Orbital-selective confinement effect of Ru 4d4d orbitals in SrRuO3_3 ultrathin film

The electronic structure of SrRuO$_3$ thin film with thickness from 50 to 1 unit cell (u.c.) is investigated via the resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) technique at the O K-edge to unravel the intriguing interplay of orbital and charge degrees of freedom. We found that orbital-selective quantum confinement effect (QCE) induces the splitting of Ru $4d$ orbitals. At the same time, we observed a clear suppression of the electron-hole continuum across the metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) occurring at the 4 u.c. sample. From these two clear observations we conclude that QCE gives rise to a Mott insulating phase in ultrathin SrRuO$_3$ films. Our interpretation of the RIXS spectra is supported by the configuration interaction calculations of RuO$_6$ clusters.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Pre-set extrusion bioprinting for multiscale heterogeneous tissue structure fabrication

Recent advances in three-dimensional bioprinting technology have led to various attempts in fabricating human tissue-like structures. However, current bioprinting technologies have limitations for creating native tissue-like structures. To resolve these issues, we developed a new pre-set extrusion bioprinting technique that can create heterogeneous, multicellular, and multimaterial structures simultaneously. The key to this ability lies in the use of a precursor cartridge that can stably preserve a multimaterial with a pre-defined configuration that can be simply embedded in a syringe-based printer head. The multimaterial can be printed and miniaturized through a micro-nozzle without conspicuous deformation according to the pre-defined configuration of the precursor cartridge. Using this system, we fabricated heterogeneous tissue-like structures such as spinal cords, hepatic lobule, blood vessels, and capillaries. We further obtained a heterogeneous patterned model that embeds HepG2 cells with endothelial cells in a hepatic lobule-like structure. In comparison with homogeneous and heterogeneous cell printing, the heterogeneous patterned model showed a well-organized hepatic lobule structure and higher enzyme activity of CYP3A4. Therefore, this pre-set extrusion bioprinting method could be widely used in the fabrication of a variety of artificial and functional tissues or organs

Bone Fracture-Treatment Method: Fixing 3D-Printed Polycaprolactone Scaffolds with Hydrogel Type Bone-Derived Extracellular Matrix and β-Tricalcium Phosphate as an Osteogenic Promoter

Bone formation and growth are crucial for treating bone fractures. Improving bone-reconstruction methods using autologous bone and synthetic implants can reduce the recovery time. Here, we investigated three treatments using two different materials, a bone-derived decellularized extracellular matrix (bdECM) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP), individually and in combination, as osteogenic promoter between bone and 3D-printed polycaprolactone scaffold (6-mm diameter) in rat calvarial defects (8-mm critical diameter). The materials were tested with a human pre-osteoblast cell line (MG63) to determine the effects of the osteogenic promoter on bone formation in vitro. A polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffold with a porous structure was placed at the center of the in vivo rat calvarial defects. The gap between the defective bone and PCL scaffold was filled with each material. Animals were sacrificed four weeks post-implantation, and skull samples were preserved for analysis. The preserved samples were scanned by micro-computed tomography and analyzed histologically to examine the clinical benefits of the materials. The bdECM–β-TCP mixture showed faster bone formation and a lower inflammatory response in the rats. Therefore, our results imply that a bdECM–β-TCP mixture is an ideal osteogenic promoter for treating fractures

Sliding Fibers: Slidable, Injectable, and Gel-like Electrospun Nanofibers as Versatile Cell Carriers

Designing biomaterial systems that can mimic fibrous, natural extracellular matrix is crucial for enhancing the efficacy of various therapeutic tools. Herein, a smart technology of three-dimensional electrospun fibers that can be injected in a minimally invasive manner was developed. Open surgery is currently the only route of administration of conventional electrospun fibers into the body. Coordinating electrospun fibers with a lubricating hydrogel produced fibrous constructs referred to as <i>slid</i>able, <i>in</i>jectable, and <i>g</i>el-like (SLIDING) fibers. These SLIDING fibers could pass smoothly through a catheter and fill any cavity while maintaining their fibrous morphology. Their injectable features were derived from their distinctive rheological characteristics, which were presumably caused by the combinatorial effects of mobile electrospun fibers and lubricating hydrogels. The resulting injectable fibers fostered a highly favorable environment for human neural stem cell (hNSC) proliferation and neurosphere formation within the fibrous structures without compromising hNSC viability. SLIDING fibers demonstrated superior performance as cell carriers in animal stroke models subjected to the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) stroke model. In this model, SLIDING fiber application extended the survival rate of administered hNSCs by blocking microglial infiltration at the early, acute inflammatory stage. The development of SLIDING fibers will increase the clinical significance of fiber-based scaffolds in many biomedical fields and will broaden their applicability

3D-Printed Collagen Scaffolds Promote Maintenance of Cryopreserved Patients-Derived Melanoma Explants

