Limits to the adaptation of herbivorous spider mites to metal accumulation in homogeneous and heterogeneous environments.

Metal accumulation is used by some plants as a defence against herbivores. Yet, herbivores may adapt to these defences, becoming less susceptible. Moreover, ecosystems often contain plants that do and do not accumulate metals, but whether such heterogeneity affects herbivore adaptation remains understudied. Here, we performed experimental evolution to test whether the spider mite Tetranychus evansi adapts to plants with high cadmium concentrations, in homogeneous (plants with cadmium) or heterogeneous (plants with or without cadmium) environments. For that we used tomato plants, which accumulate cadmium, thus affecting the performance of these spider mites. We measured mite fecundity, hatching rate, and the number of adult offspring after 12 and 33 generations and habitat choice after 14 and 51 generations, detecting no trait change, which implies the absence of adaptation. We then tested whether this was due to a lack of genetic variation in the traits measured and, indeed, additive genetic variance was low. Interestingly, despite no signs of adaptation, we observed a decrease in fecundity and number of adult offspring produced on cadmium-free plants, in the populations evolving in environments with cadmium. Therefore, evolving in environments with cadmium reduces the growth rate of spider mite populations on non-accumulating plants. Possibly, other traits contributed to population persistence on plants with cadmium. This calls for more studies addressing herbivore adaptation to plant metal accumulation.

Repeated surgical resections for management of high-grade glioma and its impact on quality of life.

PURPOSE: High-grade gliomas (HGG) are aggressive cancers, and their recurrence is inevitable, despite advances in treatment options. While repeated tumor resection has been shown to increase survival rate, its impact on quality of life is not clearly defined. To address this gap, we compared quality of life (QoL) changes in HGG patients who underwent first-time (FTR) versus repeat surgical resections (RSR) for management of recurrence. METHODS: Forty-four adults with HGG who underwent tumor resection were included in this study and classified into either the FTR group (n = 23) or the RSR group (n = 21). All patients completed comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations that included the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function (FACT-Cog) scales, pre-operatively and at two weeks post-operatively. RESULTS: There was no difference between the FTR and RSR groups in any of the QoL indices (all p > .05), except for improved emotional well-being and worsened social well-being, suggesting minimal detrimental effects of repeat surgeries on QoL in comparison to first time surgery. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that repeated resection is a viable strategy in certain cases for management of HGG recurrence, with similar impact on QoL as observed in patients undergoing first time surgery. These encouraging outcomes provide useful insight to guide treatment strategies and patient and clinician decision making to optimize surgical and functional outcomes.

Cervical chordomas: multicenter case series and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: En bloc spondylectomy is the gold standard for surgical resection of sacral chordomas (CHO), but the effect of extent of resection on recurrence and survival in patients with CHO of the cervical spine remains elusive. METHODS: MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane were systematically reviewed. Patients with cervical CHO treated at three tertiary-care academic institutions were reviewed for inclusion. We performed an individual participant data meta-analysis to assess the overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) after en bloc-gross total resection (GTR) and intralesional-GTR compared to subtotal resection (STR). We then performed an intention-to-treat analysis including all patients with attempted en bloc resection in the en bloc group, regardless of the surgical margins. RESULTS: There was a total of 13 series including 161 patients with cervical CHO, including our current series of 22 patients. GTR (en bloc-GTR + intralesional-GTR) was associated with a significant decrease in the risk of local progression (pooled hazard ratio (PHR) = 0.22; 95% CI 0.08-0.59; p = 0.003) and risk of death (PHR 0.31; 95%; CI 0.12-0.83; p = 0.020). A meta-regression analyses determined that intralesional-GTR improved PFS (PHR 0.35; 95% CI 0.16-0.76; p = 0.009) as well as OS (PHR 0.25; 95% CI 0.08-0.79; p = 0.019) when compared to STR. En bloc-GTR was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of local progression (PHR 0.06; 95% CI 0.01-0.77; p = 0.030), but not a decreased OS (PHR 0.50; 95% CI 0.19-1.27; p = 0.145). Our intention-to-treat analyses revealed a near significant improvement in OS for the en bloc group (PHR: 0.15; 95% CI 0.02-1.22; p = 0.054), and nearly identical improvement in PFS. Radiation data was not available for the studies included in the meta-analysis. CONCLUSION: This is the first and only meta-analysis of patients with cervical CHO. We found that both en bloc-GTR and intralesional-GTR resulted in improved local tumor control when compared to STR.

