scholarly journals Mathematical Modeling of Mucociliary Clearance: A Mini-Review

Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Xu ◽  
Yi Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Modeling ◽  
Host Defense ◽  
Respiratory System ◽  
Mucociliary Clearance ◽  
Theoretical Study ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Metachronal Wave ◽  
Three Dimensional Simulations

Mucociliary clearance is an important innate host defense of the mammalian respiratory system, as it traps foreign substances, including pollutants, pathogens, and allergens, and transports them out of the airway. The underlying mechanism of the actuation and coordination of cilia, the interplay between the cilia and mucus, and the formation of the metachronal wave have been explored extensively both experimentally and mathematically. In this mini-review, we provide a survey of the mathematical models of mucociliary clearance, from the motion of one single cilium to the emergence of the metachronal wave in a group of them, from the fundamental theoretical study to the state-of-the-art three-dimensional simulations. The mechanism of cilium actuation is discussed, together with the mathematical simplification and the implications or caveats of the results.

scholarly journals Reinforcing the Immunocompromised Host Defense against Fungi: Progress beyond the Current State of the Art

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 451
Author(s):  
Georgios Karavalakis ◽  
Evangelia Yannaki ◽  
Anastasia Papadopoulou
Keyword(s):  
Host Defense ◽  
Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Fungal Infections ◽  
Solid Organ Transplantation ◽  
Immunocompromised Host ◽  
Antifungal Drugs ◽  
Solid Organ ◽  
Cell Immunotherapy ◽  
Life Threatening

Despite the availability of a variety of antifungal drugs, opportunistic fungal infections still remain life-threatening for immunocompromised patients, such as those undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation or solid organ transplantation. Suboptimal efficacy, toxicity, development of resistant variants and recurrent episodes are limitations associated with current antifungal drug therapy. Adjunctive immunotherapies reinforcing the host defense against fungi and aiding in clearance of opportunistic pathogens are continuously gaining ground in this battle. Here, we review alternative approaches for the management of fungal infections going beyond the state of the art and placing an emphasis on fungus-specific T cell immunotherapy. Harnessing the power of T cells in the form of adoptive immunotherapy represents the strenuous protagonist of the current immunotherapeutic approaches towards combating invasive fungal infections. The progress that has been made over the last years in this field and remaining challenges as well, will be discussed.

scholarly journals Vibration suppression of structures using tuned mass damper technology: A state-of-the-art review

2021 ◽  
pp. 107754632098430
Author(s):  
Fan Yang ◽  
Ramin Sedaghati ◽  
Ebrahim Esmailzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Modeling ◽  
Vibration Suppression ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Optimization Procedure ◽  
Tuned Mass Damper ◽  
Structural Vibration ◽  
Practical Realization ◽  
Reliable Operation ◽  
Mass Damper ◽  
Structural Vibration Suppression

To date, considerable attention has been paid to the development of structural vibration suppression techniques. Among all vibration suppression devices and techniques, the tuned mass damper is one of the most promising technologies due to its mechanical simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and reliable operation. In this article, a critical review of the structural vibration suppression using tuned mass damper technology will be presented mainly focused on the following four categories: (1) tuned mass damper technology and its modifications, (2) tuned mass damper technology in discrete and continuous structures (mathematical modeling), (3) optimization procedure to obtain the optimally designed tuned mass damper system, and (4) active tuned mass damper and semi-active tuned mass damper with the practical realization of the tuned mass damper technologies.

scholarly journals Hereditary Optic Neuropathies: Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Based 2D/3D Approaches

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Marta García-López ◽  
Joaquín Arenas ◽  
M. Esther Gallardo
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Genetic Disorders ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Induced Pluripotent

Inherited optic neuropathies share visual impairment due to the degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) as the hallmark of the disease. This group of genetic disorders are caused by mutations in nuclear genes or in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). An impaired mitochondrial function is the underlying mechanism of these diseases. Currently, optic neuropathies lack an effective treatment, and the implementation of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology would entail a huge step forward. The generation of iPSC-derived RGCs would allow faithfully modeling these disorders, and these RGCs would represent an appealing platform for drug screening as well, paving the way for a proper therapy. Here, we review the ongoing two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) approaches based on iPSCs and their applications, taking into account the more innovative technologies, which include tissue engineering or microfluidics.

scholarly journals Small footprint optoelectrodes using ring resonators for passive light localization

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vittorino Lanzio ◽  
Gregory Telian ◽  
Alexander Koshelev ◽  
Paolo Micheletti ◽  
Gianni Presti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Network Activity ◽  
Ring Resonators ◽  
Spatiotemporal Resolution ◽  
Optical Ring Resonators ◽  
Light Localization ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Small Footprint

AbstractThe combination of electrophysiology and optogenetics enables the exploration of how the brain operates down to a single neuron and its network activity. Neural probes are in vivo invasive devices that integrate sensors and stimulation sites to record and manipulate neuronal activity with high spatiotemporal resolution. State-of-the-art probes are limited by tradeoffs involving their lateral dimension, number of sensors, and ability to access independent stimulation sites. Here, we realize a highly scalable probe that features three-dimensional integration of small-footprint arrays of sensors and nanophotonic circuits to scale the density of sensors per cross-section by one order of magnitude with respect to state-of-the-art devices. For the first time, we overcome the spatial limit of the nanophotonic circuit by coupling only one waveguide to numerous optical ring resonators as passive nanophotonic switches. With this strategy, we achieve accurate on-demand light localization while avoiding spatially demanding bundles of waveguides and demonstrate the feasibility with a proof-of-concept device and its scalability towards high-resolution and low-damage neural optoelectrodes.

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