biofilm in inflammatory breast cancer and its treatment strategies.

Bacterial biofilms represent a significant challenge in both clinical and industrial settings because of their robust nature and resistance to antimicrobials. Biofilms are formed by microorganisms that produce an exopolysaccharide matrix, protecting function and supporting for nutrients. Among the various bacterial species capable of forming biofilms, , a commensal organism found on human skin and mucous membranes, has emerged as a prominent opportunistic pathogen, when introduced into the body via medical devices, such as catheters, prosthetic joints, and heart valves.

Sepsis among Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of a Tertiary Care Centre.

Introduction: Sepsis is a life-threatening dysfunction and is one of the common causes of admission in intensive care units. Early diagnosis and management improves the outcome of patients. The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence of sepsis among patients admitted to the intensive care unit of a tertiary care centre.

Bioinks of Natural Biomaterials for Printing Tissues.

Bioinks are inks-in other words, hydrogels-prepared from biomaterials with certain physiochemical properties together with cells to establish hierarchically complex biological 3D scaffolds through various 3D bioprinting technologies [...

Association of disrespectful care after childbirth and COVID-19 exposure with postpartum depression symptoms- a longitudinal cohort study in Nepal.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented mental stress to women after childbirth. In this study, we assessed the association of disrespectful care after childbirth and COVID-19 exposure before/during labour with postpartum depression symptoms assessed at 7 and 45 days in Nepal.

Methods: A longitudinal cohort study was conducted in 9 hospitals of Nepal among 898 women.

Biofilms: Formation, drug resistance and alternatives to conventional approaches.

Biofilms are aggregates of bacteria, in most cases, which are resistant usually to broad-spectrum antibiotics in their typical concentrations or even in higher doses. A trend of increasing multi-drug resistance in biofilms, which are responsible for emerging life-threatening nosocomial infections, is becoming a serious problem. Biofilms, however, are at various sensitivity levels to environmental factors and are versatile in infectivity depending on virulence factors.

Understanding the Role of Fibroblasts following a 3D Tumoroid Implantation for Breast Tumor Formation.

An understanding of the participation and modulation of fibroblasts during tumor formation and growth is still unclear. Among many speculates, one might be the technical challenge to reveal the versatile function of fibroblasts in tissue complexity, and another is the dynamics in tissue physiology and cell activity. The histology of most solid tumors shows a predominant presence of fibroblasts, suggesting that tumor cells recruit fibroblasts for breast tumor growth.

Multiparametric ultrasound imaging for the assessment of normal versus steatotic livers.

Liver disease is increasing in prevalence across the globe. We present here a multiparametric ultrasound (mpUS) imaging approach for assessing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NALFD). This study was performed using rats (N = 21) that were fed either a control or methionine and choline deficient (MCD) diet.

Multifocused Ultrasound Therapy for Controlled Microvascular Permeabilization and Improved Drug Delivery.

Focused ultrasound (FUS) exposure of micro-bubble (MB) contrast agents can transiently increase microvascular permeability allowing anticancer drugs to extravasate into a targeted tumor tissue. Either fixed or mechanically steered in space, most studies to date have used a single element focused transducer to deliver the ultrasound (US) energy. The goal of this study was to investigate various multi-FUS strategies implemented on a programmable US scanner (Vantage 256, Verasonics Inc.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging of acute changes in pancreatic cancer following targeted hyaluronan treatment.

The purpose of this study was to monitor acute changes in pancreatic tumor perfusion with contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) imaging following targeted hyaluronan (HA) treatment. Intratumoral accumulation of HA is one of contributing factors that can lead to an increased tumor interstitial pressure (TIP). These elevated TIP levels can hinder delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs and cause treatment failure.

Porcine Breast Extracellular Matrix Hydrogel for Spatial Tissue Culture.

Porcine mammary fatty tissues represent an abundant source of natural biomaterial for generation of breast-specific extracellular matrix (ECM). Here we report the extraction of total ECM proteins from pig breast fatty tissues, the fabrication of hydrogel and porous scaffolds from the extracted ECM proteins, the structural properties of the scaffolds (tissue matrix scaffold, TMS), and the applications of the hydrogel in human mammary epithelial cell spatial cultures for cell surface receptor expression, metabolomics characterization, acini formation, proliferation, migration between different scaffolding compartments, and in vivo tumor formation. This model system provides an additional option for studying human breast diseases such as breast cancer.

Native-mimicking in vitro microenvironment: an elusive and seductive future for tumor modeling and tissue engineering.

Human connective tissues are complex physiological microenvironments favorable for optimal survival, function, growth, proliferation, differentiation, migration, and death of tissue cells. Mimicking native tissue microenvironment using various three-dimensional (3D) tissue culture systems in vitro has been explored for decades, with great advances being achieved recently at material, design and application levels. These achievements are based on improved understandings about the functionalities of various tissue cells, the biocompatibility and biodegradability of scaffolding materials, the biologically functional factors within native tissues, and the pathophysiological conditions of native tissue microenvironments.

A versatile 3D tissue matrix scaffold system for tumor modeling and drug screening.

Most of the anticancer drug candidates entering preclinical trials fail to be approved for clinical applications. The following are among the main causes of these failures: studying molecular mechanisms of cancer development, identifying therapeutic targets, and testing drug candidates using inappropriate tissue culture models, which do not recapitulate the native microenvironment where the cancer cells originate. It has become clear that three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures are more biologically and clinically relevant than 2D models.

Human tooth-derived biomaterial as a graft substitute for hard tissue regeneration.

Aim: The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of human dentine grafts for new bone augmentation.

