A bio-inspired Janus hydrogel patch facilitates oral ulcer repair by combining prolonged wet adhesion and lubrication.

Oral ulcers, the most common type of mucosal lesion, are both highly prevalent and prone to recurrence. In the persistently moist environment of the oral cavity, current therapeutic patches face challenges such as short adhesion time, disruption by food particles and bacteria, and oral movements. To address these challenges, we develop a Janus patch, named ANSB, inspired by the multi-layered and asymmetric structure of natural mucosa, featuring a long-lasting adhesive layer and a lubricating layer.

Implementing a two-stage, shim field-calibrated superconducting shimming method on a 7 T cryogen-free small animal MRI magnet.

Ultrahigh field systems (≥ 7 T) can increase the signal-to-noise ratio of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), improving imaging performance compared to systems with lower fields. However, these enhancements heavily rely on a high B magnetic field homogeneity level, which can be achieved through superconducting shimming. This paper presents a novel two-stage superconducting shimming method designed to achieve precise shimming for a 7 T MRI superconducting magnet.

Hyperspectral unmixing for Raman spectroscopy via physics-constrained autoencoders.

Raman spectroscopy is widely used across scientific domains to characterize the chemical composition of samples in a nondestructive, label-free manner. Many applications entail the unmixing of signals from mixtures of molecular species to identify the individual components present and their proportions, yet conventional methods for chemometrics often struggle with complex mixture scenarios encountered in practice. Here, we develop hyperspectral unmixing algorithms based on autoencoder neural networks, and we systematically validate them using both synthetic and experimental benchmark datasets created in-house.

A Novel HLA-B*15 Variant Allele, HLA-B*15:359, Identified by Sequencing-Based Typing in a Chinese Individual.

HLA-B*15:359 differs from HLA-B*15:01:01:01 by one nucleotide substitution in exon 3.

Characterisation of the Novel HLA-A*02:406 Allele by Sequencing-Based Typing in a Chinese Individual.

HLA-A*02:406 differs from HLA-A*02:01:01:01 by one nucleotide substitution in codon 116 in exon 3.

Identification of the Novel HLA-A*02:407 Allele by Sanger Dideoxy Nucleotide Sequencing.

HLA-A*02:407 differs from HLA-A*02:01:01:01 by one nucleotide substitution in codon 109 in exon 3.

Noncontact 3D Bioprinting of Proteinaceous Microarrays for Highly Sensitive Immunofluorescence Detection within Clinical Samples.

Immunofluorescence assays are extensively used for the detection of disease-associated biomarkers within patient samples for direct diagnosis. Unfortunately, these 2D microarrays suffer from low repeatability and fail to attain the low limits of detection (LODs) required to accurately discern disease progression for clinical monitoring. While three-dimensional microarrays with increased biorecognition molecule density stand to circumvent these limitations, their viscous component materials are not compatible with current microarray fabrication protocols.

[A review on depth perception techniques in organoid images].

Organoids are an model that can simulate the complex structure and function of tissues . Functions such as classification, screening and trajectory recognition have been realized through organoid image analysis, but there are still problems such as low accuracy in recognition classification and cell tracking. Deep learning algorithm and organoid image fusion analysis are the most advanced organoid image analysis methods.

Pilot study on the impact of HIFU treatment on miRNA profiles in vaginal secretions of uterine fibroids and adenomyosis patients.

Background: High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation treatment for uterine fibroids and adenomyosis has been long developed. The aim of this study is to investigate miRNA profile changes in vaginal secretions after HIFU treatment and their clinical relevance.

Methods: We prospectively collected vaginal secretions samples from 8 patients (1 with adenomyosis and 7 with fibroids) before and after HIFU treatment.

Hybrid Raman and Partial Wave Spectroscopy Microscope for the Characterization of Molecular and Structural Alterations in Tissue.

We present a hybrid Raman spectroscopy (RS) and partial wave spectroscopy (PWS) microscope for the characterization of molecular and structural tissue alterations. The PWS performance was assessed with surface roughness standards, while the Raman performance with a silicon crystal standard. We also validated the system on stomach and intestinal mouse tissues, two closely-related tissue types, and demonstrate that the addition of PWS information improves RS data classification for these tissue types from R = 0.

Grating-based phase-contrast computed tomography for breast tissue at an inverse compton source.

