bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Low abundance of Mfn2 protein correlates with reduced mitochondria‐SR juxtaposition and mitochondrial cristae density in human men skeletal muscle: Examining organelle measurements from TEM images
Authors: Castro‐Sepulveda Mauricio , Fernández‐Verdejo Rodrigo , Tuñón‐Suárez Mauro , Morales‐Zúñiga Jorge , Troncoso Mayarling , Jannas‐Vela Sebastian , Zbinden‐Foncea Hermann 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe role of mitofusin 2 (Mfn2) in the regulation of skeletal muscle (SM) mitochondria‐sarcoplasmic (SR) juxtaposition, mitochondrial morphology, mitochondrial cristae density (MCD), and SM quality has not been studied in humans. In in vitro studies, whether Mfn2 increases or decreases mitochondria‐SR juxtaposition remains controversial. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images are commonly used to measure the organelle juxtaposition, but the measurements are performed “by‐hand,” thus potentially leading to between‐rater differences. The purposes of this study were to: (1) examine the repeatability and reproducibility of mitochondrial‐SR juxtaposition measurement from TEM images of human SM between three raters with different experience and (2) compare the mitochondrial‐SR juxtaposition, mitochondrial morphology, MCD (stereological‐method), and SM quality (cross‐sectional area [CSA] and the maximum voluntary contraction [MVC]) between subjects with high abundance (Mfn2‐HA; n = 6) and low abundance (Mfn2‐LA; n = 6) of Mfn2 protein. The mitochondria‐SR juxtaposition had moderate repeatability and reproducibility, with the most experienced raters showing the best values. There were no differences between Mfn2‐HA and Mfn2‐LA groups in mitochondrial size, distance from mitochondria to SR, CSA, or MVC. Nevertheless, the Mfn2‐LA group showed lower mitochondria‐SR interaction, MCD, and VO2max. In conclusion, mitochondrial‐SR juxtaposition measurement depends on the experience of the rater, and Mfn2 protein seems to play a role in the metabolic control of human men SM, by regulating the mitochondria‐SR interaction.
Treating Symptomatic Midvault Soft Tissue Collapse in Revision Rhinoplasty with a Nasal Wall Implant
Authors: Seyidova Nargiz , Chen Austin D. , Kazei Darya , Lin Samuel J. 
Published: March 2021

Summary:
Persistent nasal airway obstruction (NAO) due to midvault soft tissue collapse in patients following rhinoplasty or nasal surgery is a clinical challenge for surgeons. An absorbable lateral nasal wall implant is one option available to help treat midvault soft tissue collapse and to improve NAO symptoms. Previous studies have not investigated its use in complex revision functional rhinoplasty with respect to patient-reported outcomes. Data were collected on all patients with a history of previous nasal procedures who underwent Latera implant placement in conjunction with functional rhinoplasty from January to December 2018. The Nasal Obstructive Symptom Evaluation and Visual Analogue Scale were used to evaluate functional outcomes. Eight implants were placed in 6 revision functional rhinoplasty patients with midvault collapse. All patients responded to the survey. Mean follow-up was 16 ± 4 months. There were no implant-related adverse events. Mean Nasal Obstructive Symptom Evaluation score was 33 ± 33, and mean Visual Analogue Scale score was 20 ± 9. In total, 1 patient reported complete resolution of NAO, whereas 2 patients reported mild, 1 reported moderate, 1 reported severe, and 1 reported extreme symptoms. Four of the 6 patients reported nasal obstruction improvement, with all reporting improvement in midvault soft tissue collapse. Apart from being used in nasal valve collapse treatment, a lateral nasal wall implant is a potentially useful solution that may help surgeons improve patients’ NAO symptoms in complex functional rhinoplasty cases. However, in certain cases, a patient’s nasal obstructive symptoms may continue to be multifactorial.
A Simple, Versatile Device for Multiplanar Photography
Authors: Nagamatsu Shogo , Sasaki Ayano , Uchiki Toshio , Kawamoto Haruka , Yokota Kazunori 
Published: March 2021

Background:
Taking pictures of protruding body parts (such as fingertips, toes, nipples, auricles, hands, and feet) from multiple directions is difficult. To solve this problem, we developed a simple and easy-to-use device, using mirrors.

