This invention relates to brown adipose tissue (BAT) progenitor cells and methods for isolating BAT progenitor cells from skeletal muscle. BAT progenitor cell surface markers and medium and agents for inducing cell differentiation into brown adipocytes are also provided. In some embodiments, the BAT progenitor cell expresses a first cell surface marker associated with endothelial cells, the first cell surface marker being detectable in an antibody based assay using a first antibody. In addition, the BAT progenitor cell can be substantially free of a second cell surface marker associated with endothelial cells, the second cell surface marker being substantially undetectable in said antibody based assay using a second antibody. The BAT progenitor cell can also be substantially free of additional cell surface markers.

A microfluidic chip capable of being used for capturing target particles, the chip comprising a convergence and shunt unit, the convergence and shunt unit being capable of converging target particles in a liquid sample to the centre of a liquid flow, and simultaneously splitting off a certain proportion of the liquid flow that does not contain target particles, thereby effectively reducing the flow and speed of the liquid flow inputted to the chip; when used for capturing target particles, the chip also comprises a capturing unit, and implements capture of the target particles by means of the capturing unit.

Systems, devices, and techniques are described for characterizing subjects, such as dogs or humans, into risk categories using a blood test. For example, a method includes marking a plurality of cells from a blood sample of a subject with antibodies that recognize a plurality of markers comprising at least two of αvβ.sub.3-integrin, hematopoietic progenitor marker CD34, hematopoietic progenitor marker CD117, hyaluronic acid receptor CD44, or panleukocyte marker CD45 and obtaining, based on expression of the plurality of markers in the plurality of cells, a plurality of data features for the plurality of cells. The method may also include applying a plurality of trained analytical models to a subset of the plurality of data features and generating, based on the trained analytical models, one classification for the blood sample, wherein the classification is selected from at least a high risk of HSA and a low risk of HSA.

Provided herein, in some embodiments, are methods for analyzing immune cells in a blood sample from a subject having, suspected of having, or being at risk for bacterial sepsis. The present disclosure is based, at least in part, on the finding that certain immune cells are expanded in subjects having sepsis compared to healthy subjects.

This invention relates to brown adipose tissue (BAT) progenitor cells and methods for isolating BAT progenitor cells from skeletal muscle. BAT progenitor cell surface markers and medium and agents for inducing cell differentiation into brown adipocytes are also provided. In some embodiments, the BAT progenitor cell expresses a first cell surface marker associated with endothelial cells, the first cell surface marker being detectable in an antibody based assay using a first antibody. In addition, the BAT progenitor cell can be substantially free of a second cell surface marker associated with endothelial cells, the second cell surface marker being substantially undetectable in said antibody based assay using a second antibody. The BAT progenitor cell can also be substantially free of additional cell surface markers.

Methods, devices, systems, and apparatuses are provided for the image analysis of measurement of biological samples.

Systems and methods to tag cells in a tissue sample with spatial identifiers, so that spatial reconstruction of cell locations within a tissue can be achieved after tissue disaggregation are described. The systems and methods allow the control or directing of specific spatial identifiers spatially within or throughout a tissue to individual cells or to a small population of cells so that cell position can be determined by computational deconvolution of the spatial identifiers after tissue disaggregation. The systems and methods can be combined with single cell expression analysis to correlate cell types with cell location within a structure, such as a tumor.

Provided is a peripheral blood biomarker for evaluating the antitumor immune effect of radiation therapy. Also provided is a method in which the composition of cell subpopulation in a sample obtained from a subject is used as an index for immune activation in the subject caused by a radiation therapy. By comparing, with a reference, the amount of CD4.sup.+ T cell subpopulation that correlates with dendritic cell stimulation in an antitumor immune response or the amount of dendritic cell subpopulation that correlates with the dendritic cell stimulation in an antitumor immune response, the presence or absence of, and/or the magnitude of, immune activation occurring in the subject as a result of a radiation therapy can be determined.

Methods are provided for assaying bladder-associated samples. Aspects of the methods include detecting per cell programmed-death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in a bladder-associated sample. In some instances, the methods include detecting whether an immune cell that expresses PD-Ll above a predetermined threshold is present in a bladder-associated sample and/or detecting a PD-L1-aneuploid-to-PD-L1-epithelial ratio of a bladder-associated sample. Aspects of the methods may also include identifying whether a malignant bladder-associated neoplasia is present. Methods are also provided for treating a subject for a malignant bladder-associated neoplasia, wherein aspects of such methods include administering a therapeutic to a subject having an identified malignant bladder-associated neoplasia. In addition, kits that find use in practicing the subject methods are also provided.

The present invention relates to a composition for diagnosing bone metastasis of cancer, a method for providing information needed for diagnosis of bone metastasis of cancer using same, a method for providing information needed for monitoring responses to treatment of bone metastasis of cancer using same, and a method for screening a therapeutic agent for bone metastasis of cancer using same. The composition for diagnosing bone metastasis of cancer of the present invention has the effect of effectively diagnosing bone metastasis of cancer at an early stage.