Anchon lineatus, Anchon yunnanensis, Gargara genistae and Tricentrus longivalvulatus) were sequenced and analyzed. All the newly sequenced mitogenomes contain 37 genes. Among the 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs) of the Centrotinae mitogenomes, a sliding window analysis and the ratio of Ka/Ks suggest that atp8 is a relatively fast evolving gene, while cox1 is the slowest. All PCGs start with ATN, except for nad5 (start with TTG), and stop with TAA or the incomplete stop codon T, except for nad2 and cytb (terminate with TAG). All tRNAs can fold into the typical cloverleaf secondary structure, except for trnS1, which lacks the dihydrouridine (DHU) arm. The BI and ML phylogenetic analyses of concatenated alignments of 13 mitochondrial PCGs among the major lineages produce a well-resolved framework. Phylogenetic analyses show that Membracoidea, Smiliinae and Centrotinae, together with tribes Centrotypini and Leptobelini are recovered as well-supported monophyletic groups. The tribe Gargarini  and its monophyly are supported.To explore the phylogenetic relationships of the subfamily Centrotinae from the mitochondrial genome data, four complete mitogenomes ( Stictocephala bisonia , is currently widespread in Europe and Asia after being introduced by accident  is recovered based on ML and BI analyses. The complete mitogenomes of Taken together, mitogenomic data are helpful in reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships of Membracoidea, at least at the subfamily and tribe levels, consistent with previous analyses of other kinds of data. However, knowledge of phylogenetic relationships within this group continues to be hindered by the extremely limited number of taxa that have, so far, been included in molecular datasets, including those based on complete mitogenomes. Based on our results, further sequencing of mitogenomes is expected to yield increasingly robust estimates of relationships among major lineages of Membracoidea.


Phase transformations and residual stresses were investigated using X-ray diffraction and the Williamson-Hall method. Subsurface damages were evaluated with cross-sections by a focused ion beam. Stress field during sandblasting was simulated by the finite element method. The subsurface changes after sandblasting were the emergence of a rhombohedral phase, micro/macro cracks, and compressive/tensile stresses depending on the interactions between blasting particles and zirconia substrates. 3Y-TZP blasted with 110-µm particles induced the deepest transformed layer with the largest compressive stress. The cracks propagated parallel to the surface with larger particles, being located up to 4.5 µm under the surface in 4Y- or 5Y-PSZ subgroups. The recommended sandblasting particles were 110 µm for 3Y-TZP and 50 µm for 4Y-PSZ or 5Y-PSZ for compressive stress-induced phase transformations without significant subsurface damages.Although sandblasting is mainly used to improve bonding between dental zirconia and resin cement, the details on the in-depth damages are limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate phase transformations and subsurface changes after sandblasting in three different dental zirconia . Zirconia specimens (14.0 × 14.0 × 1.0 mm In addition, improvements in the manufacturing process of zirconia ceramics combined with computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technologies are capable of creating the repeatable fabrication of individualized dental prosthesis with high accuracy [Zirconia ceramics doped with 3 mol% Yaccuracy . One of Although zirconia ceramics exhibited superior fracture toughness and strength, their inherent opacity often cannot satisfy patients’ esthetic demands. With higher yttria contents , the amount of isotropic cubic phase increases and thus, a significant enhancement in translucency has been obtained due to the reduced light scattering at the grain boundaries . Since tWith improved technology, zirconia ceramics are now the preferred dental restorative materials, replacing metal-based restorations. However, in terms of clinical durability, one of the major concerns associated with zirconia restorations would be their problematic bonding to resin cements due to their chemically inert nature and hardness . In partSeveral studies demonstrated that sandblasting triggered the phase transformation and improved flexural strength of 3Y-TZP ,13,14, wRecently, the adhesive bonding behaviors of highly translucent monolithic dental zirconia were investigated. It was shown that highly translucent zirconia 5Y-PSZ) revealed lower bond strength to resin cements compared with conventional zirconia (3Y-TZP), although mechanical sandblasting significantly improved bond strength of highly translucent zirconia Y-PSZ rev evaluateSince a cubic phase does not undergo the stress-induced phase transformation, the presence of a cubic structure in highly translucent zirconia is responsible for a significant reduction in the mechanical properties . The hig2O3 particles in three different dental zirconia , which would be crucial to predict the long-term mechanical behavior of dental zirconia systems. In this study, the subsurface changes of phase transformations and the crystal strain/stress state after sandblasting were quantified by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Rietveld analysis. The extent of subsurface alterations was determined with focused ion beam nanotomography (FIB-nt) through a non-destructive, serial slicing procedure allowing the observation of first few microns below the surface. In this study, five different sizes of commercially available Al2O3 blasting particles were used to verify the effect of different kinetic energy  on the subsurface changes in three different dental zirconia substrates. To provide in-depth residual stress distribution within the zirconia components after being subjected to sandblasting, 3D-finite element analysis (FEA) was performed. The null hypothesis tested in this study was that there would be no difference in the subsurface changes after sandblasting with different alumina particle sizes between three different zirconia grades.Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the phase transformations and subsurface changes after sandblasting with various Al2 using a sandblasting device . The specimen group of each grade which did not receive sandblasting served as the control. Only the polished surface was sandblasted. The sandblasting process is schematically illustrated in Three different grades of commercially available dental zirconia materials were investigated, including one conventional tetragonal zirconia  and the new generations of highly translucent cubic-phase-containing zirconia . Fully sintered plate-shaped zirconia specimens of each grade (14.0 mm × 14.0 mm × 1.0 mm) were polished with 400, 600, and 800-grit silicon carbide papers and thermally etched in air at 1400 °C for 30 min. Then, specimens of each grade (n = 12 per each zirconia grade) were divided into 6 groups according to the alumina abrasive particle size. Air abrasion was performed with five different sizes of alumina particles  at a pressure of 0.2 MPa and a distance of 10 mm from the specimen’s surface for 10 s/cmCuKα = 0.15418 nm). A step scan mode was employed in the 2θ range of 20–90° with a step size of 0.02° and counting time of 4 s for each step. Quantitative phase analysis was conducted with the Rietveld refinement method using the Fullprof program [One specimen from each experimental subgroup in each zirconia grade was submitted to determine the crystal structures and phase transformations. Powder XRD measurements were carried out using a DMAX-2200PC X-ray diffractometer  equipped with a graphite monochromator  method in the uniform deformation model (UDM) . The phy+ ions at 30 kV by using a decreasing sequence of the ion currents, down to a final polishing step of 300 pA. The FIB/SEM images of each cross-section were obtained with the energy-selective backscatter (EsB) detector. The transformed zone depth on each FIB cross-section was measured for 10 randomly selected sites using ImageJ software  with the line measuring tool to measure a length distance over an image.The other specimen from each experimental subgroup in each zirconia grade was submitted to observe the microstructural changes in the near-surface zone during the sandblasting process. A thin layer of platinum (1 µm) was deposited on the specimen and then the cross-section specimens were prepared by using focused ion beam  milling, equipped with a Zeiss Capella FIB column and a Gemini II SEM column. The sandblasted surface was milled with Ga25 = 157 m/s; V50 = 125 m/s; V90 = 97 m/s; V110 = 88 m/s; and V125 = 82 m/s. The finite element models used in this study were based on the following assumptions: all materials were homogeneous with a linear elastic behavior under stress and there were no flaws within any component. The stress field subjected to a single blasting particle was simulated by the finite element method (FEM) with LS-DYNA software , Livermore, CA, USA). The material elastic properties of 3D-FEA models were shown in Statistical analyses were conducted using a software  with a significance level of α = 0.05. Shapiro–Wilk test was performed to evaluate the normal distributions and Levene test was applied to verify the homogeneity of variance. Means of the transformed zone depth along the crystal structures were compared among experimental subgroups. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to analyze the effect of the zirconia grade and the abrasive particle size on the transformed zone depth after sandblasting.2O3 content . The amount of monoclinic phase is considered to be negligible in the control groups. After sandblasting, the specimens of each grade displayed the asymmetrical peak broadening of (011)t at 2θ = 30.27° and (112)t at 2θ = 50.38°, which became broader as the bigger blasting particle was used. As shown in t peak shift to a higher angle and the maximum peak shift occurred in 3Y110 for 3Y subgroups, in 4Y110 for 4Y subgroups, and in 5Y25 for 5Y subgroups. Generally, the smallest peak shift was observed in 5Y subgroups among three zirconia grades.2) [t peak for all zirconia grades with a maximum intensity (12 − 1)r peak at 2θ = 29.88. Sandblasting conditions used in this study produced only a small fraction of monoclinic phases (0–2.3 wt%), with highest value of 2.3 wt% in 3Y125 for 3Y subgroups, 1.8 wt% in 4Y25 for 4Y subgroups, and 2.18 wt% in 5Y50 for 5Y subgroups, being zero for 4Y50, 4Y90, 4Y110, 4Y125, 5Y90, 5Y110, and 5Y125. After sandblasting, the rhombohedral phase (r-ZrO2)  was iden2O3 was compared and plotted from the interplanar spacing by a modified form of W-H analysis, UDM, based on the assumption of isotropic nature of the crystal under stress . For 3Y subgroups, 3Y110 induced the deepest transformed layer up to 2.9 µm. For 4Y subgroups, 4Y25 induced the deepest transformed layer up to 0.8 µm. For 5Y subgroups, 5Y25 induced the deepest transformed layer up to 0.7 µm. However, there were no transformed layer detected beyond 4Y110 for 4Y subgroups and beyond 5Y90 for 5Y subgroups. The hemispherical maximal principal stress fields on loading within the representative models of 3Y125, 4Y125, and 5Y125 are depicted in Thicknesses of the affected stress layers and the material cuts below the impact zones for the models of all zirconia grades are shown in 2O3 sandblasting with five different particle sizes in three different grades of dental zirconia. The subsurface changes induced by sandblasting in this study could be explained by the emergence of a new phase , by the presence of microcrack, crack propagation, or material removal, and by the formation of compressive/tensile stresses depending on the interaction between the blasting media and the substrate surface. The sandblasting effects with different alumina particle sizes varied between different zirconia grades due to the different phase compositions and microstructures. Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected.This study evaluated the microstructural and crystallographic subsurface alterations and residual stresses caused by AlPrevious dental research ,34,35,36With regard to the increase or decrease in the strength of zirconia after sandblasting, Inokoshi et al.  reportedAs shown in the FEA model in this study, a tensile stress developed along the surface on loading although the compressive residual stress induced by t-m transformation might act as the primary driving force against lateral cracking, contributing to the toughening mechanism. A previous study  demonstrWith the highly translucent zirconia ceramics used in this study, the transformed monoclinic symmetry during sandblasting was formed in the very surface layer: maximum value of 0.83 µm in 4Y50 for 4Y subgroups and maximum value of 0.77 µm in 5Y25 for 5Y subgroups. As the alumina particle size increased, sandblasting did not induce monoclinic transformed layers of isolated grains but rather amorphous transformed layers in highly translucent zirconia. The connecting cracks were developed between pores and ran to the surface to cause material removal with larger alumina particles, which might be detrimental to mechanical properties. The amount of rhombohedral phase tended to increase up to 64.38 wt% for 4Y subgroups and up to 57.01 wt% for 5Y subgroups. The detection of larger amount of rhombohedral phase in 4Y subgroups might be attributed to the presence of transformable tetragonal phase. Whether the rhombohedral phase was derived from the cubic phase or the tetragonal phase, larger amount of transformed rhombohedral phase in 4Y subgroups would be a result of a t→r transformation.The Williamson-Hall analysis reported in this study revealed that no compressive lattice strain was induced during sandblasting in highly translucent zirconia. In 5Y subgroups, severe peak broadening without periodicity of crystallinity generated scattering profiles due to the existence of polycrystalline aggregates  as the pWe performed sandblasting on the zirconia surfaces as a mechanical test to identify the crystallographic and morphological changes after sandblasting in three different zirconia grades. Additionally, the numerical analysis by means of the finite element method was used to determine theoretical stress distributions as well as to understand the empirical data from the mechanical testing. FEA models of 5Y subgroups in this study revealed deeper erosive cut and deeper affected stress layers. In addition, 5Y subgroups exhibited less amount of maximum principal stress than 3Y or 4Y subgroups, meaning decreased load-to-failure . It was Although sandblasting on highly translucent zirconia might deteriorate the flexural strength, the bonding ability to resin cement could be enhanced due to the microcracks created during sandblasting and thus, higher shear bond strength could compensate for the negative impacts on the mechanical properties . With reThe depth of the monoclinic transformation zone may strongly affect the amount of compressive residual stresses. In this study, for 3Y subgroups, larger particles increased the compressive residual stresses as determined by Williamson-Hall analysis, creating the transformation zone down to a depth of 1.1–2.9 µm beneath the surface. In contrast to 3Y subgroups, the transformed zone depth was less than 1 µm and thus, sandblasting did not induce any compressive stresses at the surface. The thickness of the transformed layer under externally applied stress might be too shallow to induce compressive stresses. The surface microcrack may be beneficial to enhance the bonding efficiency of dental zirconia by the infiltration of resin cements through the cracks, leading to inhibition of crack propagation. Thus, the microcrack sealing mechanism might contribute to an increase in the mechanical strength of zirconia materials. However, the presence of lateral cracks with surface connection may adversely affect the mechanical behavior of zirconia systems as well as the long-term reliability of the dental prosthesis. In this study, with larger alumina particles, the transverse cracking became wide at the several micrometers below the surface but was rarely deep enough to affect structural integrity in highly translucent zirconia.In summary, dental zirconia ceramics of three different grades showed different sandblasting reactions to the different alumina particle sizes, which was attributed to their unique crystallographic and mechanical properties. Considering the effect of alumina particle sizes on the potential subsurface damages and the induced compressive stresses in three zirconia grades, the recommended alumina particle sizes would be 110 µm for 3Y-TZP and 50 µm for 4Y-PSZ or 5Y-PSZ for better bonding without a significant reduction in the mechanical strength. However, there are some limitations to these recommendations. In this study, sandblasting parameters such as pressure, duration, angle, and distance were fixed except the particle size. The effect of various parameters should be considered to control the kinetic energy of blasting particles. For highly translucent zirconia, air abrasion with other abrasive particles of low hardness rather than alumina to reduce the particle’s kinetic energy, chemical etching, or abrasive waterjet to reduce possible thermal damages could be considered in further study. In addition, the determination of mechanical properties and shear bond strength after sandblasting were not performed here. Further study should include the effect of sandblasting on mechanical properties and bond strength of dental zirconia.(1)Although alumina sandblasting induced tetragonal to monoclinic phase transformation in the conventional zirconia, the phase transformation would depend on the amount of metastable tetragonal phase in highly translucent zirconia.(2)When selecting the appropriate sandblasting protocols of highly translucent zirconia, care should be taken in order not to deteriorate the mechanical properties due to the high susceptibility to surface damage under applied stress.(3)2 to implement compressive stress-induced phase transformations without significant subsurface damages.Within the range of treatment parameters investigated in this study, the recommended sandblasting particles were 110 µm for 3Y-TZP and 50 µm for 4Y-PSZ or 5Y-PSZ at a pressure of 0.2 MPa and a distance of 10 mm from the specimen’s surface for 10 s/cmWe have evaluated the crystallographic and microstructural subsurface changes after alumina sandblasting with five different particle sizes in three different dental zirconia grades. Within the limitations of this in vitro study, the following conclusions were drawn:


Biocomposite materials create a huge opportunity for a healthy and safe environment by replacing artificial plastic and materials with natural ingredients in a variety of applications. Furniture, construction materials, insulation, and packaging, as well as medical devices, can all benefit from biocomposite materials. Wheat is one of the world’s most widely cultivated crops. Due to its mechanical and physical properties, wheat starch, gluten, and fiber are vital in the biopolymer industry. Glycerol as a plasticizer considerably increased the elongation and water vapor permeability of wheat films. Wheat fiber developed mechanical and thermal properties as a result of various matrices; wheat gluten is water insoluble, elastic, non-toxic, and biodegradable, making it useful in biocomposite materials. This study looked at the feasibility of using wheat plant components such as wheat, gluten, and fiber in the biocomposite material industry. Plastic materials cause significant environmental damage and are one of humanity’s greatest issues. Petroleum-based plastics are non-biodegradable, even after a hundred years. Plastic polymers, which are created from non-renewable elements, are one of the primary causes of global warming. Biocomposite materials are the ideal choice for possibly replacing fossil-based polymers. However, biocomposite materials require further development in terms of their characteristics .Improving the properties of biocomposite material is still being investigated by researchers ,4,5,6,7.Wheat is a non-wood plants based fiber , which iTriticum) that is grown in countless countries around the entire globe. The total production of wheat in 2019–2020 was 763.9 million metric tons [Straws such as wheat, rice and rapeseed straws, which known as cereal straws, are not only highly abundant but they are also a low-cost, potential candidate to be utilized in the development of green composites . Wheat iric tons  and thisOne of the co-products from the starch and bioethanol industry is wheat gluten, which is utilized in many food and non-food application. It is widely used to develop films and other Bioplastics ,27,28,29Arenga pinnata) starch [Plasticizers used with starch to create the polymeric entangled phase, by reducing intramolecular hydrogen bonding ,36,37. A) starch , cassava) starch  and rice) starch ,44.In this work, we conduct a comprehensive study on wheat fiber, as well as wheat starch biopolymers. This review paper will reveal the improvement of the properties in terms of mechanical response, thermal behavior, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and morphological properties of different parts of the wheat plant that can be used as a bioplastic material.Poaceae plants family; the scientific name of wheat plant is Triticum. Wheat is one of the world’s most ancient and essential cereal crops, which is grown across a wide range of climates and types of soils [Wheat is a grass plant of the of soils .The main parts of the wheat plant