Self-Assembled Piezoelectric Films from Aligned Lysozyme Protein Fibrils.

Piezoelectric organic polymers are promising alternatives to their inorganic counterparts due to their mechanical flexibility, making them suitable for flexible and wearable piezoelectric devices. Biological polymers such as proteins have been reported to possess piezoelectricity, while offering additional benefits, such as biocompatibility and biodegradability. However, questions remain regarding protein piezoelectricity, such as the impact of the protein secondary structure.

Toward Development of a Portable System for 3D Fluorescence Lymphography.

Lymphoedema is a debilitating disease that results in chronic swelling of a body region due to a dysfunctional lymphatic system. Since a cure is yet to be identified for this disease, management is currently the best option for preventing disease progression and improving patient outcomes. Fluorescence lymphography is a popular approach for mapping the lymphatic vessels to provide information about the underlying lymphatic dysfunction.

Non-contact quantification of aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation using carotid waveforms from skin displacements.

. Early diagnosis of heart problems is essential for improving patient prognosis..

Hydrogen bonding dissipating hydrogels: The influence of network structure design on structure-property relationships.

Hydrogels made with semi-interpenetrating networks of the oligomerized polyphenol tannic acid, and poly(acrylamide), exhibit high stiffness and toughness. However, the structure property relationships that give rise to enhanced mechanical properties is not well understood. Herein, we systematically investigate the hydrogels using small angle X-ray scattering and small and Ultra-small angle neutron scattering within a wide length scale range (1 nm to 20 µm), polarized optical microscopy, and rheology.

Visible-Light Stiffness Patterning of GelMA Hydrogels Towards Scar Tissue Models.

Variations in mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix occurs in various processes, such as tissue fibrosis. The impact of changes in tissue stiffness on cell behaviour are studied using various types of biomaterials and methods. Stiffness patterning of hydrogel scaffolds, through the use of stiffness gradients for instance, allows the modelling and studying of cellular responses to fibrotic mechanisms.

Quantifying optical anisotropy in soft tissue membranes using Mueller matrix imaging.

Significance: A non-destructive technique for accurately characterizing the spatial distribution of optical properties of soft tissue membranes may give improved outcomes in many tissue engineering applications.

Aim: This study aimed to develop a non-destructive macroscopic imaging technique that is sensitive to optical anisotropy, typical of fibrous components in soft tissue membranes, and can address some of the difficulties caused by the complex turbid nature of these tissues.

Approach: A near-infrared Mueller matrix imaging polarimeter employing logarithm decomposition was developed and used to conduct transmission measurements of all the polarization properties across the full thickness of bovine pericardium tissue.

Dynamics of DHA and EPA supplementation: incorporation into equine plasma, synovial fluid, and surfactant glycerophosphocholines.

Introduction: Horses with asthma or osteoarthritis frequently receive ω-3 fatty acid supplements. Docosahexaenoic (DHA; 22:6) and eicosapentaenoic (EPA; 20:5) acids are essential ω-3 fatty acid precursors of anti-inflammatory mediators and components of structural glycerophospholipids (GPL) that act as reservoirs of these fatty acids. Analysis of the incorporation of dietary DHA + EPA into GPL pools in different body compartments has not been undertaken in horses.

Lipidomics of the chicken egg yolk: high-resolution mass spectrometric characterization of nutritional lipid families.

While previous studies have characterized the fatty acids and global lipid families of the chicken egg yolk, there have been no publications characterizing the individual lipids in these lipid families. Such an in-depth characterization of egg yolk lipids is essential to define the potential benefits of egg yolk consumption for the supply of structural and anti-inflammatory lipids. Historically, the major focus has been on the cholesterol content of eggs and the potential negative health benefits of this lipid, while ignoring the essential roles of cholesterol in membranes and as a precursor to other essential sterols.

Effects of adjunct treatments on end-organ damage and histological injury severity in acute respiratory distress syndrome and multiorgan failure caused by smoke inhalation injury and burns.

Background: We investigated effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) or low-flow extracorporeal life support (ECLS) as adjunctive treatments for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to inhalation injury and burns. We hypothesized that these interventions decrease histological end-organ damage.

Methods: Anesthetized female swine underwent smoke inhalation injury and 40% TBSA burns, then critical care for 72h.

Early complementopathy predicts the outcomes of patients with trauma.

Background: Complementopathy (rapid complement activation and consumption after trauma) has been reported in trauma patients, but the underlying mechanism of these phenomena and their clinical significance remain unclear. This study aimed to determine the complement/complement pathway activation and identify the association of complement activation with clinical outcomes in trauma patients.

Methods: We studied 33 trauma patients with mean Injury Severity Score of 25, and 25 healthy volunteers.

Combinatorial optimization by simulating adiabatic bifurcations in nonlinear Hamiltonian systems.

Combinatorial optimization problems are ubiquitous but difficult to solve. Hardware devices for these problems have recently been developed by various approaches, including quantum computers. Inspired by recently proposed quantum adiabatic optimization using a nonlinear oscillator network, we propose a new optimization algorithm simulating adiabatic evolutions of classical nonlinear Hamiltonian systems exhibiting bifurcation phenomena, which we call simulated bifurcation (SB).

Point-of-care endoscopic optical coherence tomography detects changes in mucosal thickness in ARDS due to smoke inhalation and burns.

Background: The prevalence of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in mechanically ventilated burn patients is 33%, with mortality varying from 11-46% depending on ARDS severity. Despite the new Berlin definition for ARDS, prompt bedside diagnosis is lacking. We developed and tested a bedside technique of fiberoptic-bronchoscopy-based optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurement of airway mucosal thickness (MT) for diagnosis of ARDS following smoke inhalation injury (SII) and burns.

Optical coherence tomography imaging of cardiac trabeculae.

An integrated instrument is being developed to study live cardiac trabeculae, which is capable of stimulating the muscle under controlled conditions while measuring the heat production, force, and sarcomere length distribution. To improve the accuracy of estimation of stress, strain, and volumetric heat production, the geometry of the muscle must be known. A spectral domain optical coherence tomography system (SD-OCT) has been constructed and calibrated to image the trabecula mounted inside the instrument.

Haemolytic uraemic syndrome preceding acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

An 11-year-old girl presented with diarrhoea associated haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) requiring haemodialysis. Four weeks following the resolution of her renal impairment, she was found to have cervical lymphadenopathy alongside deterioration in her renal function. While blood films during her acute illness were indicative of sepsis only, subsequent film revealed a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).

Common ecology quantifies human insurgency.

Many collective human activities, including violence, have been shown to exhibit universal patterns. The size distributions of casualties both in whole wars from 1816 to 1980 and terrorist attacks have separately been shown to follow approximate power-law distributions. However, the possibility of universal patterns ranging across wars in the size distribution or timing of within-conflict events has barely been explored.