As the gap between donors and patients in need of an organ transplant continues to widen, research in regenerative medicine seeks to provide alternative strategies for treatment. One of the most ...promising techniques for tissue and organ regeneration is decellularization, in which the extracellular matrix (ECM) is isolated from its native cells and genetic material in order to produce a natural scaffold. The ECM, which ideally retains its inherent structural, biochemical, and biomechanical cues, can then be recellularized to produce a functional tissue or organ. While decellularization can be accomplished using chemical and enzymatic, physical, or combinative methods, each strategy has both benefits and drawbacks. The focus of this review is to compare the advantages and disadvantages of these methods in terms of their ability to retain desired ECM characteristics for particular tissues and organs. Additionally, a few applications of constructs engineered using decellularized cell sheets, tissues, and whole organs are discussed.
Pharmacophore approaches have become one of the major tools in drug discovery after the past century's development. Various ligand-based and structure-based methods have been developed for improved ...pharmacophore modeling and have been successfully and extensively applied in virtual screening,
de novo design and lead optimization. Despite these successes, pharmacophore approaches have not reached their expected full capacity, particularly in facing the demand for reducing the current expensive overall cost associated with drug discovery and development. Here, the challenges of pharmacophore modeling and applications in drug discovery are discussed and recent advances and latest developments are described, which provide useful clues to the further development and application of pharmacophore approaches.
Low extracellular electron transfer performance is often a bottleneck in developing high‐performance bioelectrochemical systems. Herein, we show that the self‐assembly of graphene oxide and ...Shewanella oneidensis MR‐1 formed an electroactive, reduced‐graphene‐oxide‐hybridized, three‐dimensional macroporous biofilm, which enabled highly efficient bidirectional electron transfers between Shewanella and electrodes owing to high biomass incorporation and enhanced direct contact‐based extracellular electron transfer. This 3D electroactive biofilm delivered a 25‐fold increase in the outward current (oxidation current, electron flux from bacteria to electrodes) and 74‐fold increase in the inward current (reduction current, electron flux from electrodes to bacteria) over that of the naturally occurring biofilms.
Shocking bacteria! The title biofilm was constructed by the one‐step in situ bioreduction and self‐assembly of graphene oxide (GO) with Shewanella oneidensis. The resulting 3D macroporous rGO/bacteria hybrid biofilm gave a 25‐fold increase in maximum oxidation current in microbial fuel cells, and a 74‐fold increase in reduction current in microbial electrosynthesis over that of the naturally occurring biofilms.
Abstract
By electronically wiring-up living cells with abiotic conductive surfaces, bioelectrochemical systems (BES) harvest energy and synthesize electric-/solar-chemicals with unmatched ...thermodynamic efficiency. However, the establishment of an efficient electronic interface between living cells and abiotic surfaces is hindered due to the requirement of extremely close contact and high interfacial area, which is quite challenging for cell and material engineering. Herein, we propose a new concept of a single cell electron collector, which is
in-situ
built with an interconnected intact conductive layer on and cross the individual cell membrane. The single cell electron collector forms intimate contact with the cellular electron transfer machinery and maximizes the interfacial area, achieving record-high interfacial electron transfer efficiency and BES performance. Thus, this single cell electron collector provides a superior tool to wire living cells with abiotic surfaces at the single-cell level and adds new dimensions for abiotic/biotic interface engineering.
The ternary-element storage and flow concept for shale oil reservoirs in Jiyang Depression of Bohai Bay Basin, East China, was proposed based on the data of more than 10 000 m cores and the ...production of more than 60 horizontal wells. The synergy of three elements (storage, fracture and pressure) contributes to the enrichment and high production of shale oil in Jiyang Depression. The storage element controls the enrichment of shale oil; specifically, the presence of inorganic pores and fractures, as well as laminae of lime-mud rocks, in the saline lake basin, is conducive to the storage of shale oil, and the high hydrocarbon generating capacity and free hydrocarbon content are the material basis for high production. The fracture element controls the shale oil flow; specifically, natural fractures act as flow channels for shale oil to migrate and accumulate, and induced fractures communicate natural fractures to form complex fracture network, which is fundamental to high production. The pressure element controls the high and stable production of shale oil; specifically, the high formation pressure provides the drive force for the migration and accumulation of hydrocarbons, and fracturing stimulation significantly increases the elastic energy of rock and fluid, improves the imbibition replacement of oil in the pores/fractures, and reduces the stress sensitivity, guaranteeing the stable production of shale oil for a long time. Based on the ternary-element storage and flow concept, a 3D development technology was formed, with the core techniques of 3D well pattern optimization, 3D balanced fracturing, and full-cycle optimization of adjustment and control. This technology effectively guides the production and provides a support to the large-scale beneficial development of shale oil in Jiyang Depression.
Background
This study aims to examine people’s attitudes toward the COVID-19 pandemic before and after the emergence of the omicron variant.
Methods
Data were collected between November 15 and ...December 14, 2021, and three attitudes were included, namely, the negative influence on daily life, concerns of infection risk, and prediction of the ending of the pandemic.
Results
The majority of people perceived that daily life was at least somewhat negatively influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, and they worried at least once a week about infection risk. After the emergence of the omicron variant, the perceived negative influence and concern of infection risk decreased slightly while the prediction of ending increased significantly. People who were infected by COVID-19 perceived more negative influence and more concern of infection risk, but were more optimistic about the ending of the pandemic. People who did not get a vaccine perceived less negative influence and less concern of infection risk, but were more pessimistic about the ending of the pandemic. The attitudes varied significantly by individual and contextual characteristics.
Conclusion
The emergence of omicron significantly increased people’s predicted ending time of the pandemic but did not change people’s perception of the pandemic’s negative influence on daily life and concern of infection risk.
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