WorldWideScience

Sample records for human embryoid body

  1. Physical passaging of embryoid bodies generated from human pluripotent stem cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mi-Young Son

    Full Text Available Spherical three-dimensional cell aggregates called embryoid bodies (EBs, have been widely used in in vitro differentiation protocols for human pluripotent stem cells including human embryonic stem cells (hESCs and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs. Recent studies highlight the new devices and techniques for hEB formation and expansion, but are not involved in the passaging or subculture process. Here, we provide evidence that a simple periodic passaging markedly improved hEB culture condition and thus allowed the size-controlled, mass production of human embryoid bodies (hEBs derived from both hESCs and hiPSCs. hEBs maintained in prolonged suspension culture without passaging (>2 weeks showed a progressive decrease in the cell growth and proliferation and increase in the apoptosis compared to 7-day-old hEBs. However, when serially passaged in suspension, hEB cell populations were significantly increased in number while maintaining the normal rates of cell proliferation and apoptosis and the differentiation potential. Uniform-sized hEBs produced by manual passaging using a 1∶4 split ratio have been successfully maintained for over 20 continuous passages. The passaging culture method of hEBs, which is simple, readily expandable, and reproducible, could be a powerful tool for improving a robust and scalable in vitro differentiation system of human pluripotent stem cells.

  2. File list: Pol.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Pol.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 RNA polymerase Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...s http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/Pol.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  3. File list: DNS.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available DNS.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 DNase-seq Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...s http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/DNS.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  4. File list: Pol.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Pol.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 RNA polymerase Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...s http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/Pol.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  5. File list: Pol.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Pol.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 RNA polymerase Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...s http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/Pol.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  6. File list: DNS.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available DNS.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 DNase-seq Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...s http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/DNS.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  7. File list: DNS.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available DNS.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 DNase-seq Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...s http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/DNS.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  8. File list: DNS.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available DNS.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 DNase-seq Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...s http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/DNS.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  9. File list: Pol.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Pol.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 RNA polymerase Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...s http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/Pol.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  10. File list: Unc.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Unc.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 Unclassified Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...353849,SRX353851,SRX353852,SRX353850 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/Unc.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  11. File list: His.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available His.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 Histone Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodies ...SRX385956,SRX385955,SRX385958,SRX385957 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/His.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  12. File list: His.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available His.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 Histone Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodies ...SRX385956,SRX385955,SRX385958,SRX385957 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/His.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  13. File list: His.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available His.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 Histone Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodies ...SRX385955,SRX385956,SRX385958,SRX385957 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/His.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  14. File list: Unc.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Unc.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 Unclassified Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...203366,SRX203359,SRX353849,SRX353851 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/Unc.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  15. File list: Unc.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Unc.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 Unclassified Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...353851,SRX353849,SRX353852,SRX353850 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/Unc.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  16. File list: Unc.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available Unc.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 Unclassified Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...353852,SRX353850,SRX203366,SRX203357 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/Unc.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  17. File list: ALL.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available ALL.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 All antigens Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...X385956,SRX385955,SRX385958,SRX385957 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/ALL.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  18. File list: ALL.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available ALL.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 All antigens Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...X385958,SRX385956,SRX385955,SRX385957 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/ALL.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  19. File list: ALL.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available ALL.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 All antigens Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...X385956,SRX385955,SRX385958,SRX385957 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/ALL.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  20. File list: ALL.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available ALL.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 All antigens Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...X385956,SRX385958,SRX385957,SRX353850 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/ALL.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  1. File list: NoD.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available NoD.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 No description Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...s http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/NoD.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  2. File list: NoD.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available NoD.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 No description Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...s http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/NoD.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  3. File list: NoD.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available NoD.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 No description Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...s http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/NoD.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  4. File list: NoD.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available NoD.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 No description Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...s http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/NoD.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  5. File list: InP.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available InP.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 Input control Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...s SRX212083,SRX385954,SRX109458,SRX109456,SRX109460,SRX026526 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/InP.PSC.05.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  6. File list: InP.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available InP.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 Input control Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...s SRX385954,SRX212083,SRX109456,SRX109460,SRX109458,SRX026526 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/InP.PSC.10.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  7. File list: InP.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available InP.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 Input control Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid Bodie...s SRX109460,SRX109458,SRX212083,SRX109456,SRX385954,SRX026526 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/InP.PSC.50.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  8. File list: InP.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies [Chip-atlas[Archive

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available InP.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies mm9 Input control Pluripotent stem cell Embryoid B...odies SRX109460,SRX109458,SRX212083,SRX109456,SRX385954,SRX026526 http://dbarchive.biosciencedbc.jp/kyushu-u/mm9/assembled/InP.PSC.20.AllAg.Embryoid_Bodies.bed ...

  9. Profiling ethanol-targeted transcription factors in human carcinoma cell-derived embryoid bodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandal, Chanchal; Halder, Debasish; Chai, Jin Choul; Lee, Young Seek; Jung, Kyoung Hwa; Chai, Young Gyu

    2016-01-15

    Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is a collective term that represents fetal abnormalities associated with maternal alcohol consumption. Prenatal alcohol exposure and related anomalies are well characterized, but the molecular mechanism behind this phenomenon is not yet understood. Few insights have been gained from genetic and epigenetic studies of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Our aim was to profile the important molecular regulators of ethanol-related alterations of the genome. For this purpose, we have analyzed the gene expression pattern of human carcinoma cell-derived embryoid bodies in the absence or presence of ethanol. A cDNA microarray analysis was used to profile mRNA expression in embryoid bodies at day 7 with or without ethanol treatment. A total of 493 differentially expressed genes were identified in response to 50 mM ethanol exposure. Of these, 111 genes were up-regulated, and 382 were down-regulated. Gene ontology term enrichment analysis revealed that these genes are involved in important biological processes: neurological system processes, cognition, behavior, sensory perception of smell, taste and chemical stimuli and synaptic transmission. Similarly, the enrichment of disease-related genes included relevant categories such as neurological diseases, developmental disorders, skeletal and muscular disorders, and connective tissue disorders. Furthermore, we have identified a group of 26 genes that encode transcription factors. We validated the relative gene expression of several transcription factors using quantitative real time PCR. We hope that our study substantially contributes to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathology of alcohol-mediated anomalies and facilitates further research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Formation and hematopoietic differentiation of human embryoid bodies by suspension and hanging drop cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerdan, Chantal; Hong, Seok Ho; Bhatia, Mickie

    2007-10-01

    The in vitro aggregation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into clusters termed embryoid bodies (EBs) allows for the spontaneous differentiation of cells representing endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm lineages. This stochastic process results however, in the generation of low numbers of differentiated cells, and can be enhanced to some extent by the addition of exogenous growth factors or overexpression of regulatory genes. In the authors' laboratory, the use of hematopoietic cytokines in combination with the mesoderm inducer bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4) was able to generate up to 90% of CD45(+) hematopoietic cells with colony-forming unit (CFU) activity. This unit describes two protocols that have been successfully applied in the authors' laboratory for the generation of EBs in (1) suspension and (2) hanging drop (HD) cultures from enzymatically digested clumps of undifferentiated hESC colonies.

  11. Phenotype characterization of embryoid body structures generated by a crystal comet effect tail in an intercellular cancer collision scenario

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diaz JA

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Jairo A Diaz, Mauricio F MurilloDepartment of Pathology, Hospital Departmental Villavicencio, Hospital Departmental Granada, Medicine School, University Cooperative of Colombia, Villavicencio, Meta, ColombiaAbstract: Cancer is, by definition, the uncontrolled growth of autonomous cells that eventually destroy adjacent tissues and generate architectural disorder. However, this concept cannot be totally true. In three well documented studies, we have demonstrated that cancer tissues produce order zones that evolve over time and generate embryoid body structures in a space-time interval. The authors decided to revise the macroscopic and microscopic material in well-developed malignant tumors in which embryoid bodies were identified to determine the phenotype characterization that serves as a guideline for easy recognition. The factors responsible for this morphogenesis are physical, bioelectric, and magnetic susceptibilities produced by crystals that act as molecular designers for the topographic gradients that guide the surrounding silhouette and establish tissue head-tail positional identities. The structures are located in amniotic-like cavities and show characteristic somite-like embryologic segmentation. Immunophenotypic study has demonstrated exclusion factor positional identity in relation to enolase-immunopositive expression of embryoid body and human chorionic gonadotropin immunopositivity exclusion factor expression in the surrounding tissues. The significance of these observations is that they can also be predicted by experimental image data collected by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC accelerator at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, in which two-beam subatomic collision particles in the resulting debris show hyperorder domains similar to those identified by us in intercellular cancer collisions. Our findings suggest that we are dealing with true reverse biologic system information in an activated collective cancer stem cell

  12. ROCK inhibitor is not required for embryoid body formation from singularized human embryonic stem cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pettinato, Giuseppe; Vanden Berg-Foels, Wendy S; Zhang, Ning; Wen, Xuejun

    2014-01-01

    We report a technology to form human embryoid bodies (hEBs) from singularized human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) without the use of the p160 rho-associated coiled-coil kinase inhibitor (ROCKi) or centrifugation (spin). hEB formation was tested under four conditions: +ROCKi/+spin, +ROCKi/-spin, -ROCKi/+spin, and -ROCKi/-spin. Cell suspensions of BG01V/hOG and H9 hESC lines were pipetted into non-adherent hydrogel substrates containing defined microwell arrays. hEBs of consistent size and spherical geometry can be formed in each of the four conditions, including the -ROCKi/-spin condition. The hEBs formed under the -ROCKi/-spin condition differentiated to develop the three embryonic germ layers and tissues derived from each of the germ layers. This simplified hEB production technique offers homogeneity in hEB size and shape to support synchronous differentiation, elimination of the ROCKi xeno-factor and rate-limiting centrifugation treatment, and low-cost scalability, which will directly support automated, large-scale production of hEBs and hESC-derived cells needed for clinical, research, or therapeutic applications.

  13. Parietal endoderm secreted S100A4 promotes early cardiomyogenesis in embryoid bodies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stary, Martina; Schneider, Mikael; Sheikh, Søren P

    2006-01-01

    Cardiomyogenesis is influenced by factors secreted by anterior-lateral and extra-embryonic endoderm. Differentiation of embryonic stem cells in embryoid bodies allows to study the influence of growth factors on cardiomyogenesis. By these means SPARC was identified as a new factor enhancing cardio...

  14. [Establishment of sprouting embryoid body model mimicking early embryonic vasculogenesis in human embryo].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Hua; Feng, You-Ji; Xie, Yi; Han, Jin-Lan; Wang, Zack; Chen, Tong

    2008-10-14

    To establish a sprouting embryoid body model mimicking early embryonic vasculogenesis in human embryo. Human embryonic stem were (hESCs) were cultured on the mouse embryo fibroblasts and then were induced to differentiate to form three-dimensional EB. The hEBs were cultured in media containing various angiogenesis-related factors: vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), endostatin, angiostatin, and platelet factor (PF)-4 of different concentrations for 3 days to observe the sprouting of the hEBs. 3, 3, 3', 3'-tetramethylindo-carbocyanine perchlorate labeled acetylated low density lipoprotein (Dil-AcLDL) was added onto the hEBs foe 4 h Immunofluorescence assay was used to observe if Dil-AcLDL was absorbed and if CD31 was expressed so as to determine the existence of embryonic endothelial cells in the sprouting structures. The ideal culturing condition was analyzed. The differentiated EBs formed sprouting structures in the collagen I matrix containing VEGF and FGF. The sprouts among individual EBs were able to link to each other and form vascular network-like structures. In the presence of VEGF and FGF, the sprouts branching from the EBs assimilated Dil-AcLDL, expressed CD31 and formed a 3-dimensional cylindrical organization. The concentrations of growth factors ideally stimulating sprouting growth were 100 ng/ml of VEGF and 50 ng/ml of FGF. The networks among the EBs were abolished by the angiostatin, endostatin, and PF4. The sprouting from hEBs accumulates embryonic endothelial cells and the sprouting network-like structures are indeed endothelial in nature. Inducing of sprouting EBs is an ideal model that mimics early embryonic vasculogenesis in humans.

  15. Synthetic niches for differentiation of human embryonic stem cells bypassing embryoid body formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yarong; Fox, Victoria; Lei, Yuning; Hu, Biliang; Joo, Kye-Il; Wang, Pin

    2014-07-01

    The unique self-renewal and pluripotency features of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) offer the potential for unlimited development of novel cell therapies. Currently, hESCs are cultured and differentiated using methods, such as monolayer culture and embryoid body (EB) formation. As such, achieving efficient differentiation into higher order structures remains a challenge, as well as maintaining cell viability during differentiation into homogeneous cell populations. Here, we describe the application of highly porous polymer scaffolds as synthetic stem cell niches. Bypassing the EB formation step, these scaffolds are capable of three-dimensional culture of undifferentiated hESCs and subsequent directed differentiation into three primary germ layers. H9 hESCs were successfully maintained and proliferated in biodegradable polymer scaffolds based on poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). The results showed that cells within PLGA scaffolds retained characteristics of undifferentiated pluripotent stem cells. Moreover, the scaffolds allowed differentiation towards the lineage of interest by the addition of growth factors to the culture system. The in vivo transplantation study revealed that the scaffolds could provide a microenvironment that enabled hESCs to interact with their surroundings, thereby promoting cell differentiation. Therefore, this approach, which provides a unique culture/differentiation system for hESCs, will find its utility in various stem cell-based tissue-engineering applications. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Influence of substrate composition on human embryonic stem cell differentiation and extracellular matrix production in embryoid bodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laperle, Alex; Masters, Kristyn S; Palecek, Sean P

    2015-01-01

    Stem cells reside in specialized niches in vivo. Specific factors, including the extracellular matrix (ECM), in these niches are directly responsible for maintaining the stem cell population. During development, components of the stem cell microenvironment also control differentiation with precise spatial and temporal organization. The stem cell microenvironment is dynamically regulated by the cellular component, including stem cells themselves. Thus, a mechanism exists whereby stem cells modify the ECM, which in turn affects the fate of the stem cell. In this study, we investigated whether the type of ECM initially adsorbed to the culture substrate can influence the composition of the ECM deposited by human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) differentiating in embryoid bodies, and whether different ECM composition and deposition profiles elicit distinct differentiation fates. We have shown that the initial ECM environment hESCs are exposed to affects the fate decisions of those cells and that this initial ECM environment is constantly modified during the differentiation process. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

  17. Embryoid body attachment to reconstituted basement membrane induces a genetic program of epithelial differentiation via jun N-terminal kinase signaling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Hoang-Yen; Moffat, Ryan C; Patel, Rupal V; Awah, Franklin N; Baloue, Kaitrin; Crowe, David L

    2010-09-01

    Embryonic stem (ES) cells are derived from early stage mammalian embryos and have broad developmental potential. These cells can be manipulated experimentally to generate cells of multiple tissue types which could be important in treating human diseases. The ability to produce relevant amounts of these differentiated cell populations creates the basis for clinical interventions in tissue regeneration and repair. Understanding how embryonic stem cells differentiate also can reveal important insights into cell biology. A previously reported mouse embryonic stem cell model demonstrated that differentiated epithelial cells migrated out of embryoid bodies attached to reconstituted basement membrane. We used genomic technology to profile ES cell populations in order to understand the molecular mechanisms leading to epithelial differentiation. Cells with characteristics of cultured epithelium migrated from embryoid bodies attached to reconstituted basement membrane. However, cells that comprised embryoid bodies also rapidly lost ES cell-specific gene expression and expressed proteins characteristic of stratified epithelia within hours of attachment to basement membrane. Gene expression profiling of sorted cell populations revealed upregulation of the BMP/TGFbeta signaling pathway, which was not sufficient for epithelial differentiation in the absence of basement membrane attachment. Activation of c-jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) and increased expression of Jun family transcription factors was observed during epithelial differentiation of ES cells. Inhibition of JNK signaling completely blocked epithelial differentiation in this model, revealing a key mechanism by which ES cells adopt epithelial characteristics via basement membrane attachment. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. ZO-1 and ZO-2 are required for extra-embryonic endoderm integrity, primitive ectoderm survival and normal cavitation in embryoid bodies derived from mouse embryonic stem cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dominic C Y Phua

    Full Text Available The Zonula Occludens proteins ZO-1 and ZO-2 are cell-cell junction-associated adaptor proteins that are essential for the structural and regulatory functions of tight junctions in epithelial cells and their absence leads to early embryonic lethality in mouse models. Here, we use the embryoid body, an in vitro peri-implantation mouse embryogenesis model, to elucidate and dissect the roles ZO-1 and ZO-2 play in epithelial morphogenesis and de novo tight junction assembly. Through the generation of individual or combined ZO-1 and ZO-2 null embryoid bodies, we show that their dual deletion prevents tight junction formation, resulting in the disorganization and compromised barrier function of embryoid body epithelial layers. The disorganization is associated with poor microvilli development, fragmented basement membrane deposition and impaired cavity formation, all of which are key epithelial tissue morphogenetic processes. Expression of Podocalyxin, which positively regulates the formation of microvilli and the apical membrane, is repressed in embryoid bodies lacking both ZO-1 and ZO-2 and this correlates with an aberrant submembranous localization of Ezrin. The null embryoid bodies thus give an insight into how the two ZO proteins influence early mouse embryogenesis and possible mechanisms underlying the embryonic lethal phenotype.

  19. RNA Sequencing Reveals the Alteration of the Expression of Novel Genes in Ethanol-Treated Embryoid Bodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandal, Chanchal; Kim, Sun Hwa; Chai, Jin Choul; Oh, Seon Mi; Lee, Young Seek; Jung, Kyoung Hwa; Chai, Young Gyu

    2016-01-01

    Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is a collective term representing fetal abnormalities associated with maternal alcohol consumption. Prenatal alcohol exposure and related anomalies are well characterized, but the molecular mechanism behind this phenomenon is not well characterized. In this present study, our aim is to profile important genes that regulate cellular development during fetal development. Human embryonic carcinoma cells (NCCIT) are cultured to form embryoid bodies and then treated in the presence and absence of ethanol (50 mM). We employed RNA sequencing to profile differentially expressed genes in the ethanol-treated embryoid bodies from NCCIT vs. EB, NCCIT vs. EB+EtOH and EB vs. EB+EtOH data sets. A total of 632, 205 and 517 differentially expressed genes were identified from NCCIT vs. EB, NCCIT vs. EB+EtOH and EB vs. EB+EtOH, respectively. Functional annotation using bioinformatics tools reveal significant enrichment of differential cellular development and developmental disorders. Furthermore, a group of 42, 15 and 35 transcription factor-encoding genes are screened from all of the differentially expressed genes obtained from NCCIT vs. EB, NCCIT vs. EB+EtOH and EB vs. EB+EtOH, respectively. We validated relative gene expression levels of several transcription factors from these lists by quantitative real-time PCR. We hope that our study substantially contributes to the understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying the pathology of alcohol-mediated anomalies and ease further research.

  20. Superior Red Blood Cell Generation from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Through a Novel Microcarrier-Based Embryoid Body Platform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivalingam, Jaichandran; Lam, Alan Tin-Lun; Chen, Hong Yu; Yang, Bin Xia; Chen, Allen Kuan-Liang; Reuveny, Shaul; Loh, Yuin-Han; Oh, Steve Kah-Weng

    2016-08-01

    In vitro generation of red blood cells (RBCs) from human embryonic stem cells and human induced pluripotent stem cells appears to be a promising alternate approach to circumvent shortages in donor-derived blood supplies for clinical applications. Conventional methods for hematopoietic differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) rely on embryoid body (EB) formation and/or coculture with xenogeneic cell lines. However, most current methods for hPSC expansion and EB formation are not amenable for scale-up to levels required for large-scale RBC generation. Moreover, differentiation methods that rely on xenogenic cell lines would face obstacles for future clinical translation. In this study, we report the development of a serum-free and chemically defined microcarrier-based suspension culture platform for scalable hPSC expansion and EB formation. Improved survival and better quality EBs generated with the microcarrier-based method resulted in significantly improved mesoderm induction and, when combined with hematopoietic differentiation, resulted in at least a 6-fold improvement in hematopoietic precursor expansion, potentially culminating in a 80-fold improvement in the yield of RBC generation compared to a conventional EB-based differentiation method. In addition, we report efficient terminal maturation and generation of mature enucleated RBCs using a coculture system that comprised primary human mesenchymal stromal cells. The microcarrier-based platform could prove to be an appealing strategy for future scale-up of hPSC culture, EB generation, and large-scale generation of RBCs under defined and xeno-free conditions.

  1. A protocol describing the use of a recombinant protein-based, animal product-free medium (APEL) for human embryonic stem cell differentiation as spin embryoid bodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Elizabeth S; Davis, Richard; Stanley, Edouard G; Elefanty, Andrew G

    2008-01-01

    In order to promote the uniform and reproducible differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (HESCs) in response to exogenously added growth factors, we have developed a method (spin embryoid bodies (EBs)) that uses a recombinant protein-based, animal product-free medium in which HESCs are aggregated by centrifugation to form EBs. In this protocol we describe the formulation of this medium, denoted APEL (Albumin Polyvinylalcohol Essential Lipids), and its use in spin EB differentiation of HESCs. We also describe a more economical variant, BPEL (Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) Polyvinylalchohol Essential Lipids), in which BSA replaces the recombinant human albumin. The integration of a medium that includes only defined and recombinant components with a defined number of cells to initiate EB formation results in a generally applicable, robust platform for growth factor-directed HESC differentiation.

  2. Effects of hanging drop culture conditions on embryoid body formation and neuronal cell differentiation using mouse embryonic stem cells: optimization of culture conditions for the formation of well-controlled embryoid bodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohnuki, Yoshitsugu; Kurosawa, Hiroshi

    2013-05-01

    Hanging drop (HD) cultures were carried out with a drop volume of either 20 or 30 μl. An incubation period of 3 days was determined to be appropriate for the formation of well-controlled embryoid bodies (EBs), and the initial cell number was identified as the most critical factor in the growth and neuronal cell differentiation of EBs. Copyright © 2012 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Intercellular cancer collisions generate an ejected crystal comet tail effect with fractal interface embryoid body reassembly transformation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Díaz JA

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Jairo A Díaz, Mauricio F Murillo, Alvaro BarreroDepartment of Pathology, Hospital Departmental Villavicencio, Hospital Departmental Granada, Medicine School, University Cooperative of Colombia, Villavicencio, Meta, ColombiaAbstract: We have documented self-assembled geometric triangular chiral crystal complexes (GTCHC and a framework of collagen vascular invariant geometric attractors in cancer tissues. This article shows how this system evolves in time. These structures are incorporated together and evolve in different ways. When the geometric core is stable, and the tissue architecture collapses, fragmented components emerge, which reveal a hidden interior identifying how each molecule is reassembled into the original mold, using one common connection, ie, a fractal self-similarity that guided the system from the beginning. GTCHC complexes generate ejected crystal comet tail effects and produce strange helicity states that arise in the form of spin domain interactions. As the crystal growth vibration stage progresses, biofractal echo images converge in a master-built construction of embryoid bodies with enolase-selective immunopositivity in relation to clusters of triangular chiral cell organization. In our electro-optic collision model, we were able to predict and replicate all the characteristics of this complex geometry that connects a physical phenomenon with the signal patterns that generate biologic chaos. Intrinsically, fractal geometry makes spatial correction errors embrace the chaotic system in a way that permits new structures to emerge, and as a result, an ordered self-assembly of embryoid bodies with neural differentiation at the final stage of cancer development is a predictable process. We hope that further investigation of these structures will lead not only to a new way of thinking about physics and biology, but also to a rewarding area in cancer research.Keywords: embryoid bodies, cancer, electro-optic collision model

  4. Transcriptome dynamics of human pluripotent stem cell-derived contracting cardiomyocytes using an embryoid body model with fetal bovine serum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Kwang Bo; Son, Ye Seul; Lee, Hana; Jung, Cho-Rok; Kim, Janghwan; Son, Mi-Young

    2017-07-25

    Cardiomyocyte (CM) differentiation techniques for generating adult-like mature CMs remain imperfect, and the plausible underlying mechanisms remain unclear; however, there are a number of current protocols available. Here, to explore the mechanisms controlling cardiac differentiation, we analyzed the genome-wide transcription dynamics occurring during the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into CMs using embryoid body (EB) formation. We optimized and updated the protocol to efficiently generate contracting CMs from hPSCs by adding fetal bovine serum (FBS) as a medium supplement, which could have a significant impact on the efficiency of cardiac differentiation. To identify genes, biological processes, and pathways involved in the cardiac differentiation of hPSCs, integrative and comparative analyses of the transcriptome profiles of differentiated CMs from hPSCs and of control CMs of the adult human heart (CM-AHH) were performed using gene ontology, functional annotation clustering, and pathway analyses. Several genes commonly regulated in the differentiated CMs and CM-AHH were enriched in pathways related to cell cycle and nucleotide metabolism. Strikingly, we found that current differentiation protocols did not promote sufficient expression of genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation to differentiate CMs from hPSCs compared to the expression levels in CM-AHH. Therefore, to obtain mature CMs similar to CM-AHH, these deficient pathways in CM differentiation, such as energy-related pathways, must be augmented prior to use for in vitro and in vivo applications. This approach opens up new avenues for facilitating the utilization of hPSC-derived CMs in biomedical research, drug evaluation, and clinical applications for patients with cardiac failure.

  5. A PDMS-Based Microfluidic Hanging Drop Chip for Embryoid Body Formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Huei-Wen; Hsiao, Yi-Hsing; Chen, Chih-Chen; Yet, Shaw-Fang; Hsu, Chia-Hsien

    2016-07-06

    The conventional hanging drop technique is the most widely used method for embryoid body (EB) formation. However, this method is labor intensive and limited by the difficulty in exchanging the medium. Here, we report a microfluidic chip-based approach for high-throughput formation of EBs. The device consists of microfluidic channels with 6 × 12 opening wells in PDMS supported by a glass substrate. The PDMS channels were fabricated by replicating polydimethyl-siloxane (PDMS) from SU-8 mold. The droplet formation in the chip was tested with different hydrostatic pressures to obtain optimal operation pressures for the wells with 1000 μm diameter openings. The droplets formed at the opening wells were used to culture mouse embryonic stem cells which could subsequently developed into EBs in the hanging droplets. This device also allows for medium exchange of the hanging droplets making it possible to perform immunochemistry staining and characterize EBs on chip.

  6. A PDMS-Based Microfluidic Hanging Drop Chip for Embryoid Body Formation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huei-Wen Wu

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The conventional hanging drop technique is the most widely used method for embryoid body (EB formation. However, this method is labor intensive and limited by the difficulty in exchanging the medium. Here, we report a microfluidic chip-based approach for high-throughput formation of EBs. The device consists of microfluidic channels with 6 × 12 opening wells in PDMS supported by a glass substrate. The PDMS channels were fabricated by replicating polydimethyl-siloxane (PDMS from SU-8 mold. The droplet formation in the chip was tested with different hydrostatic pressures to obtain optimal operation pressures for the wells with 1000 μm diameter openings. The droplets formed at the opening wells were used to culture mouse embryonic stem cells which could subsequently developed into EBs in the hanging droplets. This device also allows for medium exchange of the hanging droplets making it possible to perform immunochemistry staining and characterize EBs on chip.

  7. Cell adhesive affinity does not dictate primitive endoderm segregation and positioning during murine embryoid body formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Robert; Cai, Kathy Q; Escudero, Diogo O; Xu, Xiang-Xi

    2009-09-01

    The classical cell sorting experiments undertaken by Townes and Holtfreter described the intrinsic propensity of dissociated embryonic cells to self-organize and reconcile into their original embryonic germ layers with characteristic histotypic positioning. Steinberg presented the differential adhesion hypothesis to explain these patterning phenomena. Here, we have reappraised these issues by implementing embryoid bodies to model the patterning of epiblast and primitive endoderm layers. We have used combinations of embryonic stem (ES) cells and their derivatives differentiated by retinoic acid treatment to model epiblast and endoderm cells, and wild-type or E-cadherin null cells to represent strongly or weakly adherent cells, respectively. One cell type was fluorescently labeled and reconstituted with another heterotypically to generate chimeric embryoid bodies, and cell sorting was tracked by time-lapse video microscopy and confirmed by immunostaining. When undifferentiated wild-type and E-cadherin null ES cells were mixed, the resulting cell aggregates consisted of a core of wild-type cells surrounded by loosely associated E-cadherin null cells, consistent with the differential adhesion hypothesis. However, when mixed with undifferentiated ES cells, the differentiated primitive endoderm-like cells sorted to the surface to form a primitive endoderm layer irrespective of cell-adhesive strength, contradicting the differential adhesion hypothesis. We propose that the primitive endoderm cells reach the surface by random movement, and subsequently the cells generate an apical/basal polarity that prevents reentry. Thus, the ability to generate epithelial polarity, rather than adhesive affinity, determines the surface positioning of the primitive endoderm cells. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  8. Intercellular cancer collisions generate an ejected crystal comet tail effect with fractal interface embryoid body reassembly transformation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Díaz, Jairo A; Murillo, Mauricio F; Barrero, Alvaro

    2011-01-01

    We have documented self-assembled geometric triangular chiral crystal complexes (GTCHC) and a framework of collagen vascular invariant geometric attractors in cancer tissues. This article shows how this system evolves in time. These structures are incorporated together and evolve in different ways. When the geometric core is stable, and the tissue architecture collapses, fragmented components emerge, which reveal a hidden interior identifying how each molecule is reassembled into the original mold, using one common connection, ie, a fractal self-similarity that guided the system from the beginning. GTCHC complexes generate ejected crystal comet tail effects and produce strange helicity states that arise in the form of spin domain interactions. As the crystal growth vibration stage progresses, biofractal echo images converge in a master-built construction of embryoid bodies with enolase-selective immunopositivity in relation to clusters of triangular chiral cell organization. In our electro-optic collision model, we were able to predict and replicate all the characteristics of this complex geometry that connects a physical phenomenon with the signal patterns that generate biologic chaos. Intrinsically, fractal geometry makes spatial correction errors embrace the chaotic system in a way that permits new structures to emerge, and as a result, an ordered self-assembly of embryoid bodies with neural differentiation at the final stage of cancer development is a predictable process. We hope that further investigation of these structures will lead not only to a new way of thinking about physics and biology, but also to a rewarding area in cancer research

  9. Remyelination Is Correlated with Regulatory T Cell Induction Following Human Embryoid Body-Derived Neural Precursor Cell Transplantation in a Viral Model of Multiple Sclerosis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Warren C Plaisted

    Full Text Available We have recently described sustained clinical recovery associated with dampened neuroinflammation and remyelination following transplantation of neural precursor cells (NPCs derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs in a viral model of the human demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis. The hNPCs used in that study were derived by a novel direct differentiation method (direct differentiation, DD-NPCs that resulted in a unique gene expression pattern when compared to hNPCs derived by conventional methods. Since the therapeutic potential of human NPCs may differ greatly depending on the method of derivation and culture, we wanted to determine whether NPCs differentiated using conventional methods would be similarly effective in improving clinical outcome under neuroinflammatory demyelinating conditions. For the current study, we utilized hNPCs differentiated from a human induced pluripotent cell line via an embryoid body intermediate stage (EB-NPCs. Intraspinal transplantation of EB-NPCs into mice infected with the neurotropic JHM strain of mouse hepatitis virus (JHMV resulted in decreased accumulation of CD4+ T cells in the central nervous system that was concomitant with reduced demyelination at the site of injection. Dampened neuroinflammation and remyelination was correlated with a transient increase in CD4+FOXP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs concentrated within the peripheral lymphatics. However, compared to our earlier study, pathological improvements were modest and did not result in significant clinical recovery. We conclude that the genetic signature of NPCs is critical to their effectiveness in this model of viral-induced neurologic disease. These comparisons will be useful for understanding what factors are critical for the sustained clinical improvement.

  10. Generating size-controlled embryoid bodies using laser direct-write

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dias, A D; Corr, D T; Unser, A M; Xie, Y; Chrisey, D B

    2014-01-01

    Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have the potential to self-renew and differentiate into any specialized cell type. One common method to differentiate ESCs in vitro is through embryoid bodies (EBs), three-dimensional cellular aggregates that spontaneously self-assemble and generally express markers for the three germ layers, endoderm, ectoderm, and mesoderm. It has been previously shown that both EB size and 2D colony size each influence differentiation. We hypothesized that we could control the size of the EB formed by mouse ESCs (mESCs) by using a cell printing method, laser direct-write (LDW), to control both the size of the initial printed colony and the local cell density in printed colonies. After printing mESCs at various printed colony sizes and printing densities, two-way ANOVAs indicated that the EB diameter was influenced by printing density after three days (p = 0.0002), while there was no effect of the printed colony diameter on the EB diameter at the same timepoint (p = 0.74). There was no significant interaction between these two factors. Tukey's honestly significant difference test showed that high-density colonies formed significantly larger EBs, suggesting that printed mESCs quickly aggregate with nearby cells. Thus, EBs can be engineered to a desired size by controlling printing density, which will influence the design of future differentiation studies. Herein, we highlight the capacity of LDW to control the local cell density and colony size independently, at prescribed spatial locations, potentially leading to better stem cell maintenance and directed differentiation. (paper)

  11. Differentiating Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells into Embryoid Bodies by Hanging-Drop Cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behringer, Richard; Gertsenstein, Marina; Nagy, Kristina Vintersten; Nagy, Andras

    2016-12-01

    Embryonic stem (ES) cells can develop into many types of differentiated tissues if they are placed into a differentiating environment. This can occur in vivo when the ES cells are injected into or aggregated with an embryo, or in vitro if their culture conditions are modified to induce differentiation. There are an increasing number of differentiating culture conditions that can bias the differentiation of ES cells into desired cell types. Determining the mechanisms that control ES cell differentiation into therapeutically important cell types is a quickly growing area of research. Knowledge gained from these studies may eventually lead to the use of stem cells to repair specific damaged tissues. Many times ES cell differentiation proceeds through an intermediate stage called the embryoid body (EB). EBs are round structures composed of ES cells that have undergone some of the initial stages of differentiation. EBs can then be manipulated further to generate more specific cell types. This protocol describes a method to differentiate ES cells into EBs. It produces EBs of comparable size. This aspect is important because the differentiation processes taking place inside an EB are influenced by its size. © 2016 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

  12. Effect of perfluorooctane sulfonate on pluripotency and differentiation factors in mouse embryoid bodies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Bo; Ji, Xiaoli; Chen, Xiaojiao; Yao, Mengmeng; Han, Xiumei; Chen, Minjian; Tang, Wei; Xia, Yankai

    2015-01-01

    Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) poses potential risks to early development, but the molecular mechanisms how PFOS affects embryonic development are still unclear. Mouse embryoid bodies (mEBs) provide ideal models for testing safety or toxicity of chemicals in vitro. In this study, mEBs were exposed to PFOS up to 6 days and then their pluripotency and differentiation markers were evaluated. Our data showed that the mRNA and protein levels of pluripotency markers (Oct4, Sox2, Nanog) in mEBs were significantly increased following exposure to PFOS. Meanwhile, the expressions of miR-134, miR-145, miR-490-3p were decreased accordingly. PFOS reduced the mRNA levels of endodermal markers (Sox17, FOXA2), mesodermal markers (SMA, Brachyury) and ectodermal markers (Nestin, Fgf5) in mEBs. Meanwhile, PFOS increased the mRNA and protein levels of polycomb group (PcG) family members (Cbx4, Cbx7, Ezh2). Overall, our results showed that PFOS could increase the expression levels of pluripotency factors and decrease the differentiation markers

  13. Generation of Hepatocyte-like Cells from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) Cells By Co-culturing Embryoid Body Cells with Liver Non-parenchymal Cell Line TWNT-1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Javed, M. S.; Yaqoob, N.; Iwamuro, M.; Kobayashi, N.; Fujiwara, T.

    2014-01-01

    Objective: To generate a homogeneous population of patient-specific hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) from human iPS cells those show the morphologic and phenotypic properties of primary human hepatocytes. Study Design: An experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Surgery, Okayama University, Graduate School of Medicine, Japan, from April to December 2011. Methodology: Human iPS cells were generated and maintained on ES qualified matrigel coated plates supplemented with mTeSR medium or alternatively on mitotically inactivated MEF feeder layer in DMEM/F12 medium containing 20% KOSR, 4ng/ml bFGF-2, 1 x 10-4 M 2-mercaptoethanol, 1 mmol/L NEAA, 2mM L-glutamine and 1% penicillin-streptomycin. iPS cells were differentiated to HLCs by sequential culture using a four step differentiation protocol: (I) Generation of embryoid bodies (EBs) in suspension culture; (II) Induction of definitive endoderm (DE) from 2 days old EBs by growth in human activin-A (100 ng/ml) and basic fibroblasts growth factor (bFGF2) (100 ng/ml) on matrigel coated plates; (III) Induction of hepatic progenitors by co-culture with non-parenchymal human hepatic stellate cell line (TWNT-1); and (IV) Maturation by culture in dexamethasone. Characterization was performed by RT-PCR and functional assays. Results: The generated HLCs showed microscopically morphological phenotype of human hepatocytes, expressed liver specific genes (ASGPR, Albumin, AFP, Sox17, Fox A2), secreted human liver-specific proteins such as albumin, synthesized urea and metabolized ammonia. Conclusion: Functional HLCs were generated from human iPS cells, which could be used for autologus hepatocyte transplantation for liver failure and as in vitro model for determining the metabolic and toxicological properties of drug compounds. (author)

  14. Y-27632 enhances differentiation of blastocyst like cystic human embryoid bodies to endocrinologically active trophoblast cells on a biomimetic platform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Totey Satish M

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Trophoblast differentiation and formation of the placenta are important events linked to post-implantation embryonic development. Models mimicking the biology of trophoblast differentiation in a post-implantation maternal microenvironment are needed for understanding disorders like placental-ischemia or for applications in drug-screening, and would help in overcoming the ethical impasse on using human embryos for such research. Here we attempt to create such a model by using embryoid bodies (EBs and a biomimetic platform composed of a bilayer of fibronectin and gelatin on top of low-melting agarose. Using this model we test the hypothesis that cystic-EBs (day 30 that resemble blastocysts morphologically, are better sources as compared to noncytic EBs (day 10, for functional trophoblast differentiation; and that the Rho kinases inhibitor Y27632 can enhance this differentiation. Non/cytic EBs with/out Y27632 were grown on this platform for 28 days, and screened from secretion and expression of trophoblast and other lineage markers using ECLIA, RT-PCR, and Immunofluorescence. All EBs attached on this surface and rapidly proliferated into hCG and progesterone (P2 secreting functional trophoblast cells. However, the cells derived from cytic-EBs and cytic-EBs+ Y27632 showed the maximum secretion of these hormones and expressed IGF2, supporting our hypothesis. Also Y27632 reduced extraembryonic endoderm and trophoblast lineage differentiation from early noncystic-EBs, whereas, it specifically enhanced the induction of trophoblast and multinucleated syncitiotrophoblast differentiation from late cystic-EBs. In vivo trophoblast differentiation can be replicated in fibronectin based biomaterials, using cytic-EBs and by maneuvering the Rho-ROCK pathways. Response of EBs to a compound may vary temporally, and determination of their right stage is crucial for applications in directed-differentiation or drug-screening.

  15. GCN5 Regulates FGF Signaling and Activates Selective MYC Target Genes during Early Embryoid Body Differentiation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Wang

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Precise control of gene expression during development is orchestrated by transcription factors and co-regulators including chromatin modifiers. How particular chromatin-modifying enzymes affect specific developmental processes is not well defined. Here, we report that GCN5, a histone acetyltransferase essential for embryonic development, is required for proper expression of multiple genes encoding components of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF signaling pathway in early embryoid bodies (EBs. Gcn5−/− EBs display deficient activation of ERK and p38, mislocalization of cytoskeletal components, and compromised capacity to differentiate toward mesodermal lineage. Genomic analyses identified seven genes as putative direct targets of GCN5 during early differentiation, four of which are cMYC targets. These findings established a link between GCN5 and the FGF signaling pathway and highlighted specific GCN5-MYC partnerships in gene regulation during early differentiation.

  16. Tie-1-directed expression of Cre recombinase in endothelial cells of embryoid bodies and transgenic mice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gustafsson, E; Brakebusch, C; Hietanen, K

    2001-01-01

    Tissue-specific gene inactivation using the Cre-loxP system has become an important tool to unravel functions of genes when the conventional null mutation is lethal. We report here the generation of a transgenic mouse line expressing Cre recombinase in endothelial cells. In order to avoid...... the production and screening of multiple transgenic lines we used embryonic stem cell and embryoid body technology to identify recombinant embryonic stem cell clones with high, endothelial-specific Cre activity. One embryonic stem cell clone that showed high Cre activity in endothelial cells was used to generate...... germline chimeras. The in vivo efficiency and specificity of the transgenic Cre was analysed by intercrossing the tie-1-Cre line with the ROSA26R reporter mice. At initial stages of vascular formation (E8-9), LacZ staining was detected in almost all cells of the forming vasculature. Between E10 and birth...

  17. Human second trimester amniotic fluid cells are able to create embryoid body-like structures in vitro and to show typical expression profiles of embryonic and primordial germ cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antonucci, Ivana; Di Pietro, Roberta; Alfonsi, Melissa; Centurione, Maria Antonietta; Centurione, Lucia; Sancilio, Silvia; Pelagatti, Francesca; D'Amico, Maria Angela; Di Baldassarre, Angela; Piattelli, Adriano; Tetè, Stefano; Palka, Giandomenico; Borlongan, Cesar V; Stuppia, Liborio

    2014-01-01

    Human amniotic fluid-derived stem cells (AFSCs) represent a novel class of broadly multipotent stem cells sharing characteristics of both embryonic and adult stem cells. However, both the origin of these cells and their actual properties in terms of pluripotent differentiation potential are still debated. In order to verify the presence of features of pluripotency in human second trimester AFSCs, we have investigated the ability of these cells to form in vitro three-dimensional aggregates, known as embryoid bodies (EBs), and to express specific genes of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and primordial germ cells (PGCs). EBs were obtained after 5 days of AFSC culture in suspension and showed positivity for alkaline phosphatase (AP) staining and for specific markers of pluripotency (OCT4 and SOX2). Moreover, EB-derived cells showed the expression of specific transcripts of the three germ layers. RT-PCR analysis, carried out at different culture times (second, third, fourth, fifth, and eighth passages), revealed the presence of specific markers of ESCs (such as FGF4 and DAPPA4), as well as of markers typical of PGCs and, in particular, genes involved in early stages of germ cell development (Fragilis, Stella, Vasa, c-Kit, Rnf17). Finally, the expression of genes related to the control of DNA methylation (DNMT3A, DNMT3b1, DNMT1, DNMT3L, MBD1, MBD2, MBD3, MDB4, MeCP2), as well as the lack of inactivation of the X-chromosome in female samples, was also demonstrated. Taken together, these data provide further evidence for the presence of common features among human AFSCs, PGCs, and ESCs.

  18. Embryoid bodies formation and differentiation from mouse embryonic stem cells in collagen/Matrigel scaffolds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Jin; Zhang, Ye; Lin, Qiuxia; Liu, Zhiqiang; Wang, Haibin; Duan, Cuimi; Wang, Yanmeng; Hao, Tong; Wu, Kuiwu; Wang, Changyong

    2010-07-01

    Embryonic stem (ES) cells have the potential to develop into any type of tissue and are considered as a promising source of seeding cells for tissue engineering and transplantation therapy. The main catalyst for ES cells differentiation is the growth into embryoid bodies (EBs), which are utilized widely as the trigger of in vitro differentiation. In this study, a novel method for generating EBs from mouse ES cells through culture in collagen/Matrigel scaffolds was successfully established. When single ES cells were seeded in three dimensional collagen/Matrigel scaffolds, they grew into aggregates gradually and formed simple EBs with circular structures. After 7 days' culture, they formed into cystic EBs that would eventually differentiate into the three embryonic germ layers. Evaluation of the EBs in terms of morphology and potential to differentiate indicated that they were typical in structure and could generate various cell types; they were also able to form into tissue-like structures. Moreover, with introduction of ascorbic acid, ES cells differentiated into cardiomyocytes efficiently and started contracting synchronously at day 19. The results demonstrated that collagen/Matrigel scaffolds supported EBs formation and their subsequent differentiation in a single three dimensional environment. Copyright 2010 Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology and the Genetics Society of China. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Three-dimensional bioprinting of embryonic stem cells directs highly uniform embryoid body formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ouyang, Liliang; Yao, Rui; Mao, Shuangshuang; Sun, Wei; Chen, Xi; Na, Jie

    2015-01-01

    With the ability to manipulate cells temporarily and spatially into three-dimensional (3D) tissue-like construct, 3D bioprinting technology was used in many studies to facilitate the recreation of complex cell niche and/or to better understand the regulation of stem cell proliferation and differentiation by cellular microenvironment factors. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have the capacity to differentiate into any specialized cell type of the animal body, generally via the formation of embryoid body (EB), which mimics the early stages of embryogenesis. In this study, extrusion-based 3D bioprinting technology was utilized for biofabricating ESCs into 3D cell-laden construct. The influence of 3D printing parameters on ESC viability, proliferation, maintenance of pluripotency and the rule of EB formation was systematically studied in this work. Results demonstrated that ESCs were successfully printed with hydrogel into 3D macroporous construct. Upon process optimization, about 90% ESCs remained alive after the process of bioprinting and cell-laden construct formation. ESCs continued proliferating into spheroid EBs in the hydrogel construct, while retaining the protein expression and gene expression of pluripotent markers, like octamer binding transcription factor 4, stage specific embryonic antigen 1 and Nanog. In this novel technology, EBs were formed through cell proliferation instead of aggregation, and the quantity of EBs was tuned by the initial cell density in the 3D bioprinting process. This study introduces the 3D bioprinting of ESCs into a 3D cell-laden hydrogel construct for the first time and showed the production of uniform, pluripotent, high-throughput and size-controllable EBs, which indicated strong potential in ESC large scale expansion, stem cell regulation and fabrication of tissue-like structure and drug screening studies. (paper)

  20. Three-dimensional bioprinting of embryonic stem cells directs highly uniform embryoid body formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouyang, Liliang; Yao, Rui; Mao, Shuangshuang; Chen, Xi; Na, Jie; Sun, Wei

    2015-11-04

    With the ability to manipulate cells temporarily and spatially into three-dimensional (3D) tissue-like construct, 3D bioprinting technology was used in many studies to facilitate the recreation of complex cell niche and/or to better understand the regulation of stem cell proliferation and differentiation by cellular microenvironment factors. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have the capacity to differentiate into any specialized cell type of the animal body, generally via the formation of embryoid body (EB), which mimics the early stages of embryogenesis. In this study, extrusion-based 3D bioprinting technology was utilized for biofabricating ESCs into 3D cell-laden construct. The influence of 3D printing parameters on ESC viability, proliferation, maintenance of pluripotency and the rule of EB formation was systematically studied in this work. Results demonstrated that ESCs were successfully printed with hydrogel into 3D macroporous construct. Upon process optimization, about 90% ESCs remained alive after the process of bioprinting and cell-laden construct formation. ESCs continued proliferating into spheroid EBs in the hydrogel construct, while retaining the protein expression and gene expression of pluripotent markers, like octamer binding transcription factor 4, stage specific embryonic antigen 1 and Nanog. In this novel technology, EBs were formed through cell proliferation instead of aggregation, and the quantity of EBs was tuned by the initial cell density in the 3D bioprinting process. This study introduces the 3D bioprinting of ESCs into a 3D cell-laden hydrogel construct for the first time and showed the production of uniform, pluripotent, high-throughput and size-controllable EBs, which indicated strong potential in ESC large scale expansion, stem cell regulation and fabrication of tissue-like structure and drug screening studies.

  1. Directed neuronal differentiation of human embryonic stem cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noggle Scott A

    2003-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background We have developed a culture system for the efficient and directed differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (HESCs to neural precursors and neurons. HESC were maintained by manual passaging and were differentiated to a morphologically distinct OCT-4+/SSEA-4- monolayer cell type prior to the derivation of embryoid bodies. Embryoid bodies were grown in suspension in serum free conditions, in the presence of 50% conditioned medium from the human hepatocarcinoma cell line HepG2 (MedII. Results A neural precursor population was observed within HESC derived serum free embryoid bodies cultured in MedII conditioned medium, around 7–10 days after derivation. The neural precursors were organized into rosettes comprised of a central cavity surrounded by ring of cells, 4 to 8 cells in width. The central cells within rosettes were proliferating, as indicated by the presence of condensed mitotic chromosomes and by phosphoHistone H3 immunostaining. When plated and maintained in adherent culture, the rosettes of neural precursors were surrounded by large interwoven networks of neurites. Immunostaining demonstrated the expression of nestin in rosettes and associated non-neuronal cell types, and a radial expression of Map-2 in rosettes. Differentiated neurons expressed the markers Map-2 and Neurofilament H, and a subpopulation of the neurons expressed tyrosine hydroxylase, a marker for dopaminergic neurons. Conclusion This novel directed differentiation approach led to the efficient derivation of neuronal cultures from HESCs, including the differentiation of tyrosine hydroxylase expressing neurons. HESC were morphologically differentiated to a monolayer OCT-4+ cell type, which was used to derive embryoid bodies directly into serum free conditions. Exposure to the MedII conditioned medium enhanced the derivation of neural precursors, the first example of the effect of this conditioned medium on HESC.

  2. Establishment of Human Neural Progenitor Cells from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells with Diverse Tissue Origins

    OpenAIRE

    Hayato Fukusumi; Tomoko Shofuda; Yohei Bamba; Atsuyo Yamamoto; Daisuke Kanematsu; Yukako Handa; Keisuke Okita; Masaya Nakamura; Shinya Yamanaka; Hideyuki Okano; Yonehiro Kanemura

    2016-01-01

    Human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) have previously been generated from limited numbers of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) clones. Here, 21 hiPSC clones derived from human dermal fibroblasts, cord blood cells, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were differentiated using two neural induction methods, an embryoid body (EB) formation-based method and an EB formation method using dual SMAD inhibitors (dSMADi). Our results showed that expandable hNPCs could be generated from hiPS...

  3. Extracellular matrix aggregates from differentiating embryoid bodies as a scaffold to support ESC proliferation and differentiation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saik-Kia Goh

    Full Text Available Embryonic stem cells (ESCs have emerged as potential cell sources for tissue engineering and regeneration owing to its virtually unlimited replicative capacity and the potential to differentiate into a variety of cell types. Current differentiation strategies primarily involve various growth factor/inducer/repressor concoctions with less emphasis on the substrate. Developing biomaterials to promote stem cell proliferation and differentiation could aid in the realization of this goal. Extracellular matrix (ECM components are important physiological regulators, and can provide cues to direct ESC expansion and differentiation. ECM undergoes constant remodeling with surrounding cells to accommodate specific developmental event. In this study, using ESC derived aggregates called embryoid bodies (EB as a model, we characterized the biological nature of ECM in EB after exposure to different treatments: spontaneously differentiated and retinoic acid treated (denoted as SPT and RA, respectively. Next, we extracted this treatment-specific ECM by detergent decellularization methods (Triton X-100, DOC and SDS are compared. The resulting EB ECM scaffolds were seeded with undifferentiated ESCs using a novel cell seeding strategy, and the behavior of ESCs was studied. Our results showed that the optimized protocol efficiently removes cells while retaining crucial ECM and biochemical components. Decellularized ECM from SPT EB gave rise to a more favorable microenvironment for promoting ESC attachment, proliferation, and early differentiation, compared to native EB and decellularized ECM from RA EB. These findings suggest that various treatment conditions allow the formulation of unique ESC-ECM derived scaffolds to enhance ESC bioactivities, including proliferation and differentiation for tissue regeneration applications.

  4. Collagen-IV supported embryoid bodies formation and differentiation from buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) embryonic stem cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taru Sharma, G., E-mail: gts553@gmail.com [Reproductive Physiology Laboratory, Division of Physiology and Climatology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar-243 122, Bareilly, U.P. (India); Dubey, Pawan K.; Verma, Om Prakash; Pratheesh, M.D.; Nath, Amar; Sai Kumar, G. [Reproductive Physiology Laboratory, Division of Physiology and Climatology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar-243 122, Bareilly, U.P. (India)

    2012-08-03

    Graphical abstract: EBs formation, characterization and expression of germinal layers marker genes of in vivo developed teratoma using four different types of extracellular matrices. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Collagen-IV matrix is found cytocompatible for EBs formation and differentiation. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Established 3D microenvironment for ES cells development and differentiation into three germ layers. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Collagen-IV may be useful as promising candidate for ES cells based therapeutic applications. -- Abstract: Embryoid bodies (EBs) are used as in vitro model to study early extraembryonic tissue formation and differentiation. In this study, a novel method using three dimensional extracellular matrices for in vitro generation of EBs from buffalo embryonic stem (ES) cells and its differentiation potential by teratoma formation was successfully established. In vitro derived inner cell masses (ICMs) of hatched buffalo blastocyst were cultured on buffalo fetal fibroblast feeder layer for primary cell colony formation. For generation of EBs, pluripotent ES cells were seeded onto four different types of extracellular matrices viz; collagen-IV, laminin, fibronectin and matrigel using undifferentiating ES cell culture medium. After 5 days of culture, ESCs gradually grew into aggregates and formed simple EBs having circular structures. Twenty-six days later, they formed cystic EBs over collagen matrix with higher EBs formation and greater proliferation rate as compared to other extracellular matrices. Studies involving histological observations, fluorescence microscopy and RT-PCR analysis of the in vivo developed teratoma revealed that presence of all the three germ layer derivatives viz. ectoderm (NCAM), mesoderm (Flk-1) and endoderm (AFP). In conclusion, the method described here demonstrates a simple and cost-effective way of generating EBs from buffalo ES cells. Collagen-IV matrix was found cytocompatible as it

  5. Collagen-IV supported embryoid bodies formation and differentiation from buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) embryonic stem cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taru Sharma, G.; Dubey, Pawan K.; Verma, Om Prakash; Pratheesh, M.D.; Nath, Amar; Sai Kumar, G.

    2012-01-01

    Graphical abstract: EBs formation, characterization and expression of germinal layers marker genes of in vivo developed teratoma using four different types of extracellular matrices. Highlights: ► Collagen-IV matrix is found cytocompatible for EBs formation and differentiation. ► Established 3D microenvironment for ES cells development and differentiation into three germ layers. ► Collagen-IV may be useful as promising candidate for ES cells based therapeutic applications. -- Abstract: Embryoid bodies (EBs) are used as in vitro model to study early extraembryonic tissue formation and differentiation. In this study, a novel method using three dimensional extracellular matrices for in vitro generation of EBs from buffalo embryonic stem (ES) cells and its differentiation potential by teratoma formation was successfully established. In vitro derived inner cell masses (ICMs) of hatched buffalo blastocyst were cultured on buffalo fetal fibroblast feeder layer for primary cell colony formation. For generation of EBs, pluripotent ES cells were seeded onto four different types of extracellular matrices viz; collagen-IV, laminin, fibronectin and matrigel using undifferentiating ES cell culture medium. After 5 days of culture, ESCs gradually grew into aggregates and formed simple EBs having circular structures. Twenty-six days later, they formed cystic EBs over collagen matrix with higher EBs formation and greater proliferation rate as compared to other extracellular matrices. Studies involving histological observations, fluorescence microscopy and RT-PCR analysis of the in vivo developed teratoma revealed that presence of all the three germ layer derivatives viz. ectoderm (NCAM), mesoderm (Flk-1) and endoderm (AFP). In conclusion, the method described here demonstrates a simple and cost-effective way of generating EBs from buffalo ES cells. Collagen-IV matrix was found cytocompatible as it supported buffalo EBs formation, their subsequent differentiation could prove to

  6. The Key Enzyme of the Sialic Acid Metabolism Is Involved in Embryoid Body Formation and Expression of Marker Genes of Germ Layer Formation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annett Thate

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available The bi-functional enzyme UDP-N-acetyl-2-epimerase/N-acetylmannosamine kinase (GNE is the key enzyme of the sialic acid biosynthesis. Sialic acids are negatively charged nine carbon amino sugars and are found on most glycoproteins and many glycolipids in terminal positions, where they are involved in a variety of biological important molecular interactions. Inactivation of the GNE by homologous recombination results in early embryonic lethality in mice. Here, we report that GNE-deficient embryonic stem cells express less differentiation markers compared to wild-type embryonic stem cells. As a result, GNE-deficient embryonic stem cells fail to form proper embryoid bodies (EB within the first day of culture. However, when culturing these cells in the presence of sialic acids for three days, also GNE-deficient embryonic stem cells form normal EBs. In contrast, when culturing these cells in sialic acid reduced medium, GNE-deficient embryonic stem cells proliferate faster and form larger EBs without any change in the expression of markers of the germ layers.

  7. VEGF and IHH rescue definitive hematopoiesis in Gata-4 and Gata-6-deficient murine embryoid bodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pierre, Monique; Yoshimoto, Momoko; Huang, Lan; Richardson, Matthew; Yoder, Mervin C

    2009-09-01

    Murine embryonic stem cells can be differentiated into embryoid bodies (EBs), which serve as an in vitro model recapitulating many aspects of embryonic yolk sac hematopoiesis. Differentiation of embryonic stem cells deficient in either Gata-4 or Gata-6 results in EBs with disrupted visceral endoderm (VE). While lack of VE has detrimental effects on hematopoiesis in vivo, it is unclear whether lack of VE affects hematopoiesis in EBs. Therefore, we compared Gata-4 null (G4N) and Gata-6 null (G6N) EBs with wild-type EBs to assess their ability to commit to hematopoietic cells. EB VE formation was examined using cell-sorting techniques and analysis visceral endoderm gene expression. Hematopoietic progenitor potential of EBs cultured under various conditions was assessed using colony-forming assays. Definitive erythroid, granulocyte-macrophage, and mixed colonies were significantly reduced in G4N and G6N EBs compared to wild-type EBs. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and secretion were also reduced in both G4N and G6N EBs, consistent with VE serving as a site of VEGF production. Addition of exogenous VEGF(165), to EB cultures completely rescued definitive colony-forming cells in G4N and G6N EBs. This rescue response could be blocked by addition of soluble Flk-1 Fc to EB cultures. Similarly, addition of exogenous Indian hedgehog to EB cultures also recovers the diminishment in definitive hematopoiesis in a reversible manner. These results suggest that the absence of VE in G4N and G6N EBs does not prevent emergence of definitive progenitors from EBs. However, the decreased level of VEGF and Indian hedgehog production in VE devoid G4N and G6N EBs attenuates definitive hematopoietic progenitor cell expansion.

