Disposable Microfluidic Sensor Based on Nanocellulose for Glucose Detection.

Point-of-care devices that are inexpensive, disposable, and environmentally friendly are becoming increasingly predominant in the field of biosensing and biodiagnostics. Here, microfluidics is a suitable option to endow portability and minimal reagent and material consumption. Nanocellulose is introduced to manufacture microfluidic channels and as a storage and immobilization compartment of glucose oxidase.

High Bending-Mode Sensitivity of Printed Piezoelectric Poly(vinylidenefluoride--trifluoroethylene) Sensors.

Printable piezoelectric sensors were fabricated on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. Solution-processed piezoelectric poly(vinylidenefluoride--trifluoroethylene) ink was used as an active layer. Evaporated silver on PET was used as the bottom electrode and the painted silver glue as the top electrode.

Human Neural Tissues from Neural Stem Cells Using Conductive Biogel and Printed Polymer Microelectrode Arrays for 3D Electrical Stimulation.

Electricity is important in the physiology and development of human tissues such as embryonic and fetal development, and tissue regeneration for wound healing. Accordingly, electrical stimulation (ES) is increasingly being applied to influence cell behavior and function for a biomimetic approach to in vitro cell culture and tissue engineering. Here, the application of conductive polymer (CP) poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) pillars is described, direct-write printed in an array format, for 3D ES of maturing neural tissues that are derived from human neural stem cells (NSCs).

Bioresorbable Conductive Wire with Minimal Metal Content.

The emergence of transient electronics has created the need for bioresorbable conductive wires for signal and energy transfer. We present a fully bioresorbable wire design where the conductivity is provided by only a few micrometers thick electron-beam evaporated magnesium layer on the surface of a polymer fiber. The structure is electrically insulated with an extrusion coated polymer sheath, which simultaneously serves as a water barrier for the dissolvable magnesium conductor.

Correction to: Depletion of nuclear import protein karyopherin alpha 7 (KPNA7) induces mitotic defects and deformation of nuclei in cancer cells.

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors notified us that the Additional File 1 contains reviewer comments instead of the Supplementary tables.

Vibration transmittance measures sternotomy stability - a preliminary study in human cadavers.

Background: Stability is essential for the normal healing of a sternotomy. Mechanical vibration transmittance may provide a new means of early detection of diastasis in the sternotomy and thus enable the prevention of further complications. We sought to confirm that vibration transmittance detects sternal diastasis in human tissue.

Detection of Pancreatic Cancer by Urine Volatile Organic Compound Analysis.

Background/aim: Most pancreatic cancer patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, since the diagnosis is demanding. Field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) is a sensitive technique used for the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOC). We evaluated the ability of FAIMS to discriminate between pancreatic cancer and healthy controls from a urine sample.

Ion Beam Assisted E-Beam Deposited TiN Microelectrodes-Applied to Neuronal Cell Culture Medium Evaluation.

Microelectrode material and cell culture medium have significant roles in the signal-to-noise ratio and cell well-being in electrophysiological studies. Here, we report an ion beam assisted e-beam deposition (IBAD) based process as an alternative titanium nitride (TiN) deposition method for sputtering in the fabrication of state-of-the-art TiN microelectrode arrays (MEAs). The effects of evaporation and nitrogen flow rates were evaluated while developing the IBAD TiN deposition process.

Real-Time Bioimpedance-Based Biopsy Needle Can Identify Tissue Type with High Spatial Accuracy.

Histological analysis is meaningful in diagnosis only if the targeted tissue is obtained in the biopsy. Often, physicians have to take a tissue sample without accurate information about the location of the instrument tip. A novel biopsy needle with bioimpedance-based tissue identification has been developed to provide data for the automatic classification of the tissue type at the tip of the needle.

Regulation of asymmetries in the kinetics and protein numbers of bacterial gene expression.

Genetic circuits change the status quo of cellular processes when their protein numbers cross thresholds. We investigate the regulation of RNA and protein threshold crossing propensities in Escherichia coli. From in vivo single RNA time-lapse microscopy data from multiple promoters, mutants, induction schemes and media, we study the asymmetry and tailedness (quantified by the skewness and kurtosis, respectively) of the distributions of time intervals between transcription events.

Identification of breast tumors from diathermy smoke by differential ion mobility spectrometry.

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer in women worldwide. The primary treatment is breast-conserving surgery or mastectomy with an adequate clearance margin. Diathermy blade is used extensively in breast-conserving surgery.

Metabolic syndrome is associated with decreased heart rate variability in a sex-dependent manner: a comparison between 252 men and 249 women.

Impaired heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but evidence regarding alterations of HRV in metabolic syndrome (MetS) remains elusive. In order to examine HRV in MetS, we subjected 501 volunteers without atherosclerosis, diabetes or antihypertensive medication, mean age 48 years, to passive head-up tilt. The subjects were divided to control men (n = 131), men with MetS (n = 121), control women (n = 191) and women with MetS (n = 58) according to the criteria by Alberti et al.

Nanocellulose and chitosan based films as low cost, green piezoelectric materials.

Nanocellulose and chitosan have recently started to get attention as environmentally friendly piezoelectric materials for sensor and energy harvesting applications. Conversely, current commercially available flexible piezoelectric films made of for example polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) are relatively expensive and made from non-renewable materials. We measured the piezoelectric responses (2-8 pC/N) for solvent casted films based on nanocellulose, microcrystalline chitosan and their blends.

