Spheroid construction strategies and application in 3D bioprinting

Tissue engineering has been striving toward designing and producing natural and functional human tissues.Cells are the fundamental building blocks of tissues.Compared with traditional two-dimensional cultured cells,cell spheres are threedimensional(3D)structures that can naturally form complex cell–cell and cell–matrix interactions.This structure is close to the natural environment of cells in living organisms.In addition to being used in disease modeling and drug screening,spheroids have significant potential in tissue regeneration.The 3D bioprinting is an advanced biofabrication technique.It accurately deposits bioinks into predesigned 3D shapes to create complex tissue structures.Although 3D bioprinting is efficient,the time required for cells to develop into complex tissue structures can be lengthy.The 3D bioprinting of spheroids significantly reduces the time required for their development into large tissues/organs during later cultivation stages by printing them with high cell density.Combining spheroid fabrication and bioprinting technology should provide a new solution to many problems in regenerative medicine.This paper systematically elaborates and analyzes the spheroid fabrication methods and 3D bioprinting strategies by introducing spheroids as building blocks.Finally,we present the primary challenges faced by spheroid fabrication and 3D bioprinting with future requirements and some recommendations.

Problems of Agricultural Technological Innovation in China and Countermeasures

Major problems of agricultural technological innovation in China were summarized as below: first,poor agricultural science and technology system; second,deficient technological promotion system; third,shortage of agricultural professionals; fourth,serious shortage of science and technology input. In view of these problems,the following suggestions were given to improve the innovation of agricultural technology in China. ( 1) Restructuring agricultural research institutes,establishing cooperative innovation centers,improving agricultural technological innovation system; ( 2) Specifying the direction of research projects,improving scientific research level of technicians,so as to improve the agricultural technological innovation capacity; ( 3) Improving promotion and service stations in towns,organizing technological service teams of agricultural universities and colleges,establishing agricultural technological promotion systems; ( 4) Increasing input in agricultural technological innovation by attracting government input,enterprise investment and other financial support; ( 5) Cultivating more talents of agricultural technology,training leading agricultural technicians,grassroots agricultural service staff and practical talents.

Gut microbiota-derived short chain fatty acids are potential mediators in gut inflammation

Gut inflammation is a challenging concern in humans and animals,which disturbs normal growth and leads to severe bowel diseases.Short chain fatty acids(SCFA)are the gut microbiota metabolites produced from fermentation of non-digestible carbohydrates,and have been reported to modulate gut inflammation.SCFA have been implicated as the potential therapeutic bioactive molecules for gut inflammatory diseases,and could be an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters(AGP).In this review,the existing knowledge about the types of SCFA,the related gut microbes producing SCFA,the roles of SCFA in maintaining gut homeostasis,and how SCFA modulate gut inflammation is summarized.The therapeutic application of SCFA in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)is also highlighted

Ablative fractional CO_(2)laser surgery improving sleep quality,pain and pruritus in adult hypertrophic scar patients:a prospective cohort study

Background:Poor sleep quality is associated with a decrease in quality of life in patients with major burn scars,combined with pruritus and pain.Few interventions have been reported to improve the sleep quality of patients with scars.In the current prospective cohort study,we investigated the efficacy of CO_(2)-ablative fractional laser(AFL)surgery vs conventional surgery in post-burn patients with hypertrophic scars with sleep quality as the primary study outcome.Methods:In total 68 consecutive patients undergoing scar surgical treatment were recruited,including a CO_(2)-AFL surgery cohort(n=35)and a conventional surgery cohort(n=33).A subgroup from the AFL cohort was selected.Sleep quality,pain and pruritus were evaluated.Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to reveal the effect of CO_(2)-AFL surgery.Results:The CO_(2)-AFL surgery cohort had significantly lower Pittsburgh sleep quality index(PSQI)global scores than the conventional surgery cohort after the last surgical treatment.In the subgroup of patients receiving hardware sleep monitoring,CO_(2)-AFL markedly increased deep sleep time,deep sleep efficiency and reduced initial sleep latency.Compared to the conventional surgery cohort,the CO_(2)-AFL cohort presented significantly lower pain and pruritus scores.Correlation analysis showed pain and pruritus were significantly associated with PSQI scores,and there were also significant correlations between pain and pruritus scores.Multiple linear regression analysis showed that surgery method was negatively linearly correlated with visual analog scale(VAS)pain score,brief pain inventory(BPI)total,VAS pruritus score,5-D itch scale total,four-item itch questionnaire(FIIQ)total and PSQI total.Conclusions:CO_(2)-AFL surgery significantly improved sleep quality and reduced pain and pruritus of hypertrophic scar patients.The alleviation of sleep disorder was associated with improvement of deep sleep quality including deep sleep time and deep sleep deficiency.Trial registration:The Chinese Clinical Trial Registry(ChiCTR200035268)approved retrospectively registration on 5 Aug 2020.

The five major autoimmune diseases increase the risk of cancer:epidemiological data froma large-scale cohort study in China

Background:Cancer incidence and mortality have received critical attention during the long-term management of morbidities in patients with autoimmune diseases(AIDs).This study aimed to investigate and compare the risk of cancer associated with five major AIDs in a large-scale Chinese cohort.Methods:A total of 8,120 AID patients consecutively admitted to a national tertiary referral center in China were included and followed-up for 38,726.55 patient-years,including those with systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE),rheumatoid arthritis(RA),Sjoren’s syndrome(SS),systemic scleroderma(SSc),and idiopathic inflammatory myositis(IIM).Demographic data,cancer incidence,predilecting sites and cancer onset time were recorded and compared among the five AIDs.Results:Four hundred and thirty(5.3%)patients developed cancer.Their median agewas 57.5 years and AID durationwas 79.8 months.The estimated total standardized incidence ratio(SIR)of cancer in AIDs patients was 3.37,with the highest SIR observed in IIM(4.31),followed by RA(3.99),SSc(3.77),SS(2.88)and SLE(2.58).The increased SIR of cancers in AID patients showed a female predominance(female vs.male:3.59 vs.2.77)and younger patient involvement(age<50 vs.≥50 years:4.88 vs.3.04).Patientswith SLE had increased SIRs for developing hematologic malignancies and solid tumors located in the urinary bladder,corpus uteri and cervix uteri.Patients with SS had a significantly high SIR for developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.Within 3 years of IIM diagnosis,74.6%of the patients developed cancer and they had a high risk of ovarian cancer.RA was associated with a wide distribution of scancers,including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,gynecologic,urinary tract,thyroid gland and lung cancers.SSc patients had increased SIRs for developing cervical uterine,lung,and breast cancers.Conclusion:Patients with five major AIDs in China had an increased risk of developing cancer,with a predominance in women and younger patients,although cancer incidence,predilection sites and cancer onset time may vary greatly in each AID entity.