  8. Self-organization phenomena in embryonic stem cell-derived embryoid bodies: axis formation and breaking of symmetry during cardiomyogenesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuchs, Christiane; Scheinast, Matthias; Pasteiner, Waltraud; Lagger, Sabine; Hofner, Manuela; Hoellrigl, Alexandra; Schultheis, Martina; Weitzer, Georg

    2012-01-01

    Aggregation of embryonic stem cells gives rise to embryoid bodies (EBs) which undergo developmental processes reminiscent of early eutherian embryonic development. Development of the three germ layers suggests that gastrulation takes place. In vivo, gastrulation is a highly ordered process but in EBs only few data support the hypothesis that self-organization of differentiating cells leads to morphology, reminiscent of the early gastrula. Here we demonstrate that a timely implantation-like process is a prerequisite for the breaking of the radial symmetry of suspended EBs. Attached to a surface, EBs develop a bilateral symmetry and presumptive mesodermal cells emerge between the center of the EBs and a horseshoe-shaped ridge of cells. The development of an epithelial sheet of cells on one side of the EBs allows us to define an 'anterior' and a 'posterior' end of the EBs. In the mesodermal area, first cardiomyocytes (CMCs) develop mainly next to this epithelial sheet of cells. Development of twice as many CMCs at the 'left' side of the EBs breaks the bilateral symmetry and suggests that cardiomyogenesis reflects a local or temporal asymmetry in EBs. The asymmetric appearance of CMCs but not the development of mesoderm can be disturbed by ectopic expression of the muscle-specific protein Desmin. Later, the bilateral morphology becomes blurred by an apparently chaotic differentiation of many cell types. The absence of comparable structures in aggregates of cardiovascular progenitor cells isolated from the heart demonstrates that the self-organization of cells during a gastrulation-like process is a unique feature of embryonic stem cells. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  9. Lhx2 expression promotes self-renewal of a distinct multipotential hematopoietic progenitor cell in embryonic stem cell-derived embryoid bodies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lina Dahl

    Full Text Available The molecular mechanisms regulating the expansion of the hematopoietic system including hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs in the fetal liver during embryonic development are largely unknown. The LIM-homeobox gene Lhx2 is a candidate regulator of fetal hematopoiesis since it is expressed in the fetal liver and Lhx2(-/- mice die in utero due to severe anemia. Moreover, expression of Lhx2 in embryonic stem (ES cell-derived embryoid bodies (EBs can lead to the generation of HSC-like cell lines. To further define the role of this transcription factor in hematopoietic regulation, we generated ES cell lines that enabled tet-inducible expression of Lhx2. Using this approach we observed that Lhx2 expression synergises with specific signalling pathways, resulting in increased frequency of colony forming cells in developing EB cells. The increase in growth factor-responsive progenitor cells directly correlates to the efficiency in generating HSC-like cell lines, suggesting that Lhx2 expression induce self-renewal of a distinct multipotential hematopoietic progenitor cell in EBs. Signalling via the c-kit tyrosine kinase receptor and the gp130 signal transducer by IL-6 is necessary and sufficient for the Lhx2 induced self-renewal. While inducing self-renewal of multipotential progenitor cells, expression of Lhx2 inhibited proliferation of primitive erythroid precursor cells and interfered with early ES cell commitment, indicating striking lineage specificity of this effect.

  10. Establishment of Human Neural Progenitor Cells from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells with Diverse Tissue Origins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hayato Fukusumi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs have previously been generated from limited numbers of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC clones. Here, 21 hiPSC clones derived from human dermal fibroblasts, cord blood cells, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were differentiated using two neural induction methods, an embryoid body (EB formation-based method and an EB formation method using dual SMAD inhibitors (dSMADi. Our results showed that expandable hNPCs could be generated from hiPSC clones with diverse somatic tissue origins. The established hNPCs exhibited a mid/hindbrain-type neural identity and uniform expression of neural progenitor genes.

  11. Role of Ceacam1 in VEGF induced vasculogenesis of murine embryonic stem cell-derived embryoid bodies in 3D culture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gu, Angel [Department of Immunology, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, 1500 East Duarte Road, Duarte, CA 91010 (United States); Tsark, Walter [Department of Biology, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010 (United States); Holmes, Kathryn V. [Department of Microbiology, University of Colorado Health Sciences, Aurora, CO 80045 (United States); Shively, John E., E-mail: jshively@coh.org [Department of Immunology, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, 1500 East Duarte Road, Duarte, CA 91010 (United States)

    2009-06-10

    CEACAM1 (carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1), a type I transmembrane glycoprotein involved in cell-cell adhesion has been shown to act as an angiogenic factor for mouse and human endothelial cells. Based on the ability of CEACAM1 to initiate lumen formation in human mammary epithelial cells grown in 3D culture (Matrigel), we hypothesized that murine CEACAM1 may play a similar role in vasculogenesis. In order to test this hypothesis, murine embryonic stem (ES) cells stimulated with VEGF were differentiated into embryoid bodies (EB) for 8 days (- 8-0 d) and transferred to Matrigel in the presence or absence of anti-CEACAM1 antibody for an additional 12 days (0-12 d). In the absence of anti-CEACAM1 antibody or in the presence of an isotype control antibody, the EB in Matrigel underwent extensive sprouting, generating lengthy vascular structures with well-defined lumina as demonstrated by confocal microscopy, electron microscopy, and immunohistochemical analysis. Both the length and architecture of the vascular tubes were inhibited by anti-CEACAM1 mAb CC1, a mAb that blocks the cell-cell adhesion functions of CEACAM1, thus demonstrating a critical role for this cell-cell adhesion molecule in generating and maintaining vasculogenesis. QRT-PCR analysis of the VEGF treated ES cells grown under conditions that convert them to EB revealed expression of Ceacam1 as early as - 5 to - 3 d reaching a maximum at day 0 at which time EBs were transferred to Matrigel, thereafter levels at first declined and then increased over time. Other markers of vasculogenesis including Pecam1, VE-Cad, and Tie-1 were not detected until day 0 when EBs were transferred to Matrigel followed by a steady increase in levels, indicating later roles in vasculogenesis. In contrast, Tie-2 and Flk-1 (VEGFR2) were detected on day five of EB formation reaching a maximum at day 0 on transfer to Matrigel, similar to Ceacam1, but after which Tie-2 declined over time, while Flk-1 increased

  12. Efficient and Cost-Effective Generation of Mature Neurons From Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

    OpenAIRE

    Badja , Cherif; Maleeva , Galyna; El-Yazidi , Claire; Barruet , Emilie; Lasserre , Manon; Tropel , Philippe; Binetruy , Bernard; Bregestovski , Piotr; Magdinier , Frédérique

    2014-01-01

    The authors describe a feeder-free method of generating induced pluripotent stem cells by relying on the use of a chemically defined medium that overcomes the need for embryoid body formation and neuronal rosette isolation for neuronal precursors and terminally differentiated neuron production. This specific and efficient single-step strategy allows the production of mature neurons in 20–40 days with multiple applications, especially for modeling human pathologies.

  13. EZ spheres: a stable and expandable culture system for the generation of pre-rosette multipotent stem cells from human ESCs and iPSCs

    OpenAIRE

    Ebert, A.; Shelley, B.; Hurley, A.; Onorati, M.; Castiglioni, V.; Patitucci, T.; Svendsen, S.; Mattis, V.; Mcgivern, J.; Schwab, A.; Sareen, D.; Kim, H.; Cattaneo, E.; Svendsen, C.

    2013-01-01

    We have developed a simple method to generate and expand multipotent, self-renewing pre-rosette neural stem cells from both human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) without utilizing embryoid body formation, manual selection techniques, or complex combinations of small molecules. Human ESC and iPSC colonies were lifted and placed in a neural stem cell medium containing high concentrations of EGF and FGF-2. Cell aggregates (termed EZ spheres) could be...

  14. Efficient and Rapid Derivation of Primitive Neural Stem Cells and Generation of Brain Subtype Neurons From Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

    OpenAIRE

    Yan, Yiping; Shin, Soojung; Jha, Balendu Shekhar; Liu, Qiuyue; Sheng, Jianting; Li, Fuhai; Zhan, Ming; Davis, Janine; Bharti, Kapil; Zeng, Xianmin; Rao, Mahendra; Malik, Nasir; Vemuri, Mohan C.

    2013-01-01

    This study developed a highly efficient serum-free pluripotent stem cell (PSC) neural induction medium that can induce human PSCs into primitive neural stem cells (NSCs) in 7 days, obviating the need for time-consuming, laborious embryoid body generation or rosette picking. This method of primitive NSC derivation sets the stage for the scalable production of clinically relevant neural cells for cell therapy applications in good manufacturing practice conditions.

  15. Teratoma formation of human embryonic stem cells in three-dimensional perfusion culture bioreactors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stachelscheid, H; Wulf-Goldenberg, A; Eckert, K; Jensen, J; Edsbagge, J; Björquist, P; Rivero, M; Strehl, R; Jozefczuk, J; Prigione, A; Adjaye, J; Urbaniak, T; Bussmann, P; Zeilinger, K; Gerlach, J C

    2013-09-01

    Teratoma formation in mice is today the most stringent test for pluripotency that is available for human pluripotent cells, as chimera formation and tetraploid complementation cannot be performed with human cells. The teratoma assay could also be applied for assessing the safety of human pluripotent cell-derived cell populations intended for therapeutic applications. In our study we examined the spontaneous differentiation behaviour of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in a perfused 3D multi-compartment bioreactor system and compared it with differentiation of hESCs and human induced pluripotent cells (hiPSCs) cultured in vitro as embryoid bodies and in vivo in an experimental mouse model of teratoma formation. Results from biochemical, histological/immunohistological and ultrastuctural analyses revealed that hESCs cultured in bioreactors formed tissue-like structures containing derivatives of all three germ layers. Comparison with embryoid bodies and the teratomas revealed a high degree of similarity of the tissues formed in the bioreactor to these in the teratomas at the histological as well as transcriptional level, as detected by comparative whole-genome RNA expression profiling. The 3D culture system represents a novel in vitro model that permits stable long-term cultivation, spontaneous multi-lineage differentiation and tissue formation of pluripotent cells that is comparable to in vivo differentiation. Such a model is of interest, e.g. for the development of novel cell differentiation strategies. In addition, the 3D in vitro model could be used for teratoma studies and pluripotency assays in a fully defined, controlled environment, alternatively to in vivo mouse models. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  16. Activin B mediated induction of Pdx1 in human embryonic stem cell derived embryoid bodies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frandsen, Ulrik; Pørneki, Ann Dorte Storm; Floridon, Charlotte

    2007-01-01

    embryonic and fetal pancreas anlage in humans. Pdx1(+) cells are found in cell clusters also expressing Serpina1 and FABP1, suggesting activation of intestinal/liver developmental programs. Moreover, Activin B up-regulates Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) and its target Gli1, which during normal development...

  17. Comparison of Cell Viability and Embryoid Body Size of Two Embryonic Stem Cell Lines After Different Exposure Times to Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nehleh Zarei Fard

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Activation of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4 signaling pathway in embryonic stem (ES cells plays an important role in controlling cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Adverse effects of BMP4 occur in a time dependent manner; however, little is known about the effect of different time exposure of this growth factor on cell number in culture media. In this study, we investigated the role of two different exposure times to BMP4 in cell viability, embryoid body (EB, size, and cavitation of ES cells. Methods: Embryonic stem cells (R1 and B1 lines were released from the feeder cell layers and were cultured using EBs protocol by using the hanging drop method and monolayer culture system. The cells were cultured for 5 days with 100 ng/mL BMP4 from the beginning (++BMP4 or after 48 h (+BMP4 of culture and their cell number were counted by trypan blue staining. The data were analyzed using non-parametric two-tailed Mann-Whitney test. P<0.05 was considered as significant. Results: In EB culture protocol, cell number significantly decreased in +BMP4 culture condition with greater cavity size compared to the ++BMP4 condition at day 5 (P=0.009. In contrast, in monolayer culture system, there was no significant difference in the cell number between all groups (P=0.91. Conclusion: The results suggest that short-term exposure of BMP4 is required to promote cavitation in EBs according to lower cell number in +BMP4 condition. Different cell lines showed different behavior in cavitation formation.

  18. Human body communication performance simulations

    OpenAIRE

    Mufti, H. (Haseeb)

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Human Body Communication (HBC) is a novel communication method between devices which use human body as a transmission medium. This idea is mostly based on the concept of wireless biomedical monitoring system. The on-body sensor nodes can monitor vital signs of a human body and use the body as a transmission medium. This technology is convenient for long durations of clinical monitoring with the option of more mobil...

  19. Derivation and characterization of human embryonic stem cell lines from the Chinese population

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Zhao Wu; Huimin Dai; Lei Qian; Qing Tian; Lei Xiao; Xiaojun Tan; Hui Li; Lingjun Rao; Lixiazi He; Lei Bao; Jing Liao; Chun Cui; Zhenyu Zuo; Qiao Li

    2011-01-01

    Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can self-renew indefinitely and differentiate into all cell types in the human body. Therefore, they are valuable in regenerative medicine, human developmental biology and drug discovery. A number of hESC lines have been derived from the Chinese population,but limited of them are available for research purposes. Here we report the derivation and characterization of two hESC lines derived from human blastocysts of Chinese origin. These hESCs express alkaline phosphatase and hESC-specific markers, including Oct4, Nanog, SSEA-3, SSEA-4,TRA-1-60 and TRA-1-81. They also have high levels of telomerase activity and normal karyotypes. These cells can form embryoid body in vitro and can be differentiated into all three germ layers in vivo by teratoma formation. The newly established hESCs will be distributed for research purposes.The availability of hESC lines from the Chinese population will facilitate studies on the differences in hESCs from different ethnic groups.

  20. Physics of the Human Body

    CERN Document Server

    Herman, Irving P

    2007-01-01

    Physics of the Human Body comprehensively addresses the physical and engineering aspects of human physiology by using and building on first-year college physics and mathematics. Topics include the mechanics of the static body and the body in motion, the materials properties of the body, muscles in the body, the energetics of body metabolism, fluid flow in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, the acoustics of sound waves in speaking and hearing, vision and the optics of the eye, the electrical properties of the body, and the basic engineering principles of feedback and control in regulating all aspects of function. The goal of this text is to understand physical issues concerning the human body, in part by developing and then using simple and subsequently more refined models of the macrophysics of the human body. Many chapters include a brief review of the necessary physical principles. There are problems at the end of each chapter; solutions to selected problems are also provided. This text is geared t...

  1. Efficient and rapid derivation of primitive neural stem cells and generation of brain subtype neurons from human pluripotent stem cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Yiping; Shin, Soojung; Jha, Balendu Shekhar; Liu, Qiuyue; Sheng, Jianting; Li, Fuhai; Zhan, Ming; Davis, Janine; Bharti, Kapil; Zeng, Xianmin; Rao, Mahendra; Malik, Nasir; Vemuri, Mohan C

    2013-11-01

    Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), including human embryonic stem cells and human induced pluripotent stem cells, are unique cell sources for disease modeling, drug discovery screens, and cell therapy applications. The first step in producing neural lineages from hPSCs is the generation of neural stem cells (NSCs). Current methods of NSC derivation involve the time-consuming, labor-intensive steps of an embryoid body generation or coculture with stromal cell lines that result in low-efficiency derivation of NSCs. In this study, we report a highly efficient serum-free pluripotent stem cell neural induction medium that can induce hPSCs into primitive NSCs (pNSCs) in 7 days, obviating the need for time-consuming, laborious embryoid body generation or rosette picking. The pNSCs expressed the neural stem cell markers Pax6, Sox1, Sox2, and Nestin; were negative for Oct4; could be expanded for multiple passages; and could be differentiated into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes, in addition to the brain region-specific neuronal subtypes GABAergic, dopaminergic, and motor neurons. Global gene expression of the transcripts of pNSCs was comparable to that of rosette-derived and human fetal-derived NSCs. This work demonstrates an efficient method to generate expandable pNSCs, which can be further differentiated into central nervous system neurons and glia with temporal, spatial, and positional cues of brain regional heterogeneity. This method of pNSC derivation sets the stage for the scalable production of clinically relevant neural cells for cell therapy applications in good manufacturing practice conditions.

  2. Dynamic representations of human body movement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kourtzi, Z; Shiffrar, M

    1999-01-01

    Psychophysical and neurophysiological studies suggest that human body motions can be readily recognized. Human bodies are highly articulated and can move in a nonrigid manner. As a result, we perceive highly dissimilar views of the human form in motion. How does the visual system integrate multiple views of a human body in motion so that we can perceive human movement as a continuous event? The results of a set of priming experiments suggest that motion can readily facilitate the linkage of different views of a moving human. Positive priming was found for novel views of a human body that fell within the path of human movement. However, no priming was observed for novel views outside the path of motion. Furthermore, priming was restricted to those views that satisfied the biomechanical constraints of human movement. These results suggest that visual representation of human movement may be based upon the movement limitations of the human body and may reflect a dynamic interaction of motion and object-recognition processes.

  3. Establishing clonal cell lines with endothelial-like potential from CD9(hi, SSEA-1(- cells in embryonic stem cell-derived embryoid bodies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qizhou Lian

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs into specific cell types with minimal risk of teratoma formation could be efficiently directed by first reducing the differentiation potential of ESCs through the generation of clonal, self-renewing lineage-restricted stem cell lines. Efforts to isolate these stem cells are, however, mired in an impasse where the lack of purified lineage-restricted stem cells has hindered the identification of defining markers for these rare stem cells and, in turn, their isolation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We describe here a method for the isolation of clonal lineage-restricted cell lines with endothelial potential from ESCs through a combination of empirical and rational evidence-based methods. Using an empirical protocol that we have previously developed to generate embryo-derived RoSH lines with endothelial potential, we first generated E-RoSH lines from mouse ESC-derived embryoid bodies (EBs. Despite originating from different mouse strains, RoSH and E- RoSH lines have similar gene expression profiles (r(2 = 0.93 while that between E-RoSH and ESCs was 0.83. In silico gene expression analysis predicted that like RoSH cells, E-RoSH cells have an increased propensity to differentiate into vasculature. Unlike their parental ESCs, E-RoSH cells did not form teratomas and differentiate efficiently into endothelial-like cells in vivo and in vitro. Gene expression and FACS analysis revealed that RoSH and E-RoSH cells are CD9(hi, SSEA-1(- while ESCs are CD9(lo, SSEA-1(+. Isolation of CD9(hi, SSEA-1(- cells that constituted 1%-10% of EB-derived cultures generated an E-RoSH-like culture with an identical E-RoSH-like gene expression profile (r(2 = 0.95 and a propensity to differentiate into endothelial-like cells. CONCLUSIONS: By combining empirical and rational evidence-based methods, we identified definitive selectable surface antigens for the isolation and propagation of lineage-restricted stem cells

  4. Physics of the human body

    CERN Document Server

    Herman, Irving P

    2016-01-01

    This book comprehensively addresses the physics and engineering aspects of human physiology by using and building on first-year college physics and mathematics. Topics include the mechanics of the static body and the body in motion, the mechanical properties of the body, muscles in the body, the energetics of body metabolism, fluid flow in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, the acoustics of sound waves in speaking and hearing, vision and the optics of the eye, the electrical properties of the body, and the basic engineering principles of feedback and control in regulating all aspects of function. The goal of this text is to clearly explain the physics issues concerning the human body, in part by developing and then using simple and subsequently more refined models of the macrophysics of the human body. Many chapters include a brief review of the underlying physics. There are problems at the end of each chapter; solutions to selected problems are also provided. This second edition enhances the treat...

  5. Origins and early development of human body knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slaughter, Virginia; Heron, Michelle

    2004-01-01

    As a knowable object, the human body is highly complex. Evidence from several converging lines of research, including psychological studies, neuroimaging and clinical neuropsychology, indicates that human body knowledge is widely distributed in the adult brain, and is instantiated in at least three partially independent levels of representation. Sensorimotor body knowledge is responsible for on-line control and movement of one's own body and may also contribute to the perception of others' moving bodies; visuo-spatial body knowledge specifies detailed structural descriptions of the spatial attributes of the human body; and lexical-semantic body knowledge contains language-based knowledge about the human body. In the first chapter of this Monograph, we outline the evidence for these three hypothesized levels of human body knowledge, then review relevant literature on infants' and young children's human body knowledge in terms of the three-level framework. In Chapters II and III, we report two complimentary series of studies that specifically investigate the emergence of visuo-spatial body knowledge in infancy. Our technique is to compare infants'responses to typical and scrambled human bodies, in order to evaluate when and how infants acquire knowledge about the canonical spatial layout of the human body. Data from a series of visual habituation studies indicate that infants first discriminate scrambled from typical human body picture sat 15 to 18 months of age. Data from object examination studies similarly indicate that infants are sensitive to violations of three-dimensional human body stimuli starting at 15-18 months of age. The overall pattern of data supports several conclusions about the early development of human body knowledge: (a) detailed visuo-spatial knowledge about the human body is first evident in the second year of life, (b) visuo-spatial knowledge of human faces and human bodies are at least partially independent in infancy and (c) infants' initial

  6. Phages in the Human Body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navarro, Ferran; Muniesa, Maite

    2017-01-01

    Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, have re-emerged as powerful regulators of bacterial populations in natural ecosystems. Phages invade the human body, just as they do other natural environments, to such an extent that they are the most numerous group in the human virome. This was only revealed in recent metagenomic studies, despite the fact that the presence of phages in the human body was reported decades ago. The influence of the presence of phages in humans has yet to be evaluated; but as in marine environments, a clear role in the regulation of bacterial populations could be envisaged, that might have an impact on human health. Moreover, phages are excellent vehicles of genetic transfer, and they contribute to the evolution of bacterial cells in the human body by spreading and acquiring DNA horizontally. The abundance of phages in the human body does not pass unnoticed and the immune system reacts to them, although it is not clear to what extent. Finally, the presence of phages in human samples, which most of the time is not considered, can influence and bias microbiological and molecular results; and, in view of the evidences, some studies suggest that more attention needs to be paid to their interference.

  7. Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) inhibitor 6-bromoindirubin-3 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... male germline stem cells (mGSCs) under serum- and feeder-free conditions. ... to maintain the pluripotency of human and mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). ... capacity of mGSC-induced embryoid bodies (EBs) were examined as well.

  8. [Survival Strategies of Aspergillus in the Human Body].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tashiro, Masato; Izumikawa, Koichi

    2017-01-01

     The human body is a hostile environment for Aspergillus species, which originally live outside the human body. There are lots of elimination mechanisms against Aspergillus inhaled into the human body, such as high body temperature, soluble lung components, mucociliary clearance mechanism, or responses of phagocytes. Aspergillus fumigatus, which is the primary causative agent of human infections among the human pathogenic species of Aspergillus, defend itself from the hostile human body environment by various mechanisms, such as thermotolerance, mycotoxin production, and characteristic morphological features. Here we review mechanisms of defense in Aspergillus against elimination from the human body.

  9. Generation of human iPSC line from a patient with laterality defects and associated congenital heart anomalies carrying a DAND5 missense alteration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando Cristo

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available A human iPSC line was generated from exfoliated renal epithelial (ERE cells of a patient affected with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD and Laterality Defects carrying tshe variant p.R152H in the DAND5 gene. The transgene-free iPSCs were generated with the human OSKM transcription factor using the Sendai-virus reprogramming system. The established iPSC line had the specific heterozygous alteration, a stable karyotype, expressed pluripotency markers and generated embryoid bodies that can differentiate towards the three germ layers in vitro. This iPSC line offers a useful resource to study the molecular mechanisms of cardiomyocyte proliferation, as well as for drug testing.

  10. What is a Human Body?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nissen, Ulrik Becker

    2017-01-01

    The essay offers an overview of different understandings of what a body is. As such, it can be read as an overview of what we mean, when we speak of a “human body”. However, the article also goes a step further; in the last section, a responsive understanding of the human body is outlined....... This is understood as responsiveness in three ways: viz an embodied self that responds to natural life, other human beings and, ultimately, to God....

  11. Human Body Exergy Metabolism

    OpenAIRE

    Mady, Carlos Eduardo Keutenedjian

    2013-01-01

    The exergy analysis of the human body is a tool that can provide indicators of health and life quality. To perform the exergy balance it is necessary to calculate the metabolism on an exergy basis, or metabolic exergy, although there is not yet consensus in its calculation procedure. Hence, the aim of this work is to provide a general method to evaluate this physical quantity for human body based on indirect calorimetry data. To calculate the metabolism on an exergy basis it is necessary to d...

  12. Human body segmentation via data-driven graph cut.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Shifeng; Lu, Huchuan; Shao, Xingqing

    2014-11-01

    Human body segmentation is a challenging and important problem in computer vision. Existing methods usually entail a time-consuming training phase for prior knowledge learning with complex shape matching for body segmentation. In this paper, we propose a data-driven method that integrates top-down body pose information and bottom-up low-level visual cues for segmenting humans in static images within the graph cut framework. The key idea of our approach is first to exploit human kinematics to search for body part candidates via dynamic programming for high-level evidence. Then, by using the body parts classifiers, obtaining bottom-up cues of human body distribution for low-level evidence. All the evidence collected from top-down and bottom-up procedures are integrated in a graph cut framework for human body segmentation. Qualitative and quantitative experiment results demonstrate the merits of the proposed method in segmenting human bodies with arbitrary poses from cluttered backgrounds.

  13. Human body may produce bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salerian, Alen J

    2017-06-01

    "Human body may produce bacteria" proposes that human body may produce bacteria and represent an independent source of infections contrary to the current paradigm of infectious disorders proposed by Louis Pasteur in 1880. The following observations are consistent with this hypothesis: A. Bidirectional transformations of both living and nonliving things have been commonly observed in nature. B. Complex multicellular organisms harbor the necessary properties to produce bacteria (water, nitrogen and oxygen). C. Physical laws suggest any previously observed phenomenon or action will occur again (life began on earth; a non living thing). D. Animal muscle cells may generate energy (fermentation). E. Sterilized food products (i.e. boiled eggs), may produce bacteria and fungus under special conditions and without any exposure to foreign living cells. "Human body may produce bacteria" may challenge the current medical paradigm that views human infectious disorders as the exclusive causative byproducts of invading foreign cells. It may also introduce new avenues to treat infectious disorders. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. On scaling of human body models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hynčík L.

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Human body is not an unique being, everyone is another from the point of view of anthropometry and mechanical characteristics which means that division of the human body population to categories like 5%-tile, 50%-tile and 95%-tile from the application point of view is not enough. On the other hand, the development of a particular human body model for all of us is not possible. That is why scaling and morphing algorithms has started to be developed. The current work describes the development of a tool for scaling of the human models. The idea is to have one (or couple of standard model(s as a base and to create other models based on these basic models. One has to choose adequate anthropometrical and biomechanical parameters that describe given group of humans to be scaled and morphed among.

  15. Light bodies in human pituitary adenomas

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holck, S; Wewer, U M; Albrechtsen, R

    1987-01-01

    Light bodies are large cytoplasmic granules originally described in the gonadotrophic cells of the rat pituitary gland. In order to determine whether similar bodies occur in the human anterior pituitary gland, 89 pituitary adenomas and periadenomatous tissue from 20 cases were examined...... cells in periadenomatous tissue from 20 cases. These results show that some human pituitary adenomas may contain light bodies identical to those seen in gonadotrophs of rat pituitary....... by transmission electron microscopy. Double membrane bound bodies with filamentous internal structure identical to rodent light bodies were identified in 10 hormone-producing adenomas: 5 PRL, 1 PRL-GH, 2 GH, and 2 ACTH-producing tumours. No light bodies were found in the remaining 79 tumours nor in the pituitary...

  16. A modular approach to numerical human body modeling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Forbes, P.A.; Griotto, G.; Rooij, L. van

    2007-01-01

    The choice of a human body model for a simulated automotive impact scenario must take into account both accurate model response and computational efficiency as key factors. This study presents a "modular numerical human body modeling" approach which allows the creation of a customized human body

  17. [Research progress on free radicals in human body].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Q B; Xu, F P; Wei, C X; Peng, J; Dong, X D

    2016-08-10

    Free radicals are the intermediates of metabolism, widely exist in the human bodies. Under normal circumstances, the free radicals play an important role in the metabolic process on human body, cell signal pathway, gene regulation, induction of cell proliferation and apoptosis, so as to maintain the normal growth and development of human body and to inhibit the growth of bacteria, virus and cancer. However, when organic lesion occurs affected by external factors or when equilibrium of the free radicals is tipped in the human body, the free radicals will respond integratedly with lipids, protein or nucleic acid which may jeopardize the health of human bodies. This paper summarizes the research progress of the free radicals conducted in recent years, in relations to the perspective of the types, origins, test methods of the free radicals and their relationship with human's health. In addition, the possible mechanisms of environmental pollutants (such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) mediating oxidative stress and free radicals scavenging in the body were also summarized.

  18. Inspiration from heart development: Biomimetic development of functional human cardiac organoids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, Dylan J; Coyle, Robert C; Tan, Yu; Jia, Jia; Wong, Kerri; Toomer, Katelynn; Menick, Donald R; Mei, Ying

    2017-10-01

    Recent progress in human organoids has provided 3D tissue systems to model human development, diseases, as well as develop cell delivery systems for regenerative therapies. While direct differentiation of human embryoid bodies holds great promise for cardiac organoid production, intramyocardial cell organization during heart development provides biological foundation to fabricate human cardiac organoids with defined cell types. Inspired by the intramyocardial organization events in coronary vasculogenesis, where a diverse, yet defined, mixture of cardiac cell types self-organizes into functional myocardium in the absence of blood flow, we have developed a defined method to produce scaffold-free human cardiac organoids that structurally and functionally resembled the lumenized vascular network in the developing myocardium, supported hiPSC-CM development and possessed fundamental cardiac tissue-level functions. In particular, this development-driven strategy offers a robust, tunable system to examine the contributions of individual cell types, matrix materials and additional factors for developmental insight, biomimetic matrix composition to advance biomaterial design, tissue/organ-level drug screening, and cell therapy for heart repair. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. A bacteriophages journey through the human body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barr, Jeremy J

    2017-09-01

    The human body is colonized by a diverse collective of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses. The smallest entity of this microbial conglomerate are the bacterial viruses. Bacteriophages, or phages for short, exert significant selective pressure on their bacterial hosts, undoubtedly influencing the human microbiome and its impact on our health and well-being. Phages colonize all niches of the body, including the skin, oral cavity, lungs, gut, and urinary tract. As such our bodies are frequently and continuously exposed to diverse collections of phages. Despite the prevalence of phages throughout our bodies, the extent of their interactions with human cells, organs, and immune system is still largely unknown. Phages physically interact with our mucosal surfaces, are capable of bypassing epithelial cell layers, disseminate throughout the body and may manipulate our immune system. Here, I establish the novel concept of an "intra-body phageome," which encompasses the collection of phages residing within the classically "sterile" regions of the body. This review will take a phage-centric view of the microbiota, human body, and immune system with the ultimate goal of inspiring a greater appreciation for both the indirect and direct interactions between bacteriophages and their mammalian hosts. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Functional neuronal processing of human body odors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lundström, Johan N; Olsson, Mats J

    2010-01-01

    Body odors carry informational cues of great importance for individuals across a wide range of species, and signals hidden within the body odor cocktail are known to regulate several key behaviors in animals. For a long time, the notion that humans may be among these species has been dismissed. We now know, however, that each human has a unique odor signature that carries information related to his or her genetic makeup, as well as information about personal environmental variables, such as diet and hygiene. Although a substantial number of studies have investigated the behavioral effects of body odors, only a handful have studied central processing. Recent studies have, however, demonstrated that the human brain responds to fear signals hidden within the body odor cocktail, is able to extract kin specific signals, and processes body odors differently than other perceptually similar odors. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the current knowledge of how the human brain processes body odors and the potential importance these signals have for us in everyday life. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Biodynamics of deformable human body motion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strauss, A. M.; Huston, R. L.

    1976-01-01

    The objective is to construct a framework wherein the various models of human biomaterials fit in order to describe the biodynamic response of the human body. The behavior of the human body in various situations, from low frequency, low amplitude vibrations to impact loadings in automobile and aircraft crashes, is very complicated with respect to all aspects of the problem: materials, geometry and dynamics. The materials problem is the primary concern, but the materials problem is intimately connected with geometry and dynamics.

  2. Human body capacitance: static or dynamic concept? [ESD

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jonassen, Niels M

    1998-01-01

    A standing human body insulated from ground by footwear and/or floor covering is in principle an insulated conductor and has, as such, a capacitance, i.e. the ability to store a charge and possibly discharge the stored energy in a spark discharge. In the human body, the human body capacitance (HBC...... when a substantial part of the flux extends itself through badly defined stray fields. Since the concept of human body capacitance is normally used in a static (electric) context, it is suggested that the HBC be determined by a static method. No theoretical explanation of the observed differences...

  3. Modeling the exergy behavior of human body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keutenedjian Mady, Carlos Eduardo; Silva Ferreira, Maurício; Itizo Yanagihara, Jurandir; Hilário Nascimento Saldiva, Paulo; Oliveira Junior, Silvio de

    2012-01-01

    Exergy analysis is applied to assess the energy conversion processes that take place in the human body, aiming at developing indicators of health and performance based on the concepts of exergy destroyed rate and exergy efficiency. The thermal behavior of the human body is simulated by a model composed of 15 cylinders with elliptical cross section representing: head, neck, trunk, arms, forearms, hands, thighs, legs, and feet. For each, a combination of tissues is considered. The energy equation is solved for each cylinder, being possible to obtain transitory response from the body due to a variation in environmental conditions. With this model, it is possible to obtain heat and mass flow rates to the environment due to radiation, convection, evaporation and respiration. The exergy balances provide the exergy variation due to heat and mass exchange over the body, and the exergy variation over time for each compartments tissue and blood, the sum of which leads to the total variation of the body. Results indicate that exergy destroyed and exergy efficiency decrease over lifespan and the human body is more efficient and destroys less exergy in lower relative humidities and higher temperatures. -- Highlights: ► In this article it is indicated an overview of the human thermal model. ► It is performed the energy and exergy analysis of the human body. ► Exergy destruction and exergy efficiency decreases with lifespan. ► Exergy destruction and exergy efficiency are a function of environmental conditions.

  4. Human body region enhancement method based on Kinect infrared imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Lei; Fan, Yubo; Song, Xiaowei; Cai, Wenjing

    2016-10-01

    To effectively improve the low contrast of human body region in the infrared images, a combing method of several enhancement methods is utilized to enhance the human body region. Firstly, for the infrared images acquired by Kinect, in order to improve the overall contrast of the infrared images, an Optimal Contrast-Tone Mapping (OCTM) method with multi-iterations is applied to balance the contrast of low-luminosity infrared images. Secondly, to enhance the human body region better, a Level Set algorithm is employed to improve the contour edges of human body region. Finally, to further improve the human body region in infrared images, Laplacian Pyramid decomposition is adopted to enhance the contour-improved human body region. Meanwhile, the background area without human body region is processed by bilateral filtering to improve the overall effect. With theoretical analysis and experimental verification, the results show that the proposed method could effectively enhance the human body region of such infrared images.

  5. Distinct GAGE and MAGE-A expression during early human development indicate specific roles in lineage differentiation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gjerstorff, Morten; Harkness, Linda; Kassem, Moustapha

    2008-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Expression of cancer/testis-associated proteins (CTAs) has traditionally been considered to be restricted to germ cells in normal tissues and to different types of malignancies. We have evaluated the potential role of CTAs in early human development. METHODS: Using immunohistochemistry...... and RT-PCR, we investigated the expression of CTAs in differentiated human embryonic stem cells (hESC) and in late embryos and early fetuses. RESULTS: We found that melanoma antigen A (MAGE-A) family members were expressed during differentiation of hESC to embryoid bodies and in teratomas, and overlapped...... with expression of the neuroectodermal markers beta-tubulin 3, Pax6 and nestin. A widespread expression of MAGE-A was also observed in neurons of the early developing central nervous system and peripheral nerves. G antigen (GAGE) expression was present in the early ectoderm of embryos, including cells...

  6. Human Body Image Edge Detection Based on Wavelet Transform

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    李勇; 付小莉

    2003-01-01

    Human dresses are different in thousands way.Human body image signals have big noise, a poor light and shade contrast and a narrow range of gray gradation distribution. The application of a traditional grads method or gray method to detect human body image edges can't obtain satisfactory results because of false detections and missed detections. According to tte peculiarity of human body image, dyadic wavelet transform of cubic spline is successfully applied to detect the face and profile edges of human body image and Mallat algorithm is used in the wavelet decomposition in this paper.

  7. Multichannel Human Body Communication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Przystup, Piotr; Bujnowski, Adam; Wtorek, Jerzy

    2016-01-01

    Human Body Communication is an attractive alternative for traditional wireless communication (Bluetooth, ZigBee) in case of Body Sensor Networks. Low power, high data rates and data security makes it ideal solution for medical applications. In this paper, signal attenuation for different frequencies, using FR4 electrodes, has been investigated. Performance of single and multichannel transmission with frequency modulation of analog signal has been tested. Experiment results show that HBC is a feasible solution for transmitting data between BSN nodes

  8. Human Identification at a Distance Using Body Shape Information

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rashid, N K A M; Yahya, M F; Shafie, A A

    2013-01-01

    Shape of human body is unique from one person to another. This paper presents an intelligent system approach for human identification at a distance using human body shape information. The body features used are the head, shoulder, and trunk. Image processing techniques for detection of these body features were developed in this work. Then, the features are recognized using fuzzy logic approach and used as inputs to a recognition system based on a multilayer neural network. The developed system is only applicable for recognizing a person from its frontal view and specifically constrained to male gender to simplify the algorithm. In this research, the accuracy for human identification using the proposed method is 77.5%. Thus, it is proved that human can be identified at a distance using body shape information

  9. Noninvasive, three-dimensional full-field body sensor for surface deformation monitoring of human body in vivo

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Zhenning; Shao, Xinxing; He, Xiaoyuan; Wu, Jialin; Xu, Xiangyang; Zhang, Jinlin

    2017-09-01

    Noninvasive, three-dimensional (3-D), full-field surface deformation measurements of the human body are important for biomedical investigations. We proposed a 3-D noninvasive, full-field body sensor based on stereo digital image correlation (stereo-DIC) for surface deformation monitoring of the human body in vivo. First, by applying an improved water-transfer printing (WTP) technique to transfer optimized speckle patterns onto the skin, the body sensor was conveniently and harmlessly fabricated directly onto the human body. Then, stereo-DIC was used to achieve 3-D noncontact and noninvasive surface deformation measurements. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed body sensor were verified and discussed by considering different complexions. Moreover, the fabrication of speckle patterns on human skin, which has always been considered a challenging problem, was shown to be feasible, effective, and harmless as a result of the improved WTP technique. An application of the proposed stereo-DIC-based body sensor was demonstrated by measuring the pulse wave velocity of human carotid artery.

  10. Microwave non-contact imaging of subcutaneous human body tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kletsov, Andrey; Chernokalov, Alexander; Khripkov, Alexander; Cho, Jaegeol; Druchinin, Sergey

    2015-10-01

    A small-size microwave sensor is developed for non-contact imaging of a human body structure in 2D, enabling fitness and health monitoring using mobile devices. A method for human body tissue structure imaging is developed and experimentally validated. Subcutaneous fat tissue reconstruction depth of up to 70 mm and maximum fat thickness measurement error below 2 mm are demonstrated by measurements with a human body phantom and human subjects. Electrically small antennas are developed for integration of the microwave sensor into a mobile device. Usability of the developed microwave sensor for fitness applications, healthcare, and body weight management is demonstrated.

  11. Stretch sensors for human body motion

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Brien, Ben; Gisby, Todd; Anderson, Iain A.

    2014-03-01

    Sensing motion of the human body is a difficult task. From an engineers' perspective people are soft highly mobile objects that move in and out of complex environments. As well as the technical challenge of sensing, concepts such as comfort, social intrusion, usability, and aesthetics are paramount in determining whether someone will adopt a sensing solution or not. At the same time the demands for human body motion sensing are growing fast. Athletes want feedback on posture and technique, consumers need new ways to interact with augmented reality devices, and healthcare providers wish to track recovery of a patient. Dielectric elastomer stretch sensors are ideal for bridging this gap. They are soft, flexible, and precise. They are low power, lightweight, and can be easily mounted on the body or embedded into clothing. From a commercialisation point of view stretch sensing is easier than actuation or generation - such sensors can be low voltage and integrated with conventional microelectronics. This paper takes a birds-eye view of the use of these sensors to measure human body motion. A holistic description of sensor operation and guidelines for sensor design will be presented to help technologists and developers in the space.

  12. Self-organization of human embryonic stem cells on micropatterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deglincerti, Alessia; Etoc, Fred; Guerra, M. Cecilia; Martyn, Iain; Metzger, Jakob; Ruzo, Albert; Simunovic, Mijo; Yoney, Anna; Brivanlou, Ali H.; Siggia, Eric; Warmflash, Aryeh

    2018-01-01

    Fate allocation in the gastrulating embryo is spatially organized as cells differentiate to specialized cell types depending on their positions with respect to the body axes. There is a need for in vitro protocols that allow the study of spatial organization associated with this developmental transition. While embryoid bodies and organoids can exhibit some spatial organization of differentiated cells, these methods do not yield consistent and fully reproducible results. Here, we describe a micropatterning approach where human embryonic stem cells are confined to disk-shaped, sub-millimeter colonies. After 42 hours of BMP4 stimulation, cells form self-organized differentiation patterns in concentric radial domains, which express specific markers associated with the embryonic germ layers, reminiscent of gastrulating embryos. Our protocol takes 3 days; it uses commercial microfabricated slides (CYTOO), human laminin-521 (LN-521) as extra-cellular matrix coating, and either conditioned or chemically-defined medium (mTeSR). Differentiation patterns within individual colonies can be determined by immunofluorescence and analyzed with cellular resolution. Both the size of the micropattern and the type of medium affect the patterning outcome. The protocol is appropriate for personnel with basic stem cell culture training. This protocol describes a robust platform for quantitative analysis of the mechanisms associated with pattern formation at the onset of gastrulation. PMID:27735934

  13. Post-human body and beauty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russo, Maria Teresa; Di Stefano, Nicola

    2014-01-01

    The article calls into question the very possibility of a post-human aesthetics, starting from the following premise: rather than post-human, it is more correct to speak of post-natural, indicating by this expression a reality produced through a new type of evolution, which does not simply change human nature, but de-natures it, radically transforming it into an artefact. This post-nature which aspires to be perfect, immortal, invulnerable, is entirely devoid of beauty. In fact, while there may be an aesthetic of the artificial and of the artefact if it is in relation to objects, there is, however, no aesthetic of the post-human body. This is because is configured as a non-body and does not have the characteristics for what is commonly intended as beauty (harmony between matter and form, a reflection of inner life, uniqueness). Also in this case, it is more correct to speak of post-beauty, which in its properties appears to be the mirror image of beauty and ultimately, represents its complete dissolution.

  14. Noninvasive, three-dimensional full-field body sensor for surface deformation monitoring of human body in vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Zhenning; Shao, Xinxing; He, Xiaoyuan; Wu, Jialin; Xu, Xiangyang; Zhang, Jinlin

    2017-09-01

    Noninvasive, three-dimensional (3-D), full-field surface deformation measurements of the human body are important for biomedical investigations. We proposed a 3-D noninvasive, full-field body sensor based on stereo digital image correlation (stereo-DIC) for surface deformation monitoring of the human body in vivo. First, by applying an improved water-transfer printing (WTP) technique to transfer optimized speckle patterns onto the skin, the body sensor was conveniently and harmlessly fabricated directly onto the human body. Then, stereo-DIC was used to achieve 3-D noncontact and noninvasive surface deformation measurements. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed body sensor were verified and discussed by considering different complexions. Moreover, the fabrication of speckle patterns on human skin, which has always been considered a challenging problem, was shown to be feasible, effective, and harmless as a result of the improved WTP technique. An application of the proposed stereo-DIC-based body sensor was demonstrated by measuring the pulse wave velocity of human carotid artery. (2017) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

  15. In-to-out body path loss for wireless radio frequency capsule endoscopy in a human body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vermeeren, G; Tanghe, E; Thielens, A; Martens, L; Joseph, W

    2016-08-01

    Physical-layer characterization is important for design of in-to-out body communication for wireless body area networks (WBANs). This paper numerically investigates the path loss of an in-to-out body radio frequency (RF) wireless link between an endoscopy capsule and a receiver outside the body using a 3D electromagnetic solver. A spiral antenna in the endoscopy capsule is tuned to operate in the Medical Implant Communication Service (MICS) band at 402 MHz, accounting for the properties of the human body. The influence of misalignment, rotation of the capsule, and human body model are investigated. Semi-empirical path loss models for various homogeneous tissues and 3D realistic human body models are provided for manufacturers to evaluate the performance of in-to-out-body WBAN systems.

  16. A 3D magnetic tissue stretcher for remote mechanical control of embryonic stem cell differentiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Vicard; Luciani, Nathalie; Richard, Sophie; Mary, Gaëtan; Gay, Cyprien; Mazuel, François; Reffay, Myriam; Menasché, Philippe; Agbulut, Onnik; Wilhelm, Claire

    2017-09-12

    The ability to create a 3D tissue structure from individual cells and then to stimulate it at will is a major goal for both the biophysics and regenerative medicine communities. Here we show an integrated set of magnetic techniques that meet this challenge using embryonic stem cells (ESCs). We assessed the impact of magnetic nanoparticles internalization on ESCs viability, proliferation, pluripotency and differentiation profiles. We developed magnetic attractors capable of aggregating the cells remotely into a 3D embryoid body. This magnetic approach to embryoid body formation has no discernible impact on ESC differentiation pathways, as compared to the hanging drop method. It is also the base of the final magnetic device, composed of opposing magnetic attractors in order to form embryoid bodies in situ, then stretch them, and mechanically stimulate them at will. These stretched and cyclic purely mechanical stimulations were sufficient to drive ESCs differentiation towards the mesodermal cardiac pathway.The development of embryoid bodies that are responsive to external stimuli is of great interest in tissue engineering. Here, the authors culture embryonic stem cells with magnetic nanoparticles and show that the presence of magnetic fields could affect their aggregation and differentiation.

  17. A Circuit Model of Real Time Human Body Hydration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asogwa, Clement Ogugua; Teshome, Assefa K; Collins, Stephen F; Lai, Daniel T H

    2016-06-01

    Changes in human body hydration leading to excess fluid losses or overload affects the body fluid's ability to provide the necessary support for healthy living. We propose a time-dependent circuit model of real-time human body hydration, which models the human body tissue as a signal transmission medium. The circuit model predicts the attenuation of a propagating electrical signal. Hydration rates are modeled by a time constant τ, which characterizes the individual specific metabolic function of the body part measured. We define a surrogate human body anthropometric parameter θ by the muscle-fat ratio and comparing it with the body mass index (BMI), we find theoretically, the rate of hydration varying from 1.73 dB/min, for high θ and low τ to 0.05 dB/min for low θ and high τ. We compare these theoretical values with empirical measurements and show that real-time changes in human body hydration can be observed by measuring signal attenuation. We took empirical measurements using a vector network analyzer and obtained different hydration rates for various BMI, ranging from 0.6 dB/min for 22.7 [Formula: see text] down to 0.04 dB/min for 41.2 [Formula: see text]. We conclude that the galvanic coupling circuit model can predict changes in the volume of the body fluid, which are essential in diagnosing and monitoring treatment of body fluid disorder. Individuals with high BMI would have higher time-dependent biological characteristic, lower metabolic rate, and lower rate of hydration.

  18. Small-bodied humans from Palau, Micronesia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lee R Berger

    Full Text Available UNLABELLED: Newly discovered fossil assemblages of small bodied Homo sapiens from Palau, Micronesia possess characters thought to be taxonomically primitive for the genus Homo. BACKGROUND: Recent surface collection and test excavation in limestone caves in the rock islands of Palau, Micronesia, has produced a sizeable sample of human skeletal remains dating roughly between 940-2890 cal ybp. PRINCIPLE FINDINGS: Preliminary analysis indicates that this material is important for two reasons. First, individuals from the older time horizons are small in body size even relative to "pygmoid" populations from Southeast Asia and Indonesia, and thus may represent a marked case of human insular dwarfism. Second, while possessing a number of derived features that align them with Homo sapiens, the human remains from Palau also exhibit several skeletal traits that are considered to be primitive for the genus Homo. SIGNIFICANCE: These features may be previously unrecognized developmental correlates of small body size and, if so, they may have important implications for interpreting the taxonomic affinities of fossil specimens of Homo.

  19. Utilization of human amniotic mesenchymal cells as feeder layers to sustain propagation of human embryonic stem cells in the undifferentiated state.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Kehua; Cai, Zhe; Li, Yang; Shu, Jun; Pan, Lin; Wan, Fang; Li, Hong; Huang, Xiaojie; He, Chun; Liu, Yanqiu; Cui, Xiaohui; Xu, Yang; Gao, Yan; Wu, Liqun; Cao, Shanxia; Li, Lingsong

    2011-08-01

    Human embryonic stem (ES) cells are usually maintained in the undifferentiated state by culturing on feeder cells layers of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). However, MEFs are not suitable to support human ES cells used for clinical purpose because of risk of zoonosis from animal cells. Therefore, human tissue-based feeder layers need to be developed for human ES cells for clinical purpose. Hereof we report that human amniotic mesenchymal cells (hAMCs) could act as feeder cells for human ES cells, because they are easily obtained and relatively exempt from ethical problem. Like MEFs, hAMCs could act as feeder cells for human ES cells to grow well on. The self-renewal rate of human ES cells cultured on hAMCs feeders was higher than that on MEFs and human amniotic epithelial cells determined by measurement of colonial diameters and growth curve as well as cell cycle analysis. Both immunofluorescence staining and immunoblotting showed that human ES cells cultured on hAMCs expressed stem cell markers such as Oct-3/4, Sox2, and NANOG. Verified by embryoid body formation in vitro and teratoma formation in vivo, we found out that after 20 passages of culture, human ES cells grown on hAMCs feeders could still retain the potency of differentiating into three germ layers. Taken together, our data suggested hAMCs may be safe feeder cells to sustain the propagation of human ES cells in undifferentiated state for future therapeutic use.

  20. Sandia's severe human body Electrostatic Discharge Tester (SSET)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barnum, J.R.

    1991-01-01

    This paper reports that the Electromagnetic Testing Division at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has developed a simulator to replicate a severe human body electrostatic discharge event. This simulator is referred to as Sandia's Severe Human Body Electrostatic Discharge Tester (SSET). The SSET is configured as a coaxial transmission line, which allows control of parasitic inductance and capacitance to achieve the desired waveform signature, and operates reliably at voltages up to 35 kV. It is constructed from off-the-shelf or easily fabricated components and costs approximately $750 for materials, not including the power supply. The output is very repeatable and provides good simulation fidelity of a severe human body discharge

  1. Human body micro-environment: The benefits of controlling airflow interaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Melikov, Arsen Krikor

    2015-01-01

    This paper focuses on the micro-environment around a human body, and especially on its interaction with the surrounding environment. Research on the free convection flow generated by a human body (including the convective boundary layer around the body and the thermal plume above the body), its...

  2. The Reconfigured Body. Human-animal relations in xenotransplantation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristofer Hansson

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The article explores issues concerning the reconfiguration of human and animal bodies in modern biotechnology. The examples are based on xenotransplantation: Transplantation of cells, tissue and organs from animals to humans. Three thematic issues that emerged from xenotransplantation research in Sweden in the 1990s and early 2000s are examined in the article. The first issue concerns how the pig was introduced as a donor animal in xenotransplantation and, at the same time, dehumanized in relation to what is human. Baboons and chimpanzees that had previously been used in xenotransplantation now became an ethically problematic choice, and were in stead humanized. The second issue concerns the introduction of transgenic and cloned pigs as commoditized objects. The biotechnological development reconfigured the pig’s cells, tissue and organs to become more human-like. The third issue concerns the risk that pigs contain retrovirus that could infect the transplanted patients. The human body became part of a network of both animal and retrovirus. Boundlessness between human and animal bodies appears in these three thematic phases and is analysed from a cultural perspective.

  3. [Microbiota and representations of the human body].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dodet, Betty

    2016-11-01

    Although the presence of an intestinal flora has been known for a long time, the discovery of the role of gut microbiota in human health and disease has been widely recognized as one of the most important advances in the recent years. Chronic diseases may result from dysbiosis, i.e. a disruption of the balance within the bacterial population hosted by the human body. These developments open new prospects in terms of prevention and treatment, including the design of adapted diets, the development of functional foods and fecal transplantation. These discoveries have profoundly altered our view of microbes, of health and disease, of self and non-self, as well as our representations of the body and its relationship with its ecosystem. Gut microbiota is now generally considered as an organ in its own right. A model of the "microbiotic person" thus arises, in which the human organism is defined as an ecosystem, a chimeric superorganism with a double genome, both human and microbial. Thought should be given to the way in which these new paradigms modify lay perceptions of the human body. © 2016 médecine/sciences – Inserm.

  4. [The gift of human body's products: philosophical and ethical aspects].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baertschi, B

    2014-09-01

    In continental Europe, there is a very strong moral condemnation against putting parts or products of the human body on sale-and, consequently, against putting sperms and oocytes on sale. Only a gift is morally permissible. The situation is different in Anglo-Saxon countries. Who is right? Above all, it must be noticed that two views of the human body are facing each other here: for the first, the human body is a part of the person (so, it partakes of the person's dignity), whereas for the second, the human body is a possession of the person (the person is the owner of his/her body). In my opinion, the argument of dignity comes up against serious objections, and the property argument is more consistent. However, it does not follow that it would be judicious to put parts and products of the human body for sale on a market. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  5. Media Representation of the Human Body: Discourse Analysis of Advertisements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marija Lončar

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Even though advertisements represent a world of its own, they are an inevitable part of different kinds of media. The purpose of advertising is not only to promote a product but also to transfer messages, values and ideas in order to make emotional connections with brands. By building emotional attachment, advertisers increase and strengthen consumers’ responses. The promoting of the advertisements’ images becomes much more important than promoting the product itself. Nowadays, an increasing interest in representing a human body along with different kinds of products and services has become a commonplace among advertisers. Representation of the body is a socially constructed phenomenon. In other words, social processes shape perceptions of our bodies and these perceptions (recreate human experiences of the body. The authors’ approach includes qualitative discourse analysis of advertisements. The objective was to identify the relationship between the human body and textual messages as integral components of the advertised item taken in consideration, as well as the ways in which they interact with the reader’s overall experience. For this purpose, different advertisements that contain visual and textual messages representing human bodies have been analysed. They were all published in the following lifestyle magazines: Cosmopolitan, Playboy, Men’s Health, during 2012 and 2013. The authors conclude that media representations of a human body as social phenomena perceive value and treat the body in different ways depending on the relationship between the advertisement, the textual message and the human body.

  6. Evaluation of Propagation Characteristics Using the Human Body as an Antenna.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jingzhen; Nie, Zedong; Liu, Yuhang; Wang, Lei; Hao, Yang

    2017-12-11

    In this paper, an inhomogeneous human body model was presented to investigate the propagation characteristics when the human body was used as an antenna to achieve signal transmission. Specifically, the channel gain of four scenarios, namely, (1) both TX electrode and RX electrode were placed in the air, (2) TX electrode was attached on the human body, and RX electrode was placed in the air, (3) TX electrode was placed in the air, and RX electrode was attached on the human body, (4) both the TX electrode and RX electrode were attached on the human body, were studied through numerical simulation in the frequency range 1 MHz to 90 MHz. Furthermore, the comparisons of input efficiency, accepted efficiency, total efficiency, absorption power of human body, and electric field distribution of different distances of four aforementioned scenarios were explored when the frequency was at 44 MHz. In addition, the influences of different human tissues, electrode position, and the distance between electrode and human body on the propagation characteristics were investigated respectively at 44 MHz. The results showed that the channel gain of Scenario 4 was the maximum when the frequency was from 1 MHz to 90 MHz. The propagation characteristics were almost independent of electrode position when the human body was using as an antenna. However, as the distance between TX electrode and human body increased, the channel gain decreased rapidly. The simulations were verified by experimental measurements. The results showed that the simulations were in agreement with the measurements.

  7. Dynamic Human Body Modeling Using a Single RGB Camera.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Haiyu; Yu, Yao; Zhou, Yu; Du, Sidan

    2016-03-18

    In this paper, we present a novel automatic pipeline to build personalized parametric models of dynamic people using a single RGB camera. Compared to previous approaches that use monocular RGB images, our system can model a 3D human body automatically and incrementally, taking advantage of human motion. Based on coarse 2D and 3D poses estimated from image sequences, we first perform a kinematic classification of human body parts to refine the poses and obtain reconstructed body parts. Next, a personalized parametric human model is generated by driving a general template to fit the body parts and calculating the non-rigid deformation. Experimental results show that our shape estimation method achieves comparable accuracy with reconstructed models using depth cameras, yet requires neither user interaction nor any dedicated devices, leading to the feasibility of using this method on widely available smart phones.

  8. Human bipedalism and body-mass index.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, Su Do; Noh, Jae Dong; Minnhagen, Petter; Song, Mi-Young; Chon, Tae-Soo; Kim, Beom Jun

    2017-06-16

    Body-mass index, abbreviated as BMI and given by M/H 2 with the mass M and the height H, has been widely used as a useful proxy to measure a general health status of a human individual. We generalise BMI in the form of M/H p and pursue to answer the question of the value of p for populations of animal species including human. We compare values of p for several different datasets for human populations with the ones obtained for other animal populations of fish, whales, and land mammals. All animal populations but humans analyzed in our work are shown to have p ≈ 3 unanimously. In contrast, human populations are different: As young infants grow to become toddlers and keep growing, the sudden change of p is observed at about one year after birth. Infants younger than one year old exhibit significantly larger value of p than two, while children between one and five years old show p ≈ 2, sharply different from other animal species. The observation implies the importance of the upright posture of human individuals. We also propose a simple mechanical model for a human body and suggest that standing and walking upright should put a clear division between bipedal human (p ≈ 2) and other animals (p ≈ 3).

  9. Functional Neuronal Processing of Human Body Odors

    OpenAIRE

    Lundström, Johan N.; Olsson, Mats J.

    2010-01-01

    Body odors carry informational cues of great importance for individuals across a wide range of species, and signals hidden within the body odor cocktail are known to regulate several key behaviors in animals. For a long time, the notion that humans may be among these species has been dismissed. We now know, however, that each human has a unique odor signature that carries information related to his or her genetic makeup, as well as information about personal environmental variables, such as d...

  10. Human whole body cold adaptation.

    OpenAIRE

    Daanen, Hein A.M.; Van Marken Lichtenbelt, Wouter D.

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT Reviews on whole body human cold adaptation generally do not distinguish between population studies and dedicated acclimation studies, leading to confusing results. Population studies show that indigenous black Africans have reduced shivering thermogenesis in the cold and poor cold induced vasodilation in fingers and toes compared to Caucasians and Inuit. About 40,000?y after humans left Africa, natives in cold terrestrial areas seems to have developed not only behavioral adaptations...

