Myofascial iliac crest flap for reconstruction of combined oral mucosa-mandibular defects: A single-centre experience.

BACKGROUND: Deep circumflex iliac artery (DCIA) myofascial iliac crest flap has been used for combined oral mucosa-mandibular defects reconstruction. The bone component of this composite flap can reconstruct the mandible with superior contour match, and the muscle fascia which used for repairing the oral mucosa defect will transform into an oral mucosa-like appearance. To explore its scope of clinical application and how the fascia transformed into oral mucosa will give surgeons flexibility to reconstruct the combined oral mucosa-mandibular defects. METHODS: A retrospective review of 18 patients who received combined oral mucosa-mandibular defects reconstruction with DCIA myofascial iliac crest flaps from Dec 2016 to Dec 2020 was performed. The characteristics of the mandibular defects and the flaps were recorded. The postoperative dynamic changes of one graft's fascia were observed from serial photographs. RESULTS: All myofascial iliac crest flaps survived successfully. The bone grafts were from 4.0 to 9.5 cm (mean 7.6 ± 1.5 cm) in length and from 2.0 to 3.5 cm (mean 2.7 ± 0.4 cm) in height. The sizes of fascia were from 13.5 to 48.0 cm2 (mean 27.2 ± 9.4 cm2). The grafted fascia firstly changed into a yellow pseudomembrane-like appearance, and then experienced muscle oedema before finally transformed into an oral mucosa-like appearance at about 60 days after operation. CONCLUSION: Myofascial iliac crest flap is a good option for reconstruction of combined oral mucosa-mandibular defects because of its excellent bone and oral mucosa matches.

Comparison between thermophilic and mesophilic anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge by combined NaOH-microwave pretreatment.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the performance of the thermophilic and mesophilic anaerobic digestion process (TADP, MADP) fed with NaOH-microwave pretreated waste activated sludge. The experiment was conducted in anaerobic CSTR reactors. During this experiment, the reactors were stable in operation and were not inhibited by ammonia. The methane production and reduction of organic matters from MADP were less than those from TADP. The dewatering performance of mesophilic sludge was better than that of the thermophilic sludge. The experimental results showed that the continuous TADP and MADP were effective, when the reactors were fed with the waste activated sludge pretreated by NaOH-microwave. MADP was more suitable to combine the NaOH-MW pretreatment process than TADP.

Analysis of components and study on antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of oil in apple seeds.

In order to improve the comprehensive utilization of major by-products in apple-juice processing, the components, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of oil in two species apple seeds, Fuji and New Red Star, were investigated. The Soxhlet extracted oil content of apple seeds raged from 20.69 to 24.32 g/100 g. The protein, fiber and ash contents were found to be 38.85-49.55 g/100 g, 3.92-4.32 g/100 g and 4.31-5.20 g/100 g, respectively; the extracted oils exhibited an iodine value of 94.14-101.15 g I/100 g oil; refractive index (40 degrees C) was 1.465-1.466; density (25 degrees C) was 0.902-0.903 mg/ml; saponification value was 179.01-197.25 mg KOH/g oil; and the acid value was 4.036-4.323 mg KOH/g oil. The apple seed oils mainly consisted of linoleic acid (50.7-51.4 g/100 g) and oleic acid (37.49-38.55 g/100 g). Other prominent fatty acids were palmitic acid (6.51-6.60 g/100 g), stearic acid (1.75-1.96 g/100 g) and arachidic acid (1.49-1.54 g/100 g). Apple seed oil was proven to possess interesting properties, emerging from its chemical composition and from the evaluation of its in vitro biological activities. The apple seed oil was almost completely active against bacteria, mildews were less sensitive to apple seed oil than yeasts, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of apple seed oil ranged from 0.3 to 0.6 mg/ml. The observed biological activities showed that the oil had a good potential for use in the food industry and pharmacy.

The complete chloroplast genome of Annona muricata L.: a tropical fruit with important medicinal properties.

Annona muricata L. (A. muricata) is an important tropical fruit and medicinal plant. It is one of the easily found plants used traditionally in treating cancer. In many tropical countries, especially in Southeast Asia, A. muricata is popular for its edible fruit and medicinal merits. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of A. muricata was sequenced, assembled, and annotated. The chloroplast genome of A. muricata was found to be a double strand ring structure with the size of 196,038 bp that consists of four regions: a large single-copy region of 75,339 bp, a small single-copy region of 3105 bp, and two inverted repeat regions of 58,797 bp. The GC content of the whole chloroplast genome was 39.92%. It was found that 111 protein-coding genes, one Pseudogene, 38 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes were annotated in the chloroplast genome, and the total number of genes was 158. DNA sequences of the chloroplast genomes of 19 species which belonged to three families of Magnoliales order were analyzed and a phylogenetic tree was constructed. The result indicated that A. muricata, Annona cherimola, Uvaria macrophylla, Greenwayodendron suaveolens, and Chieniodendron hainanense had a close phylogenetic relationship. The findings also provided abundant basic data for the genomics study of A. muricata.

Complete chloroplast genome sequence and phylogenetic analysis of Annona reticulata.

Annona reticulata is native to South and Central America which has many phytochemical and pharmacological activities suggesting a wide range of clinical application in lieu of cancer chemotherapy. This study provides abundant genomic data for the genetic relationship study, germplasm resources evaluation and varieties selection of A. reticulata. The complete chloroplast genome of A. reticulata was sequenced, assembled, and annotated in this study. The genome size was 201,906 bp and was divided into four regions: a large single-copy region of 69,650 bp, a small single-copy region of 3,014 bp, and two inverted repeat regions of 64,621 bp. A total number of 164 genes were annotated, including 115 protein-coding genes, one pseudogene, 40 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. In terms of gene function, the 164 genes were divided into four major groups: genes for self-replication, photosynthesis, unknown function, and other genes. A maximum likelihood tree based on the chloroplast genome sequences of 24 plant species was constructed. The result of phylogenetic analysis showed that A. cherimola had the closest relationship with A. reticulate.

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Manilkara zapota (Linn.) van Royen.

The complete chloroplast genome sequences of Manilkara zapota (Linn.) van Royen in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province were reported in this study. The length of the sequence was 159,853 bp long with the large single copy (LSC) region of 89,632 bp, the small single copy (SSC) region of 18,747 bp, and two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 27,737 bp. The plastome contained 125 genes, including 84 protein-coding, 8 ribosomal RNA, and 33 transfer RNA genes. The overall GC content was 37.0%. Phylogenetic analysis of 12 representative plastomes within the order Ebenales suggests that M. zapota (Linn.) van Royen is closely related to the species in family Ebenaceae.