Navigating Breast Cancer Innovation in Uganda: Within and Without the Textbook.

The Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design (CBID) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) has established a comprehensive approach to addressing global health challenges. Central to CBID's modality on global health is a strategy that integrates education, research, and collaboration. Through its graduate program, CBID trains the next generation of health care innovators to address the specific needs of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Graduate student teams at CBID begin their year with a focus on a health care thematic area associated with a target country.

Bioengineering Skin Substitutes for Wound Management-Perspectives and Challenges.

Non-healing wounds and skin losses constitute significant challenges for modern medicine and pharmacology. Conventional methods of wound treatment are effective in basic healthcare; however, they are insufficient in managing chronic wound and large skin defects, so novel, alternative methods of therapy are sought. Among the potentially innovative procedures, the use of skin substitutes may be a promising therapeutic method. Skin substitutes are a heterogeneous group of materials that are used to heal and close wounds and temporarily or permanently fulfill the functions of the skin. Classification can be based on the structure or type (biological and synthetic). Simple constructs (class I) have been widely researched over the years, and can be used in burns and ulcers. More complex substitutes (class II and III) are still studied, but these may be utilized in patients with deep skin defects. In addition, 3D bioprinting is a rapidly developing method used to create advanced skin constructs and their appendages. The aforementioned therapies represent an opportunity for treating patients with diabetic foot ulcers or deep skin burns. Despite these significant developments, further clinical trials are needed to allow the use skin substitutes in the personalized treatment of chronic wounds.

Sublinear drag regime at mesoscopic scales in viscoelastic materials.

Stressed soft materials commonly present viscoelastic signatures in the form of power-law or exponential decay. Although exponential responses are the most common, power-law time dependencies arise peculiarly in complex soft materials such as living cells. Understanding the microscale mechanisms that drive rheologic behaviors at the macroscale shall be transformative in fields such as material design and bioengineering. Using an elastic network model of macromolecules immersed in a viscous fluid, we numerically reproduce those characteristic viscoelastic relaxations and show how the microscopic interactions determine the rheologic response. The macromolecules, represented by particles in the network, interact with neighbors through a spring constant k and with fluid through a non-linear drag regime. The dissipative force is given by γvα, where v is the particle's velocity, and γ and α are mesoscopic parameters. Physically, the sublinear regime of the drag forces is related to micro-deformations of the macromolecules, while α ≥ 1 represents rigid cases. We obtain exponential or power-law relaxations or a transitional behavior between them by changing k, γ, and α. We find that exponential decays are indeed the most common behavior. However, power laws may arise when forces between the macromolecules and the fluid are sublinear. Our findings show that in materials not too soft not too elastic, the rheological responses are entirely controlled by α in the sublinear regime. More specifically, power-law responses arise for 0.3 ⪅ α ⪅ 0.45, while exponential responses for small and large values of α, namely, 0.0 ⪅ α ⪅ 0.2 and 0.55 ⪅ α ⪅ 1.0.

[Integration of "tri-bio, tri-chain and tri-creation" innovation and entrepreneurship education into talent training program].

Under the background of the "era of mass innovation", there are challenges in the training of biotechnology professionals, including a "backward concept of innovation and entrepreneurship education", a "singular education method of innovation and entrepreneurship", and a "limited practice platform of innovation and entrepreneurship". These challenges require the implementation of a new training model. In comparison to the talent training objectives of new engineering construction, the College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering at Zhejiang University of Technology has been exploring and practicing the training mode "tri-bio, tri-chain and tri-creation " for 42 years. The research has established a new platform and paradigm for training exceptional engineering innovation and entrepreneurship talents. It also offers valuable references and insights for the reform of training methods for biotechnology professionals by optimizing the education concept of "biology, life and live ", enriching the education method of "knowledge chain, scientific research chain and industrial chain", and building the three-creation technology practice platform based on "creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship".

Progress in the development of piezoelectric biomaterials for tissue remodeling.

