Measuring blood flow in the brain may be an easy, non-invasive way to predict stroke or haemorrhage in children receiving cardiac or respiratory support through a machine called ECMO, according to a new study by researchers at Nationwide Children
New research suggests that restricting calories for a defined period of time may improve the success of cancer treatment, offering valuable new data on how caloric intake may play a role in programmed cancer cell death and efficacy of targeted cancer therapies.
While previous studies suggest a connection between caloric intake and the development of cancer, scientific evidence about the effect of caloric intake on the efficacy of cancer treatment has been rather limited to date. When humans and animals consume calories, the body metabolises food to produce energy and assist in the building of proteins. When fewer calories are consumed, the amount of nutrients available to the body
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
A new study review authored by the University of Kentucky
Clostridium difficile (‘C. diff’) infection is a leading cause of hospital-associated diarrhoea, and the frequency and severity of infections are on the rise.
D. Borden Lacy, Ph.D., associate professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, and colleagues recently demonstrated that the C. difficile toxin, TcdB, induces rapid cell death of human colon cell lines and pig colonic tissue. The investigators now report that TcdB-induced cell death requires the assembly of a host epithelial enzyme complex (NOX) and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS).
Treatments that reduced expression of parts of the NOX complex, inhibited NOX component function, or ‘scavenged’ ROS all protected colon cells against the C. difficile toxin. Likewise, treatment of colon explants with an inhibitor of the NOX enzyme core or with the antioxidant NAC protected against TcdB-induced tissue damage.
The findings support the concept of using compounds to block ROS or reduce their generation as a strategy for protecting the colonic lining of patients with C. difficile infection. Vanderbilt University
April 2024
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