Impact of coffee biochar on carbon, microbial biomass and enzyme activities of a sandy soil cultivated with bean.

Biochar has been used to reuse the agro-industrial wastes and improve soil quality. Several studies have been carried out to show the impact of biochar on physical and chemical soil attributes. However, there are still gaps regarding the effects on as microbial biomass and enzymatic activities that are important to determine sensitive indicators to evaluate changes in management practices. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of two biochars on the chemical, microbial biomass carbon, and the enzymatic activities in an Entisol cultivated with bean. We evaluate two types of coffee biochar: ground and husks, four doses (4, 8, 12, and 16 Mg ha-1) and control. All treatments received organic fertilization with cow manure. Husks biochar increase the soil pH, Ca, and K, also contributing to the reduction of toxic aluminum contents and raising the concentrations of P labile. The treatments that received ground biochar showed higher soil organic carbon, microbial biomass, ß-glucosidase, and fluorescein diacetate. Biochar produced from coffee residues increased sandy soil quality. We showed the first report on the beneficial impact of coffee biochar on enzymatic and microbiological quality of sandy soil cultivated with the bean.

Suppression of Plant Defenses by Herbivorous Mites Is Not Associated with Adaptation to Host Plants.

Some herbivores suppress plant defenses, which may be viewed as a result of the coevolutionary arms race between plants and herbivores. However, this ability is usually studied in a one-herbivore-one-plant system, which hampers comparative studies that could corroborate this hypothesis. Here, we extend this paradigm and ask whether the herbivorous spider-mite Tetranychus evansi, which suppresses the jasmonic-acid pathway in tomato plants, is also able to suppress defenses in other host plants at different phylogenetic distances from tomatoes. We test this using different plants from the Solanales order, namely tomato, jimsonweed, tobacco, and morning glory (three Solanaceae and one Convolvulaceae), and bean plants (Fabales). First, we compare the performance of T. evansi to that of the other two most-commonly found species of the same genus, T. urticae and T. ludeni, on several plants. We found that the performance of T. evansi is higher than that of the other species only on tomato plants. We then showed, by measuring trypsin inhibitor activity and life history traits of conspecific mites on either clean or pre-infested plants, that T. evansi can suppress plant defenses on all plants except tobacco. This study suggests that the suppression of plant defenses may occur on host plants other than those to which herbivores are adapted.

Down-regulation of plant defence in a resident spider mite species and its effect upon con- and heterospecifics.

Herbivorous spider mites occurring on tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cope with plant defences in various manners: the invasive Tetranychus evansi reduces defences below constitutive levels, whereas several strains of T. urticae induce such defences and others suppress them. In the Mediterranean region, these two species co-occur on tomato plants with T. ludeni, another closely related spider mite species. Unravelling how this third mite species affects plant defences is thus fundamental to understanding the outcome of herbivore interactions in this system. To test the effect of T. ludeni on tomato plant defences, we measured (1) the activity of proteinase inhibitors, indicating the induction of plant defences, in those plants, and (2) mite performance on plants previously infested with each mite species. We show that the performance of T. evansi and T. ludeni on plants previously infested with T. ludeni or T. evansi was better than on clean plants, indicating that these two mite species down-regulate plant defences. We also show that plants attacked by these mite species had lower activity of proteinase inhibitors than clean plants, whereas herbivory by T. urticae increased the activity of these proteins and resulted in reduced spider mite performance. This study thus shows that the property of down-regulation of plant defences below constitutive levels also occurs in T. ludeni.

