Micro-autologous Fat Transplantation (MAFT) for Forehead Volumizing and Contouring.

BACKGROUND: Frontal fullness in Asians is often considered to indicate one's public popularity and leadership skills. Numerous materials and techniques have been applied clinically to recontour or volumize the frontal area, with variable results. The micro-autologous fat transplantation (MAFT) technique proposed by Lin et al. (2nd academic congress of Taiwan Cosmetic Association Taipei, Taiwan) in 2007 has demonstrated its feasibility in facial rejuvenation. In the present study, we used an innovative instrument to apply the MAFT technique to frontal augmentation with fat grafting and reported the results. METHODS: MAFT was performed on 178 patients (167 female, 11 male) during a 5-year period starting in January 2010. Fat was harvested by liposuction, processed and refined by centrifugation at 1200×g for 3 min. The purified fat was micro-transplanted for frontal contouring with the assistance of an instrument, the MAFT-GUN. The patients were followed up regularly, and photographs were taken for comparison. RESULTS: On average, the MAFT procedure took 52 min to complete. The average amount of delivered fat was 10.2 mL. The follow-up period was 34 months on average. No complications, including neurovascular injury, skin necrosis, abscess, nodulation, calcification or irregularity, were noted. A patient-rated satisfaction 5-point Likert scale demonstrated that 83.1% of all patients had favorable results (48.3% were satisfied, and 34.8% were very satisfied). CONCLUSION: The concept and technique of MAFT has changed fat grafting from an operation with unpredictable clinical results to an easy, reliable and consistent procedure. Furthermore, the use of a precisely controlled instrument enabled surgeons to perform highly accurate micro-fat grafting. In comparison with other strategies for volume restoration, the MAFT procedure demonstrated high patient satisfaction with the long-term results. Therefore, the use of MAFT as an alternative approach to forehead contouring and volumizing was addressed. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Agrobacterium-mediated transient MaFT expression in mulberry (Morus alba L.) leaves.

To optimize Agrobacterium-mediated transient transformation assay in mulberry (Morus alba L.), various infiltration methods, Agrobacterium tumefaciens (A. tumefaciens) strains, and bacterial concentrations were tested in mulberry seedlings. Compared with LBA4404, GV3101 harboring pBE2133 plasmids presented stronger GUS signals at 3 days post infiltration using syringe. Recombinant plasmids pBE2133:GFP and pBE2133:GFP:MaFT were successfully constructed. Transient expression of MaFT:GFP protein was found in leaves, petiole (cross section), and shoot apical meristem (SAM) of mulberry according to the GFP signal. Moreover, MaFT:GFP mRNA was also detected in leaves and SAM via RT-PCR and qRT-PCR. An efficient transient transformation system could be achieved in mulberry seedlings by syringe using A. tumefaciens GV3101 at the OD600 of 0.5. The movement of MaFT expression from leaves to SAM might trigger the precocious flowering of mulberry.

Multi-attention fusion transformer for single-image super-resolution.

Recently, Transformer-based methods have gained prominence in image super-resolution (SR) tasks, addressing the challenge of long-range dependence through the incorporation of cross-layer connectivity and local attention mechanisms. However, the analysis of these networks using local attribution maps has revealed significant limitations in leveraging the spatial extent of input information. To unlock the inherent potential of Transformer in image SR, we propose the Multi-Attention Fusion Transformer (MAFT), a novel model designed to integrate multiple attention mechanisms with the objective of expanding the number and range of pixels activated during image reconstruction. This integration enhances the effective utilization of input information space. At the core of our model lies the Multi-attention Adaptive Integration Groups, which facilitate the transition from dense local attention to sparse global attention through the introduction of Local Attention Aggregation and Global Attention Aggregation blocks with alternating connections, effectively broadening the network's receptive field. The effectiveness of our proposed algorithm has been validated through comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation experiments conducted on benchmark datasets. Compared to state-of-the-art methods (e.g. HAT), the proposed MAFT achieves 0.09 dB gains on Urban100 dataset for × 4 SR task while containing 32.55% and 38.01% fewer parameters and FLOPs, respectively.

Advanced platelet-rich fibrin promotes the paracrine function and proliferation of adipose-derived stem cells and contributes to micro-autologous fat transplantation by modulating HIF-1α and VEGF.

