Mechanical stress has been proven to be an important factor interfering with many biological functions through mechano-sensitive elements within the cells. Despite the current interest in mechano-transduction, the development of suitable experimental tools is still characterized by the strife to design a compact device that allows high-magnification real-time imaging of the stretched cells, thus enabling to follow the dynamics of cellular response to mechanical stimulations. Here we present a microfluidic multi-layered chip that allows mechanical deformation of adherent cells maintaining a fixed focal plane, while allowing independent control of the soluble microenvironment. The device was optimized with the aid of FEM simulation and fully characterized in terms of mechanical deformation. Different cell lines were exposed to tunable mechanical strain, which results in continuous area deformation up to 20%. Thanks to the coupling of chemical glass etching, 2-dimensional deformation of a thin elastomeric membrane and microfluidic cell culture, the developed device allows a unique combination of cell mechanical stimulation, in line imaging and accurate control of cell culture microenvironment.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10439-018-02121-z | DOI Listing |
BMC Cardiovasc Disord
January 2025
ITACA Institute, Universitat Politècnica de València, València, Spain.
Background: Complexity and signal recurrence metrics obtained from body surface potential mapping (BSPM) allow quantifying atrial fibrillation (AF) substrate complexity. This study aims to correlate electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI) detected reentrant patterns with BSPM-calculated signal complexity and recurrence metrics.
Methods: BSPM signals were recorded from 28 AF patients (17 male, 11 women, 62.
Sci Rep
January 2025
School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
Metasurfaces have exhibited excellent capabilities in controlling main characteristics of electromagnetic fields. Thus, a lot of significant achievements have been attained in many areas especially in the fields of hologram and near-field imaging. However, some of these designs are implemented in a manner of interleaved subarrays that complicates the design and makes them difficult to achieve integration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
This study aims to evaluate and compare the usability and performance of mixed reality (MR) technology versus conventional methods for preoperative planning of patient-specific reconstruction plates for orbital fractures. A crossover study design was used to compare MR technology with conventional three-dimensional (3D) printing approaches in the planning of maxillofacial traumatology treatments. The primary focus was on user-friendliness and the accuracy of patient-specific reconstruction planning.
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January 2025
College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai Health, Dubai, UAE.
The first cervical vertebra (C1) is atypical in shape and bears a complex relationship with important neurovascular structures such as the vertebral artery and cervical spinal cord which are at risk of injury during misplaced screw fixation of C1. Placement of screws into the lateral mass of C1 vertebra is performed for stabilization of the craniovertebral junction. The objective of this study was to describe ideal screw dimensions, precise entry points, safe bony corridors, and ideal trajectories for placement of lateral mass screws in the Emirati population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
January 2025
School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Neural reuse can drive organisms to generalize knowledge across various tasks during learning. However, existing devices mostly focus on architectures rather than network functions, lacking the mimic capabilities of neural reuse. Here, we demonstrate a rational device designed based on ferroionic CuInPS, to accomplish the neural reuse function, enabled by dynamic allocation of the ferro-ionic phase.
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