Objective: This study assessed the applicability and outcomes of the closure of unused cuffs in branched endovascular aneurysm repair (b-EVAR) of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm. Methods: We reviewed b-EVAR procedures at a tertiary referral center to identify patients who underwent incomplete branching and needed closure of the unused branch cuffs. An electronic database and intraoperative and fo

In this work we present theoretical modeling and additional experiments to characterize noncontact acoustic trapping in a small glass capillary. We provide numerical 3D-simulations that captures several key features of the experiment.

Mesoscopic simulations with two-dimensional (2D) models have been performed to elucidate the dynamics of deformable red blood cells (RBCs) in deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) devices. Several shapes of posts, including circular, diamond, square and triangular structures and RBCs with different rigidities are considered. In comparison to rigid particles, the deformable RBCs exhibit much mor

In the 20th century early management of acute pancreatitis often included surgical intervention, despite overwhelming mortality. The emergence of high-quality evidence (randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses) over the past two decades has notably shifted the treatment paradigm towards predominantly non-surgical management early in the course of acute pancreatitis. The present evidence-base

In 2015, the world's first self-defined feminist government was formed in Sweden with the explicit ambition of pursuing a feminist foreign policy. This essay seeks to unpack and highlight some of the substance and plausible future directions of a feminist foreign policy. The overarching ambition is three-fold: (1) to probe the normative contents of feminist foreign policy in theory and in practice

Optical mapping relies on the preparation of fluorescent DNA. DNA must be imaged with good signal to noise and therefore the background of unwanted DNA fragments, fluorescent dyes and other reagents need to be removed. We use deterministic lateral displacement to separate 48.5 kbp DNA from < 10 kbp DNA. We also show the removal of 48.5 kbp DNA fragments from a background of fluorescent ATTO647N mo

Many microfluidic devices have been developed to separate rare cells, e.g. circulating tumor cells. The collection and analysis of the separated rare cells pose a challenge as it may lead to loss of target cells since extremely small number of cells are usually suspended in a large volume after separation. Here, we present an integrated device that allows acoustophoretic target cell separation and

Objective: Previous research has indicated that components of the metabolic syndrome (MetS), such as hyperglycemia and hypertension, are negatively associated with cognition. However, evidence that MetS itself is related to cognitive performance has been inconsistent. This longitudinal study investigates whether MetS or its components affect cognitive decline in aging men and whether any interacti

We have fabricated a silicon-glass two-phase droplet-based microfluidic system and implemented two-dimensional acoustic focusing prior to droplet generation as well as continuously throughout the whole system to increase particle detectability. Using acoustic focusing we have effectively minimized sedimentation of the encapsulated particles and thereby increased particle detectability by as much a

Direct and precise manipulation of sub-micron particles such as bacteria, platelets, organelles, microvesicles, exosomes or virus particles is challenging. We describe for the first time how acoustic streaming in the bulk can be efficiently reduced by introducing a density or compressibility gradient and that this enables focusing of 500-nm-diameter particles in a standard acoustophoresis channel.

This abstract reports a novel acoustofluidic method to measure the hematocrit level of a whole blood sample within 20 seconds. The method is substantially faster than conventional centrifugation methods, has no moving parts and can be fully automated and integrated with further unit operations for analysis of blood samples at the point of care [1].

Microfluidic techniques were applied to the separation of parasite and parasite-infected cells from blood to facilitate the detection of leishmaniasis, a disease representing a high burden in the developing world and for which new diagnostic tools are urgently needed. Leishmania mexicana promastigotes were successfully separated from red blood cells in a deterministic lateral displacement device.

We present an assay, based on optical DNA mapping in nanochannels that is capable of characterizing the plasmid content of bacterial isolates resistant to antibiotics in a fast an detailed way. In a single experiment we determine the number of different plasmids in each sample, their size, as well as a barcode that can be used for plasmid identification and tracing. In addition we demonstrate that

We study the importance of teacher subject knowledge for student performance in Sub-Saharan Africa using unique international assessment data for sixth-grade students and their teachers. To circumvent bias due to unobserved student heterogeneity, we exploit variation within students across math and reading. Teacher subject knowledge has a modest impact on student performance. Exploiting vast cross

Background/Objective To demonstrate therapeutic equivalence of terbutaline via two different Turbuhaler® devices by evaluating its protective effect against methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction in stable asthma. Methods In this double-blind, double-dummy, multicentre, single-dose, 4-way crossover study, patients with stable mild-to-moderate asthma (FEV1 ≥80% predicted) were randomised to 0.5 o

Does working time causally affect workers' health? We study this question in the context of a French reform which reduced the standard workweek from 39 to 35 hours, at constant earnings. Our empirical analysis exploits variation in the adoption of this shorter workweek across employers, which is mainly driven by institutional features of the reform and thus exogenous to workers' health. Difference

The tensile response under displacement controlled loading of nano-sized single crystal Cu beams, solid or holding square shaped through-the thickness voids, have been investigated through 3D molecular dynamics simulations using free-ware LAMMPS [1]. For the same beam size and void height, the void width along the beam length axis was varied. Two different crystallographic orientations were consid

Here we report on an entirely new kind of bioelectronic device – a solar biosupercapacitor, which is built from a dual-feature photobioanode combined with a double-function enzymatic cathode. The self-charging biodevice, based on transparent nanostructured indium tin oxide electrodes modified with biological catalysts, i.e. thylakoid membranes and bilirubin oxidase, is able to capacitively store e