New data on Beurlenia araripensis Martins-Neto & Mezzalira, 1991, a lacustrine shrimp from Crato Formation, and its morphological variations based on the shape and the number of rostral spines.

Fossil freshwater carideans are very rare worldwide. Here, we present new taxonomic remarks about Beurlenia araripensis from the Early Cretaceous laminated limestones of the Crato Formation, Araripe Basin, northeastern Brazil. We analyzed five fossil samples, testing the morphological variations such as, rostrum with 5 to 14 supra-rostral spines and 2 to 3 sub-rostral spines, which appears as serrate for Caridea. This variation demonstrates a morphologic plasticity also seen in extant species of the group, such as those of the genera Macrobrachium and Palaemon.

Engineering multifunctional bactericidal nanofibers for abdominal hernia repair.

The engineering of multifunctional surgical bactericidal nanofibers with inherent suitable mechanical and biological properties, through facile and cheap fabrication technology, is a great challenge. Moreover, hernia, which is when organ is pushed through an opening in the muscle or adjacent tissue due to damage of tissue structure or function, is a dire clinical challenge that currently needs surgery for recovery. Nevertheless, post-surgical hernia complications, like infection, fibrosis, tissue adhesions, scaffold rejection, inflammation, and recurrence still remain important clinical problems. Herein, through an integrated electrospinning, plasma treatment and direct surface modification strategy, multifunctional bactericidal nanofibers were engineered showing optimal properties for hernia repair. The nanofibers displayed good bactericidal activity, low inflammatory response, good biodegradation, as well as optimal collagen-, stress fiber- and blood vessel formation and associated tissue ingrowth in vivo. The disclosed engineering strategy serves as a prominent platform for the design of other multifunctional materials for various biomedical challenges.

Electrospun Poly(butylene-adipate-co-terephthalate)/Nano-hyDroxyapatite/Graphene Nanoribbon Scaffolds Improved the In Vivo Osteogenesis of the Neoformed Bone.

Electrospun ultrathin fibrous scaffold filed with synthetic nanohydroxyapatite (nHAp) and graphene nanoribbons (GNR) has bioactive and osteoconductive properties and is a plausible strategy to improve bone regeneration. Poly(butylene-adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) has been studied as fibrous scaffolds due to its low crystallinity, faster biodegradability, and good mechanical properties; however, its potential for in vivo applications remains underexplored. We proposed the application of electrospun PBAT with high contents of incorporated nHAp and nHAp/GNR nanoparticles as bone grafts. Ultrathin PBAT, PBAT/nHAp, and PBAT/nHAp/GNR fibers were produced using an electrospinning apparatus. The produced fibers were characterized morphologically and structurally using scanning electron (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron (TEM) microscopies, respectively. Mechanical properties were analyzed using a texturometer. All scaffolds were implanted into critical tibia defects in rats and analyzed after two weeks using radiography, microcomputed tomography, histological, histomorphometric, and biomechanical analyses. The results showed through SEM and high-resolution TEM characterized the average diameters of the fibers (ranged from 0.208 µm ± 0.035 to 0.388 µm ± 0.087) and nHAp (crystallite around 0.28, 0.34, and 0.69 nm) and nHAp/GNR (200-300 nm) nanoparticles distribution into PBAT matrices. Ultrathin fibers were obtained, and the incorporated nHAp and nHAp/GNR nanoparticles were well distributed into PBAT matrices. The addition of nHAp and nHAp/GNR nanoparticles improved the elastic modulus of the ultrathin fibers compared to neat PBAT. High loads of nHAp/GNR (PBATnH5G group) improved the in vivo lamellar bone formation promoting greater radiographic density, trabecular number and stiffness in the defect area 2 weeks after implantation than control and PBAT groups.

Dual effective core-shell electrospun scaffolds: Promoting osteoblast maturation and reducing bacteria activity.

Herein, we electrospun ultrathin core-shell fibers based on polycaprolactone (PCL), polyethylene glycol (PEG), gelatin and osteogenic growth peptide (OGP), and evaluated their potential to upregulate human osteoblast cells (hFOB) and to reduce Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. We also evaluated the fiber morphology, chemical structure and peptide delivery efficacy. The employment of core-shell fibers compared to fibers without a core-shell showed improved mechanical strength, comparable to the strength of pure PCL, as well as improved hydrophilicity and wettability. The careful selection of polymer combination and core-shell strategy promoted a controlled and sustained release of OGP. Moreover, increased calcium deposition (CD) (1.3-fold) and alkaline phosphate (ALP) activity was observed when hFOBs were cultivated onto core-shell fibers loaded with OGP after 21 days of culture. Our developed scaffolds were also able to reduce the amount of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 25668) bacteria by a factor of two compared to raw PCL without the use of any antibiotics. All of these results demonstrate a promising potential of the developed core-shell electrospun scaffolds based on PCL:PEG:Gelatin:OGP for numerous bone tissue applications.

High loads of nano-hydroxyapatite/graphene nanoribbon composites guided bone regeneration using an osteoporotic animal model.

