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Background The primary objective of Tissue engineering is a regeneration or replacement of tissues or organs damaged by disease, injury, or congenital anomalies. At present, Tissue engineering repairs damaged tissues and organs with artificial supporting structures called scaffolds. These are used for attachment and subsequent growth of appropriate cells. During the cell growth gradual biodegradation of the scaffold occurs and the final product is a new tissue with the desired shape and properties. In recent years, research workplaces are focused on developing scaffold by bio-fabrication techniques to achieve fast, precise and cheap automatic manufacturing of these structures. Most promising techniques seem to be Rapid prototyping due to its high level of precision and controlling. However, this technique is still to solve various issues before it is easily used for scaffold fabrication. In this article we tested printing of clinically applicable scaffolds with use of commercially available devices and materials. Research presented in this article is in general focused on “scaffolding” on a field of bone tissue replacement. Results Commercially available 3D printer and Polylactic acid were used to create originally designed and possibly suitable scaffold structures for bone tissue engineering. We tested printing of scaffolds with different geometrical structures. Based on the osteosarcoma cells proliferation experiment and mechanical testing of designed scaffold samples, it will be stated that it is likely not necessary to keep the recommended porosity of the scaffold for bone tissue replacement at about 90%, and it will also be clarified why this fact eliminates mechanical properties issue. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the size of an individual pore could be double the size of the recommended range between 0.2–0.35 mm without affecting the cell proliferation. Conclusion Rapid prototyping technique based on Fused deposition modelling was used for the fabrication of designed scaffold structures. All the experiments were performed in order to show how to possibly solve certain limitations and issues that are currently reported by research workplaces on the field of scaffold bio-fabrication. These results should provide new valuable knowledge for further research.

The present paper describes the development of a prosthetic hand based on human hand anatomy. The hand phalanges are printed with 3D printing with Polylactic Acid material. One of the main contributions is the investigation on the prosthetic hand joins; the proposed design enables one to create personalized joins that provide the prosthetic hand a high level of movement by increasing the degrees of freedom of the fingers. Moreover, the driven wire tendons show a progressive grasping movement, being the friction of the tendons with the phalanges very low. Another important point is the use of force sensitive resistors (FSR) for simulating the hand touch pressure. These are used for the grasping stop simulating touch pressure of the fingers. Surface Electromyogram (EMG) sensors allow the user to control the prosthetic hand-grasping start. Their use may provide the prosthetic hand the possibility of the classification of the hand movements. The practical results included in the paper prove the importance of the soft joins for the object manipulation and to get adapted to the object surface. Finally, the force sensitive sensors allow the prosthesis to actuate more naturally by adding conditions and classifications to the Electromyogram sensor.

Purpose This study aims to enhance merging of additive manufacturing (AM) techniques with powder injection molding (PIM). In this way, the prototypes could be 3D-printed and mass production implemented using PIM. Thus, the surface properties and mechanical performance of parts produced using powder/polymer binder feedstocks [material extrusion (MEX) and PIM] were investigated and compared with powder manufacturing based on direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). Design/methodology/approach PIM parts were manufactured from 17-4PH stainless steel PIM-quality powder and powder intended for powder bed fusion compounded with a recently developed environmentally benign binder. Rheological data obtained at the relevant temperatures were used to set up the process parameters of injection molding. The tensile and yield strengths as well as the strain at break were determined for PIM sintered parts and compared to those produced using MEX and DMLS. Surface properties were evaluated through a 3D scanner and analyzed with advanced statistical tools. Findings Advanced statistical analyses of the surface properties showed the proximity between the surfaces created via PIM and MEX. The tensile and yield strengths, as well as the strain at break, suggested that DMLS provides sintered samples with the highest strength and ductility; however, PIM parts made from environmentally benign feedstock may successfully compete with this manufacturing route. Originality/value This study addresses the issues connected to the merging of two environmentally efficient processing routes. The literature survey included has shown that there is so far no study comparing AM and PIM techniques systematically on the fixed part shape and dimensions using advanced statistical tools to derive the proximity of the investigated processing routes.