The introduction of mammography screening programs has significantly reduced breast cancer mortality rates. Nevertheless, some lesions remain undetected, especially in dense breast tissue. Studies have shown that phase-contrast imaging can improve breast cancer diagnosis by increasing soft tissue contrast.

Ensemble transformer-based multiple instance learning to predict pathological subtypes and tumor mutational burden from histopathological whole slide images of endometrial and colorectal cancer.

In endometrial cancer (EC) and colorectal cancer (CRC), in addition to microsatellite instability, tumor mutational burden (TMB) has gradually gained attention as a genomic biomarker that can be used clinically to determine which patients may benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors. High TMB is characterized by a large number of mutated genes, which encode aberrant tumor neoantigens, and implies a better response to immunotherapy. Hence, a part of EC and CRC patients associated with high TMB may have higher chances to receive immunotherapy.

Enhancing Cellular Homeostasis: Targeted Botanical Compounds Boost Cellular Health Functions in Normal and Premature Aging Fibroblasts.

The human skin, the body's largest organ, undergoes continuous renewal but is significantly impacted by aging, which impairs its function and leads to visible changes. This study aimed to identify botanical compounds that mimic the anti-aging effects of baricitinib, a known JAK1/2 inhibitor. Through in silico screening of a botanical compound library, 14 potential candidates were identified, and 7 were further analyzed for their effects on cellular aging.

Ionic medicine: Exploiting metallic ions to stimulate skeletal muscle tissue regeneration.

The regeneration of healthy and functional skeletal muscle at sites of injuries and defects remains a challenge. Mimicking the natural environment surrounding skeletal muscle cells and the application of electrical and mechanical stimuli are approaches being investigated to promote muscle tissue regeneration. Likewise, chemical stimulation with therapeutic (biologically active) ions is an emerging attractive alternative in the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine fields, specifically to trigger myoblast proliferation, myogenic differentiation, myofiber formation, and ultimately to promote new muscle tissue growth.

Neutrophils exhibit flexible migration strategies and trail formation mechanisms on varying adhesive substrates.

Substrate anchorage is essential for cell migration, and actin polymerization at cell front and myosin contractility at cell rear are known to govern cell forward movement. Yet their differential driving strategies for neutrophil migration on distinct adhesiveness substrates and their contributions to the migration-induced trail formation remain unclear. Here we explore the morphological changes, migration dynamics, and trail formation of neutrophils on ICAM-1 and PLL substrates, with a focus on the relationships among adhesive forces, traction forces, and out-of-plane forces.

Behavior of Microbubbles on Air-Aqueous Interfaces.

Animal-derived lung surfactants have saved millions of lives of preterm neonates with neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome (nRDS). However, a replacement for animal-derived lung surfactants has been sought for decades due to its high manufacturing cost, inaccessibility in low-income countries, and failure to show efficacy when nebulized. This study investigated the use of lipid-coated microbubbles as potential replacements for exogenous lung surfactants.

Heterogeneity of Endothelial Cells Impacts the Functionality of Human Pancreatic Models.

Endothelial cells (ECs) play a crucial role in maintaining tissue homeostasis and functionality. Depending on their tissue of origin, ECs can be highly heterogeneous regarding their morphology, gene and protein expression, functionality, and signaling pathways. Understanding the interaction between organ-specific ECs and their surrounding tissue is therefore critical when investigating tissue homeostasis, disease development, and progression.

Enhancing Electrospinnability of Chitosan Membranes in Low-Humidity Environments by Sodium Chloride Addition.

The electrospinning of pure chitosan nanofibers is highly sensitive to environmental humidity, which limits their production consistency and applicability. This study investigates the addition of sodium chloride (NaCl) to chitosan solutions to enhance spinnability and mitigate the effigurefects of low humidity. NaCl was incorporated into the electrospun chitosan solution, leading to increased conductivity and decreased viscosity.

Single-Cell Hypertrophy Promotes Contractile Function of Cultured Human Airway Smooth Muscle Cells via Piezo1 and YAP Auto-Regulation.

Severe asthma is characterized by increased cell volume (hypertrophy) and enhanced contractile function (hyperresponsiveness) of the airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs). The causative relationship and underlying regulatory mechanisms between them, however, have remained unclear. Here, we manipulated the single-cell volume of in vitro cultured human ASMCs to increase from 2.