Spreadsheet Research Articles

Lockdown and Social Work Students: A study on the perception of Social Work students about Lockdown during the COVID-19 outbreak

COVID-19 is not only a health-related issue but it has come along with a couple of problems to everyone may it be children, youth, adults (women, men), or elderly but only youth and students of social work in particular are considered in the present study. The researcher has taken into consideration the students of social work as students are viewed as the future of any nation and when the students are from the field of social work, they are expected to work for the betterment of society, hence their perception and their viewpoints both are important. Many researches have been made to acknowledge the situation of youth, their coping strategies, and suggested interventions during this pandemic, while majority of researches focus on mental health and fewer studies shows the overall challenges on youth and on social work students in particular nor about the contribution of social workers towards society betterment. The present study is designed keeping in view the above-mentioned gaps and thus framed the objectives based on these gaps pertaining to the purpose of the study. Objectives: The present study aimed to focus on the following domains of the pandemic situation: 1. To explore the lived experiences of social work students during lockdown. 2. To determine the various challenges faced by the social work students during COVID-19 Pandemic. 3. To ascertain any contribution(s) made by the social work students towards society during COVID-19 Pandemic. 4. To know about any change into the lives of social work students in post-lockdown period. 5. To collect a viewpoint of social work students about their perception of public reaction during and after lockdown. Methodology: The present study was conducted with the students of social work and was purely quantitative in nature. The questionnaire pertaining to the independent and dependent variables and related to the objectives of the study was prepared via google forms and the link was then sent to 120 social work students from different universities of north India through email out of 87 were received back with fully informed consent. The spread sheet of the data collected was then extracted from google forms which was then edited, classified and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and tabulated for univariate and multivariate data analysis. Results: Results shows that the students of social work have experienced various challenges during the lockdown period. These challenges were categorized as physical, psychological, financial and the studies related issues. Major problems experienced by the social work students were physical inactivity (60.9%) and due to that they are gaining weight leading to obesity (42.5%). To cope up with these problems, majority of the students opted for yoga, and exercise (43.68%). Talking about psychological problems, the students developed stress (56.32%) and anxiety (40.23%). Attending online classes is an added challenge for students as it is a new concept and out of the routine activity and thus, they face difficulty in concentration (63.22%) as there are several distractions present at home (44.83%). Majority of the students complained that their studies got affected in online classes as there was signal problem (66.67%). Sitting at one place for the whole day leads to back pain and increased screen time for the attending online leads to impact the eyesight of the students (32.18%). Besides, the student social workers reported that they have developed a distance from their social relations (37.93%) and they are experiencing social isolation (20.69%). Financial depreciation was most common among general public and so on students as they reported that they were not getting pocket money due to financial crisis in their families. Besides all these problems the student social worker have done their duty and majority have contributed to the society in one or the other way. When lockdown got over, majority (74.71%) of the student got relaxed and felt that their life will get resumed now while 25.29% were still anxious. Majority (80.46%) have started their concurrent fieldwork with all the precautionary measures. The students’ perception regarding public behavior was also assessed and they perceived that 59.77% public was relaxed to hear that the lockdown is over and feel that COVID-19 is over while the rest 40.23% were showing the same behaviour as earlier; aggressive, irritable and anxious about the disease.

Analysis of Normal Annual Rainfall of Kadapa District in Andhra Pradesh

Abstract: Rainfall is an important parameter in the assessment of water resources projects. The normal annual rainfall is the average value of annual rainfall of year over a specified 30 year period. The 30 year normal is recomputed every decade. Normal annual rainfall is important in planning and design of hydraulic structures. The annual rainfall of Kadapa District for the period of 1910 to 2019 is collected from Water Resources Information Systems portal. The change in normal annual rainfall for every decade is calculated by using MS-Excel spread sheet, starting from 1910. Statistical parameters such as mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation are calculated. The trend of maximum rainfall and minimum rainfall for every 30 years period is analyzed. Index of wetness is also calculated.

Confinement promotes nematic alignment of spindle-shaped cells during Drosophila embryogenesis.