Oxygen delivery-utilization mismatch in contracting locomotor muscle in COPD: peripheral factors.

Central cardiorespiratory and gas exchange limitations imposed by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) impair ambulatory skeletal muscle oxygenation during whole body exercise. This investigation tested the hypothesis that peripheral factors per se contribute to impaired contracting lower limb muscle oxygenation in COPD patients. Submaximal neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES; 30, 40, and 50 mA at 50 Hz) of the quadriceps femoris was employed to evaluate contracting skeletal muscle oxygenation while minimizing the influence of COPD-related central cardiorespiratory constraints. Fractional O2 extraction was estimated by near-infrared spectroscopy (deoxyhemoglobin/myoglobin concentration; deoxy-[Hb/Mb]), and torque output was measured by isokinetic dynamometry in 15 nonhypoxemic patients with moderate-to-severe COPD (SpO2 = 94 ± 2%; FEV1 = 46.4 ± 10.1%; GOLD II and III) and in 10 age- and gender-matched sedentary controls. COPD patients had lower leg muscle mass than controls (LMM = 8.0 ± 0.7 kg vs. 8.9 ± 1.0 kg, respectively; P < 0.05) and produced relatively lower absolute and LMM-normalized torque across the range of NMES intensities (P < 0.05 for all). Despite producing less torque, COPD patients had similar deoxy-[Hb/Mb] amplitudes at 30 and 40 mA (P > 0.05 for both) and higher deoxy-[Hb/Mb] amplitude at 50 mA (P < 0.05). Further analysis indicated that COPD patients required greater fractional O2 extraction to produce torque (i.e., ↑Δdeoxy-[Hb/Mb]/torque) relative to controls (P < 0.05 for 40 and 50 mA) and as a function of NMES intensity (P < 0.05 for all). The present data obtained during submaximal NMES of small muscle mass indicate that peripheral abnormalities contribute mechanistically to impaired contracting skeletal muscle oxygenation in nonhypoxemic, moderate-to-severe COPD patients.

Effect of Pressure-Assisted Heat Treatment on Photoluminescence Emission of α-Bi2O3 Needles.

Materials with high photoluminescence (PL) intensity can potentially be used in optical and electronic devices. Although the PL properties of bismuth(III) oxide with a monoclinic crystal structure (α-Bi2O3) have been explored in the past few years, methods of increasing PL emission intensity and information relating PL emission to structural defects are scarce. This research evaluated the effect of a pressure-assisted heat treatment (PAHT) on the PL properties of α-Bi2O3 with a needlelike morphology, which was synthesized via a microwave-assisted hydrothermal (MAH) method. PAHT caused an angular increase between the [BiO6]-[BiO6] clusters of α-Bi2O3, resulting in a significant increase in the PL emission intensity. The Raman and XPS spectra also showed that the α-Bi2O3 PL emissions in the low-energy region (below ∼2.1 eV) are attributed to oxygen vacancies that form defect donor states. The experimental results are in good agreement with first-principles total-energy calculations that were carried out within periodic density functional theory (DFT).

Coinfection accelerates transmission to new hosts despite no effects on virulence and parasite growth.

