Recent Progress in Fabrication of Electrospun Nanofiber Membranes for Developing Physiological In Vitro Organ/Tissue Models.

Nanofiber membranes (NFMs), which have an extracellular matrix-mimicking structure and unique physical properties, have garnered great attention as biomimetic materials for developing physiologically relevant in vitro organ/tissue models. Recent progress in NFM fabrication techniques immensely contributes to the development of NFM-based cell culture platforms for constructing physiological organ/tissue models. However, despite the significance of the NFM fabrication technique, an in-depth discussion of the fabrication technique and its future aspect is insufficient. This review provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art of NFM fabrication techniques from electrospinning techniques to postprocessing techniques for the fabrication of various types of NFM-based cell culture platforms. Moreover, the advantages of the NFM-based culture platforms in the construction of organ/tissue models are discussed especially for tissue barrier models, spheroids/organoids, and biomimetic organ/tissue constructs. Finally, the review concludes with perspectives on challenges and future directions for fabrication and utilization of NFMs.

Facile and adhesive-free method for bonding nanofiber membrane onto thermoplastic polystyrene substrate to fabricate 3D cell culture platforms.

Nanofiber (NF) membranes have been highlighted as functional materials for biomedical applications owing to their high surface-to-volume ratios, high permeabilities, and extracellular matrix-like biomimetic structures. Because many in vitro platforms for biomedical applications are made of thermoplastic polymers (TP), a simple and leak-free method for bonding NF membranes onto TP platforms is essential. Here, we propose a facile but leak-free localized thermal bonding method for integrating 2D or 3D-structured NF membrane onto a TP supporting substrate while preserving the pristine nanofibrous structure of the membrane, based on localized preheating of the substrate. A methodology for determining the optimal preheating temperature was devised based on a numerical simulation model considering the melting temperature of the NF material and was experimentally validated by evaluating bonding stability and durability under cell culture conditions. The thermally-bonded interface between the NF membrane and TP substrate was maintained stably for 3 weeks allowing the successful construction of an intestinal barrier model. The applicability of the localized thermal bonding method was also demonstrated on various combinations of TP materials (e.g., polystyrene and polymethylmethacrylate) and geometries of the supporting substrate, including a culture insert and microfluidic chip. We expect the proposed localized thermal bonding method to contribute toward broadening and realizing the practical applications of functional NF membranes in various biomedical fields.

Pharmacokinetic Drug Interaction between Tofacitinib and Voriconazole in Rats.

Fungal infections are prevalent in patients with immune diseases. Voriconazole, a triazole antifungal drug, inhibits the cytochromes CYP3A4 and CYP2C, and tofacitinib, a Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, is metabolized by CYP3A4 and CYP2C19 in humans. Here, we investigated their interaction during simultaneous administration of both drugs to rats, either intravenously or orally. The area under the plasma concentration-time curve from time zero to time infinity (AUC) of tofacitinib was significantly greater, by 166% and 171%, respectively, and the time-averaged non-renal clearance (CLNR) of tofacitinib was significantly slower (59.5%) than that for tofacitinib alone. An in vitro metabolism study showed non-competitive inhibition of tofacitinib metabolism in the liver and intestine by voriconazole. The concentration/apparent inhibition constant (Ki) ratios of voriconazole were greater than two, indicating that the inhibition of tofacitinib metabolism could be due to the inhibition of the CYP3A1/2 and CYP2C11 enzymes by voriconazole. The pharmacokinetics of voriconazole were not affected by the co-administration of tofacitinib. In conclusion, the significantly greater AUC and slower CLNR of tofacitinib after intravenous and oral administration of both drugs were attributable to the non-competitive inhibition of tofacitinib metabolism via CYP3A1/2 and CYP2C11 by voriconazole in rats.

Automated Algorithm for Removing Clutter Objects in Mms Point Cloud for 3D Road Mapping.

Road information high definition maps (HD map) contain information about the facilities around the roads and are often constructed through a mobile mapping system (MMS). Although constructing an HD map is essential for road maintenance and the application of autonomous driving in the future, it is problematic to acquire the data of objects other than the facilities in an unstructured form while operating the MMS. In this study, the researchers define this object data as clutter objects and present a method of automatic removal using characteristics of the MMS and image segmentation techniques. By applying the method to 10 KITTI (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago) datasets, clutter objects were removed with an average overall accuracy of 91% with 0% (0.448%) error of commission for the complete point cloud map.

Utilization of a Terrestrial Laser Scanner for the Calibration of Mobile Mapping Systems.

This paper proposes a practical calibration solution for estimating the boresight and lever-arm parameters of the sensors mounted on a Mobile Mapping System (MMS). On our MMS devised for conducting the calibration experiment, three network video cameras, one mobile laser scanner, and one Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)/Inertial Navigation System (INS) were mounted. The geometric relationships between three sensors were solved by the proposed calibration, considering the GNSS/INS as one unit sensor. Our solution basically uses the point cloud generated by a 3-dimensional (3D) terrestrial laser scanner rather than using conventionally obtained 3D ground control features. With the terrestrial laser scanner, accurate and precise reference data could be produced and the plane features corresponding with the sparse mobile laser scanning data could be determined with high precision. Furthermore, corresponding point features could be extracted from the dense terrestrial laser scanning data and the images captured by the video cameras. The parameters of the boresight and the lever-arm were calculated based on the least squares approach and the precision of the boresight and lever-arm could be achieved by 0.1 degrees and 10 mm, respectively.