Automated xeno-free chondrogenic differentiation from human embryonic stem cells: Enhancing efficiency and ensuring high-quality mass production.

Introduction: Repairing damaged cartilage poses significant challenges, particularly in cases of congenital cartilage defects such as microtia or congenital tracheal stenosis, or as a consequence of traumatic injury, as the regenerative potential of cartilage is inherently limited. Stem cell therapy and tissue engineering offer promising approaches to overcome these limitations in cartilage healing. However, the challenge lies in the size of cartilage-containing organs, which necessitates a large quantity of cells to fill the damaged areas.

Honeycomb-Shaped Collagen Aerogels Formed Using a Multichannel Hydrogel as the Template.

This study introduces a novel method for fabricating multicavity, honeycomb-shaped collagen aerogels characterized by continuous pores. We have taken a unique approach to lyophilizing collagen hydrogels, which are UV-irradiated collagen solutions gelatinized in a carbonate buffer solution. The focus of this study was to investigate the effect of UV irradiation times on collagen solutions on collagen hydrogels and aerogels.

Finite element analysis of stress distribution in cantilever resin-bonded zirconia fixed dental prosthesis and periodontal tissue with alveolar bone loss.

Purpose: To compare the stress distribution in loaded zirconia resin-bonded fixed dental prostheses (RBFDPs) and periodontal tissue using finite element analysis, considering reduced alveolar bone levels and the number of retainers.

Methods: A human skull was micro-CT scanned. Three framework designs were tested: a 2-unit RBFDP using the maxillary left central incisor (#21) as an abutment, another using a canine (#23), and a 3-unit RBFDP using both #21 and #23.

Polycyclic aromatic polymer nanoparticles show potent infectious particle adsorption capability.

Nonspecific viral adsorption by polymer nanoparticles is more economical and superior in terms of operating cost and energy efficiency than viral adsorption using virus-specific antibodies and filtration techniques involving size exclusion in the order of tens of nanometres. In this study, we synthesised four types of polycyclic aromatic polymer (ArP) nanoparticles with different structures and evaluated their virus adsorption capability for infectious particles of the newly emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). ArP nanoparticles with a diameter of approximately 500 nm were prepared by one-pot precipitation polymerisation using structural isomers of bifunctional dihydroxynaphthalene (1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene and 2,6-dihydroxynaphthalene) as phenol monomers, as well as 3-hydroxybenzoic acid and 3-aminophenol as comonomers to introduce carboxylic acid and amino groups, respectively.

pH-Responsive Collagen Hydrogels Prepared by UV Irradiation in the Presence of Riboflavin.

This study reveals the pH-responsive behavior of collagen hydrogels prepared using ultraviolet (UV) irradiation with riboflavin as a photosensitizer. By varying the UV exposure time, we modulated the crosslinking density, thereby influencing the mechanical properties and pH responsiveness. Rheological analysis confirmed successful network formation, whereas swelling studies revealed significant pH-dependent behavior, with maximum swelling at a pH of four and minimal swelling above a pH of six, demonstrating partial reversibility over multiple pH cycles.

Relationship among Childbirth, Onset of Lower Back Pain, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Female Patients with Lower Back Pain: A Retrospective Study.

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between childbirth and lower back pain and determine the health-related quality of life of female patients with lower back pain.

Methods: A total of 111 patients were divided into three groups: those who had given birth and developed lower back pain due to pregnancy, childbirth, or child-rearing movements (childbirth group, n=41), those who had given birth and developed lower back pain due to other causes (childbirth and other cause group, n=29), and those who were nulliparous (nulliparous group, n=41). A total of 22 physical therapists evaluated the patients during initial rehabilitation.

A pontine-medullary loop crucial for REM sleep and its deficit in Parkinson's disease.

Identifying the properties of the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep circuitry and its relation to diseases has been challenging due to the neuronal heterogeneity of the brainstem. Here, we show in mice that neurons in the pontine sublaterodorsal tegmentum (SubLDT) that express corticotropin-releasing hormone-binding protein (Crhbp neurons) and project to the medulla promote REM sleep. Within the medullary area receiving projections from Crhbp neurons, neurons expressing nitric oxide synthase 1 (Nos1 neurons) project to the SubLDT and promote REM sleep, suggesting a positively interacting loop between the pons and the medulla operating as a core REM sleep circuit.

The preferable position for quantifying left ventricular diameter by transthoracic echocardiography.

Background: In quantifying left ventricular (LV) diameter, which position for echocardiographic measurements, mitral valve tip level (MV-tip) or LV mid level (LV-mid), more accurately represents the LV volume is unclear. Furthermore, which factor affects the measurement error also has not been elucidated.

Methods: We enrolled 150 patients without myocardial infarction and local asynergy who underwent echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI).

Cryptogam biomass estimation using taxonomic and life form models for accurate assessment.

Accurate estimation of cryptogam biomass, encompassing bryophytes and lichens, is crucial for understanding their ecological significance. This estimation is conducted based on the strong correlations between mass and volume of cryptogams. However, mass-volume correlations vary among cryptogams because of their morphological differences.

Additive positive effect of warming and elevated nitrogen deposition on Sphagnum biomass production at mid-latitudes.

Global warming and increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition can adversely impact Sphagnum moss populations and ecological functions in peatlands. Based on the anticipated increases in temperature and N levels at global scale, we investigated the effects of simultaneous warming and N treatment on growth and ecophysiological activity of Sphagnum papillosum, a predominant moss at mid-latitudes, utilizing a growth chamber experiment. Warming treatments increased the maximum yield of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) of S.