One of the fundamental aims of ecological, epidemiological and evolutionary studies of host-parasite interactions is to unravel which factors affect parasite virulence. Theory predicts that virulence and transmission are correlated by a trade-off, as too much virulence is expected to hamper transmission owing to excessive host damage. Coinfections may affect each of these traits and/or their correlation. Here, we used inbred lines of the spider mite Tetranychus urticae to test how coinfection with T. evansi impacted virulence-transmission relationships at different conspecific densities. The presence of T. evansi on a shared host did not change the relationship between virulence (leaf damage) and the number of transmitting stages (i.e. adult daughters). The relationship between these traits was hump-shaped across densities, both in single and coinfections, which corresponds to a trade-off. Moreover, transmission to adjacent hosts increased in coinfection, but only at low T. urticae densities. Finally, we tested whether virulence and the number of daughters were correlated with measures of transmission to adjacent hosts, in single and coinfections at different conspecific densities. Traits were mostly independent, meaning that interspecific competitors may increase transmission without affecting virulence. Thus, coinfections may impact epidemiology and parasite trait evolution, but not necessarily the virulence-transmission trade-off.This article is part of the theme issue 'Diversity-dependence of dispersal: interspecific interactions determine spatial dynamics'.

What Factors Predict the Development of Neurologic Deficits Following Resection of Intramedullary Spinal Cord Tumors: A Multi-Center Study.

BACKGROUND: Intramedullary spinal cord tumors are challenging to resect, and their postoperative neurological outcomes are often difficult to predict, with few studies assessing this outcome. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of all patients surgically treated for Intramedullary spinal cord tumors at our multisite tertiary care institution (Mayo Clinic Arizona, Mayo Clinic Florida, Mayo Clinic Rochester) between June 2002 and May 2020. Variables that were significant in the univariate analyses were included in a multivariate logistic regression. "MissForest" operating on the Random Forest algorithm, was used for data imputation, and K-prototype was used for data clustering. Heatmaps were added to show correlations between postoperative neurological deficit and all other included variables. Shapley Additive exPlanations were implemented to understand each feature's importance. RESULTS: Our query resulted in 315 patients, with 160 meeting the inclusion criteria. There were 53 patients with astrocytoma, 66 with ependymoma, and 41 with hemangioblastoma. The mean age (standard deviation) was 42.3 (17.5), and 48.1% of patients were women (n = 77/160). Multivariate analysis revealed that pathologic grade >3 (OR = 1.55; CI = [0.67, 3.58], P = 0.046 predicted a new neurological deficit. Random Forest algorithm (supervised machine learning) found age, use of neuromonitoring, histology of the tumor, performing a midline myelotomy, and tumor location to be the most important predictors of new postoperative neurological deficits. CONCLUSIONS: Tumor grade/histology, age, use of neuromonitoring, and myelotomy type appeared to be most predictive of postoperative neurological deficits. These results can be used to better inform patients of perioperative risk.

Relationships between emerging cardiovascular risk factors, z-BMI, waist circumference and body adiposity index (BAI) on adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: The body adiposity index (BAI) has been recently proposed as an alternative index to body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) to evaluate adiposity in adults, with special focus on its ability to discriminate gender specificities on adiposity. Endothelial dysfunction, circulating endothelial cells (CECs), endothelin-1 and adipocytokines are all related to atherosclerosis and nowadays considered as markers of emerging cardiovascular (CV) risk. This study aimed to determine in normal weight and obese adolescents which measures of body composition (BAI and z-BMI) or distribution (WC) correlate better with emerging CV risk markers. PATIENTS: Forty adolescents were selected according to BMI: normal weight (n = 20; 7 girls/13 boys, 14·7 ± 1·4 years, 53·4 ± 6·0 kg, z-BMI 0·6 ± 0·1) and obese ones (n = 20; 13 girls/7 boys, 14·1± 1·0 years, 86·7 ± 11·5 kg, z-BMI 2·7 ± 0·4). MEASUREMENTS: Body fat and fat mass were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Non-nutritive skin microvascular reactivity was evaluated by laser Doppler flowmetry with iontophoretic release of vasoactive drugs. Activated CECs were assessed by flow cytometric analysis. RESULTS: In adolescents, the measurement of % fat by DXA showed high correlation with BAI (ρ = 0·75, P < 0·0001), z-BMI (r = 0·84, P < 0·0001) and WC (r = 0·83, P < 0·0001). Endothelin-1 and activated CECs did not correlate with any anthropometric measures while adipocytokines expressed variable associations among them. Endothelium-dependent vasodilation showed higher correlation with BAI (r = -0·51, P < 0·0001) compared to z-BMI (r = -0·40, P < 0·001) or WC (r = -0·45, P < 0·001), specially on females. CONCLUSIONS: BAI was associated with emerging CV risk markers in adolescents but further research is needed to evaluate its potential in clinical and epidemiological sets.