BACKGROUND: It has been difficult to find bioactive compounds that can optimize bone repair therapy and adequate osseointegration for people with osteoporosis. The nano-hydroxyapatite (nHAp)/carbon nanotubes with graphene oxides, termed graphene nanoribbons (GNR) composites have emerged as promising materials/scaffolds for bone regeneration due to their bioactivity and osseointegration properties. Herein, we evaluated the action of nHAp/GNR composites (nHAp/GNR) to promote bone regeneration using an osteoporotic model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: First, three different nHAp/GNR (1, 2, and 3 wt% of GNR) were produced and characterized. For in vivo analyses, 36 Wistar rats (var. albinus, weighing 250-300 g, Comissão de Ética no Uso de Animais [CEUA] n.002/17) were used. Prior to implantation, osteoporosis was induced by oophorectomy in female rats. After 45 days, a tibial fracture was inflicted using a 3.0-mm Quest trephine drill. Then, the animals were separated into six sample groups at two different time periods of 21 and 45 days. The lesions were filled with 3 mg of one of the above samples using a curette. After 21 or 45 days of implantation, the animals were euthanized for analysis. Histological, biochemical, and radiographic analyses (DIGORA method) were performed. The data were evaluated through ANOVA, Tukey test, and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test with statistical significance at P<0.05. RESULTS: Both nHAp and GNR exhibited osteoconductive activity. However, the nHAp/GNR exhibited regenerative activity proportional to their concentration, following the order of 3% >2% >1% wt. CONCLUSION: Therefore, it can be inferred that all analyzed nanoparticles promoted bone regeneration in osteoporotic rats independent of analyzed time.

Physicochemical investigation of shrimp fossils from the Romualdo and Ipubi formations (Araripe Basin).

The Ipubi and Romualdo Formations are Cretaceous units of the Araripe Basin (Santana Group). The first and most ancient was deposited in a lake environment, and some fossils were preserved in shales deposited under blackish conditions. The second was deposited in a marine environment, preserving a rich paleontological content in calcareous concretions. Considering that these two environments preserved their fossils under different processes, in this work we investigated the chemical composition of two fossilized specimens, one from each of the studied stratigraphic units, and compared them using vibrational spectroscopy techniques (Raman and IR), X-ray diffraction and large-field energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mappings. Calcite was observed as the dominant phase and carbon was observed in the fossils as a byproduct of the decomposition. The preservation of hydroxide calcium phosphate (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2, hydroxyapatite) was observed in both fossils. In addition, it was observed that there was a smaller amount of pyrite (pyritization) in the Romualdo Formation sample than in the Ipubi one. Large-field EDS measurements showed the major presence of the chemical elements calcium, oxygen, iron, aluminum and fluoride in the Ipubi fossil, indicating a greater influence of inorganic processes in its fossilization. Our results also suggest that the Romualdo Formation fossilization process involved the substitution of the hydroxyl group by fluorine, providing durability to the fossils.

Understanding the impact of crosslinked PCL/PEG/GelMA electrospun nanofibers on bactericidal activity.

Herein, we report the design of electrospun ultrathin fibers based on the combination of three different polymers polycaprolactone (PCL), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA), and their potential bactericidal activity against three different bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). We evaluated the morphology, chemical structure and wettability before and after UV photocrosslinking of the produced scaffolds. Results showed that the developed scaffolds presented hydrophilic properties after PEG and GelMA incorporation. Moreover, they were able to significantly reduce gram-positive, negative, and MRSA bacteria mainly after UV photocrosslinking (PCL:PEG:GelMa-UV). Furthermore, we performed a series of study for gaining a better mechanistic understanding of the scaffolds bactericidal activity through protein adsorption study and analysis of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Furthermore, the in vivo subcutaneous implantation performed in rats confirmed the biocompatibility of our designed scaffolds.

Wetting of mono and few-layered WS2 and MoS2 films supported on Si/SiO2 substrates.

The recent interest and excitement in graphene has also opened up a pandora's box of other two-dimensional (2D) materials and material combinations which are now beginning to come to the fore. One family of these emerging 2D materials is transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). So far there is very limited understanding on the wetting behavior of "monolayer" TMD materials. In this study, we synthesized large-area, continuous monolayer tungsten disulfide (WS2) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) films on SiO2/Si substrates by the thermal reduction and sulfurization of WO3 and MO3 thin films. The monolayer TMD films displayed an advancing water contact angle of ∼83° as compared to ∼90° for the bulk material. We also prepared bilayer and trilayer WS2 films and studied the transition of the water contact angle with increasing number of layers. The advancing water contact angle increased to ∼85° for the bilayer and then to ∼90° for the trilayer film. Beyond three layers, there was no significant change in the measured water contact angle. This type of wetting transition indicates that water interacts to some extent with the underlying silica substrate through the monolayer TMD sheet. The experimentally observed wetting transition with numbers of TMD layers lies in-between the predictions of one continuum model that considers only van der Waals attractions and another model that considers only dipole-dipole interactions. We also explored wetting as a function of aging. A clean single-layer WS2 film (without airborne contaminants) was shown to be strongly hydrophilic with an advancing water contact angle of ∼70°. However, over time, the sample ages as hydrocarbons and water present in air adsorb onto the clean WS2 sheet. After ∼7 days, the aging process is completed and the advancing water contact angle of the aged single-layer WS2 film stabilizes at ∼83°. These results suggest that clean (i.e., nonaged) monolayer TMDs are hydrophilic materials. We further show that substitution of sulfur atoms by oxygen in the lattice of aged monolayer WS2 and MoS2 films can be used to generate well-defined 'hydrophobic-hydrophilic' patterns that preferentially accumulate and create microdrop arrays on the surface during water condensation and evaporation experiments.