Superswelling Microneedle Arrays for Dermal Interstitial Fluid (Prote)Omics

The noninvasive sampling of dermal interstitial fluid (ISF) for the monitoring of clinical biomarkers is a greatly appealing area of research. The identification of molecular biomarkers in biological fluids has been accelerated with -omics analyses but remains limited in ISF because of its time-consuming and complex extraction process. Here, the generation of microneedle (MN) patches made of superabsorbent acrylate-based hydrogels for the rapid sampling of dermal ISF is described to explore its proteome. In depth, iterative optimization allows the identification of novel acrylate-based compositions with the required chemical, mechanical, and biocompatibility properties allowing proteomic analysis of the extracted ISF for the first time after sampling with swelling MNs. The generated MN arrays show no cytotoxic effect, successfully cross the stratum corneum, and can collect up to 6 µL of dermal ISF in 10 min in vivo. Proteomics lead to the detection of 176 clinically relevant biomarkers in the collected samples validating the use of ISF as a relevant bodily fluid for disease monitoring and diagnostic. Importantly, it is discovered that extraction fingerprint is strongly dependent on the MNs chemistry, and thus specific biomarkers could be selectively extracted by tuning the composition of the patch, making the system versatile and specific.     

The impacts of cattle access points on deposited sediment levels in headwater streams in Ireland

Cattle access to streams has been linked globally with degradation of stream water quality, driven largely by bank erosion and resultant instream, fine sediment deposition. The majority of evidence on such effects is however based in arid and semiarid regions of the United States and Australia, with few studies relating to cool temperate climates such as Northwest Europe. In this study, “Quorer” resuspendable sediment samples were taken from riffle geomorphic units upstream (control) and at two points downstream (pressure and recovery) of cattle access points in headwater streams in agricultural catchments in Ireland to assess levels of deposited stream sediment. Samples were taken in April/May (2016) prior to the grazing season and in October (2016) at the end of the grazing season. Sites in good‐high ecological status catchments and less than good ecological status catchments were included in the study. Higher levels of sediment were found downstream of cattle access points in both good‐high status and less than good status catchments; however, the impacts of access points were spatially confined to, in most cases, the area immediately downstream of the point of access. There was a strong correlation between deposited sediment mass and organic matter (OM) mass, with levels of OM increasing linearly with deposited sediment mass. Levels of measured sediment were negatively correlated with riparian habitat health (measured using a qualitative habitat assessment). The results of this study highlight the need for measures to prevent cattle access to headwater streams where access points can be many in order to manage local habitat quality and downstream water quality issues.     

A miniature triaxial apparatus for investigating the micromechanics of granular soils with in situ X-ray micro-tomography scanning

The development of a miniature triaxial apparatus is presented. In conjunction with an X-ray micro-tomography (termed as X-ray μCT hereafter) facility and advanced image processing techniques, this apparatus can be used for in situ investigation of the micro-scale mechanical behavior of granular soils under shear. The apparatus allows for triaxial testing of a miniature dry sample with a size of \mathrm{8}\hspace{0.17em}\mathrm{mm}\times \mathrm{16}\hspace{0.17em}\mathrm{mm} (diameter \times height). In situ triaxial testing of a 0.4–0.8 mm Leighton Buzzard sand (LBS) under a constant confining pressure of 500 kPa is presented. The evolutions of local porosities (i.e., the porosities of regions associated with individual particles), particle kinematics (i.e., particle translation and particle rotation) of the sample during the shear are quantitatively studied using image processing and analysis techniques. Meanwhile, a novel method is presented to quantify the volumetric strain distribution of the sample based on the results of local porosities and particle tracking. It is found that the sample, with nearly homogenous initial local porosities, starts to exhibit obvious inhomogeneity of local porosities and localization of particle kinematics and volumetric strain around the peak of deviatoric stress. In the post-peak shear stage, large local porosities and volumetric dilation mainly occur in a localized band. The developed triaxial apparatus, in its combined use of X-ray μCT imaging techniques, is a powerful tool to investigate the micro-scale mechanical behavior of granular soils.     

用于单芯片系统的改进型WXGA LCoS成像器

本文讨论用于单芯片时序混色的菲利浦DD-720硅基液晶(LCoS)片。这种芯片主要用于HDTV背投影机和多媒体系统。与菲利浦以前的单片LCoS设计相比，由于该芯片具有电接口接点较少、封装简单和温度传感器内置等许多特点，使其应用于投影系统时成本降低。