Single-Cell Microgels for Diagnostics and Therapeutics

Cell encapsulation within hydrogel droplets is transforming what is feasible in multiple fields of biomedical science such as tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, in vitro modeling, and cell-based therapies. Recent advances have allowed researchers to miniaturize material encapsulation complexes down to single-cell scales, where each complex, termed a single-cell microgel, contains only one cell surrounded by a hydrogel matrix while remaining <100 μm in size. With this achievement, studies requiring single-cell resolution are now possible, similar to those done using liquid droplet encapsulation. Of particular note, applications involving long-term in vitro cultures, modular bioinks, high-throughput screenings, and formation of 3D cellular microenvironments can be tuned independently to suit the needs of individual cells and experimental goals. In this progress report, an overview of established materials and techniques used to fabricate single-cell microgels, as well as insight into potential alternatives is provided. This focused review is concluded by discussing applications that have already benefited from single-cell microgel technologies, as well as prospective applications on the cusp of achieving important new capabilities.     

Portrait of Cancer Stem Cells on Colorectal Cancer: Molecular Biomarkers,Signaling Pathways and miRNAome

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and about 20% is metastatic at diagnosis and untreatable. Increasing evidence suggests that the heterogeneous nature of CRC is related to colorectal cancer stem cells (CCSCs), a small cells population with stemness behaviors and responsible for tumor progression, recurrence, and therapy resistance. Growing knowledge of stem cells (SCs) biology has rapidly improved uncovering the molecular mechanisms and possible crosstalk/feedback loops between signaling pathways that directly influence intestinal homeostasis and tumorigenesis. The generation of CCSCs is probably connected to genetic changes in members of signaling pathways, which control self-renewal and pluripotency in SCs and then establish function and phenotype of CCSCs. Particularly, various deregulated CCSC-related miRNAs have been reported to modulate stemness features, controlling CCSCs functions such as regulation of cell cycle genes expression, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, metastasization, and drug-resistance mechanisms. Primarily, CCSC-related miRNAs work by regulating mainly signal pathways known to be involved in CCSCs biology. This review intends to summarize the epigenetic findings linked to miRNAome in the maintenance and regulation of CCSCs, including their relationships with different signaling pathways, which should help to identify specific diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers for CRC, but also develop innovative CCSCs-targeted therapies.     

A numerical study of dynamic behaviors of a unitized regenerative fuel cell during gas purging

The gas purging states affect electricity output and energy storage capacity of unitized regenerative fuel cells. In this study, a model of unitized regenerative fuel cell is established. Cell voltages and operating temperatures influences on the dynamic distribution of thermal fluid during purging process and the discharge of residual liquid water in electrolytic cell mode are investigated. The motivation of the present study is better understanding the gas purging characteristics and its effect on reaction behaviors of unitized regenerative fuel cells. Simulation results reveal a significant influence of purging gas temperature on the water flooding and a great effect of operating voltage on the water diffusion. The operating temperature of electrolytic cell model almost has little effect on purging results at different cell temperature and the same purging gas temperature. When the purging gas temperature is changed, higher temperatures of cell and purging gas facilitate liquid water discharging out from the cell regions. In cell water flooding situation, when having large liquid content, the purging gas has little effects on the water expelling process.     

冰下单载波水声通信试验研究

北极地区战略地位的提高促进了极区各种应用的快速发展，冰下水声通信成为其中一个热点问题。为了研究冰下单载波水声通信性能，在黄海冰区开展冰下试验。重点分析了内嵌锁相环的多通道判决反馈均衡(Multi-channelDecision Feedback Equalization, M-DFE)技术在冰下水声通信中抗多途时延的能力，研究比较了改进比例归一化最小均方(Improved Proportional normalized Least Mean Square, IPNLMS)算法和递归最小二乘(Recursive Least Squares,RLS)算法的均衡性能。试验结果表明IPNLMS和RLS都能克服信道多途效应带来的影响。在牺牲计算复杂度的前提下，RLS具有更好的均衡效果，M-DFE在冰下环境中能够有效消除码间干扰。     

Robust optimal operation of continuous catalytic reforming process under feedstock uncertainty

The continuous catalytic regenerative (CCR) reforming process is one of the most significant sources of hydrogen production in the petroleum refining process. However, the fluctuations in feedstock composition and flow rate could significantly affect both product distribution and energy consumption. In this study, a robust deviation criterion based multi-objective optimization approach is proposed to perform the optimal operation of CCR reformer under feedstock uncertainty, with simultaneous maximization of product yields and minimization of energy consumption. Minimax approach is adopted to handle these uncertain objectives, and the Latin hypercube sampling method is then used to calculate these robust deviation criteria. Multi-objective surrogate-based optimization methods are next introduced to effectively solve the robust operational problem with high computational cost. The level diagram method is finally utilized to assist in multi-criteria decision-making. Two robust operational optimization problems with different objectives are solved to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for robust optimal operation of the CCR reforming process under feedstock uncertainty.     