Tissue morphogenesis is often controlled by actomyosin networks pulling on adherens junctions (AJs), but junctional myosin levels vary. At an extreme, the Drosophila embryo amnioserosa forms a horseshoe-shaped strip of aligned, spindle-shaped cells lacking junctional myosin. What are the bases of amnioserosal cell interactions and alignment? Compared with surrounding tissue, we find that amnioserosal AJ continuity has lesser dependence on α-catenin, the mediator of AJ-actomyosin association, and greater dependence on Bazooka/Par-3, a junction-associated scaffold protein. Microtubule bundles also run along amnioserosal AJs and support their long-range curvilinearity. Amnioserosal confinement is apparent from partial overlap of its spindle-shaped cells, its outward bulging from surrounding tissue and from compressive stress detected within the amnioserosa. Genetic manipulations that alter amnioserosal confinement by surrounding tissue also result in amnioserosal cells losing alignment and gaining topological defects characteristic of nematically ordered systems. With Bazooka depletion, confinement by surrounding tissue appears to be relatively normal and amnioserosal cells align despite their AJ fragmentation. Overall, the fully elongated amnioserosa appears to form through tissue-autonomous generation of spindle-shaped cells that nematically align in response to confinement by surrounding tissue.

Fabrication of 3D-Printed Scaffolds with Multiscale Porosity.

3D printing is a promising technique for producing bone implants, but there is still a need to adjust efficiency, facilitate production, and improve biocompatibility. Porous materials have a proven positive effect on the regeneration of bone tissue, but their production is associated with numerous limitations. In this work, we described a simple method of producing polymer or polymer-ceramic filaments for 3D-printing scaffolds by adding micrometer-scale porous structures on scaffold surfaces. Scaffolds included polycaprolactone (PCL) as the primary polymer, β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) as the ceramic filler, and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as a porogen. The pressurized filament extrusion gave flexible filaments composed of PCL, β-TCP, and PEG, which are ready to use in fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printers. Washing of 3D-printed scaffolds in ethanol solution removed PEG and revealed a microporous structure and ceramic particles on the scaffold's surfaces. Furthermore, 3D-printed materials exhibit good printing precision, no cytotoxic properties, and highly impact MG63 cell alignment. Although combining PCL, PEG, and β-TCP is quite popular, the presented method allows the production of porous scaffolds with a well-organized structure without advanced equipment, and the produced filaments can be used to 3D print scaffolds on a simple commercially available 3D printer.

ГОДОВОЙ ПЛАН-ГРАФИК ТЕХНИЧЕСКОГО ОБСЛУЖИВАНИЯ С ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕМ ПРОГРАММЫ MICROSOFT EXCEL

We reviewed the main stages of the development of the annual schedule of maintenance and technical diagnostics of the fleet of trucks on a computer, taking into account individual information on each of their samples and the time features of the formation of the fleet in a separate farm. (Research purpose) The research purpose is developing an annual schedule of maintenance and technical diagnostics of the fleet of trucks in the MS-Office program. (Materials and methods) It was shown that in order to solve the problem, the necessary information is entered into the computer in specially designed tabular forms. Used as input information: the list of trucks of the farm; the term of their commissioning/overhaul and mileage after it; the annual schedule of vacations of farm drivers; the annual schedule of holidays and weekends; the average annual mileage of farm truck models over the past year; schedules of intensive spring and autumn mechanized transport operations of the farm; individual mileage of all trucks over the past year year; individual planned mileage of each truck for a year; individual mileage of them after the last license plate maintenance. (Results and discussion) The output information is presented in the table for all trucks with the dates of their numbered technical services and technical diagnoses by month of the year. We used the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet package as a software environment for developing an annual maintenance schedule and technical diagnostics, which allows us to implement the principle of single data entry, thereby reducing the complexity of transferring them to a computer. (Conclusions) The development was presented as a special version of the system of software-algorithmic and information tools generated in the MS-Office spreadsheet environment.

