Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Stimulation in Osteogenesis and Chondrogenesis: Signaling Pathways and Therapeutic Implications

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are the main cell players in tissue repair and thanks to their self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation capabilities, they gained significant attention as cell source for tissue engineering (TE) approaches aimed at restoring bone and cartilage defects. Despite significant progress, their therapeutic application remains debated: the TE construct often fails to completely restore the biomechanical properties of the native tissue, leading to poor clinical outcomes in the long term. Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) are currently used as a safe and non-invasive treatment to enhance bone healing and to provide joint protection. PEMFs enhance both osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs. Here, we provide extensive review of the signaling pathways modulated by PEMFs during MSCs osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation. Particular attention has been given to the PEMF-mediated activation of the adenosine signaling and their regulation of the inflammatory response as key player in TE approaches. Overall, the application of PEMFs in tissue repair is foreseen: (1) in vitro: to improve the functional and mechanical properties of the engineered construct; (2) in vivo: (i) to favor graft integration, (ii) to control the local inflammatory response, and (iii) to foster tissue repair from both implanted and resident MSCs cells.     

Reusable Polyacrylonitrile-Sulfur Extractor of Heavy Metal Ions from Wastewater

Mercury, lead, and cadmium are among the most toxic and carcinogenic heavy metal ions (HMIs), posing serious threats to the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems and public health. There is an urgent need to remove these ions from water by a cheap but green process. Traditional methods have insufficient removal efficiency and reusability. Structurally robust, large surface-area adsorbents functionalized with high-selectivity affinity to HMIs are attractive filter materials. Here, an adsorbent prepared by vulcanization of polyacrylonitrile (PAN), a nitrogen-rich polymer, is reported, giving rise to PAN-S nanoparticles with cyclic π-conjugated backbone and electronic conductivity. PAN-S can be coated on ultra-robust melamine (ML) foam by simple dipping and drying. In agreement with hard/soft acid/base theory, N- and S-containing soft Lewis bases have strong binding to Hg²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Cd²⁺, with extraordinary capture efficiency and performance stability. Furthermore, the used filters, when collected and electrochemically biased in a recycling bath, can release the HMIs into the bath and electrodeposit on the counter-electrode as metallic Hg⁰, Pb⁰, Cu⁰, and Cd⁰, and the PAN-S@ML filter can then be reused at least 6 times as new. The electronically conductive PAN-S@ML filter can be fabricated cheaply and holds promise for scale-up applications.     

Current advances concerning the most cited metal ions doped bioceramics and silicate-based bioactive glasses for bone tissue engineering

Studies related to biomaterials that stimulate the repair of living tissue have increased considerably, improving the quality of many people's lives that require surgery due to traumatic accidents, bone diseases, bone defects, and reconstructions. Among these biomaterials, bioceramics and bioactive glasses (BGs) have proved to be suitable for coating materials, cement, scaffolds, and nanoparticles, once they present good biocompatibility and degradability, able to generate osteoconduction on the surrounding tissue. However, the role of biomaterials in hard tissue engineering is not restricted to a structural replacement or for guiding tissue regeneration. Nowadays, it is expected that biomaterials develop a multifunctional role when implanted, orchestrating the process of tissue regeneration and providing to the body the capacity to heal itself. In this way, the incorporation of specific metal ions in bioceramics and BGs structure, including magnesium, silver, strontium, lithium, copper, iron, zinc, cobalt, and manganese are currently receiving enhanced interest as biomaterials for biomedical applications. When an ion is incorporated into the bioceramic structure, a new category of material is created, which has several unique properties that overcome the disadvantages of primitive material and favors its use in different biomedical applications. The doping can enhance handling properties, angiogenic and osteogenic performance, and antimicrobial activity. Therefore, this review aims to summarize the effect of selected metal ion dopants into bioceramics and silicate-based BGs in bone tissue engineering. Furthermore, new applications for doped bioceramics and BGs are highlighted, including cancer treatment and drug delivery.     

Spatiotemporal Magnetocaloric Microenvironment for Guiding the Fate of Biodegradable Polymer Implants

The degradation behavior of implants is significantly important for bone repair. However, it is still unprocurable to spatiotemporally regulate the degradation of the implants to match bone ingrowth. In this paper, a magneto-controlled biodegradation model is established to explore the degradation behavior of magnetic scaffolds in a magnetothermal microenvironment generated by an alternating magnetic field (AMF). The results demonstrate that the scaffolds can be heated by magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) under AMF, which dramatically accelerated scaffold degradation. Especially, magnetic NPs modified by oleic acid with a better interface compatibility exhibit a greater heating efficiency to further facilitate the degradation. Furthermore, the molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the enhanced motion correlation between magnetic NPs and polymer matrix can accelerate the energy transfer. As a proof-of-concept, the feasibility of magneto-controlled degradation for implants is demonstrated, and an optimizing strategy for better heating efficiency of nanomaterials is provided, which may have great instructive significance for clinical medicine.     

