In a general aspect, a swab sample is analyzed, for example, to test for disease. In some examples, a swab head of a swab sample is inserted through an opening into an internal reservoir of a sampling device. The sampling device includes the opening, an inlet channel, an outlet channel, and the internal reservoir. The internal reservoir is in fluid communication with the inlet channel, the outlet channel, and the opening. A liquid solvent is supplied to the swab head in the internal reservoir via the inlet channel of the sampling device. The swab head is held in the liquid solvent for a period of time to form an analyte in the internal reservoir. The analyte is extracted from the internal reservoir via the outlet channel of the sampling device. The analyte is transferred to and processed by a mass spectrometer to obtain mass spectrometry data.

Devices and methods to measure cells and/or tissue's contractile force are disclosed. Included is a mount with rigid, and non-rigid posts sized to flex. Determined is force exerted by contractile cells and tissues in a multiwell plate. The device is designed to fit inside individual wells with posts directed downwards. Posts are attached to a 3D printed circular mount with tabs for depth within the well. The mount has a window for medium changes while the device is positioned inside the well. The cells are seeded within a hydrogel. As the hydrogel condenses, cells/tissue wrap around the post's outside pulling non-rigid post toward rigid post. Inverted light microscope is used to determine deflection of non-rigid post inside the multiwell plate. Movement of the non-rigid post is measured using an acrylic ruler on an underside of the multiwell plate. Contractile forces of cells/tissue are determined using cantilever mechanics.

Disclosed are methods of determining enamel micro-crack and/or microscratch resistance and also methods of identifying compositions that are effective in increasing enamel micro-crack and/or microscratch resistance or evaluating the efficacy of compositions in increasing enamel micro-crack and/or microscratch resistance.

Cancer treatment using TTFields (Tumor Treating Fields) can be customized to each individual subject by obtaining cancer cells from the subject, determining an electrical characteristic (e.g., dielectrophoretic forces, cell membrane capacitance, etc.) of the cancer cells, determining a frequency for the TTFields based on the determined electrical characteristic, and treating the cancer by applying TTFields to the subject at the determined frequency. In addition, cancer treatment can be planned for each individual subject by obtaining cancer cells from the subject, determining an electrical characteristic of the cancer cells, predicting whether TTFields would be effective to treat the cancer based on the determined electrical characteristic, and treating the subject by applying TTFields if the prediction indicates that TTFields would be effective.

A portable culture test apparatus, comprising: a mounting portion on which a culture dish can be mounted; a vibrating portion that vibrates the mounting portion; a temperature adjusting mechanism that adjusts the temperature of the mounting portion; and an ultraviolet lamp that irradiates the culture dish mounted on the mounting portion with ultraviolet.

A method for observing a sample (10), the sample lying in a plane of the sample defining radial coordinates, the method comprising the following steps: a) illuminating the sample using a light source (11), able to emit an incident light wave (12) that propagates toward the sample along a propagation axis (Z); b) acquiring, using an image sensor (16), an image (I.sub.0) of the sample (10), said image being formed in a detection plane (P.sub.0), the sample being placed between the light source (11) and the image sensor (16), such that the incident light wave sees an optical path difference, parallel to the propagation axis (Z), by passing through the sample; c) processing the image acquired by the image sensor;
wherein the processing of the acquired image comprises taking into account vectors of parameters, respectively defined at a plurality of radial coordinates, in the plane of the sample, each vector of parameters being associated with one radial coordinate, and comprising a term representative of an optical parameter of the sample, at least one optical parameter being an optical path difference induced by the sample at the radial coordinate, the vectors of parameters describing the sample.

Disclosed is a system and device for determining sex of an embryo utilizing a non-invasive grading of early stage embryos (pre-hatching) based upon specific gravity, density and/or estimated weight. The device comprises a drop chamber having a lumen, capable of assessing characteristics of at least one embryo while descending. The system allows 100% recovery of embryos. A processor is further capable of performing assessment of the embryos. The disclosed system supports a wide variety of scenarios for human and animal reproductive technologies and related products and services.

Systems and methods for measuring dynamic hydraulic conductivity and permeability associated with a cell layer are disclosed. Some systems include a microfluidic device, one or more working-fluid reservoirs, and one or more fluid-resistance element. The microfluidic device includes a first microchannel, a second microchannel, and a barrier therebetween. The barrier includes a cell layer adhered thereto. The working fluids are delivered to the microfluidic device. The fluid-resistance elements are coupled to one or more of the fluid paths and provide fluidic resistance to cause a pressure drop across the fluid-resistance elements. Mass transfer occurs between the first microchannel and the second microchannel, which is indicative of the hydraulic conductivity and/or dynamic permeability associated with the cells.

In beta emission imaging, magnetic lensing allows a lower resolution detector to detect the spatial distribution of emissions at a higher resolution. The sample is placed in a magnetic field with field lines at a given density, and the detector is placed away from the sample where the magnet field lines diverge, resulting in a lesser density. Since the beta emissions travel along the field lines, the divergence of the field lines from the sample to the detector result in lensing or magnification. Using positron attenuation tomography to detect annihilation in the detector allows for correction due to self-absorption by the sample. The correction and lensing are used together or may be used independently.

An image diagnosis method comprises a step of acquiring an image including at least one of a tissue and a cell as an element, a step of classifying, for each partial image that is a part of the image, a property of the element included in the partial image, and a step of sorting the image into any one of benign indicating that no lesion element is present, malignant indicating that a lesion element is present, and follow-up based on classification results of the plurality of partial images.