Effect of two sulfur-containing amino acids, taurine and hypotaurine in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) sperm cryopreservation.

In the present work, taurine and hypotaurine were evaluated as potential additives to improve European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) sperm quality after cryopreservation. For cryopreservation, three different extenders were used: control extender (NAM), supplemented with 1mM taurine or supplemented with 1mM hypotaurine, all of them containing 10% Me2SO as cryoprotectant. To evaluate sperm quality of fresh and thawed sperm, motility (CASA: computer assisted sperm analysis), viability (SYBR Green/propidium iodide), lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde level), protein oxidation (carbonyl content), glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and superoxide dismutase activities and DNA fragmentation (comet assay) were quantified. The result demonstrated that 1 mM hypotaurine supplemented extender increased total motility (30.1 ± 3.2%), and that 1 mM taurine extender produced higher velocity (18.1 ± 2.6 µm/s) and linearity (46.0 ± 4.8%) than the control extender (21.8 ± 3.2%, 15.5 ± 1.3 µm/s, 41.8 ± 2.4%, respectively). Cell viability, lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation were not statistically different between treatments. Similar results were obtained for glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities. Only glutathione reductase showed differential activity before and after freezing, increasing its activity in thawed sperm. Regarding the comet assay results, taurine and hypotaurine significantly reduced DNA fragmentation (52.8 ± 0.9% and 51.8 ± 0.9%, respectively) in comparison to the control (55.7 ± 0.8%). In conclusion, for European sea bass sperm cryopreservation, extenders supplemented with 1 mM taurine and 1 mM hypotaurine improved some parameters of sperm quality after thawing, resulting in better motility and lower DNA damage than the control, two very important factors related to fertilization success.

Limited host availability disrupts the genetic correlation between virulence and transmission.

Virulence is expected to be linked to parasite fitness via transmission. However, it is not clear whether this relationship is genetically determined, nor if it differs when transmission occurs continuously during, or only at the end of, the infection period. Here, we used inbred lines of the macroparasitic spider mite Tetranychus urticae to disentangle genetic vs. nongenetic correlations among traits, while varying parasite density and opportunities for transmission. A positive genetic correlation between virulence and the number of transmitting stages produced was found under continuous transmission. However, if transmission occurred only at the end of the infection period, this genetic correlation disappeared. Instead, we observed a negative relationship between virulence and the number of transmitting stages, driven by density dependence. Thus, within-host density dependence caused by reduced opportunities for transmission may hamper selection for higher virulence, providing a novel explanation as to why limited host availability leads to lower virulence.

Antifungal Activity of Nontoxic Nanocomposite Based on Silver and Reduced Graphene Oxide against Dermatophytes and Candida spp.

