Inventions Utilizing Microfluidics and Colloidal Particles

Several related inventions pertain to families of devices that utilize microfluidics and/or colloidal particles to obtain useful physical effects. The families of devices can be summarized as follows: (1) Microfluidic pumps and/or valves wherein colloidal-size particles driven by electrical, magnetic, or optical fields serve as the principal moving parts that propel and/or direct the affected flows. (2) Devices that are similar to the aforementioned pumps and/or valves except that they are used to manipulate light instead of fluids. The colloidal particles in these devices are substantially constrained to move in a plane and are driven to spatially order them into arrays that function, variously, as waveguides, filters, or switches for optical signals. (3) Devices wherein the ultra-laminar nature of microfluidic flows is exploited to effect separation, sorting, or filtering of colloidal particles or biological cells in suspension. (4) Devices wherein a combination of confinement and applied electrical and/or optical fields forces the colloidal particles to become arranged into three-dimensional crystal lattices. Control of the colloidal crystalline structures could be exploited to control diffraction of light. (5) Microfluidic devices, incorporating fluid waveguides, wherein switching of flows among different paths would be accompanied by switching of optical signals

Oxygen Reduction Contributing to Charge Transfer during the First Discharge of the CeO2-Bi2Fe4O9-Li Battery: In Situ X-ray Diffraction and X-ray Absorption Near-Edge Structure Investigation

National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) [2010CB934501, 2010CB934503]; National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [21203235, 21303147]Since pioneering work performed by Rouxel et al. that emphasizes the effects of anions in the ionic intercalation process, the role of oxygen ions in lithium ionic battery electrodes is of great interest since it will give new directions to further enhance the battery capacity. In this paper, Bi2Fe4O9-CeO2 was synthesized and was used as an anode for second lithium batteries application. A large amount of oxygen vacancies exist in both CeO2 and Bi2Fe4O9. In CeO2, oxygen vacancies are mainly located at the 111 plane, and in Bi2Fe4O9, oxygen vacancies are mainly located at the 002 plane. Li+ insertion into Bi2Fe4O9 produced high spin tetrahedral Fe2+, which is Jahn-Teller active and induces shrinkage of the Bi2Fe4O9 lattice and releases O-2. The released O-2 is further reduced and contributes to similar to 70 mAh/g during the first discharge process. The 002 plane of Bi2Fe4O9 is very reactive for oxygen reduction, where there are not only a lot of oxygen vacancies but also tetrahedral Fe3+ ions participating in producing more oxygen vacancies. This work gives new directions for future design of lithium battery electrodes, which can reversibly evolve/reduce O-2, and the O-2/O2- (or O-) redox couple is responsible for charge transfer

Pancreaticoduodenectomy Combined with Vascular Resection and Reconstruction for Patients with Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: A Multicenter, Retrospective Analysis

<div><p>Objective</p><p>The aim of this study was to present the therapeutic outcome of patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer treated with pancreatoduodenectomy combined with vascular resection and reconstruction in addition to highlighting the mortality/morbidity and main prognostic factors associated with this treatment.</p><p>Materials and Methods</p><p>We retrospectively analyzed the clinical and pathological data of a total of 566 pancreatic cancer patients who were treated with PD from five teaching hospitals during the period of December 2006–December 2011. This study included 119 (21.0%) patients treated with PD combined with vascular resection and reconstruction. We performed a detailed statistical analysis of various factors, including postoperative complications, operative mortality, survival rate, operative time, pathological type, and lymph node metastasis.</p><p>Results</p><p>The median survival time of the 119 cases that received PD combined with vascular resection was 13.3 months, and the 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates were 30.3%, 14.1%, and 8.1%, respectively. The postoperative complication incidence was 23.5%, and the mortality rate was 6.7%. For the combined vascular resection group, complications occurred in 28 cases (23.5%). For the group without vascular resection, complications occurred in 37 cases (8.2%). There was significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.001). The degree of tumor differentiation and the occurrence of complications after surgery were independent prognostic factors that determined the patients’ long-term survival.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Compared with PD without vascular resection, PD combined with vascular resection and reconstruction increased the incidence of postoperative complications. However, PD combined with vascular resection and reconstruction could achieve the complete removal of tumors without significantly increasing the mortality rate, and the median survival time was higher than that of patients who underwent palliative treatment. In addition, the two independent factors affecting the postoperative survival time were the degree of tumor differentiation and the presence or absence of postoperative complications.</p></div

Comparison of the survival curves of the 119 cases treated with PD combined with vascular resection and reconstruction and those of the 447 cases treated with PD without vascular resection and reconstruction.

<p>Comparison of the survival curves of the 119 cases treated with PD combined with vascular resection and reconstruction and those of the 447 cases treated with PD without vascular resection and reconstruction.</p

The relationship between the parameters of patients treated with combined vascular resection and reconstruction and postoperative survival time.

<p>A. The patients were divided into three groups based on the degree of differentiation. The median survival times and 95% confidence intervals for each group were 5.9 (4.3, 7.4), 14.9 (10.7, 19.2), and 20.6 (0, 45.1), respectively, with p = 0.002. B. The patients were divided into two groups with or without postoperative complications. The median survival times and 95% confidence intervals were 7 (4.0, 10.0) and 15.9 (11.6, 20.1), respectively, with p = 0.002. C. The patients were divided into four groups according to the different methods of vascular reconstruction. The median survival time and 95% confidence intervals for each group were 14.1 (7.1, 21.1), 13.1 (8.5, 17.8), 12.9 (8.0, 17.8), and 9.2 (4.0, 14.3), respectively, with p = 0.857. D. The patients were divided into three groups according to the volume of intraoperative blood loss: less than 800 ml, 800 to 1500 ml, and more than 1500 ml. The median survival times and 95% confidence intervals for each group were 13.2 (9.7, 16.8), 12.7 (7.1, 18.3), and 9.1 (5.4, 12.7), respectively, with p = 0.659.</p