Relationship of distraction rate with inferior alveolar nerve degeneration-regeneration shift

Distraction osteogenesis is an important technique for the treatment of maxillofacial abnormities and defects. However, distraction osteo- genesis may cause the injury of the inferior alveolar nerve. The relationship between distraction rate and nerve degeneration-regeneration shift remains poorly understood. In this study, 24 rabbits were randomly divided into four groups. To establish the rabbit mandibular distraction osteogenesis model, the mandibles of rabbits in distraction osteogenesis groups were subjected to continuous osteogenesis dis- traction at a rate of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mm/d, respectively, by controlling rounds of screwing each day in the distractors. In the sham group, mandible osteotomy was performed without distraction, Pin-prick test with a 10 g blunt pin on the labium, histological and histomorpho- metric analyses with methylene blue staining, Bodian＇s silver staining, transmission electron microscopy and myelinated fiber density of inferior alveolar nerve cross-sections were performed to assess inferior alveolar nerve conditions. At 28 days after model establishment, in the pin-prick test, the inferior alveolar nerve showed no response in the labium to a pin pricks in the 2 mm/d group, indicating a severe dysfunction. Histological and histomorphometric analyses indicated that the inferior alveolar nerve suffered more degeneration and in- juries at a high distraction rate （2 mm/d）. Importantly, the nerve regeneration, indicated by newborn Schwann cells and axons, was more abundant in 1.0 and 1.5 mm/d groups than in 2.0 mm/d group. We concluded that the distraction rate was strongly associated with the inferior alveolar nerve function, and the distraction rates of !.0 and 1.5 mm/d had regenerative effects on the inferior alveolar nerve. This study provides an experimental basis for the relationship between distraction rate and nerve degeneration-regeneration shift during dis- traction osteogenesis, and may facilitate reducing nerve complications during distraction osteogenesis.

Experimental study on propagation characteristics of rotating detonation wave with kerosene fuel-rich gas

In this study, kerosene fuel-rich gas produced by the combustion in the gas generator was used as the fuel and oxygen-rich air was used as the oxidant to investigate the propagation characteristics of the rotating detonation wave (RDW). The initiation of the kerosene fuel-rich gas and propagation process of the RDW were analyzed. The influences of the oxygen content in the oxidizer, kerosene mass flow rate of the gas generator, and temperature of the kerosene fuel-rich gas on the propagation process of the RDW were studied. The experimental results revealed that the propagation velocity of the RDW could be improved by increasing the three parameters mentioned above with the kerosene mass flow rate as the strongest factor. The minimum oxygen content that could successfully initiate and maintain the stable propagation of the RDW was 32%, achieving the RDW velocity of 1141.9 m/s. The RDW mainly propagated as two-counter rotating waves and a single wave when the equivalent ratios were 0.62–0.79 and 0.85–0.87, respectively. The highest RDW velocity of 1637.2 m/s was obtained when the kerosene mass flow rate, oxygen content, and equivalent ratio were 74.6 g/s, 44%, and 0.87, respectively.

Machine Learning Models for Genetic Risk Assessment of Infants with Non-syndromic Orofacial Cleft

The isolated type of orofacial cleft, termed non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate(NSCL/P), is the second most common birth defect in China, with Asians having the highest incidence in the world. NSCL/P involves multiple genes and complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors, imposing difficulty for the genetic assessment of the unborn fetus carrying multiple NSCL/P-susceptible variants. Although genome-wide association studies(GWAS)have uncovered dozens of single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP) loci in different ethnic populations, the genetic diagnostic effectiveness of these SNPs requires further experimental validation in Chinese populations before a diagnostic panel or a predictive model covering multiple SNPs can be built. In this study, we collected blood samples from control and NSCL/P infants inHan and Uyghur Chinese populations to validate the diagnostic effectiveness of 43 candidate SNPs previously detected using GWAS. We then built predictive models with the validated SNPs using different machine learning algorithms and evaluated their prediction performance. Our results showed that logistic regression had the best performance for risk assessment according to the area under curve. Notably, defective variants in MTHFR and RBP4, two genes involved in folic acid and vitamin A biosynthesis, were found to have high contributions to NSCL/P incidence based on feature importance evaluation with logistic regression. This is consistent with the notion that folic acid and vitamin A are both essential nutritional supplements for pregnant women to reduce the risk of conceiving an NSCL/P baby. Moreover, we observed a lower predictive power in Uyghur than in Han cases, likely due to differences in genetic background between these two ethnic populations.Thus, our study highlights the urgency to generate the HapMap for Uyghur population and perform resequencing-based screening of Uyghur-specific NSCL/P markers.

Genome Size Evolution Mediated by Gypsy Retrotransposons in Brassicaceae

The dynamic activity of transposable elements(TEs)contributes to the vast diversity of genome size and architecture among plants.Here,we examined the genomic distribution and transposition activity of long terminal repeat retrotransposons(LTR-RTs)in Arabidopsis thaliana(Ath)and three of its relatives,Arabidopsis lyrata(Aly),Eutrema salsugineum(Esa),and Schrenkiella parvula(Spa),in Brassicaceae.Our analyses revealed the distinct evolutionary dynamics of Gypsy retrotransposons,which reflects the different patterns of genome size changes of the four species over the past million years.The rate of Gypsy transposition in Aly is approximately five times more rapid than that of Ath and Esa,suggesting an expanding Aly genome.Gypsy insertions in Esa are strictly confined to pericentromeric heterochromatin and associated with dramatic centromere expansion.In contrast,Gypsy insertions in Spa have been largely suppressed over the last million years,likely as a result of a combination of an inherent molecular mechanism of preferential DNA removal and purifying selection at Gypsy elements.Additionally,species-specific clades of Gypsy elements shaped the distinct genome architectures of Aly and Esa.