Piezoelectric biomaterials have demonstrated significant potential in the past few decades to heal damaged tissue and restore cellular functionalities. Herein, we discuss the role of bioelectricity in tissue remodeling and explore ways to mimic such tissue-like properties in synthetic biomaterials. In the past decade, biomedical engineers have adopted emerging functional biomaterials-based tissue engineering approaches using innovative bioelectronic stimulation protocols based on dynamic stimuli to direct cellular activation, proliferation, and differentiation on engineered biomaterial constructs. The primary focus of this review is to discuss the concepts of piezoelectric energy harvesting, piezoelectric materials, and their application in soft (skin and neural) and hard (dental and bone) tissue regeneration. While discussing the prospective applications as an engineered tissue, an important distinction has been made between piezoceramics, piezopolymers, and their composites. The superiority of piezopolymers over piezoceramics to circumvent issues such as stiffness mismatch, biocompatibility, and biodegradability are highlighted. We aim to provide a comprehensive review of the field and identify opportunities for the future to develop clinically relevant and state-of-the-art biomaterials for personalized and remote health care.

Influence of Ultrasound on the Characteristics of CaP Coatings Generated Via the Micro-arc Oxidation Process in Relation to Biomedical Engineering.

Over the past decade, bone tissue engineering has been at the core of attention because of an increasing number of implant surgeries. The purpose of this study was to obtain coatings on titanium (Ti) implants with improved properties in terms of biomedical applications and to investigate the effect of ultrasound (US) on these properties during the micro-arc oxidation (MAO) process. The influence of various process parameters, such as time and current density, as well as US mode, on the properties of such coatings was evaluated. Novel porous calcium-phosphate-based coatings were obtained on commercially pure Ti. Their microstructure, chemical composition, topography, wettability, nanomechanical properties, thickness, adhesion to the substrate, and corrosion resistance were analyzed. In addition, cytocompatibility evaluation was checked with the human osteoblasts. The properties of the coatings varied significantly, depending on applied process parameters. The US application during the MAO process contributes to the increase of coating thickness, porosity, roughness, and skewness, as well as augmented calcium incorporation. The most advantageous coating was obtained at a current of 136 mA, time 450 s, and unipolar rectangular US, as it exhibits high porosity, adequate wettability, and beneficial skewness, which enabled increased adhesion and proliferation of osteoblasts during in vitro studies. Finally, the conducted research demonstrated the influence of various UMAO process parameters, which allowed for the selection of appropriate Ti implant modification for specific biomedical utilization.

Cilia and Nodal Flow in Asymmetry: An Engineering Perspective.

Over the past several years, cilia in the primitive node have become recognized more and more for their contribution to development, and more specifically, for their role in axis determination. Although many of the mechanisms behind their influence remain undocumented, it is known that their presence and motion in the primitive node of developing embryos is the determinant of the left-right axis. Studies on cilial mechanics and nodal fluid dynamics have provided clues as to how this asymmetry mechanism works, and more importantly, have shown that direct manipulation of the flow field in the node can directly influence physiology. Although relatively uncommon, cilial disorders have been shown to have a variety of impacts on individuals from chronic respiratory infections to infertility, as well as situs inversus which is linked to congenital heart disease. After first providing background information pertinent to understanding nodal flow and information on why this discussion is important, this paper aims to give a review of the history of nodal cilia investigations, an overview of cilia mechanics and nodal flow dynamics, as well as a review of research studies current and past that sought to understand the mechanisms behind nodal cilia's involvement in symmetry-breaking pathways through a biomedical engineering perspective. This discussion has the additional intention to compile interdisciplinary knowledge on asymmetry and development such that it may encourage more collaborative efforts between the sciences on this topic, as well as provide insight on potential paths forward in the field.

Hybrid Soft-Rigid Active Prosthetics Laboratory Exercise for Hands-On Biomechanical and Biomedical Engineering Education.

