Picoliter ice particles by supersonic cryogenic jets for transdermal drug delivery: Extracellular vesicle application for skin diseases.

Transdermal drug delivery holds significant potential for treating skin conditions. Conventional methods utilizing needles or large unit drug delivery volumes often result in patient discomfort and inhomogeneous delivery. This study proposes a picoliter ice particle delivery (PIPD) technology that produces high-speed solid ice drug particles using controlled supersonic cryogenic jets for transdermal drug delivery.

The Immobilization of an FGF2-Derived Peptide on Culture Plates Improves the Production and Therapeutic Potential of Extracellular Vesicles from Wharton's Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

The skin is an essential organ that protects the body from external aggressions; therefore, damage from various wounds can significantly impair its function, and effective methods for regenerating and restoring its barrier function are crucial. This study aimed to mass-produce wound-healing exosomes using a fragment of the fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2)-derived peptide (FP2) to enhance cell proliferation and exosome production. Our experiments demonstrated increased cell proliferation when Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJ MSCs) were coated with FP2.

Evaluation of Vibration Damping Enhancement in Laminated Aluminum Sheets for Automotive Application.

In this research, the vibration damping characteristics of the laminated aluminum sheets (LAS) were evaluated in a sheet specimen and an automotive dash panel and compared with those of the monolithic aluminum sheet (MAS). The LAS was fabricated with two 5xxx series aluminum alloy (AA) sheets (AA5052-O) with a thickness of 0.7 mm by inserting an acryl-based adhesive in between.

Thermostable Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor Enhances the Production and Activity of Human Wharton's Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles.

Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cell (WJ-MSC)-derived exosomes contain a diverse cargo and exhibit remarkable biological activity, rendering them suitable for regenerative and immune-modulating functions. However, the quantity of secretion is insufficient. A large body of prior work has investigated the use of various growth factors to enhance MSC-derived exosome production.

Thermostable Human Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (TS-bFGF) Engineered with a Disulfide Bond Demonstrates Superior Culture Outcomes in Human Pluripotent Stem Cell.

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can differentiate into various tissues and are an essential source of various disease models and therapeutics. Various growth factors are required in order to culture pluripotent stem cells, among which basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is essential for maintaining stem cell ability. However, bFGF has a short half-life (8 h) under normal mammalian cell culture conditions, and its activity decreases after 72 h, posing a serious problem in the production of high-quality stem cells.

A systematic review of computational approaches to understand cancer biology for informed drug repurposing.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, trailing only heart disease. In the United States alone, 1.9 million new cancer cases and 609,360 deaths were recorded for 2022.

Rapid production method with increased yield of high-purity extracellular vesicles obtained using extended mitochondrial targeting domain peptide.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nano-sized membranous structures involved in intercellular communication and various physiological and pathological processes. Here, we present a novel method for rapid (within 15 min), large-scale production of high-purity EVs using eMTDΔ4, a peptide derived from Noxa. The treatment of mesenchymal stem cells derived from human Wharton's jelly after trypsinization and subsequent eMTDΔ4 stimulation in a chemically defined sucrose buffer with orbital shaking led to a substantial increase (approximately 30-fold) in EV production with markedly high purity (approximately 45-fold).

Superior therapeutic activity of TGF-β-induced extracellular vesicles against interstitial cystitis.

Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is a chronic disease characterized by incapacitating pelvic pain. Mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) are considered key mediators of the paracrine action of MSCs and show better biological activities than the parent MSCs, especially in the bladder tissue, which may be unfavorable for MSC survival. Here, we produced MSC-EVs using advanced three-dimensional (a3D) culture with exogenous transforming growth factor-β3 (TGF-β3) (T-a3D-EVs).

Modulation of Osteogenic Differentiation of Adipose-Derived Stromal Cells by Co-Treatment with 3, 4'-Dihydroxyflavone, U0126, and N-Acetyl Cysteine.

Background And Objectives: Flavonoids form the largest group of plant phenols and have various biological and pharmacological activities. In this study, we investigated the effect of a flavonoid, 3, 4'-dihydroxyflavone (3, 4'-DHF) on osteogenic differentiation of equine adipose-derived stromal cells (eADSCs).

Methods And Results: Treatment of 3, 4'-DHF led to increased osteogenic differentiation of eADSCs by increasing phosphorylation of ERK and modulating Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) generation.

Analysis of the Region of Interest According to CNN Structure in Hierarchical Pattern Surface Inspection Using CAM.

A convolutional neural network (CNN), which exhibits excellent performance in solving image-based problem, has been widely applied to various industrial problems. In general, the CNN model was applied to defect inspection on the surface of raw materials or final products, and its accuracy also showed better performance compared to human inspection. However, surfaces with heterogeneous and complex backgrounds have difficulties in separating defects region from the background, which is a typical challenge in this field.

Estimating the phase volume fraction of multi-phase steel via unsupervised deep learning.

Advanced high strength steel (AHSS) is a steel of multi-phase microstructure that is processed under several conditions to meet the current high-performance requirements from the industry. Deep neural network (DNN) has emerged as a promising tool in materials science for the task of estimating the phase volume fraction of these steels. Despite its advantages, one of its major drawbacks is its requirement of a sufficient amount of training data with correct labels to the network.

