A new study indicates that aerobic exercise can lessen
Waterproof fabrics that whisk away sweat could be the latest application of microfluidic technology developed by bioengineers at the University of California, Davis.
The new fabric works like human skin, forming excess sweat into droplets that drain away by themselves, said inventor Tingrui Pan, professor of biomedical engineering. One area of research in Pan’s Micro-Nano Innovations Laboratory at UC Davis is a field known as microfluidics, which focuses on making ‘lab on a chip’ devices that use tiny channels to manipulate fluids. Pan and his colleagues are developing such systems for applications like medical diagnostic tests.
Graduate students Siyuan Xing and Jia Jiang developed a new textile microfluidic platform using hydrophilic (water-attracting) threads stitched into a highly water-repellent fabric. They were able to create patterns of threads that suck droplets of water from one side of the fabric, propel them along the threads and expel them from the other side.
‘We intentionally did not use any fancy microfabrication techniques so it is compatible with the textile manufacturing process and very easy to scale up,’ said Xing, lead graduate student on the project.
It’s not just that the threads conduct water through capillary action. The water-repellent properties of the surrounding fabric also help drive water down the channels. Unlike conventional fabrics, the water-pumping effect keeps working even when the water-conducting fibres are completely saturated, because of the sustaining pressure gradient generated by the surface tension of droplets.
The rest of the fabric stays completely dry and breathable. By adjusting the pattern of water-conducting fibres and how they are stitched on each side of the fabric, the researchers can control where sweat is collected and where it drains away on the outside.
Workout enthusiasts, athletes and clothing manufacturers are all interested in fabrics that remove sweat and let the skin breathe. Cotton fibres, for example, wick away sweat
A baby boy has been born to a couple in the USA by IVF involving the use of a new embryo screening approach.
The method uses the latest DNA sequencing techniques and aims to increase IVF success rates while being more affordable for more couples.
The work was a collaborative effort. It received significant support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, a partnership between Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Oxford. The collaboration also involved industrial partners, in particular the medical diagnostic company Reprogenetics UK.
The new approach can identify embryos with the correct number of chromosomes, and may cut hundreds of pounds off the cost of embryo screening test, Dr Wells says, which currently adds
A more precise method for determining bone marrow involvement in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL)
Although as many as 25 percent of patients undergoing surgery suffer from sleep apnea, few hospitals have policies to help manage the risks of this condition during surgery, and there is little evidence to help guide anesthesiologists and surgeons caring for these patients. In a new editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine, Stavros Memtsoudis, M.D., Ph.D., director of Critical Care Services at Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, calls for a new research initiative to identify the safest and most effective ways to manage patients with sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea, a disorder in which a person frequently stops breathing for short periods during sleep, not only makes for a restless night but also puts the person at increased risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack and stroke. But although the condition is more common than diabetes, and poses particular hazards during surgery, relatively little research has been done to help guide clinicians.
‘Patients with sleep apnea may be at risk for many complications during surgery, including airway blockage and intubation problems,’ said Dr. Memtsoudis. ‘But that’s not all: we know that apnea affects many other organ systems as well. The American Society of Anesthesiologists published guidelines in 2006 to help us take better care of patients with sleep apnea, but there was
Pre-term infants appear to mature better if they are shielded from most wavelengths of visible light, from violet to orange. But it has been a challenge to develop a controllable light filter for pre-term incubators that can switch between blocking out all light–for sleeping–and all but red light to allows medical staff and parents to check up on the kids when they’re awake. Now researchers describe a proof-of-concept mirror that switches between reflective and red-transparent states when a small voltage is applied.
The research team had previously identified a magnesium-iridium reflective thin film that transforms into a red-transparent state when it incorporates protons. Providing those protons in a way that is practical for pre-term incubators, however, was the challenge. The typical method–using dilute hydrogen gas–is unacceptable in a hospital setting. So the team created a stack of thin films that includes both an ion storage layer and the magnesium-iridium layer: a voltage drives protons from the ion storage layer to the magnesium-iridium layer, transforming it into its red-transparent state. Reversing the voltage transforms it back into a reflective mirror.
The researchers report that the device still allows some undesirable light wavelengths through, but a force of just 5 V changes the device’s state in as little as 10 seconds. The researchers are now looking at other materials to improve colour filtering and switching speed.
EurekAlert
Nurses have been warned about wearing nail extensions and using nail polish after a poll suggested infection control was being put at risk by fashion-conscious NHS staff.
Guidance states that fingernails should be short and free of varnish. But an online poll of nearly 500 student nurses found lapses were commonplace with 60% reporting nail extensions and polish being used.
The Royal College of Nursing said the findings were ‘worrying’.
The survey was carried out by Cardiff University and London’s City University. Overall each of the 488 students who took part reported seeing at least one breach in infection control rules by health staff once other problems, such as a failure to wash hands as well as breaches of nail care were taken into account.
The researchers said the survey showed lapses were widespread.
Tom Sandford, of the RCN, added: ‘Fingernails should be short and free of nail varnish. False nails should not be worn. Nail varnish and extensions harbour bacteria and prevent good hand hygiene. Health organisations should uphold clear local policies on uniforms and work-wear and their implications for infection control and health and safety.’
BBC
The introduction of CT pulmonary angiography has been associated with an 80% rise in the detection of pulmonary emboli in the US, but with little change in death rates.
Professor Renda Soylemez Wiener and colleagues argue this is evidence of over-diagnosis. They say some patients are helped, but many are harmed by the adverse effects of unnecessary treatment.
This article is the first of a series looking at the risks and harms of over-diagnosis in a range of common conditions. The series, together with the Preventing Overdiagnosis conference in September, are part of the BMJ’s Too Much Medicine campaign to help tackle the threat to health and the waste of money caused by unnecessary care.
Pulmonary embolism has been described as one of the most commonly missed deadly diagnoses. Until recently, ventilation-perfusion (VQ) scanning was the first line test, but a new technology introduced in 1998
Stroke patients at risk of blood clots and death could be helped by a compression device that wraps around the legs. Researchers have shown for the first time that by gently squeezing the legs, the risk of dying after stroke is reduced.
It is thought that the compression reduces the risk of clots in the veins of the legs by increasing blood flow.
The results of the trial reveal that thigh-length intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) reduces the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which commonly affects stroke patients. Until now, no treatment has been available that safely reduces the risk of the blood clots in the legs and the risk of dying.
More than 2800 stroke patients across the UK were involved in the randomised trial, which took place between 2008 and 2012. Hundreds of researchers from more than 100 hospitals took part.
The IPC sleeves, which cost the NHS as little as
The small size and abnormal anatomy of children born with heart defects often force doctors to place lifesaving defibrillators entirely outside the heart, rather than partly inside
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