Materials & Methods: Dentine grafts (demineralized dentine matrix [DDM] and mineralized dentine matrix [MDM]) were prepared and implanted in rats. Tetracycline was administered twice.

Robust tissue growth and angiogenesis in large-sized scaffold by reducing HO-mediated oxidative stress.

The implantation of cell-seeded large-sized scaffold often results in insufficient tissue regeneration, which is still a challenge for successful grafting. Excess hydrogen peroxide (HO) released by cells propagates oxidative stress, which is the primary cause of tissue injury leading to failure in tissue regeneration. Hence, preventing tissue from oxidative damage becomes imperative.

Application of Synthetic Polymeric Scaffolds in Breast Cancer 3D Tissue Cultures and Animal Tumor Models.

Preparation of three-dimensional (3D) porous scaffolds from synthetic polymers is a challenge to most laboratories conducting biomedical research. Here, we present a handy and cost-effective method to fabricate polymeric hydrogel and porous scaffolds using poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) or polycaprolactone (PCL). Breast cancer cells grown on 3D polymeric scaffolds exhibited distinct survival, morphology, and proliferation compared to those on 2D polymeric surfaces.

Differential Functional Constraints Cause Strain-Level Endemism in Populations.

The adaptation of bacterial lineages to local environmental conditions creates the potential for broader genotypic diversity within a species, which can enable a species to dominate across ecological gradients because of niche flexibility. The genus maintains both free-living and symbiotic ecotypes and maintains an apparently ubiquitous distribution in freshwater ecosystems. Subspecies-level resolution supplemented with metagenome-derived genotype analysis revealed that differential functional constraints, not geographic distance, produce and maintain strain-level genetic conservation in populations across three geographically proximal riverine environments.

3D scaffolds in breast cancer research.

Breast tumors grow in a tissue microenvironment containing extracellular matrix (ECM), adipocytes, stromal cells, fluids, and blood vessels. This natural yet complex physiopathological territory is dynamically remodeled in favor of tumor growth and metastasis. The environment-mimicking 3D cultures have shown compelling advantages in the studies of tumor cell biology, and are of intensive research for the development of alternative systems to improve therapeutic efficacies against tumors.

Ornamenting 3D printed scaffolds with cell-laid extracellular matrix for bone tissue regeneration.

3D printing technique is the most sophisticated technique to produce scaffolds with tailorable physical properties. But, these scaffolds often suffer from limited biological functionality as they are typically made from synthetic materials. Cell-laid mineralized ECM was shown to be potential for improving the cellular responses and drive osteogenesis of stem cells.

Bioprintable, cell-laden silk fibroin-gelatin hydrogel supporting multilineage differentiation of stem cells for fabrication of three-dimensional tissue constructs.

Bioprinting has exciting prospects for printing three-dimensional (3-D) tissue constructs by delivering living cells with appropriate matrix materials. However, progress in this field is currently extremely slow due to limited choices of bioink for cell encapsulation and cytocompatible gelation mechanisms. Here we report the development of clinically relevant sized tissue analogs by 3-D bioprinting, delivering human nasal inferior turbinate tissue-derived mesenchymal progenitor cells encapsulated in silk fibroin-gelatin (SF-G) bioink.

Developmental regulations of Perp in mice molar morphogenesis.

Teraspanin transmembrane protein, Perp (P53 apoptosis effector related to PMP22), which is found in the plasma membrane as a component of the desmosome, is reported to be involved in the morphogenesis of the epithelium and the enamel formation of the incisor. However, its expression pattern and signaling regulation during molar development have not been elucidated in detail. We have examined the precise expression patterns of Perp in developing lower molars and employed the knock-down of Perp by antisense oligodeoxynucleotide treatment during in vitro organ cultivation at embryonic day 13 to define the precise developmental function of Perp.

The impact of combined sewage overflows on the viral contamination of receiving waters.

The contribution of combined sewer overflows (CSO) to the viral contamination of receiving waters was determined. Adenovirus concentrations were determined using the Primary Liver Carcinoma (PLC/PRF/5) cell line and confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Norovirus concentration was determined using the Most Probable Number (MPN) and Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR).

Osteonecrosis associated with dental implants in patients undergoing bisphosphonate treatment.

Objectives: Bisphosphonate-related jaw necrosis (BRONJ) associated with dental implants is a rare but continuously reported complication. To verify clinical and pathological characteristics of BRONJ around dental implants, the present study analyzed clinical, radiographic and histopathological findings of these lesions.

Patients And Methods: Nineteen patients were diagnosed with osteonecrosis of the jaw associated with dental implants and treated at our institute from 2008 to 2011.

DJ-1 promotes angiogenesis and osteogenesis by activating FGF receptor-1 signaling.

Communication between osteoblasts and endothelial cells is essential for bone fracture repair, but the molecular identities of such communicating factors are not well defined. Here we identify DJ-1 as a novel mediator of the cross-talk between osteoblasts and endothelial cells through an unbiased screening of molecules secreted from human mesenchymal stem cells during osteogenesis. We show that DJ-1 stimulates the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells to osteoblasts and that DJ-1 induces angiogenesis in endothelial cells through activation of fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 signalling.

Microbial risk assessment for recreational use of the Chicago area waterway system.

A microbial risk assessment was conducted to estimate the human health risks from incidental contact recreational activities such as canoeing, boating and fishing in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) receiving secondary treated, but non-disinfected, effluent from three municipal water reclamation plants. Actual concentrations of the pathogens (pathogenic E. coli [estimated], Giardia, Cryptosporidium, adenovirus, norovirus, enteric virus) detected from the waterway field data collection at locations upstream and downstream of the effluent outfall during dry and wet weather conditions within the recreation season were included in the risk assessment.