Bioactive 3D Electrohydrodynamic Printed Lattice Architectures Augment Tenogenesis of Tendon Stem/Progenitor Cells.

Tendon defect repair remains a tough clinical procedure that hinders functional motion in patients. Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) three-dimensional (3D) printing, as a novel strategy, can controllably fabricate biomimetic micro/nanoscale architecture, but the hydrophobic and bioinert nature of polymers might be adverse to cell-material interplay. In this work, 3D EHD printed polycaprolactone (PCL) was immobilized on basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) using polydopamine (PDA), and the proliferation and tenogenic differentiation of tendon stem/progenitor cells (TSPCs) in vitro was researched. A subcutaneous model was established to evaluate the effects of tenogenesis and immunomodulation. We then investigated the in situ implantation and immunomodulation effects in an Achilles tendon defect model. After immobilization of bFGF, the scaffolds profoundly facilitated proliferation and tenogenic differentiation; however, PDA had only a proliferative effect. Intriguingly, the bFGF immobilized on EHD printed PCL indicated a synergistic effect on the highest expression of tenogenic gene and protein markers at 14 days, and the tenogenesis may be induced by activating the transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) signal pathway in vitro. The subcutaneous engraftment study confirmed a tendon-like structure, similar to that of the native tendon, as well as an M2 macrophage polarization effect. Additionally, the bioactive scaffold exhibited superior efficacy in new collagen formation and repair of Achilles tendon defects. Our study revealed that the topographic cues alone were insufficient to trigger tenogenic differentiation, requiring appropriate chemical signals, and that appropriate immunomodulation was conducive to tenogenesis. The tenogenesis of TSPCs on the bioactive scaffold may be correlated with the TGF-ß signal pathway and M2 macrophage polarization.

Prediction model of gleason score upgrading after radical prostatectomy based on a bayesian network.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical value of the Gleason score upgrading (GSU) prediction model after radical prostatectomy (RP) based on a Bayesian network. METHODS: The data of 356 patients who underwent prostate biopsy and RP in our hospital from January 2018 to May 2021 were retrospectively analysed. Fourteen risk factors, including age, body mass index (BMI), total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA), prostate volume, total prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD), the number and proportion of positive biopsy cores, PI-RADS score, clinical stage and postoperative pathological characteristics, were included in the analysis. Data were used to establish a prediction model for Gleason score elevation based on the tree augmented naive (TAN) Bayesian algorithm. Moreover, the Bayesia Lab validation function was used to calculate the importance of polymorphic Birnbaum according to the results of the posterior analysis and to obtain the importance of each risk factor. RESULTS: In the overall cohort, 110 patients (30.89%) had GSU. Based on all of the risk factors that were included in this study, the AUC of the model was 81.06%, and the accuracy was 76.64%. The importance ranking results showed that lymphatic metastasis, the number of positive biopsy cores, ISUP stage and PI-RADS score were the top four influencing factors for GSU after RP. CONCLUSIONS: The prediction model of GSU after RP based on a Bayesian network has high accuracy and can more accurately evaluate the Gleason score of prostate biopsy specimens and guide treatment decisions.

Correction: Pyrrolopyrrole aza-BODIPY near-infrared photosensitizer for dual-mode imaging-guided photothermal cancer therapy.

Correction for 'Pyrrolopyrrole aza-BODIPY near-infrared photosensitizer for dual-mode imaging-guided photothermal cancer therapy' by Chaolong Wu et al., Chem. Commun., 2019, 55, 790-793, https://doi.org/10.1039/C8CC07768A.

Programmable Complex Shape Changing of Polysiloxane Main-Chain Liquid Crystalline Elastomers.

Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are shape-morphing materials whose large and reversible shape transformations are caused by the coupling between the mobile anisotropic properties of liquid crystal (LC) units and the rubber elastic of polymer networks. Their shape-changing behaviors under certain stimuli are largely directed by the LC orientation; therefore, various strategies have been developed to spatially modulate the LC alignments. However, most of these methods are limited as they require complex fabrication technologies or have intrinsic limitations in applicability. To address this issue, programmable complex shape changes in some LCE types, such as polysiloxane side-chain LCEs, thiol-acrylate main-chain LCEs, etc., were achieved by using a mechanical alignment programming process coupled with two-step crosslinking. Here, we report a polysiloxane main-chain LCE with programmable 2- and 3D shape-changing abilities that were created by mechanically programming the polydomain LCE with two crosslinking steps. The resulting LCEs exhibited a reversible thermal-induced shape transformation between the initial and programmed shapes due to the two-way memory between the first and second network structures. Our findings expand on the applications of LCE materials in actuators, soft robotics, and smart structures where arbitrary and easily programmed shape morphing is needed.

