Notes

Sustained-release scorching burn extrudates of the fragile acid TMP-001: In a situation study utilizing PBB custom modeling rendering.
The Thulium fiber laser (TFL) is being explored as a potential alternative to the gold standard HolmiumYAG laser for infrared laser ablation of kidney stones. Laser-induced vapor bubbles contribute to both the ablation mechanism and stone retropulsion. In this preliminary study, a biocompatible surfactant with concentrations of 1-5% was used to enhance the vapor bubble dimensions during the laser pulse. Bubble dimensions using surfactant increased on average by 25% compared with water only (control). With further development, introduction of the surfactant into the saline irrigation flow typically delivered through the working channel of the ureteroscope during laser lithotripsy, may contribute to more efficient stone ablation.Clinical Relevance-This preliminary study demonstrates that the dimensions of laser-induced vapor bubbles created during infrared laser lithotripsy can be enhanced by up to 25%, for potential clinical translation into more efficient lithotripsy and use in the "popcorn" ablation method.Quantitation of protein biomarker featured with portability, rapidity, high sensitivity is critical for the point-of-care testing (POCT) application. Herein, a novel smartphone-enabled microfluidic chemiluminescence platform for the quantitation of prostate specific antigen (PSA) was proposed based on acoustic tweezers approach. The primary antibodies labeled polystyrene microparticles (Ab1-PSs), target samples, the horseradish peroxidase labeled secondary antibodies (Ab2-HRP) were injected into the microfluidics simultaneously. Under the actuation of Lamb Wave Resonator (LWR), they were dynamically trapped and concentrated in the acoustic streaming; meanwhile, the biomolecular binding was enhanced. After the injection of chemiluminescent substrate, the concentrated immuno-particles catalyzed hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) reaction so that the emitted blue light was directly captured by smartphone. Besides, the flow rate and the applied power of LWR were optimized for the signal amplification. The chemiluminescence immunoassay exhibited a dynamic linear range from 0.5 ng/mL to 10 ng/mL with a limit of detection of 0.1 ng/mL in PBS buffer. The portable immunosensor will be utilized for the quantitation of PSA in serum samples to demonstrate the clinical significance.Clinical Relevance-The smartphone-enabled detection platform realizes the quantitation of biomarker within 10 min, which reveals a valuable potential tool for the early diagnosis of various diseases, even in resource-limited regions.Since the introduction of microfluidics in the 1990s, the community has investigated numerous methods for their fabrication. However, there is interest for their inexpensive rapid prototyping. PCB technology as a low-cost, massfabrication approach for the realization of sensors has attracted attention, while its use for microfluidics is also gaining ground. In this paper the development and characterization of a microfluidic Y-channel is presented. The proposed design and assembly process for realizing the device is described in detail and the flow rate and mixing within the microchannel are characterized, demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed novel technology for lab-on-PCB devices.This article presents a method to plan BloodBrain Barrier (BBB) disruption with Focused Ultrasound, under neuronavigated robotic assistance. Robotic and acoustic constraints are defined to estimate brain target accessibility. The relevance of the proposed framework is illustrated in specific brain target examples.We have recently reported encapsulating an antitumor iron chelator, Dp44mT (Di-2-pyridylketone-4,4dimethyl-3-thiosemicarbazone), in nanoparticles (NPs) of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). In this paper, we examine the effectiveness of this nano-formulation, referred to as Dp44mT-NPs, against several cancer cell lines in vitro; specifically, we evaluate the cytotoxicity of this formulation in glioma (U87, U251), breast (MCF7), and colorectal (HT29) cancer cell lines. Cell viability results from treatment of glioma cells with Dp44mT-NPs for 24-72 hrs revealed that these NPs were highly toxic towards these malignant cells with very low IC50 values (1 µM) compared to glioma cells. Addition of PEG to these NPs, again lowered their toxicity in these cells. Varying the percentage of PEG on NPs resulted in changes in their cytotoxicity, highlighting the necessity of further optimization of this parameter. This study, overall, demonstrates the therapeutic potential of Dp44mT-NPs against different malignant cells, with particularly promising results in highly-aggressive glioma tumor cells.We present in this work an array of microfluidic valves altogether with a corresponding custom control interface. This microfluidic network is an integrated drug delivery system intended for Organ-On-Chip (OOC) applications. Recent research works have achieved high-quality OOC platforms. The latter platforms require an increasing complexity and efficient and flexibile drug delivery systems. As many organs can be integrated in a single chip, a large number of micro-fluidic channels is needed to access various specific locations. Thus, we propose to drive the expected large number of switching valves with an embedded on-chip controller. The presented system includes a control interface of 5n channels using n-line control unit.Thermosensitive liposomes (TSL) are nanoparticles that can encapsulate therapeutic drugs, and release those drugs when exposed to hyperthermic temperatures (>40 °C). Combined with localized hyperthermia, TSL enable focused drug delivery. In this study, we created a three-dimensional (3D) computer model for simulating delivery with TSL-encapsulated doxorubicin (TSL-Dox) to mouse tumors. A mouse hind limb was scanned by a 3D scanner and the resulting geometry was imported into finite element modeling software, with a virtual tumor added. Then, heating by a surface probe was simulated. Further, a drug delivery model was coupled to the heat transfer model to simulate drug delivery kinetics. For comparison, experimental studies in gel phantoms and in vivo fluorescence imaging studies in mice carrying lung tumor xenografts were performed. We report the tissue temperature profile, drug concentration profile and compare the experimental studies with the computer model. The thermistor produced very localized heating that resulted in highest drug delivery to regions near the probe. The average tumor temperature was 38.2˚C (range 34.4-43.4˚C), and produced an average tumor drug concentration of 11.8 µg/g (0.3-28.1 µg/g) after 15 min heating, and 25.6 µg/g (0.3-52 µg/g), after 60 min heating. The computer model reproduced the temperature profile compared to phantom experiments (mean error 0.71 °C, range 0.59-1.25 °C), as well as drug delivery profile as compared to in vivo studies. Our results suggest feasibility of using this approach to model drug delivery in preclinical studies with accurate model geometry.
Our primary goal was to evaluate the performance of a new high-efficiency electric fence energizer unit using resistive load changes. Our secondary goal was to test for compliance with the classical energy limits and the newer charge-based limits for output.