Methods:
The device is composed of 4 trapezoidal plane plastic mirrors firmly connected to each other. It is possible to photograph the object from 5 directions at once, including the real image of the object at the center, and 4 images that are reflected in the mirrors around the sides.

Results:
The device allowed photographing various body parts from multiple directions at once.

Conclusion:
This simple and easy-to-use device helps us to take additional photographs in a single shot, which previously took more time and effort.
Lymph Vessel Mapping Using Indocyanine Green Lymphography in the Nonaffected Side of Lower Leg
Authors: Kinugawa Kei , Nuri Takashi , Iwanaga Hiroyuki , Otsuki Yuki , Ueda Koichi 
Published: March 2021

Background:
The lymph vessels from the dorsum and the medial ankle ascending to the medial side of the thigh toward the inguinal lymph nodes can be observed by the linear flow using indocyanine green near-infrared lymphography (ICGL). Although anatomical studies have shown the widespread existence of lymphatic vessels throughout the body, ICGL shows little linear flow. We herein report our findings of the course of lymph vessels in healthy lower limbs.

Methods:
The unaffected lower limbs of 14 patients who underwent lymphaticovenular anastomosis were evaluated for this study. The results of linear flow without massage obtained using ICGL were recorded using a 3-dimensional camera. The positions of lymph vessels were measured from the baseline, which was drawn from the midline of the anterior thigh to the second toe through the middle point of the patella. The locations of the lymph vessels were analyzed using 3-dimensional images at the following 4 points: 10 cm above the knee, at the lower pole of the patella, at the middle aspect of the lower leg, and at the dorsum of the foot.

Results:
The average distance from the baseline to the linear flow at each point was 11.39, 9.82, 4.37, and 0.97 cm, respectively. The linear flow was observed inside of the baseline at a distance equivalent to 27.2%, 30.1%, 14.8%, and 4.4% of the leg circumference.

Conclusions:
Lymph vessels were observed extensively in the middle lower leg. In contrast, linear flow was limited to a small area at the other measurement points. At 10 cm above the knee, 62.5% of the observed lymph vessels ran 11–12 cm inward from the baseline. Although these results can be useful when choosing incision sites for effective lymphaticovenular anastomosis, this is a pilot study of 14 patients, and studies on a large number of healthy legs need to be done in future.
A Labia Majora Sharing Perforator Flap for Labial Defect Reconstruction
Authors: Yamamoto Satoru , Yano Tomoyuki , Furubayashi Gen , Sawaizumi Masayuki 
Published: March 2021

Summary:
Reconstruction of a defect in the labial area has to be performed by taking account of the shape of the labial area and urogenital function. The gracilis myocutaneous flap and the gluteal fold flap are commonly used reconstructive procedures, but sometimes these flaps are too bulky and cause a deviation of the urination stream and/or deformity of the reconstructed site. In this report, we present our unique method of reconstruction using a contralateral labia majora sharing perforator flap. The patient was a 76-year-old woman who presented with squamous cell carcinoma on the left labia majora. Following radical vulvectomy with 2 cm radial margins and left inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy, an 8 × 6 cm2 defect was created. Primary closure was possible, but there was a risk that it might cause an unfavorable deformity and exposure of the urethral and vaginal vestibule. Part of the contralateral side of the labia was used for a dorsal clitoral artery perforator–based transposition sharing flap. The defect was covered without tension, and the donor site was closed primarily. The postoperative course was good. One year after the operation, deviation of the urination stream and severe asymmetry was not observed. This study shows feasibility of perforator-based labia majora sharing flap for contralateral labia majora defect. Our “like with like” reconstruction provides a good functional outcome and less donor-site morbidity to the patient.
The Hybrid Delay: A New Approach for Nipple-sparing Mastectomy in Macromastia
Authors: Jensen Jay Arthur , Giuliano Armando E. 
Published: March 2021

Background:
Patients with macromastia or breast ptosis can undergo a nipple-sparing mastectomy if their mastectomy flaps are delayed or if they are subjected to a breast reduction procedure and later undergo mastectomy.