Low-intensity ultrasound attenuates paw edema formation and decreases vascular permeability induced by carrageenan injection in rats.

Background: Therapeutic potential of low-intensity ultrasound (LIUS) has become evident in various musculoskeletal diseases. We have previously shown that LIUS has an inhibitory effect on local edema in various diseases including the arthritis and brain injury. In this study, we examined whether LIUS can attenuate paw edema formation vis-à-vis vascular permeability and inflammation in rats induced by carrageenan.

Identification of indothiazinone as a natural antiplatelet agent.

Cardiovascular disease, which is caused by unregulated platelet aggregation, is one of the main causes of deaths worldwide. Many studies have focused on natural products with antiplatelet effects as a safe alternative therapy to prevent the disease. In this context, an in-house chemical library was screened to find natural products capable of inhibiting the interaction between platelet integrin αIIbβ3 and fibrinogen, which is an essential step in platelet aggregation.

Vimentin filaments regulate integrin-ligand interactions by binding to the cytoplasmic tail of integrin β3.

Vimentin, an intermediate filament protein induced during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, is known to regulate cell migration and invasion. However, it is still unclear how vimentin controls such behaviors. In this study, we aimed to find a new integrin regulator by investigating the H-Ras-mediated integrin suppression mechanism.

Intermolecular transmembrane domain interactions activate integrin αIIbβ3.

Integrins are the major cell adhesion molecules responsible for cell attachment to the extracellular matrix. The strength of integrin-mediated adhesion is controlled by the affinity of individual integrins (integrin activation) as well as by the number of integrins involved in such adhesion. The positive correlation between integrin activation and integrin clustering had been suggested previously, but several trials to induce integrin clustering by dimerization of the transmembrane domain or tail region of integrin α subunits failed to demonstrate any change in integrin activation.

Electric-field-controlled flow in nanoscale-thin wetting films.

A novel nanofluidic system based on electroosmotic flow in nanoscale-thin aqueous wetting films is reported. The water films formed spontaneously on mica substrates in a saturation humidity environment. The film thickness was determined to be a few tens of nanometers by optical interference and fluorescence intensity measurements and was consistent with a theoretical evaluation of the thickness of a film based on the competing forces of electrostatic repulsion and capillary pressure.

Electric-field-assisted convective assembly of colloidal crystal coatings.

A new technique that combines evaporative convective deposition of colloidal crystal coatings with an electric field to achieve more rapid assembly and reduce the defects in the crystal structure is reported. When an ac voltage is applied across the particle suspension and the substrate in the convective assembly process, a longer film spreads from the meniscus by the electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) effect. The data suggest that the EWOD-increased liquid surface area results in increased evaporation-driven particle flux and crystal assembly that is up to five times more rapid.

Long-term stabilization of foams and emulsions with in-situ formed microparticles from hydrophobic cellulose.

We report a simple method to produce foams and emulsions of extraordinary stability by using hydrophobic cellulose microparticles, which are formed in situ by a liquid-liquid dispersion technique. The hydrophobic cellulose derivative, hypromellose phthalate (HP), was initially dissolved in water-miscible solvents such as acetone and ethanol/water mixtures. As these HP stock solutions were sheared in aqueous media, micron sized cellulose particles formed by the solvent attrition.

Combined effects of swim training and ginseng supplementation on exercise performance time, ROS, lymphocyte proliferation, and DNA damage following exhaustive exercise stress.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the combined effects of regular exercise and ginseng supplementation on peritoneal exudate ROS (reactive oxygen species), lymphocyte proliferation by splenocytes, and DNA damage following exhaustive exercise stress. Thirty-six female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into control (UT, n = 12), trained (TR, n = 12), and ginseng supplemented and trained (GT, n = 12) groups. Each group was divided into two equal subgroups where mice were studied at rest (UTre, TRre, and GTre) or immediately after exhaustive exercise stress (UTex, TRex, and GTex).

Ceramide increases Fas-mediated apoptosis in glioblastoma cells through FLIP down-regulation.

Ceramide is a physiologic regulator of growth and differentiation in mammalian cells. In this study, the relationship between ceramide and FLICE inhibitory protein (FLIP) in the induction of apoptosis in glioblastoma cell lines was investigated. We found that LN215 cells were slightly more sensitive to Fas-mediated apoptosis than LN319 cells, which were more sensitive to ceramide than LN215 cells.

Length separation of Zwitterion-functionalized single wall carbon nanotubes by GPC.

The length-fractionation of shortened (250 to 25 nm), zwitterion-functionalized, single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) has been demonstrated via gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The UV-Vis spectrum of each fraction indicates an apparent "solubilization", as evident by the direct observation of all predicted optically allowed interband transitions between the mirror image spikes in the density of states of both metallic and semiconducting SWNTs with various tube diameters. As evident by the presence or absence of the 270 nm, pi-plasmon absorption, this "solubilization" is a dynamic process and leads to re-aggregation if left undisturbed for a couple of weeks or upon dissociation of the pendant octadecylamine groups.