The development of an in vitro three-dimensional (3D) culture system with cryopreserved biospecimens could accelerate experimental research screening anticancer drugs, potentially reducing costs and time bench-to-beside. However, minimal research has explored the application of 3D bioprinting-based in vitro cancer models to cryopreserved biospecimens derived from patients with advanced melanoma. We investigated whether 3D-printed collagen scaffolds enable the propagation and maintenance of patient-derived melanoma explants (PDMEs). 3D-printed collagen scaffolds were fabricated with a 3DX bioprinter. After thawing, fragments from cryopreserved PDMEs (approximately 1–2 mm) were seeded onto the 3D-printed collagen scaffolds, and incubated for 7 to 21 days. The survival rate was determined with MTT and live and dead assays. Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry staining was used to express the function of cryopreserved PDMEs. The results show that 3D-printed collagen scaffolds could improve the maintenance and survival rate of cryopreserved PDME more than 2D culture. MITF, Mel A, and S100 are well-known melanoma biomarkers. In agreement with these observations, 3D-printed collagen scaffolds retained the expression of melanoma biomarkers in cryopreserved PDME for 21 days. Our findings provide insight into the application of 3D-printed collagen scaffolds for closely mimicking the 3D architecture of melanoma and its microenvironment using cryopreserved biospecimens

Sliding Fibers: Slidable, Injectable, and Gel-like Electrospun Nanofibers as Versatile Cell Carriers

Designing biomaterial systems that can mimic fibrous, natural extracellular matrix is crucial for enhancing the efficacy of various therapeutic tools. Herein, a smart technology of three-dimensional electrospun fibers that can be injected in a minimally invasive manner was developed. Open surgery is currently the only route of administration of conventional electrospun fibers into the body. Coordinating electrospun fibers with a lubricating hydrogel produced fibrous constructs referred to as <i>slid</i>able, <i>in</i>jectable, and <i>g</i>el-like (SLIDING) fibers. These SLIDING fibers could pass smoothly through a catheter and fill any cavity while maintaining their fibrous morphology. Their injectable features were derived from their distinctive rheological characteristics, which were presumably caused by the combinatorial effects of mobile electrospun fibers and lubricating hydrogels. The resulting injectable fibers fostered a highly favorable environment for human neural stem cell (hNSC) proliferation and neurosphere formation within the fibrous structures without compromising hNSC viability. SLIDING fibers demonstrated superior performance as cell carriers in animal stroke models subjected to the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) stroke model. In this model, SLIDING fiber application extended the survival rate of administered hNSCs by blocking microglial infiltration at the early, acute inflammatory stage. The development of SLIDING fibers will increase the clinical significance of fiber-based scaffolds in many biomedical fields and will broaden their applicability

Spectral and magnetic properties of Na2RuO3

We present measurements of resistivity, x-ray absorption (XAS) and emission (XES) spectroscopy together with ab initio band structure calculations for quasi two dimensional ruthenate Na2RuO3. Density function calculations (DFT) and XAS and XES spectra both show that Na2RuO3 is a semiconductor with an activation energy of ∼80 meV. Our DFT calculations reveal large magneto-elastic coupling in Na2RuO3 and predict that the ground state of Na2RuO3 should be antiferromagnetic zig-zag. © 2017 IOP Publishing Lt

Three-Dimensional Hepatocellular Carcinoma/Fibroblast Model on a Nanofibrous Membrane Mimics Tumor Cell Phenotypic Changes and Anticancer Drug Resistance

Three-dimensional (3D) in vitro tissue or organ models can effectively mimic the complex microenvironment of many types of human tissues for medical applications. Unfortunately, development of 3D cancer models, which involve cancer/stromal cells in a 3D environment, has remained elusive due to the extreme complexity of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and the stepwise progression of human cancer. Here, we developed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) models, which consist of fibroblasts as stromal cells, HCC cells, and a nanofibrous membrane to mimic the complex TME. The 3D HCC models were fabricated using three distinct culture methods: cancer cells grown directly on the nanofibrous membrane (mono model), fibroblasts covering the nanofibrous membrane (layer model), and both cancer cells and fibroblasts grown on the nanofibrous membrane (mixed model). Interestingly, the mono model and layer model showed similar tissue structures, whereas the mixed model resulted in phenotypic changes to the cancer cells. Further analysis demonstrated that the mixed models promoted the expression of fibronectin and vimentin, and showed higher resistance to anticancer drugs compared with the other models. Thus, our 3D HCC model could be utilized for testing efficient anticancer therapies at various stages of cancer, with potential application to different tumor types

Growth factor-expressing human neural progenitor cell grafts protect motor neurons but do not ameliorate motor performance and survival in ALS mice

Neural progenitor cells (NPs) have shown several promising benefits for the treatment of neurological disorders. To evaluate the therapeutic potential of human neural progenitor cells (hNPs) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), we transplanted hNPs or growth factor (GF)-expressing hNPs into the central nervous system (CNS) of mutant Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1G93A) transgenic mice. The hNPs were engineered to express brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), VEGF, neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), or glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), respectively, by adenoviral vector and GDNF by lentiviral vector before transplantation. Donor-derived cells engrafted and migrated into the spinal cord or brain of ALS mice and differentiated into neurons, oligodendrocytes, or glutamate transporter-1 (GLT1)-expressing astrocytes while some cells retained immature markers. Transplantation of GDNF- or IGF-1-expressing hNPs attenuated the loss of motor neurons and induced trophic changes in motor neurons of the spinal cord. However, improvement in motor performance and extension of lifespan were not observed in all hNP transplantation groups compared to vehicle-injected controls. Moreover, the lifespan of GDNF-expressing hNP recipient mice by lentiviral vector was shortened compared to controls, which was largely due to the decreased survival times of female animals. These results imply that although implanted hNPs differentiate into GLT1-expressing astrocytes and secrete GFs, which maintain dying motor neurons, inadequate trophic support could be harmful and there is sexual dimorphism in response to GDNF delivery in ALS mice. Therefore, additional therapeutic approaches may be required for full functional recovery