Effects of Collagenase Type II on Vitreous Humor-An In Situ Rheological Study.

The purpose of this study is to quantify the impact of enzyme activity on the vitreous humor structure over time to understand the mechanical characteristics of the vitreous humor gel. Changes in the mechanical behavior of the vitreous occur due to many reasons including aging, which may lead to many vitreoretinal diseases. The degeneration process of the vitreous has been studied; however, in situ experimental procedures to validate the existing hypotheses are limited.

Creep compliance rheology with a probe-like cylindrical geometry.

Background: Rheology experiments have been performed on the vitreous humor, a soft gel that rests inside of the eye, to study its viscoelastic behavior and underlying macromolecular structure. A significant challenge for experimentalists is preserving the macromolecular structure when removing vitreous from in vivo conditions.

Objective: We have developed a novel probe-like rheometer geometry that allows us to perform shear rheology experiments on the vitreous humor in situ.

Two orders of magnitude improvement in detection limit of lateral flow assays using isotachophoresis.

Lateral flow immunoassays (LFA) are one of the most prevalent point-of-care (POC) diagnostics due to their simplicity, low cost, and robust operation. A common criticism of LFA tests is that they have poor detection limits compared to those of analytical techniques, like ELISA, which confines their application as a diagnostic tool. The low detection limit of LFA and associated long equilibration times are due to kinetically limited surface reactions that result from low target concentration.

Isotachophoretic preconcenetration on paper-based microfluidic devices.

Paper substrates have been widely used to construct point-of-care lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) diagnostic devices. Paper based microfluidic devices are robust and relatively simple to operate, compared to channel microfluidic devices, which is perhaps their greatest advantage and the reason they have reached a high level of commercial success. However, paper devices may not be well suited for integrated sample preparation, such as sample extraction and preconcentration, which is required in complex samples with low analyte concentrations.

Denosumab in hypercalcemia of malignancy: a case series.

Background: Denosumab is a nuclear factor-kappa ligand monoclonal antibody whose FDA-approved indications include treatment of osteoporosis, bone loss with certain anticancer hormonal agents, and prevention of skeletal-related events in patients with bone metastases from solid tumors. In clinical trials, the incidence of severe hypocalcemia has been reported as 3.1-10.