Tracheoesophageal Puncture Outcomes at a Safety Net Hospital.

Tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP) is the gold standard for voice rehabilitation after total laryngectomy (TL). Retrospective analysis was performed of TEP outcomes in patients between 2013 and 2020 at a single tertiary hospital. TEP was performed primarily in 79%, secondarily in 6%, and not placed in 15% of 226 patients.

Digitally-defined ultrathin transparent wireless sensor network for room-scale imperceptible ambient intelligence.

Wireless and battery-free radio-frequency (RF) sensors can be used to create physical spaces that ambiently sense and respond to human activities. Making such sensors ultra-flexible and transparent is important to preserve the aesthetics of living environments, accommodate daily activities, and functionally integrate with objects. However, existing RF sensors are unable to simultaneously achieve high transparency, flexibility, and the electrical conductivity required for remote room-scale operation.

Self-healing actuatable electroluminescent fibres.

Alternating-current electroluminescent fibres are promising candidates as light sources for smart textiles and soft machines. However, physical damage from daily use causes device deterioration or failure, making self-healable electroluminescent fibres attractive. In addition, soft robots could benefit from light-emitting combined with magnetically actuated functions.

Improved method for quantification of intact oxaliplatin by ultra high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: Applications to clinical and speciation studies.

Interest is increasing in the use of different liquid chromatography techniques coupled online to mass spectrometry for the quantification of platinum anticancer drugs in human plasma to inform cancer chemotherapy. We developed, validated and studied the application of a method for quantification of intact oxaliplatin in human plasma using ultra high performance liquid chromatography hyphenated to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ICP-MS). Plasma samples were processed instantly after collection from patients to preserve oxaliplatin speciation by methanol-deproteinization, and storage of diluted supernatants (plasma:methanol 1:2 v/v) at -80 °C.

Wireless sequential dual light delivery for programmed PDT in vivo.

Using photodynamic therapy (PDT) to treat deep-seated cancers is limited due to inefficient delivery of photosensitizers and low tissue penetration of light. Polymeric nanocarriers are widely used for photosensitizer delivery, while the self-quenching of the encapsulated photosensitizers would impair the PDT efficacy. Furthermore, the generated short-lived reactive oxygen spieces (ROS) can hardly diffuse out of nanocarriers, resulting in low PDT efficacy.

Correction: Investigating Father or Partner Involvement in Family Integrated Care in Neonatal Units: Protocol for a Prospective, Multicenter, Multiphase Study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/53160.].

Harnessing metamaterials for efficient wireless power transfer for implantable medical devices.

Wireless power transfer (WPT) within the human body can enable long-lasting medical devices but poses notable challenges, including absorption by biological tissues and weak coupling between the transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx). In pursuit of more robust and efficient wireless power, various innovative strategies have emerged to optimize power transfer efficiency (PTE). One such groundbreaking approach stems from the incorporation of metamaterials, which have shown the potential to enhance the capabilities of conventional WPT systems.

Ambient health sensing on passive surfaces using metamaterials.

Ambient sensors can continuously and unobtrusively monitor a person's health and well-being in everyday settings. Among various sensing modalities, wireless radio-frequency sensors offer exceptional sensitivity, immunity to lighting conditions, and privacy advantages. However, existing wireless sensors are susceptible to environmental interference and unable to capture detailed information from multiple body sites.

A Magnetic Particle Imaging Approach for Minimally Invasive Imaging and Sensing With Implantable Bioelectronic Circuits.

Minimally-invasive and biocompatible implantable bioelectronic circuits are used for long-term monitoring of physiological processes in the body. However, there is a lack of methods that can cheaply and conveniently image the device within the body while simultaneously extracting sensor information. Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) with zero background signal, high contrast, and high sensitivity with quantitative images is ideal for this challenge because the magnetic signal is not absorbed with increasing tissue depth and incurs no radiation dose.

Ambient Cardiovascular Monitoring with Metamaterial Textile Sensors.

Contactless sensors embedded in the ambient environment have broad applications in unobtrusive, long-term health monitoring for preventative and personalized healthcare. Microwave radar sensors are an attractive candidate for ambient sensing due to their high sensitivity to physiological motions, ability to penetrate through obstacles and privacy-preserving properties, but practical applications in complex real-world environments have been limited because of challenges associated with background clutter and interference. In this work, we propose a thin and soft textile sensor based on microwave metamaterials that can be easily integrated into ordinary furniture for contactless ambient monitoring of multiple cardiovascular signals in a localized manner.

Amino acid substitution L232F in non-structural protein 6 identified as a possible human-adaptive mutation in clade B MERS coronaviruses.

Viral host adaptation plays an important role in inter-species transmission of coronaviruses and influenza viruses. Multiple human-adaptive mutations have been identified in influenza viruses but not so far in MERS-CoV that circulates widely in dromedary camels in the Arabian Peninsula leading to zoonotic transmission. Here, we analyzed clade B MERS-CoV sequences and identified an amino acid substitution L232F in nsp6 that repeatedly occurs in human MERS-CoV.

