A Scalable and Robust Water Management Strategy for PEMFCs: Operando Electrothermal Mapping and Neutron Imaging Study.

Effective water management is crucial for the optimal operation of low-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Excessive liquid water production can cause flooding in the gas diffusion electrodes and flow channels, limiting mass transfer and reducing PEMFC performance. To tackle this issue, a nature-inspired chemical engineering (NICE) approach has been adopted that takes cues from the integument structure of desert-dwelling lizards for passive water transport.

Blood-brain barrier injury and neuroinflammation induced by SARS-CoV-2 in a lung-brain microphysiological system.

In some patients, COVID-19 can trigger neurological symptoms with unclear pathogenesis. Here we describe a microphysiological system integrating alveolus and blood-brain barrier (BBB) tissue chips that recapitulates neuropathogenesis associated with infection by SARS-CoV-2. Direct exposure of the BBB chip to SARS-CoV-2 caused mild changes to the BBB, and infusion of medium from the infected alveolus chip led to more severe injuries on the BBB chip, including endothelial dysfunction, pericyte detachment and neuroinflammation.

Brain organoid-on-chip system to study the effects of breast cancer derived exosomes on the neurodevelopment of brain.

Early human brain development can be affected by multiple prenatal factors that involve chemical exposures in utero, maternal health characteristics such as psychiatric disorders, and cancer. Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide arising pregnancy. However, it is not clear whether the breast cancer might influence the brain development of fetus.

Malignant Melanoma-Derived Exosomes Induce Endothelial Damage and Glial Activation on a Human BBB Chip Model.

Malignant melanoma is a type of highly aggressive tumor, which has a strong ability to metastasize to brain, and 60-70% of patients die from the spread of the tumor into the central nervous system. Exosomes are a type of nano-sized vesicle secreted by most living cells, and accumulated studies have reported that they play crucial roles in brain tumor metastasis, such as breast cancer and lung cancer. However, it is unclear whether exosomes also participate in the brain metastasis of malignant melanoma.

EGFR signaling confers resistance to BET inhibition in hepatocellular carcinoma through stabilizing oncogenic MYC.

Background: The bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) inhibitor is a type of anti-tumor agent, currently being evaluated in phase I and II clinical trials for cancer therapy. It can decrease MYC expression levels and cause effective anti-tumor effects in diverse human cancers. However, its cytotoxic effect and related mechanisms of drug resistance are poorly understood in hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC).

Oriented covalent immobilization of recombinant protein A on the glutaraldehyde activated agarose support.

High IgG-binding capacity of protein A affinity chromatography is crucial to its application in the antibody purification and autoantibody-associated disease treatment. An oriented immobilization strategy was used to covalently conjugate the recombinant protein A (rSpA) on the glutaraldehyde activated agarose. By controlling the glutaraldehyde concentration, pH and reactivity time, one or two molecules of glutaraldehyde per primary amino group were anchored on agarose supports.

Comparison of two different standards of care in detecting malignant thyroid nodules using thyroid fine-needle aspiration.

The aim of the present study was to verify the optimal method to obtain enough fine-needle aspiration (FNA) materials for detecting thyroid malignancy. A prospective study was performed by comparing two different regional standards of care. In one group a traditional FNA method mainly used in Asian countries, including China, was performed in which a single pass of a 22-G needle was applied with or without aspiration.

Coexistence of Histologically Confirmed Hashimoto's Thyroiditis with Different Stages of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma in a Consecutive Chinese Cohort.

Purpose. To determine the relationship between Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) and all stages of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) with or without local lymph node metastasis (LNM). Methods.

Surface properties of SAC and its adsorption mechanisms for phenol and nitrobenzene.

The physicochemical properties of an activated carbon produced from sewage sludge (SAC) were determined and compared with those of a market activated carbon (MAC). Phenol and nitrobenzene were selected as the target compounds and their adsorption behaviors in water and cyclohexane were studied and compared. The experimental results showed that the surface area of SAC was only 1/4 of that of the MAC.