A microfluidic sucrose gap platform using trilaminar flow with on-chip switching and novel calibration: Challenges and limitations.

Gap junction connectivity is crucial to intercellular communication and plays a key role in many critical processes in developmental biology. However, direct analysis of gap junction connectivity in populations of developing cells has proven difficult due to the limitations of patch clamp and dye diffusion based technologies. We re-examine a microfluidic technique based on the principle of laminar flow, which aims to electrically measure gap junction connectivity.

A microfluidic sucrose gap device for electrical measurement of gap junction connectivity.

A microfluidic device has been designed to electrically measure average intercellular connectivity in a cell monolayer. This proof-of-concept design uses elastomeric microvalves to isolate cells across three microfluidic chambers, creating a direct microscale analog of benchtop sucrose gap physiology rigs. The device operation has been verified for normal rat kidney cells (NRK-49F) using a chemical gap junction blocker, 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB).

Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Managing Pain: A Scoping Review.

Objectives: To examine the pain conditions that have been studied using transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), the various methods and dosage configurations used, as well as identify current gaps in the literature.

Design: Scoping review with the literature search and reporting guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement-extension for scoping reviews.

Review Methods: A systematic search was conducted across four databases-Pubmed/Medline (n = 24), PsycInfo (n = 218), CINAHL (n = 114), and Scopus (n = 52)-comprising a total of 408 publications from peer-reviewed journals.

Leveraging diverse genomic data to guide equitable carrier screening: Insights from gnomAD v.4.1.0.

Analysis of exome data from the latest release of the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD v.4.1.

A systematic review of candidate genes and their relevant pathways for metastasis among adults diagnosed with breast cancer.

Background: Presently incurable, metastatic breast cancer is estimated to occur in as many as 30% of those diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. Timely and accurate identification of those at risk for developing metastasis using validated biomarkers has the potential to have profound impact on overall survival rates. Our primary goal was to conduct a systematic review and synthesize the existing body of scientific knowledge on the candidate genes and their respective single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with metastasis-related outcomes among patients diagnosed with breast cancer.