Combinatorial ECM Arrays Identify Cooperative Roles for Matricellular Proteins in Enhancing the Generation of TH+ Neurons From Human Pluripotent Cells

The development of efficient cell culture strategies for the generation of dopaminergic neurons is an important goal for transplantation-based approaches to treat Parkinson’s disease. To identify extracellular matrix molecules that enhance differentiation and might be used in these cell cultures we have used micro-contact printed arrays on glass slides presenting 190 combinations of 19 extracellular matrix molecules selected on the basis of their expression during embryonic development of the ventral midbrain. Using long-term neuroepithelial stem cells (Lt-NES), this approach identified a number of matricellular proteins that enhanced differentiation, with the combination of Sparc, Sparc-like (Sparc-l1) and Nell2 increasing the number of tyrosine hydroxylase+ neurons derived from Lt-NES cells and, critically for further translation, human pluripotent stem cells.

Recent Advances on Cell-Based Co-Culture Strategies for Prevascularization in Tissue Engineering

Currently, the fabrication of a functional vascular network to maintain the viability of engineered tissues is a major bottleneck in the way of developing a more advanced engineered construct. Inspired by vasculogenesis during the embryonic period, the in vitro prevascularization strategies have focused on optimizing communications and interactions of cells, biomaterial and culture conditions to develop a capillary-like network to tackle the aforementioned issue. Many of these studies employ a combination of endothelial lineage cells and supporting cells such as mesenchymal stem cells, fibroblasts, and perivascular cells to create a lumenized endothelial network. These supporting cells are necessary for the stabilization of the newly developed endothelial network. Moreover, to optimize endothelial network development without impairing biomechanical properties of scaffolds or differentiation of target tissue cells, several other factors, including target tissue, endothelial cell origins, the choice of supporting cell, culture condition, incorporated pro-angiogenic factors, and choice of biomaterial must be taken into account. The prevascularization method can also influence the endothelial lineage cell/supporting cell co-culture system to vascularize the bioengineered constructs. This review aims to investigate the recent advances on standard cells used in in vitro prevascularization methods, their co-culture systems, and conditions in which they form an organized and functional vascular network.

Maintaining the Resilience and Productivity of Co-culture Systems in the Face of Environmental Change

Co-culture systems can address food security issues by intensifying production of crops and animal protein without requiring additional land area. We show how a graph-theoretic optimization model based on ecological network analysis can determine resilient co-culture strategies by controlling the presence of key species. Results of simulations on a hybrid rice and crayfish production system indicate that comparable levels of productivity can be achieved with different ecological system structures.

Portable and Rapid Sequencing Device with Microbial Community-Guided Culture Strategies for Precious Field and Environmental Samples

Culturing unculturable bacteria is a classic microbiology challenge; to successfully culture unculturable bacteria, microbiologists work hard to create hundreds of culture conditions. To improve the success rate and efficiency of culturing a broad spectrum of environmental microbes, it is helpful to know more about the microbial community composition.

Tilapia Farming in Bangladesh: Adaptation to Climate Change

In Bangladesh, aquaculture is critically important in terms of providing food and nutrition, sustainable livelihoods, income, and export earnings. Nevertheless, aquaculture in Bangladesh has faced recent concerns due to climate change. Aquaculture is vulnerable to a combination of climatic factors, such as global warming, rainfall variation, flood, drought, temperature fluctuation, and salinity change. Considering the vulnerability of fish production to the impacts of climate change, tilapia farming is one of the possible strategies for adaptation to climate change. The positive culture attributes of tilapia are their tolerance to low water levels and poor water quality with rainfall variation, temperature fluctuation, and salinity change. In fact, tilapia farming is possible in a wide range of water environments, including freshwater, brackish water, and saltwater conditions. We suggest that appropriate tilapia culture strategies with institutional support and collaboration with key stakeholders are needed for adaptation to environmental change.

RNAseq analysis reveals dynamic metaboloepigenetic profiles of human, mouse and bovine pre-implantation embryos

Metaboloepigenetic regulation (metabolites regulating the cellular epigenome inducing long-term changes), has been reported in stem cells, germ cells and tumor cells. Embryonic metaboloepigenetics, however, have just begun to be described. Here we analyzed RNAseq data to characterize the metaboloepigenetic profiles of human, mouse and bovine pre-implantation embryos. In embryos, metaboloepigenetic reprogramming is species specific, varies with the developmental stage and is disrupted with in vitro culture. Although the idea that the in vitro environment may influence embryo development is not new, there has been little progress on improving pregnancy rates after more than 43 years using in vitro fertilization. Hence, the present data on embryonic metaboloepigenetic will contribute to understanding how the in vitro manipulation affects the metaboloepigenetic status of early embryos, which can be used to establish culture strategies aimed at improving the in vitro environment and, consequently, pregnancy rates and offspring health.

Bioengineered Liver Cell Models of Hepatotropic Infections

Hepatitis viruses and liver-stage malaria are within the liver infections causing higher morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. The highly restricted tropism of the major human hepatotropic pathogens—namely, the human hepatitis B and C viruses and the Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax parasites—has hampered the development of disease models. These models are crucial for uncovering the molecular mechanisms underlying the biology of infection and governing host–pathogen interaction, as well as for fostering drug development. Bioengineered cell models better recapitulate the human liver microenvironment and extend hepatocyte viability and phenotype in vitro, when compared with conventional two-dimensional cell models. In this article, we review the bioengineering tools employed in the development of hepatic cell models for studying infection, with an emphasis on 3D cell culture strategies, and discuss how those tools contributed to the level of recapitulation attained in the different model layouts. Examples of host–pathogen interactions uncovered by engineered liver models and their usefulness in drug development are also presented. Finally, we address the current bottlenecks, trends, and prospect toward cell models’ reliability, robustness, and reproducibility.

Foreign capital as a determinant of the non-financial reporting development in insurance companies of the Visegrad Group countries

Insurance companies are institutions of public trust, and this affects their corporate culture, strategies and management systems. One of the image concerns is reporting on socially responsible actions in non-financial reports. The prime objective of the research presented in this paper is to analyze the dependence between the level of non-financial reporting in the insurance market and the share of foreign capital, measured based on the market size of foreign insurance companies compared to all insurance companies, and the share of foreign insurance companies in non-financial reporting. The study concerned insurance markets in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, and the overall market of the Visegrad Group countries. The theoretical section provides a review of the literature and applicable legislation to indicate the causes of non-financial reporting by insurance companies. Next, the correlation was used to determine the relationship between the variables studied, the regression method was applied to determine the impact of the variables studied, in particular foreign capital, on the level of non-financial reporting. A model was constructed, and the results of its estimation were analyzed. Analysis of the data demonstrated that the greater the share of foreign capital, the higher the level of non-financial reporting. The study results indicate that the share of foreign insurance companies can become a determinant in the development of non-financial reporting.