29,812 research outputs found
Application of Thermoresponsive Polymer and Microfluidics to the Development of a Velocity-Dependent Cell-Sorting Microdevice
3rd Place, Denman Undergraduate Research ForumLow-cost velocity dependent cell sorting in 2D is a currently nonexistent technology for cancer research. The development of such a device would enable further research on the treatment of various deleterious cancers, such as Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), which metastasize based off the high motility of a single cell. Here we present a low-cost device capable of sorting these cells. Separation would enable development of highly specific therapeutic agents to limit cancer metastasis in patients. This device consists of microfluidics channels situated under microtextured Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coated with the thermoresponsive polymer Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM). Cells are seeded on one end of the device and orient themselves parallel to the striations patterned into the PDMS; traveling further across the device over time. At a specific location (determined by velocity of target cells and time passed), low-temperature fluid can be passed through the microfluidic channel below which triggers a selective conformational change in the PNIPAM. This change shifts PNIPAM from nonpolar to polar, causing the polymer to release previously-adhered cells into solution in favor of binding to media. Establishing the PNIPAM layer capable of releasing cells while allowing them to adhere to microtextures on the PDMS involved a multi-step process. First, PDMS stamps are made of varying thickness, then they were placed in a plasma cleaner and exposed to Argon for 1,3, and 5 minutes at 30 Watts, 8-10 MHz, and ~1000microTorr. Then, samples were exposed to N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) via immersion into a polymer solution and via dropping that solution onto samples and baked at 3 hours or 5 hours. Cell detachment analysis, goniometer experimentation, and SEM images showed that a 1 minute Argon gas exposure, with 1 minute of NIPAM immersion and a 3 hour bake yielded the most successful layer that lifted cells without inhibiting the PDMS microtexture. Future work involves optimizing the device to lift all cells exposed to the channel, as well as further corroborating its efficacy.A one-year embargo was granted for this item.Academic Major: Biomedical Engineerin
Technology for the Future: In-Space Technology Experiments Program, part 2
The purpose of the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) In-Space Technology Experiments Program In-STEP 1988 Workshop was to identify and prioritize technologies that are critical for future national space programs and require validation in the space environment, and review current NASA (In-Reach) and industry/ university (Out-Reach) experiments. A prioritized list of the critical technology needs was developed for the following eight disciplines: structures; environmental effects; power systems and thermal management; fluid management and propulsion systems; automation and robotics; sensors and information systems; in-space systems; and humans in space. This is part two of two parts and contains the critical technology presentations for the eight theme elements and a summary listing of critical space technology needs for each theme
Real-time predictive maintenance for wind turbines using Big Data frameworks
This work presents the evolution of a solution for predictive maintenance to
a Big Data environment. The proposed adaptation aims for predicting failures on
wind turbines using a data-driven solution deployed in the cloud and which is
composed by three main modules. (i) A predictive model generator which
generates predictive models for each monitored wind turbine by means of Random
Forest algorithm. (ii) A monitoring agent that makes predictions every 10
minutes about failures in wind turbines during the next hour. Finally, (iii) a
dashboard where given predictions can be visualized. To implement the solution
Apache Spark, Apache Kafka, Apache Mesos and HDFS have been used. Therefore, we
have improved the previous work in terms of data process speed, scalability and
automation. In addition, we have provided fault-tolerant functionality with a
centralized access point from where the status of all the wind turbines of a
company localized all over the world can be monitored, reducing O&M costs
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mHealth Research Applied to Regulated and Unregulated Behavioral Health Sciences
Behavioral scientists are developing new methods and frameworks that leverage mobile health technologies to optimize individual level behavior change. Pervasive sensors and mobile apps allow researchers to passively observe human behaviors “in the wild” 24/7 which supports delivery of personalized interventions in the real-world environment. This is all possible because these technologies contain an incredible array of sensors that allow applications to constantly record user location and can contextualize current environmental conditions through barometers, thermometers, and ambient light sensors and can also capture audio and video of the user and their surroundings through multiple integrated high-definition cameras and microphones. These tools are a game changer in behavioral health research and, not surprisingly, introduce new ethical, regulatory/legal and social implications described in this article
Microfluidics : the fur-free way towards personalised medicine in cancer therapy
Microfluidic technology has great potential for complementing and, in some instances, replacing the use of animal models in the testing of medicines and in developing personalised treatments for cancer patients. The maintenance of tissue in an in vivo-like state provides a platform upon which normal and diseased tissue biology can be investigated in a novel way. This review describes the use of microfluidic technology for the maintenance of tissue samples ex vivo and the current state of play for the use of this technology in the replacement of animal models, with a focus on cancer
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Implementation and Validation of the Roche Light Cycler 480 96-Well Plate Platform as a Real-Time PCR Assay for the Quantitative Detection of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) in Clinical Specimens Using the Luminex MultiCode ASRs System.