Proper fixing and long-term preservation of entomological evidence are essential in collections and research and crucial in applied fields such as forensic entomology. Incorrectly stored samples may lose important morphological features over time, rendering molecular analyses exceedingly difficult. The most effective method for preserving soft samples such as larvae is fluid preservation. It uses a combination of a wide range of fixatives and storage fluids. However, very little comparative work has been done to determine the effects of long-term storage on sample quality in terms of color, shape, and DNA stability. Moreover, the current golden standard in forensic entomology has been tailored for age estimation of larvae of Diptera, which differ from larvae of Coleoptera in morphology and subsequently in applied methods. We compared the effects of combinations of 6 commonly used fixatives and 6 commonly used storage fluids on midsized larvae of the forensically important beetle, Necrodes littoralis (Linnaeus, 1758), in terms of color, shape, and suitability for DNA analyses over a 2-yr period. We were looking for combinations that can preserve specimens in a satisfactory state, can be used on a regular basis, do not require advanced protection or skills of the personnel, and are not toxic or too harmful to the environment. We found not only several methods that scored significantly better in the tested parameters compared with the golden standard but also several common methods that should be avoided. The effects of agents on each tested category are discussed in detail.

Insect declines and their drivers have attracted considerable recent attention. Fireflies and glowworms are iconic insects whose conspicuous bioluminescent courtship displays carry unique cultural significance, giving them economic value as ecotourist attractions. Despite evidence of declines, a comprehensive review of the conservation status and threats facing the approximately 2000 firefly species worldwide is lacking. We conducted a survey of experts from diverse geographic regions to identify the most prominent perceived threats to firefly population and species persistence. Habitat loss, light pollution, and pesticide use were regarded as the most serious threats, although rankings differed substantially across regions. Our survey results accompany a comprehensive review of current evidence concerning the impact of these stressors on firefly populations. We also discuss risk factors likely to increase the vulnerability of certain species to particular threats. Finally, we highlight the need to establish monitoring programs to track long-term population trends for at-risk firefly taxa.

We assessed the influence of diet on the development and survival in the immature stages of the necrophagous beetle Oiceoptoma thoracicum (Linnaeus, 1758). The species is frequently observed on large cadavers, including humans, and thus can be of potential forensic relevance. We compared multiple meat tissues from three animal sources, and detected the optimal diet for rearing the species for further entomological and forensic objectives. We reared 203 individuals to adulthood at the constant temperature of 20°C. Our results represent the first robust data set of the development time for this species. They further confirmed a significant relationship between survival and the type of diet, as the highest survival rates were detected in larvae fed with both pork liver and pork muscle.

This study examined the effects of various diets on the development time and survival of the carrion beetle Thanatophilus rugosus (Fabricius, 1775). We attempted to find the best diet for rearing the species in laboratory conditions for entomological research and forensic purposes, and to further understand its feeding habits. The larval stages were monitored while feeding on three types of meat under a constant temperature. We discovered that the shortest development time in total was achieved in larvae fed with pork liver, followed closely by pork muscle. The longest development and lowest survival rates were observed when introducing a chicken diet. We were also able to identify specific stages during which the diet significantly affected the development.

Carrion beetles of genus Thanatophilus (Leach, 1815) are an important group of necrophagous insects, with great potential for forensic entomology in temperate zones of Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. Developmental models for majority of Thanatophilus species remain unknown. In this study, we will provide new thermal summation models for all the developmental stages of Thanatophilus sinuatus (Fabricius, 1775), one of the most abundant and widespread species of the genus. The beetles were bred at seven different constant temperatures, and developmental time was measured for each developmental stage (egg, three larval instars, postfeeding stage, and pupa). Temperature–sex influence was tested, and thermal summation constants were calculated to be used for postmortem interval estimation during criminal investigations.

In mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomics, there is a great need to combine different analytical separation techniques to cover metabolites of different polarities and apply appropriate multi-platform data processing. Here, we introduce AriumMS (augmented region of interest for untargeted metabolomics mass spectrometry) as a reliable toolbox for multi-platform metabolomics. AriumMS offers augmented data analysis of several separation techniques utilizing a region-of-interest algorithm. To demonstrate the capabilities of AriumMS, five datasets were combined. This includes three newly developed capillary electrophoresis (CE)-Orbitrap MS methods using the recently introduced nanoCEasy CE-MS interface and two hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC)-Orbitrap MS methods. AriumMS provides a novel mid-level data fusion approach for multi-platform data analysis to simplify and speed up multi-platform data processing and evaluation. The key feature of AriumMS lies in the optimized data processing strategy, including parallel processing of datasets and flexible parameterization for processing of individual separation methods with different peak characteristics. As a case study, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) was treated with a growth inhibitor, and AriumMS successfully differentiated the metabolome based on the augmented multi-platform CE-MS and HILIC-MS investigation. As a result, AriumMS is proposed as a powerful tool to improve the accuracy and selectivity of metabolome analysis through the integration of several HILIC-MS/CE-MS techniques. Graphical Abstract