Decellularized extracellular matrix-decorated 3D nanofiber scaffolds enhance cellular responses and tissue regeneration

The use of decellularized extracellular matrix products in tissue regeneration is quite alluring yet practically challenging due to the limitations of its availability, harsh processing techniques, and host rejection. Scaffolds obtained by either incorporating extracellular matrix (ECM) material or coating the surface can resolve these challenges to some extent. However, these scaffolds lack the complex 3D network formed by proteins and growth factors observed in natural ECM. This study introduces an approach utilizing 3D nanofiber scaffolds decorated with dECM to enhance cellular responses and promote tissue regeneration. Notably, the dECM can be customized according to specific cellular requirements, offering a tailored environment for enhanced therapeutic outcomes. Two types of 3D expanded scaffolds, namely radially aligned scaffolds (RAS) and laterally expanded scaffolds (LES) fabricated by the gas-foaming expansion were utilized. To demonstrate the proof-of-concept, human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) seeded on these scaffolds for up to 8 weeks, resulted in uniform and highly aligned cells which deposited ECM on the scaffolds. These cellular components were then removed from the scaffolds through decellularization (e.g., SDS treatment and freeze-thaw cycles). The dECM-decorated 3D expanded nanofiber scaffolds can direct and support cell alignment and proliferation along the underlying fibers upon recellularization. An in vitro inflammation assay indicates that dECM-decorated LES induces a lower immune response than dECM-decorated RAS. Further, subcutaneous implantation of dECM-decorated RAS and LES shows higher cell infiltration and angiogenesis within 7 and 14 days than RAS and LES without dECM decoration. Taken together, dECM-decorated 3D expanded nanofiber scaffolds hold great potential in tissue regeneration and tissue modeling. Statement of significanceDecellularized ECM scaffolds have attained widespread attention in biomedical applications due to their intricate 3D framework of proteins and growth factors. Mimicking such a complicated architecture is a clinical challenge. In this study, we developed natural ECM-decorated 3D electrospun nanofiber scaffolds with controlled alignments to mimic human tissue. Fibroblasts were cultured on these scaffolds for 8 weeks to deposit natural ECM and decellularized by either freeze-thawing or detergent to obtain decellularized ECM scaffolds. These scaffolds were tested in both in-vitro and in-vivo conditions. They displayed higher cellular attributes with lower immune response making them a good grafting tool in tissue regeneration.

To Abstract or Not to Abstract? A Comparative Study Evaluating the User Experience of Spreadsheet Programming with Sheet-Defined Functional Abstractions

Spreadsheets are a widespread functional programming paradigm that offer liveness and directness of interaction. However, spreadsheets are notoriously error-prone and difficult to debug. To overcome this limitation and improve the expressive power of spreadsheets, we propose an extension to the spreadsheet paradigm in the form of sheet-defined lambdas – user-defined functions that abstract computations on the sheet. This concept was developed and deployed in our web-based spreadsheet application named Lattice. We evaluate this approach through a user study which compared the user experience of programming in a spreadsheet with and without lambdas, as well as the difference in performance between learner (N = 12) and experienced (N = 12) programmers. The study measured participant task performance (task time, success rate and number of errors) and the quality of their user experience of using Lattice (video recordings of use, interviews and questionnaire responses). Our findings indicate that programming with lambdas is not only more efficient than writing formulas in a conventional way, but also provides a rewarding hedonic experience. However, we found that learners perceived the concept of functional abstractions with lambdas as difficult to comprehend; while experienced programmers noted potential utilitarian advantages that aid in managing the complexity of a spreadsheet program. The results obtained in this work contribute to a better understanding of human-spreadsheet interaction and can inform the future design of user-friendly computational systems.