Application of Improved Robot-assisted Laparoscopic Telesurgery with 5G Technology in Urology.

The demand for telesurgery is rising rapidly, but robust evidence regarding the feasibility of its application in urology is still rare. From March to October 2021, a surgeon-controlled surgical robot in a tertiary hospital in Qingdao was used to remotely conduct robot-assisted laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (RN) in 29 patients located in eight primary hospitals. The median round-trip delay was 26 ms (interquartile range [IQR] 5) and the median distance between the primary hospital and the surgeon was 187 km (IQR 57). Both the master unit and the slave unit were guaranteed by network and mechanical engineers, and surgical assistants were well prepared on the patient side to prevent complications. The primary evaluation metric was the success rate, defined as the percentage of patients who underwent successful remote RN without conversion to other surgical procedures and no major intraoperative or postoperative complications. The results demonstrate that the combination of 5G technology and surgical robots is a novel potential telemedicine-based therapy choice for renal tumors. PATIENT SUMMARY: Our study shows that telesurgery using 5G technology is a safe and feasible treatment option for patients with kidney tumors. The total delay between the remote location and the operating rooms where surgery was being performed was just 200 ms. This approach could reduce health care costs and improve the quality of medical services accessed by patients.

Effect of electrohydrodynamic printing scaffold with different spacing on chondrocyte dedifferentiation.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative disease. Chondrocyte dedifferentiation can accelerate the progress of OA. Three-dimensional printing (3DP) is widely used in tissue regeneration applications. A three-dimensional (3D) culture system with 3D printed scaffolds could reduce the dedifferentiation of chondrocytes during passages, which would be a potential method for chondrocyte expansion. Methods: The viability and proliferation of chondrocytes on scaffolds and effects of scaffolds with 100, 150, 200, 250 or 300 µm spacing on chondrocyte dedifferentiation were analyzed in vitro. The morphology of scaffolds and cell/scaffold constructs was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) was evaluated by Alcian blue staining. The effects of different spacing on chondrocyte dedifferentiation were evaluated by the messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels of cartilage-related genes. Results: With more binding sites, the proliferation and viability of chondrocytes on scaffolds with 100 and 150 µm spacing were better than those with 200, 250 and 300 µm spacing on day 1, but this advantage diminished over time. The histology and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) results showed that 200 µm spacing inhibits chondrocyte dedifferentiation better. Conclusions: 3D printed scaffolds with 200 µm spacing can inhibit chondrocyte dedifferentiation, providing a basis for the future study of 3D printed scaffolds as an effective method for chondrocyte expansion.

Preparation of Cu modified g-C3N4 nanorod bundles for efficiently photocatalytic CO2 reduction.

Carbon nitride-based photocatalysts for CO2 reduction have received great attention. The introduction of transition metals can effectively improve the photocatalytic efficiency of carbon nitride. However, how to introduce transition metals into carbon nitride in more ways remains a challenge. Herein, the Cu modified g-C3N4 nanorod bundles (CCNBs) were prepared by chemical vapor co-deposition using the mixture of urea and chlorophyllin sodium copper salt as precursor. The prepared CCNBs exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity for CO2 reduction. The unique hierarchical structure was beneficial to enhance light harvesting. Besides, the introduction of uniformly dispersed Cu further improved the absorption capacity of visible light, increased active sites, and promoted the separation and transfer of carriers. The CO yield of CCNBs was 5 times higher than that of bulk g-C3N4, and showed excellent stability in cycle experiments. This work provides a strategy to prepare carbon nitride-based photocatalysts for efficient CO2 reduction.

Asymmetric Cellulose/Carbon Nanotubes Membrane with Interconnected Pores Fabricated by Droplet Method for Solar-Driven Interfacial Evaporation and Desalination.

Solar-driven interfacial water purification and desalination have attracted much attention in environmentally friendly water treatment field. The structure design of the photothermal materials is still a critical factor to improve the evaporation performance such as evaporation rate and energy conversion efficiency. Herein, an asymmetric cellulose/carbon nanotubes membrane was designed as the photothermal membrane via a modified droplet method. Under 1 sun irradiation, the evaporation rate and energy efficiency of pure water can reach up to 1.6 kg m-2 h-1 and 89%, respectively. Moreover, stable reusability and desalination performance made the cellulose/carbon nanotubes membrane a promising photothermal membrane which can be used for solar-driven desalination.