are head spike, stem, leaves and roots. Wheat plants grow up to 2–4 feet tall. There are many factors that affect biopolymer properties, including: starch type, treatment temperature, additions such as plasticizer and co-biopolymers . In thisWheat is one of the most widely farmed crops worldwide; the type of the soil and soil-dryness conditions affects the quality of the starch and other plant parts. The gelatinization enthalpy and swelling power of moderate soil-dryness treated starch are low. When compared to well-watered conditions, however, a greater gelatinization temperature, retrogradation enthalpy, and retrogradation percentage are found. According to Weiyang Zhang et al. , soil drThe starch basically contains Amylose and Amylopectin. In biocomposite materials, it is important to identify the percentage of Amylose and Amylopectin, which directly affect the properties of the film or the matrix of the bio-polymer . AmyloseThianming Zhu et al.  applied In order to produce starch-based films, starch should be isolated from granules , then thZuosheng Zhang et al.  discusseAccording to Ali et al. , starch The process of preparing wheat-starch film starts with mixing the pure starch that has been isolated from other kernel ingredients with distilled water. Then the mixture is put on a hot plate mechanical stirrer for full dispersion in a temperature around 80 °C to 100 °C ,77. If tThe pasting properties of starch samples can be determined using a Rapid Visco-Analyzer RVA; the properties of pasting viscosity profiles are shown in Morphological properties in biocomposite are extremely important in order to see how homogeneous the composite is to get through. The scanning electronic microscope test also gives a structural explanation for other properties. For example, if the film surface is homogenous, this would indicate integrity of other properties. Wheat starch has a bimodal size distribution, with small, round B granules (2–10 mm) and large, lenticular (20–32 mm) ,83,84. FNon-plasticized films usually have cracks or pores and some undissolved particles, which could make it easier for water vapor to pass through the film. Plasticizing wheat films with Glycerol reduced those cracks and pores. Plasticizing also improves the adhesion between the particles of the material, as shown in The film transparency (reverse of opacity) is used to manifest the ability of light to pass through the film. Films that have a low degree of opacity are usually referred to as being acceptable as packaging material because they offer the better visual view of the food . Howevert 600 nm . Lower vThe bioplastic wheat-starch-based films have lower opacity than that of the corn-starch-based films. This indicates that wheat-starch-based films exhibit higher transparency compared to corn-starch-based films. However, the highest transparency has been found in the potato-starch-based films ,91. The 1. Sorghum starch (Broom-corn) thermal properties show a little more peak gelatinization temperatures (Tp) and enthalpy compared to wheat starch, peak gelatinization temperatures (Tp) was reported for sorghum ranging from 68.2 °C to 77.8 °C, while the enthalpy values ranged from 8.2–16.4 J g⁻1 [Thermal tests are important to gauge the information about the thermal behavior of the biocomposite film. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) is used to measure the temperature change over the time, while Derivative Thermogravimetry (DTG) is used to show the phases degradation of the material . Differe.4 J g⁻1 . The ons.4 J g⁻1 , while c.4 J g⁻1 .Water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) or moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR) is a measure of the passing of water vapor through the substance. It is a measure of the permeability for vapor barriers. According to ASTM E96-00 standard, the films should be placed in the dryer oven for 48 h under 25 °C and 67% relative humidity before starting the test . WVP is X. Guo et al.  tested tPlasticizers such as glycerol have a great effect on water vapor permeability. Wheat-starch films without plasticizer have higher WVP compared to plasticized wheat films with 20% and 30% glycerol. However, the WVP of the starch film with 50% glycerol was greater, which can be attributed to micro cracks in the film . The addCrystalline substance, in most conditions, exhibits a polycrystalline structure. Each grain being separated from the next one by a boundary, along which the atomic configurations are heavily distorted . X-ray dGranular starches are partially crystalline because they contains of approximately 25% w/w of the linear polysaccharide amylose and 75% w/w of the branched polysaccharide amylopectin . StarcheWheat Gluten (WG) is the primary protein in wheat grains . Films tWheat-gluten based films can be produced via two common methods:Wet-type mechanical milling is a common approach for producing nanoparticles for a variety of bio-materials, including starch and gluten . For gluThis method can be performed by either; (1) spreading dry powder with dry fibers in the mold, where the gluten powder will be first distributed in the mold. Next, the dry fiber preforms will be placed into the mold. Subsequently, another gluten powder layer would be added through a sieve. These steps will be repeated until the desired thickness is achieved (2), by spreading dry powder on wet fiber in the mold. In this method, fiber must be wetted again (after combing and drying), as the water will be a processing aid, after casting the gluten powder and wet fiber on the mold, the drying process needs to be conducted in dryer oven .Due to the fact that polar amino acids such as glutamic acid, aspartic acid, lysine, arginine, serine, threonine, and tyrosine are present in proteins, the addition of protein in biocomposite films improves the mechanical properties. Amino acids contain reactive groups that can be useful in cross-linking and creating covalent connections, improving the mechanical characteristics of biocomposites . It has Wheat-gluten films revealed lower water absorption (settled on 80% after 4000 min), this amount of water absorption is a response for  bonds existence in gluten film . While tTensile strength increased when drying temperature increased at 35% RH, while it decreased when temperature increased at 70% RH . N. Vo HWheat fiber is an isolated dietary fiber made from the wheat plant. This fiber goes through a special thermo-physical process followed by milling, sieving, and standardizing into application specific grades. Wheat fiber is a white to light beige, fibrous, and odorless powder . Wheat pJing Huang et al.  illustraWheat straw has a high amount of cellulose and offers several advantages over the other types of reinforcement fillers. The advantages include being low in density, nonabrasive nature, low cost and having accessibility and renewability . Wheat sYi Zou et al.  used lonOther applications of wheat straw include extracting off hemicellulose from wheat straw (WS) and it is used as reinforcing filler for kappa carrageenan-locust bean gum polymeric blend films . Wheat sWheat bran is the hard outer layer of cereal grains . Lucia FLucia Fama et al.  reinforcDue to the strong mechanical properties and biocompatibility of isolated cellulose, it is gaining a lot of interest as a reinforcing material . HoweverThe inhibition of oxidation improves the stability of polymers to be effective in more applications . The addAntimicrobial property has received more attention recently, especially in the bio-packaging food industry . It has One of the significant advantages of agriculture-based biocomposites’ resources such as wheat, is the renewability of agriculture crops; this advantage is limited in forest-based biocomposite plants, unless the green cover of forest is constantly replaced and renewed.In many countries around the world, wheat is considered the main ingredient of their diet. In the recent year, wheat consumption has increased at a faster rate than all other cereals, which generates enormous amounts of waste . The wasAdditional to its application in bioplastics, wheat gluten can be used as a binder with fibers . As the The fabrication of biocomposite materials by reinforcing natural lignocellulosic fibers  with polymer composite is frequently advocated to enhance agricultural materials ,224,225.Ecological concerns in recent years have been directed at encouraging the development non-food sources for a new materials from renewable sources. Wheat gluten was effectively employed as a by-product of the starch industry for the manufacturing of environmentally friendly agricultural materials. This is due to its biodegradability , non-ecoIn the second section of Moazzen, N. et al.  developeFor hybrid wheat composites, Reddy et al.  had condConventional plastic-based petroleum materials cause significant environmental damage and are one of humanity’s greatest issues. Using wheat starch and wheat residues to produce biocomposite materials is a promising alternative for plastic-based petroleum. Wheat-starch biopolymer and fiber needs more concern and study, due to their availability, highly abundant, renewability, low cost, good properties and the possibility of using many parts of the wheat plant, which makes wheat plants a good resource for different kinds of biocomposite. Therefore, biocomposite-based wheat represents a good opportunity for biocomposites production in the future. Wheat bran and wheat straw are good sources of fiber to reinforce synthetic polymers and biopolymers. Films that are made from wheat gluten provide the potential to develop an edible film, adhesives, binders, and biomedical substances. The main advantages of wheat-gluten films include that they are insoluble in water, elastic in nature, and non-toxic. The production of wheat-starch-based films can be made via two common methods: (1) wet method and (2) dry method, whereas wheat biocomposite can be fabricated using several techniques such as solution casting, mixing and compression, and extrusion and compression. Plasticizer such as glycerol improves the flexibility and physical properties of wheat-starch-based films. Furthermore, the study of the mechanical properties of wheat biocomposite revealed that biocomposites exhibited increase in tensile strength and modulus when incorporated with fiber. Additionally, the influence of different types of plasticizers, chemical treatment, and addition of cross-linking agents for wheat-starch-based composite is not thoroughly evaluated in the literature. Hence, wheat-gluten-based biocomposites need more research work to better understand functionality and mechanical response of wheat-gluten-based biocomposite films. Molecular weight distribution and the mechanism of cross-linking between the proteins and any other additions such as plasticizers and fibers need further investigation.


