Treatment effect modifiers of immunotherapies for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis-A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: This meta-analysis aimed to assess the treatment effects of immunotherapies in subgroups of adults with clinically isolated syndrome or relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and the effect of potential treatment effect modifiers (TEMs).

Methods: Phase 2 and 3 RCTs with a placebo comparator were analyzed. Risk of bias was assessed.

Microfluidic systems for infectious disease diagnostics.

Microorganisms, encompassing both uni- and multicellular entities, exhibit remarkable diversity as omnipresent life forms in nature. They play a pivotal role by supplying essential components for sustaining biological processes across diverse ecosystems, including higher host organisms. The complex interactions within the human gut microbiota are crucial for metabolic functions, immune responses, and biochemical signalling, particularly through the gut-brain axis.

Correction: Bubble-enhanced ultrasonic microfluidic chip for rapid DNA fragmentation.

Correction for 'Bubble-enhanced ultrasonic microfluidic chip for rapid DNA fragmentation' by Lin Sun , , 2022, , 560-572, https://doi.org/10.1039/D1LC00933H.

Polydimethylsiloxane microstructure-induced acoustic streaming for enhanced ultrasonic DNA fragmentation on a microfluidic chip.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is an essential technology for DNA identification in genomic research. DNA fragmentation is a critical step for NGS and doing this on-chip is of great interest for future integrated genomic solutions. Here we demonstrate fast acoustofluidic DNA fragmentation ultrasound-actuated elastic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microstructures that induce acoustic streaming and associated shear forces when placed in the field of an ultrasonic transducer.

The enhancement of DNA fragmentation in a bench top ultrasonic water bath with needle-induced air bubbles: Simulation and experimental investigation.

Shearing DNA to a certain size is the first step in many medical and biological applications, especially in next-generation gene sequencing technology. In this article, we introduced a highly efficient ultrasonic DNA fragmentation method enhanced by needle-induced air bubbles, which is easy to operate with high throughput. The principle of the bubble-enhanced sonication system is introduced and verified by flow field and acoustic simulations and experiments.

Immunotherapy for people with clinically isolated syndrome or relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: treatment response by demographic, clinical, and biomarker subgroups (PROMISE)-a systematic review protocol.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory and degenerative disease of the central nervous system with an increasing worldwide prevalence. Since 1993, more than 15 disease-modifying immunotherapies (DMTs) have been licenced and have shown moderate efficacy in clinical trials. Based on the heterogeneity of the disease and the partial effectiveness of therapies, a personalised medicine approach would be valuable taking individual prognosis and suitability of a chosen therapy into account to gain the best possible treatment effect.

Bubble-enhanced ultrasonic microfluidic chip for rapid DNA fragmentation.

DNA fragmentation is an essential process in developing genetic sequencing strategies, genetic research, as well as for the diagnosis of diseases with a genetic signature like cancer. Efficient on-chip DNA fragmentation protocols would be beneficial to process integration and open new opportunities for microfluidics in genetic applications. Here we present an acoustic microfluidic chip comprising an array of ultrasound-actuated microbubbles located at dedicated positions adjacent to a channel containing the DNA sample solution.

Effect of inoculum size and antibiotics on bacterial traveling bands in a thin microchannel defined by optical adhesive.

Phenotypic diversity in bacterial flagella-induced motility leads to complex collective swimming patterns, appearing as traveling bands with transient locally enhanced cell densities. Traveling bands are known to be a bacterial chemotactic response to self-generated nutrient gradients during growth in resource-limited microenvironments. In this work, we studied different parameters collective migration, in particular the quantity of bacteria introduced initially in a microfluidic chip (inoculum size) and their exposure to antibiotics (ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, and gentamicin).

An In Vivo Microfluidic Study of Bacterial Load Dynamics and Absorption in the Intestine.

() has gained importance as a model for studying host-microbiota interactions and bacterial infections related to human pathogens. Assessing the fate of ingested bacteria in the worm's intestine is therefore of great interest, in particular with respect to normal bacterial digestion or intestinal colonization by pathogens. Here, we report an in vivo study of bacteria in the gut of .

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing by measuring bacterial oxygen consumption on an integrated platform.

Cellular respiration is a fundamental feature of metabolic activity and oxygen consumption can be considered as a reliable indicator of bacterial aerobic respiration, including for facultative anaerobic bacteria like . Addressing the emerging global health challenge of antimicrobial resistance, we performed antimicrobial susceptibility testing using the bacterial oxygen consumption rate (OCR) as a phenotypic indicator. We demonstrated that microbial exposure to antibiotics showed systematic OCR variations, which enabled determining minimum inhibitory concentrations for three clinically relevant antibiotics, ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, and gentamicin, within a few hours.

Fast antimicrobial susceptibility testing on by metabolic heat nanocalorimetry.

Fast spreading of antimicrobial resistance is now considered a major global health threat. New technologies are required, enabling rapid diagnostics of bacterial infection combined with fast antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) for evaluating the efficiency and dosage of antimicrobial compounds in vitro. This work presents an integrated chip-based isothermal nanocalorimetry platform for direct microbial metabolic heat measurements and evaluates its potential for fast AST.

An in vivo microfluidic study of bacterial transit in C. elegans nematodes.

Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) constitutes an important model organism for use in nutrition and aging studies. We report a novel method for studying the dynamics of Escherichia coli (E.

