Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Flavia Carton, Simona Casarella, Dalila Di Francesco, Emma Zanella, Annarita D'urso, Luca Di Nunno, Luca Fusaro, Diego Cotella, Maria Prat, Antonia Follenzi, Francesca Boccafoschi
Summary: Cells of the cardiovascular system are exposed to various mechanical forces that are crucial for cardiac development and functions. Focal adhesion (FA) complexes and actomyosin networks play vital roles in regulating cellular behaviors related to cytoskeleton dynamics, cell adhesion, migration, differentiation, and tissue organization. This study investigates the involvement of FA in cardiomyocyte differentiation, focusing on vinculin and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) family. The results show that differentiation conditions upregulate FAK-Tyr397 and vinculin, leading to their translocation to the cell membrane. Mechanical stretching also affects the cell shape and the length and number of vinculin-positive FAs, indicating the significant role of mechanotransductive pathways in cardiomyocyte differentiation and cytoskeleton rearrangement.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Rory Geoghegan, Le Zhang, Alan Priester, Holden H. Wu, Leonard Marks, Shyam Natarajan
Summary: This study investigates the utility of real-time interstitial interrogation of laser-tissue interaction as an inexpensive alternative monitoring modality that may facilitate widespread adoption of focal laser ablation.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Aysegul Dede Eren, Amy W. A. Lucassen, Urandelger Tuvshindorj, Roman Truckenmuller, Stefan Giselbrecht, E. Deniz Eren, Mehmet Orhan Tas, Phanikrishna Sudarsanam, Jan de Boer
Summary: This study investigated how cells organize their adhesive machinery on surfaces with different topographies and adhesive island geometries, and examined the reciprocal interaction between stress fiber and focal adhesion formation. The results confirm that the spatial organization of adhesive sites determines the ability of cells to form focal adhesions and stress fibers.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Korinn N. Murphy, Amanda J. Brinkworth
Summary: Focal adhesions (FAs) play a crucial role as dynamic signaling hubs within the cell, connecting intracellular actin with the extracellular matrix (ECM) to facilitate processes such as cell-ECM adhesion and migration. Pathogenic microbes often modify host cell actin cytoskeletons in order to enhance uptake and survival.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
S. Palumbo, A. R. Carotenuto, A. Cutolo, L. Deseri, N. Pugno, M. Fraldi
Summary: The article explains how cells interact with their environment through internal forces, focal adhesions, and external chemo-mechanical stimuli. It introduces the concept of mechanotropism, suggesting that cells try to minimize the energy spent on deforming the elastic substrate while maintaining a level of homeostatic contractile force through a nonlinear optimization process.
JOURNAL OF THE MECHANICS AND PHYSICS OF SOLIDS
(2021)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Eric Knull, Claire Keun Sun Park, Jeffrey Bax, David Tessier, Aaron Fenster
Summary: This study developed a registration method for MRI-to-mechatronic system and validated it in tissue-mimicking prostate phantoms. The results showed that the system can achieve needle delivery with an error of 4.13 mm or less in 95% of cases under ideal conditions, which is a significant improvement over the previous method.
Article
Physics, Applied
Nanjie Yu, Kavita V. Desai, Andrey E. Mironov, Mingye Xiong, Maxime Cavillon, Thomas Hawkins, John Ballato, J. Gary Eden, Peter D. Dragic
Summary: By using two color optical pumping, the net quantum defect in a solid-state Yb-doped fiber laser can be reduced, leading to higher efficiency and lower threshold power.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Composites
Jinhui Zhao, Pengfei Ji, Gen Lin, Xin Li, Xueqiang Zhang
Summary: In this study, the ablation thresholds and incubation coefficients of resin matrix and carbon fiber in CFRP under femtosecond laser irradiation are investigated using the measurement theories of ablation area diameter and ablation rate. The results reveal that the ablation thresholds depend on the condition of femtosecond laser processing, and choosing the appropriate combination of laser scanning and polarization can achieve efficient removal of resin matrix and carbon fiber in CFRP.
