3D Bioprinting of an In Vitro Model of a Biomimetic Urinary Bladder with a Contract-Release System

© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.The development of curative therapy for bladder dysfunction is usually hampered owing to the lack of reliable ex vivo human models that can mimic the complexity of the human bladder. To overcome this issue, 3D in vitro model systems offering unique opportunities to engineer realistic human tissues/organs have been developed. However, existing in vitro models still cannot entirely reflect the key structural and physiological characteristics of the native human bladder. In this study, we propose an in vitro model of the urinary bladder that can create 3D biomimetic tissue structures and dynamic microenvironments to replicate the smooth muscle functions of an actual human urinary bladder. In other words, the proposed biomimetic model system, developed using a 3D bioprinting approach, can recreate the physiological motion of the urinary bladder by incorporating decellularized extracellular matrix from the bladder tissue and introducing cyclic mechanical stimuli. The results showed that the developed bladder tissue models exhibited high cell viability and proliferation rate and promoted myogenic differentiation potential given dynamic mechanical cues. We envision the developed in vitro bladder mimicry model can serve as a research platform for fundamental studies on human disease modeling and pharmaceutical testing.11Nsciescopu

Face-to-face intubation using a lightwand in a patient with severe thoracolumbar kyphosis: a case report

Abstract Background Severe deformity of the thoracolumbar spine may cause difficulty in airway management during induction of anesthesia. Therefore, special attention must be devoted to patient safety. Case presentation A 65-year-old male with severe thoracolumbar kyphosis was scheduled to undergo posterior spinal fusion under general anesthesia. Due to his inability to lie supine, conventional tracheal intubation under direct laryngoscopy was difficult. Alternatively, face-to-face tracheal intubation using a lightwand in the semi-recumbent position was performed. Intubation was successful on the first attempt without any complications. Conclusions The face-to-face intubation technique using a lightwand is one of several alternative techniques for tracheal intubation in patients who cannot lie supine

Preparation and Properties of Cellulose Nanofiber Films with Various Chemical Compositions Impregnated by Ultraviolet-Curable Resin

Nanocomposite films were prepared by impregnating cellulose nanofiber (CNF) sheets of various chemical compositions, i.e., lignocellulose nanofiber (LCNF), holocellulose nanofiber (HCNF), and bleached kraft pulp-based nanofiber (BKP-NF), with UV-curable resin. The effects of the CNF sheet porosity on the amount of impregnated resin and the tensile properties of the corresponding nanocomposite films were investigated. The defibration efficiency, viscosity, and filtration time of HCNF and BKP-NF were higher than those of LCNF, and these properties increased with defibration time for BKP-NF. The density and porosity of the LCNF sheets were lower and higher, respectively, than those of the HCNF and BKP-NF sheets. The porosity of the CNF sheets was successfully regulated using organic solvents with different polarities. The impregnated resin amount increased as the CNF sheet porosity and the ratio of monomer to oligomer in the resin increased. The tensile strengths and elastic moduli of all of the nanocomposite films were higher than those of the neat resin films. The specific tensile strength of the nanocomposite decreased with increasing impregnated resin content