  11. Generation of induced pluripotent stem cells with high efficiency from human embryonic renal cortical cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Ling; Chen, Ruifang; Wang, Pu; Zhang, Qi; Tang, Hailiang; Sun, Huaping

    2016-01-01

    Reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) emerges as a prospective therapeutic angle in regenerative medicine and a tool for drug screening. Although increasing numbers of iPSCs from different sources have been generated, there has been limited progress in yield of iPSC. Here, we show that four Yamanaka factors Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc can convert human embryonic renal cortical cells (hERCCs) to pluripotent stem cells with a roughly 40-fold higher reprogramming efficiency compared with that of adult human dermal fibroblasts. These iPSCs show pluripotency in vitro and in vivo, as evidenced by expression of pluripotency associated genes, differentiation into three embryonic germ layers by teratoma tests, as well as neuronal fate specification by embryoid body formation. Moreover, the four exogenous genes are effectively silenced in these iPSCs. This study highlights the use of hERCCs to generate highly functional human iPSCs which may aid the study of genetic kidney diseases and accelerate the development of cell-based regenerative therapy.

  12. Human Body Representations in Didactic Books of Science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emerson de Lima Soares

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Several authors have pointed out that Didactic Book still plays an important role in the teaching and learning process, and is often the main, and the only educational resource available to teachers. In this way, we will analyze human body representations in Didactic Books of science adopted by a municipal public school in the city of Uruguaiana/RS. In the context of writing, we understand that body's perceptions permeate a historical and cultural construction, constituted from the relationships lived by the subjects in society. This study is a qualitative research, based on the content analysis of Bardin, in which we seek to identify human body representations in the messages, characteristics, structures, contents, and figures present in books. For this, we set up an analytical matrix with guiding questions related to the approach of the body, showed in didactic books. The results demonstrate that the contents follow the same pattern, that is, a body divided into parts like a human body just formed by limbs, organs, and tissues. They present a detailed division of content, from the cellular organization, concepts, structures, and the images are presented in a fragmented way, always following normative standards. We found these books dedicate spaces to analyze and discuss the biosocial body, in a well-elaborated way, contemplating different visions, such as sexuality beyond human reproduction. We believe that these issues should be part of the Political Education Projects (PPPs of schools and the educational system as a whole because in this way more projects will be carried out contemplating the issue. However, it is still up to the teacher to take this approach, and if such issues are not addressed in the LD, he should keep in mind that if we are thinking beings, our body is much more than organic components, and so seek means to carry out this approach.

  13. Human whole body cold adaptation.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Daanen, Hein A.M.; Van Marken Lichtenbelt, Wouter D.

    2016-01-01

    Reviews on whole body human cold adaptation generally do not distinguish between population studies and dedicated acclimation studies, leading to confusing results. Population studies show that indigenous black Africans have reduced shivering thermogenesis in the cold and poor cold induced

  14. NATURAL USER INTERFACE SENSORS FOR HUMAN BODY MEASUREMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Boehm

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available The recent push for natural user interfaces (NUI in the entertainment and gaming industry has ushered in a new era of low cost three-dimensional sensors. While the basic idea of using a three-dimensional sensor for human gesture recognition dates some years back it is not until recently that such sensors became available on the mass market. The current market leader is PrimeSense who provide their technology for the Microsoft Xbox Kinect. Since these sensors are developed to detect and observe human users they should be ideally suited to measure the human body. We describe the technology of a line of NUI sensors and assess their performance in terms of repeatability and accuracy. We demonstrate the implementation of a prototype scanner integrating several NUI sensors to achieve full body coverage. We present the results of the obtained surface model of a human body.

  15. Natural User Interface Sensors for Human Body Measurement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boehm, J.

    2012-08-01

    The recent push for natural user interfaces (NUI) in the entertainment and gaming industry has ushered in a new era of low cost three-dimensional sensors. While the basic idea of using a three-dimensional sensor for human gesture recognition dates some years back it is not until recently that such sensors became available on the mass market. The current market leader is PrimeSense who provide their technology for the Microsoft Xbox Kinect. Since these sensors are developed to detect and observe human users they should be ideally suited to measure the human body. We describe the technology of a line of NUI sensors and assess their performance in terms of repeatability and accuracy. We demonstrate the implementation of a prototype scanner integrating several NUI sensors to achieve full body coverage. We present the results of the obtained surface model of a human body.

  16. Human body composition models and methodology : theory and experiment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wang, Z.M.

    1997-01-01


    The study of human body composition is a branch of human biology which focuses on the in vivo quantification of body components, the quantitative relationships between components, and the quantitative changes in these components related to various influencing factors.

  17. Cytoplasmic lipid bodies of human neutrophilic leukocytes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weller, P.F.; Ackerman, S.J.; Nicholson-Weller, A.; Dvorak, A.M.

    1989-01-01

    The morphology and function of cytoplasmic lipid bodies in human neutrophils were evaluated. By transmission electron microscopy, neutrophil lipid bodies were cytoplasmic inclusions, usually several microns in diameter, that occasionally coalesced to attain a diameter up to 7 microM. Neutrophil lipid bodies were not enveloped by membrane but were often surrounded by a more electron-dense shell at their periphery. Normal peripheral blood neutrophils contained an average of approximately one lipid body per cell. Lipid bodies appeared in greater numbers in neutrophils from inflammatory lesions. Perturbation of neutrophils during conventional methods of cell isolation and purification modestly increased lipid body numbers in neutrophils, whereas incubation of neutrophils with 1 microM oleic acid rapidly induced lipid body formation over 30 to 60 minutes. After granulocytes were incubated for 2 hours with 3H-fatty acids, including arachidonic, oleic, and palmitic acids, electron microscopic autoradiography demonstrated that lipid bodies represented the predominant intracellular sites of localization of each of the three 3H-fatty acids. There was lesser labeling noted in the perinuclear cisterna, but not in cell membranes. Virtually all of each of the three 3H-fatty acids incorporated by the neutrophils were esterified into chromatographically resolved classes of neutral lipids or phospholipids. These findings indicate that cytoplasmic lipid bodies are more prominent in neutrophils in vivo engaged in inflammatory responses and that these organelles in human neutrophils function as sites of deposition of esterified, incorporated fatty acids

  18. New Window into the Human Body

    Science.gov (United States)

    1985-01-01

    Michael Vannier, MD, a former NASA engineer, recognized the similarity between NASA's computerized image processing technology and nuclear magnetic resonance. With technical assistance from Kennedy Space Center, he developed a computer program for Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology enabling Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) to scan body tissue for earlier diagnoses. Dr. Vannier feels that "satellite imaging" has opened a new window into the human body.

  19. Human whole body cold adaptation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daanen, Hein A M; Van Marken Lichtenbelt, Wouter D

    2016-01-01

    Reviews on whole body human cold adaptation generally do not distinguish between population studies and dedicated acclimation studies, leading to confusing results. Population studies show that indigenous black Africans have reduced shivering thermogenesis in the cold and poor cold induced vasodilation in fingers and toes compared to Caucasians and Inuit. About 40,000 y after humans left Africa, natives in cold terrestrial areas seems to have developed not only behavioral adaptations, but also physiological adaptations to cold. Dedicated studies show that repeated whole body exposure of individual volunteers, mainly Caucasians, to severe cold results in reduced cold sensation but no major physiological changes. Repeated cold water immersion seems to slightly reduce metabolic heat production, while repeated exposure to milder cold conditions shows some increase in metabolic heat production, in particular non-shivering thermogenesis. In conclusion, human cold adaptation in the form of increased metabolism and insulation seems to have occurred during recent evolution in populations, but cannot be developed during a lifetime in cold conditions as encountered in temperate and arctic regions. Therefore, we mainly depend on our behavioral skills to live in and survive the cold.

  20. Towards an IMU Evaluation Framework for Human Body Tracking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venek, Verena; Kremser, Wolfgang; Schneider, Cornelia

    2018-01-01

    Existing full-body tracking systems, which use Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) as sensing unit, require expert knowledge for setup and data collection. Thus, the daily application for human body tracking is difficult. In particular, in the field of active and assisted living (AAL), tracking human movements would enable novel insights not only into the quantity but also into the quality of human movement, for example by monitoring functional training. While the current market offers a wide range of products with vastly different properties, literature lacks guidelines for choosing IMUs for body tracking applications. Therefore, this paper introduces developments towards an IMU evaluation framework for human body tracking which compares IMUs against five requirement areas that consider device features and data quality. The data quality is assessed by conducting a static and a dynamic error analysis. In a first application to four IMUs of different component consumption, the IMU evaluation framework convinced as promising tool for IMU selection.

  1. Highly efficient methods to obtain homogeneous dorsal neural progenitor cells from human and mouse embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Meixiang; Ngo, Justine; Pirozzi, Filomena; Sun, Ying-Pu; Wynshaw-Boris, Anthony

    2018-03-15

    Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been widely used to generate cellular models harboring specific disease-related genotypes. Of particular importance are ESC and iPSC applications capable of producing dorsal telencephalic neural progenitor cells (NPCs) that are representative of the cerebral cortex and overcome the challenges of maintaining a homogeneous population of cortical progenitors over several passages in vitro. While previous studies were able to derive NPCs from pluripotent cell types, the fraction of dorsal NPCs in this population is small and decreases over several passages. Here, we present three protocols that are highly efficient in differentiating mouse and human ESCs, as well as human iPSCs, into a homogeneous and stable population of dorsal NPCs. These protocols will be useful for modeling cerebral cortical neurological and neurodegenerative disorders in both mouse and human as well as for high-throughput drug screening for therapeutic development. We optimized three different strategies for generating dorsal telencephalic NPCs from mouse and human pluripotent cell types through single or double inhibition of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) and/or SMAD pathways. Mouse and human pluripotent cells were aggregated to form embryoid bodies in suspension and were treated with dorsomorphin alone (BMP inhibition) or combined with SB431542 (double BMP/SMAD inhibition) during neural induction. Neural rosettes were then selected from plated embryoid bodies to purify the population of dorsal NPCs. We tested the expression of key dorsal NPC markers as well as nonectodermal markers to confirm the efficiency of our three methods in comparison to published and commercial protocols. Single and double inhibition of BMP and/or SMAD during neural induction led to the efficient differentiation of dorsal NPCs, based on the high percentage of PAX6-positive cells and the NPC gene expression profile. There were no statistically

  2. Digitization of the human body in the present-day economy

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Apuzzo, Nicola

    2005-01-01

    In this paper we report on the historic development of human body digitization and on the actual state of commercially available technology. Complete systems for the digitization of the human body exist since more than ten years. One of the main users of this technology was the entertainment industry. Every new movie excited with attractive visual effects, but only few people knew that the most thrilling cuts were realized by using virtual persons. The faces and bodies of actors were digitized and the "virtual twin" replaced the actor in the movie. Nowadays, the state of the human body digitization is so high that it is not possible any more to distinguish the real actor from the virtual one. Indeed, for the rush technical development has to be thanked the movie industry, which was one of the strong economic motors for this technology. Today, with the possibility of a massive cost reduction given by new technologies, methods for digitization of the human body are used also in other fields of application, such as ergonomics, medical applications, computer games, biometry and anthropometrics. With the time, this technology becomes interesting also for sport, fitness, fashion and beauty. A large expansion of human body digitization is expected in the near future. To date, different technologies are used commercially for the measurement of the human body. They can be divided into three distinguished groups: laser-scanning, projection of light patterns, combination modeling and image processing. The different solutions have strengths and weaknesses that profile their suitability for specific applications. This paper gives an overview of their differences and characteristics and expresses clues for the selection of the adequate method. Practical examples of commercial exploitation of human body digitization are also presented and new interesting perspectives are introduced.

  3. Energy Generation in the Human Body by the Human Cells ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    We adapted the thermodynamics equation for energy generation in a diesel engine in modeling energy generation in human body by the human cells by doing a thorough study on both systems and saw that the process of energy generation is the same in them. We equally saw that the stages involved in energy generation ...

  4. Injury to the human body, part 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1981-01-01

    Injuries by exposure to the atomic bomb at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and its effects were studied as follows: 1) Injury to the human body following exposure to the atomic bomb; 2) Body injury in the initial stage-acute stage of atomic bomb injury; 3) Aftereffects and genetic effects. (J.P.N.)

  5. Experimental investigation of biodynamic human body models subjected to whole-body vibration during a vehicle ride.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taskin, Yener; Hacioglu, Yuksel; Ortes, Faruk; Karabulut, Derya; Arslan, Yunus Ziya

    2018-02-06

    In this study, responses of biodynamic human body models to whole-body vibration during a vehicle ride were investigated. Accelerations were acquired from three different body parts, such as the head, upper torso and lower torso, of 10 seated passengers during a car ride while two different road conditions were considered. The same multipurpose vehicle was used during all experiments. Additionally, by two widely used biodynamic models in the literature, a set of simulations were run to obtain theoretical accelerations of the models and were compared with those obtained experimentally. To sustain a quantified comparison between experimental and theoretical approaches, the root mean square acceleration and acceleration spectral density were calculated. Time and frequency responses of the models demonstrated that neither of the models showed the best prediction performance of the human body behaviour in all cases, indicating that further models are required for better prediction of the human body responses.

  6. "Scientific peep show": the human body in contemporary science museums.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canadelli, Elena

    2011-01-01

    The essay focuses on the discourse about the human body developed by contemporary science museums with educational and instructive purposes directed at the general public. These museums aim mostly at mediating concepts such as health and prevention. The current scenario is linked with two examples of past museums: the popular anatomical museums which emerged during the 19th century and the health museums thrived between 1910 and 1940. On the museological path about the human body self-care we went from the emotionally involving anatomical Venuses to the inexpressive Transparent Man, from anatomical specimens of ill organs and deformed subjects to the mechanical and electronic models of the healthy body. Today the body is made transparent by the new medical diagnostics and by the latest discoveries of endoscopy. The way museums and science centers presently display the human body involves computers, 3D animation, digital technologies, hands-on models of large size human parts.

  7. Transport of gaseous pollutants around a human body in quiescent indoor environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Licina, Dusan; Melikov, Arsen Krikor; Mioduszewski, Pawel

    2014-01-01

    (CBL) to transport the pollution in quiescent indoor environment. A human body is resembled by a thermal manikin with a body shape and surface temperature distribution of a real person. The objective of the study is to examine the impact of the pollutant location around the human body on the pollution...... concentration levels in the breathing zone. The results show that the location of the pollution source has a considerable influence of the breathing zone concentrations. This is contributed to the human CBL, as it pulls the pollution emitted close to the human body and transports it to the breathing zone...... the human body should be recognized in ventilation design practice....

  8. The Human Body Sword

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kris Borer

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available The human body shield problem involves an apparent dilemma for a libertarian, forcing him to choose between his own death and the death of an innocent person. This paper argues that the non-aggression principle permits a forceful response against the property of innocent individuals when a conflict is initiated with that property. In other words, a libertarian may shoot the hostage in order to save himself.

  9. High School Students' Understanding of the Human Body System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Assaraf, Orit Ben-Zvi; Dodick, Jeff; Tripto, Jaklin

    2013-01-01

    In this study, 120 tenth-grade students from 8 schools were examined to determine the extent of their ability to perceive the human body as a system after completing the first stage in their biology curriculum--"The human body, emphasizing homeostasis". The students' systems thinking was analyzed according to the STH thinking model, which roughly…

  10. Human vocal attractiveness as signaled by body size projection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Xu

    Full Text Available Voice, as a secondary sexual characteristic, is known to affect the perceived attractiveness of human individuals. But the underlying mechanism of vocal attractiveness has remained unclear. Here, we presented human listeners with acoustically altered natural sentences and fully synthetic sentences with systematically manipulated pitch, formants and voice quality based on a principle of body size projection reported for animal calls and emotional human vocal expressions. The results show that male listeners preferred a female voice that signals a small body size, with relatively high pitch, wide formant dispersion and breathy voice, while female listeners preferred a male voice that signals a large body size with low pitch and narrow formant dispersion. Interestingly, however, male vocal attractiveness was also enhanced by breathiness, which presumably softened the aggressiveness associated with a large body size. These results, together with the additional finding that the same vocal dimensions also affect emotion judgment, indicate that humans still employ a vocal interaction strategy used in animal calls despite the development of complex language.

  11. Relationship between alertness, performance, and body temperature in humans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Kenneth P Jr; Hull, Joseph T.; Czeisler, Charles A.

    2002-01-01

    Body temperature has been reported to influence human performance. Performance is reported to be better when body temperature is high/near its circadian peak and worse when body temperature is low/near its circadian minimum. We assessed whether this relationship between performance and body temperature reflects the regulation of both the internal biological timekeeping system and/or the influence of body temperature on performance independent of circadian phase. Fourteen subjects participated in a forced desynchrony protocol allowing assessment of the relationship between body temperature and performance while controlling for circadian phase and hours awake. Most neurobehavioral measures varied as a function of internal biological time and duration of wakefulness. A number of performance measures were better when body temperature was elevated, including working memory, subjective alertness, visual attention, and the slowest 10% of reaction times. These findings demonstrate that an increased body temperature, associated with and independent of internal biological time, is correlated with improved performance and alertness. These results support the hypothesis that body temperature modulates neurobehavioral function in humans.

  12. Human and animal sounds influence recognition of body language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van den Stock, Jan; Grèzes, Julie; de Gelder, Beatrice

    2008-11-25

    In naturalistic settings emotional events have multiple correlates and are simultaneously perceived by several sensory systems. Recent studies have shown that recognition of facial expressions is biased towards the emotion expressed by a simultaneously presented emotional expression in the voice even if attention is directed to the face only. So far, no study examined whether this phenomenon also applies to whole body expressions, although there is no obvious reason why this crossmodal influence would be specific for faces. Here we investigated whether perception of emotions expressed in whole body movements is influenced by affective information provided by human and by animal vocalizations. Participants were instructed to attend to the action displayed by the body and to categorize the expressed emotion. The results indicate that recognition of body language is biased towards the emotion expressed by the simultaneously presented auditory information, whether it consist of human or of animal sounds. Our results show that a crossmodal influence from auditory to visual emotional information obtains for whole body video images with the facial expression blanked and includes human as well as animal sounds.

  13. Energetic and exergetic comparison of the human body for the summer season

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caliskan, Hakan

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Energetic and exergetic comparison of the human body. • Usage of summer season data. • Calculation of entropy generation of the human body. • Thermal comfort. • Determining predicted mean vote rate and predicted percentage dissatisfied rate for the human comfort. - Abstract: The energy and exergy analyses are performed to the human body for the summer season of the Izmir city in Turkey. It is found that the metabolism energy and exergy rates are the major part of the human body’s energy generation. However, metabolism energy rate (58.326 W/m 2 ) is much higher than corresponding exergetic one (1.661 W/m 2 ). The maximum energy loss of the human body (70.59%) occurs due to heat exchange such as radiation, convection, and conduction. On the other hand, the maximum exergy loss of the human body happens due to exhaled humid air (6.393%), while the most of the total exergy is consumed by the human body (90.786%). Thermal comfort condition is also calculated. The Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) rate is found as 0.028 which means that the thermal sensation of the human body is called as comfortable. Furthermore, the Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD) rate is determined to be 5.017% which is low and shows the thermally dissatisfied people percentages

  14. Electric field prediction for a human body-electric machine system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ioannides, Maria G; Papadopoulos, Peter J; Dimitropoulou, Eugenia

    2004-01-01

    A system consisting of an electric machine and a human body is studied and the resulting electric field is predicted. A 3-phase induction machine operating at full load is modeled considering its geometry, windings, and materials. A human model is also constructed approximating its geometry and the electric properties of tissues. Using the finite element technique the electric field distribution in the human body is determined for a distance of 1 and 5 m from the machine and its effects are studied. Particularly, electric field potential variations are determined at specific points inside the human body and for these points the electric field intensity is computed and compared to the limit values for exposure according to international standards.

  15. ESTIMATION OF HUMAN BODY SHAPE PARAMETERS USING MICROSOFT KINECTSENCOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. M. Vasilkov

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In the paper a human body shape estimation technology based on scan data acquired from sensor controller Microsoft Kinect is described. This device includes an RGB camera and a depth sensor that provides, for each pixel of the image,a distance from the camera focus to the object. A scan session produces a triangulated high-density surface noised with oscillations, isolated fragments and holes. When scanning a human, additional noise comes from garment folds and wrinkles. An algorithm of creating a sparse and regular 3D human body model (avatar free of these defects, which approximates shape, posture and basic metrics of the scanned body is proposed. This solution finds application in individual clothing industry and computer games, as well.

  16. Gender Recognition from Unconstrained and Articulated Human Body

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qin Wu

    2014-01-01

    human body images acquired from an unconstrained environment in the real world. A systematic study of some critical issues in body-based gender recognition, such as which body parts are informative, how many body parts are needed to combine together, and what representations are good for articulated body-based gender recognition, is also presented. This paper also pursues data fusion schemes and efficient feature dimensionality reduction based on the partial least squares estimation. Extensive experiments are performed on two unconstrained databases which have not been explored before for gender recognition.

  17. A novel human body exergy consumption formula to determine indoor thermal conditions for optimal human performance in office buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wu, Xiaozhou; Zhao, Jianing; Olesen, Bjarne W.

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, a novel human body exergy consumption formula was derived strictly according to Gagge's two-node thermal transfer model. The human body exergy consumption calculated by the formula was compared with values calculated using Shukuya's formula for a typical office environment....... The results show that human body exergy consumption calculated by either of these formulas reaches a minimum under the same thermal condition. It is shown that this is in accordance with expectation. The relation between human performance and human body exergy consumption was studied by analyzing the data...... obtained in simulated office environments in winter. The results show that human body exergy consumption and human performance are inversely as operative temperature changes from 17 to 28°C or human thermal sensation changes from −1.0 to +1.4, and that optimum thermal comfort cannot be expected to lead...

  18. Scandinavian Semantics and the Human Body

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Levisen, Carsten

    2015-01-01

    , it is demonstrated that Scandinavian and English systems differ significantly in some aspects of the way in which the construe the human body with words. The study ventures an innovative combination of methods, pairing the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach to linguistic and conceptual analysis......This paper presents an ethnolinguistic analysis of how the space between the head and the body is construed in Scandinavian semantic systems vis-a-vis the semantic system of English. With an extensive case study of neck-related meanings in Danish, and with cross-Scandinavian reference...... with empirical evidence from the Evolution of Semantic Systems (EoSS) project. This combination of empirical and interpretative tools helps to integrate evidence from semantics and semiotics, pinning out in great detail the intricacies of the meanings of particular body words. The paper concludes that body words...

  19. Sensing power transfer between the human body and the environment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Veltink, Petrus H.; Kortier, H.G.; Schepers, H. Martin

    The power transferred between the human body and the environment at any time and the work performed are important quantities to be estimated when evaluating and optimizing the physical interaction between the human body and the environment in sports, physical labor, and rehabilitation. It is the

  20. Heat Exchange in “Human body - Thermal protection - Environment” System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khromova, I. V.

    2017-11-01

    This article is devoted to the issues of simulation and calculation of thermal processes in the system called “Human body - Thermal protection - Environment” under low temperature conditions. It considers internal heat sources and convective heat transfer between calculated elements. Overall this is important for the Heat Transfer Theory. The article introduces complex heat transfer calculation method and local thermophysical parameters calculation method in the system called «Human body - Thermal protection - Environment», considering passive and active thermal protections, thermophysical and geometric properties of calculated elements in a wide range of environmental parameters (water, air). It also includes research on the influence that thermal resistance of modern materials, used in special protective clothes development, has on heat transfer in the system “Human body - Thermal protection - Environment”. Analysis of the obtained results allows adding of the computer research data to experiments and optimizing of individual life-support system elements, which are intended to protect human body from exposure to external factors.

  1. Scanning 3D full human bodies using Kinects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tong, Jing; Zhou, Jin; Liu, Ligang; Pan, Zhigeng; Yan, Hao

    2012-04-01

    Depth camera such as Microsoft Kinect, is much cheaper than conventional 3D scanning devices, and thus it can be acquired for everyday users easily. However, the depth data captured by Kinect over a certain distance is of extreme low quality. In this paper, we present a novel scanning system for capturing 3D full human body models by using multiple Kinects. To avoid the interference phenomena, we use two Kinects to capture the upper part and lower part of a human body respectively without overlapping region. A third Kinect is used to capture the middle part of the human body from the opposite direction. We propose a practical approach for registering the various body parts of different views under non-rigid deformation. First, a rough mesh template is constructed and used to deform successive frames pairwisely. Second, global alignment is performed to distribute errors in the deformation space, which can solve the loop closure problem efficiently. Misalignment caused by complex occlusion can also be handled reasonably by our global alignment algorithm. The experimental results have shown the efficiency and applicability of our system. Our system obtains impressive results in a few minutes with low price devices, thus is practically useful for generating personalized avatars for everyday users. Our system has been used for 3D human animation and virtual try on, and can further facilitate a range of home–oriented virtual reality (VR) applications.

  2. Investigation of human body potential measured by a non-contact measuring system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichikawa, Norimitsu

    2016-12-07

    A human body is occasionally electrified in a room. This charged object will be a source of electrostatic accidents, including the malfunction of electronic equipment. Hence, prevention of these accidents is required. Accidents occasionally occur, even though antistatic clothes and shoes are used. One of the causes for these accidents is that there is a lack of the preventive measures. This situation occurs when using, for example, unconductive wax. In this study, human body potential (voltage) is measured using a non-contact measuring system. An investigation of the human body's voltage when using this system is conducted. The result demonstrates that the voltage of a human body wearing antistatic clothes and shoes or light clothes and slippers exceeds a malfunctioning voltage of a microelectronics device when the body walks on floors. Thus, accidents may occur even if a human body wearing the antistatic clothes walks on flooring. These results will be useful in estimating determination whether electrostatic accidents occur or not.

  3. The evolution of body size and shape in the human career

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grabowski, Mark; Hatala, Kevin G.; Richmond, Brian G.

    2016-01-01

    Body size is a fundamental biological property of organisms, and documenting body size variation in hominin evolution is an important goal of palaeoanthropology. Estimating body mass appears deceptively simple but is laden with theoretical and pragmatic assumptions about best predictors and the most appropriate reference samples. Modern human training samples with known masses are arguably the ‘best’ for estimating size in early bipedal hominins such as the australopiths and all members of the genus Homo, but it is not clear if they are the most appropriate priors for reconstructing the size of the earliest putative hominins such as Orrorin and Ardipithecus. The trajectory of body size evolution in the early part of the human career is reviewed here and found to be complex and nonlinear. Australopith body size varies enormously across both space and time. The pre-erectus early Homo fossil record from Africa is poor and dominated by relatively small-bodied individuals, implying that the emergence of the genus Homo is probably not linked to an increase in body size or unprecedented increases in size variation. Body size differences alone cannot explain the observed variation in hominin body shape, especially when examined in the context of small fossil hominins and pygmy modern humans. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Major transitions in human evolution’. PMID:27298459

  4. [The solidarity of the human body].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bioy, Xavier

    2014-06-01

    The legal and bioethical regulation of the uses of the elements of the human body can be described by means of the concept of solidarity. From the French example, we can so show that the State tries to frame solidarities which already exist, for example between people who share the same genome, in the family, or, on the contrary, tent to impose or to direct the sharing of the human biological resources (organs, tissues, gametes, stem cell...).

  5. Statistical multi-path exposure method for assessing the whole-body SAR in a heterogeneous human body model in a realistic environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vermeeren, Günter; Joseph, Wout; Martens, Luc

    2013-04-01

    Assessing the whole-body absorption in a human in a realistic environment requires a statistical approach covering all possible exposure situations. This article describes the development of a statistical multi-path exposure method for heterogeneous realistic human body models. The method is applied for the 6-year-old Virtual Family boy (VFB) exposed to the GSM downlink at 950 MHz. It is shown that the whole-body SAR does not differ significantly over the different environments at an operating frequency of 950 MHz. Furthermore, the whole-body SAR in the VFB for multi-path exposure exceeds the whole-body SAR for worst-case single-incident plane wave exposure by 3.6%. Moreover, the ICNIRP reference levels are not conservative with the basic restrictions in 0.3% of the exposure samples for the VFB at the GSM downlink of 950 MHz. The homogeneous spheroid with the dielectric properties of the head suggested by the IEC underestimates the absorption compared to realistic human body models. Moreover, the variation in the whole-body SAR for realistic human body models is larger than for homogeneous spheroid models. This is mainly due to the heterogeneity of the tissues and the irregular shape of the realistic human body model compared to homogeneous spheroid human body models. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Variability in human body size

    Science.gov (United States)

    Annis, J. F.

    1978-01-01

    The range of variability found among homogeneous groups is described and illustrated. Those trends that show significantly marked differences between sexes and among a number of racial/ethnic groups are also presented. Causes of human-body size variability discussed include genetic endowment, aging, nutrition, protective garments, and occupation. The information is presented to aid design engineers of space flight hardware and equipment.

  7. Cdc42 is crucial for the establishment of epithelial polarity during early mammalian development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wu, Xunwei; Li, Shaohua; Chrostek-Grashoff, Anna

    2007-01-01

    To study the role of Cdc42 in the establishment of epithelial polarity during mammalian development, we generated murine Cdc42-null embryonic stem cells and analyzed peri-implantation development using embryoid bodies (EBs). Mutant EBs developed endoderm and underlying basement membrane, but exhi......To study the role of Cdc42 in the establishment of epithelial polarity during mammalian development, we generated murine Cdc42-null embryonic stem cells and analyzed peri-implantation development using embryoid bodies (EBs). Mutant EBs developed endoderm and underlying basement membrane...

  8. Measurement of Radioactivity in the Human Body

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andersson, I Oe; Nilsson, I

    1960-12-15

    A body counter with a steel room and a 4-inch-diameter by 4-inch thick Nal scintillation counter has been in operation since February 1958. It is used to control the internal contamination in people working with radioactive materials. Measurements have also been made on the natural activity in the human body. The average cesium-137/potassium ratio in a group of Swedish males was in May 1959 73 {mu}{mu}c per gram of body potassium and in June 1960 55 {mu}{mu}c per gram of body potassium. The cessation of the nuclear bomb tests has caused a decrease in the cesium level in people. This gives some information of how cesium is entering the biosphere.

  9. Measurement of Radioactivity in the Human Body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersson, I.Oe.; Nilsson, I.

    1960-12-01

    A body counter with a steel room and a 4-inch-diameter by 4-inch thick Nal scintillation counter has been in operation since February 1958. It is used to control the internal contamination in people working with radioactive materials. Measurements have also been made on the natural activity in the human body. The average cesium-137/potassium ratio in a group of Swedish males was in May 1959 73 μμc per gram of body potassium and in June 1960 55 μμc per gram of body potassium. The cessation of the nuclear bomb tests has caused a decrease in the cesium level in people. This gives some information of how cesium is entering the biosphere

  10. Teaching exploration and practice of the human body structure course

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Feng LI; Ming-feng CHEN; Wen-long DING

    2015-01-01

    In the 21 st century,the medical model has transformed from the biological model to the biopsycho-social medical model. The transformation of medical model raises higher requirements for the training of medical staff. Comprehensive promotion of the reform of medical education has become the consensus and trend,which breeds the integrated medical teaching that is based on modules and organ systems. As one of eight integrated modules,the human body structure course of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine introduces morphological structures of normal human organs according to function systems( such as locomotor system,digestive system,angiological system,and nervous system) of human organs and parts of human body. This course endeavors to integrate theories with practices,contents of disciplines of basic medicine,and basic medicine with clinical medicine. The human body structure course combines basic medicine with clinical medicine and is an important part of medical science.

  11. Human body motion tracking based on quantum-inspired immune cloning algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Hong; Yue, Lichuan; Jiao, Licheng; Wu, Xing

    2009-10-01

    In a static monocular camera system, to gain a perfect 3D human body posture is a great challenge for Computer Vision technology now. This paper presented human postures recognition from video sequences using the Quantum-Inspired Immune Cloning Algorithm (QICA). The algorithm included three parts. Firstly, prior knowledge of human beings was used, the key joint points of human could be detected automatically from the human contours and skeletons which could be thinning from the contours; And due to the complexity of human movement, a forecasting mechanism of occlusion joint points was addressed to get optimum 2D key joint points of human body; And then pose estimation recovered by optimizing between the 2D projection of 3D human key joint points and 2D detection key joint points using QICA, which recovered the movement of human body perfectly, because this algorithm could acquire not only the global optimal solution, but the local optimal solution.

  12. Staying human in the 21st century : thinking beyond human enhancement technologies inside the body

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Est, van Q.C.; Schuijff, M.; Boer, de T.; Fischer, R.

    2013-01-01

    The debate on human enhancement has focused so far on invasive biomedical technologies that work inside the body. To fully address the question of what does it mean to be human in the 21st century, we should also pay attention to a broad range of technologies that work outside the body, but still

  13. Subjective thermal sensation and human body exergy consumption rate: analysis and correlation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simone, Angela; Dovjak, M.; Kolarik, Jakub

    2011-01-01

    , it is reasonable to consider both the exergy flows in building and those within the human body. There is a need to verify the human-body exergy model with the Thermal-Sensation (TS) response of subjects exposed to different combinations of indoor climate parameters (temperature, humidity, etc.). First results...... available on the relation between human-body exergy consumption rates and subjectively assessed thermal sensation showed that the minimum human body exergy consumption rate is associated with thermal sensation votes close to thermal neutrality, tending to slightly cool side of thermal sensation. By applying...... the exergy concept to the built indoor environment, additional results are going to be explored. By using the data available so far of operative temperature (to), the human body exergy consumption rates increase as to increases above 24°C or decreases below 22°C at relative humidity (RH) lower than 50...

  14. Gender Recognition from Unconstrained and Articulated Human Body

    OpenAIRE

    Wu, Qin; Guo, Guodong

    2014-01-01

    Gender recognition has many useful applications, ranging from business intelligence to image search and social activity analysis. Traditional research on gender recognition focuses on face images in a constrained environment. This paper proposes a method for gender recognition in articulated human body images acquired from an unconstrained environment in the real world. A systematic study of some critical issues in body-based gender recognition, such as which body parts are informative, ho...

  15. Transport of gaseous pollutants by convective boundary layer around a human body

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Licina, Dusan; Melikov, Arsen Krikor; Sekhar, Chandra

    2015-01-01

    This study investigates the ability of the human convective boundary layer to transport pollution in a quiescent indoor environment. The impact of the source location in the vicinity of a human body is examined in relation to pollution distribution in the breathing zone and the thickness...... of the pollution boundary layer. The study, in addition, evaluates the effects of the room air temperature, table positioning, and seated body inclination. The human body is represented by a thermal manikin that has a body shape, size, and surface temperature that resemble those of a real person. The results show...... at the upper back or behind the chair. The results also indicate that a decrease in personal exposure to pollutants released from or around the human body increases the extent to which the pollution spreads to the surroundings. Reducing the room air temperature or backward body inclination intensifies...

  16. Steady-state visually evoked potential correlates of human body perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giabbiconi, Claire-Marie; Jurilj, Verena; Gruber, Thomas; Vocks, Silja

    2016-11-01

    In cognitive neuroscience, interest in the neuronal basis underlying the processing of human bodies is steadily increasing. Based on functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, it is assumed that the processing of pictures of human bodies is anchored in a network of specialized brain areas comprising the extrastriate and the fusiform body area (EBA, FBA). An alternative to examine the dynamics within these networks is electroencephalography, more specifically so-called steady-state visually evoked potentials (SSVEPs). In SSVEP tasks, a visual stimulus is presented repetitively at a predefined flickering rate and typically elicits a continuous oscillatory brain response at this frequency. This brain response is characterized by an excellent signal-to-noise ratio-a major advantage for source reconstructions. The main goal of present study was to demonstrate the feasibility of this method to study human body perception. To that end, we presented pictures of bodies and contrasted the resulting SSVEPs to two control conditions, i.e., non-objects and pictures of everyday objects (chairs). We found specific SSVEPs amplitude differences between bodies and both control conditions. Source reconstructions localized the SSVEP generators to a network of temporal, occipital and parietal areas. Interestingly, only body perception resulted in activity differences in middle temporal and lateral occipitotemporal areas, most likely reflecting the EBA/FBA.

  17. Optimization study of using PTC for human body heating dissipation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiberiu Adrian SALAORU

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available A better knowledge of the human body heat loses mechanisms is important for both diminishing the number of deaths during the surgical procedures of the patients under effect of full anaesthesia and increasing the efficiency of the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC systems. For these studies it is necessary to manufacture a human body mannequin having its surface temperature maintained on a value close to the real human body temperature. A number of PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient thermistors placed on the entire external surface of the mannequin can be used for this purpose. This paper presents a study of the transient heating regime and the stability of the maintained temperature, performed on these devices.

  18. Emergency Handling for MAC Protocol in Human Body Communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kwon Youngmi

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The human body communication (HBC is a technology that enables short range data communication using the human body as a medium, like an electrical wire. Thus it removes the need for a traditional antenna. HBC may be used as a type of data communication in body area network (BAN, while the devices are being in contact with body. One of important issues in BAN is an emergency alarm because it may be closely related to human life. For emergency data communication, the most critical factor is the time constraint. IEEE 802.15.6 specifies that the emergency alarm for the BAN must be notified in less than 1 sec and must provide prioritization mechanisms for emergency traffic and notification. As one type of BAN, the HBC must follow this recommendation, too. Existing emergency handling methods in BAN are based on the carrier sensing capability on radio frequencies to detect the status of channels. However, PHY protocol in HBC does not provide the carrier sensing. So the previous methods are not well suitable for HBC directly. Additionally, in the environment that the emergency rate is very low, the allocation of dedicated slot(s for emergency in each superframe is very wasteful. In this work, we proposed specific emergency handling operation for human body communication's medium access control (HBC-MAC protocol to meet the emergency requirements for BAN. We also showed the optimal number of emergency slots for the various combinations of beacon intervals and emergency rates.

  19. Electrical Stimulation Promotes Cardiac Differentiation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Damián Hernández

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs are an attractive source of cardiomyocytes for cardiac repair and regeneration. In this study, we aim to determine whether acute electrical stimulation of human iPSCs can promote their differentiation to cardiomyocytes. Methods. Human iPSCs were differentiated to cardiac cells by forming embryoid bodies (EBs for 5 days. EBs were then subjected to brief electrical stimulation and plated down for 14 days. Results. In iPS(Foreskin-2 cell line, brief electrical stimulation at 65 mV/mm or 200 mV/mm for 5 min significantly increased the percentage of beating EBs present by day 14 after plating. Acute electrical stimulation also significantly increased the cardiac gene expression of ACTC1, TNNT2, MYH7, and MYL7. However, the cardiogenic effect of electrical stimulation was not reproducible in another iPS cell line, CERA007c6. Beating EBs from control and electrically stimulated groups expressed various cardiac-specific transcription factors and contractile muscle markers. Beating EBs were also shown to cycle calcium and were responsive to the chronotropic agents, isoproterenol and carbamylcholine, in a concentration-dependent manner. Conclusions. Our results demonstrate that brief electrical stimulation can promote cardiac differentiation of human iPS cells. The cardiogenic effect of brief electrical stimulation is dependent on the cell line used.

  20. Convolutional Neural Networks for Human Activity Recognition Using Body-Worn Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando Moya Rueda

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Human activity recognition (HAR is a classification task for recognizing human movements. Methods of HAR are of great interest as they have become tools for measuring occurrences and durations of human actions, which are the basis of smart assistive technologies and manual processes analysis. Recently, deep neural networks have been deployed for HAR in the context of activities of daily living using multichannel time-series. These time-series are acquired from body-worn devices, which are composed of different types of sensors. The deep architectures process these measurements for finding basic and complex features in human corporal movements, and for classifying them into a set of human actions. As the devices are worn at different parts of the human body, we propose a novel deep neural network for HAR. This network handles sequence measurements from different body-worn devices separately. An evaluation of the architecture is performed on three datasets, the Oportunity, Pamap2, and an industrial dataset, outperforming the state-of-the-art. In addition, different network configurations will also be evaluated. We find that applying convolutions per sensor channel and per body-worn device improves the capabilities of convolutional neural network (CNNs.

  1. Hypoxia regulates microRNA expression in the human carotid body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mkrtchian, Souren; Lee, Kian Leong; Kåhlin, Jessica; Ebberyd, Anette; Poellinger, Lorenz; Fagerlund, Malin Jonsson; Eriksson, Lars I.

    2017-01-01

    The carotid body (CB) is the key sensing organ for physiological oxygen levels in the body. Under conditions of low oxygen (hypoxia), the CB plays crucial roles in signaling to the cardiorespiratory center in the medulla oblongata for the restoration of oxygen homeostasis. How hypoxia regulates gene expression in the human CB remains poorly understood. While limited information on transcriptional regulation in animal CBs is available, the identity and impact of important post-transcriptional regulators such as non-coding RNAs, and in particular miRNAs are not known. Here we show using ex vivo experiments that indeed a number of miRNAs are differentially regulated in surgically removed human CB slices when acute hypoxic conditions were applied. Analysis of the hypoxia-regulated miRNAs shows that they target biological pathways with upregulation of functions related to cell proliferation and immune response and downregulation of cell differentiation and cell death functions. Comparative analysis of the human CB miRNAome with the global miRNA expression patterns of a large number of different human tissues showed that the CB miRNAome had a unique profile which reflects its highly specialized functional status. Nevertheless, the human CB miRNAome is most closely related to the miRNA expression pattern of brain tissues indicating that they may have the most similar developmental origins. - Highlights: • Hypoxia triggers differential expression of many miRNAs in the human carotid body. • This can lead to the upregulation of proliferation and immune response functions. • CB expression profile in the carotid body resembles the miRNA expression pattern in the brain. • miRNAs are involved in the regulation of carotid body functions including oxygen sensing.

  2. Hypoxia regulates microRNA expression in the human carotid body

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mkrtchian, Souren, E-mail: souren.mkrtchian@ki.se [Section for Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institute, SE-171 77 Stockholm (Sweden); Lee, Kian Leong, E-mail: csilkl@nus.edu.sg [Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, 117599 Singapore (Singapore); Kåhlin, Jessica [Section for Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institute, SE-171 77 Stockholm (Sweden); Function Perioperative Medicine and Intensive Care, Karolinska University Hospital, SE-171 76 Stockholm (Sweden); Ebberyd, Anette [Section for Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institute, SE-171 77 Stockholm (Sweden); Poellinger, Lorenz [Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore, 117599 Singapore (Singapore); Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, SE-171 77 Stockholm (Sweden); Fagerlund, Malin Jonsson; Eriksson, Lars I. [Section for Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institute, SE-171 77 Stockholm (Sweden); Function Perioperative Medicine and Intensive Care, Karolinska University Hospital, SE-171 76 Stockholm (Sweden)

    2017-03-15

    The carotid body (CB) is the key sensing organ for physiological oxygen levels in the body. Under conditions of low oxygen (hypoxia), the CB plays crucial roles in signaling to the cardiorespiratory center in the medulla oblongata for the restoration of oxygen homeostasis. How hypoxia regulates gene expression in the human CB remains poorly understood. While limited information on transcriptional regulation in animal CBs is available, the identity and impact of important post-transcriptional regulators such as non-coding RNAs, and in particular miRNAs are not known. Here we show using ex vivo experiments that indeed a number of miRNAs are differentially regulated in surgically removed human CB slices when acute hypoxic conditions were applied. Analysis of the hypoxia-regulated miRNAs shows that they target biological pathways with upregulation of functions related to cell proliferation and immune response and downregulation of cell differentiation and cell death functions. Comparative analysis of the human CB miRNAome with the global miRNA expression patterns of a large number of different human tissues showed that the CB miRNAome had a unique profile which reflects its highly specialized functional status. Nevertheless, the human CB miRNAome is most closely related to the miRNA expression pattern of brain tissues indicating that they may have the most similar developmental origins. - Highlights: • Hypoxia triggers differential expression of many miRNAs in the human carotid body. • This can lead to the upregulation of proliferation and immune response functions. • CB expression profile in the carotid body resembles the miRNA expression pattern in the brain. • miRNAs are involved in the regulation of carotid body functions including oxygen sensing.

  3. Expression and function of cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 and their cognate cannabinoid ligands in murine embryonic stem cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuxian Jiang

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Characterization of intrinsic and extrinsic factors regulating the self-renewal/division and differentiation of stem cells is crucial in determining embryonic stem (ES cell fate. ES cells differentiate into multiple hematopoietic lineages during embryoid body (EB formation in vitro, which provides an experimental platform to define the molecular mechanisms controlling germ layer fate determination and tissue formation.The cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1 and cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2 are members of the G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR family, that are activated by endogenous ligands, the endocannabinoids. CB1 receptor expression is abundant in brain while CB2 receptors are mostly expressed in hematopoietic cells. However, the expression and the precise roles of CB1 and CB2 and their cognate ligands in ES cells are not known. We observed significant induction of CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors during the hematopoietic differentiation of murine ES (mES-derived embryoid bodies. Furthermore, mES cells as well as ES-derived embryoid bodies at days 7 and 14, expressed endocannabinoids, the ligands for both CB1 and CB2. The CB1 and CB2 antagonists (AM251 and AM630, respectively induced mES cell death, strongly suggesting that endocannabinoids are involved in the survival of mES cells. Treatment of mES cells with the exogenous cannabinoid ligand Delta(9-THC resulted in the increased hematopoietic differentiation of mES cells, while addition of AM251 or AM630 blocked embryoid body formation derived from the mES cells. In addition, cannabinoid agonists induced the chemotaxis of ES-derived embryoid bodies, which was specifically inhibited by the CB1 and CB2 antagonists.This work has not been addressed previously and yields new information on the function of cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, as components of a novel pathway regulating murine ES cell differentiation. This study provides insights into cannabinoid system involvement in ES cell

  4. Fast detection and modeling of human-body parts from monocular video

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lao, W.; Han, Jungong; With, de P.H.N.; Perales, F.J.; Fisher, R.B.

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents a novel and fast scheme to detect different body parts in human motion. Using monocular video sequences, trajectory estimation and body modeling of moving humans are combined in a co-operating processing architecture. More specifically, for every individual person, features of

  5. Enhanced differentiation of human embryonic stem cells to mesenchymal progenitors by inhibition of TGF-beta/Activin/Nodal signaling using SB-431542

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mahmood, Amer; Harkness, Linda; Schrøder, Henrik Daa

    2010-01-01

    Directing differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) into specific cell types using an easy and reproducible protocol is a prerequisite for the clinical use of hESC in regenerative medicine procedures. Here, we report a protocol for directing the differentiation of hESC into mesenchymal...... in vivo. Interestingly, SB-OG cells cultured in 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) developed into a homogeneous population of mesenchymal progenitors that expressed CD markers characteristic of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC): CD44(+) (100%), CD73(+) (98%), CD146(+) (96%) and CD166(+) (88%) with the ability...... progenitor cells. We demonstrate that inhibition of TGF-beta/Activin/Nodal signaling during embryoid bodies (EB) formation using SB-431542 (SB) in serum free medium, markedly up-regulated paraxial mesodermal markers (TBX6, TBX5), and several myogenic developmental markers including early myogenic...

  6. DEVELOPMENT OF 2D HUMAN BODY MODELING USING THINNING ALGORITHM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Srinivasan

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Monitoring the behavior and activities of people in Video surveillance has gained more applications in Computer vision. This paper proposes a new approach to model the human body in 2D view for the activity analysis using Thinning algorithm. The first step of this work is Background subtraction which is achieved by the frame differencing algorithm. Thinning algorithm has been used to find the skeleton of the human body. After thinning, the thirteen feature points like terminating points, intersecting points, shoulder, elbow, and knee points have been extracted. Here, this research work attempts to represent the body model in three different ways such as Stick figure model, Patch model and Rectangle body model. The activities of humans have been analyzed with the help of 2D model for the pre-defined poses from the monocular video data. Finally, the time consumption and efficiency of our proposed algorithm have been evaluated.

  7. PTK7 marks the first human developmental EMT in vitro.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David N Chan

    Full Text Available Epithelial to mesenchymal transitions (EMTs are thought to be essential to generate diversity of tissues during early fetal development, but these events are essentially impossible to study at the molecular level in vivo in humans. The first EMT event that has been described morphologically in human development occurs just prior to generation of the primitive streak. Because human embryonic stem cells (hESCs and induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs are thought to most closely resemble cells found in epiblast-stage embryos prior to formation of the primitive streak, we sought to determine whether this first human EMT could be modeled in vitro with pluripotent stem cells. The data presented here suggest that generating embryoid bodies from hESCs or hiPSCs drives a procession of EMT events that can be observed within 24-48 hours after EB generation. These structures possess the typical hallmarks of developmental EMTs, and portions also display evidence of primitive streak and mesendoderm. We identify PTK7 as a novel marker of this EMT population, which can also be used to purify these cells for subsequent analyses and identification of novel markers of human development. Gene expression analysis indicated an upregulation of EMT markers and ECM proteins in the PTK7+ population. We also find that cells that undergo this developmental EMT retain developmental plasticity as sorting, dissociation and re-plating reestablishes an epithelial phenotype.

  8. A finite-element simulation of galvanic coupling intra-body communication based on the whole human body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Yong; Zhang, Kai; Hao, Qun; Hu, Lanxin; Wang, Jingwen; Shang, Fuzhou

    2012-10-09

    Simulation based on the finite-element (FE) method plays an important role in the investigation of intra-body communication (IBC). In this paper, a finite-element model of the whole body model used for the IBC simulation is proposed and verified, while the FE simulation of the galvanic coupling IBC with different signal transmission paths has been achieved. Firstly, a novel finite-element method for modeling the whole human body is proposed, and a FE model of the whole human body used for IBC simulation was developed. Secondly, the simulations of the galvanic coupling IBC with the different signal transmission paths were implemented. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed method was verified by using in vivo measurements within the frequency range of 10 kHz-5 MHz, whereby some important conclusions were deduced. Our results indicate that the proposed method will offer significant advantages in the investigation of the galvanic coupling intra-body communication.

  9. Effects of MDMA on body temperature in humans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liechti, Matthias E

    2014-01-01

    Hyperthermia is a severe complication associated with the recreational use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy). In this review, the clinical laboratory studies that tested the effects of MDMA on body temperature are summarized. The mechanisms that underlie the hyperthermic effects of MDMA in humans and treatment of severe hyperthermia are presented. The data show that MDMA produces an acute and dose-dependent rise in core body temperature in healthy subjects. The increase in body temperature is in the range of 0.2-0.8°C and does not result in hyperpyrexia (>40°C) in a controlled laboratory setting. However, moderately hyperthermic body temperatures >38.0°C occur frequently at higher doses, even in the absence of physical activity and at room temperature. MDMA primarily releases serotonin and norepinephrine. Mechanistic clinical studies indicate that the MDMA-induced elevations in body temperature in humans partially depend on the MDMA-induced release of norepinephrine and involve enhanced metabolic heat generation and cutaneous vasoconstriction, resulting in impaired heat dissipation. The mediating role of serotonin is unclear. The management of sympathomimetic toxicity and associated hyperthermia mainly includes sedation with benzodiazepines and intravenous fluid replacement. Severe hyperthermia should primarily be treated with additional cooling and mechanical ventilation. PMID:27626046

  10. The construction of human body--from model to reality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motoc, A; Motoc, Marilena; Bolintineanu, S; Muşuroi, Corina; Munteanu, M

    2005-01-01

    The human body building represented a complex research topic for the scientist in the most diverse domains. Although their interests and reasons were different, the goal was always the same: establishing a relation to verify the ratio between the dimensions of the constituent segments It appears that the mystery was solved out in the XIX-th century by Adolf Zeising, a German, who, using the statistic calculus, defined the division of a segment by the gold section. This purely mathematic logic confirms the human body's integration in proportion to the finest segments, thus providing the technical instrument of building a fully harmonious human body. The present study aims to compare the ideal, the calculated perfection to the reality, namely the theoretically obtained values to the average values of an 18-year-old male. It appears that the differences refer especially to the limbs; both the superior ones and the inferior ones being longer comparing to the ideal pattern while the bust is shorter and broader.

  11. Air temperature investigation in microenvironment around a human body

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Licina, Dusan; Melikov, Arsen Krikor; Sekhar, Chandra

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study is to investigate the temperature boundary layer around a human body in a quiescent indoor environment. The air temperature, mean in time and standard deviation of the temperature fluctuations around a breathing thermal manikin are examined in relation to the room temperature......, body posture and human respiratory flow. To determine to what extent the experiments represent the realistic scenario, the additional experiments were performed with a real human subject. The results show that at a lower room air temperature (20°C), the fluctuations of air temperature increased close...... to the surface of the body. The large standard deviation of air temperature fluctuations, up to 1.2°C, was recorded in the region of the chest, and up to 2.9°C when the exhalation was applied. The manikin leaned backwards increased the air temperature in the breathing zone, which was opposite from the forward...

  12. Wearable health monitoring using capacitive voltage-mode Human Body Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maity, Shovan; Das, Debayan; Sen, Shreyas

    2017-07-01

    Rapid miniaturization and cost reduction of computing, along with the availability of wearable and implantable physiological sensors have led to the growth of human Body Area Network (BAN) formed by a network of such sensors and computing devices. One promising application of such a network is wearable health monitoring where the collected data from the sensors would be transmitted and analyzed to assess the health of a person. Typically, the devices in a BAN are connected through wireless (WBAN), which suffers from energy inefficiency due to the high-energy consumption of wireless transmission. Human Body Communication (HBC) uses the relatively low loss human body as the communication medium to connect these devices, promising order(s) of magnitude better energy-efficiency and built-in security compared to WBAN. In this paper, we demonstrate a health monitoring device and system built using Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) sensors and components, that can collect data from physiological sensors and transmit it through a) intra-body HBC to another device (hub) worn on the body or b) upload health data through HBC-based human-machine interaction to an HBC capable machine. The system design constraints and signal transfer characteristics for the implemented HBC-based wearable health monitoring system are measured and analyzed, showing reliable connectivity with >8× power savings compared to Bluetooth low-energy (BTLE).

  13. Measuring Accurate Body Parameters of Dressed Humans with Large-Scale Motion Using a Kinect Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sidan Du

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Non-contact human body measurement plays an important role in surveillance, physical healthcare, on-line business and virtual fitting. Current methods for measuring the human body without physical contact usually cannot handle humans wearing clothes, which limits their applicability in public environments. In this paper, we propose an effective solution that can measure accurate parameters of the human body with large-scale motion from a Kinect sensor, assuming that the people are wearing clothes. Because motion can drive clothes attached to the human body loosely or tightly, we adopt a space-time analysis to mine the information across the posture variations. Using this information, we recover the human body, regardless of the effect of clothes, and measure the human body parameters accurately. Experimental results show that our system can perform more accurate parameter estimation on the human body than state-of-the-art methods.

  14. Persons and their bodies: how we should think about human embryos.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLachlan, Hugh V

    2002-01-01

    The status of human embryos is discussed particularly in the light of the claim by Fox, in Health Care Analysis 8 that it would be useful to think of them in terms of cyborg metaphors. It is argued that we should consider human embryos for what they are--partially formed human bodies--rather than for what they are like in some respects (and unlike in others)--cyborgs. However to settle the issue of the status of the embryo is not to answer the moral questions which arise concerning how embryos should be treated. Since persons rather than bodies have rights, embryos do not have rights. However, whether or not embryos have rights, people can have duties concerning them. Furthermore, the persons whose fully developed bodies embryos will, might (or might have) become can have rights. Contrary to what is often assumed, it is not merely persons who have (or have had) living, developed human bodies who have moral rights: so it is argued in this paper.

  15. Signal transmission in a human body medium-based body sensor network using a Mach-Zehnder electro-optical sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Yong; Hao, Qun; Zhang, Kai; Wang, Jingwen; Jin, Xuefeng; Sun, He

    2012-11-30

    The signal transmission technology based on the human body medium offers significant advantages in Body Sensor Networks (BSNs) used for healthcare and the other related fields. In previous works we have proposed a novel signal transmission method based on the human body medium using a Mach-Zehnder electro-optical (EO) sensor. In this paper, we present a signal transmission system based on the proposed method, which consists of a transmitter, a Mach-Zehnder EO sensor and a corresponding receiving circuit. Meanwhile, in order to verify the frequency response properties and determine the suitable parameters of the developed system, in-vivo measurements have been implemented under conditions of different carrier frequencies, baseband frequencies and signal transmission paths. Results indicate that the proposed system will help to achieve reliable and high speed signal transmission of BSN based on the human body medium.

  16. Human body as a food for sexuality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Everton Luiz de Oliveira

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The present article depicts a theoretical walk, based on a historical and cultural narrative, that presents the body as a central element in the formatting and construction of human sexuality. Such walk intuits to show some projections, thoughts and materialization which ascertained the physical beauty as a promoter of desires, intentions and erotic feelings, in favor of an announced sexuality and common sense as ideal. The objective was also discuss, how the physical body aesthetic has been the driving force for configuring standard discourses on sexuality, distorting the idea that only the similar bodies to the hegemonic body models can be considered as object of desire, pleasure, and sexual and erotic practices. Finally, it learns that the body can also be admitted as an instrument to subvert the predetermined logic that body, beauty and sexual practices appear to form a triad in favor of the myth of perfect or performative sexuality. As the bodies (all of them has been recognized by the community as promoters of pleasures, desires and foundation for effective practices and sexual/erotic routines, regardless of their physiological, anatomical and aesthetic formatting.

  17. Lymphoblast-derived integration-free ISRM-CON9 iPS cell line from a 75 year old female

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soraia Martins

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Human lymphoblast cells were used to generate integration-free induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs employing episomal-based plasmids expressing OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, LIN28, c-MYC and L-MYC. The derived iPSCs were defined as pluripotent based on (i expression of pluripotency-associated markers, (ii embryoid body-based differentiation into cell types representative of the three germ layers and (iii the similarity between the transcriptomes of the iPSC line and the human embryonic stem cell line H1 with a Pearson correlation of 0.95.

  18. More-Realistic Digital Modeling of a Human Body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogge, Renee

    2010-01-01

    A MATLAB computer program has been written to enable improved (relative to an older program) modeling of a human body for purposes of designing space suits and other hardware with which an astronaut must interact. The older program implements a kinematic model based on traditional anthropometric measurements that do provide important volume and surface information. The present program generates a three-dimensional (3D) whole-body model from 3D body-scan data. The program utilizes thin-plate spline theory to reposition the model without need for additional scans.

  19. Intellectual property rights and detached human body parts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pila, Justine

    2014-01-01

    This paper responds to an invitation by the editors to consider whether the intellectual property (IP) regime suggests an appropriate model for protecting interests in detached human body parts. It begins by outlining the extent of existing IP protection for body parts in Europe, and the relevant strengths and weaknesses of the patent system in that regard. It then considers two further species of IP right of less obvious relevance. The first are the statutory rights of ownership conferred by domestic UK law in respect of employee inventions, and the second are the economic and moral rights recognised by European and international law in respect of authorial works. In the argument made, both of these species of IP right may suggest more appropriate models of sui generis protection for detached human body parts than patent rights because of their capacity better to accommodate the relevant public and private interests in respect of the same.