Dermatomycoses are typical hair, skin, or nail infections caused mainly by dermatophytes and nondermatophytes: Trichophyton, Microsporum, Epidermophyton, and Candida. In addition to the esthetical impact, pain, and nail deformity, these mycoses can be a source of severe disease. The high cost of treatment, toxicity, and the emergence of resistant infectious agents justifies research into new drugs. This work evaluates the fungicidal activity of nanocomposites (NCs) based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) loaded with silver (Ag) nanoparticles (rGO/Ag) against clinical isolates of dermatophytes and Candida species. This is an unprecedented study in which, for the first time, hybrid nanocompounds based on Ag/rGO were tested against Epidermophytom, Microsporum, and Trichophyton species (dermatophytes agents). In this paper, we synthesize rGO using different concentrations of Ag by hydrolysis of metal salt AgNO3 and follow the growth of nanocrystals on sheets of rGO provided by the NaBH4. The NCs were analyzed by X-ray diffraction analysis, and the NC morphology, silver distribution on the rGO surface, and crystalline information were investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Antifungal susceptibility assay was performed by the microdilution method based on modified Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) protocol. Time-kill kinetics was conducted to monitor the effect of the composite to inhibit fungal cells or promote structural changes, avoiding germination. The toxicological evaluation of the NCs was born in an in vivo model based on Galleria mellonella (G. mellonella). Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the rGO/Ag NCs ranged from 1.9 to 125 µg/mL. The best inhibitory activity was obtained for rGO/Ag12%, mainly against Candida spp. and Epidermophyton floccosum. In the presence of sorbitol, MIC values of rGO/Ag NCs were higher (ranging from 15.6 to 250 µg/mL), indicating the action mechanism on the cell wall. Both yeast and dermatophytes clinical isolates were inhibited at a minimum of 6 and 24 h, respectively, but after 2 and 12 h, they had initial antifungal interference. All hybrid formulations of rGO/Ag NCs were not toxic for G. mellonella. This study provides insights into an alternative therapeutic strategy for controlling dermatomycoses.

Concurrent herbivory and metal accumulation: The outcome for plants and herbivores.

The effects of metals on plants and herbivores, as well as the interaction among the latter, are well documented. However, the effects of simultaneous herbivory and metal accumulation remain poorly studied. Here, we shed light on this topic by infesting cadmium-accumulating tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum), either exposed to cadmium or not, with herbivorous spider mites, Tetranychus urticae or T. evansi during 14 days. Whereas on plants without cadmium T. evansi had higher growth rate than T. urticae, on plants with cadmium both mite species had similar growth rates, which were lower than on plants without metal. Plants were affected by both cadmium toxicity and by herbivory, as shown by leaf reflectance, but not on the same wavelengths. Moreover, changes in leaf reflectance on the wavelength affected by herbivores were similar on plants with and without cadmium, and vice versa. Long-term effects of cadmium and herbivory did not affect H2O2 concentrations in the plant. Finally, plants infested with spider mites did not accumulate more cadmium, suggesting that metal accumulation is not induced by herbivory. We thus conclude that cadmium accumulation affects two congeneric herbivore species differently and that the effects of herbivory and cadmium toxicity on plants may be disentangled, via leaf reflectance, even during simultaneous exposure.

The migraine postdrome: Clinical characterization, influence of abortive treatment and impact in the quality of life.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the postdrome's prevalence and characterize its clinical manifestations, to assess the impact of these symptoms on the patients' activities of daily living, work activity and quality of life and to assess the factors that influence the postdrome's frequency and duration. METHODS: One hundred patients with migraine were screened about the occurrence of postdrome and its characteristics using a self-fulfilled questionnaire. RESULTS: Ninety-four patients reported between 1 and 23 postdrome symptoms (mean 8.0 ± 4.3 symptoms). The most reported symptoms were fatigue, difficulty with concentration and head discomfort. The frequency of the headache did not influence the frequency of the postdrome but correlated with the number of postdrome symptoms and the postdrome's duration. 82.8 % of patients reported an impact in quality of life. Most of the patients (77.4 %) did not report a difference in the duration of the postdrome when taking medication to relieve the migraine headache. Discomfort felt did not differ between patients prescribed with different abortive medication. Patients prescribed with NSAID reported more postdrome symptoms while patients prescribed with triptans identified a bigger impact in quality of life. CONCLUSION: Postdrome symptoms are frequent, diverse and cause significant disability. Abortive treatment directed to pain control is not efficient in postdrome symptoms. Understanding this phase may enhance our understanding of migraine and lead to better therapeutic approaches.