This paper introduces a hands-on laboratory exercise focused on assembling and testing a hybrid soft-rigid active finger prosthetic for biomechanical and biomedical engineering (BME) education. This hands-on laboratory activity focuses on the design of a myoelectric finger prosthesis, integrating mechanical, electrical, sensor (i.e., inertial measurement units (IMUs), electromyography (EMG)), pneumatics, and embedded software concepts. We expose students to a hybrid soft-rigid robotic system, offering a flexible, modifiable lab activity that can be tailored to instructors' needs and curriculum requirements. All necessary files are made available in an open-access format for implementation. Off-the-shelf components are all purchasable through global vendors (e.g., DigiKey Electronics, McMaster-Carr, Amazon), costing approximately USD 100 per kit, largely with reusable elements. We piloted this lab with 40 undergraduate engineering students in a neural and rehabilitation engineering upper year elective course, receiving excellent positive feedback. Rooted in real-world applications, the lab is an engaging pedagogical platform, as students are eager to learn about systems with tangible impacts. Extensions to the lab, such as follow-up clinical (e.g., prosthetist) and/or technical (e.g., user-device interface design) discussion, are a natural means to deepen and promote interdisciplinary hands-on learning experiences. In conclusion, the lab session provides an engaging journey through the lifecycle of the prosthetic finger research and design process, spanning conceptualization and creation to the final assembly and testing phases.

teemi: An open-source literate programming approach for iterative design-build-test-learn cycles in bioengineering.

Synthetic biology dictates the data-driven engineering of biocatalysis, cellular functions, and organism behavior. Integral to synthetic biology is the aspiration to efficiently find, access, interoperate, and reuse high-quality data on genotype-phenotype relationships of native and engineered biosystems under FAIR principles, and from this facilitate forward-engineering strategies. However, biology is complex at the regulatory level, and noisy at the operational level, thus necessitating systematic and diligent data handling at all levels of the design, build, and test phases in order to maximize learning in the iterative design-build-test-learn engineering cycle. To enable user-friendly simulation, organization, and guidance for the engineering of biosystems, we have developed an open-source python-based computer-aided design and analysis platform operating under a literate programming user-interface hosted on Github. The platform is called teemi and is fully compliant with FAIR principles. In this study we apply teemi for i) designing and simulating bioengineering, ii) integrating and analyzing multivariate datasets, and iii) machine-learning for predictive engineering of metabolic pathway designs for production of a key precursor to medicinal alkaloids in yeast. The teemi platform is publicly available at PyPi and GitHub.

Bioengineering of vascularized porcine flaps using perfusion-recellularization.

Large volume soft tissue defects greatly impact patient quality of life and function while suitable repair options remain a challenge in reconstructive surgery. Engineered flaps could represent a clinically translatable option that may circumvent issues related to donor site morbidity and tissue availability. Herein, we describe the regeneration of vascularized porcine flaps, specifically of the omentum and tensor fascia lata (TFL) flaps, using a tissue engineering perfusion-decellularization and recellularization approach. Flaps were decellularized using a low concentration sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) detergent perfusion to generate an acellular scaffold with retained extracellular matrix (ECM) components while removing underlying cellular and nuclear contents. A perfusion-recellularization strategy allowed for seeding of acellular flaps with a co-culture of human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) onto the decellularized omentum and TFL flaps. Our recellularization technique demonstrated evidence of intravascular cell attachment, as well as markers of endothelial and mesenchymal phenotype. Altogether, our findings support the potential of using bioengineered porcine flaps as a novel, clinically-translatable strategy for future application in reconstructive surgery.

Building a Partnership Between a University and Local High School to Foster and Grow Interest in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering.

To help foster interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), it is important to develop opportunities that excite and teach young minds about STEM-related fields. Over the past several years, our university-based research group has sought to help grow excitement around the biomechanics and biomedical engineering fields. The purposes of this technical brief are to (1) discuss the development of a partnership built between a St. Louis area high school and biomechanics research lab and (2) provide practical guidance for other researchers looking to implement a long-term outreach program. The partnership uses three different outreach opportunities. The first opportunity consisted of 12th-grade students visiting university research labs for an up-close perspective of ongoing biomedical research. The second opportunity was a biomedical research showcase where research-active graduate students traveled to the high school to perform demonstrations. The third opportunity consisted of a collaborative capstone project where a high school student was able to carry out research directly in a university lab. To date, we have expanded our reach from 19 students to interacting with over 100 students, which has yielded increased interest in STEM related research. Our postprogram survey showed that outreach programs such as the one described herein can increase interest in STEM within all ages of high school students. Building partnerships between high schools and university researchers increases the interest in STEM amongst high school students, and gives graduate students an outlet to present work to an eager-to-learn audience.