  20. Perspective of the Human Body in Sasang Constitutional Medicine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Junhee Lee

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The Sasang constitutional medicine (SCM, a medical tradition originating from Korea, is distinguished from the traditional Chinese medicine in its philosophical background, theoretical development and especially, the fundamental rationale that analyzes the structure and function of the human body within a quadrifocal scheme. In SCM, the structure of the body is comprehended within the Sasang quadrifocal scheme, and the function of the body is understood within the context of the energy-fluid metabolism and the water-food metabolism controlled by the four main organs (lung, spleen, liver and kidney. Also, the concept of Seong-Jeong is used to explain the structural and functional variations between different constitutional types that arise from the constitutional variations in organ system scheme, which are in turn caused by deviations in the constitutional Seong-Jeong. Therefore, understanding the SCM perspective of the human body is essential in order to fully appreciate the advantages of the constitutional typological system (which focuses on individual idiosyncrasies found in SCM.

  1. Resourcifying human bodies--Kant and bioethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyasaka, Michio

    2005-01-01

    This essay roughly sketches two major conceptions of autonomy in contemporary bioethics that promote the resourcification of human body parts: (1) a narrow conception of autonomy as self-determination; and (2) the conception of autonomy as dissociated from human dignity. In this paper I will argue that, on the one hand, these two conceptions are very different from that found in the modern European tradition of philosophical inquiry, because bioethics has concentrated on an external account of patient's self-determination and on dissociating dignity from internal human nature. However, on the other hand, they are consistent with more recent European philosophy. In this more recent tradition, human dignity has gradually been dissociated from contextual values, and human subjectivity has been dissociated from objectivity and absolutized as never to be objectified. In the concluding part, I will give a speculative sketch in which Kant's internal inquiry of maxim of ends, causality and end, and dignity as iirreplaceability is recombined with bioethics' externalized one and used to support an extended human resourcification.

  2. Body maps on the human genome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cherniak, Christopher; Rodriguez-Esteban, Raul

    2013-12-20

    Chromosomes have territories, or preferred locales, in the cell nucleus. When these sites are taken into account, some large-scale structure of the human genome emerges. The synoptic picture is that genes highly expressed in particular topologically compact tissues are not randomly distributed on the genome. Rather, such tissue-specific genes tend to map somatotopically onto the complete chromosome set. They seem to form a "genome homunculus": a multi-dimensional, genome-wide body representation extending across chromosome territories of the entire spermcell nucleus. The antero-posterior axis of the body significantly corresponds to the head-tail axis of the nucleus, and the dorso-ventral body axis to the central-peripheral nucleus axis. This large-scale genomic structure includes thousands of genes. One rationale for a homuncular genome structure would be to minimize connection costs in genetic networks. Somatotopic maps in cerebral cortex have been reported for over a century.

  3. A DXA Whole Body Composition Cross-Calibration Experience: Evaluation With Humans, Spine, and Whole Body Phantoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krueger, Diane; Libber, Jessie; Sanfilippo, Jennifer; Yu, Hui Jing; Horvath, Blaine; Miller, Colin G; Binkley, Neil

    2016-01-01

    New densitometer installation requires cross-calibration for accurate longitudinal assessment. When replacing a unit with the same model, the International Society for Clinical Densitometry recommends cross-calibrating by scanning phantoms 10 times on each instrument and states that spine bone mineral density (BMD) should be within 1%, whereas total body lean, fat, and %fat mass should be within 2% of the prior instrument. However, there is limited validation that these recommendations provide adequate total body cross-calibration. Here, we report a total body cross-calibration experience with phantoms and humans. Cross-calibration between an existing and new Lunar iDXA was performed using 3 encapsulated spine phantoms (GE [GE Lunar, Madison, WI], BioClinica [BioClinica Inc, Princeton, NJ], and Hologic [Hologic Inc, Bedford, MA]), 1 total body composition phantom (BioClinica), and 30 human volunteers. Thirty scans of each phantom and a total body scan of human volunteers were obtained on each instrument. All spine phantom BMD means were similar (within 1%; g/cm2 bias) between the existing and new dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry unit. The BioClinica body composition phantom (BBCP) BMD and bone mineral content (BMC) values were within 2% with biases of 0.005 g/cm2 and -3.4 g. However, lean and fat mass and %fat differed by 4.6%-7.7% with biases of +463 g, -496 g, and -2.8%, respectively. In vivo comparison supported BBCP data; BMD and BMC were within ∼2%, but lean and fat mass and %fat differed from 1.6% to 4.9% with biases of +833 g, -860 g, and -1.1%. As all body composition comparisons exceeded the recommended 2%, the new densitometer was recalibrated. After recalibration, in vivo bias was lower (g, respectively. Similarly, BBCP lean and fat agreement improved. In conclusion, the BBCP behaves similarly, but not identical, to human in vivo measurements for densitometer cross-calibration. Spine phantoms, despite good BMD and BMC agreement, did not detect

  4. Half-life of each dioxin and PCB congener in the human body

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ogura, Isamura [National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba (Japan)

    2004-09-15

    It is well known that dioxin and PCB congeners accumulate in the human body. For assessing their toxicological risk, it is important to know the half-life of each congener in the human body. This study summarizes the overall half-lives of congeners in humans as reported in the literature, and compares them with the half-lives due to fecal and sebum excretions, as estimated by data on the concentrations of congeners in feces and sebum in the literature. In addition, the overall half-lives of congeners for the general Japanese population were estimated from the data on dietary intakes and concentrations in the human body reported by the municipalities.

  5. Teaching practices epistemologically differentiated about human body learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosália Maria Ribeiro de Aragão

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available How could we teach about THE HUMAN BODY as a different way, in both epistemological and pedagogical approaches? How could we leave behind stagnant as well as stagnating aspects of traditional way of teaching, such as the fragmentation/segmentation of contents, the far away reality, the excessive use of details or else, whenever learning about our own body? These are some of the questions we have considered when trying to escape the bad influence which came from our "environment formation" - putting it on all the marks we have acquired inside or even outside school - trying to overview as meaning our body working...in constant interaction with the surrounding ambient. Among those pointed kind of formation marks we frequently acquire from studying at the University - which need to be transcended —here we come to detach those innumerable contacts with both anatomized and misfigurated supposed human bodies' which didn't even look like actual human bodies, because they could never seem to have sheltered life inside themselves. They were inert as well as static bodies, only used as a such of vain "didactic materials" that could/can permit many teachers on their educational formation to focus a certain teaching approach which only seeks both the students' memorization of an infinitude of "complicated words", and to structure the systems -by several procedures of nouns definition and/or classification - as part of the so called biological organism. In order to do a different way of teaching, we have based our approach on three alternative teaching methodologies which focus these matters under a constructive perspective. On those three focused studies, it is possible to observe that some very principles of a present day teaching approach were there considered to achieve some of them: the respect for the students' previous ideas; the understanding about knowledge as something that is not established for good but as ever changeable and, at last, the

  6. Human Activity Recognition from Body Sensor Data using Deep Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan, Mohammad Mehedi; Huda, Shamsul; Uddin, Md Zia; Almogren, Ahmad; Alrubaian, Majed

    2018-04-16

    In recent years, human activity recognition from body sensor data or wearable sensor data has become a considerable research attention from academia and health industry. This research can be useful for various e-health applications such as monitoring elderly and physical impaired people at Smart home to improve their rehabilitation processes. However, it is not easy to accurately and automatically recognize physical human activity through wearable sensors due to the complexity and variety of body activities. In this paper, we address the human activity recognition problem as a classification problem using wearable body sensor data. In particular, we propose to utilize a Deep Belief Network (DBN) model for successful human activity recognition. First, we extract the important initial features from the raw body sensor data. Then, a kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) are performed to further process the features and make them more robust to be useful for fast activity recognition. Finally, the DBN is trained by these features. Various experiments were performed on a real-world wearable sensor dataset to verify the effectiveness of the deep learning algorithm. The results show that the proposed DBN outperformed other algorithms and achieves satisfactory activity recognition performance.

  7. Quasi-static modeling of human limb for intra-body communications with experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pun, Sio Hang; Gao, Yue Ming; Mak, PengUn; Vai, Mang I; Du, Min

    2011-11-01

    In recent years, the increasing number of wearable devices on human has been witnessed as a trend. These devices can serve for many purposes: personal entertainment, communication, emergency mission, health care supervision, delivery, etc. Sharing information among the devices scattered across the human body requires a body area network (BAN) and body sensor network (BSN). However, implementation of the BAN/BSN with the conventional wireless technologies cannot give optimal result. It is mainly because the high requirements of light weight, miniature, energy efficiency, security, and less electromagnetic interference greatly limit the resources available for the communication modules. The newly developed intra-body communication (IBC) can alleviate most of the mentioned problems. This technique, which employs the human body as a communication channel, could be an innovative networking method for sensors and devices on the human body. In order to encourage the research and development of the IBC, the authors are favorable to lay a better and more formal theoretical foundation on IBC. They propose a multilayer mathematical model using volume conductor theory for galvanic coupling IBC on a human limb with consideration on the inhomogeneous properties of human tissue. By introducing and checking with quasi-static approximation criteria, Maxwell's equations are decoupled and capacitance effect is included to the governing equation for further improvement. Finally, the accuracy and potential of the model are examined from both in vitro and in vivo experimental results.

  8. Exploring the human body space: A geographical information system based anatomical atlas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Barbeito

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Anatomical atlases allow mapping the anatomical structures of the human body. Early versions of these systems consisted of analogical representations with informative text and labeled images of the human body. With computer systems, digital versions emerged and the third and fourth dimensions were introduced. Consequently, these systems increased their efficiency, allowing more realistic visualizations with improved interactivity and functionality. The 4D atlases allow modeling changes over time on the structures represented. The anatomical atlases based on geographic information system (GIS environments allow the creation of platforms with a high degree of interactivity and new tools to explore and analyze the human body. In this study we expand the functions of a human body representation system by creating new vector data, topology, functions, and an improved user interface. The new prototype emulates a 3D GIS with a topological model of the human body, replicates the information provided by anatomical atlases, and provides a higher level of functionality and interactivity. At this stage, the developed system is intended to be used as an educational tool and integrates into the same interface the typical representations of surface and sectional atlases.

  9. HLA engineering of human pluripotent stem cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riolobos, Laura; Hirata, Roli K; Turtle, Cameron J; Wang, Pei-Rong; Gornalusse, German G; Zavajlevski, Maja; Riddell, Stanley R; Russell, David W

    2013-06-01

    The clinical use of human pluripotent stem cells and their derivatives is limited by the rejection of transplanted cells due to differences in their human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes. This has led to the proposed use of histocompatible, patient-specific stem cells; however, the preparation of many different stem cell lines for clinical use is a daunting task. Here, we develop two distinct genetic engineering approaches that address this problem. First, we use a combination of gene targeting and mitotic recombination to derive HLA-homozygous embryonic stem cell (ESC) subclones from an HLA-heterozygous parental line. A small bank of HLA-homozygous stem cells with common haplotypes would match a significant proportion of the population. Second, we derive HLA class I-negative cells by targeted disruption of both alleles of the Beta-2 Microglobulin (B2M) gene in ESCs. Mixed leukocyte reactions and peptide-specific HLA-restricted CD8(+) T cell responses were reduced in class I-negative cells that had undergone differentiation in embryoid bodies. These B2M(-/-) ESCs could act as universal donor cells in applications where the transplanted cells do not express HLA class II genes. Both approaches used adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors for efficient gene targeting in the absence of potentially genotoxic nucleases, and produced pluripotent, transgene-free cell lines.

  10. HLA Engineering of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riolobos, Laura; Hirata, Roli K; Turtle, Cameron J; Wang, Pei-Rong; Gornalusse, German G; Zavajlevski, Maja; Riddell, Stanley R; Russell, David W

    2013-01-01

    The clinical use of human pluripotent stem cells and their derivatives is limited by the rejection of transplanted cells due to differences in their human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes. This has led to the proposed use of histocompatible, patient-specific stem cells; however, the preparation of many different stem cell lines for clinical use is a daunting task. Here, we develop two distinct genetic engineering approaches that address this problem. First, we use a combination of gene targeting and mitotic recombination to derive HLA-homozygous embryonic stem cell (ESC) subclones from an HLA-heterozygous parental line. A small bank of HLA-homozygous stem cells with common haplotypes would match a significant proportion of the population. Second, we derive HLA class I–negative cells by targeted disruption of both alleles of the Beta-2 Microglobulin (B2M) gene in ESCs. Mixed leukocyte reactions and peptide-specific HLA-restricted CD8+ T cell responses were reduced in class I–negative cells that had undergone differentiation in embryoid bodies. These B2M−/− ESCs could act as universal donor cells in applications where the transplanted cells do not express HLA class II genes. Both approaches used adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors for efficient gene targeting in the absence of potentially genotoxic nucleases, and produced pluripotent, transgene-free cell lines. PMID:23629003

  11. Myostatin acts as an autocrine/paracrine negative regulator in myoblast differentiation from human induced pluripotent stem cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Fei; Kishida, Tsunao; Ejima, Akika; Gojo, Satoshi; Mazda, Osam

    2013-02-08

    Myostatin, also known as growth differentiation factor (GDF-8), regulates proliferation of muscle satellite cells, and suppresses differentiation of myoblasts into myotubes via down-regulation of key myogenic differentiation factors including MyoD. Recent advances in stem cell biology have enabled generation of myoblasts from pluripotent stem cells, but it remains to be clarified whether myostatin is also involved in regulation of artificial differentiation of myoblasts from pluripotent stem cells. Here we show that the human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived cells that were induced to differentiate into myoblasts expressed myostatin and its receptor during the differentiation. An addition of recombinant human myostatin (rhMyostatin) suppressed induction of MyoD and Myo5a, resulting in significant suppression of myoblast differentiation. The rhMyostatin treatment also inhibited proliferation of the cells at a later phase of differentiation. RNAi-mediated silencing of myostatin promoted differentiation of human iPS-derived embryoid body (EB) cells into myoblasts. These results strongly suggest that myostatin plays an important role in regulation of myoblast differentiation from iPS cells of human origin. The present findings also have significant implications for potential regenerative medicine for muscular diseases. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Reprogramming Methods Do Not Affect Gene Expression Profile of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trevisan, Marta; Desole, Giovanna; Costanzi, Giulia; Lavezzo, Enrico; Palù, Giorgio; Barzon, Luisa

    2017-01-20

    Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are pluripotent cells derived from adult somatic cells. After the pioneering work by Yamanaka, who first generated iPSCs by retroviral transduction of four reprogramming factors, several alternative methods to obtain iPSCs have been developed in order to increase the yield and safety of the process. However, the question remains open on whether the different reprogramming methods can influence the pluripotency features of the derived lines. In this study, three different strategies, based on retroviral vectors, episomal vectors, and Sendai virus vectors, were applied to derive iPSCs from human fibroblasts. The reprogramming efficiency of the methods based on episomal and Sendai virus vectors was higher than that of the retroviral vector-based approach. All human iPSC clones derived with the different methods showed the typical features of pluripotent stem cells, including the expression of alkaline phosphatase and stemness maker genes, and could give rise to the three germ layer derivatives upon embryoid bodies assay. Microarray analysis confirmed the presence of typical stem cell gene expression profiles in all iPSC clones and did not identify any significant difference among reprogramming methods. In conclusion, the use of different reprogramming methods is equivalent and does not affect gene expression profile of the derived human iPSCs.

  13. Gender recognition from unconstrained and articulated human body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Qin; Guo, Guodong

    2014-01-01

    Gender recognition has many useful applications, ranging from business intelligence to image search and social activity analysis. Traditional research on gender recognition focuses on face images in a constrained environment. This paper proposes a method for gender recognition in articulated human body images acquired from an unconstrained environment in the real world. A systematic study of some critical issues in body-based gender recognition, such as which body parts are informative, how many body parts are needed to combine together, and what representations are good for articulated body-based gender recognition, is also presented. This paper also pursues data fusion schemes and efficient feature dimensionality reduction based on the partial least squares estimation. Extensive experiments are performed on two unconstrained databases which have not been explored before for gender recognition.

  14. Gender Recognition from Unconstrained and Articulated Human Body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Qin; Guo, Guodong

    2014-01-01

    Gender recognition has many useful applications, ranging from business intelligence to image search and social activity analysis. Traditional research on gender recognition focuses on face images in a constrained environment. This paper proposes a method for gender recognition in articulated human body images acquired from an unconstrained environment in the real world. A systematic study of some critical issues in body-based gender recognition, such as which body parts are informative, how many body parts are needed to combine together, and what representations are good for articulated body-based gender recognition, is also presented. This paper also pursues data fusion schemes and efficient feature dimensionality reduction based on the partial least squares estimation. Extensive experiments are performed on two unconstrained databases which have not been explored before for gender recognition. PMID:24977203

  15. CAD Design of Human Male Body for Mass–Inertial Characteristics Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolova Gergana

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present research is to present a 16-segmental biomechanical model of the Bulgarian male to determine the mass-inertial characteristics of the body of the Bulgarian male based on parameters available in the literature and its 3D generation within SolidWorks software. The motivation of the research is to support mainly sport, rehabilitation, wearable robots and furniture design users. The proposed CAD model of the human body of men is verified against the analytical results from our previous investigation, as well as through comparison with data available in the provided references. In this paper we model two basic human body positions: standing position and sitting with thighs elevated. The comparison performed between our model results and data reported in literature gives us confidence that this model can be reliably used to calculate the mass-inertial characteristics of male body at any postures of the body that is of interest. Therefore, our model can be used to obtain data for positions which the human body has to take in everyday live, in sport, leisure, including space exploration, for investigating criminology cases – body fall, car crash, etc. The model is suitable for performing computer simulation in robotics, medicine, sport and other areas.

  16. Mathematical human body modelling for impact loading

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Happee, R.; Morsink, P.L.J.; Wismans, J.S.H.M.

    1999-01-01

    Mathematical modelling of the human body is widely used for automotive crash safety research and design. Simulations have contributed to a reduction of injury numbers by optimisation of vehicle structures and restraint systems. Currently such simulations are largely performed using occupant models

  17. Multi-modal RGB–Depth–Thermal Human Body Segmentation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Palmero, Cristina; Clapés, Albert; Bahnsen, Chris

    2016-01-01

    This work addresses the problem of human body segmentation from multi-modal visual cues as a first stage of automatic human behavior analysis. We propose a novel RGB-Depth-Thermal dataset along with a multi-modal seg- mentation baseline. The several modalities are registered us- ing a calibration...... to other state-of-the-art meth- ods, obtaining an overlap above 75% on the novel dataset when compared to the manually annotated ground-truth of human segmentations....

  18. Modeling and characterization of different channels based on human body communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jingzhen Li; Zedong Nie; Yuhang Liu; Lei Wang

    2017-07-01

    Human body communication (HBC), which uses the human body as a transmission medium for electrical signals, provides a prospective communication solution for body sensor networks (BSNs). In this paper, an inhomogeneous model which includes the tissue layers of skin, fat, and muscle is proposed to study the propagation characteristics of different HBC channels. Specifically, the HBC channels, namely, the on-body to on-body (OB-OB)channel, on-body to in-body (OB-IB) channel, in-body to on-body (IB-OB) channel, and in-body to in-body (IB-IB)channel, are studied over different frequencies (from 1MHz to 100MHz) through numerical simulations with finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The results show that the gain of OB-IB channel and IB-OB channel is almost the same. The gain of IB-IB channel is greater than other channels in the frequency range 1MHz to 70MHz. In addition, the gain of all channels is associated with the channel length and communication frequency. The simulations are verified by experimental measurements in a porcine tissue sample. The results show that the simulations are in agreement with the measurements.

  19. Investigation of the effects of human body stability on joint angles’ prediction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pasha Zanoosi, A. A.; Naderi, D.; Sadeghi-Mehr, M.; Feri, M.; Beheshtiha, A. Sh.; Fallahnejad, K.

    2015-01-01

    Loosing stability control in elderly or paralyzed has motivated researchers to study how a stability control system works and how to determine its state at every time instant. Studying the stability of a human body is not only an important problem from a scientific viewpoint, but also finally leads to new designs of prostheses and orthoses and rehabilitation methods. Computer modeling enables researchers to study and describe the reactions and propose a suitable and optimized motion pattern to strengthen the neuromuscular system and helps a human body maintain its stability. A perturbation as a tilting is exposed to an underfoot plate of a musculoskeletal model of the body to study the stability. The studied model of a human body included four links and three degrees of freedom with eight muscles in the sagittal plane. Lagrangian dynamics was used for deriving equations of motion and muscles were modeled using Hill’s model. Using experimental data of joint trajectories for a human body under tilting perturbation, forward dynamics has been applied to predict joint trajectories and muscle activation. This study investigated the effects of stability on predicting body joints’ motion. A new stability function for a human body, based on the zero moment point, has been employed in a forward dynamics procedure using a direct collocation method. A multi-objective optimization based on genetic algorithm has been proposed to employ stability as a robotic objective function along with muscle stresses as a biological objective function. The obtained results for joints’ motion were compared to experimental data. The results show that, for this type of perturbations, muscle stresses are in conflict with body stability. This means that more body stability requires more stresses in muscles and reverse. Results also show the effects of the stability objective function in better prediction of joint trajectories

  20. Investigation of the effects of human body stability on joint angles’ prediction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pasha Zanoosi, A. A., E-mail: aliakbar.pasha@yahoo.com, E-mail: aliakbar.pasha@qiau.ac.ir [Islamic Azad University, Faculty of Industrial & Mechanical Engineering, Qazvin Branch (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Naderi, D.; Sadeghi-Mehr, M.; Feri, M. [Bu Ali-Sina University, Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Beheshtiha, A. Sh. [Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institute of Mechanics and Computational Mechanics (Germany); Fallahnejad, K. [Flinders University, Discipline of Mechanical Engineering, School of Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics (Australia)

    2015-10-15

    Loosing stability control in elderly or paralyzed has motivated researchers to study how a stability control system works and how to determine its state at every time instant. Studying the stability of a human body is not only an important problem from a scientific viewpoint, but also finally leads to new designs of prostheses and orthoses and rehabilitation methods. Computer modeling enables researchers to study and describe the reactions and propose a suitable and optimized motion pattern to strengthen the neuromuscular system and helps a human body maintain its stability. A perturbation as a tilting is exposed to an underfoot plate of a musculoskeletal model of the body to study the stability. The studied model of a human body included four links and three degrees of freedom with eight muscles in the sagittal plane. Lagrangian dynamics was used for deriving equations of motion and muscles were modeled using Hill’s model. Using experimental data of joint trajectories for a human body under tilting perturbation, forward dynamics has been applied to predict joint trajectories and muscle activation. This study investigated the effects of stability on predicting body joints’ motion. A new stability function for a human body, based on the zero moment point, has been employed in a forward dynamics procedure using a direct collocation method. A multi-objective optimization based on genetic algorithm has been proposed to employ stability as a robotic objective function along with muscle stresses as a biological objective function. The obtained results for joints’ motion were compared to experimental data. The results show that, for this type of perturbations, muscle stresses are in conflict with body stability. This means that more body stability requires more stresses in muscles and reverse. Results also show the effects of the stability objective function in better prediction of joint trajectories.

  1. Deciphering the iron isotope message of the human body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walczyk, Thomas; von Blanckenburg, Friedhelm

    2005-04-01

    Mass-dependent variations in isotopic composition are known since decades for the light elements such as hydrogen, carbon or oxygen. Multicollector-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) and double-spike thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) permit us now to resolve small variations in isotopic composition even for the heavier elements such as iron. Recent studies on the iron isotopic composition of human blood and dietary iron sources have shown that lighter iron isotopes are enriched along the food chain and that each individual bears a certain iron isotopic signature in blood. To make use of this finding in biomedical research, underlying mechanisms of isotope fractionation by the human body need to be understood. In this paper available iron isotope data for biological samples are discussed within the context of isotope fractionation concepts and fundamental aspects of human iron metabolism. This includes evaluation of new data for body tissues which show that blood and muscle tissue have a similar iron isotopic composition while heavier iron isotopes are concentrated in the liver. This new observation is in agreement with our earlier hypothesis of a preferential absorption of lighter iron isotopes by the human body. Possible mechanisms for inducing an iron isotope effect at the cellular and molecular level during iron uptake are presented and the potential of iron isotope effects in human blood as a long-term measure of dietary iron absorption is discussed.

  2. The major histocompatibility complex and perfumers' descriptions of human body odors

    OpenAIRE

    Wedekind, C.; Escher, S.; Van de Waal, M.; Frei, E.

    2007-01-01

    The MHC (major histocompatibility complex) is a group of genes that play a crucial role in immune recognition and in tolerance of tissue grafting. The MHC has also been found to influence body odors, body odor preferences, and mate choice in mice and humans. Here we test whether verbal descriptions of human body odors can be linked to the MHC. We asked 45 male students to live as odor neutral as possible for two consecutive days and to wear a T-shirt during the nights. The odors of these T-sh...

  3. Human induced pluripotent stem cells on autologous feeders.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kazutoshi Takahashi

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: For therapeutic usage of induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS cells, to accomplish xeno-free culture is critical. Previous reports have shown that human embryonic stem (ES cells can be maintained in feeder-free condition. However, absence of feeder cells can be a hostile environment for pluripotent cells and often results in karyotype abnormalities. Instead of animal feeders, human fibroblasts can be used as feeder cells of human ES cells. However, one still has to be concerned about the existence of unidentified pathogens, such as viruses and prions in these non-autologous feeders. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This report demonstrates that human induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS cells can be established and maintained on isogenic parental feeder cells. We tested four independent human skin fibroblasts for the potential to maintain self-renewal of iPS cells. All the fibroblasts tested, as well as their conditioned medium, were capable of maintaining the undifferentiated state and normal karyotypes of iPS cells. Furthermore, human iPS cells can be generated on isogenic parental fibroblasts as feeders. These iPS cells carried on proliferation over 19 passages with undifferentiated morphologies. They expressed undifferentiated pluripotent cell markers, and could differentiate into all three germ layers via embryoid body and teratoma formation. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that autologous fibroblasts can be not only a source for iPS cells but also be feeder layers. Our results provide a possibility to solve the dilemma by using isogenic fibroblasts as feeder layers of iPS cells. This is an important step toward the establishment of clinical grade iPS cells.

  4. The venality of human body parts and products in French law and common law.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haoulia, Naima

    2012-03-01

    The successive bioethics laws in France have constantly argued that the human body is not for sale and consecrated an absolute principle of free and anonymous donations, whether of semen, ova, blood, tissues or organs. Nonetheless, this position is not shared by all countries. These legal divergences upset today our moral principles and the development of these practices leads us to question the legal status of human biological material and its gradual commodification. This paper outlines the current law principles that protect people's interests in their bodies, excised body parts and tissues without conferring the rights of full legal ownership in French law and in Common law. Contrary to what many people believe, people do not legally 'own' their bodies, body parts or tissues. However, they do have some legal rights in relation to their bodies and excised body material. For lawyers, the exact relationship people have with their bodies has raised a host of complex questions and long debates about the status we should grant to human body parts. The significance of this issue is due to two reasons:first, because of the imperative protection we have to assure to human dignity and then, because of the economic value which is attached to human products.

  5. A relation between calculated human body exergy consumption rate and subjectively assessed thermal sensation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simone, Angela; Kolarik, Jakub; Iwamatsu, Toshiya

    2011-01-01

    occupants, it is reasonable to consider both the exergy flows in building and those within the human body. Until now, no data have been available on the relation between human-body exergy consumption rates and subjectively assessed thermal sensation. The objective of the present work was to relate thermal...... sensation data, from earlier thermal comfort studies, to calculated human-body exergy consumption rates. The results show that the minimum human body exergy consumption rate is associated with thermal sensation votes close to thermal neutrality, tending to the slightly cool side of thermal sensation....... Generally, the relationship between air temperature and the exergy consumption rate, as a first approximation, shows an increasing trend. Taking account of both convective and radiative heat exchange between the human body and the surrounding environment by using the calculated operative temperature, exergy...

  6. Estimation of temperature change in human body using MRI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nikawa, Yoshio; Nakamura, Suguru

    2016-01-01

    In the field of traditional oriental medicine, two types of treatment style, which are an acupuncture treatment and a moxibustion treatment have been performed. These treatments are used and effected by doctor or acupuncturist in their clinic or hospital and are widely spread. In spite of such a general treatment, it is not deeply discussed about mechanism of heat transfer modality and about temperature distribution in the treatment of moxibustion. Also, it is not discussed about temperature distribution deep inside human tissue during acupuncture treatment. It comes from the difficulty of noninvasive measurement of temperature deep inside human body. In this study, a temperature distribution for acupuncture and moxibustion treatment is measured and analyzed using thermograph and MRI by measuring the phase of longitudinal relaxation time of protons. The experimental results of measured temperature distribution under the human legs have been demonstrated. The result of temperature analysis in the human body is also reported. (author)

  7. Centralized Networks to Generate Human Body Motions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vakulenko, Sergei; Radulescu, Ovidiu; Morozov, Ivan; Weber, Andres

    2017-12-14

    We consider continuous-time recurrent neural networks as dynamical models for the simulation of human body motions. These networks consist of a few centers and many satellites connected to them. The centers evolve in time as periodical oscillators with different frequencies. The center states define the satellite neurons' states by a radial basis function (RBF) network. To simulate different motions, we adjust the parameters of the RBF networks. Our network includes a switching module that allows for turning from one motion to another. Simulations show that this model allows us to simulate complicated motions consisting of many different dynamical primitives. We also use the model for learning human body motion from markers' trajectories. We find that center frequencies can be learned from a small number of markers and can be transferred to other markers, such that our technique seems to be capable of correcting for missing information resulting from sparse control marker settings.

  8. Nuclear body formation and PML body remodeling by the human cytomegalovirus protein UL35

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salsman, Jayme; Wang Xueqi; Frappier, Lori

    2011-01-01

    The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) UL35 gene encodes two proteins, UL35 and UL35a. Expression of UL35 in transfected cells results in the formation of UL35 nuclear bodies that associate with promyelocytic leukemia (PML) protein. PML forms the basis for PML nuclear bodies that are important for suppressing viral lytic gene expression. Given the important relationship between PML and viral infection, we have further investigated the association of UL35 with PML bodies. We demonstrate that UL35 bodies form independently of PML and subsequently recruit PML, Sp100 and Daxx. In contrast, UL35a did not form bodies; however, it could bind UL35 and inhibit the formation of UL35 bodies. The HCMV tegument protein pp71 promoted the formation of UL35 bodies and the cytoplasmic localization of UL35a. Similarly, UL35a shifted pp71 to the cytoplasm. These results indicate that the interplay between UL35, UL35a and pp71 affects their subcellular localization and likely their functions throughout infection.

  9. Review-Research on the physical training model of human body based on HQ.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Junjie, Liu

    2016-11-01

    Health quotient (HQ) is the newest health culture and concept in the 21st century, and the analysis of the human body sports model is not enough mature at present, what's more, the purpose of this paper is to study the integration of the two subjects the health quotient and the sport model. This paper draws the conclusion that physical training and education in colleges and universities can improve the health quotient, and it will make students possess a more healthy body and mind. Then through a new rigid body model of sports to simulate the human physical exercise. After that this paper has an in-depth study on the dynamic model of the human body movement on the basis of establishing the matrix and equation. The simulation results of the human body bicycle riding and pole throwing show that the human body joint movement simulation can be realized and it has a certain operability as well. By means of such simulated calculation, we can come to a conclusion that the movement of the ankle joint, knee joint and hip joint's motion law and real motion are basically the same. So it further verify the accuracy of the motion model, which lay the foundation of other research movement model, also, the study of the movement model is an important method in the study of human health in the future.

  10. Realistic Modeling and Animation of Human Body Based on Scanned Data

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Yong-You Ma; Hui Zhang; Shou-Wei Jiang

    2004-01-01

    In this paper we propose a novel method for building animation model of real human body from surface scanned data.The human model is represented by a triangular mesh and described as a layered geometric model.The model consists of two layers: the control skeleton generating body animation from motion capture data,and the simplified surface model providing an efficient representation of the skin surface shape.The skeleton is generated automatically from surface scanned data using the feature extraction,and thena point-to-line mapping is used to map the surface model onto the underlying skeleton.The resulting model enables real-time and smooth animation by manipulation of the skeleton while maintaining the surface detail.Compared with earlier approach,the principal advantages of our approach are the automated generation of body control skeletons from the scanned data for real-time animation,and the automatic mapping and animation of the captured human surface shape.The human model constructed in this work can be used for applications of ergonomic design,garment CAD,real-time simulating humans in virtual reality environment and so on.

  11. A topological multilayer model of the human body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbeito, Antonio; Painho, Marco; Cabral, Pedro; O'Neill, João

    2015-11-04

    Geographical information systems deal with spatial databases in which topological models are described with alphanumeric information. Its graphical interfaces implement the multilayer concept and provide powerful interaction tools. In this study, we apply these concepts to the human body creating a representation that would allow an interactive, precise, and detailed anatomical study. A vector surface component of the human body is built using a three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction methodology. This multilayer concept is implemented by associating raster components with the corresponding vector surfaces, which include neighbourhood topology enabling spatial analysis. A root mean square error of 0.18 mm validated the three-dimensional reconstruction technique of internal anatomical structures. The expansion of the identification and the development of a neighbourhood analysis function are the new tools provided in this model.

  12. Transfer of fallout tritium from environment to human body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hisamatsu, Shun-ichi; Takizawa, Yukio

    1989-01-01

    A large quntity of tritium will be used as a fuel of nuclear fusion in the future. It is, therefore, considered important to elucidate tritium behavior present in the environment and the process of tritium transfer from the environment to the human body. Fallout tritium is an applicable material in searching for the long term behavior of tritium in the environment. This paper focuses on the American, Italian, Japanese literature concerning fallout tritium in food and in the human body. The specific activity ratio of bound to free tritium poses an important problem. The mechanism of biological concentration must await further studies. (N.K.) 63 refs

  13. Effect of the environmental stimuli upon the human body in winter outdoor thermal environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sakoi, Tomonori; Kondo, Emi; Ishii, Jin

    2013-01-01

    the psychological thermal responses of the human body and winter outdoor thermal environment variables. Subjective experiments were conducted in the winter outdoor environment. Environmental factors and human psychological responses were measured. The relationship between the psychological thermal responses...... of the human body and the outdoor thermal environment index ETFe (enhanced conduction-corrected modified effective temperature) in winter was shown. The variables which influence the thermal sensation vote of the human body are air temperature, long-wave thermal radiation and short-wave solar radiation....... The variables that influence the thermal comfort vote of the human body are air temperature, humidity, short-wave solar radiation, long-wave thermal radiation, and heat conduction. Short-wave solar radiation, and heat conduction are among the winter outdoor thermal environment variables that affect...

  14. Efficient generation of integration-free human induced pluripotent stem cells from keratinocytes by simple transfection of episomal vectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piao, Yulan; Hung, Sandy Shen-Chi; Lim, Shiang Y; Wong, Raymond Ching-Bong; Ko, Minoru S H

    2014-07-01

    Keratinocytes represent an easily accessible cell source for derivation of human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells, reportedly achieving higher reprogramming efficiency than fibroblasts. However, most studies utilized a retroviral or lentiviral method for reprogramming of keratinocytes, which introduces undesirable transgene integrations into the host genome. Moreover, current protocols of generating integration-free hiPS cells from keratinocytes are mostly inefficient. In this paper, we describe a more efficient, simple-to-use, and cost-effective method for generating integration-free hiPS cells from keratinocytes. Our improved method using lipid-mediated transfection achieved a reprogramming efficiency of ∼0.14% on average. Keratinocyte-derived hiPS cells showed no integration of episomal vectors, expressed stem cell-specific markers and possessed potentials to differentiate into all three germ layers by in vitro embryoid body formation as well as in vivo teratoma formation. To our knowledge, this represents the most efficient method to generate integration-free hiPS cells from keratinocytes. ©AlphaMed Press.

  15. Mesenchymal stem cell like (MSCl) cells generated from human embryonic stem cells support pluripotent cell growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varga, Nóra; Veréb, Zoltán; Rajnavölgyi, Éva; Német, Katalin; Uher, Ferenc; Sarkadi, Balázs; Apáti, Ágota

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: ► MSC like cells were derived from hESC by a simple and reproducible method. ► Differentiation and immunosuppressive features of MSCl cells were similar to bmMSC. ► MSCl cells as feeder cells support the undifferentiated growth of hESC. -- Abstract: Mesenchymal stem cell like (MSCl) cells were generated from human embryonic stem cells (hESC) through embryoid body formation, and isolated by adherence to plastic surface. MSCl cell lines could be propagated without changes in morphological or functional characteristics for more than 15 passages. These cells, as well as their fluorescent protein expressing stable derivatives, efficiently supported the growth of undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells as feeder cells. The MSCl cells did not express the embryonic (Oct4, Nanog, ABCG2, PODXL, or SSEA4), or hematopoietic (CD34, CD45, CD14, CD133, HLA-DR) stem cell markers, while were positive for the characteristic cell surface markers of MSCs (CD44, CD73, CD90, CD105). MSCl cells could be differentiated toward osteogenic, chondrogenic or adipogenic directions and exhibited significant inhibition of mitogen-activated lymphocyte proliferation, and thus presented immunosuppressive features. We suggest that cultured MSCl cells can properly model human MSCs and be applied as efficient feeders in hESC cultures.

  16. Medical Sequencing at the extremes of Human Body Mass

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahituv, Nadav; Kavaslar, Nihan; Schackwitz, Wendy; Ustaszewski,Anna; Martin, Joes; Hebert, Sybil; Doelle, Heather; Ersoy, Baran; Kryukov, Gregory; Schmidt, Steffen; Yosef, Nir; Ruppin, Eytan; Sharan,Roded; Vaisse, Christian; Sunyaev, Shamil; Dent, Robert; Cohen, Jonathan; McPherson, Ruth; Pennacchio, Len A.

    2006-09-01

    Body weight is a quantitative trait with significantheritability in humans. To identify potential genetic contributors tothis phenotype, we resequenced the coding exons and splice junctions of58 genes in 379 obese and 378 lean individuals. Our 96Mb survey included21 genes associated with monogenic forms of obesity in humans or mice, aswell as 37 genes that function in body weight-related pathways. We foundthat the monogenic obesity-associated gene group was enriched for rarenonsynonymous variants unique to the obese (n=46) versus lean (n=26)populations. Computational analysis further predicted a significantlygreater fraction of deleterious variants within the obese cohort.Consistent with the complex inheritance of body weight, we did notobserve obvious familial segregation in the majority of the 28 availablekindreds. Taken together, these data suggest that multiple rare alleleswith variable penetrance contribute to obesity in the population andprovide a deep medical sequencing based approach to detectthem.

  17. Electromagnetic Modeling of Human Body Using High Performance Computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Cho-Kuen; Beall, Mark; Ge, Lixin; Kim, Sanghoek; Klaas, Ottmar; Poon, Ada

    Realistic simulation of electromagnetic wave propagation in the actual human body can expedite the investigation of the phenomenon of harvesting implanted devices using wireless powering coupled from external sources. The parallel electromagnetics code suite ACE3P developed at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is based on the finite element method for high fidelity accelerator simulation, which can be enhanced to model electromagnetic wave propagation in the human body. Starting with a CAD model of a human phantom that is characterized by a number of tissues, a finite element mesh representing the complex geometries of the individual tissues is built for simulation. Employing an optimal power source with a specific pattern of field distribution, the propagation and focusing of electromagnetic waves in the phantom has been demonstrated. Substantial speedup of the simulation is achieved by using multiple compute cores on supercomputers.

  18. The Effect of Body Mass on Outdoor Adult Human Decomposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Lindsey G; Spencer, Jessica R; Dabbs, Gretchen R

    2017-09-01

    Forensic taphonomy explores factors impacting human decomposition. This study investigated the effect of body mass on the rate and pattern of adult human decomposition. Nine males and three females aged 49-95 years ranging in mass from 73 to 159 kg who were donated to the Complex for Forensic Anthropology Research between December 2012 and September 2015 were included in this study. Kelvin accumulated degree days (KADD) were used to assess the thermal energy required for subjects to reach several total body score (TBS) thresholds: early decomposition (TBS ≥6.0), TBS ≥12.5, advanced decomposition (TBS ≥19.0), TBS ≥23.0, and skeletonization (TBS ≥27.0). Results indicate no significant correlation between body mass and KADD at any TBS threshold. Body mass accounted for up to 24.0% of variation in decomposition rate depending on stage, and minor differences in decomposition pattern were observed. Body mass likely has a minimal impact on postmortem interval estimation. © 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  19. Visuals and Visualisation of Human Body Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathai, Sindhu; Ramadas, Jayashree

    2009-01-01

    This paper explores the role of diagrams and text in middle school students' understanding and visualisation of human body systems. We develop a common framework based on structure and function to assess students' responses across diagram and verbal modes. Visualisation is defined in terms of understanding transformations on structure and relating…

  20. Automated grouping of action potentials of human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorospe, Giann; Zhu, Renjun; Millrod, Michal A; Zambidis, Elias T; Tung, Leslie; Vidal, Rene

    2014-09-01

    Methods for obtaining cardiomyocytes from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are improving at a significant rate. However, the characterization of these cardiomyocytes (CMs) is evolving at a relatively slower rate. In particular, there is still uncertainty in classifying the phenotype (ventricular-like, atrial-like, nodal-like, etc.) of an hESC-derived cardiomyocyte (hESC-CM). While previous studies identified the phenotype of a CM based on electrophysiological features of its action potential, the criteria for classification were typically subjective and differed across studies. In this paper, we use techniques from signal processing and machine learning to develop an automated approach to discriminate the electrophysiological differences between hESC-CMs. Specifically, we propose a spectral grouping-based algorithm to separate a population of CMs into distinct groups based on the similarity of their action potential shapes. We applied this method to a dataset of optical maps of cardiac cell clusters dissected from human embryoid bodies. While some of the nine cell clusters in the dataset are presented with just one phenotype, the majority of the cell clusters are presented with multiple phenotypes. The proposed algorithm is generally applicable to other action potential datasets and could prove useful in investigating the purification of specific types of CMs from an electrophysiological perspective.

  1. Point-Structured Human Body Modeling Based on 3D Scan Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming-June Tsai

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available A novel point-structured geometrical modelling for realistic human body is introduced in this paper. This technique is based on the feature extraction from the 3D body scan data. Anatomic feature such as the neck, the arm pits, the crotch points, and other major feature points are recognized. The body data is then segmented into 6 major parts. A body model is then constructed by re-sampling the scanned data to create a point-structured mesh. The body model contains body geodetic landmarks in latitudinal and longitudinal curves passing through those feature points. The body model preserves the perfect body shape and all the body dimensions but requires little space. Therefore, the body model can be used as a mannequin in garment industry, or as a manikin in various human factor designs, but the most important application is to use as a virtue character to animate the body motion in mocap (motion capture systems. By adding suitable joint freedoms between the segmented body links, kinematic and dynamic properties of the motion theories can be applied to the body model. As a result, a 3D virtual character that is fully resembled the original scanned individual is vividly animating the body motions. The gaps between the body segments due to motion can be filled up by skin blending technique using the characteristic of the point-structured model. The model has the potential to serve as a standardized datatype to archive body information for all custom-made products.

  2. Earthing the human body influences physiologic processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sokal, Karol; Sokal, Pawel

    2011-04-01

    This study was designed to answer the question: Does the contact of the human organism with the Earth via a copper conductor affect physiologic processes? Subjects and experiments: Five (5) experiments are presented: experiment 1-effect of earthing on calcium-phosphate homeostasis and serum concentrations of iron (N = 84 participants); experiment 2-effect of earthing on serum concentrations of electrolytes (N = 28); experiment 3-effect of earthing on thyroid function (N = 12); experiment 4-effect of earthing on glucose concentration (N = 12); experiment 5-effect of earthing on immune response to vaccine (N = 32). Subjects were divided into two groups. One (1) group of people was earthed, while the second group remained without contact with the Earth. Blood and urine samples were examined. Earthing of an electrically insulated human organism during night rest causes lowering of serum concentrations of iron, ionized calcium, inorganic phosphorus, and reduction of renal excretion of calcium and phosphorus. Earthing during night rest decreases free tri-iodothyronine and increases free thyroxine and thyroid-stimulating hormone. The continuous earthing of the human body decreases blood glucose in patients with diabetes. Earthing decreases sodium, potassium, magnesium, iron, total protein, and albumin concentrations while the levels of transferrin, ferritin, and globulins α1, α2, β, and γ increase. These results are statistically significant. Earthing the human body influences human physiologic processes. This influence is observed during night relaxation and during physical activity. Effect of the earthing on calcium-phosphate homeostasis is the opposite of that which occurs in states of weightlessness. It also increases the activity of catabolic processes. It may be the primary factor regulating endocrine and nervous systems.

  3. Representational Momentum for the Human Body: Awkwardness Matters, Experience Does Not

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Margaret; Lancaster, Jessy; Emmorey, Karen

    2010-01-01

    Perception of the human body appears to involve predictive simulations that project forward to track unfolding body-motion events. Here we use representational momentum (RM) to investigate whether implicit knowledge of a learned arbitrary system of body movement such as sign language influences this prediction process, and how this compares to…

  4. Development of the ventral body wall in the human embryo

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mekonen, Hayelom K.; Hikspoors, Jill P. J. M.; Mommen, Greet; Köhler, S. Eleonore; Lamers, Wouter H.

    2015-01-01

    Migratory failure of somitic cells is the commonest explanation for ventral body wall defects. However, the embryo increases ~ 25-fold in volume in the period that the ventral body wall forms, so that differential growth may, instead, account for the observed changes in topography. Human embryos

  5. Governing the postmortem procurement of human body material for research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Assche, Kristof; Capitaine, Laura; Pennings, Guido; Sterckx, Sigrid

    2015-03-01

    Human body material removed post mortem is a particularly valuable resource for research. Considering the efforts that are currently being made to study the biochemical processes and possible genetic causes that underlie cancer and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, it is likely that this type of research will continue to gain in importance. However, post mortem procurement of human body material for research raises specific ethical concerns, more in particular with regard to the consent of the research participant. In this paper, we attempt to determine which consent regime should govern the post mortem procurement of body material for research. In order to do so, we assess the various arguments that could be put forward in support of a duty to make body material available for research purposes after death. We argue that this duty does in practice not support conscription but is sufficiently strong to defend a policy of presumed rather than explicit consent.

  6. EZ spheres: a stable and expandable culture system for the generation of pre-rosette multipotent stem cells from human ESCs and iPSCs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebert, Allison D; Shelley, Brandon C; Hurley, Amanda M; Onorati, Marco; Castiglioni, Valentina; Patitucci, Teresa N; Svendsen, Soshana P; Mattis, Virginia B; McGivern, Jered V; Schwab, Andrew J; Sareen, Dhruv; Kim, Ho Won; Cattaneo, Elena; Svendsen, Clive N

    2013-05-01

    We have developed a simple method to generate and expand multipotent, self-renewing pre-rosette neural stem cells from both human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) without utilizing embryoid body formation, manual selection techniques, or complex combinations of small molecules. Human ESC and iPSC colonies were lifted and placed in a neural stem cell medium containing high concentrations of EGF and FGF-2. Cell aggregates (termed EZ spheres) could be expanded for long periods using a chopping method that maintained cell-cell contact. Early passage EZ spheres rapidly down-regulated OCT4 and up-regulated SOX2 and nestin expression. They retained the potential to form neural rosettes and consistently differentiated into a range of central and peripheral neural lineages. Thus, they represent a very early neural stem cell with greater differentiation flexibility than other previously described methods. As such, they will be useful for the rapidly expanding field of neurological development and disease modeling, high-content screening, and regenerative therapies based on pluripotent stem cell technology. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Investigation and Modeling of Capacitive Human Body Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Xiao-Qi; Guo, Yong-Xin; Wu, Wen

    2017-04-01

    This paper presents a systematic investigation of the capacitive human body communication (HBC). The measurement of HBC channels is performed using a novel battery-powered system to eliminate the effects of baluns, cables and instruments. To verify the measured results, a numerical model incorporating the entire HBC system is established. Besides, it is demonstrated that both the impedance and path gain bandwidths of HBC channels is affected by the electrode configuration. Based on the analysis of the simulated electric field distribution, an equivalent circuit model is proposed and the circuit parameters are extracted using the finite element method. The transmission capability along the human body is also studied. The simulated results using the numerical and circuit models coincide very well with the measurement, which demonstrates that the proposed circuit model can effectively interpret the operation mechanism of the capacitive HBC.

  8. Real-time stylistic prediction for whole-body human motions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsubara, Takamitsu; Hyon, Sang-Ho; Morimoto, Jun

    2012-01-01

    The ability to predict human motion is crucial in several contexts such as human tracking by computer vision and the synthesis of human-like computer graphics. Previous work has focused on off-line processes with well-segmented data; however, many applications such as robotics require real-time control with efficient computation. In this paper, we propose a novel approach called real-time stylistic prediction for whole-body human motions to satisfy these requirements. This approach uses a novel generative model to represent a whole-body human motion including rhythmic motion (e.g., walking) and discrete motion (e.g., jumping). The generative model is composed of a low-dimensional state (phase) dynamics and a two-factor observation model, allowing it to capture the diversity of motion styles in humans. A real-time adaptation algorithm was derived to estimate both state variables and style parameter of the model from non-stationary unlabeled sequential observations. Moreover, with a simple modification, the algorithm allows real-time adaptation even from incomplete (partial) observations. Based on the estimated state and style, a future motion sequence can be accurately predicted. In our implementation, it takes less than 15 ms for both adaptation and prediction at each observation. Our real-time stylistic prediction was evaluated for human walking, running, and jumping behaviors. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Optimization of wearable microwave antenna with simplified electromagnetic model of the human body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Januszkiewicz, Łukasz; Barba, Paolo Di; Hausman, Sławomir

    2017-12-01

    In this paper the problem of optimization design of a microwave wearable antenna is investigated. Reference is made to a specific antenna design that is a wideband Vee antenna the geometry of which is characterized by 6 parameters. These parameters were automatically adjusted with an evolution strategy based algorithm EStra to obtain the impedance matching of the antenna located in the proximity of the human body. The antenna was designed to operate in the ISM (industrial, scientific, medical) band which covers the frequency range of 2.4 GHz up to 2.5 GHz. The optimization procedure used the finite-difference time-domain method based full-wave simulator with a simplified human body model. In the optimization procedure small movements of antenna towards or away of the human body that are likely to happen during real use were considered. The stability of the antenna parameters irrespective of the movements of the user's body is an important factor in wearable antenna design. The optimization procedure allowed obtaining good impedance matching for a given range of antenna distances with respect to the human body.

  10. More accurate picture of human body organs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolar, J.

    1985-01-01

    Computerized tomography and nucler magnetic resonance tomography (NMRT) are revolutionary contributions to radiodiagnosis because they allow to obtain a more accurate image of human body organs. The principles are described of both methods. Attention is mainly devoted to NMRT which has clinically only been used for three years. It does not burden the organism with ionizing radiation. (Ha)

  11. Modal analysis of human body vibration model for Indian subjects under sitting posture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Ishbir; Nigam, S P; Saran, V H

    2015-01-01

    Need and importance of modelling in human body vibration research studies are well established. The study of biodynamic responses of human beings can be classified into experimental and analytical methods. In the past few decades, plenty of mathematical models have been developed based on the diverse field measurements to describe the biodynamic responses of human beings. In this paper, a complete study on lumped parameter model derived from 50th percentile anthropometric data for a seated 54- kg Indian male subject without backrest support under free un-damped conditions has been carried out considering human body segments to be of ellipsoidal shape. Conventional lumped parameter modelling considers the human body as several rigid masses interconnected by springs and dampers. In this study, concept of mass of interconnecting springs has been incorporated and eigenvalues thus obtained are found to be closer to the values reported in the literature. Results obtained clearly establish decoupling of vertical and fore-and-aft oscillations. The mathematical modelling of human body vibration studies help in validating the experimental investigations for ride comfort of a sitting subject. This study clearly establishes the decoupling of vertical and fore-and-aft vibrations and helps in better understanding of possible human response to single and multi-axial excitations.

  12. Data Fusion Research of Triaxial Human Body Motion Gesture based on Decision Tree

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feihong Zhou

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The development status of human body motion gesture data fusion domestic and overseas has been analyzed. A triaxial accelerometer is adopted to develop a wearable human body motion gesture monitoring system aimed at old people healthcare. On the basis of a brief introduction of decision tree algorithm, the WEKA workbench is adopted to generate a human body motion gesture decision tree. At last, the classification quality of the decision tree has been validated through experiments. The experimental results show that the decision tree algorithm could reach an average predicting accuracy of 97.5 % with lower time cost.

  13. An Impact of Thermodynamic Processes in Human Bodies on Performance Reliability of Individuals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Smalko Zbigniew

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the problem of the influence of thermodynamic factors on human fallibility in different zones of thermal discomfort. Describes the processes of energy in the human body. Been given a formal description of the energy balance of the human body thermoregulation. Pointed to human reactions to temperature changes of internal and external environment, including reactions associated with exercise. The methodology to estimate and determine the reliability of indicators of human basal acting in different zones of thermal discomfort. The significant effect of thermodynamic factors on the reliability and security ofperson.

  14. Establishment of new murine embryonic stem cell lines for the generation of mouse models of human genetic diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.A. Sukoyan

    2002-05-01

    Full Text Available Embryonic stem cells are totipotent cells derived from the inner cell mass of blastocysts. Recently, the development of appropriate culture conditions for the differentiation of these cells into specific cell types has permitted their use as potential therapeutic agents for several diseases. In addition, manipulation of their genome in vitro allows the creation of animal models of human genetic diseases and for the study of gene function in vivo. We report the establishment of new lines of murine embryonic stem cells from preimplantation stage embryos of 129/Sv mice. Most of these cells had a normal karyotype and an XY sex chromosome composition. The pluripotent properties of the cell lines obtained were analyzed on the basis of their alkaline phosphatase activity and their capacity to form complex embryoid bodies with rhythmically contracting cardiomyocytes. Two lines, USP-1 and USP-3, with the best in vitro characteristics of pluripotency were used in chimera-generating experiments. The capacity to contribute to the germ line was demonstrated by the USP-1 cell line. This cell line is currently being used to generate mouse models of human diseases.

  15. Earthing the Human Body Influences Physiologic Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sokal, Karol

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Objectives This study was designed to answer the question: Does the contact of the human organism with the Earth via a copper conductor affect physiologic processes? Subjects and experiments Five (5) experiments are presented: experiment 1—effect of earthing on calcium–phosphate homeostasis and serum concentrations of iron (N = 84 participants); experiment 2—effect of earthing on serum concentrations of electrolytes (N = 28); experiment 3—effect of earthing on thyroid function (N = 12); experiment 4—effect of earthing on glucose concentration (N = 12); experiment 5—effect of earthing on immune response to vaccine (N = 32). Subjects were divided into two groups. One (1) group of people was earthed, while the second group remained without contact with the Earth. Blood and urine samples were examined. Results Earthing of an electrically insulated human organism during night rest causes lowering of serum concentrations of iron, ionized calcium, inorganic phosphorus, and reduction of renal excretion of calcium and phosphorus. Earthing during night rest decreases free tri-iodothyronine and increases free thyroxine and thyroid-stimulating hormone. The continuous earthing of the human body decreases blood glucose in patients with diabetes. Earthing decreases sodium, potassium, magnesium, iron, total protein, and albumin concentrations while the levels of transferrin, ferritin, and globulins α1, α2, β, and γ increase. These results are statistically significant. Conclusions Earthing the human body influences human physiologic processes. This influence is observed during night relaxation and during physical activity. Effect of the earthing on calcium–phosphate homeostasis is the opposite of that which occurs in states of weightlessness. It also increases the activity of catabolic processes. It may be the primary factor regulating endocrine and nervous systems. PMID:21469913

  16. A long term model of circulation. [human body

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, R. J.

    1974-01-01

    A quantitative approach to modeling human physiological function, with a view toward ultimate application to long duration space flight experiments, was undertaken. Data was obtained on the effect of weightlessness on certain aspects of human physiological function during 1-3 month periods. Modifications in the Guyton model are reviewed. Design considerations for bilateral interface models are discussed. Construction of a functioning whole body model was studied, as well as the testing of the model versus available data.

  17. A Balanced-Fed Dual Inverted-F Antenna with Reduced Human Body Effects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang-Sang Lee

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A balanced-fed dual inverted-F antenna with reduced human body effects for WLAN applications at 2.45 GHz is presented. In order to reduce the influence by a close proximity or a touch of a human body, the proposed antenna employs an impedance matching using a lumped LC-balun which has the simple and compact structure applying for mobile handsets. The resonant frequency of the proposed antenna is fixed at 2.45 GHz regardless of the close proximity of a human body. By applying for the L-shape ground plane, the proposed antenna has the wide impedance bandwidth of about 150 MHz and the peak realized gain of about 4 dBi.

  18. [The mechanism of vasculogenesis: the critical role of transforming growth factor-beta 1 in the formation of vessel-like structures during the differentiation in vitro of murine embryonic stem cells].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsung, H C; Yao, Z

    1996-09-01

    When ES-5 cells were transfected with an exogenous porcine TGF-beta 1 gene, one can obtain clones of genetically modified ES cells with over-expression of the transfected gene. We called the genetically modified ES-5 cells as ES-T cells. When ES-T cells were used to study their differentiation in vitro by all trans-retinoic acid (RA), it was soon noticed that embryoid bodies of ES-T cells can exclusively differentiate into endothelial cells and vessel-like structures, but not in their parent ES-5 cells. The above result is the first indication that the differentiation of tubular structures in embryoid bodies of ES-T cells may somehow be related to TGF-beta 1. To demonstrate further the role of TGF-beta 1 in the formation of vessel-like structures, the cultured ES-5 cells in the presence of added rhTGF-beta 1 were closely followed in the course of their differentiation. We have, thus, demonstrated the promoting effects of exogenous rhTGF-beta 1 in the formation of vessel-like structures, morphologically similar to those structures derived from ES-T6 cells, during the differentiation of ES-5 cells, both in monolayer culture, in three dimensional collagen gel and in embryoid bodies cultured on gelatin-coated tissue culture wells. Addition of suitable amount of anti-TGF-beta 1 monoclonal antibody IgG (TB21) to the culture medium of embryoid bodies of ES-T6 cells could effectively abolish the formation of vessel-like structures induced by retinoic acid. The percentage of the inhibition was very high, giving a figure comparable to that of atypical vessel-like structures formed in the control embryoid bodies from their parent ES-5 cells. The flat epithelial-like cells and round cells differentiated from embryoid bodies of ES-T6 cells were stained rather strongly for laminin and type IV collagen by immunofluorescent procedure. The above results indicate clearly that TGF-beta 1 is a crucial factor in organizing the differentiated derivatives (endothelial-like cells and

  19. Robotic Reconnaissance Missions to Small Bodies and Their Potential Contributions to Human Exploration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abell, P. A.; Rivkin, A. S.

