Biomicrofluidics: recent trends and future challenges

Biomicrofluidics is an active area of research at present, exploring the synergy of microfluidics with cellular and molecular biology, biotechnology, and biomedical engineering. The present article outlines the recent advancements in these areas, including the development of novel lab-on-a-chip based applications. Particular emphasis is given on the microfluidics-based handling of DNA, cells, and proteins, as well as fundamental microfluidic considerations for design of biomedical microdevices. Future directions of research on these topics are also discussed

A Study on the Default Supplemental Adjustment Factors of Progression Adjustment Factor Formula under Non-Lane Based Traffic Condition

A mathematical expression of supplemental adjustment factor (fPA) has provided a way to estimate Progression Adjustment Factor (P.F.) more accurately as the P.F. relies on the fPA value. The mathematical formula of fPA requires traffic parameters that need to be determined from the field survey. As non-lane based traffic behavior is significantly different from lane-based traffic, this study examines the applicability of the default fPA values of Highway Capacity Manual-2000 under the non-lane based traffic condition. Default values for all six Arrival Types (AT1 to AT6) are reviewed against an available mathematical expression. After performing statistical analysis on the collected data, it is found that the HCM-provided default fPA values for AT1, AT3, AT5 and AT6 are consistent with the mathematical expression. However, the supplemental factors for AT2 and AT4 are found to vary significantly from the default values. By considering the mathematical expression as a standard of comparison, a graphical representation of error corresponding to trial fPA value shows that a value of 0.99 for fPA provides the minimum error of P.F. for AT2. Thus, the default value (fPA =0.93) is found to underestimate fPA as well as P.F. by 6.5%. In a similar way, the fPA value for AT4 is found to be 0.96 which is 16.5% less than the default value. So, the default value (fPA =1.15) overestimates fPA and P.F. by 16.5%. Therefore, fPA = 0.99 for AT2 and fPA = 0.96 for AT4 should be used to estimate P.F. in case of non-lane based traffic

Knowledge, attitude and practice about hospital acquired infection among health care personnel in a tertiary care hospital of Tripura

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of hospital acquired infections transmitted from both blood-borne pathogens. This study was aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of health care professionals towards hospital acquired infections.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 191 on health care personnel (staff nurses, nursing student, lab technicians, OT assistants, ward girls, and sweepers) available on the day of survey of Tripura Medical College and Dr. BRAM Teaching Hospital, Hapania; data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire and analysed using Microsoft excel.Results: Majority (70.7%%) of the participants belonged to 18 to 25 years age group and were females (75.9%); mostly were Staff Nurses (35.1%) followed by nursing student (31.9%). The present study showed that, 87.4% healthcare personnel have some knowledge about Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI). According to study participants, most common hospital acquired infections was urinary tract infections (60.5%) and nurses were the most susceptible (34.6%) group to HAI. Among participants, 94.8% believed that working in hospital exposed them to infectious diseases and 60.2% were willing to change their working environment to avoid hospital acquired infection. Most of the study participants washed their hands after handling the patients (90.2%).Conclusions: Knowledge about Hospital Acquired Infection is present among health care personnel but there is still lack of adequate quality control practice to prevent Hospital Acquired Infection. Importance of prevention of Hospital Acquired Infection should be emphasized among health care personnel by intensive IEC activities

Oscillation dynamics of embolic microspheres in flows with red blood cell suspensions

Dynamic nature of particle motion in blood flow is an important determinant of embolization based cancer therapy. Yet, the manner in which the presence of high volume fraction of red blood cells influences the particle dynamics remains unknown. Here, by investigating the motions of embolic microspheres in pressure-driven flows of red blood cell suspensions through capillaries, we illustrate unique oscillatory trends in particle trajectories, which are not observable in Newtonian fluid flows. Our investigation reveals that such oscillatory behavior essentially manifests when three simultaneous conditions, namely, the Reynolds number beyond a threshold limit, degree of confinement beyond a critical limit, and high hematocrit level, are fulfilled simultaneously. Given that these conditions are extremely relevant to fluid dynamics of blood or polymer flow, the observations reported here bear significant implications on embolization based cancer treatment as well as for complex multiphase fluidics involving particle

Self-medication practices among medical and nursing students in Tripura, India: a mixed-method study

Background: In developing countries like India, self-medication is a common practice because of costly clinical services and easy availability of medicine from pharmacies. There is an increase trend of self-medication among different health professional students apart from general people. This study aims to assess self-medication practice among medical and nursing students in Tripura, India.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate medical and nursing students of Tripura Medical College and Tripura College of Nursing, of Tripura for two months (January- February 2018). A pre-tested, semi-structured schedule was used to collect the required information. The collected data was entered in SPSS version 16.0, represented in proportions and p <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results: Overall 353 (88.3%) students of both courses practiced self-medication; prevalence was more among medical (91.5%) than nursing students (85%). Main source of information among medical students were books (90.2%) while 56.5% nursing students replied friends and/or seniors as primary source. Majority (53%) respondents took self-medication for headache (79.2% medical vs 72.4% nursing students) followed by fever (77.6% medical vs 52.4% nursing). Less than half of the respondents (48.5% medical vs 46.5% nursing students) believed that self-medication was harmful; maximum nursing students (71.5%) believed that self-medication is self-care as compare to medical students (56.5%).Conclusions: The study found wide practice of self-medication among students, inappropriate use of which may cause serious health hazards. Promoting education regarding self-medication and making healthcare system available can reduce self-medication practices substantially