Recent advances in the fabrication of microflow devices using micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology are described. Passive and active liquid flow control and particle-handling methods in micrometer-scale channels are reviewed. These methods are useful in micro total analysis systems (μTAS) and laboratory-on-a-chip systems. Multiple flow control systems (i.e., arrayed microvalves) fo...

The development of strategies to reduce the load of unwanted bacteria is a fundamental challenge in industrial processing, environmental sciences and medical applications. Here, we report a new method to sequester motile bacteria from a liquid, based on passive, deployable micro-traps that confine bacteria using micro-funnels that open into trapping chambers. Even in low concentrations, micro-t...

The relation between diarrhoea and vomiting, the excretion of stool micro-organisms, and the passive intestinal permeability in 20 infants living in a deprived urban area was studied prospectively from birth to age 6 months. Intestinal permeability was measured from the ratio of lactulose to mannitol recovered in the urine of infants receiving feeds containing both markers. Micro-organism excre...

today, countries that have experienced damages caused by wars, pay special attentions to passive defense in their defense strategies to protect their national properties and vital resources. to this end, observing passive defense considerations in urban development and design has a great impact on reducing the vulnerability of cities, financial losses, and casualties as well as increasing citiz...