Critical-sized bone defects fail to heal and often cause non-union. Standard treatments employ autologous bone grafting, which can cause donor tissue loss/pain. Although several scaffold types can enhance bone regeneration, multiple factors limit their level of success. To address this issue, this study evaluated a novel decellularized human adipose tissue (DAT) hydrogel as an alternative. In this study, DAT hydrogel alone, or in combination with adipose-derived stromal/stem cells (ASC), osteo-induced ASCs (OIASC), and hydroxyapatite were tested for their ability to mediate repair of a critical-sized (3 mm) femoral defect created in C57BL/6 mice. Micro-computed tomography results showed that all DAT hydrogel treated groups significantly enhanced bone regeneration, with OIASC + hydroxyapatite treated group displaying the most robust bone regeneration. Histological analyses revealed that all treatments resulted in significantly higher tissue areas with the relative mineralized tissue area significantly increased at 12 weeks; however, cartilaginous content was lowest among treatment groups with OIASC. Immunohistochemical analyses showed that DAT hydrogel enhanced collagen I and osteopontin expression, while the addition of OIASCs to the hydrogel reduced collagen II levels. Thus, DAT hydrogel promotes bone regeneration in a critical-sized femoral defect model that is further enhanced in the presence of OIASCs and hydroxyapatite.

While decellularized adipose tissue (DAT) has potential as an “off‐the‐shelf” biomaterial product for regenerative medicine, it remains to be determined if donor‐source body mass index (BMI) impacts the functionality of DAT. This study set out to comparatively characterize lean versus overweight/obese‐donor derived DAT hydrogel based on proteome and to analyze their respective effects on adipose stromal/stem cell (ASC) viability, and differentiation in vitro. Decellularized adipose tissue from lean (lDAT) and overweight/obese (oDAT) donors is produced and characterized. Variability in the fibril microstructures is found, with dense fibrotic fiber clusters and large pore area uniquely present in the oDAT samples. Proteomic analysis reveals that lDAT contains a greater proportion of enriched extracellular proteins and a smaller proportion of enriched intracellular proteins relative to oDAT. Biocompatibility studies show that ASCs cultured in lDAT and oDAT hydrogels remain viable. The adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation capability of ASCs seeded in lDAT and oDAT hydrogels is confirmed by an upregulation in marker gene expression and phenotypic analysis. In conclusion, this study establishes that DAT hydrogels derived from lean and overweight/obese adipose donors present similar physicochemical profiles with some distinctive features while comparably supporting the viability and adipogenic differentiation of ASCs in vitro.

Context To date, managing honey bees and wild bees within crop fields remains challenging. Landscape structure is often overlooked when studying the pollination contribution of honey bees. Increasing our understanding on how to predict honey bee visitation in crops is crucial for sustainable management of agroecosystems. Objectives With this study we investigated which landscape and field-level variables determine honey bee and wild bee visitation, and whether honey bee or wild bee visitation influence crop pollination. Methods Sixteen highbush blueberry fields were surveyed for honey bees, wild bees, and crop pollination in Washington, USA. Additionally, within a radius of 1000 m around each field all honey bee hives were located and the surrounding landscape was characterized. Results Honey bee hive numbers in the landscape positively correlate with the proportion of blueberry in the landscape. Honey bee visitation was best predicted by landscape-level hive density within a radius of 1000 m, whereas semi-natural habitat and field-level hive density did not impact honey bee visitation. The amount of semi-natural habitat and blueberry within a radius of 1000 m had a positive and negative impact, respectively, on wild bee visitation. Honey bee visitation had a positive effect on blueberry seed set. Conclusion We conclude that honey bee visitation is determined by the number of honey bee hives in the surrounding landscape. Hence, field-level hive density recommendations miss contributions from other hives in the landscape. Furthermore, semi-natural habitat did not impact honey bee visitation and contributes to diversifying pollinator diets and provides wild bee habitat.

Monitoring wound progression over time is a critical aspect for studies focused on in-depth molecular analysis or on evaluating the efficacy of potential novel therapies. Histopathological analysis of wound biopsies can provide significant insight into healing dynamics, yet there is no standardized and reproducible scoring system currently available. The purpose of this study was to develop and statistically validate a scoring system based on parameters in each phase of healing that can be easily and accurately assessed using either Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) or Masson's Trichrome (MT) staining. These parameters included re-epithelization, epithelial thickness index, keratinization, granulation tissue thickness, remodeling, and the scar elevation index. The initial phase of the study was to (1) optimize and clarify healing parameters to limit investigator bias and variability; (2) compare the consistency of parameters assessed using H&E versus MT staining. During the validation phase of this study, the accuracy and reproducibility of this scoring system was independently iterated upon and validated in four different types of murine skin wound models (Excisional; punch biopsy; pressure ulcers; burn wounds). A total of n = 54 histology sections were randomized, blinded, and assigned to two groups of independent investigators (n = 5 per group) for analysis. The sensitivity of each parameter (ranging between 80% and 95%) is reported with illustrations on the appropriate assessment method using ImageJ software. In the validated scoring system, the lowest score (score:0) is associated with an open/unhealed wound as is evident immediately and within the first day postinjury, whereas the highest score (score:12) is associated with a completely closed and healed wound without excessive scarring. This study defines and describes the minimum recommended criteria for assessing wound healing dynamics using the SPOT skin wound score. The acronym SPOT refers to the academic and scientific institutions that were involved in the development of the scoring system, namely

Education for pretransplant, solid-organ recipient candidates aims to improve knowledge and understanding about the transplant process, outcomes, and potential complications to support informed, shared decision-making to reduce fears and anxieties about transplant, inform expectations, and facilitate adjustment to posttransplant life. In this review, we summarize novel pretransplant initiatives and approaches to educate solid-organ transplant recipient candidates. First, we review approaches that may be common to all solid-organ transplants, then we summarize interventions specific to kidney, liver, lung, and heart transplant. We describe evidence that emphasizes the need for multidisciplinary approaches to transplant education. We also summarize initiatives that consider online (eHealth) and mobile (mHealth) solutions. Finally, we highlight education initiatives that support racialized or otherwise marginalized communities to improve equitable access to solid-organ transplant. A considerable amount of work has been done in solid-organ transplant since the early 2000s with promising results. However, many studies on education for pretransplant recipient candidates involve relatively small samples and nonrandomized designs and focus on short-term surrogate outcomes. Overall, many of these studies have a high risk of bias. Frequently, interventions assessed are not well characterized or they are combined with administrative and data-driven initiatives into multifaceted interventions, which makes it difficult to assess the impact of the education component on outcomes. In the future, well-designed studies rigorously assessing well-defined surrogate and clinical outcomes will be needed to evaluate the impact of many promising initiatives.