Frictionless multiphasic interface for near-ideal aero-elastic pressure sensing.

Conventional pressure sensors rely on solid sensing elements. Instead, inspired by the air entrapment phenomenon on the surfaces of submerged lotus leaves, we designed a pressure sensor that uses the solid-liquid-liquid-gas multiphasic interfaces and the trapped elastic air layer to modulate capacitance changes with pressure at the interfaces. By creating an ultraslippery interface and structuring the electrodes at the nanoscale and microscale, we achieve near-friction-free contact line motion and thus near-ideal pressure-sensing performance.

Implant-to-implant wireless networking with metamaterial textiles.

Implanted bioelectronic devices can form distributed networks capable of sensing health conditions and delivering therapy throughout the body. Current clinically-used approaches for wireless communication, however, do not support direct networking between implants because of signal losses from absorption and reflection by the body. As a result, existing examples of such networks rely on an external relay device that needs to be periodically recharged and constitutes a single point of failure.

Synergetic positivity of loss and noise in nonlinear non-Hermitian resonators.

Loss and noise are usually undesirable in electronics and optics, which are generally mitigated by separate ways in the cost of bulkiness and complexity. Recent studies of non-Hermitian systems have shown a positive role of loss in various loss-induced counterintuitive phenomena, while noise still remains a fundamental challenge in non-Hermitian systems particularly for sensing and lasing. Here, we simultaneously reverse the detrimental loss and noise and reveal their coordinated positive role in nonlinear non-Hermitian resonators.

Stochastic Exceptional Points for Noise-Assisted Sensing.

Noise is a fundamental challenge for sensors deployed in daily environments for ambient sensing, health monitoring, and wireless networking. Current strategies for noise mitigation rely primarily on reducing or removing noise. Here, we introduce stochastic exceptional points and show the utility to reverse the detrimental effect of noise.

Replication of Novel Zoonotic-Like Influenza A(H3N8) Virus in Ex Vivo Human Bronchus and Lung.

Human infection with avian influenza A(H3N8) virus is uncommon but can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome. In explant cultures of the human bronchus and lung, novel H3N8 virus showed limited replication efficiency in bronchial and lung tissue but had a higher replication than avian H3N8 virus in lung tissue.

Mutation nsp6 L232F associated with MERS-CoV zoonotic transmission confers higher viral replication in human respiratory tract cultures ex-vivo.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes zoonotic disease. Dromedary camels are the source of zoonotic infection. We identified a mutation of amino acid leucine to phenylalanine in the codon 232 position of the non-structural protein 6 (nsp6) (nsp6 L232F) that is repeatedly associated with zoonotic transmission.

Technology Roadmap for Flexible Sensors.

Humans rely increasingly on sensors to address grand challenges and to improve quality of life in the era of digitalization and big data. For ubiquitous sensing, flexible sensors are developed to overcome the limitations of conventional rigid counterparts. Despite rapid advancement in bench-side research over the last decade, the market adoption of flexible sensors remains limited.

Bioelectronic devices for light-based diagnostics and therapies.

Light has broad applications in medicine as a tool for diagnosis and therapy. Recent advances in optical technology and bioelectronics have opened opportunities for wearable, ingestible, and implantable devices that use light to continuously monitor health and precisely treat diseases. In this review, we discuss recent progress in the development and application of light-based bioelectronic devices.

Sociodemographic characteristics associated with hepatitis C virus infection in Vietnamese Americans: A cross-sectional analysis of community screening data.

Background: Prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among Vietnamese Americans is reportedly high. Understanding the profile of those at greater risk of HCV in this ethnic population is a vital step to addressing this high prevalence. We hypothesize that certain sociodemographic characteristics increase the likelihood of having HCV in Vietnamese Americans.

Topographic design in wearable MXene sensors with in-sensor machine learning for full-body avatar reconstruction.

Wearable strain sensors that detect joint/muscle strain changes become prevalent at human-machine interfaces for full-body motion monitoring. However, most wearable devices cannot offer customizable opportunities to match the sensor characteristics with specific deformation ranges of joints/muscles, resulting in suboptimal performance. Adequate wearable strain sensor design is highly required to achieve user-designated working windows without sacrificing high sensitivity, accompanied with real-time data processing.

Needle-integrated ultrathin bioimpedance microsensor array for early detection of extravasation.

Extravasation is a common complication during intravenous therapy in which infused fluids leak into the surrounding tissues. Timely intervention can prevent severe adverse consequences, but early detection remains an unmet clinical need because existing sensors are not sensitive to leakage occurring in small volumes (< 200 μL) or at deep venipuncture sites. Here, an ultrathin bioimpedance microsensor array that can be integrated on intravenous needles for early and sensitive detection of extravasation is reported.