Inhalable Mucociliary-On-Chip System Revealing Pulmonary Clearance Dynamics in Nanodrug Delivery.

The development of a inhaled nanodrug delivery assessment platform is crucial for advancing treatments for chronic lung diseases. Traditional in vitro models and commercial aerosol systems fail to accurately simulate the complex human respiratory patterns and mucosal barriers. To address this, we have developed the breathing mucociliary-on-a-chip (BMC) platform, which replicates mucociliary clearance and respiratory dynamics in vitro.

Revolutionizing Epithelial Differentiability Analysis in Small Airway-on-a-Chip Models Using Label-Free Imaging and Computational Techniques.

Organ-on-a-chip (OOC) devices mimic human organs, which can be used for many different applications, including drug development, environmental toxicology, disease models, and physiological assessment. Image data acquisition and analysis from these chips are crucial for advancing research in the field. In this study, we propose a label-free morphology imaging platform compatible with the small airway-on-a-chip system.

Liver-on-a-Chip Integrated with Label-Free Optical Biosensors for Rapid and Continuous Monitoring of Drug-Induced Toxicity.

Drug toxicity assays using conventional 2D static cultures and animal studies have limitations preventing the translation of potential drugs to the clinic. The recent development of organs-on-a-chip platforms provides promising alternatives for drug toxicity/screening assays. However, most studies conducted with these platforms only utilize single endpoint results, which do not provide real-time/ near real-time information.

Patterned graphene oxide one-step thermal annealing for controlling collective cell migration.

Graphene oxide (GO) is a two-dimensional metastable nanomaterial. Interestingly, GO formed oxygen clusterings in addition to oxidized and graphitic phases during the low-temperature thermal annealing process, which could be further used for biomolecule bonding. By harnessing this property of GO, we created a bio-interface with patterned structures with a common laboratory hot plate that could tune cellular behavior by physical contact.

Patient-Derived Organoids as Therapy Screening Platforms in Cancer Patients.

Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) developed ex vivo and in vitro are increasingly used for therapeutic screening. They provide a more physiologically relevant model for drug discovery and development compared to traditional cell lines. However, several challenges remain to be addressed to fully realize the potential of PDOs in therapeutic screening.

Increase metabolic heat to compensate for low temperature in activated sludge systems.

The efficient operation of activated sludge systems is frequently hindered by low temperatures, and extensive research has been conducted to overcome this difficulty. However, the effect of varying temperatures on heat generation during substrate degradation remains unclear. In this study, results from laboratory-scale reactors show that sludge generated 5.

Quality-of-Life Bronchiectasis Respiratory Symptom Scale Predicts the Risk of Exacerbations in Adults with Bronchiectasis: A Prospective Observational Study.

The relationship between symptoms, measured using a validated disease-specific questionnaire, and longitudinal exacerbation risk has not been demonstrated in bronchiectasis. The aim of this study is to investigate whether baseline symptoms, assessed using the Quality-of-Life Bronchiectasis Respiratory Symptom Scale (QoL-B-RSS) and its individual component scores, could predict future exacerbation risk in patients with bronchiectasis. The study included 436 adults with bronchiectasis from three tertiary hospitals.

Engineered Vesicles and Hydrogel Technologies for Myocardial Regeneration.

Increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease and potentially life-threatening complications of myocardial infarction (MI) has led to emerging therapeutic approaches focusing on myocardial regeneration and restoration of physiologic function following infarction. Extracellular vesicle (EV) technology has gained attention owing to the biological potential to modulate cellular immune responses and promote the repair of damaged tissue. Also, EVs are involved in local and distant cellular communication following damage and play an important role in initiating the repair process.

Altered fecal microbiome and metabolome in adult patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.

Background: Emerging experimental and epidemiological evidence highlights a crucial cross-talk between the intestinal flora and the lungs, termed the "gut-lung axis". However, the function of the gut microbiota in bronchiectasis remains undefined. In this study, we aimed to perform a multi-omics-based approach to identify the gut microbiome and metabolic profiles in patients with bronchiectasis.

[Characteristics of PM Pollution in Beijing During the Historical Period of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games].

Based on the dataset derived from January to March between 2015 and 2021 in Beijing, the PM pollution characteristics and its potential source regions during the historical period of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games were investigated. From 2015 to 2018, both the number of severely polluted days (daily average (PM)>75 μg·m) and the average PM concentrations during severe pollution episodes decreased significantly in the period of January to March. While, neither variable has changed obviously since 2018.

Spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome: a review of potential pathogenesis and intervention.

With the continuing progress in space exploration, a new and perplexing condition related to spaceflight ocular syndrome has emerged in the past four decades. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has named this condition "spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome" (SANS). This article gives an overview of the current research about SANS and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by analyzing the existing publications on PubMed and CNKI and reports from NASA about SANS, summarizing the potential pathogenesis of SANS and physical interventions for treating SANS, and discussing the feasibility of treating SANS with TCM.

Tissue-level alveolar epithelium model for recapitulating SARS-CoV-2 infection and cellular plasticity.

Pulmonary sequelae following COVID-19 pneumonia have been emerging as a challenge; however, suitable cell sources for studying COVID-19 mechanisms and therapeutics are currently lacking. In this paper, we present a standardized primary alveolar cell culture method for establishing a human alveolar epithelium model that can recapitulate viral infection and cellular plasticity. The alveolar model is infected with a SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus, and the clinically relevant features of the viral entry into the alveolar type-I/II cells, cytokine production activation, and pulmonary surfactant destruction are reproduced.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 causes lung inflammation and injury.

Background: As of 14 October 2021, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected more than 246 million individuals and caused more than 4.9 million deaths worldwide. COVID-19 has caused significant damage to the health, economy and lives of people worldwide.

Potential Therapeutic Strategies for Targeting Y-Box-Binding Protein 1 in Cancers.

As one of the most conservative proteins in evolution, Y-box-binding protein 1 (YB-1) has long been considered as a potential cancer target. YB-1 is usually poorly expressed in normal cells and exerts cellular physiological functions such as DNA repair, pre-mRNA splicing and mRNA stabilizing. In cancer cells, the expression of YB-1 is up-regulated and undergoes nuclear translocation and contributes to tumorigenesis, angiogenesis, tumor proliferation, invasion, migration and chemotherapy drug resistance.

The Controversy About the Effects of Different Doses of Corticosteroid Treatment on Clinical Outcomes for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Patients: An Observational Study.

Corticosteroid usage in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains controversial. We aim to explore the correlation between the different doses of corticosteroid administration and the prognosis of ARDS. All patients were diagnosed with ARDS on initial hospital admission and received systemic corticosteroid treatment for ARDS.

Albumin-Based LL37 Peptide Nanoparticles as a Sustained Release System against Lung Infection.

(PA) has emerged as a pressing challenge to pulmonary infection and lung damage. The LL37 peptide is an efficient antimicrobial agent against PA strains, but its application is limited because of fast clearance , biosafety concerns, and low bioavailability. Thus, an albumin-based nanodrug delivery system with reduction sensitivity was developed by forming intermolecular disulfide bonds to increase LL37 performance against PA.