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: Robotic reconnaissance missions to small bodies will directly address aspects of NASA's Asteroid Initiative and will contribute to future human exploration. The NASA Asteroid Initiative is comprised of two major components: the Grand Challenge and the Asteroid Mission. The first component, the Grand Challenge, focuses on protecting Earth's population from asteroid impacts by detecting potentially hazardous objects with enough warning time to either prevent them from impacting the planet, or to implement civil defense procedures. The Asteroid Mission involves sending astronauts to study and sample a near- Earth asteroid (NEA) prior to conducting exploration missions of the Martian system, which includes Phobos and Deimos. The science and technical data obtained from robotic precursor missions that investigate the surface and interior physical characteristics of an object will help identify the pertinent physical properties that will maximize operational efficiency and reduce mission risk for both robotic assets and crew operating in close proximity to, or at the surface of, a small body. These data will help fill crucial strategic knowledge gaps (SKGs) concerning asteroid physical characteristics that are relevant for human exploration considerations at similar small body destinations. Small Body Strategic Knowledge Gaps: For the past several years NASA has been interested in identifying the key SKGs related to future human destinations. These SKGs highlight the various unknowns and/or data gaps of targets that the science and engineering communities would like to have filled in prior to committing crews to explore the Solar System. An action team from the Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG) was formed specifically to identify the small body SKGs under the direction of the Human Exploration and Operations Missions Directorate (HEOMD), given NASA's recent interest in NEAs and the Martian moons as potential human destinations [1]. The action team

  20. Preference for human body odors is influenced by gender and sexual orientation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martins, Yolanda; Preti, George; Crabtree, Christina R; Runyan, Tamar; Vainius, Aldona A; Wysocki, Charles J

    2005-09-01

    Human body odor may contribute to selection of partners. If so, sexual orientation may influence preference for and perhaps production of human body odors. In a test of these hypotheses, heterosexual and homosexual males and females made two-alternative forced-choice preference judgments for body odors obtained from other heterosexual and homosexual males and females. Subjects chose between odors from (a) heterosexual males and gay males, (b) heterosexual males and heterosexual females, (c) heterosexual females and lesbians, and (d) gay males and lesbians. Results indicate that differences in body odor are detected and responded to on the basis of, in part, an individual's gender and sexual orientation. Possible mechanisms underlying these findings are discussed.

  1. Body Topography Parcellates Human Sensory and Motor Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuehn, Esther; Dinse, Juliane; Jakobsen, Estrid; Long, Xiangyu; Schäfer, Andreas; Bazin, Pierre-Louis; Villringer, Arno; Sereno, Martin I; Margulies, Daniel S

    2017-07-01

    The cytoarchitectonic map as proposed by Brodmann currently dominates models of human sensorimotor cortical structure, function, and plasticity. According to this model, primary motor cortex, area 4, and primary somatosensory cortex, area 3b, are homogenous areas, with the major division lying between the two. Accumulating empirical and theoretical evidence, however, has begun to question the validity of the Brodmann map for various cortical areas. Here, we combined in vivo cortical myelin mapping with functional connectivity analyses and topographic mapping techniques to reassess the validity of the Brodmann map in human primary sensorimotor cortex. We provide empirical evidence that area 4 and area 3b are not homogenous, but are subdivided into distinct cortical fields, each representing a major body part (the hand and the face). Myelin reductions at the hand-face borders are cortical layer-specific, and coincide with intrinsic functional connectivity borders as defined using large-scale resting state analyses. Our data extend the Brodmann model in human sensorimotor cortex and suggest that body parts are an important organizing principle, similar to the distinction between sensory and motor processing. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

  2. Lower core body temperature and greater body fat are components of a human thrifty phenotype.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinhardt, M; Schlögl, M; Bonfiglio, S; Votruba, S B; Krakoff, J; Thearle, M S

    2016-05-01

    In small studies, a thrifty human phenotype, defined by a greater 24-hour energy expenditure (EE) decrease with fasting, is associated with less weight loss during caloric restriction. In rodents, models of diet-induced obesity often have a phenotype including a reduced EE and decreased core body temperature. We assessed whether a thrifty human phenotype associates with differences in core body temperature or body composition. Data for this cross-sectional analysis were obtained from 77 individuals participating in one of two normal physiology studies while housed on our clinical research unit. Twenty-four-hour EE using a whole-room indirect calorimeter and 24-h core body temperature were measured during 24 h each of fasting and 200% overfeeding with a diet consisting of 50% carbohydrates, 20% protein and 30% fat. Body composition was measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry. To account for the effects of body size on EE, changes in EE were expressed as a percentage change from 24-hour EE (%EE) during energy balance. A greater %EE decrease with fasting correlated with a smaller %EE increase with overfeeding (r=0.27, P=0.02). The %EE decrease with fasting was associated with both fat mass and abdominal fat mass, even after accounting for covariates (β=-0.16 (95% CI: -0.26, -0.06) %EE per kg fat mass, P=0.003; β=-0.0004 (-0.0007, -0.00004) %EE kg(-1) abdominal fat mass, P=0.03). In men, a greater %EE decrease in response to fasting was associated with a lower 24- h core body temperature, even after adjusting for covariates (β=1.43 (0.72, 2.15) %EE per 0.1 °C, P=0.0003). Thrifty individuals, as defined by a larger EE decrease with fasting, were more likely to have greater overall and abdominal adiposity as well as lower core body temperature consistent with a more efficient metabolism.

  3. Reprogramming Methods Do Not Affect Gene Expression Profile of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Trevisan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs are pluripotent cells derived from adult somatic cells. After the pioneering work by Yamanaka, who first generated iPSCs by retroviral transduction of four reprogramming factors, several alternative methods to obtain iPSCs have been developed in order to increase the yield and safety of the process. However, the question remains open on whether the different reprogramming methods can influence the pluripotency features of the derived lines. In this study, three different strategies, based on retroviral vectors, episomal vectors, and Sendai virus vectors, were applied to derive iPSCs from human fibroblasts. The reprogramming efficiency of the methods based on episomal and Sendai virus vectors was higher than that of the retroviral vector-based approach. All human iPSC clones derived with the different methods showed the typical features of pluripotent stem cells, including the expression of alkaline phosphatase and stemness maker genes, and could give rise to the three germ layer derivatives upon embryoid bodies assay. Microarray analysis confirmed the presence of typical stem cell gene expression profiles in all iPSC clones and did not identify any significant difference among reprogramming methods. In conclusion, the use of different reprogramming methods is equivalent and does not affect gene expression profile of the derived human iPSCs.

  4. Robot and Human Surface Operations on Solar System Bodies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weisbin, C. R.; Easter, R.; Rodriguez, G.

    2001-01-01

    This paper presents a comparison of robot and human surface operations on solar system bodies. The topics include: 1) Long Range Vision of Surface Scenarios; 2) Human and Robots Complement Each Other; 3) Respective Human and Robot Strengths; 4) Need More In-Depth Quantitative Analysis; 5) Projected Study Objectives; 6) Analysis Process Summary; 7) Mission Scenarios Decompose into Primitive Tasks; 7) Features of the Projected Analysis Approach; and 8) The "Getting There Effect" is a Major Consideration. This paper is in viewgraph form.

  5. Mechanical impedance of the human body in vertical direction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmlund, P; Lundström, R; Lindberg, L

    2000-08-01

    The mechanical impedance of the human body in sitting posture and vertical direction was measured during different experimental conditions, such as vibration level (0.5-1.4 m/s2), frequency (2-100 Hz), body weight (57-92 kg), relaxed and erect upper body posture. The outcome shows that impedance increases with frequency up to a peak at about 5 Hz after which it decreases in a complex manner which includes two additional peaks. The frequency at which the first and second impedance peak occurs decreases with higher vibration level. Erect, compared with relaxed body posture resulted in higher impedance magnitudes and with peaks located at somewhat higher frequencies. Heavy persons show higher impedance magnitudes and peaks at lower frequencies.

  6. Brazilian legal and bioethical approach about donation for research and patents of human body parts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandes, Márcia Santana; Silla, Lúcia; Goldim, José Roberto; Martins-Costa, Judith

    2017-07-01

    The aim of this paper is to explain why the Brazilian legal system does not accept commercialization or commodification of human body parts, including genes or cells. As a consequence, in Brazil, the donation of human body parts for research-including basic or translational-must be made altruistically. For the same reason, the Brazilian patent system cannot be applied to human parts, cells or genes. Here, we present a qualitative analysis of juridical, bioethical, and social reasoning related to the legal status of human body parts especially in biobanks, as well as a description of the Brazilian legal system for clarification. Our aim is to discuss the responsibility of researchers for making available the scientific information resulting from scientific research and biobank storage of human body parts and to ensure the free utilization of knowledge in human health research.

  7. Human induced pluripotent stem cells differentiation into oligodendrocyte progenitors and transplantation in a rat model of optic chiasm demyelination.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alireza Pouya

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: This study aims to differentiate human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs into oligodendrocyte precursors and assess their recovery potential in a demyelinated optic chiasm model in rats. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We generated a cell population of oligodendrocyte progenitors from hiPSCs by using embryoid body formation in a defined medium supplemented with a combination of factors, positive selection and mechanical enrichment. Real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence analyses showed that stage-specific markers, Olig2, Sox10, NG2, PDGFRα, O4, A2B5, GalC, and MBP were expressed following the differentiation procedure, and enrichment of the oligodendrocyte lineage. These results are comparable with the expression of stage-specific markers in human embryonic stem cell-derived oligodendrocyte lineage cells. Transplantation of hiPSC-derived oligodendrocyte progenitors into the lysolecithin-induced demyelinated optic chiasm of the rat model resulted in recovery from symptoms, and integration and differentiation into oligodendrocytes were detected by immunohistofluorescence staining against PLP and MBP, and measurements of the visual evoked potentials. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results showed that oligodendrocyte progenitors generated efficiently from hiPSCs can be used in future biomedical studies once safety issues have been overcome.

  8. Redesigning Human Body Systems: Effective Pedagogical Strategy for Promoting Active Learning and STEM Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abour H. Cherif

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The human body is a remarkable biological machine maintained by interdependent body systems and organized biochemical reactions. Evolution has worked on humans for hundreds of thousands of years, yet the current pace of technological and social change have radically affected our life style and have exposed possible human frailties. This raises the question of whether or not nature’s work could be improved upon. We provide two-sided perspectives as a rationale for the need for the redesign of the human body. Then, we describe pedagogical strategy through which students study morphological and anatomical structures and the physiological functions of the human body systems and their respective organs and parts. The students select their own favorite system or organ to redesign in order to optimize the efficiency of the anatomical structural, physiological function, and/or the aesthetic and functional morphology; a redesign that might lead to, for example, lowering risk of diabetes, heart attack, and/or stroke. Through group work and interaction (student groups compete for a prestigious “in-house” patent award, students actively engage in the learning process in order to understand the role of design in the efficiency and functionality and vulnerability to disease of the human body system.

  9. Influence of the model's degree of freedom on human body dynamics identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maita, Daichi; Venture, Gentiane

    2013-01-01

    In fields of sports and rehabilitation, opportunities of using motion analysis of the human body have dramatically increased. To analyze the motion dynamics, a number of subject specific parameters and measurements are required. For example the contact forces measurement and the inertial parameters of each segment of the human body are necessary to compute the joint torques. In this study, in order to perform accurate dynamic analysis we propose to identify the inertial parameters of the human body and to evaluate the influence of the model's number of degrees of freedom (DoF) on the results. We use a method to estimate the inertial parameters without torque sensor, using generalized coordinates of the base link, joint angles and external forces information. We consider a 34DoF model, a 58DoF model, as well as the case when the human is manipulating a tool (here a tennis racket). We compare the obtained in results in terms of contact force estimation.

  10. Performance of human body communication-based wearable ECG with capacitive coupling electrodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakuma, Jun; Anzai, Daisuke; Wang, Jianqing

    2016-09-01

    Wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) is attracting much attention in daily healthcare applications, and human body communication (HBC) technology provides an evident advantage in making the sensing electrodes of ECG also working for transmission through the human body. In view of actual usage in daily life, however, non-contact electrodes to the human body are desirable. In this Letter, the authors discussed the ECG circuit structure in the HBC-based wearable ECG for removing the common mode noise when employing non-contact capacitive coupling electrodes. Through the comparison of experimental results, they have shown that the authors' proposed circuit structure with the third electrode directly connected to signal ground can provide an effect on common mode noise reduction similar to the usual drive-right-leg circuit, and a sufficiently good acquisition performance of ECG signals.

  11. Embalmment: a veritable source of human body preservation ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Embalmment is the process of chemically treating the dead human body to reduce the presence and growth of microorganisms, in order to retard organic decomposition and restore acceptable physical appearance. This paper presents a synopsis of the historical aspect of embalming and the various documented ...

  12. Development of Swimming Human Simulation Model Considering Rigid Body Dynamics and Unsteady Fluid Force for Whole Body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakashima, Motomu; Satou, Ken; Miura, Yasufumi

    The purpose of this study is to develop a swimming human simulation model considering rigid body dynamics and unsteady fluid force for the whole body, which will be utilized to analyze various dynamical problems in human swimming. First, the modeling methods and their formulations for the human body and the fluid force are respectively described. Second, experiments to identify the coefficients of the normal drag and the added mass are conducted by use of an experimental setup, in which a limb model rotates in the water, and its rotating angle and the bending moment at the root are measured. As the result of the identification, the present model for the fluid force was found to have satisfactory performance in order to represent the unsteady fluctuations of the experimental data, although it has 10% error. Third, a simulation for the gliding position is conducted in order to identify the tangential drag coefficient. Finally, a simulation example of standard six beat front crawl swimming is shown. The swimming speed of the simulation became a reasonable value, indicating the validity of the present simulation model, although it is 7.5% lower than the actual swimming.

  13. Prostaglandins - universal biological regulators in the human body (literature review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    О. V. Tymoshchuk

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Recently, researchers of different industries pay great attention to the problem of prostaglandins. Objective: to study and systematize the basic questions of structure, biological action and metabolism of prostaglandins in the human body and using their analogues in pharmacy through the domestic and foreign literature data analysis. Prostaglandins – biologically active substances which are similar in effect to hormones, but are synthesized in cells of different tissues. Prostaglandins as universal cellular mediators are widely distributed in the body, synthesized in small amounts in almost all tissues, have both local and systemic effects. For each prostaglandin there is a target organ. On chemical structure they are small molecules related to eicosanoids - a group of fat-like substances (lipids. Depending on the chemical structure prostaglandins are divided into series (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and J and three groups (1–3; type F isomers are to be indicated by additional letters α and β. Prostaglandins have an extremely wide range of physiological effects in the body and have three main functions: supporting, molecular, neurotransmitter. Most prostaglandins interact with specific receptors of plasma membranes, but some prostaglandins (group A can act without receptors. There is no stock of prostaglandins in the body, their life cycle is short, and they are quickly produced in response to biological stimulants exposure, have their effect in extremely small quantity and are rapidly inactivated in the bloodstream. Due to the extremely rapid breakdown of prostaglandins in the body they work near their place of secretion. Preparations of prostaglandins and their derivatives are used in experimental and clinical medicine for abortion and induction of labor, treatment of stomach ulcers, asthma, certain heart diseases, congenital heart defects in newborns, glaucoma, atherosclerosis, rheumatic and neurological diseases, kidney diseases, diabetes

  14. Assessment of body doses from photon exposures using human voxel models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zankl, M.; Fill, U.; Petoussi-Henss, N.; Regulla, D.

    2000-01-01

    For the scope of risk assessment in protection against ionising radiation (occupational, environmental and medical) it is necessary to determine the radiation dose to specific body organs and tissues. For this purpose, a series of models of the human body were designed in the past, together with computer codes simulating the radiation transport and energy deposition in the body. Most of the computational body models in use are so-called mathematical models; the most famous is the MIRD-5 phantom developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In the 1980s, a new generation of human body models was introduced at GSF, constructed from whole body CT data. Due to being constructed from image data of real persons, these 'voxel models' offer an improved realism of external and internal shape of the body and its organs, compared to MIRD-type models. Comparison of dose calculations involving voxel models with respective dose calculations for MIRD-type models revealed that the deviation of the individual anatomy from that described in the MIRD-type models indeed introduces significant deviations of the calculated organ doses. Specific absorbed fractions of energy released in a source organ due to incorporated activity which are absorbed in target organs may differ by more than an order of magnitude between different body models; for external photon irradiation, the discrepancies are more moderate. (author)

  15. Computational modeling of blast wave interaction with a human body and assessment of traumatic brain injury

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, X. G.; Przekwas, A. J.; Gupta, R. K.

    2017-11-01

    The modeling of human body biomechanics resulting from blast exposure poses great challenges because of the complex geometry and the substantial material heterogeneity. We developed a detailed human body finite element model representing both the geometry and the materials realistically. The model includes the detailed head (face, skull, brain and spinal cord), the neck, the skeleton, air cavities (lungs) and the tissues. Hence, it can be used to properly model the stress wave propagation in the human body subjected to blast loading. The blast loading on the human was generated from a simulated C4 explosion. We used the highly scalable solvers in the multi-physics code CoBi for both the blast simulation and the human body biomechanics. The meshes generated for these simulations are of good quality so that relatively large time-step sizes can be used without resorting to artificial time scaling treatments. The coupled gas dynamics and biomechanics solutions were validated against the shock tube test data. The human body models were used to conduct parametric simulations to find the biomechanical response and the brain injury mechanism due to blasts impacting the human body. Under the same blast loading condition, we showed the importance of inclusion of the whole body.

  16. A novel chemical-defined medium with bFGF and N2B27 supplements supports undifferentiated growth in human embryonic stem cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Yanxia; Song Zhihua; Zhao Yang; Qin Han; Cai Jun; Zhang Hong; Yu Tianxin; Jiang Siming; Wang Guangwen; Ding Mingxiao; Deng Hongkui

    2006-01-01

    Traditionally, undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are maintained on mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells or on matrigel with an MEF-conditioned medium (CM), which hampers the clinical applications of hESCs due to the contamination by animal pathogens. Here we report a novel chemical-defined medium using DMEM/F12 supplemented with N2, B27, and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) [termed NBF]. This medium can support prolonged self-renewal of hESCs. hESCs cultured in NBF maintain an undifferentiated state and normal karyotype, are able to form embryoid bodies in vitro, and differentiate into three germ layers and extraembryonic cells. Furthermore, we find that hESCs cultured in NBF possess a low apoptosis rate and a high proliferation rate compared with those cultured in MEF-CM. Our findings provide a novel, simplified chemical-defined culture medium suitable for further therapeutic applications and developmental studies of hESCs

  17. Isomap transform for segmenting human body shapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerveri, P; Sarro, K J; Marchente, M; Barros, R M L

    2011-09-01

    Segmentation of the 3D human body is a very challenging problem in applications exploiting volume capture data. Direct clustering in the Euclidean space is usually complex or even unsolvable. This paper presents an original method based on the Isomap (isometric feature mapping) transform of the volume data-set. The 3D articulated posture is mapped by Isomap in the pose of Da Vinci's Vitruvian man. The limbs are unrolled from each other and separated from the trunk and pelvis, and the topology of the human body shape is recovered. In such a configuration, Hoshen-Kopelman clustering applied to concentric spherical shells is used to automatically group points into the labelled principal curves. Shepard interpolation is utilised to back-map points of the principal curves into the original volume space. The experimental results performed on many different postures have proved the validity of the proposed method. Reliability of less than 2 cm and 3° in the location of the joint centres and direction axes of rotations has been obtained, respectively, which qualifies this procedure as a potential tool for markerless motion analysis.

  18. ¿Disposable Matter or Personal Entity? The Human Body, Biotechnology and the Juridical Requirements of Dignity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Nicolás Lafferriere

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Biotechnological interventions affect the human body in new and powerful ways in the process of procreation, through actions of enhancement or replacement of the body, or by the search of the immortality of the body. This implies new legal challenges to prevent biotechnoscience from considering the human body as "operable and disposable matter", and treating it as the human person himself. In this article, we will study these challenges, starting from human dignity as a fundamental principle for an assessment of this biotechnology, and focusing on four legal issues: improvement interventions and their legal enforceability; the commodification of human life; growing social inequalities and the emergence of new forms of discrimination; and the principle of integrity of the human species.

  19. Human body contour data based activity recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myagmarbayar, Nergui; Yuki, Yoshida; Imamoglu, Nevrez; Gonzalez, Jose; Otake, Mihoko; Yu, Wenwei

    2013-01-01

    This research work is aimed to develop autonomous bio-monitoring mobile robots, which are capable of tracking and measuring patients' motions, recognizing the patients' behavior based on observation data, and providing calling for medical personnel in emergency situations in home environment. The robots to be developed will bring about cost-effective, safe and easier at-home rehabilitation to most motor-function impaired patients (MIPs). In our previous research, a full framework was established towards this research goal. In this research, we aimed at improving the human activity recognition by using contour data of the tracked human subject extracted from the depth images as the signal source, instead of the lower limb joint angle data used in the previous research, which are more likely to be affected by the motion of the robot and human subjects. Several geometric parameters, such as, the ratio of height to weight of the tracked human subject, and distance (pixels) between centroid points of upper and lower parts of human body, were calculated from the contour data, and used as the features for the activity recognition. A Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is employed to classify different human activities from the features. Experimental results showed that the human activity recognition could be achieved with a high correct rate.

  20. Human body scents: do they influence our behavior?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mildner, Sophie; Buchbauer, Gerhard

    2013-11-01

    Pheromonal communication in the animal world has been of great research interest for a long time. While extraordinary discoveries in this field have been made, the importance of the human sense of smell was of far lower interest. Humans are seen as poor smellers and therefore research about human olfaction remains quite sparse compared with other animals. Nevertheless amazing achievements have been made during the past 15 years. This is a collection of available data on this topic and a controversial discussion on the role of putative human pheromones in our modem way of living. While the focus was definitely put on behavioral changes evoked by putative human pheromones this article also includes other important aspects such as the possible existence of a human vomeronasal organ. If pheromones do have an influence on human behavior there has to be a receptor organ. How are human body scents secreted and turned into odorous substances? And how can con-specifics detect those very odors and transmit them to the brain? Apart from that the most likely candidates for human pheromones are taken on account and their impact on human behavior is shown in various detail.

  1. Analysis of measured data of human body based on error correcting frequency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Aiyan; Peipei, Gao; Shang, Xiaomei

    2014-04-01

    Anthropometry is to measure all parts of human body surface, and the measured data is the basis of analysis and study of the human body, establishment and modification of garment size and formulation and implementation of online clothing store. In this paper, several groups of the measured data are gained, and analysis of data error is gotten by analyzing the error frequency and using analysis of variance method in mathematical statistics method. Determination of the measured data accuracy and the difficulty of measured parts of human body, further studies of the causes of data errors, and summarization of the key points to minimize errors possibly are also mentioned in the paper. This paper analyses the measured data based on error frequency, and in a way , it provides certain reference elements to promote the garment industry development.

  2. Derivation and characterisation of the human embryonic stem cell lines, NOTT1 and NOTT2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Priddle, Helen; Allegrucci, Cinzia; Burridge, Paul; Munoz, Maria; Smith, Nigel M; Devlin, Lyndsey; Sjoblom, Cecilia; Chamberlain, Sarah; Watson, Sue; Young, Lorraine E; Denning, Chris

    2010-04-01

    The ability to maintain human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) during long-term culture and yet induce differentiation to multiple lineages potentially provides a novel approach to address various biomedical problems. Here, we describe derivation of hESC lines, NOTT1 and NOTT2, from human blastocysts graded as 3BC and 3CB, respectively. Both lines were successfully maintained as colonies by mechanical passaging on mouse embryonic feeder cells or as monolayers by trypsin-passaging in feeder-free conditions on Matrigel. Undifferentiated cells retained expression of pluripotency markers (OCT4, NANOG, SSEA-4, TRA-1-60 and TRA-1-81), a stable karyotype during long-term culture and could be transfected efficiently with plasmid DNA and short interfering RNA. Differentiation via formation of embryoid bodies resulted in expression of genes associated with early germ layers and terminal lineage specification. The electrophysiology of spontaneously beating NOTT1-derived cardiomyocytes was recorded and these cells were shown to be pharmacologically responsive. Histological examination of teratomas formed by in vivo differentiation of both lines in severe immunocompromised mice showed complex structures including cartilage or smooth muscle (mesoderm), luminal epithelium (endoderm) and neuroectoderm (ectoderm). These observations show that NOTT1 and NOTT2 display the accepted characteristics of hESC pluripotency.

  3. Plantar flexor stretch reflex responses to whole body loading/unloading during human walking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grey, Michael James; van Doornik, Johannes; Sinkjær, Thomas

    2002-01-01

    Numerous animal and human studies have shown that afferent information from the periphery contributes to the control of walking. In particular, recent studies have consistently shown that load receptor input is an important element of the locomotion control mechanism. The objective of this study...... perturbation during human walking. Three body load conditions were investigated: normal body load, a 30% increase in body load, and a 30% decrease in body load. Healthy subjects walked on a treadmill at approximately 3.6 km/h with the left ankle attached to a portable stretching device. Dorsiflexion...... strongly to the corrective response of the stretch reflex in the plantar flexor muscles during walking....

  4. The Major Histocompatibility Complex and Perfumers' Descriptions of Human Body Odors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claus Wedekind

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available The MHC (major histocompatibility complex is a group of genes that play a crucial role in immune recognition and in tolerance of tissue grafting. The MHC has also been found to influence body odors, body odor preferences, and mate choice in mice and humans. Here we test whether verbal descriptions of human body odors can be linked to the MHC. We asked 45 male students to live as odor neutral as possible for two consecutive days and to wear a T-shirt during the nights. The odors of these T-shirts were then described by five evaluators: two professional perfumers and three laymen. One of the perfumers was able to describe the T-shirt odors in such a way that some of the allelic specificity of the MHC was significantly revealed (after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing. This shows that, although difficult, some people are able to describe MHC-correlated body odor components.

  5. An investigation on the assessed thermal sensation and human body exergy consumption rate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simone, Angela; Kolarik, Jakub; Iwamatsu, Toshiya

    2010-01-01

    perception of the indoor environment is rare. As the building should provide healthy and comfortable environment for its occupants, it is reasonable to consider both the exergy flows in the building and within the human body. A relatively new approach of the relation between the exergy concept and the built......-environment research has been explored in the present work. The relationship of subjectively assessed thermal sensation data, from earlier thermal comfort studies, to the calculated human-body exergy consumption has been analysed. The results show that the minimum human body exergy consumption rate was related......The exergy concept helps to optimize indoor climate conditioning systems to meet the requirements of sustainable building design. While the exergy approach to design and operation of indoor climate conditioning systems is relatively well established, its exploitation in connection to human...

  6. Students' Conceptions about Energy and the Human Body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mann, Michael; Treagust, David F.

    2010-01-01

    Students' understanding of energy has been primarily within the domain of physics. This study sought to examine students' understanding of concepts relating to energy and the human body using pencil and paper questionnaires administered to 610 students in Years 8-12. From students' responses to the questionnaires, conceptual patterns were…

  7. Myostatin acts as an autocrine/paracrine negative regulator in myoblast differentiation from human induced pluripotent stem cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gao, Fei; Kishida, Tsunao; Ejima, Akika [Department of Immunology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan); Gojo, Satoshi [Department of Cardiac Support, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan); Mazda, Osam, E-mail: mazda@koto.kpu-m.ac.jp [Department of Immunology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto (Japan)

    2013-02-08

    Highlights: ► iPS-derived cells express myostatin and its receptor upon myoblast differentiation. ► Myostatin inhibits myoblast differentiation by inhibiting MyoD and Myo5a induction. ► Silencing of myostatin promotes differentiation of human iPS cells into myoblasts. -- Abstract: Myostatin, also known as growth differentiation factor (GDF-8), regulates proliferation of muscle satellite cells, and suppresses differentiation of myoblasts into myotubes via down-regulation of key myogenic differentiation factors including MyoD. Recent advances in stem cell biology have enabled generation of myoblasts from pluripotent stem cells, but it remains to be clarified whether myostatin is also involved in regulation of artificial differentiation of myoblasts from pluripotent stem cells. Here we show that the human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived cells that were induced to differentiate into myoblasts expressed myostatin and its receptor during the differentiation. An addition of recombinant human myostatin (rhMyostatin) suppressed induction of MyoD and Myo5a, resulting in significant suppression of myoblast differentiation. The rhMyostatin treatment also inhibited proliferation of the cells at a later phase of differentiation. RNAi-mediated silencing of myostatin promoted differentiation of human iPS-derived embryoid body (EB) cells into myoblasts. These results strongly suggest that myostatin plays an important role in regulation of myoblast differentiation from iPS cells of human origin. The present findings also have significant implications for potential regenerative medicine for muscular diseases.

  8. Myostatin acts as an autocrine/paracrine negative regulator in myoblast differentiation from human induced pluripotent stem cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, Fei; Kishida, Tsunao; Ejima, Akika; Gojo, Satoshi; Mazda, Osam

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► iPS-derived cells express myostatin and its receptor upon myoblast differentiation. ► Myostatin inhibits myoblast differentiation by inhibiting MyoD and Myo5a induction. ► Silencing of myostatin promotes differentiation of human iPS cells into myoblasts. -- Abstract: Myostatin, also known as growth differentiation factor (GDF-8), regulates proliferation of muscle satellite cells, and suppresses differentiation of myoblasts into myotubes via down-regulation of key myogenic differentiation factors including MyoD. Recent advances in stem cell biology have enabled generation of myoblasts from pluripotent stem cells, but it remains to be clarified whether myostatin is also involved in regulation of artificial differentiation of myoblasts from pluripotent stem cells. Here we show that the human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived cells that were induced to differentiate into myoblasts expressed myostatin and its receptor during the differentiation. An addition of recombinant human myostatin (rhMyostatin) suppressed induction of MyoD and Myo5a, resulting in significant suppression of myoblast differentiation. The rhMyostatin treatment also inhibited proliferation of the cells at a later phase of differentiation. RNAi-mediated silencing of myostatin promoted differentiation of human iPS-derived embryoid body (EB) cells into myoblasts. These results strongly suggest that myostatin plays an important role in regulation of myoblast differentiation from iPS cells of human origin. The present findings also have significant implications for potential regenerative medicine for muscular diseases

  9. Genotyping of human lice suggests multiple emergencies of body lice from local head louse populations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenjun Li

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Genetic analyses of human lice have shown that the current taxonomic classification of head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis and body lice (Pediculus humanus humanus does not reflect their phylogenetic organization. Three phylotypes of head lice A, B and C exist but body lice have been observed only in phylotype A. Head and body lice have different behaviours and only the latter have been involved in outbreaks of infectious diseases including epidemic typhus, trench fever and louse borne recurrent fever. Recent studies suggest that body lice arose several times from head louse populations. METHODS AND FINDINGS: By introducing a new genotyping technique, sequencing variable intergenic spacers which were selected from louse genomic sequence, we were able to evaluate the genotypic distribution of 207 human lice. Sequence variation of two intergenic spacers, S2 and S5, discriminated the 207 lice into 148 genotypes and sequence variation of another two intergenic spacers, PM1 and PM2, discriminated 174 lice into 77 genotypes. Concatenation of the four intergenic spacers discriminated a panel of 97 lice into 96 genotypes. These intergenic spacer sequence types were relatively specific geographically, and enabled us to identify two clusters in France, one cluster in Central Africa (where a large body louse outbreak has been observed and one cluster in Russia. Interestingly, head and body lice were not genetically differentiated. CONCLUSIONS: We propose a hypothesis for the emergence of body lice, and suggest that humans with both low hygiene and head louse infestations provide an opportunity for head louse variants, able to ingest a larger blood meal (a required characteristic of body lice, to colonize clothing. If this hypothesis is ultimately supported, it would help to explain why poor human hygiene often coincides with outbreaks of body lice. Additionally, if head lice act as a reservoir for body lice, and that any social degradation in

  10. The study of human bodies' impedance networks in testing leakage currents of electrical equipments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhaohui; Wang, Xiaofei

    2006-11-01

    In the testing of electrical equipments' leakage currents, impedance networks of human bodies are used to simulate the current's effect on human bodies, and they are key to the preciseness of the testing result. This paper analyses and calculates three human bodies' impedance networks of measuring electric burn current, perception or reaction current, let-go current in IEC60990, by using Matlab, compares the research result of current effect thresholds' change with sine wave's frequency published in IEC479-2, and amends parameters of measuring networks. It also analyses the change of perception or reaction current with waveform by Multisim.

  11. A Novel Human Body Area Network for Brain Diseases Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Kai; Xu, Tianlang

    2016-10-01

    Development of wireless sensor and mobile communication technology provide an unprecedented opportunity for realizing smart and interactive healthcare systems. Designing such systems aims to remotely monitor the health and diagnose the diseases for users. In this paper, we design a novel human body area network for brain diseases analysis, which is named BABDA. Considering the brain is one of the most complex organs in the human body, the BABDA system provides four function modules to ensure the high quality of the analysis result, which includes initial data collection, data correction, data transmission and comprehensive data analysis. The performance evaluation conducted in a realistic environment with several criteria shows the availability and practicability of the BABDA system.

  12. [Anatomia sacra. Religiously motivated interventions on human or animal bodies].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gladigow, B

    1995-01-01

    Controlled surgery in the interior of human or animal bodies in classical antiquity was allowed only under certain circumstances. Bloody animal sacrifice and its rules for the interpretation of entrails as well as the rare examples of 'ritual anatomy' presented a religious framework for the opening of bodies. Greek mythology provided several examples of medical operations, for example, the Caesarean section, transplantations and plastic surgery. Great cultic significance was given to organ votives or reproductions of human inner organs which were offered in temples ex voto or with request for their curing. The anatomical knowledge transported along with these offerings represents a separate tradition different from the state of anatomical knowledge found in medical literature of the period.

  13. A Managerial Approach To A Controversial Exhibition: The Human Body

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viorica Aura Păuş

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper will analyse the reception of the Human Body exhibition of 2013 in Romania, from a managerial point of view. The research is based on the exhibition visitors’ book, to which a content analysis was applied. The main aim of the paper is to investigate how the ‘Grigore Antipa’ Museum (Romania constructed the cultural context in which the scientific arguments prevailed over the religious ones, turning the exhibition of plastinated human bodies into an accepted public event, with a strong emphasis on education and science (medicine. At the same time, ethical concerns and religious criticism were downplayed by maintaining the focus on the ‘education for health’ frame.

  14. Mesenchymal stem cell like (MSCl) cells generated from human embryonic stem cells support pluripotent cell growth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Varga, Nora [Membrane Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest (Hungary); Vereb, Zoltan; Rajnavoelgyi, Eva [Department of Immunology, Medical and Health Science Centre, University of Debrecen, Debrecen (Hungary); Nemet, Katalin; Uher, Ferenc; Sarkadi, Balazs [Membrane Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest (Hungary); Apati, Agota, E-mail: apati@kkk.org.hu [Membrane Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest (Hungary)

    2011-10-28

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer MSC like cells were derived from hESC by a simple and reproducible method. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Differentiation and immunosuppressive features of MSCl cells were similar to bmMSC. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer MSCl cells as feeder cells support the undifferentiated growth of hESC. -- Abstract: Mesenchymal stem cell like (MSCl) cells were generated from human embryonic stem cells (hESC) through embryoid body formation, and isolated by adherence to plastic surface. MSCl cell lines could be propagated without changes in morphological or functional characteristics for more than 15 passages. These cells, as well as their fluorescent protein expressing stable derivatives, efficiently supported the growth of undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells as feeder cells. The MSCl cells did not express the embryonic (Oct4, Nanog, ABCG2, PODXL, or SSEA4), or hematopoietic (CD34, CD45, CD14, CD133, HLA-DR) stem cell markers, while were positive for the characteristic cell surface markers of MSCs (CD44, CD73, CD90, CD105). MSCl cells could be differentiated toward osteogenic, chondrogenic or adipogenic directions and exhibited significant inhibition of mitogen-activated lymphocyte proliferation, and thus presented immunosuppressive features. We suggest that cultured MSCl cells can properly model human MSCs and be applied as efficient feeders in hESC cultures.

  15. Radionuclide withdrawal from animal and human body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arkhipov, A.S.; Sidorova, T.F.

    1995-01-01

    The authors review the history of the problem of radionuclide withdrawal from animal and human body and discuss methodological approaches to it. Results of studies of radionuclide elimination by means of chemical and bioactive substances are analyzed. Special attention is paid to decorporation of radioactive elements which are the most hazardous as regards intoxication in connection with the Chernobyl accident: 131 I, 89 St and 90 Sr, 137 Cs, 238 Pu, and 241 Am. The authors analyze the results of studies of radionuclide withdrawal based on the dissolution effect, ionic antagonism, and by means of complexons, carried out in humans and animals. Efficacies of alimentary fibers and other adsorbents, foodstuffs and drinks are demonstrated. 48 refs

  16. A REVIEW ON LOWER APPENDICULAR MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM OF HUMAN BODY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Akhtaruzzaman

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Rehabilitation engineering plays an important role in designing various autonomous robots to provide better therapeutic exercise to disabled patients. Hence it is necessary to study human musculoskeletal system and also needs to be presented in scientific manner in order to describe and analyze the biomechanics of human body motion. This review focuses on lower appendicular musculoskeletal structure of human body to represent joints and links architectures; to identify muscle attachments and functions; and to illustrate muscle groups which are responsible for a particular joint movement. Firstly, human lower skeletal structure, linking systems, joint mechanisms, and their functions are described with a conceptual representation of joint architecture of human skeleton. This section also represents joints and limbs by comparing with mechanical systems. Characteristics of ligaments and their functions to construct skeletal joints are also discussed briefly in this part. Secondly, the study focuses on muscular system of human lower limbs where muscle structure, functions, roles in moving endoskeleton structure, and supporting mechanisms are presented ellaborately. Thirdly, muscle groups are tabulated based on functions that provide mobility to different joints of lower limbs. Finally, for a particular movement action of lower extremity, muscles are also grouped and tabulated to have a better understanding on functions of individual muscle. Basically the study presents an overview of the structure of human lower limbs by characterizing and classifying skeletal and muscular systems.KEYWORDS:   Musculoskeletal system; Human lower limbs; Muscle groups; Joint motion; Biomechatronics; Rehabilitation.

  17. NIH Human Microbiome Project defines normal bacterial makeup of the body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Microbes inhabit just about every part of the human body, living on the skin, in the gut, and up the nose. Sometimes they cause sickness, but most of the time, microorganisms live in harmony with their human hosts, providing vital functions essential for

  18. [Fractionation of hydrogen stable isotopes in the human body].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siniak, Iu E; Grigor'ev, A I; Skuratov, V M; Ivanova, S M; Pokrovskiĭ, B G

    2006-01-01

    Fractionation of hydrogen stable isotopes was studied in 9 human subjects in a chamber with normal air pressure imitating a space cabin. Mass-spectrometry of isotopes in blood, urine, saliva, and potable water evidenced increases in the contents of heavy H isotope (deuterium) in the body liquids as compared with water. These results support one of the theories according to which the human organism eliminates heavy stable isotopes of biogenous chemical elements.

  19. High energy radiation effects on the human body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kato, Kazuaki

    1977-01-01

    High-energy radiation injuries and their risks were recognized, information on low-energy radiation injuries was also arranged, and with these backgrounds, countermeasures against prevention of radiation injuries were considered. Redintegration of DNA and mutation by radiation were described, and relationship between radiation injuries and dose was considered. Interaction of high-energy radiation and substances in the living body and injuries by the interaction were also considered. Expression method of risk was considered, and a concept of protection dose was suggested. Protection dose is dose equivalent which is worthy of value at the point where the ratio to permissible dose distributed among each part of the body is at its maximum in the distribution of dose equivalent formed within the body when standard human body is placed at a certain radiation field for a certain time. Significance and countermeasures of health examination which is under an abligation to make radiation workers receive health check were thought, and problems were proposed on compensation when radiation injuries should appear actually. (Tsunoda, M.)

  20. Of Human Bodies in Scientific Communication and Enculturation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, SungWon; Roth, Wolff-Michael

    2008-01-01

    How do students become enculturated and come to enact culture in ways that are new to them? This study probes the dialectical processes of enculturation, the central aspect of which is the role of human bodies in communication. For students, as for any individual, culture exists in terms of action possibilities that presuppose their…

  1. Glycoconjugates reveal diversity of human neural stem cells (hNSCs) derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kandasamy, Majury; Roll, Lars; Langenstroth, Daniel; Brüstle, Oliver; Faissner, Andreas

    2017-06-01

    Neural stem cells (NSCs) have the ability to self-renew and to differentiate into various cell types of the central nervous system. This potential can be recapitulated by human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) in vitro. The differentiation capacity of hiPSCs is characterized by several stages with distinct morphologies and the expression of various marker molecules. We used the monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) 487 LeX , 5750 LeX and 473HD to analyze the expression pattern of particular carbohydrate motifs as potential markers at six differentiation stages of hiPSCs. Mouse ESCs were used as a comparison. At the pluripotent stage, 487 LeX -, 5750 LeX - and 473HD-related glycans were differently expressed. Later, cells of the three germ layers in embryoid bodies (hEBs) and, even after neuralization of hEBs, subpopulations of cells were labeled with these surface antibodies. At the human rosette-stage of NSCs (hR-NSC), LeX- and 473HD-related epitopes showed antibody-specific expression patterns. We also found evidence that these surface antibodies could be used to distinguish the hR-NSCs from the hSR-NSCs stages. Characterization of hNSCs FGF-2/EGF derived from hSR-NSCs revealed that both LeX antibodies and the 473HD antibody labeled subpopulations of hNSCs FGF-2/EGF . Finally, we identified potential LeX carrier molecules that were spatiotemporally regulated in early and late stages of differentiation. Our study provides new insights into the regulation of glycoconjugates during early human stem cell development. The mAbs 487 LeX , 5750 LeX and 473HD are promising tools for identifying distinct stages during neural differentiation.

  2. Host genetic variation impacts microbiome composition across human body sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blekhman, Ran; Goodrich, Julia K; Huang, Katherine; Sun, Qi; Bukowski, Robert; Bell, Jordana T; Spector, Timothy D; Keinan, Alon; Ley, Ruth E; Gevers, Dirk; Clark, Andrew G

    2015-09-15

    The composition of bacteria in and on the human body varies widely across human individuals, and has been associated with multiple health conditions. While microbial communities are influenced by environmental factors, some degree of genetic influence of the host on the microbiome is also expected. This study is part of an expanding effort to comprehensively profile the interactions between human genetic variation and the composition of this microbial ecosystem on a genome- and microbiome-wide scale. Here, we jointly analyze the composition of the human microbiome and host genetic variation. By mining the shotgun metagenomic data from the Human Microbiome Project for host DNA reads, we gathered information on host genetic variation for 93 individuals for whom bacterial abundance data are also available. Using this dataset, we identify significant associations between host genetic variation and microbiome composition in 10 of the 15 body sites tested. These associations are driven by host genetic variation in immunity-related pathways, and are especially enriched in host genes that have been previously associated with microbiome-related complex diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease and obesity-related disorders. Lastly, we show that host genomic regions associated with the microbiome have high levels of genetic differentiation among human populations, possibly indicating host genomic adaptation to environment-specific microbiomes. Our results highlight the role of host genetic variation in shaping the composition of the human microbiome, and provide a starting point toward understanding the complex interaction between human genetics and the microbiome in the context of human evolution and disease.

  3. Local cooling of the human body using ventilated matress in hospitals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bivolarova, Mariya Petrova; Melikov, Arsen Krikor; Kokora, Monika

    2014-01-01

    A series of experiments were conducted in order to examine the cooling of the human body in bed equipped with a ventilated mattress (VM). The experiments were performed in a climate chamber (4.65 m width x 5.3 m length x 2.6 m height) which was air-conditioned by mixing ventilation system...... temperature or by use of natural ventilation. However the non-uniform body cooling may cause local thermal discomfort. This needs to be further studied in human subject experiments......., 26 and 30 oC. The performance of the VM was tested when VM was operating at different air flow rates (1.5, 3, 4.5 and 6 L/s). The impact of body covering on the cooling effect from the VM was also studied. The performance of the cooling method was evaluated based on comparison of the segmental...

  4. Safety issues associated with the use of nanoparticles in human body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sufian, Mian Muhammad; Khattak, Jabar Zaman Khan; Yousaf, Shahzad; Rana, Muhammad Suleman

    2017-09-01

    Nanotechnology has transformed the world by the introduction of a distinctive class of materials and products in a wide array of fields. It has contributed to the production of innovative materials and devices. Having unique advantages and domestic along with industrial applications, however, has raised the issue of safety for consumers, producers and environment. Having a comparative smaller dimension and other exclusive properties, nanoparticles have the ability to harm human body by interacting through various mechanisms. Here, we endeavoured to review and discuss the characteristics of nanoparticles relevant to their toxicity, conceivable exposure routes of nanoparticles to human body like skin contact, inhalation, and ingestion, and the basic approaches which can aid to control human exposures to toxic nanoparticles have been discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Micromechanics of the human vertebral body for forward flexion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Haisheng; Nawathe, Shashank; Fields, Aaron J; Keaveny, Tony M

    2012-08-09

    To provide mechanistic insight into the etiology of osteoporotic wedge fractures, we investigated the spatial distribution of tissue at the highest risk of initial failure within the human vertebral body for both forward flexion and uniform compression loading conditions. Micro-CT-based linear elastic finite element analysis was used to virtually load 22 human T9 vertebral bodies in either 5° of forward flexion or uniform compression; we also ran analyses replacing the simulated compliant disc (E=8 MPa) with stiff polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA, E=2500 MPa). As expected, we found that, compared to uniform compression, forward flexion increased the overall endplate axial load on the anterior half of the vertebra and shifted the spatial distribution of high-risk tissue within the vertebra towards the anterior aspect of the vertebral body. However, despite that shift, the high-risk tissue remained primarily within the central regions of the trabecular bone and endplates, and forward flexion only slightly altered the ratio of cortical-to-trabecular load sharing at the mid-vertebral level (mean±SD for n=22: 41.3±7.4% compression; 44.1±8.2% forward flexion). When the compliant disc was replaced with PMMA, the anterior shift of high-risk tissue was much more severe. We conclude that, for a compliant disc, a moderate degree of forward flexion does not appreciably alter the spatial distribution of stress within the vertebral body. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Effect of the Environmental Stimuli upon the Human Body in Winter Outdoor Thermal Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoshihito Kurazumi

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to manage the outdoor thermal environment with regard to human health and the environmental impact of waste heat, quantitative evaluations are indispensable. It is necessary to use a thermal environment evaluation index. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between the psychological thermal responses of the human body and winter outdoor thermal environment variables. Subjective experiments were conducted in the winter outdoor environment. Environmental factors and human psychological responses were measured. The relationship between the psychological thermal responses of the human body and the outdoor thermal environment index ETFe (enhanced conduction-corrected modified effective temperature in winter was shown. The variables which influence the thermal sensation vote of the human body are air temperature, long-wave thermal radiation and short-wave solar radiation. The variables that influence the thermal comfort vote of the human body are air temperature, humidity, short-wave solar radiation, long-wave thermal radiation, and heat conduction. Short-wave solar radiation, and heat conduction are among the winter outdoor thermal environment variables that affect psychological responses to heat. The use of thermal environment evaluation indices that comprise short-wave solar radiation and heat conduction in winter outdoor spaces is a valid approach.

  7. Effect of the Environmental Stimuli upon the Human Body in Winter Outdoor Thermal Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurazumi, Yoshihito; Kondo, Emi; Ishii, Jin; Sakoi, Tomonori; Fukagawa, Kenta; Bolashikov, Zhecho Dimitrov; Tsuchikawa, Tadahiro; Matsubara, Naoki; Horikoshi, Tetsumi

    2013-01-01

    In order to manage the outdoor thermal environment with regard to human health and the environmental impact of waste heat, quantitative evaluations are indispensable. It is necessary to use a thermal environment evaluation index. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between the psychological thermal responses of the human body and winter outdoor thermal environment variables. Subjective experiments were conducted in the winter outdoor environment. Environmental factors and human psychological responses were measured. The relationship between the psychological thermal responses of the human body and the outdoor thermal environment index ETFe (enhanced conduction-corrected modified effective temperature) in winter was shown. The variables which influence the thermal sensation vote of the human body are air temperature, long-wave thermal radiation and short-wave solar radiation. The variables that influence the thermal comfort vote of the human body are air temperature, humidity, short-wave solar radiation, long-wave thermal radiation, and heat conduction. Short-wave solar radiation, and heat conduction are among the winter outdoor thermal environment variables that affect psychological responses to heat. The use of thermal environment evaluation indices that comprise short-wave solar radiation and heat conduction in winter outdoor spaces is a valid approach. PMID:23861691

  8. Ionizing radiation and lipid peroxidation in human body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giubileo, Gianfranco

    1997-07-01

    Lipids are organic compounds constituting the living cells. Lipid molecules can be disassembled through peroxidative pathways and hydrocarbons can be bred as end-product of lipid peroxidation in vivo. Lipid peroxidation can be started by an indirect effect of ionizing radiation. So a radioinduced cellular damage in human body can be detected by monitoring the production of specific hydrocarbons

  9. Coming to Know about the Body in Human Movement Studies Programmes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varea, Valeria; Tinning, Richard

    2016-01-01

    This paper explores how a group of undergraduate Human Movement Studies (HMS) students learnt to know about the body during their four-year academic programme at an Australian university. When students begin an undergraduate programme in HMS they bring with them particular constructions, ideas and beliefs about their own bodies and about the body…

  10. A relation between calculated human body exergy consumption rate and subjectively assessed thermal sensation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Simone, Angela; Kolarik, Jakub; Olesen, Bjarne W. [ICIEE/BYG, Technical University of Denmark (Denmark); Iwamatsu, Toshiya [Faculty of Urban Environmental Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University (Japan); Asada, Hideo [Architech Consulting Co., Tokyo (Japan); Dovjak, Mateja [Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia); Schellen, Lisje [Eindhoven University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning (Netherlands); Shukuya, Masanori [Laboratory of Building Environment, Tokyo City University, Yokohama (Japan)

    2011-01-15

    Application of the exergy concept to research on the built environment is a relatively new approach. It helps to optimize climate conditioning systems so that they meet the requirements of sustainable building design. As the building should provide a healthy and comfortable environment for its occupants, it is reasonable to consider both the exergy flows in building and those within the human body. Until now, no data have been available on the relation between human-body exergy consumption rates and subjectively assessed thermal sensation. The objective of the present work was to relate thermal sensation data, from earlier thermal comfort studies, to calculated human-body exergy consumption rates. The results show that the minimum human body exergy consumption rate is associated with thermal sensation votes close to thermal neutrality, tending to the slightly cool side of thermal sensation. Generally, the relationship between air temperature and the exergy consumption rate, as a first approximation, shows an increasing trend. Taking account of both convective and radiative heat exchange between the human body and the surrounding environment by using the calculated operative temperature, exergy consumption rates increase as the operative temperature increases above 24 C or decreases below 22 C. With the data available so far, a second-order polynomial relationship between thermal sensation and the exergy consumption rate was established. (author)

  11. Numerical simulation of thermal behaviors of a clothed human body with evaluation of indoor solar radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mao, Aihua; Luo, Jie; Li, Yi

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Solar radiation evaluation is integrated with the thermal transfer in clothed humans. • Thermal models are developed for clothed humans exposed in indoor solar radiation. • The effect of indoor solar radiation on humans can be predicted in different situations in living. • The green solar energy can be efficiently utilized in the building development. - Abstract: Solar radiation is a valuable green energy, which is important in achieving a successful building design for thermal comfort in indoor environment. This paper considers solar radiation indoors into the transient thermal transfer models of a clothed human body and offers a new numerical method to analyze the dynamic thermal status of a clothed human body under different solar radiation incidences. The evaluation model of solar radiation indoors and a group of coupled thermal models of the clothed human body are developed and integrated. The simulation capacities of these integrated models are validated through a comparison between the predicted results and the experimental data in reference. After that, simulation cases are also conducted to show the influence of solar radiation on the thermal status of individual clothed body segments when the human body is staying indoors in different seasons. This numerical simulation method provides a useful tool to analyze the thermal status of clothed human body under different solar radiation incidences indoors and thus enables the architect to efficiently utilize the green solar energy in building development.

  12. Review on modeling heat transfer and thermoregulatory responses in human body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Ming; Weng, Wenguo; Chen, Weiwang; Luo, Na

    2016-12-01

    Several mathematical models of human thermoregulation have been developed, contributing to a deep understanding of thermal responses in different thermal conditions and applications. In these models, the human body is represented by two interacting systems of thermoregulation: the controlling active system and the controlled passive system. This paper reviews the recent research of human thermoregulation models. The accuracy and scope of the thermal models are improved, for the consideration of individual differences, integration to clothing models, exposure to cold and hot conditions, and the changes of physiological responses for the elders. The experimental validated methods for human subjects and manikin are compared. The coupled method is provided for the manikin, controlled by the thermal model as an active system. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is also used along with the manikin or/and the thermal model, to evaluate the thermal responses of human body in various applications, such as evaluation of thermal comfort to increase the energy efficiency, prediction of tolerance limits and thermal acceptability exposed to hostile environments, indoor air quality assessment in the car and aerospace industry, and design protective equipment to improve function of the human activities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Characterization of Tetraploid Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer-Derived Human Embryonic Stem Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Dong-Hyuk; Lee, Jeoung-Eun; Eum, Jin Hee; Chung, Young Gie; Lee, Hoon Taek; Lee, Dong Ryul

    2017-12-01

    Polyploidy is occurred by the process of endomitosis or cell fusion and usually represent terminally differentiated stage. Their effects on the developmental process were mainly investigated in the amphibian and fishes, and only observed in some rodents as mammalian model. Recently, we have established tetraploidy somatic cell nuclear transfer-derived human embryonic stem cells (SCNT-hESCs) and examined whether it could be available as a research model for the polyploidy cells existed in the human tissues. Two tetraploid hESC lines were artificially acquired by reintroduction of remained 1st polar body during the establishment of SCNT-hESC using MII oocytes obtained from female donors and dermal fibroblasts (DFB) from a 35-year-old adult male. These tetraploid SCNT-hESC lines (CHA-NT1 and CHA-NT3) were identified by the cytogenetic genotyping (91, XXXY,-6, t[2:6] / 92,XXXY,-12,+20) and have shown of indefinite proliferation, but slow speed when compared to euploid SCNT-hESCs. Using the eight Short Tendem Repeat (STR) markers, it was confirmed that both CHA-NT1 and CHA-NT3 lines contain both nuclear and oocyte donor genotypes. These hESCs expressed pluripotency markers and their embryoid bodies (EB) also expressed markers of the three embryonic germ layers and formed teratoma after transplantation into immune deficient mice. This study showed that tetraploidy does not affect the activities of proliferation and differentiation in SCNT-hESC. Therefore, tetraploid hESC lines established after SCNT procedure could be differentiated into various types of cells and could be an useful model for the study of the polyploidy cells in the tissues.

  14. Ideas about the Human Body among Secondary Students in South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granklint Enochson, Pernilla; Redfors, Andreas; Dempster, Edith R.; Tibell, Lena A. E.

    2015-01-01

    In this paper we focus on how South African students' ideas about the human body are constituted in their descriptions of three different scenarios involving the pathway of a sandwich, a painkiller and a glass of water through the body. In particular, we have studied the way in which the students transferred ideas between the sandwich and the…

  15. [Human body meridian spatial decision support system for clinical treatment and teaching of acupuncture and moxibustion].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Dehua

    2016-01-01

    The spatial position and distribution of human body meridian are expressed limitedly in the decision support system (DSS) of acupuncture and moxibustion at present, which leads to the failure to give the effective quantitative analysis on the spatial range and the difficulty for the decision-maker to provide a realistic spatial decision environment. Focusing on the limit spatial expression in DSS of acupuncture and moxibustion, it was proposed that on the basis of the geographic information system, in association of DSS technology, the design idea was developed on the human body meridian spatial DSS. With the 4-layer service-oriented architecture adopted, the data center integrated development platform was taken as the system development environment. The hierarchical organization was done for the spatial data of human body meridian via the directory tree. The structured query language (SQL) server was used to achieve the unified management of spatial data and attribute data. The technologies of architecture, configuration and plug-in development model were integrated to achieve the data inquiry, buffer analysis and program evaluation of the human body meridian spatial DSS. The research results show that the human body meridian spatial DSS could reflect realistically the spatial characteristics of the spatial position and distribution of human body meridian and met the constantly changeable demand of users. It has the powerful spatial analysis function and assists with the scientific decision in clinical treatment and teaching of acupuncture and moxibustion. It is the new attempt to the informatization research of human body meridian.

  16. The personification of animals: coding of human and nonhuman body parts based on posture and function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welsh, Timothy N; McDougall, Laura; Paulson, Stephanie

    2014-09-01

    The purpose of the present research was to determine how humans represent the bodies and limbs of nonhuman mammals based on anatomical and functional properties. To this end, participants completed a series of body-part compatibility tasks in which they responded with a thumb or foot response to the color of a stimulus (red or blue, respectively) presented on different limbs of several animals. Across the studies, this compatibility task was conducted with images of human and nonhuman animals (bears, cows, and monkeys) in bipedal or quadrupedal postures. The results revealed that the coding of the limbs of nonhuman animals is strongly influenced by the posture of the body, but not the functional capacity of the limb. Specifically, body-part compatibility effects were present for both human and nonhuman animals when the figures were in a bipedal posture, but were not present when the animals were in a quadrupedal stance (Experiments 1a-c). Experiments 2a and 2b revealed that the posture-based body-part compatibility effects were not simply a vertical spatial compatibility effect or due to a mismatch between the posture of the body in the image and the participant. These data indicate that nonhuman animals in a bipedal posture are coded with respect to the "human" body representation, whereas nonhuman animals in a quadrupedal posture are not mapped to the human body representation. Overall, these studies provide new insight into the processes through which humans understand, mimic, and learn from the actions of nonhuman animals. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Dynamics and associations of microbial community types across the human body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Tao; Schloss, Patrick D

    2014-05-15

    A primary goal of the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) was to provide a reference collection of 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences collected from sites across the human body that would allow microbiologists to better associate changes in the microbiome with changes in health. The HMP Consortium has reported the structure and function of the human microbiome in 300 healthy adults at 18 body sites from a single time point. Using additional data collected over the course of 12-18 months, we used Dirichlet multinomial mixture models to partition the data into community types for each body site and made three important observations. First, there were strong associations between whether individuals had been breastfed as an infant, their gender, and their level of education with their community types at several body sites. Second, although the specific taxonomic compositions of the oral and gut microbiomes were different, the community types observed at these sites were predictive of each other. Finally, over the course of the sampling period, the community types from sites within the oral cavity were the least stable, whereas those in the vagina and gut were the most stable. Our results demonstrate that even with the considerable intra- and interpersonal variation in the human microbiome, this variation can be partitioned into community types that are predictive of each other and are probably the result of life-history characteristics. Understanding the diversity of community types and the mechanisms that result in an individual having a particular type or changing types, will allow us to use their community types to assess disease risk and to personalize therapies.