Engineering free-standing electrospun PLLCL fibers on microfluidic platform for cell alignment

Here, a PLLCL-on-chip platform was developed by direct electrospinning of poly (L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLLCL) on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) microfluidic chips. Designed microchip provides the electrospinning of free-standing aligned PLLCL fibers which eliminates limitations of conventional electrospinning. Besides, aligned fiber structure favors cell alignment through contactless manipulation. Average fiber diameter, and fiber alignment was evaluated by SEM analyses, then, leakage profile of microchip was investigated. 3D cell culture studies were conducted using HeLa and NIH-3T3 cells, and nearly 85% cell viability was observed in PLLCL-on-chip for 15 days, while cell viability of 2D control started to decrease after 7 days based on Live dead and Alamar Blue analyses. These findings emphasize biocompatibility of PLLCL-on-chip platform for 3D cell culture and its ability to mimic extracellular matrix (ECM). Immunostaining results prove that PLLCL-on-chip platform favors the secretion of ECM proteins compared to control groups, and cytoskeletons of cells were in aligned orientation in PLLCL-on-chip, while they were in random orientation in control groups. Overall, these results demonstrate that the developed platform is suitable for the formation of various 3D cell culture models and a potential candidate for cell alignment studies.Graphical

Spectroscopic detection of chromatin uncoiling and chromosome alignment in neuronal-like cells under exposure to low intensity magnetic fields

In this manuscript we reported the results of our studies concerning the response of vibration bands in deoxyribonucleic acid region in neuronal-like cells under exposure to static and 50 Hz electromagnetic fields using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy. This technique was chosen because it is able to detect alteration of vibration bands of chemical compounds even induced by small stress agents. The aim of this study was to investigate the response of chromatin and chromosome to low intensity electromagnetic fields at values similar to manmade electromagnetic fields. The phosphate bands of asymmetric and symmetric stretching mode (representative of deoxyribonucleic acid spectral region) were observed to decrease after 3 h exposure at 1 mT (both static and 50 Hz magnetic field). Prolonging time exposure or increasing the intensity of applied magnetic field induced a low increasing in intensity of these vibration bands. This finding can be explaining assuming that chromatin uncoiling occurred at low intensity of the field and that increasing time exposure or magnetic field intensity caused an increasing of the torque on chromosome inducing an alignment along the direction of the field.

Facile Surface Functionalization of Electrospun Elastic Nanofibers Via Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition for Enhanced Neural Cell Adhesion and Alignment

Facile Surface Functionalization of Electrospun Elastic Nanofibers Via Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition for Enhanced Neural Cell Adhesion and Alignment

Defect pairs in nematic cell alignment on doubly connected domains

We consider the orientational order that arises from the alignment of anisotropic biological cells confined in bounded domains. Especially, it is known that topological defects, where the orientation angles are not well-defined, play an important role in the global pattern formation of cell alignment. Hence, it is important to investigate the relationship between the shape of the region and the location of the defects. The orientational order of cells is theoretically modelled as a harmonic function achieving the minimum elastic energy state of the nematic liquid crystal, and an analytical formula in simply connected domains is given by Miyazako & Nara (Miyazako, Nara 2022 R. Soc. Open Sci . 9, 211663 ( doi:10.1098/rsos.211663 )). In this paper, we extend this study to construct an analytic formula of cell angle in the doubly connected domains, where topological defects and boundary shapes are represented as the positions of logarithmic singularities and as conformal maps from a given region to a standard annular region, respectively. In addition, using this analytical formula, we propose a numerical algorithm to minimize elastic energy, from which we investigate cell alignment in doubly connected domains with anisotropic quadrilateral boundaries. Our numerical simulations suggest that pairs of topological defects tend to be located around corners of the boundaries, which will be a design principle of the boundary geometry for controlling the defect positions and cell alignment.

Accuracy of Beamscan Software in Determining the Inflection Point from the FFF Beam Profile Using Several Array Detectors.