Systematic Review: Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells,Platelet-Rich Plasma and Biomaterials as New Regenerative Strategies in Chronic Skin Wounds and Soft Tissue Defects

The number of clinical trials evaluating adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs), platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and biomaterials efficacy in regenerative plastic surgery has exponentially increased during the last ten years. AD-MSCs are easily accessible from various fat depots and show intrinsic plasticity in giving rise to cell types involved in wound healing and angiogenesis. AD-MSCs have been used in the treatment of soft tissue defects and chronic wounds, employed in conjunction with a fat grafting technique or with dermal substitute scaffolds and platelet-rich plasma. In this systematic review, an overview of the current knowledge on this topic has been provided, based on existing studies and the authors’ experience. A multistep search of the PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, PreMEDLINE, Ebase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Clinicaltrials.gov, Scopus database, and Cochrane databases has been performed to identify papers on AD-MSCs, PRP, and biomaterials used in soft tissue defects and chronic wounds. Of the 2136 articles initially identified, 422 articles focusing on regenerative strategies in wound healing were selected and, consequently, only 278 articles apparently related to AD-MSC, PRP, and biomaterials were initially assessed for eligibility. Of these, 85 articles were excluded as pre-clinical, experimental, and in vitro studies. For the above-mentioned reasons, 193 articles were selected; of this amount, 121 letters, expert opinions, commentary, and editorials were removed. The remaining 72 articles, strictly regarding the use of AD-MSCs, PRP, and biomaterials in chronic skin wounds and soft tissue defects, were analyzed. The studies included had to match predetermined criteria according to the patients, intervention, comparator, outcomes, and study design (PICOS) approach. The information analyzed highlights the safety and efficacy of AD-MSCs, PRP, and biomaterials on soft tissue defects and chronic wounds, without major side effects.     

Pleiotropic Effects of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors: Renoprotective Mechanisms beyond Glycemic Control

Diabetes mellitus is a major cause of chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease. However, the management of chronic kidney disease, particularly diabetes, requires vast improvements. Recently, sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, originally developed for the treatment of diabetes, have been shown to protect against kidney injury via glycemic control, as well as various other mechanisms, including blood pressure and hemodynamic regulation, protection from lipotoxicity, and uric acid control. As such, regulation of these mechanisms is recommended as an effective multidisciplinary approach for the treatment of diabetic patients with kidney disease. Thus, SGLT2 inhibitors are expected to become key drugs for treating diabetic kidney disease. This review summarizes the recent clinical evidence pertaining to SGLT2 inhibitors as well as the mechanisms underlying their renoprotective effects. Hence, the information contained herein will advance the current understanding regarding the pleiotropic effects of SGLT2 inhibitors, while promoting future research in the field.     

基于平均功率平衡控制的磁悬浮分子泵电力失效补偿方法

高速磁悬浮涡轮分子泵（Turbo Molecular Pump, TMP）因其高能量密度、微振动、无需润滑等优点被广泛应用于工业领域，但外部电源失效时，高速转子跌落后与保护轴承产生剧烈撞击和摩擦，将给系统带来致命损害。针对以上问题，提出一种基于平均功率平衡法的电力失效补偿控制（Power Failure Compensation Control, PFCC）方法。首先，设计电机能量回馈电路；其次，对Buck-Boost变换器进行数学建模，设计一种双环非线性控制器，其中电流内环使用滑模控制，电压外环使用平均功率平衡控制（Average Power Balance Control, APBC），并利用Lyapunov函数推导出系统的稳定性条件；最后，通过搭建磁悬浮分子泵PFCC实验平台，对所提出的方法进行实验验证。结果表明：本文所提出的方法具有快速响应和输出鲁棒性，磁悬浮转子由额定转速21000 r/min降至3900 r/min时跌落，电机能量转化效率为96.6%，提高了磁轴承系统的安全性。     

高压气动系统负载容腔压力伺服控制仿真研究

为满足某气体发生系统安装空间小、重量轻、动态响应快、控制精度高等要求，设计了高压气动压力伺服控制系统，并采用高压电-气伺服阀实现了负载压力的高响应高精度控制。建立了系统数学模型，包括高压气瓶热力学方程、高压电-气伺服阀传递函数与流量方程、负载容腔压力变化与排气流量方程等子模型，并设计了反馈线性化PID控制器。基于MATLAB/Simulink平台建立了高压气动系统仿真模型，仿真研究了高压气瓶容积与初始气源压力、负载容腔排气孔通径等参数对系统负载压力控制性能的影响规律。研究结果为该系统的优化设计与实验研究提供重要理论依据。     

A high-throughput chaotic advection microreactor for preparation of uniform and aggregated barium sulfate nanoparticles

A high-throughput (105.5 g/h) passive four-stage asymmetric oscillating feedback microreactor using chaotic mixing mechanism was developed to prepare aggregated Barium sulfate (BaSO₄) particles of high primary nanoparticle size uniformity. Three-dimensional unsteady simulations showed that chaotic mixing could be induced by three unique secondary flows (i.e., vortex, recirculation, and oscillation), and the fluid oscillation mechanism was examined in detail. Simulations and Villermaux–Dushman experiments indicate that almost complete mixing down to molecular level can be achieved and the prepared BaSO₄ nanoparticles were with narrow primary particle size distribution (PSD) having geometric standard deviation, σ_g, less than 1.43 when the total volumetric flow rate Q_total was larger than 10 ml/min. By selecting Q_total and reactant concentrations, average primary particle size can be controlled from 23 to 109 nm as determined by microscopy. An average size of 26 nm with narrow primary PSD (σ_g = 1.22) could be achieved at Q_total of 160 ml/min.