LEGO® as a versatile platform for building reconfigurable low-cost lab equipment.

Laboratory equipment is critical for automating tasks in modern scientific research, but often limited by high costs, large footprints, and sustainability concerns. Emerging strategies to provide low-cost research automation tools include microfluidic devices, open-hardware devices, 3D printing, and LEGO® products. LEGO®-based equipment may be advantageous with respect to sustainability, since their inherent modularity enables disassembly, re-purposing and re-use.

High-resolution 7-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging and post-processing for 3-dimensional reconstruction of the membranous labyrinth in healthy adults.

The membranous labyrinth of the inner ear is a complex network of endolymph-filled structures critical for auditory and vestibular function. Pathological distension of these spaces, termed endolymphatic hydrops (EH), is associated with disorders such as Ménière's disease (MD). However, diagnosing inner ear pathologies remains challenging due to limitations in traditional imaging techniques, which lack the spatial resolution required to assess these intricate structures.

Tunable liquid lens for three-photon excitation microscopy.

We demonstrate a novel electrowetting liquid combination using a room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) and a nonpolar liquid, 1-phenyl-1-cyclohexene (PCH) suitable for focus-tunable 3-photon microscopy. We show that both liquids have over 90% transmission at 1300 nm over a 1.1 mm pathlength and an index of refraction contrast of 0.

Evaluation of arts and humanities programs in surgery education: a systematic review.

Purpose: This systematic review seeks to understand what outcomes have been reported for arts and humanities programs in surgery education.

Methods: Authors searched Medline ALL (Ovid), Embase.com, Web of Science, and Academic Search Ultimate to identify articles on evaluated arts and humanities programs in surgery education.

How to design and implement a Group Poem activity.

Museum-based learning activities provide interactive and innovative ways to integrate the arts and humanities into medical education. Like other museum-based activities, the Group Poem supports the development of multiple clinically relevant skills and attributes, such as observation, communication, perspective-taking, empathy, and implicit bias awareness. In this paper, we present a step-by-step guide for educators seeking to design and implement a museum-based Group Poem activity for medical learners.

Microfluidic pumps for cell sorting.

Microfluidic cell sorting has shown promising advantages over traditional bulky cell sorting equipment and has demonstrated wide-reaching applications in biological research and medical diagnostics. The most important characteristics of a microfluidic cell sorter are its throughput, ease of use, and integration of peripheral equipment onto the chip itself. In this review, we discuss the six most common methods for pumping fluid samples in microfluidic cell sorting devices, present their advantages and drawbacks, and discuss notable examples of their use.

Historical Therapies for Suspected Autonomic Dysregulation in Meniere's Disease.

Objective: This narrative review examines how speculative belief that the autonomic nervous system causes Meniere's Disease (MD) led otolaryngologists to adopt invasive surgical procedures and medical treatments still offered today.

Data Sources: Google Scholar, PubMed.

Review Methods: A comprehensive literature review (1860-2022) was performed using the terms "Meniere AND (sympathetic OR sympathectomy OR vasomotor OR cervical ganglion)," returning 5360 items.

Cochlear Aqueduct Morphology in Superior Canal Dehiscence Syndrome.

The cochlear aqueduct (CA) connects the scala tympani to the subarachnoid space and is thought to assist in pressure regulation of perilymph in normal ears, however, its role and variation in inner ear pathology, such as in superior canal dehiscence syndrome (SCDS), is unknown. This retrospective radiographic investigation compared CA measurements and classification, as measured on flat-panel computerized tomography, among three groups of ears: controls, = 64; anatomic superior canal dehiscence without symptoms (SCD), = 28; and SCDS, = 64. We found that in a multinomial logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, and BMI, an increase in CA length by 1 mm was associated with a lower odds for being in the SCDS group vs.

2D Measurements of the Angle of the Vestibular Aqueduct Using CT Imaging.

Recently, Bächinger et al. developed a software that measures the angle between the vestibular aqueduct proximal to the vestibule and the distal vestibular aqueduct on computed tomography (CT) scans and found differences in the vestibular aqueduct angle between the hypoplastic and degenerative categories of Meniere’s disease (MD). Hypoplastic radiological findings were associated with the development of bilateral MD and hypoplastic changes were not found outside of fetal temporal bones and individuals with MD.

Neuroimaging Correlates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Neuroimaging is widely utilized in studying traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The risk for PTSD is greater after TBI than after non-TBI trauma, and PTSD is associated with worse outcomes after TBI. Studying the neuroimaging correlates of TBI-related PTSD may provide insights into the etiology of both conditions and help identify those TBI patients most at risk of developing persistent symptoms.

Contact lens-based lysozyme detection in tear using a mobile sensor.

We report a method for sensing analytes in tear-fluid using commercial contact lenses (CLs) as sample collectors for subsequent analysis with a cost-effective and field-portable reader. In this study we quantify lysozyme, the most prevalent protein in tear fluid, non-specifically bound to CLs worn by human participants. Our mobile reader uses time-lapse imaging to capture an increasing fluorescent signal in a standard well-plate, the rate-of-change of which is used to indirectly infer lysozyme concentration through the use of a standard curve.

Cell stress in cortical organoids impairs molecular subtype specification.

Cortical organoids are self-organizing three-dimensional cultures that model features of the developing human cerebral cortex. However, the fidelity of organoid models remains unclear. Here we analyse the transcriptomes of individual primary human cortical cells from different developmental periods and cortical areas.

Outer Radial Glia-like Cancer Stem Cells Contribute to Heterogeneity of Glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma is a devastating form of brain cancer. To identify aspects of tumor heterogeneity that may illuminate drivers of tumor invasion, we created a glioblastoma tumor cell atlas with single-cell transcriptomics of cancer cells mapped onto a reference framework of the developing and adult human brain. We find that multiple GSC subtypes exist within a single tumor.

Neuronal vulnerability and multilineage diversity in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neuroinflammatory disease with a relapsing-remitting disease course at early stages, distinct lesion characteristics in cortical grey versus subcortical white matter and neurodegeneration at chronic stages. Here we used single-nucleus RNA sequencing to assess changes in expression in multiple cell lineages in MS lesions and validated the results using multiplex in situ hybridization. We found selective vulnerability and loss of excitatory CUX2-expressing projection neurons in upper-cortical layers underlying meningeal inflammation; such MS neuron populations exhibited upregulation of stress pathway genes and long non-coding RNAs.

Single-cell genomics identifies cell type-specific molecular changes in autism.

Despite the clinical and genetic heterogeneity of autism, bulk gene expression studies show that changes in the neocortex of autism patients converge on common genes and pathways. However, direct assessment of specific cell types in the brain affected by autism has not been feasible until recently. We used single-nucleus RNA sequencing of cortical tissue from patients with autism to identify autism-associated transcriptomic changes in specific cell types.

Multimodal Single-Cell Analysis Reveals Physiological Maturation in the Developing Human Neocortex.

In the developing human neocortex, progenitor cells generate diverse cell types prenatally. Progenitor cells and newborn neurons respond to signaling cues, including neurotransmitters. While single-cell RNA sequencing has revealed cellular diversity, physiological heterogeneity has yet to be mapped onto these developing and diverse cell types.