We tested 4 units of the Nemtek Druid energizer with 2 channels each. We used a wide load-resistance range to cover the worst-case scenario of a barefoot child making a chest contact (400 Ω) up to an adult merely touching the fence (2 kΩ).

The energy output was quite consistent between the 8 sources. Even at the lowest resistance, 400 Ω, the outputs were well below the IEC 60335-2-76 limit of 5 J/pulse. The charge delivered was also quite consistent. Even at the lowest resistance, 400 Ω, the outputs (679 ± 23 μC) were well below the proposed limits of 4 mC for short pulses.

The high-efficiency electric fence energizers satisfied all relevant safety limits. Charge, energy, voltage, and current outputs were consistent between channels and units.
The high-efficiency electric fence energizers satisfied all relevant safety limits. Charge, energy, voltage, and current outputs were consistent between channels and units.Accurate assessment of pacemaker function or malfunction is essential to make clinical interpretations on pacemaker therapy and patient symptoms. This article presents an innovative approach for detecting pacemaker pulses at sampling frequency as low as 125Hz. The proposed method is validated in wide range of simulated clinical ECG conditions such as arrhythmia (sinus rhythms, supraventricular rhythms, and AV blocks), pulse amplitudes (~100µV to ~3mV), pulse durations (~100µs to ~2ms), pacemaker modes and types (fixed-rate or on-demand single chamber, dual chamber, and bi-ventricular pacing), and physiological noise (tremor). The proposed algorithm demonstrates clinically acceptable detection accuracies with sensitivity and PPV of 98.1 ± 4.4 % and 100 %, respectively. In conclusion, the approach is well suited for integration in long-term wearable ECG sensor devices operating at a low sample frequency to monitor pacemaker function.Clinical Relevance- The proposed system enables real-time long-term continuous assessment of the proper functioning of implanted pacemaker and progression of treatment for cardiac conditions using battery-powered wearable ECG monitors.Repair of dissected aorta requires remodeling the structure of the media. Modeling approaches specific to endovascular stenting for aortic dissection have been reported. We created a goat model of descending thoracic aortic dissection and reproduced its morphological characteristics in a mock circulatory system. The purpose of this study was to examine a newly developed aortic stent which was capable of installing to the aortic dissected lesion for biomedical hemodynamics point of view. In this study, we examined the changes in hemodynamics of dissected lesions and the amelioration by endovascular stent intervention. Firstly, we performed animal experiments with the dissected aorta and examined the effects of stenting on volumetric changes in the false lumen. Secondly, we made several types of 3-D stereolithographic dissected aortic models with silicone rubber membrane between the false and the true lumens. Then, the hemodynamic characteristics in each model were evaluated in the pulsatile flow conditions in a mock circulatory system. These modelling approaches enabled the quantitative examination of post-therapeutic effects of stenting followed by elucidating of hemodynamic changes in the vicinity of stents, which may follow the management of clinical amelioration of interventional treatment with aortic stenting.Clinical Relevance- This study represents a modelling approach of the dissected aorta for endovascular intervention using stenting followed by the examination of false lumen volumetric changes resulting in the deterioration of pressure increase in diseased lesions.Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, yet rates of missed- and mis-diagnoses are alarmingly high. The introduction of objective biomarkers, to aid diagnosis, informed by depression's physiological pathology may alleviate some of the burden on strained mental health services. Three minutes of eyes-closed resting state heart rate and skin conductance response (SCR) data were acquired from 27 participants (16 healthy controls, 11 with major depressive disorder (MDD)). Various classifiers were trained on state-of-the-art and novel features. We are aware of no previous studies analysing the utility of multimodal vs. individual modalities for classification. We found no improvement using multimodal classifiers over using heart rate variability (HRV) alone, which achieved 81% test accuracy. The best multimodal and SCR only classifiers were only slightly less accurate at 78%. Despite not improving depression detection, SCR features did show stronger correlation with suicidal ideation than HRV. SD1/SD22 is a novel HRV feature proposed in this paper, similar to the commonly used ratio SD1/SD2 but with more marked separation between classes, having the largest Rank Biserial Correlation of all examined features (p-value = 0.
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