[MRI/TRUS cognitive fusion combined with 12-core systematic transperineal prostate biopsy for the diagnosis of clinically significant prostate cancer: A report of 208 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the detection rate and complications of magnetic resonance imaging / transrectal ultrasonography (MRI/TRUS) cognitive fusion combined with 12-core systematic transperineal prostate biopsy (TPPB) in the diagnosis of clinically significant PCa (CS-PCa). METHODS: This retrospective study included 208 patients undergoing first-time MRI/TRUS cognitive fusion combined with 12-core systematic TPPB from June 2015 to May 2019. The patients, aged 54－85 (67.6 ± 7.8) years, all received digital rectal examination, PSA detection, TRUS and prostate multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) before biopsy. We analyzed the mpMRI images, identified and marked the suspected signal areas, repeated TRUS for further observation of the prostate, conducted cognitive fusion based on the mpMRI images and determined the target before 12-core systematic TPPB and subjecting the samples obtained to pathological examination. RESULTS: Of the 208 patients, 112 were diagnosed with CS-PCa (no case with tPSA < 4 µg/L, 21 cases with 4 µg/L ≤ tPSA < 10 µg/L, 47 cases with 10 µg/L ≤ tPSA < 20 µg/L, 40 cases with 20 µg/L ≤ tPSA < 100 µg/L, and 4 cases with tPSA ≥ 100 µg/L), 85 with BPH, 8 with chronic prostatitis, 2 with atypical prostatic hyperplasia, and 1 with prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia. Systemic inflammatory response syndrome occurred in 3 and gross hematuria and/or bloody stool in 12 cases after biopsy, which were all cured by anti-infection and hemostasis treatment. CONCLUSIONS: MRI/TRUS cognitive fusion combined with 12-core systematic transperineal prostate biopsy can improve the detection rate of the initial diagnosis of clinically significant PCa with a low incidence of controllable complications.

Interfacial solar vapor generation for desalination and brine treatment: Evaluating current strategies of solving scaling.

Interfacial solar vapor generation, an efficient, sustainable, and low-cost method for producing clean water, has attracted great interest for application in solar desalination and wastewater treatment. Although recent studies indicated significant enhancement of overall performance by developing photothermal materials and constructing different dimensional systems, stable evaporation performance and long-term operation of the evaporator are hindered by severe scaling issues. In this critical review, we present the latest strategies in reducing salt accumulation on the evaporator for solar desalination and brine treatment. We first demonstrate the consequences of salt accumulation, and then discuss various self-cleaning methods based on bio-inspired concepts and other strategies such as physical cleaning, ion rejection and exchange, fast ion diffusion, and controlled crystallization, etc. Importantly, we discuss and address the rational design of the evaporator via establishing a relationship model between its porosity, thickness, and thermal conductivity. Lastly, we evaluate salt-resistance strategies, evaporation performance, and possibilities of real application in different evaporation systems with scaling-resistant abilities.

Investigating the protective effect of tanshinone IIA against chondrocyte dedifferentiation: a combined molecular biology and network pharmacology approach.

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative disease with multifactorial etiology. The dedifferentiation of chondrocytes can accelerate the progress of OA. Tanshinone IIA (TIIA) has been widely used to treat OA for many years and has proved to be effective in inhibiting chondrocyte dedifferentiation. Until now, the precise mechanism of TIIA's effect against dedifferentiation has not been well understood. METHODS: The targets of TIIA were explored from public databases using various methods. The related targets of OA were obtained from the GeneCards database and the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database. The potential targets and signaling pathways were determined using protein-protein interaction (PPI), Gene Ontology (GO), and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Cell viability, proliferation, and metabolic activity were analyzed in vitro. The effects of TIIA on chondrocyte dedifferentiation were evaluated by assessing morphological changes, glycosaminoglycan (GAG) production, and messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of cartilage-related genes. After 48 hours of culture in medium with 100 µg/mL TIIA, chondrocytes/hydrogel spheres were implanted to repair cartilage defects in a rat model. The harvested specimens were examined with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and immunohistochemistry to evaluate cartilage regeneration. RESULTS: The results showed that there were 28 genes potentially interacting in the TIIA-chondrocyte dedifferentiation network, and nine hub genes were identified. In vitro experiments showed an inhibitory effect of TIIA on chondrocyte dedifferentiation. The proliferation and viability of chondrocytes were promoted by TIIA at a concentration of 100-200 µg/mL, but inhibited by TIIA at 400 µg/mL. Furthermore, the histology results showed that chondrocyte/hydrogel spheres pre-treated with TIIA had better cartilage repair. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed a systematic network pharmacology approach and provided a basis for the future study of TIIA as an effective treatment for cartilage regeneration. Moreover, in vitro and in vivo results confirmed the protective effects of TIIA against chondrocyte dedifferentiation.

