| 11. |
- Raj, Pushparani, et al.
(author)
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Fabrication and characterisation of a silicon-borosilicate glass microfluidic device for synchrotron-based hard X-ray spectroscopy studies
- 2021
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In: RSC Advances. - Cambridge : RSC Publishing. - 2046-2069. ; 11:47, s. 29859-29869
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Some of the most fundamental chemical building blocks of life on Earth are the metal elements. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is an element-specific technique that can analyse the local atomic and electronic structure of, for example, the active sites in catalysts and energy materials and allow the metal sites in biological samples to be identified and understood. A microfluidic device capable of withstanding the intense hard X-ray beams of a 4th generation synchrotron and harsh chemical sample conditions is presented in this work. The device is evaluated at the K-edges of iron and bromine and the L3-edge of lead, in both transmission and fluorescence mode detection and in a wide range of sample concentrations, as low as 0.001 M. The device is fabricated in silicon and glass with plasma etched microchannels defined in the silicon wafer before anodic bonding of the glass wafer into a complete device. The device is supported with a well-designed printed chip holder that made the microfluidic device portable and easy to handle. The chip holder plays a pivotal role in mounting the delicate microfluidic device on the beamline stage. Testing validated that the device was sufficiently robust to contain and flow through harsh acids and toxic samples. There was also no significant radiation damage to the device observed, despite focusing with intense X-ray beams for multiple hours. The quality of X-ray spectra collected is comparable to that from standard methods; hence we present a robust microfluidic device to analyse liquid samples using synchrotron XAS.
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| 12. |
- Ramos, J. G., et al.
(author)
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Comprehensive Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Diastolic Dysfunction Grading Shows Very Good Agreement Compared With Echocardiography
- 2020
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In: Jacc-Cardiovascular Imaging. - : Elsevier BV. - 1936-878X .- 1876-7591. ; 13:12, s. 2530-2542
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVES The aims of this study were to develop a comprehensive cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) approach to diastolic dysfunction (DD) grading and to evaluate the accuracy of CMR in the diagnosis of DD compared with echocardiography. BACKGROUND Left ventricular DD is routinely assessed using echocardiography. METHODS Consecutive clinically referred patients (n = 46; median age 59 years; interquartile range: 46 to 68 years; 33% women) underwent both conventional echocardiography and CMR. CMR diastolic transmitral velocities (E and A) and myocardial tissue velocity (e0) were measured during breath-hold using a validated high-temporal resolution radial sector-wise golden-angle velocity-encoded sequence. CMR pulmonary artery pressure was estimated from 4-dimensional flow analysis of blood flow vortex duration in the pulmonary artery. CMR left atrial volume was measured using the biplane long-axis area-length method. Both CMR and echocardiographic data were used to perform blinded grading of DD according to the 2016 joint American and European recommendations. RESULTS Grading of DD by CMR agreed with that by echocardiography in 43 of 46 cases (93%), of which 9% were normal, 2% indeterminate, 63% grade 1 DD, 4% grade 2 DD, and 15% grade 3 DD. There was a very good categorical agreement, with a weighted Cohen kappa coefficient of 0.857 (95% confidence interval: 0.73 to 1.00; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS A comprehensive CMR protocol for grading DD encompassing diastolic blood and myocardial velocities, estimated pulmonary artery pressure, and left atrial volume showed very good agreement with echocardiography. (C) 2020 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation.
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