Allogenic stem-cell therapies benefit patients in the treatment of multiple diseases; however, the side effects of stem-cell therapies (SCT) derived from the concomitant use of immune suppression agents often include triggering infection diseases. Thus, analysis is required to improve the detection of pathogen infections in SCT. We develop a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methodology for the qualitative real-time DNA detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV), with reference to herpes simplex virus types 1 (HSVI), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) in blood, urine, solid tissues, and cerebrospinal fluid. This real-time PCR of 96-well plate format provides a rapid framework as required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical settings, including the processing of specimens, reagent handling, special safety precautions, quality control criteria and analytical accuracy, precisely reportable range (analyst measurement range), reference range, limit of detection (LOD), analytical specificity established by interference study, and analyte stability. Specifically, we determined the reportable range (analyst measurement range) with the following criteria: CMV copies ≥200 copies/mL; report copy/mL value; CMV copies ≤199 copies/mL; report detected but below quantitative range; CMV copies = 0 with report <200 copies/mL. That is, with reference range, copy numbers (CN) per milliliter (mL) of the LOD were determined by standard curves that correlated Ct value and calibrated standard DNA panels. The three repeats determined that the measuring range was 1E2~1E6 copies/mL. The standard curves show the slopes were within the range -2.99 to -3.65 with R2 ≥ 0.98. High copy (HC) controls were within 0.17-0.18 log differences of DNA copy numbers; (2) low copy (LC) controls were within 0.17-0.18 log differences; (3) LOD was within 0.14-0.15 log differences. As such, we set up a fast, simple, inexpensive, sensitive, and reliable molecular approach for the qualitative detection of CMV pathogens. Conclusion: This real-time PCR of the 96-well plate format provides a rapid framework as required by the FDA for clinical settings
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FABRIC: A National-Scale Programmable Experimental Network Infrastructure
FABRIC is a unique national research infrastructure to enable cutting-edge and exploratory research at-scale in networking, cybersecurity, distributed computing and storage systems, machine learning, and science applications. It is an everywhere-programmable nationwide instrument comprised of novel extensible network elements equipped with large amounts of compute and storage, interconnected by high speed, dedicated optical links. It will connect a number of specialized testbeds for cloud research (NSF Cloud testbeds CloudLab and Chameleon), for research beyond 5G technologies (Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research or PAWR), as well as production high-performance computing facilities and science instruments to create a rich fabric for a wide variety of experimental activities
Smart vest for respiratory rate monitoring of COPD patients based on non-contact capacitive sensing
In this paper, a first approach to the design of a portable device for non-contact monitoring
of respiratory rate by capacitive sensing is presented. The sensing system is integrated into a smart
vest for an untethered, low-cost and comfortable breathing monitoring of Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients during the rest period between respiratory rehabilitation
exercises at home. To provide an extensible solution to the remote monitoring using this sensor and
other devices, the design and preliminary development of an e-Health platform based on the Internet
of Medical Things (IoMT) paradigm is also presented. In order to validate the proposed solution,
two quasi-experimental studies have been developed, comparing the estimations with respect to the
golden standard. In a first study with healthy subjects, the mean value of the respiratory rate error,
the standard deviation of the error and the correlation coefficient were 0.01 breaths per minute (bpm),
0.97 bpm and 0.995 (p < 0.00001), respectively. In a second study with COPD patients, the values
were -0.14 bpm, 0.28 bpm and 0.9988 (p < 0.0000001), respectively. The results for the rest period
show the technical and functional feasibility of the prototype and serve as a preliminary validation of
the device for respiratory rate monitoring of patients with COPD.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PI15/00306Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación DTS15/00195Junta de Andalucía PI-0010-2013Junta de Andalucía PI-0041-2014Junta de Andalucía PIN-0394-201
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Direct Freeform Fabrication of Spatially Heterogeneous Living Cell-Impregnated Implants
The objectives of this work are the development of the processes, materials, and tooling to
directly “3-D print” living, pre-seeded, patient-specific implants of spatially heterogeneous
compositions. The research presented herein attempts to overcome some of the challenges to
scaffolding, such as the difficulty of producing spatially heterogeneous implants that require
varied seeding densities and/or cell-type distributions. In the proposed approach, living implants
are fabricated by the layer-wise deposition of pre-cell-seeded alginate hydrogel. Although
alginate hydrogels have been previously used to mold living implants, the properties of the
alginate formulations used for molding were not suitable for 3-D printing. In addition to changing
the formulation to make the alginate hydrogels “printable,” we developed a robotic hydrogel
deposition system and supporting CAD software to deposit the gel in arbitrary geometries. We
demonstrated this technology’s capabilities by printing alginate gel implants of multiple materials
with various spatial heterogeneities, including, implants with completely embedded material
clusters. The process was determined to be both viable (94±5% n=15) and sterile (less than one
bacterium per 0.9 µL after 8 days of incubation). Additionally, we demonstrated the printing of a
meniscus cartilage-shaped gel generated directly from a CT Scan. The proposed approach may
hold advantages over other tissue printing efforts [5,9]. This technology has the potential to
overcome challenges to scaffolding and could enable the efficient fabrication of spatially
heterogeneous, patient-specific, living implants.Mechanical Engineerin
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