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Background Facial palsy treatment comprises static and dynamic techniques. Among dynamic techniques, local temporalis transposition represents a reliable solution to achieve facial reanimation. The present study describes a modification of the temporalis tendon transfer using a cryopreserved fascia allograft. Case presentation Between March 2015 and September 2018, seven patients with facial palsy underwent facial reanimation with temporalis tendon transfer and fascia lata allograft. Patients with long-term palsy were considered, and both physical and social functions were evaluated. The mean follow-up time was 21.5 months. No immediate complications were observed. Patients reported improvement in facial symmetry both in static and dynamic. Improvement was noticed also in articulation, eating, drinking, and saliva control. The Facial Disability Index revealed an improvement both in physical function subscale and in the social/well-being function subscale. Conclusions This modified orthodromic technique allows to reduce the operative time and the risk of complications connected to the use of autologous tissues. The use of the cryopreserved fascia allografts from cadaveric donors seems to provide promising and long-standing results in the treatment of facial palsy.

Fazio-Londe syndrome is a rare neurodegenerative disorder caused by riboflavin transporter deficiency. Clinical presentation includes variable hypotonia or muscle weakness, sensory gait ataxia, optic atrophy, sensorineural hearing loss, and bulbar palsies. We described the case of a 37-year-old patient with a suspected Fazio-Londe syndrome who was referred to us for oral incompetence with dysarthria and drooling and impaired facial expression. First, we provided static sling suspension of the lower lip with Silhouette sutures (Silhouette Lift). Due to recurrent sutures exposure, we had to remove the sutures and insert a bilateral fascia lata graft to resuspend the lower lip. Two months postoperatively, the patient had good oral competence and there were no complications. In our opinion, this is a simple and minimally invasive procedure that can restore the right lower lip position in challenging patients.

Background: Facial palsy treatment comprises static and dynamic techniques. Among dynamic techniques, local temporalis transposition represents a reliable solution to achieve facial reanimation. The present study describes a modification of the temporalis tendon transfer using a cryopreserved fascia allograft. Case presentation: Between March 2015 and September 2018, seven patients with facial palsy underwent facial reanimation with temporalis tendon transfer and fascia lata allograft. Patients with long-term palsy were considered, and both physical and social functions were evaluated. The mean follow-up time was 21.5 months. No immediate complications were observed. Patients reported improvement in facial symmetry both in static and dynamic. Improvement was noticed also in articulation, eating, drinking, and saliva control. The Facial Disability Index revealed an improvement both in physical function subscale and in the social/well-being function subscale. Conclusions: This modified orthodromic technique allows to reduce the operative time and the risk of complications connected to the use of autologous tissues. The use of the cryopreserved fascia allografts from cadaveric donors seems to provide promising and long-standing results in the treatment of facial palsy.

The Mediterranean Diet (MD), UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, has become a scientific topic of high interest due to its health benefits. The aim of this review is to pick up selected studies that report nutrigenomic or nutrigenetic data and recapitulate some of the biochemical/genomic/genetic aspects involved in the positive health effects of the MD. These include (i) the antioxidative potential of its constituents with protective effects against several diseases; (ii) the epigenetic and epigenomic effects exerted by food components, such as Indacaxanthin, Sulforaphane, and 3-Hydroxytyrosol among others, and their involvement in the modulation of miRNA expression; (iii) the existence of predisposing or protective human genotypes due to allelic diversities and the impact of the MD on disease risk. A part of the review is dedicated to the nutrigenomic effects of the main cooking methods used in the MD and also to a comparative analysis of the nutrigenomic properties of the MD and other diet regimens and non-MD-related aliments. Taking all the data into account, the traditional MD emerges as a diet with a high antioxidant and nutrigenomic modulation power, which is an example of the “Environment-Livings-Environment” relationship and an excellent patchwork of interconnected biological actions working toward human health.

Membrane fission is an essential cellular process by which continuous membranes split into separate parts. We have previously identified CtBP1-S/BARS (BARS) as a key component of a protein complex that is required for fission of several endomembranes, including basolateral post-Golgi transport carriers. Assembly of this complex occurs at the Golgi apparatus, where BARS binds to the phosphoinositide kinase PI4KIIIβ through a 14-3-3γ dimer, as well as to ARF and the PKD and PAK kinases. We now report that, when incorporated into this complex, BARS binds to and activates a trans-Golgi lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) acyltransferase type δ (LPAATδ) that converts LPA into phosphatidic acid (PA); and that this reaction is essential for fission of the carriers. LPA and PA have unique biophysical properties, and their interconversion might facilitate the fission process either directly or indirectly (via recruitment of proteins that bind to PA, including BARS itself).

