Environmental stiffness restores mechanical homeostasis in vimentin-depleted cells

Recent experimental evidence indicates a role for the intermediate filament vimentin in regulating cellular mechanical homeostasis, but its precise contribution remains to be discovered. Mechanical homeostasis requires a balanced bi-directional interplay between the cell’s microenvironment and the cellular morphological and mechanical state—this...

A tissue-engineered model of the atherosclerotic plaque cap: Toward understanding the role of microcalcifications in plaque rupture

Rupture of the cap of an atherosclerotic plaque can lead to thrombotic cardiovascular events. It has been suggested, through computational models, that the presence of microcalcifications in the atherosclerotic cap can increase the risk of cap rupture. However, the experimental confirmation of this hypothesis is still lacking. In this study,...

Tissue-engineered collagenous fibrous cap models to systematically elucidate atherosclerotic plaque rupture

A significant amount of vascular thrombotic events are associated with rupture of the fibrous cap that overlie atherosclerotic plaques. Cap rupture is however difficult to predict due to the heterogenous composition of the plaque, unknown material properties, and the stochastic nature of the event. Here, we aim to create tissue engineered...

A novel method to transfer porous PDMS membranes for high throughput Organ-on-Chip and Lab-on-Chip assembly

We present a novel method to easily and reliably transfer highly porous, large area, thin microfabricated Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) porous membranes on Lab-on-Chip (LOC) and Organ-on-Chip (OOC) devices. The use of silicon as carrier substrate and a water-soluble sacrificial layer allows a simple and reproducible transfer of the membranes to...

Microfabricated tuneable and transferable porous PDMS membranes for Organs-on-Chips

We present a novel and highly reproducible process to fabricate transferable porous PDMS membranes for PDMS-based Organs-on-Chips (OOCs) using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) fabrication technologies. Porous PDMS membranes with pore sizes down to 2.0 μm in diameter and a wide porosity range (2–65%) can be fabricated. To overcome issues...

Co-branding: A brand partnership and a new product

Co-branding is a form of cooperation between two brands with significant consumer recognition that results in the creation and introduction of a new product on which both brands are visible. Although co-branding results in the creation and introduction of a new product through collaboration, the current literature on cobranding focuses on either...

Fusing products and brands: When does partnering pay off?

The goal of this study was to examine consumer reactions towards branded hybrid product. We examined how consumers interpret and evaluate hybrids with a single brand vs. multiple brands. The results show that consumers are more likely to interpret a product symmetrically (i.e., give equal status to both categories) when two category cues are...