POLYMER COMPOSITES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Amr Ghazy, Jonas Ylonen, Nagarajan Subramaniyam, Maarit Karppinen
Summary: We have developed a novel atomic/molecular layer deposition (ALD/MLD) process for europium-organic thin films using Eu(thd)3 and 2-hydroxyquinoline-4-carboxylic acid (HQA) precursors. The resulting Eu-HQA thin films demonstrate high growth rate and exhibit red Eu3+ luminescence with extended excitation wavelength range up to about 400 nm, attributed to the sensitizer role of organic HQA. These films are further deposited on nanoplasmonic structures to achieve twentyfold enhanced emission intensity. Moreover, we demonstrate the potential of Eu-HQA coated nanoplasmonic structures in novel bioimaging applications through FRET-type energy transfer process with commercial Alexa647 fluorophor.
Article
Instruments & Instrumentation
Elton Soares de Lima Filho, Paul Bouchard, Mohamad Sabsabi, Guy Lamouche, Aissa Harhira
Summary: The use of laser ablation-assisted laser-induced fluorescence (LA-LIF) for measuring trace amounts of selenium in aqueous solutions is real-time, label-free, and suitable for the entire water treatment process. It offers a high sensitivity and ease of operation.
APPLIED SPECTROSCOPY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Mohamed Moshtohry, Kimberly Bellingham-Johnstun, Mary Williard Elting, Caroline Laplante
Summary: This study used laser ablation to investigate the mechanics of constriction in the contractile ring during cytokinesis, focusing on the role of Cdc15p as a potential anchoring protein. The results showed that the severed contractile ring recoils to a finite point and can heal if the gap is less than approximately 1 μm. In cells depleted of Cdc15p, the recoil of the severed contractile ring was exaggerated, suggesting that the anchoring of the ring to the plasma membrane limits the recoil range.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Xin Zhang, Beibei Wang, Zhiyu Zheng, Guiqiang Yang, Chao Zhang, Liqiong Liao
Summary: This study developed a durable poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel with photo-switchable fluorescence properties by incorporating dual-color fluorescent nanoparticles. The hydrogel exhibited different fluorescence emission peaks under UV and visible light, and demonstrated pH responsive fluorescence behavior. It could be used as dual-color building blocks to construct various structures.
Article
Optics
Su-jing Liu, Xu-xing Geng, Ming Xue, Gao-xiang Li
Summary: This study investigates the influence of multiphoton effect on the fluorescence spectrum and photon statistics of a bichromatically driven two-level atomic system. Using perturbation theory, the impact of the weaker driving field's multiphoton effect on the system and spontaneous emission is revealed. The physical origin of the multiphoton process affecting the fluorescence spectral asymmetry is fully investigated, along with the suppression condition of the central peak in the central band. The photon statistical properties of the system are examined, particularly the asymmetry of the two-photon correlation signal affected by the multiphoton process.
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Ashton N. Bartley, Sadie F. Depeter, Ronald K. Castellano
Summary: This article reports the preparation and photophysical investigation of the first molecular multi-FRET system from the benzotrifuranone (BTF) scaffold. The target molecule was synthesized using a step-conservative approach, incorporating three optically complementary chromophores. The study demonstrates high energy transfer efficiency and significant pseudo-Stokes shift in the fluorescence emission of the target. The design has potential applications in material science and life sciences.
Article
Optics
Gaurav Kumar Yogesh, E. P. Shuaib, A. Kalai Priya, P. Rohini, Sathyan Vivekanand Anandhan, Uma Maheswari Krishnan, V Kalyanavalli, Shivam Shukla, D. Sastikumar
Summary: A post-ablation method was used to obtain water-soluble fluorescent carbon nanoparticles, which showed the creation of emissive defects on the surface under laser ablation in ethanol. The fluorescence of W-CNPs showed peak emission in the blue region and exhibited non-toxicity in vitro studies on human cardiomyocytes, suggesting their potential use as a fluorescent probe in bioimaging applications.
OPTICS AND LASER TECHNOLOGY
(2021)