Methods:
In this report, we describe a new technique to combine these two approaches by initially performing a subtotal mastectomy through a Wise keyhole incision in combination with the retention of the nipple -areolar complex on an inferior pedicle flap. A tissue expander and an allograft are routinely placed during this first stage. At a second stage, the inferior pedicle tissue is removed and submitted for pathological examination at the same time as the tissue expander is removed and replaced with a silicone or saline implant or autologous flap.

Results:
The Hybrid Delay procedure has been performed on three women (six breasts). Nipples were preserved in all patients. Final pathology did not reveal any cancer in the inferior pedicle preserved during the first procedure but removed and tested following the second.

Conclusion:
By allowing the nipple to be safely transferred using the inferior pedicle flap, and then removing the inferior pedicle tissue during the subsequent reconstructive stage, women with macromastia and breast ptosis can be offered nipple-sparing mastectomy in the usual 2-stage reconstructive timing.
Temporomandibular Joint Dislocation following Pterygomasseteric Myotomy and Coronoidectomy in the Management of Postradiation Trismus
Authors: Cohen Oriana , Levine Jamie , Jacobson Adam S. 
Published: March 2021

Summary:
Trismus is a known complication following treatment of oral and oropharyngeal cancers, with radiation therapy reported as a known risk factor for its development. The prevention of trismus after radiation therapy is hard to achieve, with no clear benefit of early prophylactic rehabilitation. Pterygomasseteric myotomy and coronoidectomy are well described procedures in the management of extra-articular trismus. Herein, we present 2 cases of temporomandibular joint dislocation as a cautionary tale of the potential risk for temporomandibular joint dislocation and need for closed reduction and maxillomandibular fixation.
Closed Incisional Negative Pressure Therapy Significantly Reduces Early Wound Dehiscence after Reduction Mammaplasty
Authors: Johnson Owen N. , Reitz Cara L. , Thai Khang 
Published: March 2021

Background:
Closed incisional negative pressure therapy (ciNPT) has been shown to improve surgical outcomes. Functional reduction mammaplasty has a wound dehiscence rate of 25% and higher in most series, requiring extra care and delayed secondary healing. We aimed to determine if shifting from standard care dressings to ciNPT reduced early dehiscence after breast reduction.

Methods:
This multisurgeon retrospective study compared consecutive patients undergoing primary breast reduction dressed with ciNPT to similar patients with standard dressing materials. Perioperative management was otherwise unchanged. Early dehiscence was defined as incisional disruption requiring wound care within the first 30 postoperative days. Statistical analyses were performed using t-test and Fisher exact test.

Results:
We analyzed 79 patients with 158 breasts (114 standard and 44 ciNPT). Both groups were similar. Mean ages were 35 and 34 years; body mass index, 28.5 and 27.4 kg/m2; and reduction volumes, 565 and 610 g, respectively. None were active smokers, and 9.5% were former smokers. Wise pattern skin incisions were used in all, and parenchymal resections mostly utilized superomedial pedicles. Median ciNPT treatment was 6 days. Early dehiscence was significantly lower with ciNPT, occurring in only 1 of 44 (2%) breasts, compared to 16 of 114 in the standard group (14%), P = 0.003, a relative risk reduction of 84%. Two control patients required debridement, whereas none of the ciNPT patients did.

Conclusion:
Application of ciNPT markedly decreased early dehiscence requiring wound care, compared to using standard dressings, in otherwise similarly risk-stratified breast reduction patients.
Quality of Life in Vulvar Lichen Sclerosus Patients Treated With Long-Term Topical Corticosteroids
Authors: Wijaya Marlene , Lee Geoffrey , Fischer Gayle , Lee Andrew 
Published: March 2021

Objective
The aim of the study was to investigate the quality of life in vulvar lichen sclerosus (VLS) patients treated with long-term, individualized topical corticosteroids.

Methods
A prospective cross-sectional study comparing new pretreatment and long-term treated VLS patients attending a dermatogynecology practice in Sydney, Australia. Participants were invited to complete the Vulvar Quality of Life Index (VQLI). The VQLI scores were compared between the 2 groups.

