Decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) hydrogels have cytocompatibility, and are currently being investigated for application in soft tissues as a material that promotes native cell infiltration and tissue reconstruction. A dECM hydrogel has broad potential for application in organs with complex structures or various tissue injury models.In this study, we investigated the practical application of a dECM hydrogel by injecting a kidney-derived dECM hydrogel into a rat partial nephrectomy model. The prepared dECM hydrogel was adjustable in viscosity to allow holding at the excision site, and after gelation, had an elastic modulus similar to that of kidney tissue. In addition, the migration of renal epithelial cells and vascular endothelial cells embedded in dECM hydrogels was observed in vitro. Four weeks after injection of the dECM hydrogel to the partial excision site of the kidneys, infiltration of renal tubular constituent cells and native cells with high proliferative activity, as well as angiogenesis, were observed inside the injected areas. This study is the first to show that dECM hydrogels can be applied to the kidney, one of the most complex structural organs and that they can function as a scaffold to induce angiogenesis and infiltration of organ-specific renal tubular constituent cells, providing fundamental insights for further application of dECM hydrogels.
In this study, a new surface modification process, an atmospheric-controlled induction-heating multiple-fineparticle peening (AIH-MFPP) using mixed two kinds of shot particles, was proposed. In order to investigate the effects of AIH-MFPP, the surface of carbon steel was modified with mixed shot particles of chromium (Cr) and high speed steel (SKH59) at 900 in argon atmosphere. The treated surfaces were characterized using a field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX), an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and an X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS). In the case of the specimen treated by using mixed shot particles of Cr and SKH59, a relatively thick and uniform Cr rich layer was formed at the surface. The thickness of the Cr rich layer was changed with an increase in peening pressure. In the case of a specific mixed-ratio of shot particles, not only was the thickness of the Cr rich layer changed at the surface, but also the crystal structure was changed. This specimen showed higher corrosion resistance compared to that of the specimen treated by using Cr shot particle only. Moreover, there was the electrical current density of the passive state. This indicates that passive film was generated by AIH-MFPP. This was because the Cr rich layer created by AIH-MFPP was covered with a passive film of FeOOH. These results suggest that a new surface modification process ; AIH-MFPP, is promising for the improvement of the corrosion resistance of carbon steel.
Ethanol and other biofuels will play an important role in future low-carbon society. The direct use of such compounds in fuel cell is one of the promising options to realize high-efficiency utilization of biofuels. In this study, we focused on ethanol oxidation mechanism in alkaline environment as a first step to tackle the electrooxidation of biofuels in fuel cells. Gold is selected as a catalyst alternative to platinum. Density functional theory method was used to study the states of reactants in alkaline environment, surface coverage of gold catalyst, and reaction mechanism over gold catalyst.
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