Adhesive hydrogels in osteoarthritis:from design to application

Osteoarthritis(OA)is the most common type of degenerative joint disease which affects 7%of the global population and more than 500 million people worldwide.One research frontier is the development of hydrogels for OA treatment,which operate either as functional scaffolds of tissue engineering or as delivery vehicles of functional additives.Both approaches address the big challenge:establishing stable integration of such delivery systems or implants.Adhesive hydrogels provide possible solutions to this challenge.However,few studies have described the current advances in using adhesive hydrogel for OA treatment.This review summarizes the commonly used hydrogels with their adhesion mechanisms and components.Additionally,recognizing that OA is a complex disease involving different biological mechanisms,the bioactive therapeutic strategies are also presented.By presenting the adhesive hydrogels in an interdisciplinary way,including both the fields of chemistry and biology,this review will attempt to provide a comprehensive insight for designing novel bioadhesive systems for OA therapy.

Angiography-derived radial wall strain predicts coronary lesion progression in non-culprit intermediate stenosis

BACKGROUND Intermediate coronary lesions(ICLs)are highly prevalent but ported mixed prognosis.Radial strain has been associated with plaque vulnerability,yet its role in predicting lesion progression is largely unknown.The purpose of this study was to determine the predictive value of angiography-derived radial wall strain(RWS)for progression of untreated non-culprit ICLs.METHODS Post-hoc analysis was conducted in a study cohort including 603 consecutive patients with 808 ICLs identified at index procedure with angiographic follow-up of up to two years.RWS analysis was performed on selected angiographic frames with minimal foreshortening and vessel overlap.Lesion progression was defined as≥20%increase in percent diameter stenosis.RESULTS Lesion progression occurred in 49 ICLs(6.1%)with a median follow-up period of 16.8 months.Maximal RWS(RWSmax),frequently located at the proximal and throat plaque regions,distinguished progressive ICLs from silent ones.The largest area under the curve value of 0.75(95%CI:0.67–0.82,P<0.001)was reached at the optimal RWSmax cutoff value of>12.6%.According to this threshold,178 ICLs were classified as having a high strain pattern.Exposure to a high strain amplitude with RWS_(max)>12.6%was independently associated with an increased risk of lesion progression(adjusted HR=6.82,95%CI:3.67–12.66,P<0.001).CONCLUSIONS Assessment of RWS from coronary angiography is feasible and provides independent prognostic value in patients with untreated ICLs.

The role of digital technologies in supporting and improving fishery and aquaculture across the supply chain-Quo Vadis?

Fish constitute important high protein products to meet the demands of an increasing global population.However,the continued depletion of wild fish stocks is leading to increased strain on the aquaculture sector in terms of sustaining the supply of fish and seafood to global markets.Despite the fact that aquaculture is more diversified than other agriculture sectors,there are significant pressures on the industry to continue innovating in order to enable sustainability including increased fish production,improved appropriate selection of species,disease mitigation,reduced wastage,preventing environmental pollution and generating more employment globally.This viewpoint article addresses how digital transformation can help support and meet expansion needs of the fisheries/aquaculture industries that includes exploiting and harnessing ICT,IoT,Cloud-edge computing,AI,machine learning,immersive technologies and blockchain.Digital technologies are bringing significant operational benefits for global food chain,improving efficiencies and productivity,reducing waste,contamination and food fraud.The focus on digital technologies has recently evolved to Industry 5.0 where AI and robotics are coupled with the human mind in order to advance human-centric solutions.This viewpoint describes the role of Quadruple helix Hub(academic-industry-government and society)in delivering a convergent holistic approach to meeting the diversity of fishery industry needs by connecting and placing fisheries centrally in a defined ecosystem of stakeholders.This includes specialist training,testing technologies,providing access to finance and fostering disruption through aquaculture accelerator initiatives such as that provided by Hatch Blue.Connecting digital Innovation Hubs trans-regionally,nationally and internationally will also help mitigate against significant risks for the fisheries and aquaculture industry including climate change,global pandemics and conflicts that can jeopardize fish and seafood production and supply chains.There is also a commensurate need to avail of digital technologies in order to increase awareness of key industry issues across the value chain,such as through social marketing.Thus,addressing key challenges by way of the global digital transformation of fishery and aquaculture industry will meet several sustainable development goals of the United Nations catered around the application of disruptive technology.

Bioactive potential of natural biomaterials: identification, retention and assessment of biological properties

Biomaterials have had an increasingly important role in recent decades,in biomedical device design and the development of tissue engineering solutions for cell delivery,drug delivery,device integration,tissue replacement,and more.There is an increasing trend in tissue engineering to use natural substrates,such as macromolecules native to plants and animals to improve the biocompatibility and biodegradability of delivered materials.At the same time,these materials have favourable mechanical properties and often considered to be biologically inert.More importantly,these macromolecules possess innate functions and properties due to their unique chemical composition and structure,which increase their bioactivity and therapeutic potential in a wide range of applications.While much focus has been on integrating these materials into these devices via a spectrum of cross-linking mechanisms,little attention is drawn to residual bioactivity that is often hampered during isolation,purification,and production processes.Herein,we discuss methods of initial material characterisation to determine innate bioactivity,means of material processing including cross-linking,decellularisation,and purification techniques and finally,a biological assessment of retained bioactivity of a final product.This review aims to address considerations for biomaterials design from natural polymers,through the optimisation and preservation of bioactive components that maximise the inherent bioactive potency of the substrate to promote tissue regeneration.

冠状动脉内影像学临床应用专家共识(第一部分):对冠状动脉介入治疗的指导与优化

欧洲心血管介入协会(EAPCI)专家组系统总结了血管内超声(IVUS)和光学相干断层成像(OCT)这两种血管内影像学检查临床应用指征的现有证据,提供了关于IVUS和OCT指导经皮冠状动脉介入治疗(PCI)的应用价值,并明确了最可能从腔内影像学指导的介入治疗中获得临床收益的患者或病变类型,同时详细论述了PCI前如何使用IVUS或OCT优化支架尺寸(支架长度和直径)和手术策略的选择。此外,专家推荐对支架失败(支架内再狭窄或支架内血栓形成)的患者应常规进行冠状动脉内影像学检查,并首选OCT。最后,重点论述了IVUS和OCT在指导PCI和评估支架失败两个方面的优势和局限性,并对未来需要深入研究的领域进行了展望。