Catalyzing Clinically Driven Undergraduate Design Projects at the Nexus of Engineering, Medicine, and Business.

Design projects, particularly those related to assistive technology, offer unparalleled educational opportunities for undergraduate students to synthesize engineering knowledge with a clinically driven need to produce a product that can improve quality of life. Such projects are most effective when engineering, clinical, and business perspectives are considered throughout. However, the logistics of successfully implementing such interdisciplinary projects can be challenging. This paper presents an auto-ethnography of 12 undergraduate design team projects in assistive technology performed by 87 students from five majors (including engineering, business, and clinical students) over the course of 5 years. The overarching goal of our work was to establish an undergraduate integrated design experience at a university in the absence of a dedicated biomedical engineering major. The focus of this experience was to foster the creation of student-led prototypes to address real-world problems for people with disabilities while keeping commercialization potential at the forefront throughout. Student participation demonstrated a clear enthusiasm for completing biomedical engineering-themed projects. To encourage the implementation of similar approaches at universities where a biomedical engineering major does not exist, we identify common obstacles that can arise and present strategies for mitigating these challenges, as well as effective approaches for catalyzing cross-disciplinary collaborations. High impact practices include close involvement of end-users in the design process; cross-disciplinary team composition (e.g., engineering, business, and health sciences students); and choosing cross-disciplinary leads for project management. Teams experienced a high degree of success with all 12 teams producing functional prototypes. We conclude that at universities that do not offer a biomedical engineering major, health-focused integrated design experiences offer students important interdisciplinary perspectives, including a holistic approach to project implementation. Furthermore, for many students, these projects ultimately served as a gateway to subsequent careers and graduate study in biomedical engineering.

A review on complete silk gene sequencing and de novo assembly of artificial silk.

Silk, especially spider and insect silk, is a highly versatile biomaterial with potential applications in biomedicine, materials science, and biomimetic engineering. The primary structure of silk proteins is the basis for the mechanical properties of silk fibers. Biotechnologies such as single-molecule sequencing have facilitated an increasing number of reports on new silk genes and assembled silk proteins. Therefore, this review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the recent advances in representative spider and insect silk proteins, focusing on identification methods, sequence characteristics, and de novo design and assembly. The review discusses three identification methods for silk genes: polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based sequencing, PCR-free cloning and sequencing, and whole-genome sequencing. Moreover, it reveals the main spider and insect silk proteins and their sequences. Subsequent de novo assembly of artificial silk is covered and future research directions in the field of silk proteins, including new silk genes, customizable artificial silk, and the expansion of silk production and applications are discussed. This review provides a basis for the genetic aspects of silk production and the potential applications of artificial silk in material science and biomedical engineering.

Recent advances in peptide-based bioactive hydrogels for nerve repair and regeneration: from material design to fabrication, functional tailoring and applications.

The injury of both central and peripheral nervous systems can result in neurological disorders and severe nervous diseases, which has been one of the challenges in the medical field. The use of peptide-based hydrogels for nerve repair and regeneration (NRR) provides a promising way for treating these problems, but the effects of the functions of peptide hydrogels on the NRR efficiency have been not understood clearly. In this review, we present recent advances in the material design, matrix fabrication, functional tailoring, and NRR applications of three types of peptide-based hydrogels, including pure peptide hydrogels, other component-functionalized peptide hydrogels, and peptide-modified polymer hydrogels. The case studies on the utilization of various peptide-based hydrogels for NRR are introduced and analyzed, in which the effects and mechanisms of the functions of hydrogels on NRR are illustrated specifically. In addition, the fabrication of medical NRR scaffolds and devices for pre-clinical application is demonstrated. Finally, we provide potential directions on the development of this promising topic. This comprehensive review could be valuable for readers to know the design and synthesis strategies of bioactive peptide hydrogels, as well as their functional tailoring, in order to promote their practical applications in tissue engineering, biomedical engineering, and materials science.

Open microfluidics: droplet microarrays as next generation multiwell plates for high throughput screening.