The goal of this study is to determine the accuracy of the PTW Beamscan program in determining the inflection point from Flattening Filter Free Beam Profile utilizing Multiple Detectors. True Beam Linear Accelerator with 6FFF and 10FFF Photon Energies and 10 cm, 15 cm and 20 cm Field Sizes were used for this study. Profile measurements were taken with PTW's 729, 1,500, and 1,600 and the Starcheck system, the Pinpoint 3D with Beamscan system, and Linac's EPID. The first-order derivative was utilized in both the Excel spreadsheet and Beamscan software to analyse raw measured data to locate inflection point and the FWHM was calculated. The accuracy of inflection points and FWHM between the Excel sheet calculation and the software program were investigated. For 10X10 cm2 in the 729 Array, the greatest differences in FWHM were 5.16 mm and 5.04 mm for the X6 FFF and X10 FFF Energies, respectively. The largest difference was 2.26 mm for 1,600 SRS arrays with a 15×15 cm2 field size. The difference in FWHM between Manual and software analysis for 10X10 cm2 and 20X20 cm2 Field Sizes is in decreasing order for detectors from 729, 1,500, 1,600 SRS, Starcheck, Pinpoint 3D, and EPID. In contrast, there is no climbing or declining pattern detected in the difference in Field Width for the 15×15 cm2 Field Size. Similarly, for all detectors except the 1,600 SRS array, the peak of the first-order derivative occurs at the chamber position for a 15X15 cm2 field size. The higher resolution of measurement yields more accuracy in inflection point and the FWHM. Irrespective of measurement resolution, the Beamscan software provided the FWHM closer to the respective nominal Field Size. Out of all detectors, results obtained with Excel Starcheck and EPID are good in agreement with values obtained by the software analysis. Thus, it is shown that Beamscan software is so accurate in determining inflection point of a FFF beam profile and used for routine profile analysis.

Modified five times simulated body fluid for efficient biomimetic mineralization

Simulated body fluid (SBF) is widely utilized in preclinical research for estimating the mineralization efficacy of biomaterials. Therefore, it is of great significance to construct an efficient and stable SBF mineralization system. The conventional SBF solutions cannot maintain a stable pH value and are prone to precipitate homogeneous calcium salts at the early stages of the biomimetic process because of the release of gaseous CO2. In this study, a simple but efficient five times SBF buffered by 5 % CO2 was developed and demonstrated to achieve excellent mineralized microstructure on a type of polymer-aligned nanofibrous scaffolds, which is strikingly similar to the natural human bone tissue. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray examinations indicated the growth of heterogeneous apatite with a high-calcium-to-phosphate ratio on the aligned nanofibers under 5 times SBF buffered by 5 % CO2. Moreover, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared analyses yielded peaks associated with carbonated hydroxyapatite with less prominent crystallization. In addition, the biomineralized aligned polycaprolactone nanofibers demonstrated excellent cell attachment, alignment, and proliferation characteristics in vitro. Overall, the results of this study showed that 5 × SBFs buffered by 5 % CO2 partial pressure are attractive alternatives for the efficient biomineralization of scaffolds in bone tissue engineering, and could be used as a model for the prediction of the bone-bonding bioactivity of biomaterials.

Laser-assisted manipulation of Volta potential pattern on the TC4 surface for improved hBMSCs osteogenesis

The Ti6Al4V (TC4) alloy, a prevalent biomedical material in orthopedics, still faces limitation of the insufficient osseointegration. To improve the bioactivity of TC4, introducing the electric environment onto the TC4 surface may be an effective way in the view of the necessity of endogenous electric microenvironment in bone regeneration. Herein, a Volta potential pattern was engendered on the TC4 surface via parallel laser patterning, so as to promote the osteogenic differentiation of cells. A 15 W laser successfully transformed the original α + β dual phase towards radially distributed lath-like martensite phase in the laser treated region. The atomic lattice distortion between the heterogeneous microstructures of the laser treated and untreated regions leads to a significant Volta potential fluctuation on the TC4 surface. The Volta potential pattern as well as the laser-engraved microgrooves respectively induced mutually orthogonal cell alignments. The hBMSCs osteogenic differentiation was significantly enhanced on the laser treated TC4 surfaces in comparison to the surface without the laser treatment. Moreover, a drastic Volta potential gradient on the TC4 surface (treated with 15 W power and 400 μm interval) resulted in the most pronounced osteogenic differentiation tendency compared to other groups. Modulating the electric environment on the TC4 surface by manipulating the phase transformation may provide an effective way in evoking favorable cell response of bone regeneration, thereby improving the bioactivity of TC4 implant.