Though tree-ring chronologies are annually resolved, their dating has never been independently validated at the global scale. Moreover, it is unknown if atmospheric radiocarbon enrichment events of cosmogenic origin leave spatiotemporally consistent fingerprints. Here we measure the C-14 content in 484 individual tree rings formed in the periods 770-780 and 990-1000 CE. Distinct C-14 excursions starting in the boreal summer of 774 and the boreal spring of 993 ensure the precise dating of 44 tree-ring records from five continents. We also identify a meridional decline of 11-year mean atmospheric radiocarbon concentrations across both hemispheres. Corroborated by historical eye-witness accounts of red auroras, our results suggest a global exposure to strong solar proton radiation. To improve understanding of the return frequency and intensity of past cosmic events, which is particularly important for assessing the potential threat of space weather on our society, further annually resolved C-14 measurements are needed.

Genomic regions subjected to selection frequently show signatures such as within-population reduced nucleotide diversity and outlier values of differentiation among differentially selected populations. In this study, we analyzed 50K SNP genotype data of 373 animals belonging to 23 sheep breeds of different geographic origins using the Rsb (extended haplotype homozygosity) and FST statistical approaches, to identify loci associated with the fat-tail phenotype. We also checked if these putative selection signatures overlapped with regions of high-homozygosity (ROH). The analyses identified novel signals and confirmed the presence of selection signature in genomic regions that harbor candidate genes known to affect fat deposition. Several genomic regions that frequently appeared in ROH were also identified within each breed, but only two ROH islands overlapped with the putative selection signatures. The results reported herein provide the most complete genome-wide study of selection signatures for fat-tail in African and Eurasian sheep breeds; they also contribute insights into the genetic basis for the fat tail phenotype in sheep, and confirm the great complexity of the mechanisms that underlie quantitative traits, such as the fat-tail.

Abstract Non-native pests, climate change, and their interactions are likely to alter relationships between trees and tree-associated organisms with consequences for forest health. To understand and predict such changes, factors structuring tree-associated communities need to be determined. Here, we analysed the data consisting of records of insects and fungi collected from dormant twigs from 155 tree species at 51 botanical gardens or arboreta in 32 countries. Generalized dissimilarity models revealed similar relative importance of studied climatic, host-related and geographic factors on differences in tree-associated communities. Mean annual temperature, phylogenetic distance between hosts and geographic distance between locations were the major drivers of dissimilarities. The increasing importance of high temperatures on differences in studied communities indicate that climate change could affect tree-associated organisms directly and indirectly through host range shifts. Insect and fungal communities were more similar between closely related vs. distant hosts suggesting that host range shifts may facilitate the emergence of new pests. Moreover, dissimilarities among tree-associated communities increased with geographic distance indicating that human-mediated transport may serve as a pathway of the introductions of new pests. The results of this study highlight the need to limit the establishment of tree pests and increase the resilience of forest ecosystems to changes in climate.

Many recent studies have emphasized the important role of structural variation (SV) in determining human genetic and phenotypic variation. In plants, studies aimed at elucidating the extent of SV are still in their infancy. Evidence has indicated a high presence and an active role of SV in driving plant genome evolution in different plant species.With the aim of characterizing the size and the composition of the poplar pan-genome, we performed a genome-wide analysis of structural variation in three intercrossable poplar species: Populus nigra, Populus deltoides, and Populus trichocarpa. We detected a total of 7,889 deletions and 10,586 insertions relative to the P. trichocarpa reference genome, covering respectively 33.2 Mb and 62.9 Mb of genomic sequence, and 3,230 genes affected by copy number variation (CNV). The majority of the detected variants are inter-specific in agreement with a recent origin following separation of species.Insertions and deletions (INDELs) were preferentially located in low-gene density regions of the poplar genome and were, for the majority, associated with the activity of transposable elements. Genes affected by SV showed lower-than-average expression levels and higher levels of dN/dS, suggesting that they are subject to relaxed selective pressure or correspond to pseudogenes.Functional annotation of genes affected by INDELs showed over-representation of categories associated with transposable elements activity, while genes affected by genic CNVs showed enrichment in categories related to resistance to stress and pathogens. This study provides a genome-wide catalogue of SV and the first insight on functional and structural properties of the poplar pan-genome.