In recent years, nanopores have emerged as exceptionally promising single-molecule sensors due to their ability to detect biomolecules at subfemtomole levels in a label-free manner. Development of a high-throughput nanopore-based biosensor requires multiplexing of nanopore measurements. Electrical detection, however, poses a challenge, as each nanopore circuit must be electrically independent, which requires complex nanofluidics and embedded electrodes. Here, we present an optical method for simultaneous measurements of the ionic current across an array of solid-state nanopores, requiring no additional fabrication steps. Proof-of-principle experiments are conducted that show simultaneous optical detection and characterization of ssDNA and dsDNA using an array of pores. Through a comparison with electrical measurements, we show that optical measurements are capable of accessing equivalent transmembrane current information.
The vast advancements in telecommunications and converting medical information to a digital format have increased the number of applications within telemedicine. Telepathology, in simplest terms, is the practice of formally rendering a pathologic diagnosis based upon examination of an image rather than of a glass slide through traditional microscopy. The use of telepathology for clinical patient care has so far been limited to relatively few large academic institutions. Although a number of challenges remain, there is increasing demand for the use of information technology in pathology as a whole owing to the expansion of health care networks and the opportunity to enhance the quality of service delivered to patients. The software used to acquire, display, and manage digital images for clinical patient care may be subject to national and federal regulations just as is any other electronic information system. Despite the barriers, telepathology systems possess the capability to help manage pathology cases on a global scale, improve laboratory workload distribution, increase standardization of practice and enable new classes of ancillary studies to facilitate diagnosis and education even in the most remote parts of the earth.
Lenalidomide is indicated in the front-line management of multiple myeloma. More recently, it has been introduced for use in treating other hematologic malignancies. Although the drug is known to cause myelosuppression, there have been rare reports of lenalidomide-associated immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Here, we review the literature on lenalidomide-associated ITP and report upon a 59-year-old man who was administered lenalidomide due to concern of progressive multiple myeloma more than a year following his having undergone an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant. His platelet count precipitously declined and lead to his hospitalization. Despite our withholding of the drug, he did not respond to platelet transfusions or administration of corticosteroids. He was successfully managed with intermittent immune globulin for several months before definitive treatment with splenectomy, which resulted in the complete resolution of his thrombocytopenia. A literature search identified a total of six additional cases of lenalidomide-associated ITP. Similarly, many of the reported cases were associated with persistent thrombocytopenia after discontinuation of the drug. Furthermore, these patients were generally managed successfully with standard ITP therapies, such as corticosteroids or intravenous immune globulin.
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