On-chip recalcification of citrated whole blood using a microfluidic herringbone mixer

In vitro assays of platelet function and coagulation are typically performed in the presence of an anticoagulant. The divalent cation chelator sodium citrate is among the most common because its effect on coagulation is reversible upon reintroduction of divalent cations. Adding divalent cations into citrated blood by batch mixing leads to platelet activation and initiation of coagulation after several minutes, thus limiting the time blood can be used before spontaneously clotting. In this work, we describe a herringbone microfluidic mixer to continuously introduce divalent cations into citrated blood. The mixing ratio, defined as the ratio of the volumetric flow rates of citrated blood and recalcification buffer, can be adjusted by changing the relative inlet pressures of these two solutions. This feature is useful in whole blood assays in order to account for differences in hematocrit, and thus viscosity. The recalcification process in the herringbone mixer does not activate platelets. The advantage of this continuous mixing approach is demonstrated in microfluidic vascular injury model in which platelets and fibrin accumulate on a collagen-tissue factor surface under flow. Continuous recalcification with the herringbone mixer allowed for flow assay times of up to 30 min, more than three times longer than the time achieved by batch recalcification. This continuous mixer allows for measurements of thrombus formation, remodeling, and fibrinolysis in vitro over time scales that are relevant to these physiological processes.     

Information empowerment: predeparture resource training for students in global health

The Taubman Health Sciences Library (THL) collaborates with health sciences schools to provide information skills instruction for students preparing for international experiences. THL enhances students'' global health learning through predeparture instruction for students who are involved in global health research, clinical internships, and international collaborations. This includes teaching international literature searching skills, providing country-specific data sources, building awareness of relevant mobile resources, and encouraging investigation of international news. Information skills empower creation of stronger global partnerships. Use of information resources has enhanced international research and training experiences, built lifelong learning foundations, and contributed to the university''s global engagement. THL continues to assess predeparture instruction.     

Stable individual differences on developmental tasks in young yellow-crowned parakeets,<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cyanoramphus auriceps</Emphasis>

We report on stable individual differences in young yellow-crowned parakeets across 38 tasks of cognitive development on three scales involving object permanence, means-end relations, and spatial relations. Stable performance ranks on blocks of tasks emerged after 13 weeks in two groups of sibling parakeets, one hand-reared and the other parent-reared. Examination of subject characteristics, such as hatch order, sex, general activity level, avoidances, latencies, social status, and errors, showed no significant correlations with these performance ranks. Characteristic individual approaches to unstructured play activities (from a fourth scale) were consistent with individual behavioral differences seen on the structured cognitive tasks.     

Adrenocortical and psychosocial responses of families in Jordan to the COVID-19 pandemic

This study of 52 predominantly lower income Jordanian and Syrian families with young children (31 girls; M_age = 53.37 months, SD = 3.53) in Jordan began in 2019, before the pandemic. Families were followed to explore stress physiology, family functioning, and mental health over the first 9 months of the pandemic. Mothers reported less adaptive coping and more negative changes to family life in June 2020 when their children had poorer behavioral self-regulation and more behavior problems, and when families had lower income, in 2019. More negative changes to family life predicted greater hair cortisol concentrations in children in June 2020, and more negative changes and less adaptive coping predicted worse child and mother psychosocial adjustment in December 2020.     

Lipid composition and amino acid uptake during rotavirus infection and protection with trypsin inhibitor in malnourished infant mice

The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of rotavirus (RV) and soyabean trypsin inhibitor (TI) on lipid composition and uptake of glucose and glycine in rotavirus (RV) infected malnourished (PEM) infant mice. Malnutrition was achieved in animals by doubling the litter size. Cholesterol (Ch) and phospholipd (PL) contents, uptake levels of glucose and glycine were determined in jejunum and ileum portion of small intestine. Increase in Ch/PL ratios was observed in PEM+RV group. The levels became comparable in PEM+RV+TI as compared to PEM. Uptake levels of glucose and glycine increased in PEM animals. With rotavirus (PEM+RV+TI group), the levels decreased which became comparable to PEM. Changes in uptake and lipid composition with rotavirus and trypsin inhibitor may be responsible for altering membrane fluidity and organization during rotavirus diarrhea. The results establish the importance of trypsin inhibitor during oral infection with rotavirus.     

Automatic recommendation system based on hybrid filtering algorithm

Education and Information Technologies - Web recommendation systems are ubiquitous in the world used to overcome the product overload on e-commerce websites. Among various filtering algorithms,...     

War-related trauma linked to increased sustained attention to threat in children

Experiences of war and displacement can have profound effects on children's affective development and mental health, although the mechanism(s) underlying these effects remain unknown. This study investigated the link between early adversity and attention to affective stimuli using a free-viewing eye-tracking paradigm with Syrian refugee (n = 31, M_age = 9.55, 12 female) and Jordanian non-refugee (n = 55, M_age = 9.98, 30 female) children living in Jordan (March 2020). Questionnaires assessed PTSD, anxiety/depression, insecurity, distress, and trauma. Refugee children showed greater initial avoidance of angry and happy faces compared to non-refugee children, and higher trauma exposure was linked to increased sustained attention to angry stimuli. These findings suggest that war-related trauma may have differential effects on the early and later stages of affective processing in refugee children.     

The Impact of New Major Offerings on Student Retention

While various research studies have focused on antecedents and consequences of student satisfaction, few studies have done so in the Gulf region. The objective of the present study was therefore to design and empirically examine a model of student satisfaction in a private university in the Gulf region that operates in a high-technology-enabled environment. Based on a literature review and conducted focus groups, draft measures for the study constructs were developed. Data were collected from 217 students and an exploratory factor analysis identified 6 factors that potentially influenced satisfaction. After scale development, multiple regression analysis was used to test the research questions. It was found that the two genders displayed a difference in the factors influencing their satisfaction. For female students, only reputation (beta?=?.499, p?p?p?相似文献