We aimed to assess the crystallography, microstructure and flexural strength of zirconia-based ceramics made by stereolithography (SLA). Two additively manufactured 3 mol% yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals  and one alumina-toughened zirconia  were compared to subtractively manufactured 3Y-TZP . Crystallographic analysis was conducted by X-ray diffraction. Top surfaces and cross-sections of the subsurface microstructure were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Biaxial flexural strength was statistically compared using Weibull analysis. The additively and subtractively manufactured zirconia grades revealed a similar phase composition. The residual porosity of the SLA 3Y-TZPs and ATZ was comparable to that of subtractively manufactured 3Y-TZP. Weibull analysis revealed that the additively manufactured LithaCon 3Y 230 (Lithoz) had a significantly lower biaxial flexural strength than 3D Mix ATZ (3D Ceram Sinto). The biaxial flexural strength of the subtractively manufactured LAVA Plus  was in between those of the additively manufactured 3Y-TZPs, with the additively manufactured ATZ significantly outperforming the subtractively manufactured 3Y-TZP. Additively manufactured 3Y-TZP showed comparable crystallography, microstructure and flexural strength as the subtractively manufactured zirconia, thus potentially being a good option for dental implants. Zirconia ceramic has widely been employed in dentistry as alternative of metal for dental restorations, due to its excellent biocompatibility, mechanical properties, and aesthetics compared to metal. More recently, zirconia ceramic has been used to fabricate dental implants ,2.Most of the zirconia-based restorations are fabricated using subtractive manufacturing methods, such as machining and milling . Along wThus far, some studies have focused on additive manufacturing methods to fabricate zirconia-ceramic implants using commercially available systems. However, the results are inconclusive ,17. OsmaNot only 3 mol% yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (3Y-TZP), but also alumina-toughened zirconia (ATZ) is interesting as titanium alternative to fabricate dental implants ,19. ThisThis study aimed to assess the crystal structure, morphology and mechanical properties of additively manufactured zirconia-based ceramics in comparison to subtractively manufactured zirconia. The null hypothesis tested was that the crystal structure, microstructure and mechanical properties of additively manufactured zirconia-based ceramics are comparable to those of subtractively manufactured zirconia. A summary of the characteristics and properties of the ceramics investigated is provided in α  was employed for phase identification and calculation of the relative phase content of cubic zirconia (c-ZrO2), tetragonal zirconia (t-ZrO2), monoclinic zirconia (m-ZrO2) and alumina (Al2O3). Rietveld analysis was used to assess the zirconia and ATZ phase composition using TOPAS academic V7 software .X-ray diffraction  with Cu KThe flexural strength was determined using a biaxial flexural strength test n = 14–15/group) with a piston on three-ball set-up following a method for square-shaped specimens introduced by Cokic et al. and Wendler et al. ,23. The –15/groupThe top surfaces of the specimens from each experimental group were investigated for microstructural analysis using scanning electron microscopy . The specimens were coated with a thin layer of Pt . The surfaces were investigated at an accelerating voltage of 5 kV, emission current of 8 μA and working distance of 10 mm. In addition, one of the fractured specimens from each experimental group was cross-sectioned, polished and argon-ion milled . A thin layer of Pt was coated on the samples prior to examination in backscattered electron imaging mode using a field-emission-gun SEM  operated at 15 kV. The elemental distributions for the samples were determined using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS).t-ZrO2 phase, being typical 3Y-TZP ceramics, whereas additively manufactured ATZ  contained approximately 20 wt% of Al2O3 phase.Regarding the phase composition of the investigated zirconia(-based) ceramics, the results of the Rietveld analysis are detailed in 2O3 than the additively manufactured 3Y-TZPs  and 3D Mix zirconia (3DCeram Sinto) were comparable, whereas the cross-sectioned additively manufactured ATZ  had a substantially higher amount of Al2O3. Representative SEM images are presented in The present study investigated the crystal structure, microstructure, and mechanical properties of additively manufactured 3Y-TZP and ATZ in comparison with conventionally fabricated 3Y-TZP. XRD with Rietveld analysis revealed that additively manufactured 3Y-TZP  and subtractively manufactured 3Y-TZP  showed comparable phase composition. Regarding biaxial flexural strength, significant differences were observed between subtractively manufactured 3Y-TZP  and additively manufactured ATZ . Microstructural analysis revealed that pores were more frequently detected in subtractively manufactured zirconia  than in additively manufactured 3Y-TZPs  and ATZ . Therefore, the null hypothesis that the crystal structure, microstructure and mechanical properties of additively manufactured zirconia ceramics and alumina toughened zirconia are comparable to subtractively manufactured zirconia has been partially rejected.According to the XRD phase analysis, the present study demonstrated that additively manufactured zirconia ceramics  have a comparable phase composition as subtractively manufactured zirconia . Osman et al. (2017) assessed the zirconia-phase composition using XRD and showed that additively manufactured zirconia ceramics had similar XRD patterns to 3Y-TZP . Zhang eBiaxial flexural strength testing revealed that additively manufactured 3Y-TZP can have a strength similar to that of subtractively manufactured 3Y-TZP. Even better, this study demonstrated the possibility of manufacturing zirconia ceramics with better reliability by SLA technology, as 3D Mix zirconia (3DCeram Sinto) showed a higher Weibull modulus than LAVA plus . This could be partially due to the fact that SLA is based on a slurry instead of dry powder. However, among the additively manufactured 3Y-TZPs, LithaCon 3Y 230 (Lithoz) had a significantly lower biaxial flexural strength than 3D Mix zirconia (3DCeram Sinto). This can be related to differences in their manufacturing method: LithaCon 3Y 230 (Lithoz) was fabricated by digital light printing (DLP)-stereolithography (SLA), whereas 3D Mix zirconia (3DCeram Sinto) was fabricated by laser-based SLA. The building direction affected the biaxial flexural strength of the additively manufactured 3Y-TZPs as well. In the present study, the building direction of LithaCon 3Y 230 (Lithoz) and 3D Mix zirconia (3DCeram Sinto) was different: LithaCon 3Y 230 (Lithoz) was printed horizontally to the load direction, whereas 3D Mix zirconia (3DCeram Sinto) was printed vertically to the load direction. In general, specimens in which the building and tensile loading direction are parallel a have an2O3 content than the additively manufactured 3Y-TZPs , which is in line with their overall composition. LAVA Plus  is categorized as a highly translucent 3Y-TZP (0.05 wt% Al2O3) that contains less Al2O3 than a conventional 3Y-TZP (0.25 wt% Al2O3) [As previously reported, ATZ is stronger than 3Y-TZP ,29. This% Al2O3) .In the present study, we only investigated two additively manufactured zirconia grades. As mentioned above, the influence of the building direction on the mechanical properties of additively manufactured zirconia should be investigated. Moreover, fatigue resistance of additively manufactured zirconia could be an important property to tackle in the future.We believe that additively manufactured 3Y-TZP and ATZ could be suitable for dental implants, since additive manufacturing can also realize a complex surface topography during fabrication. Moreover, the influence of surface morphology on the osteoinductive activity of additively manufactured zirconia remains to be investigated.Additively manufactured zirconia revealed a crystal structure, biaxial flexural strength and microstructure comparable to that of subtractively  manufactured zirconia. Differences in the additive manufacturing process of zirconia may affect the biaxial flexural strength of additively manufactured zirconia. Additively manufactured ATZ had a higher biaxial flexural strength than additively and subtractively manufactured 3Y-TZP.