Tubular g-C3N4/carbon framework for high-efficiency photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue.

The preparation of high-efficiency, pollution-free photocatalysts for water treatment has always been one of the research hotspots. In this paper, a carbon framework formed from waste grapefruit peel is used as the carrier. A simple one-step chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method allows tubular g-C3N4 to grow on the carbon framework. Tubular g-C3N4 increases the specific surface area of bulk g-C3N4 and enhances the absorption of visible light. At the same time, the carbon framework can effectively promote the separation and transfer of charges. The dual effects of static adsorption and photodegradation enable the g-C3N4/carbon (CNC) framework to quickly remove about 98% of methylene blue within 180 min. The recyclability indicates that the tubular g-C3N4 can stably exist on the carbon framework during the photodegradation process. In the dynamic photocatalytic test driven by gravity, roughly 77.65% of the methylene blue was degraded by the CNC framework. Our work provides an attractive strategy for constructing a composite carbon framework photocatalyst based on the tubular g-C3N4 structure and improving the photocatalytic performance.

High-resolution combinatorial 3D printing of gelatin-based biomimetic triple-layered conduits for nerve tissue engineering.

Peripheral nerve injury is a common clinical problem often requiring surgical nerve reconstruction. To this end, tissue-engineered conduit has been proved to be crucial for nerve reconstruction. Despite its progress in recent years, the design and fabrication of translational biomimetic nerve conduits is highly challenging. Therefore, this study aims to design and fabricate mechanically-tunable nerve conduits with biomimetic structural features of the human nerve suitable for nerve tissue engineering. Herein, we employed combinatorial approach comprising of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing, dip-coating, and electrospinning techniques for fabricating triple-layered conduits. The intricate structural details were achieved via high-resolution EHD jet printed PCL filaments with tunable directionality, as the innermost layer; followed by dip coating of gelatin hydrogels to form the middle layer, and lastly, wrapped with electrospun PCL nanofibers as an outer layer of the conduits. The mechanical properties, porosity, and biocompatibility of the fabricated conduits were studied and compared with control. The results of this study confirmed that the combinatorial approach has greater potential to fabricate mechanically-tunable triple-layered conduits with favorable neuronal precursor and vascular cell compatibility.

A Single-Fed Multiband Antenna for WLAN and 5G Applications.

In this paper, a slotted conical patch connected to a small triangular patch multiband antenna for both microwave and millimeter-wave applications is presented. The designed antenna has three characteristics. The proposed antenna is a multiband, having a compact size of 0.35λ0 × 0.35λ0 × 0.004λ0 at its lowest operational frequency, i.e., 2.4 GHz, and more importantly, it can cover both the microwave and millimeter-wave bands with a single feeding. According to the -10 dB matching bandwidth, experimental results show that the antenna operates at (2.450-2.495) GHz, (5.0-6.3) GHz, and (23-28) GHz. The reduced size, simple design, and multiband large bandwidth are some of the advantages over the reported designs in the latest literature. Both simulated and experimental results show a good agreement, and the proposed antenna can be used for wireless local area network (WLAN) applications and fifth-generation (5G) wireless communication devices.

Effect of Loading Rate on Tensile and Failure Behavior of Concrete.

Three-point bending experiments of concrete beams were conducted under the strain rate range of 10-6 s-1 and 1.5 × 10-3 s-1. A novel 3D laser scanner, Handy SCAN, was employed to detect the areas of interface, mortar and aggregate on the crack surface after the experiment. In this paper, the inhomogeneity of materials and the inertial effect were considered as the main factors in the strength enhancement of concrete together with a proposed dynamic model. With the obtained experimental results, the initial elastic modulus and tensile strength of concrete showed obvious rate sensitivity. Moreover, an empirical relationship of dynamic increase factor and strain rate was established for the strain rate range of 10-6 s-1 and 1.5 × 10-3 s-1. The contributions of aggregate and inertia effect to the dynamic enhancement of concrete strength were quantified with respect to the loading rate. The rate effect of concrete obtained by the experiments was verified by the finite element analysis on the mesoscopic scale with the model built by the three-dimensional random aggregate software.