Results
A total of 204 biopsy-proven VLS patients—68 new pretreatment and 136 treated patients on topical corticosteroids for 2 years or longer. Treated participants scored lower in all VQLI components, including total score (median = 2.0 [interquartile range {IQR} = 0.0–6.0] vs 13.5 [IQR = 7.5–22.0]; p < .001), symptoms (median = 0.5 [IQR = 0.0–0.5] vs 1.3 [IQR = 0.8–2.0]; p < .001), anxiety (median = 0.0 [IQR = 0.0–0.3] vs 0.8 [IQR = 1.1–2.0]; p < .001), activities of daily living (median = 0.2 [IQR = 0.0–0.3] vs 0.5 [IQR = 0.2–1.1]; p < .001), and sexuality (median = 0.0 [IQR = 0.0–0.7] vs 1.0 [IQR = 0.0–2.0]; p < .001). A higher proportion of treated patients achieved total scores of 0–5, representing nil to minimal impact of VLS on quality of life (98 [72.1%] vs 8 [11.8%]; p < .001). Mild and reversible adverse effects were developed in 11 patients (8.1%). Partially compliant patients were 12 times as likely to develop scarring progression than fully compliant patients (7 [22.6%] vs 2 [1.9%]; p < .001).

Conclusions
Long-term, individualized topical corticosteroid treatment is safe and effective in maintaining disease remission and improves the quality of life of VLS patients. Fully compliant patients demonstrate better treatment outcomes than partially compliant patients.
Reconstructing prehistoric languages
Authors: Benítez-Burraco Antonio , Progovac Ljiljana 
Published: March 2021

This theme issue builds on the surge of interest in the field of language evolution as part of the broader field of human evolution, gathering some of the field's most prominent experts in order to achieve a deeper, richer understanding of human prehistory and the nature of prehistoric languages. Taken together, the contributions to this issue begin to outline a profile of the structural and functional features of prehistoric languages, including the type of sounds, the nature of the earliest grammars, the characteristics of the earliest vocabularies and some preferred uses, like conversation and insult. By also correlating certain specific features of language with the changes in brain organization during prehistory, the contributions to this issue directly engage the genetic and the neuroscientific aspects of human evolution and cognition.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Reconstructing prehistoric languages'.
Language evolution: examining the link between cross-modality and aggression through the lens of disorders
Authors: Benítez-Burraco Antonio , Progovac Ljiljana 
Published: March 2021

We demonstrate how two linguistic phenomena, figurative language (implicating cross-modality) and derogatory language (implicating aggression), both demand a precise degree of (dis)inhibition in the same cortico-subcortical brain circuits, in particular cortico-striatal networks, whose connectivity has been significantly enhanced in recent evolution. We examine four cognitive disorders/conditions that exhibit abnormal patterns of (dis)inhibition in these networks: schizophrenia (SZ), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), synaesthesia and Tourette's syndrome (TS), with the goal of understanding why the two phenomena altered reactive aggression and altered cross-modality cluster together in these disorders. Our proposal is that enhanced cross-modality (necessary to support language, in particular metaphoricity) was a result, partly a side-effect, of self-domestication (SD). SD targeted the taming of reactive aggression, but reactive impulses are controlled by the same cortico-subcortical networks that are implicated in cross-modality. We further add that this biological process of SD did not act alone, but was engaged in an intense feedback loop with the cultural emergence of early forms of language/grammar, whose high degree of raw metaphoricity and verbal aggression also contributed to increased brain connectivity and cortical control. Consequently, in conjunction with linguistic expressions serving as approximations/‘fossils’ of the earliest stages of language, these cognitive disorders/conditions serve as confident proxies of brain changes in language evolution, helping us reconstruct certain crucial aspects of early prehistoric languages and cognition, as well as shed new light on the nature of the disorders.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Reconstructing prehistoric languages’.
The prehistory of speech and language is revealed in brain damage
Authors: Code Chris 
Published: March 2021

