Effects of vagus nerve stimulation on cognitive functioning in rats with cerebral ischemia reperfusion.

Background: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has become the most common non-pharmacological treatment for intractable drug-resistant epilepsy. However, the contribution of VNS to neurological rehabilitation following stroke has not been thoroughly examined. Therefore, we investigated the specific role of acute VNS in the recovery of cognitive functioning and the possible mechanisms involved using a cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury model in rats.

One-post patterning of multiple protein gradients using a low-cost flash foam stamp.

Printing of versatile chemical and biological inks for protein and cell patterning was achieved using a simple and cost-effective flash foam stamp (FFS). The grey-scale mask fabricated stamp can generate multiple protein gradients with one-post stamping. Due to the importance of spatially controlled protein patterns in both biology and tissue engineering, this straightforward and reliable tool is an accessible solution for resource-limited laboratories conducting molecular patterning experiments.

Bi-module sensing device to in situ quantitatively detect hydrogen peroxide released from migrating tumor cells.

Cell migration is one of the key cell functions in physiological and pathological processes, especially in tumor metastasis. However, it is not feasible to monitor the important biochemical molecules produced during cell migrations in situ by conventional cell migration assays. Herein, for the first time a device containing both electrochemical sensing and trans-well cell migration modules was fabricated to sensitively quantify biochemical molecules released from the cell migration process in situ.