  18. In vitro generation of motor neuron precursors from mouse embryonic stem cells using mesoporous nanoparticles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Garcia-Bennett, Alfonso E; König, Niclas; Abrahamsson, Ninnie

    2014-01-01

    nanoparticles could be effective for stem cell differentiation in vitro. Materials & methods: We used a mouse embryonic stem cell line expressing green fluorescent protein under the promoter for the MN-specific gene Hb9 to visualize the level of MN differentiation. The differentiation of stem cells......Aim: Stem cell-derived motor neurons (MNs) are utilized to develop replacement strategies for spinal cord disorders. Differentiation of embryonic stem cells into MN precursors involves factors and their repeated administration. We investigated if delivery of factors loaded into mesoporous...... was evaluated by expression of MN-specific transcription factors monitored by quantitative real-time PCR reactions and immunocytochemistry. Results: Mesoporous nanoparticles have strong affiliation to the embryoid bodies, penetrate inside the embryoid bodies and come in contact with differentiating cells...

  19. A systematic review of the human body burden of e-waste exposure in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Qingbin; Li, Jinhui

    2014-07-01

    As China is one of the countries facing the most serious pollution and human exposure effects of e-waste in the world, much of the population there is exposed to potentially hazardous substances due to informal e-waste recycling processes. This report reviews recent studies on human exposure to e-waste in China, with particular focus on exposure routes (e.g. dietary intake, inhalation, and soil/dust ingestion) and human body burden markers (e.g. placenta, umbilical cord blood, breast milk, blood, hair, and urine) and assesses the evidence for the association between such e-waste exposure and the human body burden in China. The results suggest that residents in the e-waste exposure areas, located mainly in the three traditional e-waste recycling sites (Taizhou, Guiyu, and Qingyuan), are faced with a potential higher daily intake of these pollutants than residents in the control areas, especially via food ingestion. Moreover, pollutants (PBBs, PBDEs, PCBs, PCDD/Fs, and heavy metals) from the e-waste recycling processes were all detectable in the tissue samples at high levels, showing that they had entered residents' bodies through the environment and dietary exposure. Children and neonates are the groups most sensitive to the human body effects of e-waste exposure. We also recorded plausible outcomes associated with exposure to e-waste, including 7 types of human body burden. Although the data suggest that exposure to e-waste is harmful to health, better designed epidemiological investigations in vulnerable populations, especially neonates and children, are needed to confirm these associations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. New equivalent-electrical circuit model and a practical measurement method for human body impedance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chinen, Koyu; Kinjo, Ichiko; Zamami, Aki; Irei, Kotoyo; Nagayama, Kanako

    2015-01-01

    Human body impedance analysis is an effective tool to extract electrical information from tissues in the human body. This paper presents a new measurement method of impedance using armpit electrode and a new equivalent circuit model for the human body. The lowest impedance was measured by using an LCR meter and six electrodes including armpit electrodes. The electrical equivalent circuit model for the cell consists of resistance R and capacitance C. The R represents electrical resistance of the liquid of the inside and outside of the cell, and the C represents high frequency conductance of the cell membrane. We propose an equivalent circuit model which consists of five parallel high frequency-passing CR circuits. The proposed equivalent circuit represents alpha distribution in the impedance measured at a lower frequency range due to ion current of the outside of the cell, and beta distribution at a high frequency range due to the cell membrane and the liquid inside cell. The calculated values by using the proposed equivalent circuit model were consistent with the measured values for the human body impedance.

  1. Robotic Missions to Small Bodies and Their Potential Contributions to Human Exploration and Planetary Defense

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abell, Paul A.; Rivkin, Andrew S.

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: Robotic missions to small bodies will directly address aspects of NASA's Asteroid Initiative and will contribute to future human exploration and planetary defense. The NASA Asteroid Initiative is comprised of two major components: the Grand Challenge and the Asteroid Mission. The first component, the Grand Challenge, focuses on protecting Earth's population from asteroid impacts by detecting potentially hazardous objects with enough warning time to either prevent them from impacting the planet, or to implement civil defense procedures. The Asteroid Mission involves sending astronauts to study and sample a near-Earth asteroid (NEA) prior to conducting exploration missions of the Martian system, which includes Phobos and Deimos. The science and technical data obtained from robotic precursor missions that investigate the surface and interior physical characteristics of an object will help identify the pertinent physical properties that will maximize operational efficiency and reduce mission risk for both robotic assets and crew operating in close proximity to, or at the surface of, a small body. These data will help fill crucial strategic knowledge gaps (SKGs) concerning asteroid physical characteristics that are relevant for human exploration considerations at similar small body destinations. These data can also be applied for gaining an understanding of pertinent small body physical characteristics that would also be beneficial for formulating future impact mitigation procedures. Small Body Strategic Knowledge Gaps: For the past several years NASA has been interested in identifying the key SKGs related to future human destinations. These SKGs highlight the various unknowns and/or data gaps of targets that the science and engineering communities would like to have filled in prior to committing crews to explore the Solar System. An action team from the Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG) was formed specifically to identify the small body SKGs under the

  2. Genetics of human body size and shape: body proportions and indices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Livshits, Gregory; Roset, A; Yakovenko, K; Trofimov, S; Kobyliansky, E

    2002-01-01

    environmental effects were also detectable. Genetic factors substantially influence inter-individual differences in body shape and configuration in two studied samples. However, further studies are needed to clarify the extent of pleiotropy and epigenetic effects on various facets of the human physique.

  3. Unsteady-state human-body exergy consumption rate and its relation to subjective assessment of dynamic thermal environments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schweiker, Marcel; Kolarik, Jakub; Dovjak, Mateja

    2016-01-01

    of the present study confirmed previously indicated trends that lowest human body exergy consumption rate is associated with thermal sensation close to neutrality. Moreover, higher acceptability was in general associated with lower human body exergy consumption rate. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.......Few examples studied applicability of exergy analysis on human thermal comfort. These examples relate the human-body exergy consumption rate with subjectively obtained thermal sensation votes and had been based on steady-state calculation methods. However, humans are rarely exposed to steady...... between the human-body exergy consumption rate and subjective assessment of thermal environment represented by thermal sensation as well as to extend the investigation towards thermal acceptability votes. Comparison of steady-state and unsteady-state model showed that results from both models were...

  4. On the dynamics of a human body model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huston, R. L.; Passerello, C. E.

    1971-01-01

    Equations of motion for a model of the human body are developed. Basically, the model consists of an elliptical cylinder representing the torso, together with a system of frustrums of elliptical cones representing the limbs. They are connected to the main body and each other by hinges and ball and socket joints. Vector, tensor, and matrix methods provide a systematic organization of the geometry. The equations of motion are developed from the principles of classical mechanics. The solution of these equations then provide the displacement and rotation of the main body when the external forces and relative limb motions are specified. Three simple example motions are studied to illustrate the method. The first is an analysis and comparison of simple lifting on the earth and the moon. The second is an elementary approach to underwater swimming, including both viscous and inertia effects. The third is an analysis of kicking motion and its effect upon a vertically suspended man such as a parachutist.

  5. Force direction patterns promote whole body stability even in hip-flexed walking, but not upper body stability in human upright walking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Roy; Rode, Christian; Aminiaghdam, Soran; Vielemeyer, Johanna; Blickhan, Reinhard

    2017-11-01

    Directing the ground reaction forces to a focal point above the centre of mass of the whole body promotes whole body stability in human and animal gaits similar to a physical pendulum. Here we show that this is the case in human hip-flexed walking as well. For all upper body orientations (upright, 25°, 50°, maximum), the focal point was well above the centre of mass of the whole body, suggesting its general relevance for walking. Deviations of the forces' lines of action from the focal point increased with upper body inclination from 25 to 43 mm root mean square deviation (RMSD). With respect to the upper body in upright gait, the resulting force also passed near a focal point (17 mm RMSD between the net forces' lines of action and focal point), but this point was 18 cm below its centre of mass. While this behaviour mimics an unstable inverted pendulum, it leads to resulting torques of alternating sign in accordance with periodic upper body motion and probably provides for low metabolic cost of upright gait by keeping hip torques small. Stabilization of the upper body is a consequence of other mechanisms, e.g. hip reflexes or muscle preflexes.

  6. Active numerical model of human body for reconstruction of falls from height.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milanowicz, Marcin; Kędzior, Krzysztof

    2017-01-01

    Falls from height constitute the largest group of incidents out of approximately 90,000 occupational accidents occurring each year in Poland. Reconstruction of the exact course of a fall from height is generally difficult due to lack of sufficient information from the accident scene. This usually results in several contradictory versions of an incident and impedes, for example, determination of the liability in a judicial process. In similar situations, in many areas of human activity, researchers apply numerical simulation. They use it to model physical phenomena to reconstruct their real course over time; e.g. numerical human body models are frequently used for investigation and reconstruction of road accidents. However, they are validated in terms of specific road traffic accidents and are considerably limited when applied to the reconstruction of other types of accidents. The objective of the study was to develop an active numerical human body model to be used for reconstruction of accidents associated with falling from height. Development of the model involved extension and adaptation of the existing Pedestrian human body model (available in the MADYMO package database) for the purposes of reconstruction of falls from height by taking into account the human reaction to the loss of balance. The model was developed by using the results of experimental tests of the initial phase of the fall from height. The active numerical human body model covering 28 sets of initial conditions related to various human reactions to the loss of balance was developed. The application of the model was illustrated by using it to reconstruct a real fall from height. From among the 28 sets of initial conditions, those whose application made it possible to reconstruct the most probable version of the incident was selected. The selection was based on comparison of the results of the reconstruction with information contained in the accident report. Results in the form of estimated

  7. Influence of mechanical stimulation on human dermal fibroblasts derived from different body sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuang, Ruixia; Wang, Zhiguo; Xu, Quanchen; Liu, Su; Zhang, Weidong

    2015-01-01

    Mechanical stimulation is highly associated with pathogenesis of human hypertrophic scar. Although much work has focused on the influence of mechanical stress on fibroblast populations from various tissues and organs in the human body, their effects on cultured dermal fibroblasts by the area of the body have not been as well studied. In this study, cultures of skin fibroblasts from two different body sites were subjected to cyclic mechanical stimulation with a 10% stretching amplitude at a frequency of 0.1 Hz for 24, 36 and 48 hours, respectively, and thereafter harvested for experimental assays. Fibroblasts from scapular upper back skin, subjected to mechanical loads for 36 and 48 hours, respectively, were observed to proliferate at a higher rate and reach confluent more rapidly during in vitro culturing, had higher expression levels of mRNA and protein production of integrin β1, p130Cas and TGF β1 versus those from medial side of upper arm. These data indicate that skin fibroblasts, with regard to originated body sites studied in the experiments, display a diversity of mechanotransduction properties and biochemical reactions in response to applied mechanical stress, which contributes to the increased susceptibility to hypertrophic scars formation at certain areas of human body characterized by higher skin and muscle tension.

  8. Skin Sensitive Difference of Human Body Sections under Clothing-Smirnov Test of Skin Surface Temperatures' Dynamic Changing

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    LI Jun; WU Hai-yan; WANG Yun-yi

    2004-01-01

    Skin sensitive difference of human body sections under clothing is the theoretic foundation of thermal insulation clothing design.By a new method of researching on clothing comfort perception,the skin temperature live changing procedure of human body sections affected by the same cold stimulation is inspected.Furthermore with the Smirnov test the skin temperatures dynamic changing patterns of main human body sections are obtained.

  9. Electromagnetic Fields at the Surface of Human-Body Cylinders

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kammersgaard, Nikolaj Peter Iversen; Kvist, Søren H.; Thaysen, Jesper

    2016-01-01

    transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarization. The results show that the material assumption when modeling the human body as a homogeneous material is very important. Furthermore, it is shown that one assumption might lead to higher fields for a specific polarization, angle of incidence...

  10. Inclusion bodies in loggerhead erythrocytes are associated with unstable hemoglobin and resemble human Heinz bodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basile, Filomena; Di Santi, Annalisa; Caldora, Mercedes; Ferretti, Luigi; Bentivegna, Flegra; Pica, Alessandra

    2011-08-01

    The aim of this study was to clarify the role of the erythrocyte inclusions found during the hematological screening of loggerhead population of the Mediterranean Sea. We studied the erythrocyte inclusions in blood specimens collected from six juvenile and nine adult specimens of the loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta, from the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian Seas. Our study indicates that the percentage of mature erythrocytes containing inclusions ranged from 3 to 82%. Each erythrocyte contained only one round inclusion body. Inclusion bodies stained with May Grünwald-Giemsa show that their cytochemical and ultrastructure characteristics are identical to those of human Heinz bodies. Because Heinz bodies originate from the precipitation of unstable hemoglobin (Hb) and cause globular osmotic resistance to increase, we analyzed loggerhead Hb using electrophoresis and high-performance liquid chromatography to detect and quantitate Hb fractions. We also tested the resistance of Hb to alkaline pH, heat, isopropanol denaturation, and globular osmosis. Our hemogram results excluded the occurrence of any infection, which could be associated with an inclusion body, in all the specimens. Negative Feulgen staining indicated that the inclusion bodies are not derived from DNA fragmentation. We hypothesize that amino acid substitutions could explain why loggerhead Hb precipitates under normal physiologic conditions, forming Heinz bodies. The identification of inclusion bodies in loggerhead erythrocytes allow us to better understand the haematological characteristics and the physiology of these ancient reptiles, thus aiding efforts to conserve such an endangered species. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company.

  11. Design of flexible thermoelectric generator as human body sensor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Qing, Shaowei; Rezaniakolaei, Alireza; Rosendahl, Lasse Aistrup

    2018-01-01

    Flexible thermoelectric generator (TEG) became an attractive technology that has been widely used especially for curved surfaces applications. This study aims an optimal design of a flexible TEG for human body application. The flexible TEG is part of a sensor and supplies required electrical power...... for data transmission by the sensor. The TEG module includes ink based thermoelements made of nano-carbon bismuth telluride materials. One flexible fin conducts the body heat to the TEG module and there are two fins that exchange the heat from the cold side of the TEG to the ambient. The proposed design...

  12. Automatic identification of inertial sensor placement on human body segments during walking

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Weenk, D.; van Beijnum, Bernhard J.F.; Baten, Christian T.M.; Hermens, Hermanus J.; Veltink, Petrus H.

    2013-01-01

    We present a novel method for the automatic identification of inertial sensors on human body segments during walking. This method allows the user to place (wireless) inertial sensors on arbitrary body segments. Next, the user walks for just a few seconds and the segment to which each sensor is

  13. Fulltext PDF

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    SEARCHU

    in combination with other cellular factors, influence differentiation ... the culture medium, ES cells spontaneously differentiate into embryoid bodies (EBs) that ..... Isolation of embryonic stem (ES) cells in media supplemented with recombinant ...

  14. Human Body 3D Posture Estimation Using Significant Points and Two Cameras

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juang, Chia-Feng; Chen, Teng-Chang; Du, Wei-Chin

    2014-01-01

    This paper proposes a three-dimensional (3D) human posture estimation system that locates 3D significant body points based on 2D body contours extracted from two cameras without using any depth sensors. The 3D significant body points that are located by this system include the head, the center of the body, the tips of the feet, the tips of the hands, the elbows, and the knees. First, a linear support vector machine- (SVM-) based segmentation method is proposed to distinguish the human body from the background in red, green, and blue (RGB) color space. The SVM-based segmentation method uses not only normalized color differences but also included angle between pixels in the current frame and the background in order to reduce shadow influence. After segmentation, 2D significant points in each of the two extracted images are located. A significant point volume matching (SPVM) method is then proposed to reconstruct the 3D significant body point locations by using 2D posture estimation results. Experimental results show that the proposed SVM-based segmentation method shows better performance than other gray level- and RGB-based segmentation approaches. This paper also shows the effectiveness of the 3D posture estimation results in different postures. PMID:24883422

  15. Non-invasive measurement of calcium and phosphorus in human body by NAA technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Haiying; Luo Xianqing; Huang Hanqiao

    1995-01-01

    A system of measuring calcium and phosphorus in human legs has been developed by the use of partial-body neutron activation analysis and partial-body counting technique. The results are compared for the normals and osteoporotic patients

  16. Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: A novel frontier in the study of human primary immunodeficiencies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pessach, Itai M.; Ordovas-Montanes, Jose; Zhang, Shen-Ying; Casanova, Jean-Laurent; Giliani, Silvia; Gennery, Andrew R.; Al-Herz, Waleed; Manos, Philip D.; Schlaeger, Thorsten M.; Park, In-Hyun; Rucci, Francesca; Agarwal, Suneet; Mostoslavsky, Gustavo; Daley, George Q.; Notarangelo, Luigi D.

    2010-01-01

    Background The novel ability to epigenetically reprogram somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells through the exogenous expression of transcription promises to revolutionize the study of human diseases. Objective Here we report on the generation of 25 induced pluripotent stem cell lines from 6 patients with various forms of Primary Immunodeficiencies, affecting adaptive and/or innate immunity. Methods Patients’ dermal fibroblasts were reprogrammed by expression of four transcription factors, OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, and c-MYC using a single excisable polycistronic lentiviral vector. Results Induced pluripotent stem cells derived from patients with primary immunodeficiencies show a stemness profile that is comparable to that observed in human embryonic stem cells. Following in vitro differentiation into embryoid bodies, pluripotency of the patient-derived indiced pluripotent stem cells lines was demonstrated by expression of genes characteristic of each of the three embryonic layers. We have confirmed the patient-specific origin of the induced pluripotent stem cell lines, and ascertained maintenance of karyotypic integrity. Conclusion By providing a limitless source of diseased stem cells that can be differentiated into various cell types in vitro, the repository of induced pluripotent stem cell lines from patients with primary immunodeficiencies represents a unique resource to investigate the pathophysiology of hematopoietic and extra-hematopoietic manifestations of these diseases, and may assist in the development of novel therapeutic approaches based on gene correction. PMID:21185069

  17. Harmful effects of mobile phone waves on blood tissues of the human body

    OpenAIRE

    Kumar, Vijay; Ahmad, Mushtaq; Sharma, A. K.

    2013-01-01

      Abstract. Penetration of electromagnetic waves emitted by mobile phones into human skin and blood was studied. The transmitted waves from these mobile phones were exposed to the human body and were penetrated into the body where field was reduced exponentially with depth. As the reduction in field was due to absorption of power, specific absorption rate was calculated and compared with permissible limit given by International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and Worl...

  18. Self-renewal and differentiation capabilities are variable between human embryonic stem cell lines I3, I6 and BG01V

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rao Mahendra S

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A unique and essential property of embryonic stem cells is the ability to self-renew and differentiate into multiple cell lineages. However, the possible differences in proliferation and differentiation capabilities among independently-derived human embryonic stem cells (hESCs are not well known because of insufficient characterization. To address this question, a side-by-side comparison of 1 the ability to maintain an undifferentiated state and to self-renew under standard conditions; 2 the ability to spontaneously differentiate into three primary embryonic germ lineages in differentiating embryoid bodies; and 3 the responses to directed neural differentiation was made between three NIH registered hES cell lines I3 (TE03, I6 (TE06 and BG01V. Lines I3 and I6 possess normal XX and a normal XY karyotype while BG01V is a variant cell line with an abnormal karyotype derived from the karyotypically normal cell line BG01. Results Using immunocytochemistry, flow cytometry, qRT-PCR and MPSS, we found that all three cell lines actively proliferated and expressed similar "stemness" markers including transcription factors POU5F1/Oct3/4 and NANOG, glycolipids SSEA4 and TRA-1-81, and alkaline phosphatase activity. All cell lines differentiated into three embryonic germ lineages in embryoid bodies and into neural cell lineages when cultured in neural differentiation medium. However, a profound variation in colony morphology, growth rate, BrdU incorporation, and relative abundance of gene expression in undifferentiated and differentiated states of the cell lines was observed. Undifferentiated I3 cells grew significantly slower but their differentiation potential was greater than I6 and BG01V. Under the same neural differentiation-promoting conditions, the ability of each cell line to differentiate into neural progenitors varied. Conclusion Our comparative analysis provides further evidence for similarities and differences between three h

  19. Body mass, energy intake, and water consumption of rats and humans during space flight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wade, C. E.; Miller, M. M.; Baer, L. A.; Moran, M. M.; Steele, M. K.; Stein, T. P.

    2002-01-01

    Alteration of metabolism has been suggested as a major limiting factor to long-term space flight. In humans and primates, a negative energy balance has been reported. The metabolic response of rats to space flight has been suggested to result in a negative energy balance. We hypothesized that rats flown in space would maintain energy balance as indicated by maintenance of caloric intake and body mass gain. Further, the metabolism of the rat would be similar to that of laboratory-reared animals. We studied the results from 15 space flights lasting 4 to 19 d. There was no difference in average body weight (206 +/- 13.9 versus 206 +/- 14.8 g), body weight gain (5.8 +/- 0.48 versus 5.9 +/- 0.56 g/d), caloric intake (309 +/- 21.0 versus 309 +/- 20.1 kcal/kg of body mass per day), or water intake (200 +/- 8.6 versus 199 +/- 9.3 mL/kg of body mass per day) between flight and ground control animals. Compared with standard laboratory animals of similar body mass, no differences were noted. The observations suggested that the negative balance observed in humans and non-human primates may be due to other factors in the space-flight environment.

  20. Body composition of two human cadavers by neutron activation and chemical analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knight, G.S.; Beddoe, A.H.; Streat, S.J.; Hill, G.L.

    1986-01-01

    In vivo neutron activation analysis (NAA) is currently used to measure body composition in metabolic and nutritional studies in many clinical situations, but has not previously been validated by comparison with chemical analysis of human cadavers. Total body nitrogen (TBN) and chlorine (TBCl) were measured in two human cadavers by NAA before homogenization and chemical analysis (CHEM) after (cadaver 1: TBN, 1.47 NAA, 1.51 CHEM; TBCl, 0.144 NAA, 0.147 CHEM; cadaver 2: TBN, 0.576 NAA, 0.572 CHEM; TBCl, 0.0227 NAA, 0.0250 CHEM). The homogenates were also analyzed by NAA, and no significant differences were found, indicating that the effects of elemental inhomogeneity on the measurement of TBN and TBCl are insignificant. Total body water, fat, protein, minerals, and carbohydrates were measured chemically for each cadaver and compared with estimates for these compartments obtained from a body composition model, which when used in vivo involves NAA and tritium dilution. The agreement found justifies the use of the model for the measurement of changes in total body protein, water, and fat in sequential studies in groups of patients

  1. The impact of Body Worlds on adult visitors' knowledge on human anatomy: A preliminary study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fonseca, Guilherme R B C; Finn, Gabrielle M

    2016-05-01

    Body Worlds is an anatomical exhibition that shows human remains to the public. It has been considered controversial since it raises ethical tensions and issues. However, organizers and supporters of Body Worlds have claimed the exhibition is intended to promote visitors' understanding over the human body. Despite these claims, no studies were found that support or refute the hypothesis that a visit to Body Worlds increases the public's objective knowledge on human anatomy. Consequently, the objective of this study was to determine the impact of Body Worlds on anatomical knowledge. We constructed and delivered a questionnaire to both a previsit random sample and a postvisit random sample of visitors of Body Worlds' event Facets of Life, in Berlin. The questionnaire was available in both English and German languages and contained (a) basic sociodemographic questions and (b) a valid and reliable anatomy quiz. The quiz consisted of 16 multiple-choice questions that assessed the ability to identify the location of major anatomical structures on the human body. Average scores achieved on the quiz by the postvisit sample (X¯= 9.08, s = 2.48, n = 164) were significantly higher (unpaired t = 3.3957, P = 0.0008) than those achieved by the previsit sample (X¯= 8.11, s = 2.69, n = 167). Our results suggest that a visit to Body Worlds' event Facets of Life may have a beneficial effect in anatomical knowledge. However, further studies with better empirical designs and fewer limitations are needed to confirm our results. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Finite element crash simulations of the human body: Passive and ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    of the vehicle that cause injury and their zone of action on the human body. For example .... The commonly used hyper elastic material models to predict the soft tissue responses ..... forces during post impact move- .... electromyogram in man.

  3. Transient interaction model of electromagnetic field generated by lightning current pulses and human body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iváncsy, T; Kiss, I; Tamus, Z Á; Szücs, L

    2015-01-01

    The lightning current generates time-varying magnetic field near the down-conductor and the down-conductors are mounted on the wall of the buildings where residential places might be situated. It is well known that the rapidly changing magnetic fields can generate dangerous eddy currents in the human body.The higher duration and gradient of the magnetic field can cause potentially life threatening cardiac stimulation. The coupling mechanism between the electromagnetic field and the human body is based on a well-known physical phenomena (e.g. Faradays law of induction). However, the calculation of the induced current is very complicated because the shape of the organs is complex and the determination of the material properties of living tissues is difficult, as well. Our previous study revealed that the cardiac stimulation is independent of the rising time of the lightning current and only the peak of the current counts.In this study, the authors introduce an improved model of the interaction of electromagnetic fields of lighting current near down-conductor and human body. Our previous models are based on the quasi stationer field calculations, the new improved model is a transient model. This is because the magnetic field around the down-conductor and in the human body can be determined more precisely, therefore the dangerous currents in the body can be estimated. (paper)

  4. Applications for Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) and Electrical Properties of the Human Body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lymperopoulos, Georgios; Lymperopoulos, Panagiotis; Alikari, Victoria; Dafogianni, Chrisoula; Zyga, Sofia; Margari, Nikoletta

    2017-01-01

    Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) is a promising application that displays changes in conductivity within a body. The basic principle of the method is the repeated measurement of surface voltages of a body, which are a result of rolling injection of known and small-volume sinusoidal AC current to the body through the electrodes attached to its surface. This method finds application in biomedicine, biology and geology. The objective of this paper is to present the applications of Electrical Impedance Tomography, along with the method's capabilities and limitations due to the electrical properties of the human body. For this purpose, investigation of existing literature has been conducted, using electronic databases, PubMed, Google Scholar and IEEE Xplore. In addition, there was a secondary research phase, using paper citations found during the first research phase. It should be noted that Electrical Impedance Tomography finds use in a plethora of medical applications, as the different tissues of the body have different conductivities and dielectric constants. Main applications of EIT include imaging of lung function, diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, detection of tumors in the chest area and diagnosis and distinction of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. EIT advantages include portability, low cost and safety, which the method provide, since it is a noninvasive imaging method that does not cause damage to the body. The main disadvantage of the method, which blocks its wider spread, appears in the image composition from the voltage measurements, which are conducted by electrodes placed on the periphery of the body, because the injected currents are affected nonlinearly by the general distribution of the electrical properties of the body. Furthermore, the complex impedance of the skin-electrode interface can be modelled by using a capacitor and two resistor, as a result of skin properties. In conclusion, Electrical Impedance Tomography is a promising method for the

  5. Using digital educational objects to teach human body systems at a countryside school

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvio Ferreira dos Santos

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to assess the use of educational software and mobile device applications to teach about the human body at a rural school. It is an action research, with a qualitative approach, developed in 2016 and involving 14 students from the 8th year Elementary Education at the Escola Estadual Sol Nascente in Confresa-MT. The chosen software and application was the Human Body Atlas and 3D Human Body Systems, emphasizing on the digestive and circulation systems. The results from the pre-and post-test, which comprised 20 questions together, corroborate the hypothesis that the use of digital educational objects benefits the education process. Students learned better the systems in comparison with when only traditional resources, such as a didactic book, was used. Such advancement could be harnessed to the fact that the resources make use of 3D images and point out each part of the body, besides providing important information and curiosities about the subject. It is therefore expected that digital technologies may be increasingly inserted and explored in pedagogical practices, since those resources allow for studying and solving queries, by broadening educational space and time.

  6. The effect of stress on core and peripheral body temperature in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vinkers, Christiaan H; Penning, Renske; Hellhammer, Juliane; Verster, Joris C; Klaessens, John H G M; Olivier, Berend; Kalkman, Cor J

    2013-09-01

    Even though there are indications that stress influences body temperature in humans, no study has systematically investigated the effects of stress on core and peripheral body temperature. The present study therefore aimed to investigate the effects of acute psychosocial stress on body temperature using different readout measurements. In two independent studies, male and female participants were exposed to a standardized laboratory stress task (the Trier Social Stress Test, TSST) or a non-stressful control task. Core temperature (intestinal and temporal artery) and peripheral temperature (facial and body skin temperature) were measured. Compared to the control condition, stress exposure decreased intestinal temperature but did not affect temporal artery temperature. Stress exposure resulted in changes in skin temperature that followed a gradient-like pattern, with decreases at distal skin locations such as the fingertip and finger base and unchanged skin temperature at proximal regions such as the infra-clavicular area. Stress-induced effects on facial temperature displayed a sex-specific pattern, with decreased nasal skin temperature in females and increased cheek temperature in males. In conclusion, the amplitude and direction of stress-induced temperature changes depend on the site of temperature measurement in humans. This precludes a direct translation of the preclinical stress-induced hyperthermia paradigm, in which core temperature uniformly rises in response to stress to the human situation. Nevertheless, the effects of stress result in consistent temperature changes. Therefore, the present study supports the inclusion of body temperature as a physiological readout parameter of stress in future studies.

  7. Lymphoblast-derived integration-free iPSC line AD-TREM2-1 from a 67 year-old Alzheimer's disease patient expressing the TREM2 p.R47H variant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soraia Martins

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Human lymphoblast cells from a male diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD expressing the TREM2 p.R47H variant were used to generate integration-free induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs by over-expressing episomal-based plasmids harbouring OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, LIN28, c-MYC and L-MYC. AD-TREM2–1 was defined as pluripotent based on (i expression of pluripotency-associated markers (ii embryoid body-based differentiation into cell types representative of the three germ layers and (iii the similarity between the transcriptome of the iPSC line and the human embryonic stem cell line H1 with a Pearson correlation of 0.947.

  8. [THE LEGAL STATUS OF ELEMENTS AND PRODUCTS OF THE HUMAN BODY: OBJECT OR SUBJECT OF LAW?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Lameigné, Anaïs Gayte-Papon

    2015-07-01

    The 2004 Act on bioethics has amended the 1994 Act regarding the donation and the use of elements and products of the human body, medically assisted procreation and prenatal diagnosis. The very purpose of these laws led the legislature not to attempt the summa divisio order distinguishing the object to the person. The analysis of bioethical laws reveals the consecration of the non-commercialization of the human body at the expense of its unavailability. Bioethical laws appear to be catalysts of biological scientific advances releasing the status of the components and the products of the human body while framing it. By limiting scientific opportunities, they prevent human beings from trying to play the sorcerer's apprentice.

  9. The Thermal Plume above a Standing Human Body Exposed to Different Air Distribution Strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Li; Nielsen, Peter V.; Li, Yuguo

    2009-01-01

    This study compares the impact of air distribution on the thermal plume above a human body in indoor environment. Three sets of measurements are conducted in a full-scale test room with different ventilation conditions. One breathing thermal manikin standing in the room is used to simulate...... the human body. Long-time average air velocity profiles at locations closely above the manikin are taken to identify the wandering thermal plume....

  10. Tuberin and PRAS40 are anti-apoptotic gatekeepers during early human amniotic fluid stem-cell differentiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuchs, Christiane; Rosner, Margit; Dolznig, Helmut; Mikula, Mario; Kramer, Nina; Hengstschläger, Markus

    2012-03-01

    Embryoid bodies (EBs) are three-dimensional multicellular aggregates allowing the in vitro investigation of stem-cell differentiation processes mimicking early embryogenesis. Human amniotic fluid stem (AFS) cells harbor high proliferation potential, do not raise the ethical issues of embryonic stem cells, have a lower risk for tumor development, do not need exogenic induction of pluripotency and are chromosomal stable. Starting from a single human AFS cell, EBs can be formed accompanied by the differentiation into cells of all three embryonic germ layers. Here, we report that siRNA-mediated knockdown of the endogenous tuberous sclerosis complex-2 (TSC2) gene product tuberin or of proline-rich Akt substrate of 40 kDa (PRAS40), the two major negative regulators of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), leads to massive apoptotic cell death during EB development of human AFS cells without affecting the endodermal, mesodermal and ectodermal cell differentiation spectrum. Co-knockdown of endogenous mTOR demonstrated these effects to be mTOR-dependent. Our findings prove this enzyme cascade to be an essential anti-apoptotic gatekeeper of stem-cell differentiation during EB formation. These data allow new insights into the regulation of early stem-cell maintenance and differentiation and identify a new role of the tumor suppressor tuberin and the oncogenic protein PRAS40 with the relevance for a more detailed understanding of the pathogenesis of diseases associated with altered activities of these gene products.

  11. State-of-the-art measurements in human body composition: A moving frontier of clinical importance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, D.; Shaheen, I.; Zafar, K.

    2010-01-01

    The measurement of human body composition allows for the estimation of body tissues, organs, and their distributions in living persons without inflicting harm. From a nutritional perspective, the interest in body composition has increased multi-fold with the global increase in the prevalence of obesity and its complications. The latter has driven in part the need for improved measurement methods with greater sensitivity and precision. There is no single gold standard for body-composition measurements in-vivo. All methods incorporate assumptions that do not apply in all individuals and the more accurate models are derived by using a combination of measurements, thereby reducing the importance of each assumption. This review will discuss why the measurement of body composition or human phenotyping is important; discuss new areas where the measurement of body composition (human phenotyping) is recognized as having important application; and will summarize recent advances made in new methodology. Reference will also be made to areas we cannot yet measure due to the lack of appropriate measurement methodologies, most especially measurements methods that provide information on kinetic states (not just static state) and metabolic function. PMID:21234275

  12. Design of Monitoring Tool Heartbeat Rate and Human Body Temperature Based on WEB

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jalinas

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The heart is one of the most important organs in the human body. One way to know heart health is to measure the number of heart beats per minute and body temperature also shows health, many heart rate and body temperature devices but can only be accessed offline. This research aims to design a heart rate detector and human body temperature that the measurement results can be accessed via web pages anywhere and anytime. This device can be used by many users by entering different ID numbers. The design consists of input blocks: pulse sensor, DS18B20 sensor and 3x4 keypad button. Process blocks: Arduino Mega 2560 Microcontroller, Ethernet Shield, router and USB modem. And output block: 16x2 LCD and mobile phone or PC to access web page. Based on the test results, this tool successfully measures the heart rate with an average error percentage of 2.702 % when compared with the oxymeter tool. On the measurement of body temperature get the result of the average error percentage of 2.18 %.

  13. Human body as a set of biometric features identified by means of optoelectronics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Podbielska, Halina; Bauer, Joanna

    2005-09-01

    Human body posses many unique, singular features that are impossible to copy or forge. Nowadays, to establish and to ensure the public security requires specially designed devices and systems. Biometrics is a field of science and technology, exploiting human body characteristics for people recognition. It identifies the most characteristic and unique ones in order to design and construct systems capable to recognize people. In this paper some overview is given, presenting the achievements in biometrics. The verification and identification process is explained, along with the way of evaluation of biometric recognition systems. The most frequently human biometrics used in practice are shortly presented, including fingerprints, facial imaging (including thermal characteristic), hand geometry and iris patterns.

  14. Inactivation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by ionizing radiation in body fluids and serological evidence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bigbee, P.D.; Sarin, P.S.; Humphreys, J.C.; Eubanks, W.G.; Sun, D.; Hocken, D.G.; Thornton, A.; Adams, D.E.; Simic, M.G.

    1989-01-01

    A method to use ionizing radiation to inactivate HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) in human body fluids was studied in an effort to reduce the risk of accidental infection to forensic science laboratory workers. Experiments conducted indicate that an X-ray absorbed dose of 25 krad was required to completely inactivate HIV. This does not alter forensically important constituents such as enzymes and proteins in body fluids. This method of inactivation of HIV cannot be used on body fluids which will be subjected to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) typing

  15. Convective Heat Transfer Coefficients of the Human Body under Forced Convection from Ceiling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kurazumi, Yoshihito; Rezgals, Lauris; Melikov, Arsen Krikor

    2014-01-01

    The average convective heat transfer coefficient for a seated human body exposed to downward flow from above was determined. Thermal manikin with complex body shape and size of an average Scandinavian female was used. The surface temperature distribution of the manikin’s body was as the skin...... of the convective heat transfer coefficient of the whole body (hc [W/(m2•K)]) was proposed: hc=4.088+6.592V1.715 for a seated naked body at 20ºC and hc=2.874+7.427V1.345 for a seated naked body at 26ºC. Differences in the convective heat transfer coefficient of the whole body in low air velocity range, V

  16. Development of a human body RMN imaging device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saint-Jalmes, H.

    1984-03-01

    Imaging device for human body is studied in this thesis. The section images presented are got by a projection-reconstruction method associated to a section plane selection by an oscillating gradient application. Different stages of the machine development are presented: - design and calculation of a resistive magnet for very homogeneous field imaging - design of gradient coils for imaging magnets - realization of control and acquisition interfaces - realization of imaging software in real time [fr

  17. Detection and Classification of Human Body Odor Using an Electronic Nose

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teerakiat Kerdcharoen

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available An electronic nose (E-nose has been designed and equipped with software that can detect and classify human armpit body odor. An array of metal oxide sensors was used for detecting volatile organic compounds. The measurement circuit employs a voltage divider resistor to measure the sensitivity of each sensor. This E-nose was controlled by in-house developed software through a portable USB data acquisition card with a principle component analysis (PCA algorithm implemented for pattern recognition and classification. Because gas sensor sensitivity in the detection of armpit odor samples is affected by humidity, we propose a new method and algorithms combining hardware/software for the correction of the humidity noise. After the humidity correction, the E-nose showed the capability of detecting human body odor and distinguishing the body odors from two persons in a relative manner. The E-nose is still able to recognize people, even after application of deodorant. In conclusion, this is the first report of the application of an E-nose for armpit odor recognition.

  18. Detection and classification of human body odor using an electronic nose.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wongchoosuk, Chatchawal; Lutz, Mario; Kerdcharoen, Teerakiat

    2009-01-01

    An electronic nose (E-nose) has been designed and equipped with software that can detect and classify human armpit body odor. An array of metal oxide sensors was used for detecting volatile organic compounds. The measurement circuit employs a voltage divider resistor to measure the sensitivity of each sensor. This E-nose was controlled by in-house developed software through a portable USB data acquisition card with a principle component analysis (PCA) algorithm implemented for pattern recognition and classification. Because gas sensor sensitivity in the detection of armpit odor samples is affected by humidity, we propose a new method and algorithms combining hardware/software for the correction of the humidity noise. After the humidity correction, the E-nose showed the capability of detecting human body odor and distinguishing the body odors from two persons in a relative manner. The E-nose is still able to recognize people, even after application of deodorant. In conclusion, this is the first report of the application of an E-nose for armpit odor recognition.

  19. Three-month-old human infants use vocal cues of body size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pietraszewski, David; Wertz, Annie E; Bryant, Gregory A; Wynn, Karen

    2017-06-14

    Differences in vocal fundamental ( F 0 ) and average formant ( F n ) frequencies covary with body size in most terrestrial mammals, such that larger organisms tend to produce lower frequency sounds than smaller organisms, both between species and also across different sex and life-stage morphs within species. Here we examined whether three-month-old human infants are sensitive to the relationship between body size and sound frequencies. Using a violation-of-expectation paradigm, we found that infants looked longer at stimuli inconsistent with the relationship-that is, a smaller organism producing lower frequency sounds, and a larger organism producing higher frequency sounds-than at stimuli that were consistent with it. This effect was stronger for fundamental frequency than it was for average formant frequency. These results suggest that by three months of age, human infants are already sensitive to the biologically relevant covariation between vocalization frequencies and visual cues to body size. This ability may be a consequence of developmental adaptations for building a phenotype capable of identifying and representing an organism's size, sex and life-stage. © 2017 The Author(s).

  20. Machine Learning Methods for Classifying Human Physical Activity from On-Body Accelerometers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mannini, Andrea; Sabatini, Angelo Maria

    2010-01-01

    The use of on-body wearable sensors is widespread in several academic and industrial domains. Of great interest are their applications in ambulatory monitoring and pervasive computing systems; here, some quantitative analysis of human motion and its automatic classification are the main computational tasks to be pursued. In this paper, we discuss how human physical activity can be classified using on-body accelerometers, with a major emphasis devoted to the computational algorithms employed for this purpose. In particular, we motivate our current interest for classifiers based on Hidden Markov Models (HMMs). An example is illustrated and discussed by analysing a dataset of accelerometer time series. PMID:22205862

  1. Are Caribbean reef sharks, Carcharhinus perezi, able to perceive human body orientation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritter, Erich K; Amin, Raid

    2014-05-01

    The present study examines the potential capability of Caribbean reef sharks to perceive human body orientation, as well as discussing the sharks' swimming patterns in a person's vicinity. A standardized video method was used to record the scenario of single SCUBA divers kneeling in the sand and the approach patterns of sharks, combined with a control group of two divers kneeling back-to-back. When approaching a single test-subject, significantly more sharks preferred to swim outside the person's field of vision. The results suggest that these sharks are able to identify human body orientation, but the mechanisms used and factors affecting nearest distance of approach remain unclear.

  2. Means and method for examining the human body by means of penetrating radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1983-01-01

    The invention relates to a tomography method in which data are obtained by directing a fan of X-ray beams to the human body. The fan can rotate around the body. Moreover, the sources may rotate about an axis perpendicular to the plane of irradiation. (Auth.)

  3. How dieting makes some fatter: from a perspective of human body composition autoregulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dulloo, Abdul G; Jacquet, Jean; Montani, Jean-Pierre

    2012-08-01

    Dieting makes you fat - the title of a book published in 1983 - embodies the notion that dieting to control body weight predisposes the individual to acquire even more body fat. While this notion is controversial, its debate underscores the large gap that exists in our understanding of basic physiological laws that govern the regulation of human body composition. A striking example is the key role attributed to adipokines as feedback signals between adipose tissue depletion and compensatory increases in food intake. Yet, the relative importance of fat depletion per se as a determinant of post-dieting hyperphagia is unknown. On the other hand, the question of whether the depletion of lean tissues can provide feedback signals on the hunger-appetite drive is rarely invoked, despite evidence that food intake during growth is dominated by the impetus for lean tissue deposition, amidst proposals for the existence of protein-static mechanisms for the regulation of growth and maintenance of lean body mass. In fact, a feedback loop between fat depletion and food intake cannot explain why human subjects recovering from starvation continue to overeat well after body fat has been restored to pre-starvation values, thereby contributing to 'fat overshooting'. In addressing the plausibility and mechanistic basis by which dieting may predispose to increased fatness, this paper integrates the results derived from re-analysis of classic longitudinal studies of human starvation and refeeding. These suggest that feedback signals from both fat and lean tissues contribute to recovering body weight through effects on energy intake and thermogenesis, and that a faster rate of fat recovery relative to lean tissue recovery is a central outcome of body composition autoregulation that drives fat overshooting. A main implication of these findings is that the risk of becoming fatter in response to dieting is greater in lean than in obese individuals.

  4. The relationships between dioxin accumulation in human body and eating habits

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kajihara, H; Miura, A [Graduate School of Science and Technology, Univ. of Niigata, Niigata (Japan); Sasaki, S; Hasegawa, Y; Ando, N; Ozawa, T; Takahashi, Y [Faculty of Engineering, Univ. of Niigata, Niigata (Japan); Nakadaira, H; Yamamoto, M [Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Univ. of Niigata, Niigata (Japan); Nakamura, S; Shimada, K [Niigata Prefectural Kamo Hospital, Niigata (Japan)

    2004-09-15

    Exposure of human to dioxins was dominated by food. In Japan, the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of dioxins is set at 4 pg-TEQ/kg/day. However, important parameters, such as adsorption rate and half-life, which are used in the calculation process to determining the TDI of dioxins, were not intensively clarified. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between dioxin accumulation in the human body and eating habits, in order to obtain information on the accumulation behavior of dioxins ingested by humans.

  5. Generation of Cardiomyocytes from Pluripotent Stem Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakahama, Hiroko; Di Pasquale, Elisa

    2016-01-01

    The advent of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) enabled a multitude of studies for modeling the development of diseases and testing pharmaceutical therapeutic potential in vitro. These PSCs have been differentiated to multiple cell types to demonstrate its pluripotent potential, including cardiomyocytes (CMs). However, the efficiency and efficacy of differentiation vary greatly between different cell lines and methods. Here, we describe two different methods for acquiring CMs from human pluripotent lines. One method involves the generation of embryoid bodies, which emulates the natural developmental process, while the other method chemically activates the canonical Wnt signaling pathway to induce a monolayer of cardiac differentiation.

  6. Holistic processing of human body postures: evidence from the composite effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willems, Sam; Vrancken, Leia; Germeys, Filip; Verfaillie, Karl

    2014-01-01

    The perception of socially relevant stimuli (e.g., faces and bodies) has received considerable attention in the vision science community. It is now widely accepted that human faces are processed holistically and not only analytically. One observation that has been taken as evidence for holistic face processing is the face composite effect: two identical top halves of a face tend to be perceived as being different when combined with different bottom halves. This supports the hypothesis that face processing proceeds holistically. Indeed, the interference effect disappears when the two face parts are misaligned (blocking holistic perception). In the present study, we investigated whether there is also a composite effect for the perception of body postures: are two identical body halves perceived as being in different poses when the irrelevant body halves differ from each other? Both a horizontal (i.e., top-bottom body halves; Experiment 1) and a vertical composite effect (i.e., left-right body halves; Experiment 2) were examined by means of a delayed matching-to-sample task. Results of both experiments indicate the existence of a body posture composite effect. This provides evidence for the hypothesis that body postures, as faces, are processed holistically.

  7. Evaluation and Verification of Channel Transmission Characteristics of Human Body for Optimizing Data Transmission Rate in Electrostatic-Coupling Intra Body Communication System: A Comparative Analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuhwai Tseng

    Full Text Available Intra-body communication is a new wireless scheme for transmitting signals through the human body. Understanding the transmission characteristics of the human body is therefore becoming increasingly important. Electrostatic-coupling intra-body communication system in a ground-free situation that integrate electronic products that are discretely located on individuals, such as mobile phones, PDAs, wearable computers, and biomedical sensors, are of particular interest.The human body is modeled as a simplified Resistor-Capacitor network. A virtual ground between the transmitter and receiver in the system is represented by a resister-capacitor network. Value of its resistance and capacitance are determined from a system perspective. The system is characterized by using a mathematical unit step function in digital baseband transmission scheme with and without Manchester code. As a result, the signal-to-noise and to-intersymbol-interference ratios are improved by manipulating the load resistor. The data transmission rate of the system is optimized. A battery-powered transmitter and receiver are developed to validate the proposal.A ground-free system fade signal energy especially for a low-frequency signal limited system transmission rate. The system transmission rate is maximized by simply manipulating the load resistor. Experimental results demonstrate that for a load resistance of 10k-50k Ω, the high-pass 3 dB frequency of the band-pass channel is 400kHz-2MHz in the worst-case scenario. The system allows a Manchester-coded baseband signal to be transmitted at speeds of up to 20M bit per second with signal-to-noise and signal-to-intersymbol-interference ratio of more than 10 dB.The human body can function as a high speed transmission medium with a data transmission rate of 20Mbps in an electrostatic-coupling intra-body communication system. Therefore, a wideband signal can be transmitted directly through the human body with a good signal

  8. Evaluation and Verification of Channel Transmission Characteristics of Human Body for Optimizing Data Transmission Rate in Electrostatic-Coupling Intra Body Communication System: A Comparative Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tseng, Yuhwai; Su, Chauchin; Ho, Yingchieh

    2016-01-01

    Intra-body communication is a new wireless scheme for transmitting signals through the human body. Understanding the transmission characteristics of the human body is therefore becoming increasingly important. Electrostatic-coupling intra-body communication system in a ground-free situation that integrate electronic products that are discretely located on individuals, such as mobile phones, PDAs, wearable computers, and biomedical sensors, are of particular interest. The human body is modeled as a simplified Resistor-Capacitor network. A virtual ground between the transmitter and receiver in the system is represented by a resister-capacitor network. Value of its resistance and capacitance are determined from a system perspective. The system is characterized by using a mathematical unit step function in digital baseband transmission scheme with and without Manchester code. As a result, the signal-to-noise and to-intersymbol-interference ratios are improved by manipulating the load resistor. The data transmission rate of the system is optimized. A battery-powered transmitter and receiver are developed to validate the proposal. A ground-free system fade signal energy especially for a low-frequency signal limited system transmission rate. The system transmission rate is maximized by simply manipulating the load resistor. Experimental results demonstrate that for a load resistance of 10k-50k Ω, the high-pass 3 dB frequency of the band-pass channel is 400kHz-2MHz in the worst-case scenario. The system allows a Manchester-coded baseband signal to be transmitted at speeds of up to 20M bit per second with signal-to-noise and signal-to-intersymbol-interference ratio of more than 10 dB. The human body can function as a high speed transmission medium with a data transmission rate of 20Mbps in an electrostatic-coupling intra-body communication system. Therefore, a wideband signal can be transmitted directly through the human body with a good signal-to-noise quality of 10 dB if

  9. The misuse of Kant in the debate about a market for human body parts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerrand, N

    1999-01-01

    Passages from the writings of Immanuel Kant concerning how a person should treat her body are often cited in the present-day debate about a market for human body parts. In this paper, I demonstrate that this has been a misuse of Kant because unlike those who cite him, Kant was not primarily concerned with prohibiting the sale of body parts. In the first section, I argue that once these particular passages are understood against the background of Kant's moral philosophy, they indicate he had much broader concerns relating to the correct moral relationship a rational person should have with her body. In the second section, I examine Stephen Munzer's unusually detailed analysis of these passages, but conclude that like those who have provided less detailed analyses, he also fails fully to understand the rationale for Kant's various prescriptions and prohibitions concerning the treatment of human body parts, and in doing so misrepresents Kant's position.

  10. Comparison between calibration methods for in vivo monitoring in human body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mello, J.Q. de; Almeida, A.PF.; Dantas, A.L.A.; Hunt, J.G.; Dantas, B.M.

    2014-01-01

    The determination of photon emitters in the human body through in vivo measurements requires the use of specific techniques to obtain calibration factors which correlate count rates and activities present in the body. In the present work two methods were compared for the measurement of 40 K in whole body geometry with a scintillation detector type NaI(Tl)3x3: (1) experimental, using a BOMAB physical anthropomorphic phantom and (2) mathematical simulation of the phantom and the interaction of the photons with the detector. The results obtained show the equivalence between the methods in the geometry and energy conditions adopted in the experiment. (author)

  11. Application of equivalent electrodes method to analysis of interaction between ELF-LF electric fields and human body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ceselkoska, Vesna C.; Velickovic, Dragutin M.

    2002-01-01

    This paper presents the use of equivalent electrodes method, numerical method, based on surface-charge equation to quantify the interaction of low frequencies electric fields with various models of human body. The evaluation of the electric field intensity on the body surface is performed for a realistic model of the human body. Several examples for different postures of the model are given. (Author)

  12. Deposition of Pu-239 in human bodies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okabayashi, Hiroyuki

    1976-01-01

    It is known that plutonium produced by nuclear explosion tests has been widely dispersed on all over the earth and Pu-238 generated by the ''Accident of SNAP-9A'' in 1964 has been disposed into the atmosphere. These Pu are gradually falling down on the earth and taken into the human body through inhalation and ingestion. The measurements on the concentrations of Pu in bones and other various organs of Japanese population have been carried out. The results reveal that the concentrations of Pu in bones has a trend to be gradually increasing since 1962 and seems to be saturated at about 1970. The concentrations of Pu in bones sampled in 1971 are, in average, in the level of 4fCi per gram of wet samples and those in other organs (lung, liver, spleen, kidney, reproductive organs, etc.) sampled from 1963 to 1973 are in the level of 0.5-3.4 fCi per gram of wet tissues. Pu has been identified in the bones of fetus and infants and the averaged concentrations of placenta was 42.5 fCi. These may indicate that Pu would be transferred to the fetus through the placenta of mother. Some calculation has been attempted on the ratio of contributions through inhalation and ingestion to the body content of Pu, by using the formula for the scheme of metabolism of Pu compound in the body recommended by I.C.R.P. and this revealed that the contribution through inhalation route seemed to be greater than the other for the accumulation of Pu in the body. (auth.)

  13. The signature of human pressure history on the biogeography of body mass in tetrapods

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rapacciuolo, Giovanni; Marin, Julie; Costa, Gabriel C.; Helmus, Matthew R.; Behm, Jocelyn E.; Brooks, Thomas M.; Hedges, S. Blair; Radeloff, Volker C.; Young, Bruce E.; Graham, Catherine H.

    2017-01-01

    Aim: Examining the biogeography of body size is crucial for understanding how animal communities are assembled and maintained. In tetrapods, body size varies predictably with temperature, moisture, productivity seasonality and topographical complexity. Although millennial-scale human pressures are

  14. Human Metapneumovirus Induces Formation of Inclusion Bodies for Efficient Genome Replication and Transcription.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cifuentes-Muñoz, Nicolás; Branttie, Jean; Slaughter, Kerri Beth; Dutch, Rebecca Ellis

    2017-12-15

    Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) causes significant upper and lower respiratory disease in all age groups worldwide. The virus possesses a negative-sense single-stranded RNA genome of approximately 13.3 kb encapsidated by multiple copies of the nucleoprotein (N), giving rise to helical nucleocapsids. In addition, copies of the phosphoprotein (P) and the large RNA polymerase (L) decorate the viral nucleocapsids. After viral attachment, endocytosis, and fusion mediated by the viral glycoproteins, HMPV nucleocapsids are released into the cell cytoplasm. To visualize the subsequent steps of genome transcription and replication, a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) protocol was established to detect different viral RNA subpopulations in infected cells. The FISH probes were specific for detection of HMPV positive-sense RNA (+RNA) and viral genomic RNA (vRNA). Time course analysis of human bronchial epithelial BEAS-2B cells infected with HMPV revealed the formation of inclusion bodies (IBs) from early times postinfection. HMPV IBs were shown to be cytoplasmic sites of active transcription and replication, with the translation of viral proteins being closely associated. Inclusion body formation was consistent with an actin-dependent coalescence of multiple early replicative sites. Time course quantitative reverse transcription-PCR analysis suggested that the coalescence of inclusion bodies is a strategy to efficiently replicate and transcribe the viral genome. These results provide a better understanding of the steps following HMPV entry and have important clinical implications. IMPORTANCE Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a recently discovered pathogen that affects human populations of all ages worldwide. Reinfections are common throughout life, but no vaccines or antiviral treatments are currently available. In this work, a spatiotemporal analysis of HMPV replication and transcription in bronchial epithelial cell-derived immortal cells was performed. HMPV was shown to

  15. [Clinical effect of three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc in the evaluation of burn wound area].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, J; Wang, L; Zhang, Y C; Tang, H T; Xia, Z F

    2017-10-20

    Objective: To validate the clinical effect of three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc developed by our research team in the evaluation of burn wound area. Methods: A total of 48 burn patients treated in the outpatient department of our unit from January to June 2015, conforming to the study criteria, were enrolled in. For the first 12 patients, one wound on the limbs or torso was selected from each patient. The stability of the system was tested by 3 attending physicians using three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc to measure the area of wounds individually. For the following 36 patients, one wound was selected from each patient, including 12 wounds on limbs, front torso, and side torso, respectively. The area of wounds was measured by the same attending physician using transparency tracing method, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Image J method, and three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc, respectively. The time for getting information of 36 wounds by three methods was recorded by stopwatch. The stability among the testers was evaluated by the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Data were processed with randomized blocks analysis of variance and Bonferroni test. Results: (1) Wound area of patients measured by three physicians using three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc was (122±95), (121±95), and (123±96) cm(2,) respectively, and there was no statistically significant difference among them ( F =1.55, P >0.05). The ICC among 3 physicians was 0.999. (2) The wound area of limbs of patients measured by transparency tracing method, NIH Image J method, and three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc was (84±50), (76±46), and (84±49) cm(2,) respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the wound area of limbs of patients measured by transparency tracing method and three dimensional human body scanning system BurnCalc ( P >0.05). The wound area of limbs of patients

  16. Human and animal studies: portals into the whole body and whole population response

    Science.gov (United States)

    Human and animal studies: portals into the whole body and whole population response Michael C. Madden1 and Brett Winters21US Environmental Protection Agency and 2University of North Carolina Human Studies Facility, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA Studies involving collection and...

  17. Energy Harvesting from the Animal/Human Body for Self-Powered Electronics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dagdeviren, Canan; Li, Zhou; Wang, Zhong Lin

    2017-06-21

    Living subjects (i.e., humans and animals) have abundant sources of energy in chemical, thermal, and mechanical forms. The use of these energies presents a viable way to overcome the battery capacity limitation that constrains the long-term operation of wearable/implantable devices. The intersection of novel materials and fabrication techniques offers boundless possibilities for the benefit of human health and well-being via various types of energy harvesters. This review summarizes the existing approaches that have been demonstrated to harvest energy from the bodies of living subjects for self-powered electronics. We present material choices, device layouts, and operation principles of these energy harvesters with a focus on in vivo applications. We discuss a broad range of energy harvesters placed in or on various body parts of human and animal models. We conclude with an outlook of future research in which the integration of various energy harvesters with advanced electronics can provide a new platform for the development of novel technologies for disease diagnostics, treatment, and prevention.

  18. Cognitive Analysis of Chinese-English Metaphors of Animal and Human Body Part Words

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Meiying

    2009-01-01

    Metaphorical cognition arises from the mapping of two conceptual domains onto each other. According to the "Anthropocentrism", people tend to know the world first by learning about their bodies including Apparatuses. Based on that, people begin to know the material world, and the human body part metaphorization emerges as the times…

  19. Estimating three-dimensional orientation of human body parts by inertial/magnetic sensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabatini, Angelo Maria

    2011-01-01

    User-worn sensing units composed of inertial and magnetic sensors are becoming increasingly popular in various domains, including biomedical engineering, robotics, virtual reality, where they can also be applied for real-time tracking of the orientation of human body parts in the three-dimensional (3D) space. Although they are a promising choice as wearable sensors under many respects, the inertial and magnetic sensors currently in use offer measuring performance that are critical in order to achieve and maintain accurate 3D-orientation estimates, anytime and anywhere. This paper reviews the main sensor fusion and filtering techniques proposed for accurate inertial/magnetic orientation tracking of human body parts; it also gives useful recipes for their actual implementation.

  20. Skin Sensitive Difference of Human Body Sections under Clothing--Multiple Analysis of Skin Surface Temperature Changes

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    李俊; 吴海燕; 张渭源

    2003-01-01

    A new researching method on clothing comfort perception is developed.By it the skin surface temperature changes and subjective psychological perception of human body sections stimulated by the same cold stimulation are studied.With the multiple comparison analysis method the changing laws of skin temperature of main human body sections is obtained.

