherapeutic anticancer drugs have high toxicity as well as low specificity. To improve the treatment modalities and enhance the therapeutic effect of liver cancer, a brand new liver-targeting nanoparticle (NP), Ent-11α-hydroxy-15-oxo-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid (5 F)-loaded cholic acid (CA)-functionalized star-shaped poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-polyethylene glycol (PEG)-lactobionic acid (LA) (5 F-loaded CA-PLGA-PEG-LA), was developed. The particle size, zeta potential, size distribution, surface morphology, drug loading content, drug encapsulation efficiency and drug release of 5 F-loaded NPs were characterized. Confocal microscopy and flow cytometry showed that the prepared NPs could be internalized by HepG2 cells. Furthermore, the cellular uptake efficiency of coumarin 6-loaded CA-PLGA-PEG-LA NPs was much better in compare with that of CA-PLGA-PEG and CA-PLGA NPs. Moreover, LA-conjugated NPs (CA-PLGA-PEG-LA NPs) enhanced fluorescence of HepG2 cells via ligand-mediated endocytosis. The antitumor effects of 5 F-loaded NPs were evaluated by the MTT assay in vitro and by a xenograft tumor model in vivo, demonstrating that targeted 5 F-loaded CA-PLGA-PEG-LA NPs were significantly superior to free 5 F and 5 F-loaded CA-PLGA-PEG NPs. All the results indicated the 5 F-loaded CA-PLGA-PEG-LA NPs can be employed as a novel potentially targeting drug delivery system for liver cancer therapy.

[Application of insertion-type separate post on ceramic restoration of molar residual root and crown with low occlusogingival distance].

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical effects of insertion-type separate post and post-crown on ceramic restoration of molar residual root and crown with low occlusogingival distance and large root bifurcation angle. METHODS: 19 molar residual roots and crowns with low occlusogingival distance(<3 mm) and large root bifurcation angle were involved in this study. Firstly, the root canals were prepared according to their natural directions without concerning about the common path of insertion. Accurate impression were taken with silicone. Insertion-type separate post and core-ceramic crown were fabricated respectively. Finally, the two parts were cemented together in patient after try-in, and the upper post cavity were filled with light-sensitive composite resin. RESULTS: None of prostheses was loose and no abutment teeth fractured for 6-38 months. All of the fixed restorations were found with good marginal fitness and well masticatory function without sign of gingivitis. CONCLUSION: Insertion-type separate post and post-crown is a better method to restore molar residual root and crown with low occlusogingival distance and large root bifurcation angle.

[Effect of aurum coating on corrosion resistance of Ni-Cr alloy].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of aurum coating on corrosion resistance of Ni-Cr alloy in artificial saliva environment. METHODS: The corrosion potential (E(corr)), self-corrosion current density (I(corr)), and polarization resistance (R(p)) of three alloys were measured using electrochemical methods to compare the difference of corrosion resistance between aurum-coated Ni-Cr alloy and Ni-Cr alloy or Au alloy. Meanwhile, microstructural and phase diffraction was examined with field scanning electromicroscopy (FSEM) and surface chemical analysis was performed by energy diffraction X-ray (EDX). RESULTS: The I(corr) of aurum-coated Ni-Cr alloy was (0.70 +/- 0.20) x 10(-6) A/cm2, which was significantly higher than that of Au alloy (P < 0.05) and lower than that of Ni-Cr alloy (P < 0.05). R(p) of aurum-coated Ni-Cr alloy was (34.77 +/- 12.61) KOmega.cm2, which was higher than that of Ni-Cr alloy (P < 0.05) and lower than that of Au alloy (P < 0.05). The results of FSEM showed that the corrosion resistance of Ni-Cr alloy coated with aurum was better than that of Ni-Cr alloy. The results of EDX indicated that released Ni and Cr of Ni-Cr alloy coated with aurum after test were less than those of Ni-Cr alloy (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The corrosion resistance of aurum-coated Ni-Cr alloy is higher than that of Ni-Cr alloy.

[Nerve injury and neurosensory recovery following bilateral mandibular sagittal split osteotomy].

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of temporary and permanent sensory disturbance of the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) after bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO) of the mandible. METHODS: 14 patients were selected for this study. Before BSSO and at 1 week, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after BSSO, the sensibility of bilateral inferior alveolar nerves were examined using sharp-blunt testing, 2-point discrimination, electronic pain response test (ZGK-1 electrometer). RESULTS: With conventional sharp-blunt and 2-point discrimination test, electronic pain response test, the incidence of temporary impairment of IAN after BSSO was 78% (22/28). Obvious sensory recovery of IAN was found 6 to 12 months postoperatively. Permanent sensory disturbance of unilateral inferior alveolar nerve occurred in 2 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Sensory recovery of the inferior alveolar nerve after bilateral sagittal split osteotomy of the mandible would take 6 to 12 months. Serious injury of the IAN would cause permanent neurosensory deficits.

[Distraction osteogenesis for correction of maxillo-mandibular deformity].

OBJECTIVE: To study the application of extraoral distraction devices in correction of various maxillo-mandibular deformities. METHODS: From 1997, 11 cases with various maxillo-mandibular deformities were corrected by distraction devices of designed by myself. 7 cases of then were the patients with cleft palate who have severe secondary maxillary hypoplasia. 1 case with micrognathia, 1 case with partial mandibular mentum defect, 1 case with lateral deviation of micrognathia and 1 case with hemimandibular hypertrophy. The mandibles were elongated, from 12 mm to 20 mm, the maxillae were elongated from 7 mm to 22 mm, the vertical mandibular distraction was 15 mm. RESULTS: All cases were corrected satisfactorily and haven't any complications. In 1 cases the 1 Kischners pin had been pull out by loosen during distration. 4 Kischners pin were curved during vertical mandibular distration. Another case the maxillary hypoplasia appeared edge-to-edge and mild open occlusion after 4 weeks fixation. CONCLUSION: The extraoral distration osteogenesis provides a new method with many advantages for those maxillo-mandibular deformities that are difficulty corrected by ordinary orthognathic surgery.

[The complications of nerve injury after the Le Fort I osteotomy].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence of the temporary and permanent sensory disturbance of the inferorbital nerve (ION) after Le Fort I osteotomy. METHODS: Thirty patients with 60 inferorbital nerves were examined preoperatively, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6-months after the operation of the Le Fort I osteotomy by using sharp-blunt testing, 2-point discrimination, electric pain response test (ZGK-1 electrometer). RESULTS: The incidence of the temporary nerve impairment was 75% (45 of 60) and the obvious recovery was found after 1 to 3 months after the operation. No permanent sensory disturbance was found in the patients. CONCLUSIONS: The inferorbital nerve injury after Le Fort I osteotomy is usually temporary and the sensory recovery was in 1 to 3 months after the operation.