Methodological Validation of Sedimentation Velocity Analytical Ultracentrifugation Method for Adeno-Associated Virus and Collaborative Calibration of System Suitability Substance.

Currently, adeno-associated virus (AAV) is one of the primary gene delivery vectors in gene therapy, facilitating long-term invivo gene expression. Despite being imperative, it is incredibly challenging to precisely assess AAV particle distribution according to the sedimentation coefficient and identify impurities related to capsid structures. This study performed the systematic methodological validation of quantifying the AAV empty and full capsid ratio. This includes specificity, accuracy, precision, linearity, and parameter variables involving the sedimentation velocity analytical ultracentrifugation (SV-AUC) method. Specifically, SV-AUC differentiated among the empty, partial, full, and high sedimentation coefficient substance (HSCS) AAV particles while evaluating their sedimentation heterogeneity. The intermediate precision analysis of HE (high percentage of empty capsid) and HF (high percentage of full capsid) samples revealed that the specific species percentage, such as empty or full, was more significant than 50%. Moreover, the relative standard deviation (RSD) could be within 5%. Even for empty or partially less than 15%, the RSD could be within 10%. The accuracy recovery rates of empty capsid were between 103.9% and 108.7% across three different mixtures. When the measured percentage of specific species was more significant than 14%, the recovery rate was between 77.9% and 106.6%. Linearity analysis revealed an excellent linear correlation between the empty, partial, and full in the HE samples. The AAV samples with as low as 7.4 × 1011 cp/mL AAV could be accurately quantified with SV-AUC. The parameter variable analyses revealed that variations in cell alignment significantly affected the overall results. Still, the detection wavelength of 235 nm slightly influenced the empty, partial, and full percentages. Minor detection wavelength changes showed no impact on the sedimentation coefficient of these species. However, the temperature affected the measured sedimentation coefficient. These results validated the SV-AUC method to quantify AAV. This study provides solutions to AAV empty and full capsid ratio quantification challenges and the subsequent basis for calibrating the AAV empty capsid system suitability substance. Because of the AAV structure and potential variability complexity in detection, we jointly calibrated empty capsid system suitability substance with three laboratories to accurately detect the quantitative AAV empty and full capsid ratio. The empty capsid system suitability substance could be used as an external reference to measure the performance of the instrument. The results could be compared with multiple QC (quality control) laboratories based on the AAV vector and calibration accuracy. This is crucial for AUC to be used for QC release and promote gene therapy research worldwide.

Stereolithography 3D printing of microgroove master moulds for topography-induced nerve guidance conduits

 Patients who have peripheral nerve damage from trauma or disease may suffer lifelong disability. Current interventions such as nerve allografts are inadequate due to limited availability of tissue and donor-site morbidity. Commercial nerve guidance conduits are used to bridge the damaged nerve gap and restore function. Typically, however, they lack cell-instructive guidance cues to promote directed regeneration. Tissue-engineered nerve guidance conduits that utilise micro- and nano-topographical architectures have been demonstrated to direct cell behaviour and contact guidance. This study uses projection micro-stereolithography-based three-dimensional (3D) printing to fabricate microgrooved (10–30 μm) master moulds to produce polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) moulds and solvent cast polycaprolactone and polylactic acid films. The polymer microgrooves were successfully fabricated and were able to be formed into tubular nerve guidance conduits. The surface morphology, roughness, wettability, and thermal properties of the films were characterised. The microgroove topography improved proliferation and induced alignment of SH-SY5Y cells. This facile 3D printing approach is promising for the fabrication of nerve guidance conduits with topographical guidance cues as it obviates the need for using photolithographic techniques. Thus, this approach provides an alternative that is simpler, faster, cheaper, and offers greater design freedom.