Background: The micro-autologous fat transplantation (MAFT) technique has demonstrated its feasibility in multiple medical fields, such as facial rejuvenation. Advanced platelet-rich fibrin (APRF), an autologous platelet concentrated on a fibrin membrane without added external factors, has shown significant potential for tissue restoration. However, the role of APRF in the modulation of MAFT remains unclear. Here, we aimed to explore the effect of APRF on MAFT. Methods: Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) were isolated from human gastric subcutaneous fat and treated with APRF. ELISA assays measured cytokines. The proliferation of ASCs was analyzed by CCK-8 assays. The levels of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), insulin like growth factor 2 (IGF-2), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were measured by ELISA assays, quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR), and Western blot analysis. The effect of APRF/HIF-1α/VEGF on MAFT in vivo was analyzed in Balb/c nude mice. The BALB/c mice were subcutaneously co-transplanted with fat, APRF, and control shRNA, HIF-1α shRNA, or VEGF shRNA into the dorsal area. The serum and protein levels of the above cytokines were analyzed by ELISA assays and Western blot analysis. Lipid accumulation was measured by Oil Red O staining. The expression of CD34 was assessed by immunohistochemical staining. Results: APRF continuously secreted multiple cytokines, including epidermal growth factor (EGF), FGF-2, insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), interleukin-1beta (IL-1ß), interleukin-4 (IL-4), platelet-derived growth factor alpha polypeptide b (PDGF-AB), platelet-derived growth factor beta polypeptide b (PDGF-BB), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-ß), and VEGF. APRF was able to promote the proliferation of ASCs. APRF dose-dependently activated the expression of HIF-1α, HSP70, IGF-2, IL-6, IL-8, and VEGF in ASCs. APRF regulated the paracrine function of ASCs by modulating HIF-1α and VEGF. APRF increased the survival of MAFT by modulating HIF-1α and VEGF in vivo. Conclusions: APRF promotes the paracrine function and proliferation of ASCs and contributes to MAFT by modulating HIF-1α and VEGF. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanism by which APRF regulates MAFT.

Fat Grafting for Facial Contouring (Nose and Chin).

The concept of microautologous fat transplantation (MAFT), proposed by Lin and colleagues in 2007, emphasized that the volume of each delivered parcel should be less than 0.01 mL to avoid potential fat grafting morbidities. The MAFT-GUN facilitates control of the parcel volume and therefore substantially avoids central necrosis and associated complications. In this article, the authors present a simple, reliable, and consistent procedure based on MAFT for profiloplasty. Favorable outcomes with sustainable long-term effectiveness were obtained, further confirming that the MAFT technique is an alternative for facial contouring in the nose and chin.

Micro-autologous fat transplantation for rejuvenation of the dorsal surface of the aging hand.

BACKGROUND: Rejuvenation of the dorsal surface of the hand for various conditions, such as cutaneous dyschromia, fine wrinkling, skin laxity, visible extensor tendons, and varicosities appear vital to prevent wrist and digit flexion resulting from hiding of the aged appearance of the hand. Numerous fillers have been applied to re-contour the aging dorsal surface of the hand and the results were variable. The micro-autologous fat transplantation (MAFT) technique, proposed by Lin et al. in 2006, has demonstrated its feasibility in facial rejuvenation. In this study, we applied the MAFT technique for the rejuvenation of the dorsal portion of the hand. METHODS: MAFT was performed in 68 female patients. Fat was harvested by performing liposuction, processed, and refined by centrifugation. Purified fat was micro-transplanted to the dorsal surface of the hand in parcels of small volume. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 56 years (range, 38-70 years). MAFT was completed in 72 min, on average. The average amount of delivered fat was 13.9 and 13.8 mL for the right and left hands, respectively. The mean follow-up period was 32 months (range, 10-64 months). The 5-point Likert scale revealed that 58.8% of patients were very satisfied and 39.7% were satisfied about their outcome. CONCLUSIONS: MAFT has changed the concept of fat grafting, from an operation with unpredictable clinical results to an easy and reliable procedure. MAFT demonstrated high patient satisfaction with long-term results and is an effective approach to rejuvenate the dorsal surface of the hand.

Minimally Invasive Anal Fistula Treatment (MAFT)-An Appraisal of Early Results in 416 Patients.

Minimally invasive anal fistula treatment (MAFT) was introduced to minimize early postoperative morbidity, preserve sphincter continence, and reduce recurrence. We report our early experience with MAFT in 416 patients. Preoperative MRI was performed in 150 patients initially and subsequently thereafter. The technique involves fistuloscope-aided localization of internal fistula opening, examination and fulguration of all fistula tracks, and secure stapled closure of internal fistula opening within anal canal/rectum. MAFT was performed as day-care procedure in 391 patients (93.9 %). During surgery, internal fistula opening could not be located in 100 patients (24 %). Seven patients required readmission to hospital. Mean visual analog scale scores for pain on discharge and at 1 week were 3.1 (1-6) and 1.6 (0-3), respectively. Mean duration for return to normal activity was 3.2 days (2-11 days). Fistula recurrence was observed in 35/134 patients (26.1 %) at 1 year follow-up. MAFT may be performed as day-care procedure with benefits of less pain, absence of perianal wounds, faster recovery, and preservation of sphincter continence. However, long-term results from more centers are needed especially for recurrence.