  1. Brief communication: Hair density and body mass in mammals and the evolution of human hairlessness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandel, Aaron A

    2013-09-01

    Humans are unusual among mammals in appearing hairless. Several hypotheses propose explanations for this phenotype, but few data are available to test these hypotheses. To elucidate the evolutionary history of human "hairlessness," a comparative approach is needed. One previous study on primate hair density concluded that great apes have systematically less dense hair than smaller primates. While there is a negative correlation between body size and hair density, it remains unclear whether great apes have less dense hair than is expected for their body size. To revisit the scaling relationship between hair density and body size in mammals, I compiled data from the literature on 23 primates and 29 nonprimate mammals and conducted Phylogenetic Generalized Least Squares regressions. Among anthropoids, there is a significant negative correlation between hair density and body mass. Chimpanzees display the largest residuals, exhibiting less dense hair than is expected for their body size. There is a negative correlation between hair density and body mass among the broader mammalian sample, although the functional significance of this scaling relationship remains to be tested. Results indicate that all primates, and chimpanzees in particular, are relatively hairless compared to other mammals. This suggests that there may have been selective pressures acting on the ancestor of humans and chimpanzees that led to an initial reduction in hair density. To further understand the evolution of human hairlessness, a systematic study of hair density and physiology in a wide range of species is necessary. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Body composition in Pan paniscus compared with Homo sapiens has implications for changes during human evolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zihlman, Adrienne L; Bolter, Debra R

    2015-06-16

    The human body has been shaped by natural selection during the past 4-5 million years. Fossils preserve bones and teeth but lack muscle, skin, fat, and organs. To understand the evolution of the human form, information about both soft and hard tissues of our ancestors is needed. Our closest living relatives of the genus Pan provide the best comparative model to those ancestors. Here, we present data on the body composition of 13 bonobos (Pan paniscus) measured during anatomical dissections and compare the data with Homo sapiens. These comparative data suggest that both females and males (i) increased body fat, (ii) decreased relative muscle mass, (iii) redistributed muscle mass to lower limbs, and (iv) decreased relative mass of skin during human evolution. Comparison of soft tissues between Pan and Homo provides new insights into the function and evolution of body composition.

  3. A Review on Human Body Communication: Signal Propagation Model, Communication Performance, and Experimental Issues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian Feng Zhao

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Human body communication (HBC, which uses the human body tissue as the transmission medium to transmit health informatics, serves as a promising physical layer solution for the body area network (BAN. The human centric nature of HBC offers an innovative method to transfer the healthcare data, whose transmission requires low interference and reliable data link. Therefore, the deployment of HBC system obtaining good communication performance is required. In this regard, a tutorial review on the important issues related to HBC data transmission such as signal propagation model, channel characteristics, communication performance, and experimental considerations is conducted. In this work, the development of HBC and its first attempts are firstly reviewed. Then a survey on the signal propagation models is introduced. Based on these models, the channel characteristics are summarized; the communication performance and selection of transmission parameters are also investigated. Moreover, the experimental issues, such as electrodes and grounding strategies, are also discussed. Finally, the recommended future studies are provided.

  4. Holistic processing of human body postures: Evidence from the composite effect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sam eWillems

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The perception of socially relevant stimuli (e.g., faces and bodies has received considerable attention in the vision science community. It is now widely accepted that human faces are processed holistically and not only analytically. One observation that has been taken as evidence for holistic face processing is the face composite effect: Two identical top halves of a face tend to be perceived as being different when combined with different bottom halves. This supports the hypothesis that face processing proceeds holistically. Indeed, the interference effect disappears when the two face parts are misaligned (blocking holistic perception. In the present study, we investigated whether there is also a composite effect for the perception of body postures: Are two identical body halves perceived as being in different poses when the irrelevant body halves differ from each other? Both a horizontal (i.e., top-bottom body halves; Experiment 1 and a vertical composite effect (i.e., left-right body halves; Experiment 2 were examined by means of a delayed matching-to-sample task. Results of both experiments indicate the existence of a body posture composite effect. This provides evidence for the hypothesis that body postures, as faces, are processed holistically.

  5. Human Factors Lessons Learned from Flight Testing Wingless Lifting Body Vehicles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merlin, Peter William

    2014-01-01

    Since the 1960s, NASA, the Air Force, and now private industry have attempted to develop an operational human crewed reusable spacecraft with a wingless, lifting body configuration. This type of vehicle offers increased mission flexibility and greater reentry cross range than capsule type craft, and is particularly attractive due to the capability to land on a runway. That capability, however, adds complexity to the human factors engineering requirements of developing such aircraft.

  6. The Artificial World of Plastination: A Challenge to Religious Perspectives on the Dead Human Body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, David Gareth

    2016-11-01

    The public exhibitions of plastinated (preserved) and dissected human cadavers have proved exceedingly popular and also very contentious. However, there has been little in the way of sustained analysis of these exhibitions from a Christian angle. The technique of plastination enables whole bodies to be displayed as though standing and playing a variety of sports, and with 'life-like' facial expressions. In analyzing this phenomenon, the plastination procedure is outlined, and the degree of naturalness of the whole body plastinates assessed. In searching for theological directives the debate over burial and cremation is used as a means of exploring the respect we give the dead body, and the significance of the resurrection of the body for our views of the dead body. In particular, attention is paid to devaluation of the dead body in situations ranging from dissection of the body through to commercial public exhibitions. The centrality of notions of altruism and 'gift' is discussed. It is concluded that there are many disquieting features to these exhibitions, necessitating caution in approaching them. Nevertheless, in reminding visitors of their mortality and the wonders of the human body, they are not to be dismissed entirely.

  7. Generation of human-induced pluripotent stem cells from burn patient-derived skin fibroblasts using a non-integrative method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Shangfeng; Ding, Jianwu; Liu, Dewu; Huang, Heping; Li, Min; Liu, Yang; Tu, Longxiang; Liu, Deming

    2018-01-01

    Patient specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been recognized as a possible source of cells for skin tissue engineering. They have the potential to greatly benefit patients with large areas of burned skin or skin defects. However, the integration virus-based reprogramming method is associated with a high risk of genetic mutation and mouse embryonic fibroblast feeder-cells may be a pollutant. In the present study, human skin fibroblasts (HSFs) were successfully harvested from patients with burns and patient-specific iPSCs were generated using a non-integration method with a feeder-free approach. The octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4), sex-determining region Y box 2 (SOX2) and NANOG transcription factors were delivered using Sendai virus vectors. iPSCs exhibited representative human embryonic stem cell-like morphology and proliferation characteristics. They also expressed pluripotent markers, including OCT4, NANOG, SOX2, TRA181, stage-specific embryonic antigen 4 and TRA-160, and exhibited a normal karyotype. Teratoma and embryoid body formation revealed that iPSCs were able to differentiate into cells of all three germ layers in vitro and in vivo. The results of the present study demonstrate that HSFs derived from patients with burns, may be reprogrammed into stem cells with pluripotency, which provides a basis for cell‑based skin tissue engineering in the future.

  8. Current Applications of Chromatographic Methods in the Study of Human Body Fluids for Diagnosing Disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jóźwik, Jagoda; Kałużna-Czaplińska, Joanna

    2016-01-01

    Currently, analysis of various human body fluids is one of the most essential and promising approaches to enable the discovery of biomarkers or pathophysiological mechanisms for disorders and diseases. Analysis of these fluids is challenging due to their complex composition and unique characteristics. Development of new analytical methods in this field has made it possible to analyze body fluids with higher selectivity, sensitivity, and precision. The composition and concentration of analytes in body fluids are most often determined by chromatography-based techniques. There is no doubt that proper use of knowledge that comes from a better understanding of the role of body fluids requires the cooperation of scientists of diverse specializations, including analytical chemists, biologists, and physicians. This article summarizes current knowledge about the application of different chromatographic methods in analyses of a wide range of compounds in human body fluids in order to diagnose certain diseases and disorders.

  9. CFD simulation of a cabin thermal environment with and without human body - thermal comfort evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danca, Paul; Bode, Florin; Nastase, Ilinca; Meslem, Amina

    2018-02-01

    Nowadays, thermal comfort became one of the criteria in choosing a vehicle. In last decades time spent by people in vehicles had risen substantially. During each trip, thermal comfort must to be ensured for a good psychological and physical state of the passengers. Also, a comfortable environment leads to a higher power concentration of the driver thereby to a safe trip for vehicle occupants and for all traffic participants. The present study numerically investigated the effect of human body sited in the driver's place, over the air velocity distribution and over the thermal comfort in a passenger compartment. CFD simulations were made with different angles of the left inlet grill, in both cases, with and without driver presence. In majority of the actual vehicles environment studies, are made without consideration of human body geometry, in this case, the results precision can be affected. The results show that the presence of human body, lead to global changing of the whole flow pattern inside the vehicular cabin. Also, the locations of the maximum velocities are changing with the angle of the guiding vanes. The thermal comfort PMV/PPD indexes were calculated for each case. The presence of human body leads to a more comfortable environment.

  10. Biomechanical Analysis and Evaluation Technology Using Human Multi-Body Dynamic Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Yoon Hyuk; Shin, June Ho; Khurelbaatar, Tsolmonbaatar [Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2011-10-15

    This paper presents the biomechanical analysis and evaluation technology of musculoskeletal system by multi-body human dynamic model and 3-D motion capture data. First, medical image based geometric model and material properties of tissue were used to develop the human dynamic model and 3-D motion capture data based motion analysis techniques were develop to quantify the in-vivo joint kinematics, joint moment, joint force, and muscle force. Walking and push-up motion was investigated using the developed model. The present model and technologies would be useful to apply the biomechanical analysis and evaluation of human activities.

  11. [The reaction of human surface and inside body temperature to extreme hypothermia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panchenko, O A; Onishchenko, V O; Liakh, Iu Ie

    2011-01-01

    The dynamics of changes in the parameters of the surface and core body temperature under the systematic impact of ultra-low temperature is described in this article. As a source of ultra-low temperature was used (Cryo Therapy Chamber) Zimmer Medizin Systeme firm Zimmer Electromedizin (Germany) (-110 degrees C). Surface and internal body temperature was measured by infrared thermometer immediately before visiting cryochamber and immediately after exiting. In the study conducted 47,464 measurements of body temperature. It was established that the internal temperature of the human body under the influence of ultra-low temperatures in the proposed mode of exposure remains constant, and the surface temperature of the body reduces by an average of 11.57 degrees C. The time frame stabilization of adaptive processes of thermoregulation under the systematic impact of ultra-low temperature was defined in the study.

  12. Human body donation in Thailand: Donors at Khon Kaen University.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Techataweewan, N; Panthongviriyakul, C; Toomsan, Y; Mothong, W; Kanla, P; Chaichun, A; Amarttayakong, P; Tayles, N

    2018-03-01

    Culture, society and spirituality contribute to variability in the characteristics of human body donors and donation programmes worldwide. The donors and the body donation programme at Khon Kaen University, northeast Thailand, reflect all these aspects of Thailand, including the status accorded to the donors and the ceremonial acknowledgement of the donors and their families. Data from the programme records and from surveys of samples of currently registering donors and recently received donor bodies are analysed to define the characteristics of both registering and received donors, including motivation, demography, socio-economic status, health, and use of the bodies. The body donation programme at Khon Kaen University currently has a very high rate of registration of body donors, with gender and age differences in the patterns of donation. Registrants include more females than males, a long-standing pattern, and are an average age of 50 years. The bodies of 12% of registrants are received after death and include more males than females. Both sexes are of an average age of 69 years. Males had registered their donation eight years prior to death and females ten years prior. Current registrants identified altruistic motives for their decision to donate, although the coincidence of body donation by a highly revered monk with a surge in donations in 2015 suggests that Buddhism plays a primary role in motivation. The opportunity to make merit for donors and their families, and respect shown to donors and the nature of the ceremonies acknowledging the donors and their families, including the use of the Royal Flame at the cremation ceremony, all contribute to decisions to donate. The characteristics of body donors and the body donation programme at Khon Kaen University are reflective of Thai society and the centrality of Buddhism to Thai culture. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  13. Characterization of materials eliciting foreign body reaction in stapled human gastrointestinal anastomoses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, C B B; Goldin, R D; Darzi, A; Hanna, G B

    2008-08-01

    Staples are made of titanium, which elicits minimal tissue reaction. The authors have encountered foreign body reaction associated with stapled human gastrointestinal anastomoses, although the literature has no reports of this. The aim of this study was to identify the refractile foreign materials causing this reaction. Histological sections were taken from 14 gastrointestinal specimens from patients with a history of a stapled anastomosis within the specimen excised. These were reviewed by light and polarization microscopy. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis were carried out on these sections, staples and stapler cartridges used for gastrointestinal surgery. Foreign bodies rich in fluorine were found in three patients, and those rich in carbon in 12. Other elements identified included oxygen, calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, aluminium and silicon. One specimen was found to contain titanium with no surrounding foreign body reaction. Stapler cartridges contained carbon, oxygen, fluorine, calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, aluminium, silicon and traces of titanium. Staples were composed of pure titanium with some fibrous material on the surface containing elements found in stapler cartridges. The presence of foreign body reaction was confirmed in stapled human gastrointestinal anastomoses. The source of refractile materials eliciting this reaction was the stapler cartridges. (c) 2008 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  14. Science Teachers' Drawings of What Is inside the Human Body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patrick, Patricia G.; Tunnicliffe, Sue Dale

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to report United States of America (USA) science teachers' understandings of the internal structures of the human body. The 71 science teachers who participated in this study attended a frog/pig, two-hour dissection workshop at the 2004 National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The…

  15. Human body temperature and new approaches to constructing temperature-sensitive bacterial vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Matthew D; Bosio, Catharine M; Duplantis, Barry N; Nano, Francis E

    2011-09-01

    Many of the live human and animal vaccines that are currently in use are attenuated by virtue of their temperature-sensitive (TS) replication. These vaccines are able to function because they can take advantage of sites in mammalian bodies that are cooler than the core temperature, where TS vaccines fail to replicate. In this article, we discuss the distribution of temperature in the human body, and relate how the temperature differential can be exploited for designing and using TS vaccines. We also examine how one of the coolest organs of the body, the skin, contains antigen-processing cells that can be targeted to provoke the desired immune response from a TS vaccine. We describe traditional approaches to making TS vaccines, and highlight new information and technologies that are being used to create a new generation of engineered TS vaccines. We pay particular attention to the recently described technology of substituting essential genes from Arctic bacteria for their homologues in mammalian pathogens as a way of creating TS vaccines.

  16. Dynamics of human whole body amino acid metabolism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Young, V.R.

    1981-01-01

    The mechanism of regulation of the nitrogen metabolism in humans under various nutritional and physiological states was examined using stable isotopes. In the simultaneous continuous infusion of 1- [ 13 ] - leucine and α- [ 15 N]- lysine, their fluxed decreased when individuals received lower protein intake. The rates of oxidation and incorporation into body proteins of leucine changed in parallel with the protein intake. Such effects of diet on whole body leucine kinetics were modified by the energy state and dietary energy level. The nitrogen balance was also improved by an excess level of dietary energy. When the intake of dietary protein was lowered below the maintenance level, the whole body flux and de novo synthesis of glycine were lowered, but alanine synthesis was clearly increased. The intravenous infusion of glucose at 4 mg/kg.min, which causes increase in excess blood sugar and plasma insulin, increased the alanine flux, but had no effect on the glycine flux. The rate of albumin synthesis, determined by giving 15 N-glycine orally every 3 hr, decreased with the lowered intake of dietary protein in young men, but not in elderly men. This explains why the serum albumin synthesis increases with the increase in the intake of dietary protein in young men, but not in elderly men. The rate of whole body protein synthesis in young men receiving the L-amino acid diets providing with the required intake of specific amino acid was much lower than that in the men receiving the diets providing with generous intake of specific amino acid. Thus the control mechanism to maintain the homeostasis of body nitrogen and amino acids is related in some unknown way to the nutritional requirement of the hosts. (Kaihara, S.)

  17. Impact of breathing on the thermal plume above a human body

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zukowska, Daria; Melikov, Arsen Krikor; Popiolek, Zbigniew

    2011-01-01

    The characteristics of the thermal plume above a human body should be well-defined in order to properly design the indoor environment and allow correct simulation of the indoor conditions by CFD or experimentally. The objective of the presented study was to investigate the influence of breathing....... A thermal manikin with female body shape equipped with an artificial lung was used to simulate the dry heat loss and breathing process of a sitting occupant. Three cases were examined: non-breathing, exhalation through nose, and exhalation through mouth. Measurements of the air temperature and speed...

  18. Human Body Exergy Balance: Numerical Analysis of an Indoor Thermal Environment of a Passive Wooden Room in Summer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koichi Isawa

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available To obtain a basic understanding of the resultant changes in the human body exergy balance (input, consumption, storage, and output accompanying outdoor air temperature fluctuations, a “human body system and a built environmental system” coupled with numerical analysis was conducted. The built environmental system assumed a wooden room equipped with passive cooling strategies, such as thermal insulation and solar shading devices. It was found that in the daytime, the cool radiation exergy emitted by surrounding surfaces, such as walls increased the rate of human body exergy consumption, whereas the warm radiant exergy emitted by the surrounding surfaces at night decreased the rate of human body exergy consumption. The results suggested that the rates and proportions of the different components in the exergy balance equation (exergy input, consumption, storage, and output vary according to the outdoor temperature and humidity conditions.

  19. Realtime Reconstruction of an Animating Human Body from a Single Depth Camera.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yin; Cheng, Zhi-Quan; Lai, Chao; Martin, Ralph R; Dang, Gang

    2016-08-01

    We present a method for realtime reconstruction of an animating human body,which produces a sequence of deforming meshes representing a given performance captured by a single commodity depth camera. We achieve realtime single-view mesh completion by enhancing the parameterized SCAPE model.Our method, which we call Realtime SCAPE, performs full-body reconstruction without the use of markers.In Realtime SCAPE, estimations of body shape parameters and pose parameters, needed for reconstruction, are decoupled. Intrinsic body shape is first precomputed for a given subject, by determining shape parameters with the aid of a body shape database. Subsequently, per-frame pose parameter estimation is performed by means of linear blending skinning (LBS); the problem is decomposed into separately finding skinning weights and transformations. The skinning weights are also determined offline from the body shape database,reducing online reconstruction to simply finding the transformations in LBS. Doing so is formulated as a linear variational problem;carefully designed constraints are used to impose temporal coherence and alleviate artifacts. Experiments demonstrate that our method can produce full-body mesh sequences with high fidelity.

  20. An Augmented γ-Spray System to Visualize Biological Effects for Human Body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manabe, Seiya; Tenzou, Hideki; Kasuga, Takaaki; Iwakura, Yukiko; Johnston, Robert

    2017-09-01

    The purpose of this study was to develop a new educational system with an easy-to-use interface in order to support comprehension of the biological effects of radiation on the human body within a short period of time. A paint spray-gun was used as a gamma rays source mock-up for the system. The application screen shows the figure of a human body for radiation deposition using the γ-Sprayer, a virtual radiation source, as well as equivalent dosage and a panel for setting the irradiation conditions. While the learner stands in front of the PC monitor, the virtual radiation source is used to deposit radiation on the graphic of the human body that is displayed. Tissue damage is calculated using an interpolation method from the data calculated by the PHITS simulation code in advance while the learner is pulling the trigger with respect to the irradiation time, incident position, and distance from the screen. It was confirmed that the damage was well represented by the interpolation method. The augmented ?-Spray system was assessed by questionnaire. Pre-post questionnaire was taken for our 41 students in National Institute of Technology, Kagawa College. It was also confirmed that the system has a capability of teaching the basic radiation protection concept, quantitative feeling of the radiation dose, and the biological effects

  1. Generation of functional neuromuscular junctions from human pluripotent stem cell lines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katja ePuttonen

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Several neuromuscular diseases involve dysfunction of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs, yet there are no patient-specific human models for electrophysiological characterization of NMJ. We seeded cells of neurally-induced embryoid body-like spheres derived from induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC or embryonic stem cell (ESC lines as monolayers without basic fibroblast factor (bFGF and observed differentiation of neuronal as well as spontaneously contracting, multinucleated skeletal myotubes. The myotubes showed striation, immunoreactivity for myosin heavy chain, actin bundles typical for myo-oriented cells, and generated spontaneous and evoked action potentials (APs. The myogenic differentiation was associated with expression of MyoD1, myogenin and type I ryanodine receptor. Neurons formed end plate like structures with strong binding of α-bungarotoxin, a marker of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors highly expressed in the postsynaptic membrane of NMJs, and expressed SMI-32, a motoneuron marker, as well as SV2, a marker for synapses. Pharmacological stimulation of cholinergic receptors resulted in strong depolarization of myotube membrane and raised Ca2+ concentration in sarcoplasm, while electrical stimulation evoked Ca2+ transients in myotubes. Stimulation of motoneurons with N-Methyl-D-aspartate resulted in reproducible APs in myotubes and end plates displayed typical MEPs and tonic activity depolarizing myotubes of about 10 mV. We conclude that simultaneous differentiation of neurons and myotubes from patient-specific iPSCs or ESCs results also in the development of functional NMJs. Our human model of NMJ may serve as an important tool to investigate normal development, mechanisms of diseases and novel drug targets involving NMJ dysfunction and degeneration.

  2. IMAGES ABOUT HUMAN BODY IN GARÎB-NÂME OF ÂSIK PASA /

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr. Ayse BÜYÜKYILDIRIM

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available Âsık Pasa was born in Arapkir, a nearby town ofKırsehir. He was born at a period when the centraladministration of the state was weak, Mongols’ crueltywas gaining speed, the administrative chaos andconflicts were so common. He lived a life full of theseunwanted events, beginning from his childhood to his death. At that time, Kırsehir was one of the mostimportant cultural centers in many ways. Âsık Pasa wasbrought up in such a social environment. Elvan Çelebiportrayed him as somebody with inner and exteriorbeauty, attracting people’s hearts with his moralprinciples, having wisdom and scholarshipTürk diline kimsene bakmaz ıdıTürklere hergiz gönül akmaz ıdı….Tâ ki mahrûm kalmaya Türkler dahıTürk dilinde anlayalar ol HakıWith that utterance, this great craftsman, whorendered service to Turkish Nation in a new dimension,by establishing a new way outstretching to young authorswith regards to the use of Turkish language, portrayshuman body with the use of many imageries rangingfrom bone marrow to human skin.Human being, according to Turkish poets, is apart of the science of God and an excellent piece of God’sart. Fault is apple of the eye of the universe. As Âsık Pasasuggested, every thing coming into existence in theuniverse is actually hidden within God.Each of the assets in the universe is animportant evidence for God’s power to make somethingout of nothing, for God’s being unique and existence, andGod’s craftsmanship. Among those, the biggest evidenceis the creation of human being. With this regard, humanbeing is the biggest source to take lesson from in theuniverse.Human body is portrayed with such comparisonsas hidden treasure, palace, a small mosque covering upalmighty and ordinary universe, manservant, soil, water,a sultan with fire and wind, a grain of wheat milled in agrinder again and again. In the background, it mostlycontains advice suggesting the importance of cooperationand unity.As Âsık Pasa

  3. Warming up human body by nanoporous metallized polyethylene textile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Lili; Song, Alex Y; Wu, Peilin; Hsu, Po-Chun; Peng, Yucan; Chen, Jun; Liu, Chong; Catrysse, Peter B; Liu, Yayuan; Yang, Ankun; Zhou, Chenxing; Zhou, Chenyu; Fan, Shanhui; Cui, Yi

    2017-09-19

    Space heating accounts for the largest energy end-use of buildings that imposes significant burden on the society. The energy wasted for heating the empty space of the entire building can be saved by passively heating the immediate environment around the human body. Here, we demonstrate a nanophotonic structure textile with tailored infrared (IR) property for passive personal heating using nanoporous metallized polyethylene. By constructing an IR-reflective layer on an IR-transparent layer with embedded nanopores, the nanoporous metallized polyethylene textile achieves a minimal IR emissivity (10.1%) on the outer surface that effectively suppresses heat radiation loss without sacrificing wearing comfort. This enables 7.1 °C decrease of the set-point compared to normal textile, greatly outperforming other radiative heating textiles by more than 3 °C. This large set-point expansion can save more than 35% of building heating energy in a cost-effective way, and ultimately contribute to the relief of global energy and climate issues.Energy wasted for heating the empty space of the entire building can be saved by passively heating the immediate environment around the human body. Here, the authors show a nanophotonic structure textile with tailored infrared property for passive personal heating using nanoporous metallized polyethylene.

  4. Prediction and analysis of human thoracic impact responses and injuries in cadaver impacts using a full human body finite element model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruan, Jesse; El-Jawahri, Raed; Chai, Li; Barbat, Saeed; Prasad, Priya

    2003-10-01

    Human thoracic dynamic responses and injuries associated with frontal impact, side impact, and belt loading were investigated and predicted using a complete human body finite element model for an average adult male. The human body model was developed to study the impact biomechanics of a vehicular occupant. Its geometry was based on the Visible Human Project (National Library of Medicine) and the topographies from human body anatomical texts. The data was then scaled to an average adult male according to available biomechanical data from the literature. The model includes details of the head, neck, ribcage, abdomen, thoracic and lumbar spine, internal organs of the chest and abdomen, pelvis, and the upper and lower extremities. The present study is focused on the dynamic response and injuries of the thorax. The model was validated at various impact speeds by comparing predicted responses with available experimental cadaver data in frontal and side pendulum impacts, as well as belt loading. Model responses were compared with similar individual cadaver tests instead of using cadaver corridors because the large differences between the upper and lower bounds of the corridors may confound the model validation. The validated model was then used to study thorax dynamic responses and injuries in various simulated impact conditions. Parameters that could induce injuries such as force, deflection, and stress were computed from model simulations and were compared with previously proposed thoracic injury criteria to assess injury potential for the thorax. It has been shown that the model exhibited speed sensitive impact characteristics, and the compressibility of the internal organs significantly influenced the overall impact response in the simulated impact conditions. This study demonstrates that the development of a validated FE human body model could be useful for injury assessment in various cadaveric impacts reported in the literature. Internal organ injuries, which are

  5. Novel joint TOA/RSSI-based WCE location tracking method without prior knowledge of biological human body tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ito, Takahiro; Anzai, Daisuke; Jianqing Wang

    2014-01-01

    This paper proposes a novel joint time of arrival (TOA)/received signal strength indicator (RSSI)-based wireless capsule endoscope (WCE) location tracking method without prior knowledge of biological human tissues. Generally, TOA-based localization can achieve much higher localization accuracy than other radio frequency-based localization techniques, whereas wireless signals transmitted from a WCE pass through various kinds of human body tissues, as a result, the propagation velocity inside a human body should be different from one in free space. Because the variation of propagation velocity is mainly affected by the relative permittivity of human body tissues, instead of pre-measurement for the relative permittivity in advance, we simultaneously estimate not only the WCE location but also the relative permittivity information. For this purpose, this paper first derives the relative permittivity estimation model with measured RSSI information. Then, we pay attention to a particle filter algorithm with the TOA-based localization and the RSSI-based relative permittivity estimation. Our computer simulation results demonstrates that the proposed tracking methods with the particle filter can accomplish an excellent localization accuracy of around 2 mm without prior information of the relative permittivity of the human body tissues.

  6. Modelling the dynamic mechanisms associated with the principal resonance of the seated human body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsumoto, Y; Griffin, M J

    2001-01-01

    Simple mathematical models have been developed to obtain insights into resonance phenomena observed at about 5 Hz in the dynamic responses of the seated human body exposed to vertical whole-body vibration. Alternative lumped parameter models with a few degrees-of-freedom have been investigated. Rotational degrees-of-freedom, with eccentricity of the centre of gravity of the mass elements, represented responses in the fore-and-aft and pitch axes caused by vertical vibration. The causes of body resonance are not fully understood, but this information is required to develop cause-effect relationships between vibration exposures and effects on human health, comfort and performance.Method. The inertial and geometric parameters for models were based on published anatomical data. Other mechanical parameters were determined by comparing model responses to experimental data. Two models, with four and five degrees-of-freedom, gave more reasonable representations than other models. Mechanical parameters obtained with median and individual experimental data were consistent for vertical degrees-of-freedom but varied for rotational degrees-of-freedom. The resonance of the apparent mass at about 5 Hz may be attributed to a vibration mode consisting of vertical motion of the pelvis and legs and a pitch motion of the pelvis, both of which cause vertical motion of the upper-body above the pelvis, a bending motion of the spine, and vertical motion of the viscera. The mathematical models developed in this study may assist understanding of the dynamic mechanisms responsible for resonances in the seated human body. The information is required to represent mechanical responses of the body and assist the development of models for specific effects of vibration.

  7. Warming up human body by nanoporous metallized polyethylene textile

    OpenAIRE

    Cai, Lili; Song, Alex Y.; Wu, Peilin; Hsu, Po-Chun; Peng, Yucan; Chen, Jun; Liu, Chong; Catrysse, Peter B.; Liu, Yayuan; Yang, Ankun; Zhou, Chenxing; Zhou, Chenyu; Fan, Shanhui; Cui, Yi

    2017-01-01

    Space heating accounts for the largest energy end-use of buildings that imposes significant burden on the society. The energy wasted for heating the empty space of the entire building can be saved by passively heating the immediate environment around the human body. Here, we demonstrate a nanophotonic structure textile with tailored infrared (IR) property for passive personal heating using nanoporous metallized polyethylene. By constructing an IR-reflective layer on an IR-transparent layer wi...

  8. The Contribution of the Human Body in Young Children's Explanations About Shadow Formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herakleioti, Evagelia; Pantidos, Panagiotis

    2016-02-01

    This paper begins with the view that the generation of meaning is a multimodal process. Props, drawings, graphs, gestures, as well as speech and written text are all mediators through which students construct new knowledge. Each semiotic context makes a unique contribution to the conceptualization of scientific entities. The human body, in particular, can function as a factor in both representation and explanation, serving as a link between verbal discourse and setting. Considering this perspective, a body-based activity was designed for kindergarten children, involving the concept of a shadow. The 3-D arrangement of the light from the light source, the human body (the obstacle), and the resulting shadow plays a central role. Using their own bodies as obstacles to the light, the children were able to explore the direction of the light and to change the relative positions of the light source and the obstacle. They formed hypotheses and were able to test them by moving on the stage. This body-centered activity explicitly incorporates the rectilinear movement of light into the process of shadow formation, while also providing learning through direct experience. Positive effects on learning were achieved for the group of children who participated in the activity, while the video analysis showed that many of the children were able to use their bodies to transfer to a different setting the embodied knowledge they acquired. This, according to researchers in the field of science education, is a powerful indication of conceptual change.

  9. A statistical frame based TDMA protocol for human body communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nie, Zedong; Li, Zhao; Huang, Renwei; Liu, Yuhang; Li, Jingzhen; Wang, Lei

    2015-07-09

    Human body communication (HBC) using the human body as the transmission medium, which has been regarded as one of the most promising short-range communications in wireless body area networks (WBAN). Compared to the traditional wireless networks, two challenges are existed in HBC based WBAN. (1) Its sensor nodes should be energy saving since it is inconvenient to replace or recharge the battery on these sensor nodes; (2) the coordinator should be able to react dynamically and rapidly to the burst traffic triggered by sensing events. Those burst traffic conditions include vital physical signal (electrocardiogram, electroencephalogram etc.) monitoring, human motion detection (fall detection, activity monitoring, gesture recognition, motion sensing etc.) and so on. To cope with aforementioned challenges, a statistical frame based TDMA (S-TDMA) protocol with multi-constrained (energy, delay, transmission efficiency and emergency management) service is proposed in this paper. The scenarios where burst traffic is often triggered rapidly with low power consumption and low delay is handled in our proposed S-TDMA. A beacon frame with the contained synchronous and poll information is designed to reduce the possibility of collisions of request frames. A statistical frame which broadcasts the unified scheduling information is adopted to avoid packet collisions, idle listening and overhearing. Dynamic time slot allocation mechanism is presented to manage the burst traffic and reduce the active period in each beacon period. An emergency mechanism is proposed for vital signals to be transmitted. The theory analysis is proceed and the result is evaluated in the hardware platform. To verify its feasibility, S-TDMA was fully implemented on our independently-developed HBC platform where four sensor nodes and a coordinator are fastened on a human body. Experiment results show that S-TDMA costs 89.397 mJ every 20 s when the payload size is 122 bytes, 9.51% lower than Lightweight MAC

  10. Mental rotation and the human body: Children's inflexible use of embodiment mirrors that of adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krüger, Markus; Ebersbach, Mirjam

    2017-12-25

    Adults' mental rotation performance with body-like stimuli is enhanced if these stimuli are anatomically compatible with a human body, but decreased by anatomically incompatible stimuli. In this study, we investigated these effects for kindergartners and first-graders: When asked to mentally rotate cube configurations attached with human body parts in an anatomically compatible way, allowing for the projection of a human body, children performed better than with pure cube combinations. By contrast, when body parts were attached in an anatomically incompatible way, disallowing the projection of a human body, children performed worse than with pure combinations. This experiment is of specific interest against the background of two different theoretical approaches concerning imagery and the motor system in development: One approach assumes an increasing integration of motor processes and imagery over time that enables older children and adults to requisition motor resources for imagery processes, while the other postulates that imagery stems from early sensorimotor processes in the first place, and is disentangled from it over time. The finding that children of the two age groups tested show exactly the same effects as adults when mentally rotating anatomically compatible and incompatible stimuli is interpreted in favour of the latter approach. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? In mental rotation, adults perform better when rotating anatomically possible stimuli as compared to rotating standard cube combinations. Performance is worse when rotating anatomically impossible stimuli. What does this study add? The present study shows that children's mental transformations mirror those of adults in these respects. In case of the anatomically impossible stimuli, this highlights an inflexible use of embodiment in both age groups. This is in line with the Piagetian assumption of imagery being based on sensorimotor processes. © 2017 The British

  11. Why does it matter how we regulate the use of human body parts?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goold, Imogen

    2014-01-01

    Human tissue and body parts have been used in one way or another for millennia. They have been preserved and displayed, both in museums and public shows. Real human hair is used for wigs, while some artists even use human tissue in their works. Blood, bone marrow, whole organs and a host of other structures and human substances are all transplanted into living persons to treat illness. New life can be created from gametes through in vitro fertilisation (IVF), while the creation of cell lines keeps tissue alive indefinitely. These uses create significant challenges for the legal system in the UK. The major challenge for the law is to balance the competing demands of those groups who have vested interests in human tissue-researchers, medical practitioners, patients, families, the community and the police, among many others. It must provide sufficient control to users of tissue, but also take account of the fact that our bodies hold psychological importance for us while we live and, after we die, for those we leave behind. To some degree the law has been successful, but we still lack a comprehensive, coherent approach to the regulation of human tissue. Partially as a reaction to this lack of a comprehensive approach, some commentators have turned to applying the concept of property to human tissue means to achieve regulatory outcomes they support.

  12. A physiologically based biokinetic model for cesium in the human body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leggett, R.W.; Williams, L.R.; Melo, D.R.; Lipsztein, J.L.

    2003-01-01

    A physiologically descriptive model of the biological behavior of cesium in the human body has been constructed around a detailed blood flow model. The rate of transfer from plasma into a tissue is determined by the blood perfusion rate and the tissue-specific extraction fraction of Cs during passage from arterial to venous plasma. Information on tissue-specific extraction of Cs is supplemented with information on the Cs analogues, K and Rb, and known patterns of discrimination between these metals by tissues. The rate of return from a tissue to plasma is estimated from the relative contents of Cs in plasma and the tissue at equilibrium as estimated from environmental studies. Transfers of Cs other than exchange between plasma and tissues (e.g. secretions into the gastrointestinal tract) are based on a combination of physiological considerations and empirical data on Cs or related elements. Model predictions are consistent with the sizable database on the time-dependent distribution and retention of radiocesium in the human body

  13. Integrated processes for expansion and differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells in suspended microcarriers cultures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lam, Alan Tin-Lun; Chen, Allen Kuan-Liang; Ting, Sherwin Qi-Peng; Reuveny, Shaul; Oh, Steve Kah-Weng

    2016-01-01

    Current methods for human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) expansion and differentiation can be limited in scalability and costly (due to their labor intensive nature). This can limit their use in cell therapy, drug screening and toxicity assays. One of the approaches that can overcome these limitations is microcarrier (MC) based cultures in which cells are expanded as cell/MC aggregates and then directly differentiated as embryoid bodies (EBs) in the same agitated reactor. This integrated process can be scaled up and eliminate the need for some culture manipulation used in common monolayer and EBs cultures. This review describes the principles of such microcarriers based integrated hPSC expansion and differentiation process, and parameters that can affect its efficiency (such as MC type and extracellular matrix proteins coatings, cell/MC aggregates size, and agitation). Finally examples of integrated process for generation cardiomyocytes (CM) and neural progenitor cells (NPC) as well as challenges to be solved are described. - Highlights: • Expansion of hPSC on microcarriers. • Differentiation of hPSC on microcarriers. • Parameters that can affect the expansion and differentiation of hPSC on microcarriers. • Integration of expansion and differentiation of hPSC on microcarriers in one unit operation.

  14. Integrated processes for expansion and differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells in suspended microcarriers cultures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lam, Alan Tin-Lun, E-mail: alan_lam@bti.a-star.edu.sg; Chen, Allen Kuan-Liang; Ting, Sherwin Qi-Peng; Reuveny, Shaul; Oh, Steve Kah-Weng, E-mail: steve_oh@bti.a-star.edu.sg

    2016-05-06

    Current methods for human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) expansion and differentiation can be limited in scalability and costly (due to their labor intensive nature). This can limit their use in cell therapy, drug screening and toxicity assays. One of the approaches that can overcome these limitations is microcarrier (MC) based cultures in which cells are expanded as cell/MC aggregates and then directly differentiated as embryoid bodies (EBs) in the same agitated reactor. This integrated process can be scaled up and eliminate the need for some culture manipulation used in common monolayer and EBs cultures. This review describes the principles of such microcarriers based integrated hPSC expansion and differentiation process, and parameters that can affect its efficiency (such as MC type and extracellular matrix proteins coatings, cell/MC aggregates size, and agitation). Finally examples of integrated process for generation cardiomyocytes (CM) and neural progenitor cells (NPC) as well as challenges to be solved are described. - Highlights: • Expansion of hPSC on microcarriers. • Differentiation of hPSC on microcarriers. • Parameters that can affect the expansion and differentiation of hPSC on microcarriers. • Integration of expansion and differentiation of hPSC on microcarriers in one unit operation.

  15. Serological prevalence of human parvovirus B19 in diseases or disordersrelated to different human body systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aktaş, Osman; Aydin, Hakan; Uslu, Hakan

    2016-02-17

    Human parvovirus B19 is a pathogen that affects different parts of the body. We planned this study because of the lack of data on B19 seroprevalence based on different body-system diseases. The prevalence of parvovirus B19 antibodies was investigated retrospectively in 1239 patients by review of medical records from 2009-2012, according to their diseases classified under general titles in compliance with the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Parvovirus B19-specific antibodies were detected by quantitative enzyme immunoassays. The positivity rate was 27.8% for only IgG, 8.5% for only IgM, and 2.6% for both IgG and IgM. The highest positivity for IgG alone was found in musculoskeletal system and connective tissue diseases (55.9%), while the highest positivity for IgM was found in neoplasms (16.4%). The highest positivity for IgG was seen in rheumatoid arthritis (72.2%) and pregnancy (52.6%), and the highest positivity for total IgM was found in upper respiratory tract disease (21.0%) and hepatic failure (17.1%). Parvovirus B19 seroprevalence was relatively low in northeastern Anatolia compared to most serological studies conducted in other regions. We think that this study has provided the first wide-ranging information on the seroprevalence of B19 in diseases and disorders of the major human body systems.

  16. Interface of data transmission for a transcutaneous communication system using the human body as transmission medium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okamoto, Eiji; Kato, Yoshikuni; Seino, Kazuyuki; Mitamura, Yoshinori

    2012-03-01

    We have been developing a new transcutaneous communication system (TCS) that uses the human body as an electrical conductive medium. We studied an interface circuit of the TCS in order to optimize the leading data current into the human body effectively. Two types of LC circuits were examined for the interface circuit, one was an LC series-parallel circuit, and the other was a parallel-connected LC circuit. The LC series-parallel circuit connected to the body could be tuned to a resonant frequency, and the frequency was determined by the values of an external inductor and an external capacitor. Permittivity of the body did not influence the electrical resonance. Connection of the LC series-parallel circuit to the body degraded the quality factor Q because of the conductivity of the body. However, the LC parallel-connected circuit when connected to the body did not indicate electrical resonance. The LC series-parallel circuit restricts a direct current and a low-frequency current to flow into the body; thus, it can prevent a patient from getting a shock. According to the above results, an LC series-parallel circuit is an optimum interface circuit between the TCS and the body for leading data current into the body effectively and safely.

  17. Derivation of Stromal (Skeletal, Mesenchymal) Stem-like cells from Human Embryonic Stem Cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mahmood, Amer; Harkness, Linda; Abdallah, Basem

    2012-01-01

    EBs using BMP2 (bone morphogenic protein 2) combined with standard osteoblast induction medium led to weak osteoblastic induction. Conversely, subcutaneous in vivo implantation of day 20 hEBs in immune deficient mice, mixed with hydroxyapatite/tricalcium phosphate (HA/TCP) as an osteoconductive scaffold......Derivation of bone forming cells (osteoblasts) from human embryonic stem cells (hESC) is a pre-requisite for their use in clinical applications. However, there is no standard protocol for differentiating hESC into osteoblastic cells. The aim of this study was to identify the emergence of a human...... stromal (mesenchymal, skeletal) stem cell (hMSC)-like population, known to be osteoblastic cell precursors and to test their osteoblastic differentiation capacity in ex vivo cultures and in vivo. We cultured hESC in a feeder-free environment using serum replacement and as suspension aggregates (embryoid...

  18. Language Functions and Medical Communication: The Human Body as Text

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kantz, Deirdre; Marenzi, Ivana

    2016-01-01

    This article presents the findings of a field experiment in medical English with first-year medical students at the University of Pavia, Northern Italy. Working in groups of 8-10, the students were asked to produce a corpus of medical texts in English demonstrating how the human body is itself a meaningful text (Baldry and Thibault 2006: Ch. 1).…

  19. The differentiation of embryonic stem cells seeded on electrospun nanofibers into neural lineages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Jingwei; Willerth, Stephanie M; Li, Xiaoran; Macewan, Matthew R; Rader, Allison; Sakiyama-Elbert, Shelly E; Xia, Younan

    2009-01-01

    Due to advances in stem cell biology, embryonic stem (ES) cells can be induced to differentiate into a particular mature cell lineage when cultured as embryoid bodies. Although transplantation of ES cells-derived neural progenitor cells has been demonstrated with some success for either spinal cord injury repair in small animal model, control of ES cell differentiation into complex, viable, higher ordered tissues is still challenging. Mouse ES cells have been induced to become neural progenitors by adding retinoic acid to embryoid body cultures for 4 days. In this study, we examine the use of electrospun biodegradable polymers as scaffolds not only for enhancing the differentiation of mouse ES cells into neural lineages but also for promoting and guiding the neurite outgrowth. A combination of electrospun fiber scaffolds and ES cells-derived neural progenitor cells could lead to the development of a better strategy for nerve injury repair.

  20. Gene Expression and Functional Annotation of the Human Ciliary Body Epithelia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssen, Sarah F.; Gorgels, Theo G. M. F.; Bossers, Koen; ten Brink, Jacoline B.; Essing, Anke H. W.; Nagtegaal, Martijn; van der Spek, Peter J.; Jansonius, Nomdo M.; Bergen, Arthur A. B.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: The ciliary body (CB) of the human eye consists of the non-pigmented (NPE) and pigmented (PE) neuro-epithelia. We investigated the gene expression of NPE and PE, to shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the most important functions of the CB. We also developed molecular

  1. Neurobeachin, a Regulator of Synaptic Protein Targeting, Is Associated with Body Fat Mass and Feeding Behavior in Mice and Body-Mass Index in Humans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olszewski, Pawel K.; Rozman, Jan; Jacobsson, Josefin A.; Rathkolb, Birgit; Strömberg, Siv; Hans, Wolfgang; Klockars, Anica; Alsiö, Johan; Risérus, Ulf; Becker, Lore; Hölter, Sabine M.; Elvert, Ralf; Ehrhardt, Nicole; Gailus-Durner, Valérie; Fuchs, Helmut; Fredriksson, Robert; Wolf, Eckhard; Klopstock, Thomas; Wurst, Wolfgang; Levine, Allen S.; Marcus, Claude; Hrabě de Angelis, Martin; Klingenspor, Martin; Schiöth, Helgi B.; Kilimann, Manfred W.

    2012-01-01

    Neurobeachin (Nbea) regulates neuronal membrane protein trafficking and is required for the development and functioning of central and neuromuscular synapses. In homozygous knockout (KO) mice, Nbea deficiency causes perinatal death. Here, we report that heterozygous KO mice haploinsufficient for Nbea have higher body weight due to increased adipose tissue mass. In several feeding paradigms, heterozygous KO mice consumed more food than wild-type (WT) controls, and this consumption was primarily driven by calories rather than palatability. Expression analysis of feeding-related genes in the hypothalamus and brainstem with real-time PCR showed differential expression of a subset of neuropeptide or neuropeptide receptor mRNAs between WT and Nbea+/− mice in the sated state and in response to food deprivation, but not to feeding reward. In humans, we identified two intronic NBEA single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are significantly associated with body-mass index (BMI) in adult and juvenile cohorts. Overall, data obtained in mice and humans suggest that variation of Nbea abundance or activity critically affects body weight, presumably by influencing the activity of feeding-related neural circuits. Our study emphasizes the importance of neural mechanisms in body weight control and points out NBEA as a potential risk gene in human obesity. PMID:22438821

  2. Preventive Biomechanics Optimizing Support Systems for the Human Body in the Lying and Sitting Position

    CERN Document Server

    Silber, Gerhard

    2013-01-01

    How can we optimize a bedridden patient’s mattress? How can we make a passenger seat on a long distance flight or ride more comfortable? What qualities should a runner’s shoes have? To objectively address such questions using engineering and scientific methods, adequate virtual human body models for use in computer simulation of loading scenarios are required. The authors have developed a novel method incorporating subject studies, magnetic resonance imaging, 3D-CAD-reconstruction, continuum mechanics, material theory and the finite element method. The focus is laid upon the mechanical in vivo-characterization of human soft tissue, which is indispensable for simulating its mechanical interaction with, for example, medical bedding or automotive and airplane seating systems. Using the examples of arbitrary body support systems, the presented approach provides visual insight into simulated internal mechanical body tissue stress and strain, with the goal of biomechanical optimization of body support systems. ...

  3. Induced pluripotent stem cells generated from human adipose-derived stem cells using a non-viral polycistronic plasmid in feeder-free conditions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinjian Qu

    Full Text Available Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs can be generated from somatic cells by ectopic expression of defined transcription factors (TFs. However, the optimal cell type and the easy reprogramming approaches that minimize genetic aberrations of parent cells must be considered before generating the iPSCs. This paper reports a method to generate iPSCs from adult human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs without the use of a feeder layer, by ectopic expression of the defined transcription factors OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and C-MYC using a polycistronic plasmid. The results, based on the expression of pluripotent marker, demonstrated that the iPSCs have the characteristics similar to those of embryonic stem cells (ESCs. The iPSCs differentiated into three embryonic germ layers both in vitro by embryoid body generation and in vivo by teratoma formation after being injected into immunodeficient mice. More importantly, the plasmid DNA does not integrate into the genome of human iPSCs as revealed by Southern blotting experiments. Karyotypic analysis also demonstrated that the reprogramming of hADSCs by the defined factors did not induce chromosomal abnormalities. Therefore, this technology provides a platform for studying the biology of iPSCs without viral vectors, and can hopefully overcome immune rejection and ethical concerns, which are the two important barriers of ESC applications.

  4. Human body mass estimation: a comparison of "morphometric" and "mechanical" methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Auerbach, Benjamin M; Ruff, Christopher B

    2004-12-01

    In the past, body mass was reconstructed from hominin skeletal remains using both "mechanical" methods which rely on the support of body mass by weight-bearing skeletal elements, and "morphometric" methods which reconstruct body mass through direct assessment of body size and shape. A previous comparison of two such techniques, using femoral head breadth (mechanical) and stature and bi-iliac breadth (morphometric), indicated a good general correspondence between them (Ruff et al. [1997] Nature 387:173-176). However, the two techniques were never systematically compared across a large group of modern humans of diverse body form. This study incorporates skeletal measures taken from 1,173 Holocene adult individuals, representing diverse geographic origins, body sizes, and body shapes. Femoral head breadth, bi-iliac breadth (after pelvic rearticulation), and long bone lengths were measured on each individual. Statures were estimated from long bone lengths using appropriate reference samples. Body masses were calculated using three available femoral head breadth (FH) formulae and the stature/bi-iliac breadth (STBIB) formula, and compared. All methods yielded similar results. Correlations between FH estimates and STBIB estimates are 0.74-0.81. Slight differences in results between the three FH estimates can be attributed to sampling differences in the original reference samples, and in particular, the body-size ranges included in those samples. There is no evidence for systematic differences in results due to differences in body proportions. Since the STBIB method was validated on other samples, and the FH methods produced similar estimates, this argues that either may be applied to skeletal remains with some confidence. 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  5. Diversity of key players in the microbial ecosystems of the human body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordán, Ferenc; Lauria, Mario; Scotti, Marco; Nguyen, Thanh-Phuong; Praveen, Paurush; Morine, Melissa; Priami, Corrado

    2015-10-30

    Coexisting bacteria form various microbial communities in human body parts. In these ecosystems they interact in various ways and the properties of the interaction network can be related to the stability and functional diversity of the local bacterial community. In this study, we analyze the interaction network among bacterial OTUs in 11 locations of the human body. These belong to two major groups. One is the digestive system and the other is the female genital tract. In each local ecosystem we determine the key species, both the ones being in key positions in the interaction network and the ones that dominate by frequency. Beyond identifying the key players and discussing their biological relevance, we also quantify and compare the properties of the 11 networks. The interaction networks of the female genital system and the digestive system show totally different architecture. Both the topological properties and the identity of the key groups differ. Key groups represent four phyla of prokaryotes. Some groups appear in key positions in several locations, while others are assigned only to a single body part. The key groups of the digestive and the genital tracts are totally different.

  6. Comparison of Four Protocols to Generate Chondrocyte-Like Cells from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSCs).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suchorska, Wiktoria Maria; Augustyniak, Ewelina; Richter, Magdalena; Trzeciak, Tomasz

    2017-04-01

    Stem cells (SCs) are a promising approach to regenerative medicine, with the potential to treat numerous orthopedic disorders, including osteo-degenerative diseases. The development of human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) has increased the potential of SCs for new treatments. However, current methods of differentiating hiPSCs into chondrocyte-like cells are suboptimal and better methods are needed. The aim of the present study was to assess four different chondrogenic differentiation protocols to identify the most efficient method of generating hiPSC-derived chondrocytes. For this study, hiPSCs were obtained from primary human dermal fibroblasts (PHDFs) and differentiated into chondrocyte-like cells using four different protocols: 1) monolayer culture with defined growth factors (GF); 2) embryoid bodies (EBs) in a chondrogenic medium with TGF-β3 cells; 3) EBs in chondrogenic medium conditioned with human chondrocytes (HC-402-05a cell line) and 4) EBs in chondrogenic medium conditioned with human chondrocytes and supplemented with TGF-β3. The cells obtained through these four protocols were evaluated and compared at the mRNA and protein levels. Although chondrogenic differentiation of hiPSCs was successfully achieved with all of these protocols, the two fastest and most cost-effective methods were the monolayer culture with GFs and the medium conditioned with human chondrocytes. Both of these methods are superior to other available techniques. The main advantage of the conditioned medium is that the technique is relatively simple and inexpensive while the directed method (i.e., monolayer culture with GFs) is faster than any protocol described to date because it is does not require additional steps such as EB formation.

  7. On the dynamics of chain systems. [applications in manipulator and human body models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huston, R. L.; Passerello, C. E.

    1974-01-01

    A computer-oriented method for obtaining dynamical equations of motion for chain systems is presented. A chain system is defined as an arbitrarily assembled set of rigid bodies such that adjoining bodies have at least one common point and such that closed loops are not formed. The equations of motion are developed through the use of Lagrange's form of d'Alembert's principle. The method and procedure is illustrated with an elementary study of a tripod space manipulator. The method is designed for application with systems such as human body models, chains and cables, and dynamic finite-segment models.

  8. Mechanical impedance of the sitting human body in single-axis compared to multi-axis whole-body vibration exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmlund, P; Lundström, R

    2001-01-01

    The study was aimed to investigate the mechanical impedance of the sitting human body and to compare data obtained in laboratory single-axis investigations with multi-axis data from in vehicle measurements. The experiments were performed in a laboratory for single-axis measurements. The multi-axis exposure was generated with an eight-seat minibus where the rear seats had been replaced with a rigid one. The subjects in the multi-axis experiment all participated in the single-axis experiments. There are quite a few investigations in the literature describing the human response to single-axis exposure. The response from the human body can be expected to be affected by multi-axis input in a different way than from a single-axis exposure. The present knowledge of the effect of multiple axis exposure is very limited. The measurements were performed using a specially designed force and accelerometer plate. This plate was placed between the subject and the hard seat. Outcome shows a clear difference between mechanical impedance for multi-axis exposure compared to single-axis. This is especially clear in the x-direction where the difference is very large. The conclusion is that it seems unlikely that single-axis mechanical impedance data can be directly transferred to a multi-axis environment. This is due to the force cross-talk between different directions.

  9. Mass spectrometry-based cDNA profiling as a potential tool for human body fluid identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donfack, Joseph; Wiley, Anissa

    2015-05-01

    Several mRNA markers have been exhaustively evaluated for the identification of human venous blood, saliva, and semen in forensic genetics. As new candidate human body fluid specific markers are discovered, evaluated, and reported in the scientific literature, there is an increasing trend toward determining the ideal markers for cDNA profiling of body fluids of forensic interest. However, it has not been determined which molecular genetics-based technique(s) should be utilized to assess the performance of these markers. In recent years, only a few confirmatory, mRNA/cDNA-based methods have been evaluated for applications in body fluid identification. The most frequently described methods tested to date include quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and capillary electrophoresis (CE). However these methods, in particular qPCR, often favor narrow multiplex PCR due to the availability of a limited number of fluorescent dyes/tags. In an attempt to address this technological constraint, this study explored matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for human body fluid identification via cDNA profiling of venous blood, saliva, and semen. Using cDNA samples at 20pg input phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1) amounts, body fluid specific markers for the candidate genes were amplified in their corresponding body fluid (i.e., venous blood, saliva, or semen) and absent in the remaining two (100% specificity). The results of this study provide an initial indication that MALDI-TOF MS is a potential fluorescent dye-free alternative method for body fluid identification in forensic casework. However, the inherent issues of low amounts of mRNA, and the damage caused to mRNA by environmental exposures, extraction processes, and storage conditions are important factors that significantly hinder the implementation of cDNA profiling into forensic casework. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  10. Searching for Survivors through Random Human-Body Movement Outdoors by Continuous-Wave Radar Array.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Chuantao; Chen, Fuming; Qi, Fugui; Liu, Miao; Li, Zhao; Liang, Fulai; Jing, Xijing; Lu, Guohua; Wang, Jianqi

    2016-01-01

    It is a major challenge to search for survivors after chemical or nuclear leakage or explosions. At present, biological radar can be used to achieve this goal by detecting the survivor's respiration signal. However, owing to the random posture of an injured person at a rescue site, the radar wave may directly irradiate the person's head or feet, in which it is difficult to detect the respiration signal. This paper describes a multichannel-based antenna array technology, which forms an omnidirectional detection system via 24-GHz Doppler biological radar, to address the random positioning relative to the antenna of an object to be detected. Furthermore, since the survivors often have random body movement such as struggling and twitching, the slight movements of the body caused by breathing are obscured by these movements. Therefore, a method is proposed to identify random human-body movement by utilizing multichannel information to calculate the background variance of the environment in combination with a constant-false-alarm-rate detector. The conducted outdoor experiments indicate that the system can realize the omnidirectional detection of random human-body movement and distinguish body movement from environmental interference such as movement of leaves and grass. The methods proposed in this paper will be a promising way to search for survivors outdoors.

  11. Parametric Human Body Reconstruction Based on Sparse Key Points.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Ke-Li; Tong, Ruo-Feng; Tang, Min; Qian, Jing-Ye; Sarkis, Michel

    2016-11-01

    We propose an automatic parametric human body reconstruction algorithm which can efficiently construct a model using a single Kinect sensor. A user needs to stand still in front of the sensor for a couple of seconds to measure the range data. The user's body shape and pose will then be automatically constructed in several seconds. Traditional methods optimize dense correspondences between range data and meshes. In contrast, our proposed scheme relies on sparse key points for the reconstruction. It employs regression to find the corresponding key points between the scanned range data and some annotated training data. We design two kinds of feature descriptors as well as corresponding regression stages to make the regression robust and accurate. Our scheme follows with dense refinement where a pre-factorization method is applied to improve the computational efficiency. Compared with other methods, our scheme achieves similar reconstruction accuracy but significantly reduces runtime.

  12. Preliminary study on the time-related changes of the infrared thermal images of the human body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ziru; Zhang, Xusheng; Lin, Gang; Chen, Zhigang

    2009-08-01

    It is of great importance to study the manifestations and the influencing factors of the time-related changes of infrared thermal images (ITI) of human body since the variable body surface temperature distribution seriously affected the application of ITI in medicine. In this paper, manifestations of time-related changes of the ITI of human body from three double-blind randomized trials and their correlation with meteorological factors (e.g. temperature, pressure, humidity, cold front passage and tropical cyclone landing) were studied. The trials were placebo or drug controlled studying the influences of Chinese medicine health food (including Shengsheng capsule with immunity adjustment function, Shengan capsule with sleep improvement function and Shengyi capsule with the function of helping to decrease serum lipid) on the ITI of human body. In the first thirty-six days of the trials images were scanned every six days and image data in the seven observation time spots (including the 0, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36 day of the trial) were used for the time-related study. For every subject the scanned time was fixed in the day within two hours. The ITI features which could reflect the functions of the health foods were studied. The indexes of the features were relative magnitude (temperature difference between the viewing area and the reference area). Results showed that the variation tendencies of the trial group and control group were basically the same in placebo controlled trials and some of the long-term effects of Chinese medicine health food could be reflected significantly in certain time spots in the first thirty-six days. Time-related changes of the ITI of human body were closely related with meteorological factors but there were other influencing factors still need to be studied. As the ITI of human body could reflect the influences of Chinese medicine health foods and are closely related with meteorology, there are bright prospects for the application of ITI in

  13. The Contemporary Body: Between the Thesis of Human Exception and its Obscurantism

    OpenAIRE

    Aida Sotelo Céspedes

    2016-01-01

    This essay questions the place given to the human body in our time because of the consequences of the western thesis of human exception and its presence in Descartes' cogito that led to modern science, and also because of the effects of fragmentation, politicization and merchandising of life in the second modernity, derived from the capitalist discourse. As a counterpoint not necessarily grounded on those beliefs and deviations of scientific and social morality, forty years ago people began t...