The aim of this paper is to develop further the idea that symptoms that emerge in speech and language processing following brain damage can make a contribution to discussions of the early evolution of language. These diverse impairments are called aphasia, and this paper proposes that the recovery of a non-fluent aphasia syndrome following stroke could provide insights into the course of the pre-history of human language evolution. The observable symptoms emerge during recovery, crucially enabled by (dis)inhibition in parallel with a range of impairments in action processing (apraxias), including apraxia of speech. They are underpinned by changes in cortical and subcortical status following brain damage. It is proposed that the observed recovery mimics ontogenic and phylogenic processes in human speech and language. The arguments put forward provide insights tending to support the motor-gestural model of speech and language evolution.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Reconstructing prehistoric languages’.
Tense–aspect–mood marking, language-family size and the evolution of predication
Authors: Gil David 
Published: March 2021

This paper proposes a Complexity Covariance Hypothesis, whereby linguistic complexity covaries with cultural and socio-political complexity, and argues for an Evolutionary Inference Principle, in accordance with which, in domains where linguistic complexity correlates positively with cultural/socio-political complexity, simpler linguistic structures are evolutionarily prior to their more complex counterparts. Applying this methodology in a case study, the covariance of linguistic and cultural/socio-political complexity is examined by means of a cross-linguistic survey of tense–aspect–mood (TAM) marking in a worldwide sample of 868 languages. A novel empirical finding emerges: all else being equal, languages from small language families tend to have optional TAM marking, while languages from large language families are more likely to exhibit obligatory TAM marking. Since optional TAM marking is simpler than obligatory TAM marking, it can, therefore, be inferred that optional TAM marking is evolutionarily prior to obligatory TAM marking: a living fossil. In conclusion, it is argued that the presence of obligatory TAM marking, correlated with the more highly grammaticalized expression of thematic-role assignment, is a reflection of a deeper property of grammatical organization, namely, the grammaticalization of predication. Thus, it is suggested that the development of agriculture and resulting demographic expansions, resulting in the emergence of large language families, are a driving force in the evolution of predication in human language.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Reconstructing prehistoric languages’.
At the boundaries of syntactic prehistory
Authors: Ceolin Andrea , Guardiano Cristina , Longobardi Giuseppe , Irimia Monica Alexandrina , Bortolussi Luca , Sgarro Andrea 
Published: March 2021

Can language relatedness be established without cognate words? This question has remained unresolved since the nineteenth century, leaving language prehistory beyond etymologically established families largely undefined. We address this problem through a theory of universal syntactic characters. We show that not only does syntax allow for comparison across distinct traditional language families, but that the probability of deeper historical relatedness between such families can be statistically tested through a dedicated algorithm which implements the concept of ‘possible languages’ suggested by a formal syntactic theory. Controversial clusters such as e.g. Altaic and Uralo-Altaic are significantly supported by our test, while other possible macro-groupings, e.g. Indo-Uralic or Basque-(Northeast) Caucasian, prove to be indistinguishable from a randomly generated distribution of language distances. These results suggest that syntactic diversity, modelled through a generative biolinguistic framework, can be used to provide a proof of historical relationship between different families irrespectively of the presence of a common lexicon from which regular sound correspondences can be determined; therefore, we argue that syntax may expand the time limits imposed by the classical comparative method.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Reconstructing prehistoric languages’.
Constructing a protolanguage: reconstructing prehistoric languages in a usage-based construction grammar framework
Authors: Hartmann Stefan , Pleyer Michael 
Published: March 2021

Construction grammar is an approach to language that posits that units and structures in language can be exhaustively described as pairings between form and meaning. These pairings are called constructions and can have different degrees of abstraction, i.e. they span the entire range from very concrete (armadillo, avocado) to very abstract constructions such as the ditransitive construction (I gave her a book). This approach has been applied to a wide variety of different areas of research in linguistics, such as how new constructions emerge and change historically. It has also been applied to investigate the evolutionary emergence of modern fully fledged language, i.e. the question of how systems of constructions can arise out of prelinguistic communication. In this paper, we review the contribution of usage-based construction grammar approaches to language change and language evolution to the questions of (i) the structure and nature of prehistoric languages and (ii) how constructions in prehistoric languages emerged out of non-linguistic or protolinguistic communication. In particular, we discuss the possibilities of using constructions as the main unit of analysis both in reconstructing predecessors of existing languages (protolanguages) and in formulating theories of how a potential predecessor of human language in general (protolanguage) must have looked like.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Reconstructing prehistoric languages’.