A study of the microwave actuation of a liquid crystalline elastomer.

We present a method for actuating LCE materials by microwave radiation. The microwave actuation performance of a polysiloxane-based nematic liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE) was investigated. The microwave-material interaction caused a dipolar loss, which created a heating effect to trigger the nematic-isotropic transition of the LCE matrix, thus leading to the deformation actuation of the LCE material. This energy conversion from radiant energy to thermal energy provided a contactless pathway to actuate the LCE material without the aid of other components acting as energy converters. The LCE demonstrated rapid maximum contraction upon microwave irradiation, and this microwave-stimulated response was fully reversible when the microwave irradiation was switched off. More importantly, the microwave actuation exhibited superiority relative to photo-actuation, which is the usual method of contactless actuation. The microwaves can penetrate the opaque thick barriers to effectively actuate the LCE due to their strong penetrability; they can also penetrate multiple LCE samples and actuate them almost simultaneously. By taking advantage of the salient features of microwave actuation, a microwave detector system, implementing the LCE as an actuator material, was fabricated. This demonstrated the performance of monitoring microwave irradiation intensities with good sensitivity and convenient manipulation.

A Simple High-resolution Near-field Probe for Microwave Non-Destructive Test and Imaging.

Non-destructive tests working at lower microwave frequencies have large advantages of dielectric material penetrability, lower equipment cost, and lower implementation complexity. However, the resolution will become worse as the work frequencies become lower. Relying on designing the structure of high field confinement, this study realizes a simple complementary spiral resonators (CSRs)-based near-field probe for microwave non-destructive testing (NDT) and imaging around 390 MHz (λ = 769 mm) whereby very high resolution (λ/308, 2.5 mm) is achieved. By applying an ingenious structure where a short microstrip is connected to a microstrip ring to feed the CSR, the probe, that is a single-port microwave planar circuit, does not need any extra matching circuits, which has more application potential in sensor arraying compared with other microwave probes. The variation of the electric field distribution with the standoff distance (SOD) between the material under test and the probe are analyzed to reveal the operation mechanisms behind the improved sensitivity and resolution of the proposed probe. Besides, the detection abilities of the tiny defects in metal and non-metal materials are demonstrated by the related experiments. The smallest detectable crack and via in the non-metal materials and the metal materials are of a λ/1538 (0.5 mm) width, a λ/513 (1.5 mm) diameter, a λ/3846 (0.2 mm) width and a λ/513 (1.5 mm) diameter, respectively. Moreover, to further evaluate the performance of the proposed probe, the defects under skin layer in the multilayer composite materials and the defects under corrosion in the carbon steel are inspected and imaged. Due to lower work frequency, high resolution, outstanding detection abilities of tiny defects, and large potentials in sensor arraying, the proposed probe would be a good candidate for microwave NDT and imaging.

Willow Catkins-Derived Porous Carbon Membrane with Hydrophilic Property for Efficient Solar Steam Generation.

Biomass wastes are abundant and common in our daily life, and they are cost-effective, promising, and renewable. Herein, collected willow catkins were used to prepare a hydrophilic biochar composite membrane, which was placed in a tree-like evaporation configuration to simulate a natural transpiration process. The strong light absorption (∼96%) of the biochar layer could harvest light and convert it into thermal energy, which then is used to heat the surrounding water pumped by a porous water channel via capillary action. A hydrophilic light-absorber layer remarkably increased the attachment sites of water molecules, thereby maximizing the use of thermal energy. At the same time, hierarchically porous structure and large specific surface area (∼1380 m2 g-1) supplied more available channels for rapid water vapor diffusion. The as-prepared composite membrane with a low-cost advantage realized a high evaporation rate (1.65 kg m-2 h-1) only under 1 sun illumination (1 kW m-2), which was improved by roughly 27% in comparison with the unmodified hydrophobic composite membrane. The tree-like evaporation configuration with excellent heat localization resulted in the evaporator achieving a high solar-to-vapor conversion efficiency of ∼90.5%. Besides, the composite membrane could remove 99.9% sodium ions from actual seawater and 99.5% heavy metal ions from simulated wastewater, and the long-term stable evaporation performance proved its potential in actual solar desalination. This work not only fabricated an efficient evaporator but also provided a strategy for reusing various natural wastes for water purification.