In recent years, the amount of available literature, data and computational tools has increased exponentially, providing opportunities and challenges to make use of this vast amount of material. Here, we describe how we utilized publicly available information to identify the previously hardly characterized protein SAMD1 (SAM domain-containing protein 1) as a novel unmethylated CpG island-binding protein. This discovery is an example, how the richness of material and tools on the internet can be used to make scientific breakthroughs, but also the hurdles that may occur. Specifically, we discuss how the misrepresentation of SAMD1 in literature and databases may have prevented an earlier characterization of this protein and we address what can be learned from this example. Therefore, the characterization of protein functions during various biological processes is one of the fundamental research tasks in life science. To learn more about proteins and to discover potential novel functions, several alternative strategies can be applied. Often, novel findings build on screening experiments, which are designed to fish out proteins or genes that may play a role in a certain context. Subsequently, the potential candidates are investigated whether they indeed have a function relevant to the original research question. However, novel discoveries may not always rely on experimental approaches. The enormous increase of literature and data provides the ground to discover interesting proteins or protein functions solely by the correct interpretation of these accessible material. Thus, instead of uncovering candidates by performing specific experiments, it becomes more and more feasible to search for potential candidates by investigating publicly available material .Fig. 1OuHere, we present as an example, how the usage of public material led to the discovery of a novel CpG island-binding protein, SAMD1 (SAM domain-containing protein 1). This protein has hardly been characterized yet, and the information in databases were partially incomplete or wrong (stand May 2021). This wrong information may have contributed to the hesitance of researchers to investigate this protein in more detail. Nonetheless, despite not much was known about SAMD1, the combination of numerous hints led to the conclusion that SAMD1 is a strong candidate to be a novel unmethylated CpG island-binding protein. Based on this data exploration, we could indeed subsequently confirm our hypothesis using extensive structural, molecular biological and genome-wide approaches 1.1To address a specific question, it is essential either to design appropriate experiments, or to survey the literature and/or public data towards a specific aspect . The her1.2et al.As already numerous studies, which have explored chromatin- and DNA-binding proteins, are avaible we wondered whether these data are sufficient to identify unmethylated CpG-motifs candidates. Thus, instead of establishing and performing an experiment to identify novel CpG-binding proteins, we decided to investigate first the available material for putative candidates . Which c1.3To further investigate SAMD1’s potential role at DNA and/or chromatin, we looked for additional publications where SAMD1 is occurring. However, as SAMD1 has hardly been characterized yet, not many publications about SAMD1 are available in the literature databases. The only publications about SAMD1 refer to the SAM-domain function 1.4et al.et al.et al.CGCA to TTTCCCACA), led to strong reduction of SAMD1 DNA-binding  et al.et al.Due to these first hints suggesting that SAMD1 could be a novel CpG-motif binding protein, we aimed to learn more about SAMD11.6Having decided which annotation for SAMD1 we should use for further investigations, it was now important to nail down whether SAMD1 indeed can bind to CpG-rich DNA. Specifically, we asked whether SAMD1 possesses a domain that is suitable for DNA binding. So far only one domain is annotated in SAMD1, namely the C-terminal SAM-domain. SAM-domains are commonly involved in protein–protein interactions and are not typically participating in DNA binding Thus, this investigation led to the discovery of a putative novel winged-helix domain in SAMD1, which has not been annotated before. Given that the Polycomb-like proteins bind to unmethylated CpG-motifs also via a winged-helix domain 1.7As mentioned before, SAMD1 has been described to be a secreted protein 1.8In summary, starting from the question of whether there are more CpG-binding proteins, we explored literature and came across SAMD1 as a potential candidate. It was an unexpected finding, given that SAMD1 has been described to be secreted and to be involved in Atherosclerosis 1.9Despite our structural and molecular biological characterization of SAMD1, many aspects of SAMD1 remain to be explored. What else can be learned about hardly characterized proteins, using the available resources? It is always useful to search for publications, where the gene/protein of interest is mentioned. Many of those publications cannot be found by standard literature search, but instead can only be detected by smart and extensive internet research, given that the relevant information is buried in the figures or the supplementary data. For SAMD1 several publications can be found, where it has been linked to certain diseases. For example, a non-synonymous nonvariant of SAMD1 has been associated via GWAS with the severity of symptoms upon a malaria infection www.uniprot.org) https://www.phosphosite.org/) https://gtexportal.org/) https://www.proteinatlas.org/) http://gepia.cancer-pku.cn/) https://xenabrowser.net/) https://www.cbioportal.org/) https://depmap.org/) https://orcs.thebiogrid.org/) Besides looking for specific publications, we recommend making use of the many available databases in the internet to gather information about known or unknown proteins. Basic information about a protein, such as its sequence and annotated domains, are comprehensively included into the UniProt database  erroneous annotation of SAMD1 with a protein length of 432 amino acids, which has been obtained during early human genome assemblies Besides those general database problems, the naming of SAMD1 as “Atherin” may have led to a misjudging of the protein. “Atherin” sounds like a typical mass-spectrometry contaminant, such as Tubulin or Albumin. SAMD1 may have been dismissed by others as a protein of interest, simply because of its name. Only a more careful investigation can reveal that SAMD1 is much less commonly found in mass-spectrometry experiments than classical contaminants, such as TUBB3 (Tubulin) and ALB (Albumin) et al.Nonetheless, despite those obstacles, the discovery of SAMD1 is a great example for the opportunities that lay in the enormous amount of freely accessible material. Starting from the initial sighting of SAMD1 in Bartke In summary, our excursion into the discovery of SAMD1 demonstrates that it is not always required to perform experiments to identify potential interesting candidates for a research question. It is possible to find exciting proteins by critical investigating the available literature, databases and by utilizing appropriate tools. Experience with those utilities will permit to exclude unsuitable candidates and to identify interesting candidates, which could allow to skip time-consuming and cost-intensive screening experiments and start directly with validation experiments, as we have done it for SAMD1 Bastian Stielow: Investigation, Writing - review & editing. Clara Simon: Investigation, Writing - review & editing. Robert Liefke: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing - original draft, Visualization, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition.The authors declare no conflict of interest.


Vascular aging, aortic stiffness and hypertension are mechanistically interrelated. The perspective presented here will focus mainly on the molecular mechanisms of age-associated increases in the stiffness of the vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC). This review will highlight the mechanisms by which the VSMC contributes to disorders of vascular aging. Distinct functional sub-components of the vascular cell and the molecular mechanisms of the protein-protein interactions, signaling mechanisms and intracellular trafficking processes in the setting of the aging aorta will be detailed. Vascular aging has been stated to be a key clinical factor in the determination of the health of the vascular system . With agin vivo aortic stiffness [measured by carotid femoral pulse wave velocity (CFPWV)] is a strong predictor of the progression of hypertension  also act as epigenetic effectors . In smooex vivo.In the young adult mouse model, interactions between components of the cytoskeleton are dynamic, transient and reversible and do not lead to lasting changes in stiffness . But, asin vivo, particularly in the human.It is important to point out that these decoy peptides were designed to be targeted to the aorta but, in theory, it should also be possible to design a variant of these peptides to target molecular interactions in the peripheral vasculature or the resistance vessels and to decrease blood pressure rather than aortic stiffness. The vasoactive peptide approach is effective in decreasing vascular contractility and hence could be useful to tackle hypertension, but a means of successfully targeting the peptides to specific resistance vessel beds would need to be developed. Nicholson et al.  demonstrThus far few, if any, cytoskeletal targets have been identified for the development of potential therapeutics to treat or prevent hypertension or aortic stiffness. However, the studies cited above provide a limited proof of concept that such targets may be useful as prototype therapeutic approaches for the treatment of, not only hypertension, but also aortic stiffness associated with aging.Recently, basic science investigators interested in molecular mechanisms of arterial stiffness have asked the question of whether sex-specific differences exist. Indeed, many differences between the sexes have been reported , 87, at in vivo counterparts [As most of the published aortic stiffness research work has used cells and tissues obtained from non-human origin, it may not directly lead to therapeutic interventions to treat increased aortic stiffness in humans. Cells and tissues derived from human subjects may provide better insights into understanding the age dependent increase in aortic stiffness but are difficult to obtain. Patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) may provide a way to study vascular diseases as these cells can carry pathological features similar to those in the human tissues . Multiplterparts , 89, iPS