深部松软煤层钻孔孔周煤体变形产渣特征研究

针对煤矿井下高瓦斯软煤顺层长钻孔排渣困难、成孔率低、施工困难等问题,通过数值模拟实验研究了井下深部软煤体变形破坏特征,分析了顺层长钻孔孔周松软煤体变形特征及应力变化,以揭示顺层长钻孔孔周松软煤体变形产渣规律。研究表明:深部高瓦斯软煤顺层钻孔孔周煤体的应力平衡临界条件破坏后将发生大体积突然垮落;钻孔水平最大变形位移为1.22mm,垂直方向最大变形位移为10.7mm;径向孔周煤体垂向变形呈现逐渐减小趋势,且垂向变形明显大于钻孔水平变形。在水平方向上,钻孔孔周煤体应力分布呈现先增大再逐渐减小的变化规律,径向距离对水平应力分布的影响逐渐减小;随着径向距离的增加,钻孔孔周煤体应力分布逐渐降低,钻孔孔壁处煤体的应力出现最大值,且垂直方向处应力值最大。     

An overview on fault diagnosis and nature-inspired optimal control of industrial process applications

Fault detection, isolation and optimal control have long been applied to industry. These techniques have proven various successful theoretical results and industrial applications. Fault diagnosis is considered as the merge of fault detection (that indicates if there is a fault) and fault isolation (that determines where the fault is), and it has important effects on the operation of complex dynamical systems specific to modern industry applications such as industrial electronics, business management systems, energy, and public sectors. Since the resources are always limited in real-world industrial applications, the solutions to optimally use them under various constraints are of high actuality. In this context, the optimal tuning of linear and nonlinear controllers is a systematic way to meet the performance specifications expressed as optimization problems that target the minimization of integral- or sum-type objective functions, where the tuning parameters of the controllers are the vector variables of the objective functions. The nature-inspired optimization algorithms give efficient solutions to such optimization problems. This paper presents an overview on recent developments in machine learning, data mining and evolving soft computing techniques for fault diagnosis and on nature-inspired optimal control. The generic theory is discussed along with illustrative industrial process applications that include a real liquid level control application, wind turbines and a nonlinear servo system. New research challenges with strong industrial impact are highlighted.     

Capsiate Intake with Exercise Training Additively Reduces Fat Deposition in Mice on a High-Fat Diet,but Not without Exercise Training

While exercise training (ET) is an efficient strategy to manage obesity, it is recommended with a dietary plan to maximize the antiobesity functions owing to a compensational increase in energy intake. Capsiate is a notable bioactive compound for managing obesity owing to its capacity to increase energy expenditure. We aimed to examine whether the antiobesity effects of ET can be further enhanced by capsiate intake (CI) and determine its effects on resting energy expenditure and metabolic molecules. Mice were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8 per group) and fed high-fat diet. Mild-intensity treadmill ET was conducted five times/week; capsiate (10 mg/kg) was orally administered daily. After 8 weeks, resting metabolic rate and metabolic molecules were analyzed. ET with CI additively reduced the abdominal fat rate by 18% and solely upregulated beta-3-adrenoceptors in adipose tissue (p = 0.013) but did not affect the metabolic molecules in skeletal muscles. Surprisingly, CI without ET significantly increased the abdominal fat rate (p = 0.001) and reduced energy expenditure by 9%. Therefore, capsiate could be a candidate compound for maximizing the antiobesity effects of ET by upregulating beta-3-adrenoceptors in adipose tissue, but CI without ET may not be beneficial in managing obesity.     

面向草莓抓取的气动四叶片软体抓手研制

农林业中果蔬的自动化采摘需求日趋强烈,末端抓手是实现无损采摘的关键。传统的末端抓手以刚性结构居多,现有的各种柔性抓手也存在抓取力不足、包覆性不佳等缺点。本文以草莓的无损采摘为研究对象,提出将草莓外部轮廓曲线作为设计曲线,设计了一种新型气动四叶片软体抓手。首先,对软体抓手的结构做仿真优化,提出一种安全地附着在目标物表面的设想。然后,在进行草莓表面的最小破坏应力试验的基础上,测试了软体抓手的末端力,验证了其实现无损抓取的可行性。再次,利用动态捕捉技术,研究了软体抓手叶面的弯曲变形规律。最后,选择使用弧线型气体通道的软体抓手进行了草莓抓取测试,结果证明了气动四叶片软体抓手可以实现草莓的无损抓取,抓取成功率达90%,破损率为2%,表明所研制的四叶片软体抓手用于草莓抓取时具有良好的稳定性和实用性,可用于草莓采摘的末端执行器。本研究也可为其他易损果蔬的采摘技术提供理论基础和技术支撑。