Force microscopy of the embryonic eggshell.

Assays focusing on emerging biological phenomena in an animal's life can be performed during embryogenesis. While the embryo of has been extensively studied, its biomechanical properties are largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that cellular force microscopy (CFM), a recently developed technique that combines micro-indentation with high resolution force sensing approaching that of atomic force microscopy, can be successfully applied to embryos.

Cardiovascular Mortality Can Be Predicted by Heart Rate Turbulence in Hemodialysis Patients.

Background: Excess mortality in hemodialysis patients is mostly of cardiovascular origin. We examined the association of heart rate turbulence (HRT), a marker of baroreflex sensitivity, with cardiovascular mortality in hemodialysis patients.

Methods: A population of 290 prevalent hemodialysis patients was followed up for a median of 3 years.

Microfluidic system for Caenorhabditis elegans culture and oxygen consumption rate measurements.

Mitochondrial respiration is a key signature for the assessment of mitochondrial functioning and mitochondrial dysfunction is related to many diseases including metabolic syndrome and aging-associated conditions. Here, we present a microfluidic Caenorhabditis elegans culture system with integrated luminescence-based oxygen sensing. The material used for the fabrication of the microfluidic chip is off-stoichiometry dual-cure thiol-ene-epoxy (OSTE+), which is well-suited for reliably recording on-chip oxygen consumption rates (OCR) due to its low gas permeability.

CT-guided nephrostomy-An expedient tool for complex clinical scenarios.

Introduction & Objectives: Percutaneous nephrostomy [1] has emerged as a pivotal approach in the therapeutic management of the obstructed urinary tract. A consecutive incorporation of ultrasonic and radiographic guidance, the approach experienced an almost ubiquitious distribution while most centers currently applying either one or both of these tools jointly. However, success of ultrasound-guidance is limited in obese patients and non-dilated uropathy.

Cognitive Impairment is Associated with Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients.

Background: The prevalence of cognitive impairment in hemodialysis patients is notably high. In previous studises performed in the general population, cognitive impairment has been associated with increased mortality.

Objective: We evaluated the relationship between global cognitive function tested by a short screening instrument and mortality in hemodialysis patients.

Do Individuals in Old Age Prepare for the Risk of Long-Term Care? Results of A Population-Based Survey in Germany.

The aim of the present study was to identify specific actions and financial precautions undertaken by individuals in preparation for their long-term care needs, as well as to determine the correlates of these actions. A population-based survey of the German population aged 65 years and above (n = 1006) was used. Individuals were asked whether they have undertaken financial preparations for their long-term care needs (no; yes).

Integrated Microfluidic Device for Drug Studies of Early Embryogenesis.

Small molecules inhibitors are powerful tools for studying multiple aspects of cell biology and stand at the forefront of drug discovery pipelines. However, in the early () embryo, which is a powerful model system for cell and developmental biology, the use of small molecule inhibitors has been limited by the impermeability of the embryonic eggshell, the low-throughput manual embryo isolation methods, and the lack of well-controlled drug delivery protocols. This work reports a fully integrated microfluidic approach for studies of early embryogenesis, including the possibility of testing small molecule inhibitors with increased throughput and versatility.

Dynamic microfluidic nanocalorimetry system for measuring Caenorhabditis elegans metabolic heat.

Basal heat production is a key phenotype for assessing the metabolic activity of small living organisms. Here, we present a new nanocalorimetric system, based on thin film thermopile sensors combined with microfluidic chips for measuring metabolic heat signals generated by Caenorhabditis elegans larval populations (60 to 220 organisms). In addition to versatile on-chip fluidic manipulation, our microfluidic approach allows confining worm populations close to the sensor surface, thus increasing the sensitivity of the assays.

Correlates of preferences for autonomy in long-term care: results of a population-based survey among older individuals in Germany.

Purpose: Thus far, there is little evidence concerning the factors associated with preferences for autonomy in long-term care. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the correlates of preferences for autonomy in long-term care among older individuals in Germany.

Methods: Data were gathered from a population-based survey of the German population aged ≥65 years in 2015 (N=1,006).

Microfluidic systems for high-throughput and high-content screening using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

In a typical high-throughput drug screening (HTS) process, up to millions of chemical compounds are applied to cells cultured in well plates, aiming to find molecules that exhibit a robust dose-response, as evidenced for example by a fluorescence signal. In high-content screening (HCS), one goes a step further by linking the tested compounds to phenotypic information, obtained, for instance, from microscopic cell images, thereby creating richer data sets that also require more advanced analysis methods. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans came into the screening picture due to the wide availability of its mutants and human disease models, its relatively easy culture and short life cycle.

Who should take care of me? Preferences of old age individuals for characteristics of professional long-term caregivers: an observational cross-sectional study.

Background: It is most likely that the need for long-term care increases considerably in the next decades due to demographic shifts. Thus, we aimed at identifying the preferences for characteristics of professional long-term caregivers among old age individuals in Germany.

Methods: Data were gathered from a population-based survey of the German population aged 65 and above in 2015 (n = 1006).

[The Costs of Overweight and Obesity: a Systematic Review].

Aim Of The Study: The aim of this paper was to conduct a systematic review of cost-of-illness studies for overweight and adiposity in Germany.

Methods: We conducted a PubMed search to identify relevant studies. To increase comparability, all cost data were inflated to 2014 prices.