In days of scar less surgeries it has become necessary for otologists to concentrate on tympanoplasties without external incisions. This study compares the anatomical and functional results of tragal perichondrium graft and perichondrium-cartilage composite graft for transcanal endoscopic tympanoplasties in Himalayan region.This prospective study included 60 subjects of chronic otitis media , who underwent transcanal endoscopic underlay type I tympanoplasty and were divided into two groups. In 30 cases tragal perichondrium graft and in rest of 30 cases Tragal perichondrium Cartilage composite graft was used. Anatomical and functional outcomes were evaluated at 6 months time.Hearing gain comparing Audiometric data between the tragal perichondrial graft group and tragal perichondrial cartilage composite graft group at 6 months showed no statistically significant differences (P= 0.9533). Assessment of anatomical outcome indicated a greater number of complications in the tragal perichondrial graft group although it was not statistically significant . Functional results validated both the grafting material while anatomical results are slightly better in tragal perichondrial cartilage composite graft group in term of re perforation and retraction. Moreover use of tragal grafts endoscopic tympanoplasty fulfils its true meaning as no visible scar and post operative patient morbidity is prevented. Different grafting materials have been used for repair of perforated tympanic membrane and osscicular chain reconstruction. An ideal grafting material is one which has low rejection rate, adequate tensile strength, and similar vibratory function like tympanic membrane. It is adequate in quantity and available near surgical site. Temporalis fascia remains the graft of choice by most otologists. For harvesting temporalis fascia we need an external incision which not only carries risk of scar but also chances of numbness in the area. Nevertheless, it has been associated with 25 -30% of re-perforations in type 1 tympanoplasty  and tragal perichondrium cartilagecomposite graft (group B) for a follow up period of six months in high altitude Himalayan region. This study also happens to be first of its kind which compares tragal perichondrium and tragal perichondrium composite graft in single handed endoscopic transcanal type I tympanoplasty technique without any external scar. under microscope. A pair of small pointed scissor was use to separate soft tissue from medial surface of tragal cartilage. An incision was made in medial perichondrial layer and it was elevated using round and flap knife in cases of tragal perichondrial graft. In tragal perichondrial-cartilage composite graft lateral perichondrial layer is separated using sharp dissection while medial perichondrium along with cartilage is incised and taken as composite graft. Incision was closed using 4-0 vicryl. Wedge resection of cartilage from the peripheral to central region of the tragal perichondrial graft for placement of malleus handle was performed.The cartilage graft was sliced using slicer to 0.5 mm thickness. Perforation margins were freshened and tympanosclerotic patches were dissected and removed. Incision at osseocartiliginous junction was made and tympanomeatal flap along with annulus was elevated.Entire Middle ear cavity with all the ventilator pathways including anterior and posterior tympanic isthmus was inspected for glue, granulations and disease cleared.Ossicular integrity was checked and round window reflex was elicited. In few cases where handle of malleus was too medialized, handle of malleus was cut using malleus nipper. Graft placed under handle of malleus in perichondrial group and fitted as lock and key in wedge shaped space of tragal perichondrial cartilage graft group . The midAudiologyth postoperative month. Pure tone average was calculated using frequencies 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz. The Air Bone gap was calculated preoperatively and postoperatively and distributed in four groups <10dB HL (decibel Hearing Label) , 11dBHL to 20 dB HL ,21dB HL-30dB HL, >31dB HL.Pure tone audiometry was done preoperatively and compared to audiogram taken in 6Otoendoscopic evaluationrdmonth and 6th month to inspect neomembrane and especially to see for anterior graft failure In this study postoperativeAir conductionthreshold (ACT) of two groups was significantly better as compared to pre-operative air conduction thresholds  .In tragal perichondrial graft PG (group A) preoperative mean ACT was 33.3dB HL (SD ± 2.7dB HL) whereas postoperative mean ACT was 20.6 dBHL (SD±4.2dB HL). In tragalperichondrial-cartilage composite PCG (group B) the preoperative mean ACT was 33.3dBHL (SD±2.7dB HL) whereas postoperative mean ACT was 21.2dB HL (SD ±4.4dB HL). As shown in .But, when the postoperative ACT of both the groups was compared it was statistically not significant (P= 0.9533).Probably this is the first study which evaluates the anatomical and functional aspects of ideal graft for transcanal endoscopic type I tympanoplasties without any external visible scar. Tragus is the only area available for grafting material in scar less surgeries as scar on medial aspect of tragus is hidden; this provides membranous and cartilaginous graft from the same site and does not need large incision for harvesting. The benefit of this approach goes beyond cosmetics. It also has less chances of infection, less post-operative pain, numbness and shortened recovery time. Moreover, endoscope bypasses the narrow segment of ear canal and provides otologists a wide field view that allows the surgeon to look all around even with 0 degree endoscope which helps in improving results of tympanoplasties.7and Chen XW et al.  and Air Bone gap closure (ABG) .Similar results were also observed in other studies De Seta E et al , MatthewW et al.  But whenIn anatomical aspect, graft uptake rate  was 90% in tragal perichondrial graft while it was 94% in tragal perichondrial cartilage composite graft group at the end of one month. The anterior graft failure of 10% in tragal perichondrium group may be due to shrinkage of graft while in tragal perichondrial cartilage group anterior graft failure is 6.6% which may be due to curling of edges of sliced cartilages due to curling of perichondrium on same side. Tos has mentioned four anticurling incisions which may help to solve this. This is statistically insignificant (P>0.05).The results are almost similar to study done by Deseta et al. . In thisThe strength of present study was selection of subjects and skill of single surgeon to reduce subject variability and results. This made present study more academically beneficial, more homogeneous and easy to compare.This study concluded that both the grafting material for transcanal endoscopic type I tympanoplasty give similar functional results but from anatomical perspective tragal perichondrial cartilage composite graft is superior for no scar tympanoplasties. This study lacked long term follow up and had limited number of participants. It demands studies with long term follow up and similar grafting material for better comparison. If similar results are expected to be seen in large studies with long term follow up then tragal perichondrial cartilage graft can be the preferred choice for transcanal endoscopic type I tympanoplasties with no scar. More over with use of tragal grafts endoscopic tympanoplasty fulfils its true meaning as no visible scar and post operative patient morbidity is prevented.


Tumor invasion into the inferior vena cava (IVC) and hepatic vein (HV) is challenging in cancer surgery with curative intent. Appropriate techniques for venous reconstruction are essential. We have described in detail a novel technique of fashioning an interposition tube graft using the falciform ligament to reconstruct the IVC and HV. The falciform ligament maintains all the benefits of an autologous tissue graft, with the added advantage of its flexibility in customizing graft dimensions. Its use in IVC and HV reconstruction has rarely been reported. The short-term outcomes with this tube graft are promising. The tumor was inseparable from the right kidney and right adrenal gland. The surgical plan was en bloc tumor resection with right nephrectomy and adrenalectomy, and IVC resection with reconstruction. After laparotomy, the Cattell-Braasch maneuver was performed, exposing the IVC, aorta, and left renal vein. The infrarenal IVC was isolated and encircled. The right liver was fully mobilized and medially rotated, exposing the retrohepatic IVC, which was isolated and encircled. The left renal vein was then isolated and encircled (b). The right kidney and adrenal gland were mobilized en bloc with the retroperitoneal tumor, followed by ligation and division of the right ureter. The falciform ligament was harvested in its entirety by dissecting close to the anterior abdominal wall and anterior surface of the liver. The falciform ligament was wrapped around a 20-mL syringe (a). The edges of the falciform ligament were apposed using continuous 4-0 Prolene suture, and excess adipose tissue was dissected off to fashion a tube graft (b). The tube graft was tailored to the appropriate length and marked longitudinally using a skin marker to ensure alignment during reconstruction (c). The right renal artery was ligated and divided. The infrarenal IVC, retrohepatic IVC, and left renal vein were temporarily clamped, and a 7-cm segment of IVC was resected with the tumor. The IVC was reconstructed using the falciform ligament interposition tube graft with retrohepatic IVC and infrarenal IVC end-to-end anastomoses using 5-0 Prolene suture in a continuous, single layer with a 1-cm “growth factor” (d). The left renal vein was implanted onto the tube graft using 6-0 Prolene suture in a continuous, single-layer, end-to-side triangular manner with a 1-cm “growth factor”  and left renal vein (g).A 55-year-old woman had presented with a 12-cm retroperitoneal leiomyosarcoma with direct invasion into the IVC extending from the retrohepatic portion to the infrarenal portion , a. The ncircled , b. The  syringe , a. The be graft , b. The truction , c. The  factor” , d. The ctor” e; . The patctor” e; , f and lnal vein , g.Fig 1a). The surgical plan was right superior segmentectomy (segment VII/VIII) and right HV resection with reconstruction. After laparotomy, the falciform ligament was harvested in a manner similar to that used for our first patient. The right and left triangular ligaments of the liver were mobilized to the level of the IVC and the origins of the right HV, and the common trunk of the middle and left HV insertion were isolated and encircled for outflow control. The hepatoduodenal ligament was encircled for inflow control. The hepatic transection line was determined using intraoperative ultrasound. Parenchymal transection was performed using a cavitron ultrasonic surgical aspirator with intermittent Pringle maneuvers as required. Dissection was performed to isolate the right HV at the cephalad and caudal margins of the tumor. The proximal and distal ends of the right HV were temporarily clamped, and the tumor was resected en bloc with a 6-cm segment of right HV. The falciform ligament tube graft was fashioned using a method similar to that for the previous case. The tube graft was wrapped around a 28F silicone tube, and the edges of the falciform ligament were apposed using continuous 6-0 Prolene suture (b). End-to-end venous anastomoses with the interposition tube graft were performed using continuous 6-0 Prolene suture with a 1-cm “growth factor” (c and d). Intraoperative Doppler ultrasound was used to confirm patency of the right HV. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 10 without complications and was instructed to take aspirin 80 mg once daily for 6 months. A follow-up computed tomography scan at 7 weeks after surgery showed a patent reconstructed right HV (e).A 61-year-old hepatitis B carrier had presented with a 6-cm hepatocellular carcinoma at segment VII/VIII with direct tumor invasion into the right HV , a. The e suture , b. End- factor” , c and dright HV , e.Fig 3,f) suggests a degree of graft compression; hence, both patients were prescribed antiplatelet therapy to promote graft patency and reduce the risk of graft thrombosis. It is anticipated that the establishment of an adequate, albeit imperfect, venous conduit would allow collateral vessels to develop over time. An increased caseload and experience would undoubtedly lead to an improved technique and better graft size assessment. Nonetheless, the benefits of using the falciform ligament are multifold. First, harvesting the falciform ligament is easy to perform and obviates the requirement for a separate incision for autologous vein harvest and the associated donor site morbidities. Second, the falciform ligament is readily available in most patients and provides a high degree of flexibility, facilitating custom tube grafts to be tailored for the individual patient. This is an expedient option, especially when the need for reconstruction is unexpected and other types of synthetic grafts are not available immediately. Third, because the falciform ligament is entirely parietal peritoneum, no “sidedness” exists with the constructed tube graft, further supporting its ease of use. Fourth, the use of this autograft reduces the risks of infection and thrombosis. Finally, its cost-effective availability has been well demonstrated.In the present report, we have illustrated the technique of using the falciform ligament as an autologous interposition tube graft for IVC and HV reconstruction. Although polytetrafluoroethylene is the standard graft material for IVC reconstruction with excellent long-term results,The reconstruction of the IVC and HV in complex hepatobiliary and abdominal surgery using the falciform ligament as an interposition tube graft is feasible and effective. The short-term outcomes in terms of graft patency are encouraging. However, the long-term outcomes must be established.