Direct analysis of methylated trivalent arsenicals in mouse liver by hydride generation-cryotrapping-atomic absorption spectrometry.

Growing evidence suggest that the methylated trivalent metabolites of inorganic arsenic (iAs), methylarsonite (MAs(III)) and dimethylarsinite (DMAs(III)), contribute to adverse effects of iAs exposure. However, the lack of suitable methods has hindered the quantitative analysis of MAs(III) and DMAs(III) in complex biological matrices. Here, we show that hydride generation-cryotrapping-atomic absorption spectrometry can quantify both MAs(III) and DMAs(III) in livers of mice exposed to iAs. No sample extraction is required, thus limiting MAs(III) or DMAs(III) oxidation prior to analysis. The limits of detection are below 6 ng As/g of tissue, making this method suitable even for studies examining low exposures to iAs.

Remodelling compartment in root cementum.

BACKGROUND: Bone remodelling represents the most remarkable bone response to mechanical stress and mineral homeostasis. It is the consequence of complex highly orchestrated and tightly regulated cellular processes taking place in a specialised entity - the bone remodelling compartment (BRC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cementum is an understudied tissue that requires more research to understand its biology, pathology, and potential for regeneration. Although analogue to bone in structure and composition distinct structural and functional differences were ascribed to each of these mineralised tissues. The precise role of cementocytes in cementum turnover is unclear but they may work the same way as osteocytes in bone remodelling, regulating the full process. RESULTS: Although cementum is not liable to regular physiological remodelling as bone is, pathological cases triggered by orthodontic forces or large periapical periodontitis, those lesions can acutely induce cementum remodelling. Nevertheless, the cellular mechanisms behind this particular remodelling process are yet to be identified, as its eventual involvement of specialised anatomic structures as the BRC. CONCLUSIONS: Hypothesizing that similar cellular mechanisms underlie bone and cementum remodelling, the present work shows, for the first time, the histological evidence of a specialized remodelling compartment in dental hard tissues.

Perioperative Management of Patients with Glioblastoma.

The clinical presentation of glioblastomas is varied, and definitive diagnosis requires pathologic examination and study of the tissue. Management of glioblastomas includes surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy, with surgery playing an important role in the prognosis of these patients. Awake craniotomy plays a crucial role in tumors in or adjacent to eloquent areas, allowing surgeons to maximize resection, while minimizing iatrogenic deficits. However, the prognosis remains dismal. This article presents the perioperative management of patients with glioblastoma including tools and surgical adjuncts to maximize extent of resection and minimize poor outcomes.

Intraoperative Direct Stimulation Identification and Preservation of Critical White Matter Tracts During Brain Surgery.

The study of brain connectomics has led to a rapid evolution in the understanding of human brain function. Traditional localizationist theories are being replaced by more accurate network, or hodologic, approaches that model brain function as widespread processes dependent on cortical and subcortical structures, as well as the white matter tracts (WMTs) that link these areas. Recent surgical literature suggests that WMTs may be more critical to preserve than cortical structures because of the comparably lower capacity of recovery of the former when damaged. Given the relevance of eloquent WMTs to neurologic function and thus quality of life, neurosurgical interventions must be tailored to maximize their preservation. Direct electric stimulation remains a vital tool for identification and avoidance of these critical tracts. Neurosurgeons therefore require proper understanding of the anatomy and function of WMTs, as well as the reported contemporary tasks used during intraoperative stimulation. We review the relevant tracts involved in language, visuospatial, and motor networks and the updated direct electric stimulation-based mapping tasks that aid in their preservation. The dominant-hemisphere language WMTs have been mapped using picture naming, semantic association, word repetition, reading, and writing tasks. For monitoring of vision and spatial functions, the modified picture naming and line bisection tasks, as well as the recording of visual evoked potentials, have been used. Repetitive movements and monitoring of motor evoked potentials and involuntary movements have been applied for preservation of the motor networks.