A reconfigurable microfluidics platform for microparticle separation and fluid mixing

Microfluidics is an engineering tool used to control and manipulate fluid flows, with practical applications for lab-on-a-chip, point-of-care testing, and biological/medical research. However, microfluidic platforms typically lack the ability to create a fluidic duct, having an arbitrary flow path, and to change the path as needed without additional design and fabrication processes. To address this challenge, we present a simple yet effective approach for facile, on-demand reconfiguration of microfluidic channels using flexible polymer tubing. The tubing provides both a well-defined, cross-sectional geometry to allow reliable fluidic operation and excellent flexibility to achieve a high degree of freedom for reconfiguration of flow pathways. We demonstrate that microparticle separation and fluid mixing can be successfully implemented by reconfiguring the shape of the tubing. The tubing is coiled around a 3D-printed barrel to make a spiral microchannel with a constant curvature for inertial separation of microparticles. Multiple knots are also made in the tubing to create a highly tortuous flow path, which induces transverse secondary flows, Dean flows, and, thus, enhances the mixing of fluids. The reconfigurable microfluidics approach, with advantages including low-cost, simplicity, and ease of use, can serve as a promising complement to conventional microfabrication methods, which require complex fabrication processes with expensive equipment and lack a degree of freedom for reconfiguration.ope

Recent Advances of Fluid Manipulation Technologies in Microfluidic Paper-Based Analytical Devices (μPADs) toward Multi-Step Assays

Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) have been suggested as alternatives for developing countries with suboptimal medical conditions because of their low diagnostic cost, high portability, and disposable characteristics. Recently, paper-based diagnostic devices enabling multi-step assays have been drawing attention, as they allow complicated tests, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which were previously only conducted in the laboratory, to be performed on-site. In addition, user convenience and price of paper-based diagnostic devices are other competitive points over other point-of-care testing (POCT) devices, which are more critical in developing countries. Fluid manipulation technologies in paper play a key role in realizing multi-step assays via μPADs, and the expansion of biochemical applications will provide developing countries with more medical benefits. Therefore, we herein aimed to investigate recent fluid manipulation technologies utilized in paper-based devices and to introduce various approaches adopting several principles to control fluids on papers. Fluid manipulation technologies are classified into passive and active methods. While passive valves are structurally simple and easy to fabricate, they are difficult to control in terms of flow at a specific spatiotemporal condition. On the contrary, active valves are more complicated and mostly require external systems, but they provide much freedom of fluid manipulation and programmable operation. Both technologies have been revolutionized in the way to compensate for their limitations, and their advances will lead to improved performance of μPADs, increasing the level of healthcare around the world. © 2020 by the authors.1

Pleural Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma

Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a rare tumor of vascular origin. While it can be found in any tissue, it is most often found in lung and liver and usually has an intermediate behavior. EHEs originating from pleural tissue have been less frequently described than those from other sites. Furthermore, to date, all of the cited pleural EHEs were described as highly aggressive. In the present report, we describe a rare case of pleural EHE extending to lung and bone in a 31-year-old woman. The histological diagnosis was confirmed by both conventional examination and immunohistochemistry. Her disease stabilized during the 4th course of adriamycin (45 mg/m2, day 1-3), dacarbazine (300 mg/m2, day 1-3) and ifosfamide (2,500 mg/m2, day 1-3) with mesna, and she survived for 10 months after the diagnosis

Validation of the Broselow tape in Korean children using data from a nationwide anthropometric survey: a cross-sectional study

Purpose In Korea, the Broselow tape (BT) is widely used to estimate weight in resuscitation. Validation of BT in Korean children is essential because the tool was developed based on children’s weight and height in the United States. The validation was previously performed in a small-scale dataset. The authors aimed to validate BT using the 2005 Korean nationwide anthropometric survey data. Methods From the population used for the survey, we sampled children aged 0-12 years. The weights estimated by BT were compared with measured weights of the children using Bland-Altman analysis with results recorded as percentage differences. We measured the accuracy of BT, defined as within a 10% error of the measured weight, and the concordance of the color-coded zones derived from the estimated and measured weights. The accuracy and concordance were further assessed according to the age groups and body mass index-for-age Z-score ( 2, overweight or obese). Results A total of 108,128 children were enrolled. The mean age was 55.2 ± 37.5 months. The bias was –5.4% (P < 0.001), and the limits of agreement were –28.3% and 17.6%, respectively. The accuracy and concordance of BT were 64.4% and 67.2%, respectively. Differences of no more than 1 color-coded zone between estimated and measured weights accounted for 89.8% and 84.1% of the under- and overweight (or obese) children, respectively. Conclusion BT accurately estimates weight in approximately two-thirds of Korean children. In addition, adjustment of 1 color-coded zone may be considered in children with extreme weight

Sirolimus- Versus Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents for the Treatment of Coronary Bifurcations Results From the COBIS (Coronary Bifurcation Stenting) Registry

ObjectivesWe aimed to compare the long-term clinical outcomes of patients treated with sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) or paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) for coronary bifurcation lesions.BackgroundThere are limited data regarding comparisons of SES and PES for the treatment of bifurcation lesions.MethodsPatients who received percutaneous coronary intervention for non-left main bifurcation lesions were enrolled from 16 centers in Korea between January 2004 and June 2006. We compared major adverse cardiac events (MACE [cardiac death, myocardial infarction, or target lesion revascularization]) between the SES and PES groups in patients overall and in 407 patient pairs generated by propensity-score matching.ResultsWe evaluated 1,033 patients with bifurcation lesions treated with SES and 562 patients treated with PES. The median follow-up duration was 22 months. Treatment with SES was associated with a lower incidence of MACE (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.53, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.32 to 0.89, p < 0.01) and target lesion revascularization (HR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.31 to 0.97, p = 0.02), but not of cardiac death (HR: 2.77, 95% CI: 0.40 to 18.99, p = 0.62) and cardiac death or myocardial infarction (HR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.38 to 2.49, p = 0.94). After propensity-score matching, patients with SES still had fewer MACE and target lesion revascularization incidences than did patients with PES (HR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.30 to 0.91, p = 0.02, and HR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.25 to 0.91, p = 0.02, respectively). There was no significant difference in the occurrences of stent thrombosis between the groups (0.7% vs. 0.7%, p = 0.94).ConclusionsIn patients with bifurcation lesions, the use of SES resulted in better long-term outcomes than did the use of PES, primarily by decreasing the rate of repeat revascularization. (Coronary Bifurcation Stenting Registry in South Korea [COBIS]; NCT00851526

Genome-wide comparative analysis of the Brassica rapa gene space reveals genome shrinkage and differential loss of duplicated genes after whole genome triplication

Euchromatic regions of the Brassica rapa genome were sequenced and mapped onto the corresponding regions in the Arabidopsis thaliana genome