Moreover, kidney graft function (p = 0.494) and survival (p = 0.461) were not significantly influenced by early pancreas graft loss. (4) Conclusion: In this study, using the landmark analysis technique, early pancreas graft loss within 3 months did not significantly impact patient or kidney graft survival over 10 years.(1) Background: Simultaneous pancreas–kidney transplantation (SPKT) is a standard therapeutic option for patients with diabetes mellitus type I and kidney failure. Early pancreas allograft failure is a complication potentially associated with worse outcomes. (2) Methods: We performed a landmark analysis to assess the impact of early pancreas graft loss within 3 months on mortality and kidney graft survival over 10 years. This retrospective single-center study included 114 adult patients who underwent an SPKT between 2005 and 2018. (3) Results: Pancreas graft survival rate was 85.1% at 3 months. The main causes of early pancreas graft loss were thrombosis (6.1%), necrosis (2.6%), and pancreatitis (2.6%). Early pancreas graft loss was not associated with reduced patient survival ( Simultaneous pancreas–kidney transplantation (SPKT) is considered the best therapeutic option for patients with diabetes mellitus type I and kidney failure ,2. When The aim of this study was to perform a landmark analysis to assess the impact of early pancreas graft loss within 3 months on kidney graft function and patient survival over 10 years after SPKT. In this retrospective single-center study, we included all 114 adult patients who consecutively received an SPKT between January 2005 and December 2018 at the transplant center Charité Campus Virchow Klinikum in Berlin. All patients had diabetes mellitus type I and had to fulfill the Eurotransplant eligibility criteria, as Germany is part of Eurotransplant. These only include patients with negative C-peptide levels (<0.5 ng/mL) or diabetes type I-specific antibody positivity. SPKT in diabetes mellitus type II patients is only allowed in strictly exceptional cases in the Eurotransplant region . Our elePrimary immunosuppression in all SPKT recipients (SPKTR) was based on a triple-drug regimen with tacrolimus , mycophenolate (MPA), either mycophenolate mofetil (MMF)  or enteric coated mycophenolic sodium (ECMPS) , and steroids. Tacrolimus was initially dosed at 0.15 mg/kg/d, and trough levels were maintained at 8–10 ng/mL for 6 months and at 5–7 ng/mL afterwards. Initial daily MMF dosage was 2 g/day. All SPKTRs received induction therapy with a lymphocyte-depleting agent (antithymocyte globulin (ATG)) . In case of contraindications for ATG, an IL-2R antagonist (basiliximab)  was used.Donor pancreas and kidney were procured from deceased donors with adequate organ quality for combined kidney pancreas transplantation. All organs were procured as donations after brain death (DBD), since organs from donation after circulatory death (DCD) are not available in Germany. The pancreas was placed in the abdomen using caval drainage for venous outflow. Arterial inflow from the right common iliac artery was established using a Y graft of the donor’s iliac bifurcation to the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and splenic artery, and enteric drainage of exocrine secretions was established using a duodenojejunostomy. The kidney was placed in the recipient’s left iliac fossa with vascular anastomoses to the iliac vessels and ureterocystoneostomy.In the immediate post-transplant period, patients were treated with unfractionated heparin (UFH) with a targeted activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) of 45–50 s to prevent vascular thrombosis of the graft. In cases of partial thrombosis detected on routine ultrasound examinations or by computer tomography (CT), which is usually performed on clinical indication, patients were treated with elevated targeted aPTT of 60–80 s or with therapeutic weight-adjusted doses of low-molecular-weight heparin to prevent further apposition.Kidney graft failure was defined as return to maintenance dialysis, allograft nephrectomy, or re-transplantation . DelayedDonor and recipient characteristics are shown as means with standard deviation or, in case of non-normal distribution, as median with interquartile range (IQR of 25th and 75th percentile). Statistical significance of the differences between groups for continuous variables were tested using student’s t-test or Mann–Whitney-U test in case of a non-parametric distribution and chi-squared test for categorical variables. Fisher’s exact test was used to analyze binary data. The significance level was set to α = 0.05. Kaplan–Meier and logistic analyses were performed to determine graft and patient survival with a confidence interval of 95%. The Kaplan–Meier landmark for analyses for kidney graft and patient survival was set at month 3 to avoid time-dependent effects  . Patientp = 0.931) and BMI (23.4 kg/m2 (IQR 21.4–26) vs. 23.4 kg/m2 (IQR 20.6–26), p = 0.706). Donor age was young for both groups . Kidney donor profile indices (KDPI) as well as pancreas donor risk indices (PDRI) were similarly low in both groups  suffered from early pancreas graft loss within 3 months. Median follow-up time of the whole cohort was 6.6 (IQR 4.1–10.7) years. Recipients of both groups (functioning graft vs. early graft loss) were similar in age . The main causes of pancreas graft loss were thrombosis (6.1%), necrosis (2.6%) and pancreatitis (2.6%). Other causes included chronic pancreatic graft failure, chronic rejection, bleeding, mycotic aneurysm   and the patients with early pancreas graft loss within 3 months  . Patientp = 0.461)  vs. early pancreas graft loss: 92.9%  . During The incidence of kidney graft failure was overall low. The individual causes are listed in Delayed kidney graft function and biopsy-proven rejections occurred at similar rates in both groups. Estimated GFR at 1 year and MACCE at 10 year post-transplant did not significantly differ between patients with pancreas graft loss and functioning graft. As expected, HbA1c was significantly higher in the group of patients with early pancreas loss .This contemporary retrospective single-center study shows that early post-transplant pancreas graft loss (within 3 months) does not significantly affect patient survival or kidney graft function over a follow-up period of 10 years. The purpose of using the landmark analysis technique was to estimate the survival probabilities with no time-to-event bias ,30. BaseIn contrast to older studies ,17, we dThrombosis was the main cause for early pancreas graft loss. Other causes were necrosis, pancreatitis, chronic pancreatic graft failure, chronic rejection, bleeding, and mycotic aneurysm. These results are in line with previous reports ,16,35. DKidney graft failure can occur secondary to complications resulting from loss of the pancreas graft, most commonly during sepsis or systemic inflammatory response syndrome . While iImportantly, survival for SPKT recipients is superior to that of waitlisted patients who remain on dialysis . HoweverOur study has strengths and limitations. Its strengths include a contemporary cohort with a complete and extensive data set of donors and recipients undergoing a rather uniform treatment regimen. The baseline characteristics of the compared groups were homogeneous. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that the impact of early pancreas graft failure on long-term outcomes was analyzed by the landmark analysis technique to avoid immortal-time bias. The study is limited by its retrospective, single-center nature and the number of patients. Due to the small number of patients with early pancreas graft loss, a multivariate analysis on risk factors was not feasible. The choice of the time point to set the landmark can be discussed, as a potential limitation of landmark analyses in general. The composition of the cohort was predominantly Caucasian, and therefore, the results may not be generalizable to other ethnic groups. Moreover, only transplantation after brain death was evaluated, since donation after circulatory death is prohibited in Germany.In conclusion, this study using the landmark analysis technique showed that early pancreas graft loss within 3 months does not significantly impact mortality or kidney graft survival and function over 10 years. These findings should encourage the listing of patients with diabetes type I and kidney failure for SPKT.