Focal Adhesion Kinase and ROCK Signaling Are Switch-Like Regulators of Human Adipose Stem Cell Differentiation towards Osteogenic and Adipogenic Lineages.

Adipose tissue is an attractive stem cell source for soft and bone tissue engineering applications and stem cell therapies. The adipose-derived stromal/stem cells (ASCs) have a multilineage differentiation capacity that is regulated through extracellular signals. The cellular events related to cell adhesion and cytoskeleton have been suggested as central regulators of differentiation fate decision.

Computational Modeling of Electrophysiology and Pharmacotherapy of Atrial Fibrillation: Recent Advances and Future Challenges.

The pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation (AF) is broad, with components related to the unique and diverse cellular electrophysiology of atrial myocytes, structural complexity, and heterogeneity of atrial tissue, and pronounced disease-associated remodeling of both cells and tissue. A major challenge for rational design of AF therapy, particularly pharmacotherapy, is integrating these multiscale characteristics to identify approaches that are both efficacious and independent of ventricular contraindications. Computational modeling has long been touted as a basis for achieving such integration in a rapid, economical, and scalable manner.

In vitro detection of common rhinosinusitis bacteria by the eNose utilising differential mobility spectrometry.

Acute rhinosinusitis (ARS) is a sudden, symptomatic inflammation of the nasal and paranasal mucosa. It is usually caused by respiratory virus infection, but bacteria complicate for a small number of ARS patients. The differential diagnostics between viral and bacterial pathogens is difficult and currently no rapid methodology exists, so antibiotics are overprescribed.

Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Engineered Heart Tissue as a Sensitive Test System for QT Prolongation and Arrhythmic Triggers.

Background: Cardiac repolarization abnormalities in drug-induced and genetic long-QT syndrome may lead to afterdepolarizations and life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) should help to overcome the limitations of animal models based on species differences in repolarization reserve. Here, we compared head-to-head the contribution of (long QT1) and (long QT2) on action potentials (APs) in human left ventricular (LV) tissue and hiPSC-CM-derived engineered heart tissue (EHT).

Impact loading history modulates hip fracture load and location: A finite element simulation study of the proximal femur in female athletes.

Sideways falls impose high stress on the thin superolateral cortical bone of the femoral neck, the region regarded as a fracture-prone region of the hip. Exercise training is a natural mode of mechanical loading to make bone more robust. Exercise-induced adaptation of cortical bone along the femoral neck has been previously demonstrated.

Evaluation of Dry Electrodes in Canine Heart Rate Monitoring.

The functionality of three dry electrocardiogram electrode constructions was evaluated by measuring canine heart rate during four different behaviors: Standing, sitting, lying and walking. The testing was repeated (n = 9) in each of the 36 scenarios with three dogs. Two of the electrodes were constructed with spring-loaded test pins while the third electrode was a molded polymer electrode with Ag/AgCl coating.

Acquiring Respiration Rate from Photoplethysmographic Signal by Recursive Bayesian Tracking of Intrinsic Modes in Time-Frequency Spectra.

Respiration rate (RR) provides useful information for assessing the status of a patient. We propose RR estimation based on photoplethysmography (PPG) because the blood perfusion dynamics are known to carry information on breathing, as respiration-induced modulations in the PPG signal. We studied the use of amplitude variability of transmittance mode finger PPG signal in RR estimation by comparing four time-frequency (TF) representation methods of the signal cascaded with a particle filter.

Electroencephalographic signals during anesthesia recorded from surface and depth electrodes.

Purpose: Anesthesiologists have increasingly started to use EEG-based indexes to estimate the level and type of unconsciousness. However, the physiology and biophysics are poorly understood in anesthesiological literature.

Methods: EEG was recorded from electrodes on the surface of head, including scalp, as well as DBS (deep brain stimulation) electrodes implanted deep in the brain.

Challenges in Reproducibility, Replicability, and Comparability of Computational Models and Tools for Neuronal and Glial Networks, Cells, and Subcellular Structures.

The possibility to replicate and reproduce published research results is one of the biggest challenges in all areas of science. In computational neuroscience, there are thousands of models available. However, it is rarely possible to reimplement the models based on the information in the original publication, let alone rerun the models just because the model implementations have not been made publicly available.

A Portable Microscale Cell Culture System with Indirect Temperature Control.

A physiologically relevant environment is essential for successful long-term cell culturing in vitro. Precise control of temperature, one of the most crucial environmental parameters in cell cultures, increases the fidelity and repeatability of the experiments. Unfortunately, direct temperature measurement can interfere with the cultures or prevent imaging of the cells.

The precision of the symmetry in Z-ring placement in Escherichia coli is hampered at critical temperatures.

Cell division in Escherichia coli is morphologically symmetric due to, among other things, the ability of these cells to place the Z-ring at midcell. Studies have reported that, at sub-optimal temperatures, this symmetry decreases at the single-cell level, but the causes remain unclear. Using fluorescence microscopy, we observe FtsZ-GFP and DAPI-stained nucleoids to assess the robustness of the symmetry of Z-ring formation and positioning in individual cells under sub-optimal and critical temperatures.