Marginal fit and retention force of zirconia resin-bonded fixed dental prostheses in the posterior region with different designs.

Background/purpose: Retainer debonding of resin-bonded fixed dental prostheses (RBFDPs) is one of the major reasons for their lower survival rates than fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) with full-coverage crowns. Recent advances in milling technology have enabled the fabrication of RBFDPs with complex retainers (D-shaped designs). This study aimed to assess the marginal fit and retention force of zirconia RBFDPs with inlay-, L-, and D-shaped designs to clarify their clinical applications.

Autophagy in the corpus luteum correlates with tissue growth in pregnant rats.

The developmental activation of the corpus luteum (CL) structurally and functionally is critical for the temporally regulated establishment, maintenance, and termination of pregnancy in rats. In this study, we have investigated the possible involvement of autophagy in the regulation of the CL during pregnancy in rats. The expression ratio of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3)-II/-I, a widely used indicator of autophagic activity, in the CL remained relatively stable until day 15 of pregnancy.

Acute ultraviolet B irradiation increases cholesterol and decreases Cyp7a1 expression in the liver of female mice.

Recent studies have demonstrated that ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation impacts both skin and hepatic functions. In this study, we investigated the effects of UVB irradiation on cholesterol metabolism in the liver. Hairless mice were exposed to UVB (1.

Association between ligamentous stenosis at spondylolisthetic segments before fusion surgery and symptomatic adjacent canal stenosis at follow-up in patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis.

Study Design: A retrospective case-control propensity score-matching study.

Purpose: This study aimed to longitudinally evaluate whether preoperative ligamentous stenosis at the spondylolisthetic segments could affect the incidence of symptomatic adjacent canal stenosis following one-segment fusion surgery.

Overview Of Literature: Several risk factors for symptomatic adjacent canal stenosis following fusion surgery have been assessed.

Prevalent morphometric vertebral fractures as a risk factor for subsequent clinical vertebral fractures after shortfusion surgery in older Japanese women with degenerative spondylolisthesis.

Study Design: A retrospective cohort study using the Kaplan-Meier method with propensity-score matching.

Purpose: To evaluate whether the presence of prevalent morphometric vertebral fractures (VFs) poses a risk for subsequent clinical VFs after short-fusion surgery in women aged ≥60 years with degenerative spondylolisthesis.

Overview Of Literature: VFs are common osteoporotic fractures and are associated with a low quality of life.

descSPIM: an affordable and easy-to-build light-sheet microscope optimized for tissue clearing techniques.

Despite widespread adoption of tissue clearing techniques in recent years, poor access to suitable light-sheet fluorescence microscopes remains a major obstacle for biomedical end-users. Here, we present descSPIM (desktop-equipped SPIM for cleared specimens), a low-cost ($20,000-50,000), low-expertise (one-day installation by a non-expert), yet practical do-it-yourself light-sheet microscope as a solution for this bottleneck. Even the most fundamental configuration of descSPIM enables multi-color imaging of whole mouse brains and a cancer cell line-derived xenograft tumor mass for the visualization of neurocircuitry, assessment of drug distribution, and pathological examination by false-colored hematoxylin and eosin staining in a three-dimensional manner.

Phase I/II Study of a Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor Vaccine in Patients With NF2-Related Schwannomatosis.

Purpose: The humanized antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody bevacizumab (Bev) is efficacious for the treatment of NF2-related schwannomatosis (NF2), previously known as neurofibromatosis type 2. This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of a VEGF receptor (VEGFR) vaccine containing VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 peptides in patients with NF2 with progressive schwannomas (jRCTs031180184).

Materials And Methods: VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 peptides were injected subcutaneously into infra-axillary and inguinal regions, once a week for 4 weeks and then once a month for 4 months.

Comprehensive mapping of histamine H receptor mRNA in the mouse brain.

Histamine H receptor (HR) in the central nervous system plays an important role in various functions, including learning and memory, aggression, feeding behaviors, and wakefulness, as evidenced by studies utilizing HR knockout mice and pharmacological interventions. Although previous studies have reported the widespread distribution of HR in the brains of rats, guinea pigs, monkeys, and humans, the detailed distribution in the mouse brain remains unclear. This study provides a comprehensive description of the distribution of HR mRNA in the mouse brain using two recently developed techniques: RNAscope and in situ hybridization chain reaction, both of which offer enhanced sensitivity and resolution compared to traditional methodologies such as radioisotope labeling, which were used in previous studies.

Chordoma cells possess bone-dissolving activity at the bone invasion front.

Purpose: Chordomas are malignant tumors that destroy bones, compress surrounding nerve tissues and exhibit phenotypes that recapitulate notochordal differentiation in the axial skeleton. Chordomas recur frequently, as they resist radio-chemotherapy and are difficult to completely resect, leading to repeated bone destruction and local expansion via unknown mechanisms. Here, using chordoma specimens and JHC7 chordoma cells, we asked whether chordoma cells possess bone-dissolving activity.

Differential effects of theasinensins and epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate on phospholipid bilayer structure and liposomal aggregation.

(-)-Epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCg), the major catechin responsible for the health-enhancing and disease-preventive effects of green tea, is susceptible to auto-oxidation at physiological pH levels. However, whether the oxidized EGCg resulting from its oral consumption possesses any bioactive functions remains unclear. This study presents a differential analysis of intact and oxidized EGCg regarding their interactions with phosphatidylcholine liposomes, serving as a simple biomembrane model.