Evaluating the performance of reinforced concrete (RC) structures during earthquakes and the resultant damage in the structures depends on an accurate load–displacement relationship. Several experimental and analytical evaluation methods for load–displacement relationships have been proposed and specified in current design standards. However, there have been few quantitative studies on the impact of drying on the yielding behavior of RC members, including evaluations of the effective stiffness of members. In this study, to investigate changes in the mechanical properties of RC beam–slab members due to drying of the concrete, cyclic loading tests are conducted on two RC beam–slab members with and without drying. It is found that the lateral structural stiffness of the specimen with drying decreased to 77% that of the specimen without drying. This is verified in the calculation of the flexural stiffness. In this calculation, it is assumed that drying shrinkage decreases the moment of inertia of the slab in tension but not in compression. Meanwhile, no difference is observed in the flexural capacity and yield displacement between the two specimens. Thus, there is no significant impact from drying shrinkage in RC beam–slab members on the lateral structural performance, while the shrinkage instead induces greater flexural cracking, which reduces the residual stresses in the specimen with drift leading to a gradual decrease in the impact of drying. Evaluating the responses of reinforced concrete (RC) structures during earthquakes and the resultant damage in the structures depends on an accurate load–displacement relationship. The load–displacement relationship is controlled by the stiffness of RC members, which relies on several other factors such as the geometry of the section, material properties, and acting load. Much study has focused on understanding and defining the effective stiffness of RC structures ,2,3,4,5.However, studies by the authors have shown that the frequency of concrete structures decreases  with the change in material properties with age and for different curing conditions ,14,15,16For concrete mixtures with an ordinary concrete strength level, the amount of water used is greater than that required for the hydration of ordinary Portland cement in order to achieve better workability. Consequently, even 28 days after casting, the internal relative humidity is quite high, and if the concrete is exposed to a typical environment, it starts to dry and shrink. The hardened cement paste (hcp), which has a binder role in concrete, shrinks under drying. While the mechanism for this phenomenon is still under discussion, capillary tension, surface energy, disjoining pressure ,18,19,20Aggregates in concrete exhibit relatively less shrinkage than that of hcp under a drying condition. Considering the larger Young’s modulus of aggregates as compared to that of hcp, the aggregates in concrete restrain the shrinkage of hcp. Consequently, cracks occur around the aggregate ,24. ShriFor RC structures, the drying shrinkage of concrete is restrained by the reinforcing bars and other connecting RC members. This results in a tensile stress leading to cracking in the concrete, which also reduces the structural stiffness of the RC member. Tanimura et al.  proposedBased on these results, similar to the results for RC shear walls, the effect of drying must play a significant role in RC beam–slab members. However, there have been few quantitative studies on the mechanical properties of beam–slab members with concrete drying. The purpose of this study is to investigate changes in the mechanical properties of RC beam–slab members due to the drying of concrete. Cyclic loading tests are conducted on two specimens with varying curing conditions, with and without drying. One specimen is tested immediately after long-term curing in water, and the other specimen is tested after curing with exposure to the air so that the concrete dries sufficiently. The authors  have alrTwo identical specimens were developed to represent a 1 span × 1 span floor at a one-third scale. The specimen has two large beams sandwiching two slabs and one sub-beam. The large beam has a 200 mm × 300 mm cross section and that of the sub-beam is 150 mm × 250 mm. The thickness of the slab is 80 mm. The ends of the beams and the slab are restrained by stubs. Although it is assumed that the torsional stiffness and drying shrinkage restraint from the stubs will be higher than in actual structures, the impact of the restraints on the structural performance of the specimens is neglected in this study. The longitudinal reinforcement ratios of the large beams, sub-beams, and slabs are 1.7%, 1.7%, and 0.4%, respectively. The longitudinal reinforcements are anchored to the stubs. The transverse reinforcements for the large beams and sub-beams are sufficient to prevent shear failure, as shown in cf, tf, cE, and ftG in The mixture proportion and properties of the fresh concrete are presented in sE, yf, and uf are the Young’s modulus, yield strength, and ultimate strength, respectively, obtained from property tests. The values shown in The rebar properties are presented in rε is the shrinkage strain in restrained concrete, and fε is the shrinkage strain in unrestrained concrete.Two identical specimens, wet and dried, were cast and cured simultaneously until sufficient hydration was achieved. The wet specimen was loaded after 110 days of curing in water, as shown in The longitudinal and transverse displacements of the specimen were measured to obtain the shrinkage strain during drying, as shown in Y-direction in X-direction and rotation about the X- and Z-axes were restrained by the loading frame placed on the specimen. The signs in The specimens were installed in the loading system shown in Horizontal loading was applied starting from the positive direction and cyclic loading was applied repeatedly to the specimen in the following sequence: The first three cycles were controlled by loads of ±10, ±20, and ±30 kN, and cycles after the third cycle were controlled by relative displacement between the top and bottom stubs, as shown in During the 318 days of curing, shrinkage cracks were observed on the dried specimen as shown in V is estimated from the positive and negative moment capacities M+ and M− asThe maximum load-carrying capacities of the wet and dried specimens from the experimental results were 250 and 275 kN, respectively, which is close to the ultimate capacity of 262 kN obtained from the sectional analysis. This indicates that the drying does not affect the ultimate capacity.K0, crack capacity crV, yield capacity yV, and effective yield stiffness yK are given as follows.K0 can be estimated based on the elastic bending theory of a beam asD is the entire beam depth. The additional lengths D/2 and D are different between the standards and correspond to the reduction of the elastic stiffness of members at both edges due to the degradation of the rotational stiffness at the cross section near both edges.The initial lateral structural stiffness The estimated lateral structural stiffness is compared to the experimental lateral structural stiffness in crV was calculated from the average positive and negative crack moments (crM+ and crM−) from both standards asThe flexural crack capacity yV was calculated from the average positive and negative yield moments (yM+ and yM−) in both standards asSimilarly, the yield capacity sA is the area of longitudinal tension reinforcement of each component (assumed as zero for the slab when the slab is in compression), j is the lever arm length (0.9d for the large beam and 0.9d − sd for the sub-beam and slab), d is the effective depth, and sd is the distance between the slab and sub-beam’s tension rebar, from the tension rebar in the large beam, n is total number of components.yK is specified in the AIJ standard as the product of the initial lateral structural stiffness and the stiffness reduction factor yα [n is the modular ratio, tp is the ratio of sA to bd, b is the width of each component, and For the effective yield stiffness, actor αy :(11)Ky=αy is given by yV/yKα0ℓ. Although the contribution of the effective width to the lateral structural stiffness and capacity is considered in the AIJ standards, here, the contribution of the whole slab is considered, owing to the presence of the stubs. As shown in Therefore, the drift at the yielding point ΔThe yield drift nearly equal for both specimens, even though a lower load-carrying capacity was observed in the dried specimen before yielding. For both specimens, the reinforcement of the slab yields first, followed by yielding of the rebar of the sub-beam and large beams. However, yielding of rebars of dried specimen particularly slab rebars is delayed. The first yielding of the slab rebar is observed at a drift of 0.25% for both specimens; the load-carrying capacity for the wet specimen is approximately 125 kN, whereas that for the dried specimen is 105 kN, as shown in The first flexural crack was observed at 30 kN for both specimens in the loading test, and after the continuous loading cycles, more cracks appeared and propagated. The crack pattern observed after the cycle with 2% drift is shown in As shown in the previous section, the impact of drying is indicated by the lateral structural stiffness, crack distribution, and reinforcement yielding. In this section, the mechanism for this impact is discussed in terms of the flexural stiffness as affected by shrinkage cracks.As a result of the drying, in the load–drift relationship, a difference in the lateral structural stiffness was observed, as shown in M–ϕ relationship, the flexural moment at a cross section at the edges of the slab is estimated to be the product of horizontal load and contraflexure height. Assuming the strain distribution is linear between 450 mm and the mid-height of the specimen, the contraflexure point is identified as the point of zero strain along the height of the specimen from the stub. To verify the differences in lateral structural stiffness for the slab in compression and tension, the experimental flexural stiffness is discussed. Since this can be obtained from the ε1 is the strain of the top reinforcement, ε2 is the strain of the bottom reinforcement, and d1 is the distance between the top and bottom reinforcement.As shown in M−ϕ relationship for the wet and dried specimens is compared with the sectional analysis results for the slab in compression and tension in The The decrease in the lateral structural stiffness ratio between the two specimens to 0.77 as shown in Although a considerable difference in the initial lateral structural stiffness was observed between the wet specimen and dried specimen, the changes in final yield stiffness and final yield capacity were not clear. For the slab in tension for the dried specimen, the drift exhibited at yielding was similar to that of the wet specimen. In contrast, for the slab in compression, the yielding points for the wet and dried specimens in the experiment and analysis were nearly identical. As Achiha et al. (2020)  concludeAlthough a maximum drying shrinkage strain of −650 μ developed in the specimen cured in the open air, the strain became approximately one-fifth of the average value due to shrinkage cracks that appeared during curing.The lateral structural stiffness of the specimen with drying was decreased to 77% of that of the specimen without drying. The reduction of the lateral structural stiffness due to shrinkage was verified through the calculation of the flexural stiffness, considering that the drying shrinkage decreases the moment of inertia of the slab in tension but not in compression .The reduction ratio of the lateral structural stiffness of the dried specimen to that of the wet specimen does not linearly correlate to the ratio of the flexural stiffness, due to the location of shrinkage-induced cracks that were formed around the edges of the specimen where the specimen was connected to the stub.For both specimens and with and without drying, no difference was observed in the drift where the reinforcing bars in the main beams yielded. This is because the drying shrinkage-induced cracks released the accumulated tensile stress in the concrete, and the self-balancing-stress in the reinforcing bars was released or easily released during the cyclic loading process.In this study, to investigate the effect of changes in material properties due to drying on the mechanical characteristics of reinforced concrete (RC) beam–slab members, cyclic loading tests were conducted on two RC beam–slab specimens cured under two different conditions: with and without drying. From a comparison of the experimental results for the two specimens, the following conclusions are obtained:Mechanism of impact of drying as concluded in this study is well applicable to similar kind of structures. Therefore, drying can be considered for reinforced concrete structures design through this mechanism for a serviceable and durable structure.