Abstract: Provided herein is a disinfecting device including a container containing a chlorhexidine-based solution having a chlorhexidine concentration of from 0.2-2.0% wt/vol. Provided also is a medical connector disinfected with the disinfecting device. A method of disinfecting a medical connector using the disinfecting device is also disclosed.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a microfluidics device for culturing cells, such as cardiomyocytes or cardiomyocyte progenitors; and methods of culturing cells using the device. The device and culturing methods find use in drug screening methods, for methods of evaluating a drug under development, and for methods of predicting patient response to a given treatment regimen, which methods are also provided.

Abstract: Multi-organ cell culture systems and methods are provided. Aspects of the cell culture systems include at least two microfluidic cell culture units configured to culture a plurality of cells, one or more connectors configured to fluidly connect the microfluidic cell culture units to one another, a cell culture medium configured to support the growth of a plurality of different cell types, and a controller configured to move the cell culture medium at a specified volumetric flow rate between the microfluidic cell culture units. The subject systems and methods find use in a variety of applications, including in vitro evaluation of candidate agents for toxicity and efficacy, in vitro models of disease, and in vitro models for fundamental studies of biological systems.

Abstract: A system of remote nodes may be divided into sets of partner nodes. One remote node becomes a partner of another remote node. As partners, the nodes agree to monitor each other's health and report anomalies, such as a failure of one of the nodes, to a monitoring server. The nodes do so using a persistent communication link, such as an open socket. Using the described techniques, the monitoring load of a system is distributed in part away from the monitoring server and to the nodes themselves. This may reduce the resources required of the monitoring server. At the same time, since nodes are now being monitored by partner nodes that are likely to be closer than the monitoring server, and/or on account of the monitoring being performed via a persistent communication link, certain failures can be detected in real-time or near real-time.

Abstract: A system of remote nodes may be divided into sets of partner nodes. One remote node becomes a partner of another remote node. As partners, the nodes agree to monitor each other's health and report anomalies, such as a failure of one of the nodes, to a monitoring server. The nodes do so using a persistent communication link, such as an open socket. Using the described techniques, the monitoring load of a system is distributed in part away from the monitoring server and to the nodes themselves. This may reduce the resources required of the monitoring server. At the same time, since nodes are now being monitored by partner nodes that are likely to be closer than the monitoring server, and/or on account of the monitoring being performed via a persistent communication link, certain failures can be detected in real-time or near real-time.