Multiwell plates are prominent in the biological and chemical sciences; however, they face limitations in terms of throughput and deployment in emerging bioengineering fields. Droplet microarrays, as an open microfluidic technology, organise tiny droplets typically in the order of thousands, on an accessible plate. In this perspective, we summarise current approaches for generating droplets, fluid handling on them, and analysis within droplet microarrays. By enabling unique plate engineering opportunities, demonstrating the necessary experimental procedures required for manipulating and interacting with biological cells, and integrating with label-free analytical techniques, droplet microarrays can be deployed across a more extensive experimental domain than what is currently covered by multiwell plates. Droplet microarrays thus offer a solution to the bottlenecks associated with multiwell plates, particularly in the areas of biological cultivation and high-throughput compound screening.

Single-layer semiconductor-decorated flexible 2D protein nanosheets by engineered anchoring for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production.

Protein self-assembly can be accurately manipulated to form ordered nanostructures through various supramolecular forces. This strategy is expected to make significant breakthroughs in the field of new biomimetic functional materials. Specifically, the construction of photocatalytic systems on two-dimensional (2D) flexible protein nanosheets meets a great challenge. We introduce a synthetic methodology for creating single-layer semiconductor-decorated protein 2D materials under mild conditions with enhanced light-driven hydrogen production. This approach employs a bioengineered green fluorescent protein (E4P) with the addition of a Cd-binding peptide, enabling precise control of the assembly of CdS quantum dots (QDs) on the protein's surface. Consequently, we obtained 4.3 nm-thin single-layer 2D protein nanosheets with substantial surface areas ideal for accommodating CdS QDs. By orthogonal incorporation of metal-binding peptides and supramolecular coordination, significantly enhancing the overall photocatalytic efficiency. Our findings demonstrate the potential for stable and efficient hydrogen production, highlighting the adaptability and biocompatibility of protein scaffolds for photocatalysis.

Current Advances in Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) and the Future Potential of PDT-Combinatorial Cancer Therapies.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a two-stage treatment that implies the use of light energy, oxygen, and light-activated compounds (photosensitizers) to elicit cancerous and precancerous cell death after light activation (phototoxicity). The biophysical, bioengineering aspects and its combinations with other strategies are highlighted in this review, both conceptually and as they are currently applied clinically. We further explore the recent advancements of PDT with the use of nanotechnology, including quantum dots as innovative photosensitizers or energy donors as well as the combination of PDT with radiotherapy and immunotherapy as future promising cancer treatments. Finally, we emphasize the potential significance of organoids as physiologically relevant models for PDT.

Peristaltic transport of Sutterby nanofluid flow in an inclined tapered channel with an artificial neural network model and biomedical engineering application.

Modern energy systems are finding new applications for magnetohydrodynamic rheological bio-inspired pumping systems. The incorporation of the electrically conductive qualities of flowing liquids into the biological geometries, rheological behavior, and propulsion processes of these systems was a significant effort. Additional enhancements to transport properties are possible with the use of nanofluids. Due to their several applications in physiology and industry, including urine dynamics, chyme migration in the gastrointestinal system, and the hemodynamics of tiny blood arteries. Peristaltic processes also move spermatozoa in the human reproductive system and embryos in the uterus. The present research examines heat transport in a two-dimensional deformable channel containing magnetic viscoelastic nanofluids by considering all of these factors concurrently, which is vulnerable to peristaltic waves and hall current under ion slip and other situations. Nanofluid rheology makes use of the Sutterby fluid model, while nanoscale effects are modeled using the Buongiorno model. The current study introduces an innovative numerical computing solver utilizing a Multilayer Perceptron feed-forward back-propagation artificial neural network (ANN) with the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. Data were collected for testing, certifying, and training the ANN model. In order to make the dimensional PDEs dimensionless, the non-similar variables are employed and calculated by the Homotopy perturbation technique. The effects of developing parameters such as Sutterby fluid parameter, Froude number, thermophoresis, ion-slip parameter, Brownian motion, radiation, Eckert number, and Hall parameter on velocity, temperature, and concentration are demonstrated. The machine learning model chooses data, builds and trains a network, and subsequently assesses its performance using the mean square error metric. Current results declare that the improving Reynolds number tends to increase the pressure rise. Improving the Hall parameter is shown to result in a decrease in velocity. When raising a fluid's parameter, the temperature profile rises.