Rancangan Aplikasi Sistem Pengelolaan dan Pelaporan Aset di SMPN 218 dengan Metode Sequential Linear Waterfall menggunakan PHP dan MySQL Berbasis Web

Effective asset management is crucial for ensuring that assets are easily monitored and tracked. Currently, SMP Negeri 218 Jakarta manages assets manually by recording them in books before inputting them into spreadsheet software. This manual process results in suboptimal data management and asset reporting, leading to inefficiencies and increased risk of asset loss. The proposed solution is to design an asset management information system in the form of a web application to improve data handling and reporting efficiency. This study employs the PHP programming language within the Laravel framework and a MySQL database on the Xampp web server, utilizing the Sequential Linear (Waterfall) method. Functional testing of the system by web experts yielded a feature completeness score of 1, indicating its suitability and reliability for use in managing assets at SMP Negeri 218 Jakarta. The developed system aims to streamline asset management processes, enhance report accuracy, and provide timely access to asset data, ultimately supporting better decision-making and resource management within the school.

Design and Application of a Gas Diffusion Electrode (GDE) Cell for Operando and In Situ Studies.

Presented here is an electrochemical three-electrode Gas Diffusion Electrode (GDE) cell tailored for operandoand in situ investigations of electrocatalytic processes, with a particular focus on X-ray scattering studies. The optimized cell is engineered to accommodate the minimal sample-detector distances requisite for comprehensive X-ray total scattering investigations. An in-depth understanding of catalytic processes requires their study under 'working' conditions. Configured as a flow-cell, the setup therefore enables the examination of electrocatalysts under high current densities and associated gas evolution phenomena, particularly pertinent for reactions like the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Notably, its transparency simplifies cell alignment, troubleshooting, and facilitates scans through the catalyst layer, crucial for background corrections. Demonstrating its versatility, we showcase its utility through Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and X-ray Pair Distribution Function (PDF) analyses of total scattering data.

Reduced Graphene-Oxide-Doped Elastic Biodegradable Polyurethane Fibers for Cardiomyocyte Maturation.

Conductive biomaterials offer promising solutions to enhance the maturity of cultured cardiomyocytes. While the conventional culture of cardiomyocytes on nonconductive materials leads to more immature characteristics, conductive microenvironments have the potential to support sarcomere development, gap junction formation, and beating of cardiomyocytes in vitro. In this study, we systematically investigated the behaviors of cardiomyocytes on aligned electrospun fibrous membranes composed of elastic and biodegradable polyurethane (PU) doped with varying concentrations of reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Compared to PU and PU-4%rGO membranes, the PU-10%rGO membrane exhibited the highest conductivity, approaching levels close to those of native heart tissue. The PU-rGO membranes retained anisotropic viscoelastic behavior similar to that of the porcine left ventricle and a superior tensile strength. Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs) and human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) on the PU-rGO membranes displayed enhanced maturation with cell alignment and enhanced sarcomere structure and gap junction formation with PU-10%rGO having the most improved sarcomere structure and CX-43 presence. hiPSC-CMs on the PU-rGO membranes exhibited a uniform and synchronous beating pattern compared with that on PU membranes. Overall, PU-10%rGO exhibited the best performance for cardiomyocyte maturation. The conductive PU-rGO membranes provide a promising matrix for in vitro cardiomyocyte culture with promoted cell maturation/functionality and the potential for cardiac disease treatment.

Comparing fabrication techniques for engineered cardiac tissue.

Tissue engineering can provide in vitro models for drug testing, disease modeling, and perhaps someday, tissue/organ replacements. For building 3D heart tissue, the alignment of cardiac cells or cardiomyocytes (CMs) is important in generating a synchronously contracting tissue. To that end, researchers have generated several fabrication methods for building heart tissue, but direct comparisons of pros and cons using the same cell source is lacking. Here, we derived cardiomyocytes (CMs) from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and compare the assembly of these cells using three fabrication methods: cardiospheres, muscle rings, and muscle strips. All three protocols successfully generated compacted tissue comprised of hiPSC-derived CMs stable for at least 2 weeks. The percentage of aligned cells was greatest in the muscle strip (55%) and the muscle ring (50%) compared with the relatively unaligned cardiospheres (35%). The iPSC-derived CMs within the muscle strip also exhibited the greatest elongation, with elongation factor at 2.0 compared with 1.5 for the muscle ring and 1.2 for the cardiospheres. This is the first direct comparison of various fabrication techniques using the same cell source.