Magnetic Resonance Elastography and Computational Modeling Identify Heterogeneous Lung Biomechanical Properties during Cystic Fibrosis.

The lung is a dynamic mechanical organ and several pulmonary disorders are characterized by heterogeneous changes in the lung's local mechanical properties (i.e. stiffness).

Professional Self-Concept, Job Stress, and Triage Competency Among Emergency Nurses: Secondary Data Analysis of a Cross-Sectional Survey.

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the indirect relationship of job stress with triage competency through professional self-concept among emergency nurses in Korea.

Methods: A secondary data analysis of survey data from 132 questionnaires was used. A convenience sample of emergency nurses working in regional or local emergency centers in 2 Korean cities was recruited for the survey.

Reduced stiffness and augmented traction force in type 2 diabetic coronary microvascular smooth muscle.

Type 2 diabetic (T2DM) coronary resistance microvessels (CRMs) undergo inward hypertrophic remodeling associated with reduced stiffness and reduced coronary blood flow in both mice and pig models. Since reduced stiffness does not appear to be due to functional changes in the extracellular matrix, this study tested the hypothesis that decreased CRM stiffness in T2DM is due to reduced vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) stiffness, which impacts the traction force generated by VSMCs. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and traction force microscopy (TFM) were conducted on primary low-passage CRM VSMCs from normal / and T2DM / mice in addition to low-passage normal and T2DM deidentified human coronary VSMCs.

Stromal PTEN Regulates Extracellular Matrix Organization in the Mammary Gland.

The organization of the extracellular matrix has a profound impact on cancer development and progression. The matrix becomes aligned throughout tumor progression, providing "highways" for tumor cell invasion. Aligned matrix is associated with breast density and is a negative prognostic factor in several cancers; however, the underlying mechanisms regulating this reorganization remain poorly understood.

Glioblastoma stem cells are regulated by interleukin-8 signaling in a tumoral perivascular niche.

Glioblastoma multiforme contains a subpopulation of cancer stem-like cells (CSC) believed to underlie tumorigenesis and therapeutic resistance. Recent studies have localized CSCs in this disease adjacent to endothelial cells (EC) in what has been termed a perivascular niche, spurring investigation into the role of EC-CSC interactions in glioblastoma multiforme pathobiology. However, these studies have been limited by a lack of in vitro models of three-dimensional disease that can recapitulate the relevant conditions of the niche.