  14. Dose evaluation based on {sup 24}Na activity in the human body at the JCO criticality accident in Tokai-mura

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Momose, Takumaro; Tsujimura, Norio; Tasaki, Takashi; Kanai, Katsuta; Kurihara, Osamu; Hayashi, Naomi; Shinohara, Kunihiko [Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Works

    2001-09-01

    {sup 24}Na in the human body, activated by neutrons emitted at the JCO criticality accident, was observed for 62 subjects, where 148 subjects were measured by the whole body counter of JNC Tokai Works. The 148 subjects, including JCO employees and the contractors, residents neighboring the site and emergency service officers, were measured by the whole-body counter. The neutron-energy spectrum around the facility was calculated using neutron transport codes (ANISN and MCNP), and the relation between an amount of activated sodium in human body and neutron dose was evaluated from the calculated neutron energy spectrum and theoretical neutron capture probability by the human body. The maximum {sup 24}Na activity in the body was 7.7 kBq (83 Bq({sup 24}Na)/g({sup 23}Na)) and the relevant effective dose equivalent was 47 mSv. (author)

  15. Air Ambient-Operated pNIPAM-Based Flexible Actuators Stimulated by Human Body Temperature and Sunlight.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Yuki; Kanao, Kenichiro; Arie, Takayuki; Akita, Seiji; Takei, Kuniharu

    2015-05-27

    Harnessing a natural power source such as the human body temperature or sunlight should realize ultimate low-power devices. In particular, macroscale and flexible actuators that do not require an artificial power source have tremendous potential. Here we propose and demonstrate electrically powerless polymer-based actuators operated at ambient conditions using a packaging technique in which the stimulating power source is produced by heat from the human body or sunlight. The actuating angle, force, and reliability are discussed as functions of temperature and exposure to sunlight. Furthermore, a wearable device platform and a smart curtain actuated by the temperature of human skin and sunlight, respectively, are demonstrated as the first proof-of-concepts. These nature-powered actuators should realize a new class of ultimate low-power devices.

  16. Measurement of caesium-137 in the human body using a whole body counter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elessawi, Elkhadra Abdulmula

    Gamma radiation in the environment is mainly due to naturally occurring radionuclides. However, there is also a contribution from anthropogenic radionuclides such as 137Cs which originate from nuclear fission processes. Since 1986, the accident at the Chernobyl power plant has been a significant source of artificial environmental radioactivity. In order to assess the radiological impact of these radionuclides, it is necessary to measure their activities in samples drawn from the environment and in plants and animals including human populations. The whole body counter (WBC) at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff makes in vivo measurements of gamma emitting radionuclides using a scanning ring of six large-volume thallium-doped sodium iodide (Nal(Tl)) scintillation detectors. In this work the WBC was upgraded by the addition of two high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors. The performance and suitability of the detection systems were evaluated by comparing the detection limits for Cs. Sensitivities were measured using sources of known activity in a water filled anthropomorphic phantom and theoretical minimum detectable count-rates were estimated from phantom background pulse height spectra. The theoretical minimum detectable activity was about 24 Bq for the combination of six Nal(Tl) detectors whereas for the individual HPGe detectors it was 64 Bq and 65 Bq, despite the much improved energy resolution Activities of 137Cs in the human body between 1993 and 2007 were estimated from the background Nal(Tl) spectra of 813 patients and compared with recent measurements in 14 volunteers. The body burden of Cs in Cardiff patients increased from an average of about 60 Bq in the early and mid 1990s to a maximum of about 100 Bq in 2000. By 2007 it had decreased to about 40 Bq. This latter value was similar to that of Cardiff residents at the time of the Chernobyl accident and to that of the volunteers measured in 2007 (51 Bq). However, it was less than the mean activity of

  17. Human body heat for powering wearable devices: From thermal energy to application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thielen, Moritz; Sigrist, Lukas; Magno, Michele; Hierold, Christofer; Benini, Luca

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A complete system optimization for wearable thermal harvesting from body heat to the application is proposed. • State-of-the-art thermal harvesters and DC-DC converters are compared and classified. • Extensive simulation and experiments are carried out to characterize the harvesting performance. • A case study demonstrates the feasibility to supply a multi-sensor wearables only from body heat. - Abstract: Energy harvesting is the key technology to enable self-sustained wearable devices for the Internet of Things and medical applications. Among various types of harvesting sources such as light, vibration and radio frequency, thermoelectric generators (TEG) are a promising option due to their independence of light conditions or the activity of the wearer. This work investigates scavenging of human body heat and the optimization of the power conversion efficiency from body core to the application. We focus on the critical interaction between thermal harvester and power conditioning circuitry and compare two approaches: (1) a high output voltage, low thermal resistance μTEG combined with a high efficiency actively controlled single inductor DC-DC converter, and (2) a high thermal resistance, low electric resistance mTEG in combination with a low-input voltage coupled inductors based DC-DC converter. The mTEG approach delivers up to 65% higher output power per area in a lab setup and 1–15% in a real-world experiment on the human body depending on physical activity and environmental conditions. Using off-the-shelf and low-cost components, we achieve an average power of 260 μW (μTEG) to 280 μW (mTEG) and power densities of 13 μW cm"−"2 (μTEG) to 14 μW cm"−"2 (mTEG) for systems worn on the human wrist. With the small and lightweight harvesters optimized for wearability, 16% (mTEG) to 24% (μTEG) of the theoretical maximum efficiency is achieved in a worst-case scenario. This efficiency highly depends on the application specific conditions

  18. [Meteorology and the human body: two hundred years of history].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forrai, Judit

    2010-07-04

    Modern meteorology was started in the 18th century, with the establishment of observer networks through countries. Since then, temperature, pressure and purity of air, quantity of powder have been measured and the effects of changes on the human body have been studied. New theories have been set relating to the atmospheric properties of microorganisms. Changes of pathogens in the context of climatic changes have been also studied.

  19. Response of the seated human body to whole-body vertical vibration: biodynamic responses to mechanical shocks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Zhen; Griffin, Michael J

    2017-03-01

    The biodynamic response of the seated human body has been investigated with 20 males exposed to upward and downward shocks at 13 fundamental frequencies (1-16 Hz) and 18 magnitudes (up to ±8.3 ms -2 ). For 1- and 2- degree-of-freedom models, the stiffness and damping coefficients were obtained by fitting seat acceleration waveforms predicted from the measured force to the measured seat acceleration waveform. Stiffness and damping coefficients were also obtained in the frequency domain with random vibration. The optimum stiffness and damping coefficients varied with the magnitude and the frequency of shocks. With both upward and downward shocks, the resonance frequency of the models decreased from 6.3 to 4 Hz as the vibration dose values of the shocks increased from 0.05 to 2.0 ms -1.75 . The stiffness and damping obtained from responses to shocks were correlated with, and similar to, the stiffness and damping obtained with random vibration. Practitioner Summary: When modelling the dynamic response of the seated human body to vertical acceleration less than 1 g, the relation between force and acceleration can be well represented by a single degree-of-freedom model although the optimum stiffness and damping depend on the magnitude and frequency of sinusoidal, random or shock motion.

  20. Influence and Correction from the Human Body on the Measurement of a Power-Frequency Electric Field Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dongping Xiao

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available According to the operating specifications of existing electric field measuring instruments, measuring technicians must be located far from the instruments to eliminate the influence of the human body occupancy on a spatial electric field. Nevertheless, in order to develop a portable safety protection instrument with an effective electric field warning function for working staff in a high-voltage environment, it is necessary to study the influence of an approaching human body on the measurement of an electric field and to correct the measurement results. A single-shaft electric field measuring instrument called the Type LP-2000, which was developed by our research team, is used as the research object in this study. First, we explain the principle of electric field measurement and describe the capacitance effect produced by the human body. Through a theoretical analysis, we show that the measured electric field value decreases as a human body approaches. Their relationship is linearly proportional. Then, the ratio is identified as a correction coefficient to correct for the influence of human body proximity. The conclusion drawn from the theoretical analysis is proved via simulation. The correction coefficient kb = 1.8010 is obtained on the basis of the linear fitting of simulated data. Finally, a physical experiment is performed. When no human is present, we compare the results from the Type LP-2000 measured with Narda EFA-300 and the simulated value to verify the accuracy of the Type LP-2000. For the case of an approaching human body, the correction coefficient kb* = 1.9094 is obtained by comparing the data measured with the Type LP-2000 to the simulated value. The correction coefficient obtained from the experiment (i.e., kb* is highly consistent with that obtained from the simulation (i.e., kb. Two experimental programs are set; under these programs, the excitation voltages and distance measuring points are regulated to produce different

  1. Influence and Correction from the Human Body on the Measurement of a Power-Frequency Electric Field Sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Dongping; Liu, Huaitong; Zhou, Qiang; Xie, Yutong; Ma, Qichao

    2016-06-10

    According to the operating specifications of existing electric field measuring instruments, measuring technicians must be located far from the instruments to eliminate the influence of the human body occupancy on a spatial electric field. Nevertheless, in order to develop a portable safety protection instrument with an effective electric field warning function for working staff in a high-voltage environment, it is necessary to study the influence of an approaching human body on the measurement of an electric field and to correct the measurement results. A single-shaft electric field measuring instrument called the Type LP-2000, which was developed by our research team, is used as the research object in this study. First, we explain the principle of electric field measurement and describe the capacitance effect produced by the human body. Through a theoretical analysis, we show that the measured electric field value decreases as a human body approaches. Their relationship is linearly proportional. Then, the ratio is identified as a correction coefficient to correct for the influence of human body proximity. The conclusion drawn from the theoretical analysis is proved via simulation. The correction coefficient kb = 1.8010 is obtained on the basis of the linear fitting of simulated data. Finally, a physical experiment is performed. When no human is present, we compare the results from the Type LP-2000 measured with Narda EFA-300 and the simulated value to verify the accuracy of the Type LP-2000. For the case of an approaching human body, the correction coefficient kb* = 1.9094 is obtained by comparing the data measured with the Type LP-2000 to the simulated value. The correction coefficient obtained from the experiment (i.e., kb*) is highly consistent with that obtained from the simulation (i.e., kb). Two experimental programs are set; under these programs, the excitation voltages and distance measuring points are regulated to produce different electric field

  2. Ultrastructure of inclusion bodies in annulus cells in the degenerating human intervertebral disc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gruber, H E; Hanley, E N

    2009-06-01

    The rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER) of the cell has an architectural editing function that checks whether protein structure and three-dimensional assembly have occurred properly prior to export of newly synthesized material out of the cell. If these have been faulty, the material is retained within the rER as an inclusion body. Inclusion bodies have been identified previously in chondrocytes and osteoblasts in chondrodysplasias and osteogenesis imperfecta. Inclusion bodies in intervertebral disc cells, however, have only recently been recognized. Our objectives were to use transmission electron microscopy to analyze more fully inclusion bodies in the annulus pulposus and to study the extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounding cells containing inclusion bodies. ECM frequently encapsulated cells with inclusion bodies, and commonly contained prominent banded aggregates of Type VI collagen. Inclusion body material had several morphologies, including relatively smooth, homogeneous material, or a rougher, less homogeneous feature. Such findings expand our knowledge of the fine structure of the human disc cell and ECM during disc degeneration, and indicate the potential utility of ultrastructural identification of discs with intracellular inclusion bodies as a screening method for molecular studies directed toward identification of defective gene products in degenerating discs.

  3. Heat balance model for a human body in the form of wet bulb globe temperature indices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakoi, Tomonori; Mochida, Tohru; Kurazumi, Yoshihito; Kuwabara, Kohei; Horiba, Yosuke; Sawada, Shin-Ichi

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to expand the empirically derived wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) index to a rational thermal index based on the heat balance for a human body. We derive the heat balance model in the same form as the WBGT for a human engaged in moderate intensity work with a metabolic heat production of 174W/m 2 while wearing typical vapor-permeable clothing under shady and sunny conditions. Two important relationships are revealed based on this derivation: (1) the natural wet bulb and black globe temperature coefficients in the WBGT coincide with the heat balance equation for a human body with a fixed skin wettedness of approximately 0.45 at a fixed skin temperature; and (2) the WBGT can be interpreted as the environmental potential to increase skin temperature rather than the heat storage rate of a human body. We propose an adjustment factor calculation method that supports the application of WBGT for humans dressed in various clothing types and working under various air velocity conditions. Concurrently, we note difficulties in adjusting the WBGT by using a single factor for humans wearing vapor-impermeable protective clothing. The WBGT for shady conditions does not need adjustment depending on the positive radiant field (i.e., when a radiant heat source exists), whereas that for the sunny condition requires adjustments because it underestimates heat stress, which may result in insufficient human protection measures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. In vitro detection of cardiotoxins or neurotoxins affecting ion channels or pumps using beating cardiomyocytes as alternative for animal testing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nicolas, J.A.Y.; Hendriksen, P.J.M.; Haan, de L.H.J.; Koning, R.; Rietjens, I.M.C.M.; Bovee, T.F.H.

    2015-01-01

    The present study investigated if and to what extent murine stem cell-derived beating cardiomyocytes within embryoid bodies can be used as a broad screening in vitro assay for neurotoxicity testing, replacing for example in vivo tests for marine neurotoxins. Effect of nine model compounds, acting on

  5. Comparison of organ doses in human phantoms: variations due to body size and posture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng, Xu; Xiang-Hong, Jia; Xue-Jun, Yu; Zhan-Chun, Pan; Qian, Liu; Chun-Xin, Yang

    2017-01-01

    Organ dose calculations performed using human phantoms can provide estimates of astronauts' health risks due to cosmic radiation. However, the characteristics of such phantoms strongly affect the estimation precision. To investigate organ dose variations with body size and posture in human phantoms, a non-uniform rational B-spline boundary surfaces model was constructed based on cryo-section images. This model was used to establish four phantoms with different body size and posture parameters, whose organs parameters were changed simultaneously and which were voxelised with 4x4x4 mm"3 resolution. Then, using Monte Carlo transport code, the organ doses caused by ≤500 MeV isotropic incident protons were calculated. The dose variations due to body size differences within a certain range were negligible, and the doses received in crouching and standing-up postures were similar. Therefore, a standard Chinese phantom could be established, and posture changes cannot effectively protect astronauts during solar particle events. (authors)

  6. Stereology of human myometrium in pregnancy: influence of maternal body mass index and age.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Sweeney, Eva M

    2013-04-01

    Knowledge of the stereology of human myometrium in pregnancy is limited. Uterine contractile performance may be altered in association with maternal obesity and advanced maternal age. The aim of this study was to investigate the stereology of human myometrium in pregnancy, and to evaluate a potential influence of maternal body mass index (BMI) and age.

  7. Developing de novo human artificial chromosomes in embryonic stem cells using HSV-1 amplicon technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moralli, Daniela; Monaco, Zoia L

    2015-02-01

    De novo artificial chromosomes expressing genes have been generated in human embryonic stem cells (hESc) and are maintained following differentiation into other cell types. Human artificial chromosomes (HAC) are small, functional, extrachromosomal elements, which behave as normal chromosomes in human cells. De novo HAC are generated following delivery of alpha satellite DNA into target cells. HAC are characterized by high levels of mitotic stability and are used as models to study centromere formation and chromosome organisation. They are successful and effective as gene expression vectors since they remain autonomous and can accommodate larger genes and regulatory regions for long-term expression studies in cells unlike other viral gene delivery vectors currently used. Transferring the essential DNA sequences for HAC formation intact across the cell membrane has been challenging for a number of years. A highly efficient delivery system based on HSV-1 amplicons has been used to target DNA directly to the ES cell nucleus and HAC stably generated in human embryonic stem cells (hESc) at high frequency. HAC were detected using an improved protocol for hESc chromosome harvesting, which consistently produced high-quality metaphase spreads that could routinely detect HAC in hESc. In tumour cells, the input DNA often integrated in the host chromosomes, but in the host ES genome, it remained intact. The hESc containing the HAC formed embryoid bodies, generated teratoma in mice, and differentiated into neuronal cells where the HAC were maintained. The HAC structure and chromatin composition was similar to the endogenous hESc chromosomes. This review will discuss the technological advances in HAC vector delivery using HSV-1 amplicons and the improvements in the identification of de novo HAC in hESc.

  8. Biomechanical Analysis of Human Abdominal Impact Responses and Injuries through Finite Element Simulations of a Full Human Body Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruan, Jesse S; El-Jawahri, Raed; Barbat, Saeed; Prasad, Priya

    2005-11-01

    Human abdominal response and injury in blunt impacts was investigated through finite element simulations of cadaver tests using a full human body model of an average-sized adult male. The model was validated at various impact speeds by comparing model responses with available experimental cadaver test data in pendulum side impacts and frontal rigid bar impacts from various sources. Results of various abdominal impact simulations are presented in this paper. Model-predicted abdominal dynamic responses such as force-time and force-deflection characteristics, and injury severities, measured by organ pressures, for the simulated impact conditions are presented. Quantitative results such as impact forces, abdominal deflections, internal organ stresses have shown that the abdomen responded differently to left and right side impacts, especially in low speed impact. Results also indicated that the model exhibited speed sensitive response characteristics and the compressibility of the abdomen significantly influenced the overall impact response in the simulated impact conditions. This study demonstrates that the development of a validated finite element human body model can be useful for abdominal injury assessment. Internal organ injuries, which are difficult to detect in experimental studies with human cadavers due to the difficulty of instrumentation, may be more easily identified with a validated finite element model through stress-strain analysis.

  9. A Touch Sensing Technique Using the Effects of Extremely Low Frequency Fields on the Human Body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elfekey, Hatem; Bastawrous, Hany Ayad; Okamoto, Shogo

    2016-12-02

    Touch sensing is a fundamental approach in human-to-machine interfaces, and is currently under widespread use. Many current applications use active touch sensing technologies. Passive touch sensing technologies are, however, more adequate to implement low power or energy harvesting touch sensing interfaces. This paper presents a passive touch sensing technique based on the fact that the human body is affected by the surrounding extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields, such as those of AC power lines. These external ELF fields induce electric potentials on the human body-because human tissues exhibit some conductivity at these frequencies-resulting in what is called AC hum. We therefore propose a passive touch sensing system that detects this hum noise when a human touch occurs, thus distinguishing between touch and non-touch events. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is validated by designing and implementing a flexible touch sensing keyboard.

  10. Feasibility of assessing health state by detecting redox state of human body based on Chinese medicine constitution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ling-Ru; Wang, Qi; Wang, Ji; Wang, Qian-Fei; Yang, Ling-Ling; Zheng, Lu-Yu; Zhang, Yan

    2016-08-01

    This article discussed the feasibility of assessing health state by detecting redox state of human body. Firstly, the balance of redox state is the basis of homeostasis, and the balance ability of redox can reflflect health state of human body. Secondly, the redox state of human body is a sensitive index of multiple risk factors of health such as age, external environment and psychological factors. It participates in the occurrence and development of multiple diseases involving metabolic diseases and nervous system diseases, and can serve as a cut-in point for treatment of these diseases. Detecting the redox state of high risk people is signifificantly important for early detection and treatment of disease. The blood plasma and urine could be selected to detect, which is convenient. It is pointed that the indexes not only involve oxidation product and antioxidant enzyme but also redox couple. Chinese medicine constitution reflflects the state of body itself and the ability of adapting to external environment, which is consistent with the connotation of health. It is found that there are nine basic types of constitution in Chinese population, which provides a theoretical basis of health preservation, preventive treatment of disease and personalized treatment. With the combination of redox state detection and the Chinese medicine constitution theory, the heath state can be systemically assessed by conducting large-scale epidemiological survey with classifified detection on redox state of human body.

  11. Long-term calorie restriction, but not endurance exercise, lowers core body temperature in humans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soare, Andreea; Cangemi, Roberto; Omodei, Daniela; Holloszy, John O.; Fontana, Luigi

    2011-01-01

    Reduction of body temperature has been proposed to contribute to the increased lifespan in calorie restricted animals and mice overexpressing the uncoupling protein-2 in hypocretin neurons. However, nothing is known regarding the long-term effects of calorie restriction (CR) with adequate nutrition on body temperature in humans. In this study, 24-hour core body temperature was measured every minute by using ingested telemetric capsules in 24 men and women (mean age 53.7±9.4 yrs) consuming a CR diet for an average of 6 years, 24 age- and sex-matched sedentary (WD) and 24 body fat-matched exercise-trained (EX) volunteers, who were eating Western diets. The CR and EX groups were significantly leaner than the WD group. Energy intake was lower in the CR group (1769±348 kcal/d) than in the WD (2302±668 kcal/d) and EX (2798±760 kcal/d) groups (Ptemperatures were all significantly lower in the CR group than in the WD and EX groups (P≤0.01). Long-term CR with adequate nutrition in lean and weight-stable healthy humans is associated with a sustained reduction in core body temperature, similar to that found in CR rodents and monkeys. This adaptation is likely due to CR itself, rather than to leanness, and may be involved in slowing the rate of aging. PMID:21483032

  12. Searching for Survivors through Random Human-Body Movement Outdoors by Continuous-Wave Radar Array

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Miao; Li, Zhao; Liang, Fulai; Jing, Xijing; Lu, Guohua; Wang, Jianqi

    2016-01-01

    It is a major challenge to search for survivors after chemical or nuclear leakage or explosions. At present, biological radar can be used to achieve this goal by detecting the survivor’s respiration signal. However, owing to the random posture of an injured person at a rescue site, the radar wave may directly irradiate the person’s head or feet, in which it is difficult to detect the respiration signal. This paper describes a multichannel-based antenna array technology, which forms an omnidirectional detection system via 24-GHz Doppler biological radar, to address the random positioning relative to the antenna of an object to be detected. Furthermore, since the survivors often have random body movement such as struggling and twitching, the slight movements of the body caused by breathing are obscured by these movements. Therefore, a method is proposed to identify random human-body movement by utilizing multichannel information to calculate the background variance of the environment in combination with a constant-false-alarm-rate detector. The conducted outdoor experiments indicate that the system can realize the omnidirectional detection of random human-body movement and distinguish body movement from environmental interference such as movement of leaves and grass. The methods proposed in this paper will be a promising way to search for survivors outdoors. PMID:27073860

  13. Prediction of human core body temperature using non-invasive measurement methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niedermann, Reto; Wyss, Eva; Annaheim, Simon; Psikuta, Agnes; Davey, Sarah; Rossi, René Michel

    2014-01-01

    The measurement of core body temperature is an efficient method for monitoring heat stress amongst workers in hot conditions. However, invasive measurement of core body temperature (e.g. rectal, intestinal, oesophageal temperature) is impractical for such applications. Therefore, the aim of this study was to define relevant non-invasive measures to predict core body temperature under various conditions. We conducted two human subject studies with different experimental protocols, different environmental temperatures (10 °C, 30 °C) and different subjects. In both studies the same non-invasive measurement methods (skin temperature, skin heat flux, heart rate) were applied. A principle component analysis was conducted to extract independent factors, which were then used in a linear regression model. We identified six parameters (three skin temperatures, two skin heat fluxes and heart rate), which were included for the calculation of two factors. The predictive value of these factors for core body temperature was evaluated by a multiple regression analysis. The calculated root mean square deviation (rmsd) was in the range from 0.28 °C to 0.34 °C for all environmental conditions. These errors are similar to previous models using non-invasive measures to predict core body temperature. The results from this study illustrate that multiple physiological parameters (e.g. skin temperature and skin heat fluxes) are needed to predict core body temperature. In addition, the physiological measurements chosen in this study and the algorithm defined in this work are potentially applicable as real-time core body temperature monitoring to assess health risk in broad range of working conditions.

  14. Magnetic cell sorting purification of differentiated embryonic stem cells stably expressing truncated human CD4 as surface marker.

    Science.gov (United States)

    David, Robert; Groebner, Michael; Franz, Wolfgang-Michael

    2005-04-01

    Embryonic stem (ES) cells offer great potential in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Clinical applications are still hampered by the lack of protocols for gentle, high-yield isolation of specific cell types for transplantation expressing no immunogenic markers. We describe labeling of stably transfected ES cells expressing a human CD4 molecule lacking its intracellular domain (DeltaCD4) under control of the phosphoglycerate kinase promoter for magnetic cell sorting (MACS). To track the labeled ES cells, we fused DeltaCD4 to an intracellular enhanced green fluorescent protein domain (DeltaCD4EGFP). We showed functionality of the membrane-bound fluorescent fusion protein and its suitability for MACS leading to purities greater than 97%. Likewise, expression of DeltaCD4 yielded up to 98.5% positive cells independently of their differentiation state. Purities were not limited by the initial percentage of DeltaCD4(+) cells, ranging from 0.6%-16%. The viability of MACS-selected cells was demonstrated by reaggregation and de novo formation of embryoid bodies developing all three germ layers. Thus, expression of DeltaCD4 in differentiated ES cells may enable rapid, high-yield purification of a desired cell type for tissue engineering and transplantation studies.

  15. Body enhancement : body images, vulnerability and moral responsibility

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    den Dikken, A.

    2011-01-01

    The objective of this explorative study is to show that it is highly relevant to integrate cultural and personal body images into the ethical debate on human enhancement. The current debate has little attention for the motivations to make use of technology to alter the human body, such as cultural

  16. Modulation of Hematopoietic Lineage Specification Impacts TREM2 Expression in Microglia-Like Cells Derived From Human Stem Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amos, Peter J; Fung, Susan; Case, Amanda; Kifelew, Jerusalem; Osnis, Leah; Smith, Carole L; Green, Kevin; Naydenov, Alipi; Aloi, Macarena; Hubbard, Jesse J; Ramakrishnan, Aravind; Garden, Gwenn A; Jayadev, Suman

    2017-01-01

    Microglia are the primary innate immune cell type in the brain, and their dysfunction has been linked to a variety of central nervous system disorders. Human microglia are extraordinarily difficult to obtain for experimental investigation, limiting our ability to study the impact of human genetic variants on microglia functions. Previous studies have reported that microglia-like cells can be derived from human monocytes or pluripotent stem cells. Here, we describe a reproducible relatively simple method for generating microglia-like cells by first deriving embryoid body mesoderm followed by exposure to microglia relevant cytokines. Our approach is based on recent studies demonstrating that microglia originate from primitive yolk sac mesoderm distinct from peripheral macrophages that arise during definitive hematopoiesis. We hypothesized that functional microglia could be derived from human stem cells by employing BMP-4 mesodermal specification followed by exposure to microglia-relevant cytokines, M-CSF, GM-CSF, IL-34, and TGF-β. Using immunofluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, we observed cells with microglia morphology expressing a repertoire of markers associated with microglia: Iba1, CX3CR1, CD11b, TREM2, HexB, and P2RY12. These microglia-like cells maintain myeloid functional phenotypes including Aβ peptide phagocytosis and induction of pro-inflammatory gene expression in response to lipopolysaccharide stimulation. Addition of small molecules BIO and SB431542, previously demonstrated to drive definitive hematopoiesis, resulted in decreased surface expression of TREM2. Together, these data suggest that mesodermal lineage specification followed by cytokine exposure produces microglia-like cells in vitro from human pluripotent stem cells and that this phenotype can be modulated by factors influencing hematopoietic lineage in vitro.

  17. A universal system for highly efficient cardiac differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells that eliminates interline variability.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul W Burridge

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available The production of cardiomyocytes from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC holds great promise for patient-specific cardiotoxicity drug testing, disease modeling, and cardiac regeneration. However, existing protocols for the differentiation of hiPSC to the cardiac lineage are inefficient and highly variable. We describe a highly efficient system for differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESC and hiPSC to the cardiac lineage. This system eliminated the variability in cardiac differentiation capacity of a variety of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC, including hiPSC generated from CD34(+ cord blood using non-viral, non-integrating methods.We systematically and rigorously optimized >45 experimental variables to develop a universal cardiac differentiation system that produced contracting human embryoid bodies (hEB with an improved efficiency of 94.7±2.4% in an accelerated nine days from four hESC and seven hiPSC lines tested, including hiPSC derived from neonatal CD34(+ cord blood and adult fibroblasts using non-integrating episomal plasmids. This cost-effective differentiation method employed forced aggregation hEB formation in a chemically defined medium, along with staged exposure to physiological (5% oxygen, and optimized concentrations of mesodermal morphogens BMP4 and FGF2, polyvinyl alcohol, serum, and insulin. The contracting hEB derived using these methods were composed of high percentages (64-89% of cardiac troponin I(+ cells that displayed ultrastructural properties of functional cardiomyocytes and uniform electrophysiological profiles responsive to cardioactive drugs.This efficient and cost-effective universal system for cardiac differentiation of hiPSC allows a potentially unlimited production of functional cardiomyocytes suitable for application to hPSC-based drug development, cardiac disease modeling, and the future generation of clinically-safe nonviral human cardiac cells for regenerative medicine.

  18. Effects of ionizing radiation on the human body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1990-01-01

    The effects of ionizing radiation on the human body are the consequences of biological ones. They have been observed from the first few years after the discovery of X-rays and radioactivity: between 1902 and 1907, 170 cases of various lesions attributable to radiation were described. The pathological manifestations which result from a radio-exposure are of two kinds: short-term effects which inevitably occur after certain thresholds have been exceeded. More often than not they are reversible, their severity being a function of the dose; and delayed effects, slowly evolving, apparently random, more often than not irreversible. Here it is not the severity but the probability of their appearance which is proportional to the dose. It is, at the present time, impossible statistically, to prove the existence or non-existence of thresholds for delayed effect; thus, in the fixing of norms, the ICRP has cautiously chosen the hypothesis of the absence of thresholds, assuming a linear dose/effect relationship. This has probably led to an over-estimation of the risks associated with weak doses. Radio-exposure can be total, affecting the entire body, or may be localized in all or part of a specific organ or tissue

  19. Assessment of human body influence on exposure measurements of electric field in indoor enclosures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Miguel-Bilbao, Silvia; García, Jorge; Ramos, Victoria; Blas, Juan

    2015-02-01

    Personal exposure meters (PEMs) used for measuring exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) are typically used in epidemiological studies. As is well known, these measurement devices cause a perturbation of real EMF exposure levels due to the presence of the human body in the immediate proximity. This paper aims to model the alteration caused by the body shadow effect (BSE) in motion conditions and in indoor enclosures at the Wi-Fi frequency of 2.4 GHz. For this purpose, simulation techniques based on ray-tracing have been carried out, and their results have been verified experimentally. A good agreement exists between simulation and experimental results in terms of electric field (E-field) levels, and taking into account the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the spatial distribution of amplitude. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test provides a P-value greater than 0.05, in fact close to 1. It has been found that the influence of the presence of the human body can be characterized as an angle of shadow that depends on the dimensions of the indoor enclosure. The CDFs show that the E-field levels in indoor conditions follow a lognormal distribution in the absence of the human body and under the influence of BSE. In conclusion, the perturbation caused by BSE in PEMs readings cannot be compensated for by correction factors. Although the mean value is well adjusted, BSE causes changes in CDF that would require improvements in measurement protocols and in the design of measuring devices to subsequently avoid systematic errors. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. Exergy performance of human body under physical activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mady, Carlos Eduardo Keutenedjian; Albuquerque, Cyro; Fernandes, Tiago Lazzaretti; Hernandez, Arnaldo José; Saldiva, Paulo Hilário Nascimento; Yanagihara, Jurandir Itizo; Oliveira, Silvio de

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this work is to apply performance indicators for individuals under physical activity based on the concepts of exergy destroyed and exergy efficiency. The cardiopulmonary exercise test is one of the most used tests to assess the functional capacity of individuals with varying degrees of physical training. To perform the exergy analysis during the test, it is necessary to calculate heat and mass flow rates, associated with radiation, convection, vaporization and respiration, determined from the measurements and some relations found in the literature. The energy balance allowed the determination of the internal temperature over time and the exergy variation of the body along the experiment. Eventually, it was possible to calculate the destroyed exergy and the exergy efficiency from the exergy analysis. The exergy rates and flow rates are dependent of the exercise level and the body metabolism. The results show that the relation between the destroyed exergy and the metabolism is almost constant during the test, furthermore its value has a great dependence of the subject age. From the exergy analysis it was possible to divide the subjects according to their training level, for the same destroyed exergy, subjects with higher lactate threshold can perform more work. - Highlights: • Exergy analysis was applied to the human body under physical activities. • Concept of maximum available work from ATP hydrolysis was compared with exergy analysis results. • For the same destroyed exergy, subjects with higher lactate threshold can perform more work. • Runners during physical activities tend to a state of minimum destroyed exergy and maximum exergy efficiency

  1. Does human body odor represent a significant and rewarding social signal to individuals high in social openness?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lübke, Katrin T; Croy, Ilona; Hoenen, Matthias; Gerber, Johannes; Pause, Bettina M; Hummel, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    Across a wide variety of domains, experts differ from novices in their response to stimuli linked to their respective field of expertise. It is currently unknown whether similar patterns can be observed with regard to social expertise. The current study therefore focuses on social openness, a central social skill necessary to initiate social contact. Human body odors were used as social cues, as they inherently signal the presence of another human being. Using functional MRI, hemodynamic brain responses to body odors of women reporting a high (n = 14) or a low (n = 12) level of social openness were compared. Greater activation within the inferior frontal gyrus and the caudate nucleus was observed in high socially open individuals compared to individuals low in social openness. With the inferior frontal gyrus being a crucial part of the human mirror neuron system, and the caudate nucleus being implicated in social reward, it is discussed whether human body odor might constitute more of a significant and rewarding social signal to individuals high in social openness compared to individuals low in social openness process.

  2. Survey of 800+ datasets from human tissue and body fluid reveals XenomiRs are likely artifacts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kang, Wenjing; Bang-Berthelsen, Claus Heiner; Holm, Anja

    2017-01-01

    the main bloodstream (such as brain and cerebro-spinal fluids). Interestingly, the majority (81%) of body fluid xenomiRs stem from rodents, which are rare human dietary contributions, but common laboratory animals. Body fluid samples from the same studies tend to group together when clustered by xenomi...

  3. Relationship between Security and Human Rights in Counter-Terrorism: A Case of Introducing Body Scanners in Civil Aviation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prezelj Iztok

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Changes in security environment after the end of Cold War and 9/11 have strongly affected our security concepts and paradigms. In the field of counter-terrorism, a serious conceptual and practical debate on the relationship between security and human rights and freedoms has begun. The goal of this paper is to reflect on this complex relationship at the conceptual level and introduce the empirical debate on this relationship in the field of civil aviation (case of introducing body scanners. The paper’s results show that the concept of human security usefully integrates the care for human rights and security of individuals. The debate on the potential introduction of body scanners on the European airports was actually a debate on the ways of providing individual human security on the airports with simultaneous concern for other human rights. The output of this debate was a compromise: body scanners can be used at the discretion of individual airports and member states, but are not an obligatory measure on all European airports.

  4. Wnt/Yes-Associated Protein Interactions During Neural Tissue Patterning of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bejoy, Julie; Song, Liqing; Zhou, Yi; Li, Yan

    2018-04-01

    Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have special ability to self-assemble into neural spheroids or mini-brain-like structures. During the self-assembly process, Wnt signaling plays an important role in regional patterning and establishing positional identity of hiPSC-derived neural progenitors. Recently, the role of Wnt signaling in regulating Yes-associated protein (YAP) expression (nuclear or cytoplasmic), the pivotal regulator during organ growth and tissue generation, has attracted increasing interests. However, the interactions between Wnt and YAP expression for neural lineage commitment of hiPSCs remain poorly explored. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of Wnt signaling and YAP expression on the cellular population in three-dimensional (3D) neural spheroids derived from hiPSCs. In this study, Wnt signaling was activated using CHIR99021 for 3D neural spheroids derived from human iPSK3 cells through embryoid body formation. Our results indicate that Wnt activation induces nuclear localization of YAP and upregulates the expression of HOXB4, the marker for hindbrain/spinal cord. By contrast, the cells exhibit more rostral forebrain neural identity (expression of TBR1) without Wnt activation. Cytochalasin D was then used to induce cytoplasmic YAP and the results showed the decreased HOXB4 expression. In addition, the incorporation of microparticles in the neural spheroids was investigated for the perturbation of neural patterning. This study may indicate the bidirectional interactions of Wnt signaling and YAP expression during neural tissue patterning, which have the significance in neurological disease modeling, drug screening, and neural tissue regeneration.

  5. Investigation of the factors disguising radiation effects on the human body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korzeneva, I.B.; Styazhkina, T.V.; Dubrova, Y.E.; Malinina, T.V.; Prokhorovskaya, V.D.; Kholod, O.N.

    1998-01-01

    Herein we have studied the effects of some hereditary and environmental factors on children's states of health. The factors under investigation, along with radiation, also impact the immunological status and human adaptivity, thus disguising hazardous radiation effects. The state-of-health criterion we have chosen are children's liability to a wide range of intrinsic diseases through the first three years of life. The analysis involved 626 children (326 male and 300 female) who's parents and grandparents lived in the vicinity of the Russian Federal Nuclear Centre (RFNC), a large-scale nuclear facility. Our results should preferably be taken into consideration when projecting radiation effects on the human body. (author)

  6. The relationship between doses to human body organs and exposure in a cloud of gamma emitting nuclides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clarke, R.H.

    1976-10-01

    Monte Carlo computer techniques were recently developed in USA to derive the photon spectrum in a semi-infinite cloud of monoenergetic photon source of uniform concentration and the dose to human body organs was estimated computationally using further Monte Carlo techniques. These results are used here to derive the exposure to be expected from a cloud emitting monoenergetic photons at discrete energies between 0.01 and 4 MeV. The exposure contributions from scattered and unscattered photon fluxes are identified at each energy and the total exposure is related to doses in a range of human body organs. It is intended to use these values of rads per Roentgen to convert the exposures calculated by the reactor safety analysis code WEERIE and those derived from environmental measurements of known airborne discharges (e.g. 41 Ar, 85 Kr, 133 Xe) into doses to human body organs. (author)

  7. [Study of work accidents related to human body fluids exposure among health workers at a university hospital].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balsamo, Ana Cristina; Felli, Vanda Elisa Andres

    2006-01-01

    This descriptive and exploratory study from a quantitative approach aimed to characterize workers who were victims of work accidents related to human body fluids exposure and to evaluate the accident victim care protocol. The population consisted of 48 workers who were victims of work accidents involving exposure to human body fluids, from July 2000 to June 2001. Data were collected through a form and interviews. Results showed that nursing workers presented higher accident risk levels and that 87.50% involved piercing and cutting material, such as needles and butterflies (70%). As to the accident-related situation/activity, the workers indicated that 25% were due to an "inadequate act during the procedure"; 19.64% mentioned that "it happened" and 29.17% answered that they did not have any suggestion. This study provided important tools to review and elaborate strategies to prevent accidents involving exposure to human body fluids.

  8. Rowing, the ultimate challenge to the human body - implications for physiological variables

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Volianitis, S.; Secher, Niels H.

    2009-01-01

    Clinical diagnoses depend on a variety of physiological variables but the full range of these variables is seldom known. With the load placed on the human body during competitive rowing, the physiological range for several variables is illustrated. The extreme work produced during rowing...... is explained by the seated position and the associated ability to increase venous return and, thus, cardiac output. This review highlights experimental work on Olympic rowing that presents a unique challenge to the human capacities, including cerebral metabolism, to unprecedented limits, and provides a unique...

  9. Density comparison of 3D printing materials and the human body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Savi, M.; Silveira, L.C.; Cechinel, C.M.; Soares, F.A.P.; Potiens, M.P.A.

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: Phantoms are commonly used for teaching and radiation dosimetry as a simulator of the human body in order that no individual be exposed to radiation during training and research. Some are the properties that can be used as a measurement parameter in a phantom: density, energy compatibility, attenuation and scattering of the radiation, anthropomorphism, among others. 3D printing has revolutionized many areas of knowledge, including those that make use of radiations. In this context, this study aims to evaluate the density of various materials applied in 3D printing and compare found values with human body density in ICRP 110. Methods: Cubes with 2cm edges were printed on 12 materials of different compositions with internal filling of 60 %, 80% and 100%, weighed on a precision balance and measured with a caliper. Results: The densities found ranged from 0,575 g/cm³ to 2,624 g/cm³ for 60% infill, 0,686 g/cm³ to 3,091 g/cm³ for 80% and 0,794 g/cm³ to 3,572 g/cm³ for 100%. Densities related to teeth, bones, muscles, fat, among others, could be created from specific infill variations. Conclusion: All analyzed materials have the capacity to mimic the structures described in ICRP 110 when the percentage of filling are varied. However, even achieving human tissue density the materials may be not adequate for attenuation and require further experiments. (author)

  10. Density comparison of 3D printing materials and the human body

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Savi, M.; Silveira, L.C.; Cechinel, C.M.; Soares, F.A.P., E-mail: Matheus.savi@ifsc.edu.br [Instituo Federal de Santa Catarina (IFSC), Florianópolis (Brazil). Departamento Acadêmico de Saúde e Serviços; Potiens, M.P.A. [Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), São Paulo, SP (Brazil). Lab. de Calibração de Instrumentos

    2017-07-01

    Introduction: Phantoms are commonly used for teaching and radiation dosimetry as a simulator of the human body in order that no individual be exposed to radiation during training and research. Some are the properties that can be used as a measurement parameter in a phantom: density, energy compatibility, attenuation and scattering of the radiation, anthropomorphism, among others. 3D printing has revolutionized many areas of knowledge, including those that make use of radiations. In this context, this study aims to evaluate the density of various materials applied in 3D printing and compare found values with human body density in ICRP 110. Methods: Cubes with 2cm edges were printed on 12 materials of different compositions with internal filling of 60 %, 80% and 100%, weighed on a precision balance and measured with a caliper. Results: The densities found ranged from 0,575 g/cm³ to 2,624 g/cm³ for 60% infill, 0,686 g/cm³ to 3,091 g/cm³ for 80% and 0,794 g/cm³ to 3,572 g/cm³ for 100%. Densities related to teeth, bones, muscles, fat, among others, could be created from specific infill variations. Conclusion: All analyzed materials have the capacity to mimic the structures described in ICRP 110 when the percentage of filling are varied. However, even achieving human tissue density the materials may be not adequate for attenuation and require further experiments. (author)

  11. Modal Damping Ratio and Optimal Elastic Moduli of Human Body Segments for Anthropometric Vibratory Model of Standing Subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Manoj; Gupta, T C

    2017-10-01

    The present study aims to accurately estimate inertial, physical, and dynamic parameters of human body vibratory model consistent with physical structure of the human body that also replicates its dynamic response. A 13 degree-of-freedom (DOF) lumped parameter model for standing person subjected to support excitation is established. Model parameters are determined from anthropometric measurements, uniform mass density, elastic modulus of individual body segments, and modal damping ratios. Elastic moduli of ellipsoidal body segments are initially estimated by comparing stiffness of spring elements, calculated from a detailed scheme, and values available in literature for same. These values are further optimized by minimizing difference between theoretically calculated platform-to-head transmissibility ratio (TR) and experimental measurements. Modal damping ratios are estimated from experimental transmissibility response using two dominant peaks in the frequency range of 0-25 Hz. From comparison between dynamic response determined form modal analysis and experimental results, a set of elastic moduli for different segments of human body and a novel scheme to determine modal damping ratios from TR plots, are established. Acceptable match between transmissibility values calculated from the vibratory model and experimental measurements for 50th percentile U.S. male, except at very low frequencies, establishes the human body model developed. Also, reasonable agreement obtained between theoretical response curve and experimental response envelop for average Indian male, affirms the technique used for constructing vibratory model of a standing person. Present work attempts to develop effective technique for constructing subject specific damped vibratory model based on its physical measurements.

  12. The suggestion of common cause of disease, characteristics of human body, and medical treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Byung-Jun Cho

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Objectives & Methods: This suggestion was attempted to be elevated the recognition of common characteristics in disease. So, we performed to analyze the correlation of common cause of disease, characteristics of human body, and medical treatment. And the results are as follows. Results: 1. The cause of disease is consist of genetic factor, aging, habit, food of not good in health, weather, environment, deficit of the physical activity, stress and so on. 2. Generally, human has common and individual weakness. Individual weakness is appeared similar to the occurrence of volcano and lapse. 3. The correlation of disease and medical treatments is possible to explain using the quotation of the law of motion made by Isaac Newton, the great physicist. 4. When the process of the medical treatment was not progressed, the prognosis is determined by the correlation of the homeostasis(H' in human body and the homeostasis(H of disease. 5. The prognosis of disease is determined by the relationship between the energy of disease(F and medical treatment(F'. 6. The exact diagnosis is possible to predict the treatment sequence, and the facts that homeostasis in human body and disease, relationship between the energy of disease(F and medical treatment(F', action and reaction are important to determine the prognosis. 7. The careful observation of improving response and worsening action of disease becomes available for exact prognosis. Conclusion: The above described contents may be useful in clinical studies, and the concrete clinical reports about this will be made afterward.

  13. Elemental transfer from Chinese soil via diet to whole human body

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Hongda; Fan Tiqiang; Wu Quan; Liu Qingfen; Zhang Wei

    2007-01-01

    Objective: To calculate elemental transfer coefficients from soil via diet to whole human body and DFs of alkaline earth and alkaline metal elements in these transfers. Methods: Based on the results in this research series, including updated values of elemental dietary intakes and whole body burdens for Chinese adult man as well quoted national elemental background values in Chinese soil, their transfer coefficients and DFs of alkaline earth and alkaline metal elements in these transfers were calculated by using UNSCEAR model and Observed Ratio Method. Results: Both the transfer coefficients of 50 elements and the DF values of alkaline earth elements with Pb and alkaline metal elements in these transfers have been obtained. Conclusion: The obtained P 23 or P 234 were all much less than P 34 for these elements. For the observed elements, the highest P 23 , P 34 and P 234 were for Hg, Ca and Se respectively, while the lowest for Ce, In and Y. The P 23 and P 234 of rare earth elements were all less than those of alkaline metal or alkaline earth elements. All of these DFs for alkaline earth elements were all smaller than 1, with increasing or decreasing atomic order, the DF values of alkaline earth elements for these transfers were successfully decreasing. The DFs of Pb seem to be between Sr and Ba. For alkaline metal element, DF of Rb or Cs from soil to diet was smaller than 1, but that from diet to whole human body more than 1. (authors)

  14. Body-part templates for recovery of 2D human poses under occlusion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Poppe, Ronald Walter; Poel, Mannes; Perales, F.J.; Fisher, R.B.

    2008-01-01

    Detection of humans and estimation of their 2D poses from a single image are challenging tasks. This is especially true when part of the observation is occluded. However, given a limited class of movements, poses can be recovered given the visible body-parts. To this end, we propose a novel template

  15. Additive effects of affective arousal and top-down attention on the event-related brain responses to human bodies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hietanen, Jari K; Kirjavainen, Ilkka; Nummenmaa, Lauri

    2014-12-01

    The early visual event-related 'N170 response' is sensitive to human body configuration and it is enhanced to nude versus clothed bodies. We tested whether the N170 response as well as later EPN and P3/LPP responses to nude bodies reflect the effect of increased arousal elicited by these stimuli, or top-down allocation of object-based attention to the nude bodies. Participants saw pictures of clothed and nude bodies and faces. In each block, participants were asked to direct their attention towards stimuli from a specified target category while ignoring others. Object-based attention did not modulate the N170 amplitudes towards attended stimuli; instead N170 response was larger to nude bodies compared to stimuli from other categories. Top-down attention and affective arousal had additive effects on the EPN and P3/LPP responses reflecting later processing stages. We conclude that nude human bodies have a privileged status in the visual processing system due to the affective arousal they trigger. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Human TP53 polymorphism (rs1042522) modelled in mouse does not affect glucose metabolism and body composition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reiling, Erwin; Speksnijder, Ewoud N; Pronk, Amanda C M; van den Berg, Sjoerd A A; Neggers, Silvia J W; Rietbroek, Ilma; van Steeg, Harry; Dollé, Martijn E T

    2014-02-13

    Variation in TP53 has been associated with cancer. The pro-allele of a TP53 polymorphism in codon 72 (rs1042522) has been associated with longevity. Recently, we showed that the same allele might be involved in preservation of glucose metabolism, body composition and blood pressure during ageing. Here, we assessed glucose tolerance and body composition in mice carrying the human polymorphism. Our data do not support the previous findings in humans, suggesting that this polymorphism does not play a major role in development of glucose metabolism and body composition during ageing. Alternatively, the mouse model may not be suitable to validate these rs1042522-associated traits up to the age tested.

  17. Hybridization-Based Detection of Helicobacter pylori at Human Body Temperature Using Advanced Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) Probes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fontenete, Sílvia; Guimarães, Nuno; Leite, Marina

    2013-01-01

    The understanding of the human microbiome and its influence upon human life has long been a subject of study. Hence, methods that allow the direct detection and visualization of microorganisms and microbial consortia (e.g. biofilms) within the human body would be invaluable. In here, we assessed...

  18. Software tools for data modelling and processing of human body temperature circadian dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrova, Elena S; Afanasova, Anastasia I

    2015-01-01

    This paper is presenting a software development for simulating and processing thermometry data. The motivation of this research is the miniaturization of actuators attached to human body which allow frequent temperature measurements and improve the medical diagnosis procedures related to circadian dynamics.

  19. Modeling the propagation of electromagnetic waves over the surface of the human body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vendik, I. B.; Vendik, O. G.; Kirillov, V. V.; Pleskachev, V. V.; Tural'chuk, P. A.

    2016-12-01

    The results of modeling and an experimental study of electromagnetic (EM) waves in microwave range propagating along the surface of the human body have been presented. The parameters of wave propagation, such as the attenuation and phase velocity, have also been investigated. The calculation of the propagation of EM waves by the numerical method FDTD (finite difference time domain), as well as the use of the analytical model of the propagation of the EM wave along flat and curved surfaces has been fulfilled. An experimental study on a human body has been conducted. It has been shown that creeping waves are slow and exhibit a noticeable dispersion, while the surface waves are dispersionless and propagate at the speed of light in free space. A comparison of the results of numerical simulation, analytical calculation, and experimental investigations at a frequency of 2.55 GHz has been carried out.

  20. Generation of human β-thalassemia induced pluripotent cell lines by reprogramming of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells using modified mRNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varela, Ioanna; Karagiannidou, Angeliki; Oikonomakis, Vasilis; Tzetis, Maria; Tzanoudaki, Marianna; Siapati, Elena-Konstantina; Vassilopoulos, George; Graphakos, Stelios; Kanavakis, Emmanuel; Goussetis, Evgenios

    2014-12-01

    Synthetic modified mRNA molecules encoding pluripotency transcription factors have been used successfully in reprogramming human fibroblasts to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). We have applied this method on bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs) obtained from a patient with β-thalassemia (β-thal) with the aim to generate trangene-free β-thal-iPSCs. Transfection of 10(4) BM-MSCs by lipofection with mRNA encoding the reprogramming factors Oct4, Klf4, Sox2, cMyc, and Lin28 resulted in formation of five iPSC colonies, from which three were picked up and expanded in β-thal-iPSC lines. After 10 serial passages in vitro, β-thal-iPSCs maintain genetic stability as shown by array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and are capable of forming embryoid bodies in vitro and teratomas in vivo. Their gene expression profile compared to human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and BM-MSCs seems to be similar to that of ESCs, whereas it differs from the profile of the parental BM-MSCs. Differentiation cultures toward a hematopoietic lineage showed the generation of CD34(+) progenitors up to 10%, but with a decreased hematopoietic colony-forming capability. In conclusion, we report herein the generation of transgene-free β-thal-iPSCs that could be widely used for disease modeling and gene therapy applications. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the mRNA-based reprogramming method, used mainly in fibroblasts, is also suitable for reprogramming of human BM-MSCs.

  1. A mathematical high bar-human body model for analysing and interpreting mechanical-energetic processes on the high bar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arampatzis, A; Brüggemann, G P

    1998-12-01

    The aims of this study were: 1. To study the transfer of energy between the high bar and the gymnast. 2. To develop criteria from the utilisation of high bar elasticity and the utilisation of muscle capacity to assess the effectiveness of a movement solution. 3. To study the influence of varying segment movement upon release parameters. For these purposes a model of the human body attached to the high bar (high bar-human body model) was developed. The human body was modelled using a 15-segment body system. The joint-beam element method (superelement) was employed for modelling the high bar. A superelement consists of four rigid segments connected by joints (two Cardan joints and one rotational-translational joint) and springs (seven rotation springs and one tension-compression spring). The high bar was modelled using three superelements. The input data required for the high bar human body model were collected with video-kinematographic (50 Hz) and dynamometric (500 Hz) techniques. Masses and moments of inertia of the 15 segments were calculated using the data from the Zatsiorsky et al. (1984) model. There are two major phases characteristic of the giant swing prior to dismounts from the high bar. In the first phase the gymnast attempts to supply energy to the high bar-humanbody system through muscle activity and to store this energy in the high bar. The difference between the energy transferred to the high bar and the reduction in the total energy of the body could be adopted as a criterion for the utilisation of high bar elasticity. The energy previously transferred into the high bar is returned to the body during the second phase. An advantageous increase in total body energy at the end of the exercise could only be obtained through muscle energy supply. An index characterising the utilisation of muscle capacity was developed out of the difference between the increase in total body energy and the energy returned from the high bar. A delayed and initially slow but

  2. Computer Models of the Human Body Signature for Sensing Through the Wall Radar Applications

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Dogaru, Traian; Nguyen, Lam; Le, Calvin

    2007-01-01

    .... We analyze the radar cross section (RCS) of the human body in different configurations as a function of aspect angle, frequency, and polarization, drawing important conclusions in terms of the magnitude, variability, and statistics...

  3. Identification of Capacitive MEMS Accelerometer Structure Parameters for Human Body Dynamics Measurements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vincas Benevicius

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Due to their small size, low weight, low cost and low energy consumption, MEMS accelerometers have achieved great commercial success in recent decades. The aim of this research work is to identify a MEMS accelerometer structure for human body dynamics measurements. Photogrammetry was used in order to measure possible maximum accelerations of human body parts and the bandwidth of the digital acceleration signal. As the primary structure the capacitive accelerometer configuration is chosen in such a way that sensing part measures on all three axes as it is 3D accelerometer and sensitivity on each axis is equal. Hill climbing optimization was used to find the structure parameters. Proof-mass displacements were simulated for all the acceleration range that was given by the optimization problem constraints. The final model was constructed in Comsol Multiphysics. Eigenfrequencies were calculated and model’s response was found, when vibration stand displacement data was fed into the model as the base excitation law. Model output comparison with experimental data was conducted for all excitation frequencies used during the experiments.

  4. "The good into the pot, the bad into the crop!"--a new technology to free stem cells from feeder cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annette Schneider

    Full Text Available A variety of embryonic and adult stem cell lines require an initial co-culturing with feeder cells for non-differentiated growth, self renewal and maintenance of pluripotency. However for many downstream ES cell applications the feeder cells have to be considered contaminations that might interfere not just with the analysis of experimental data but also with clinical application and tissue engineering approaches. Here we introduce a novel technique that allows for the selection of pure feeder-freed stem cells, following stem cell proliferation on feeder cell layers. Complete and reproducible separation of feeder and embryonic stem cells was accomplished by adaptation of an automated cell selection system that resulted in the aspiration of distinct cell colonies or fraction of colonies according to predefined physical parameters. Analyzing neuronal differentiation we demonstrated feeder-freed stem cells to exhibit differentiation potentials comparable to embryonic stem cells differentiated under standard conditions. However, embryoid body growth as well as differentiation of stem cells into cardiomyocytes was significantly enhanced in feeder-freed cells, indicating a feeder cell dependent modulation of lineage differentiation during early embryoid body development. These findings underline the necessity to separate stem and feeder cells before the initiation of in vitro differentiation. The complete separation of stem and feeder cells by this new technology results in pure stem cell populations for translational approaches. Furthermore, a more detailed analysis of the effect of feeder cells on stem cell differentiation is now possible, that might facilitate the identification and development of new optimized human or genetically modified feeder cell lines.

  5. Analysis of the charge exchange between the human body and ground: evaluation of "earthing" from an electrical perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chamberlin, Kent; Smith, Wayne; Chirgwin, Christopher; Appasani, Seshank; Rioux, Paul

    2014-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate "earthing" from an electrical perspective through measurement and analysis of the naturally occurring electron flow between the human body or a control and ground as this relates to the magnitude of the charge exchange, the relationship between the charge exchange and body functions (respiration and heart rate), and the detection of other information that might be contained in the charge exchange. Sensitive, low-noise instrumentation was designed and fabricated to measure low-level current flow at low frequencies. This instrumentation was used to record current flow between human subjects or a control and ground, and these measurements were performed approximately 40 times under varied circumstances. The results of these measurements were analyzed to determine if information was contained in the current exchange. The currents flowing between the human body and ground were small (nanoamperes), and they correlated with subject motion. There did not appear to be any information contained in this exchange except for information about subject motion. This study showed that currents flow between the environment (earth) and a grounded human body; however, these currents are small (nanoamperes) and do not appear to contain information other than information about subject motion.

  6. Influence of ionizing radiation on human body

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zygmunt Zdrojewicz

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This article describes positive and negative aspects of ionizing radiation and its effects on human body. Being a part of various medical procedures in medicine, ionising radiation has become an important aspect for both medical practitioners and patients. Commonly used in treatment, diagnostics and interventional radiology, its medical usage follows numerous rules, designed to reduce excessive exposure to ionizing radiation. Its widespread use makes it extremely important to research and confirm effects of various doses of radiation on patients of all ages. Two scientific theories, explaining radiation effects on human organism, stand in contrast: commonly accepted LNT-hypothesis and yet to be proven hormesis theory. Despite the fact that the current radiation protection standards are based on the linear theory (LNT-hypothesis, the hormesis theory arouses more and more interest, and numerous attempts are made to prove its validity. Further research expanding the knowledge on radiation hormesis can change the face of the future. Perhaps such researches will open up new possibilities for the use of ionizing radiation, as well as enable the calculation of the optimal and personalised radiation dose for each patient, allowing us to find a new “golden mean”. The authors therefore are careful and believe that these methods have a large future, primarily patient’s good should however be kept in mind.

  7. The Intensity of Human Body Odors and the MHC: Should We Expect a Link?

    OpenAIRE

    Claus Wedekind; Thomas Seebeck; Florence Bettens; Alexander J. Paepke

    2006-01-01

    It is now well established that genes within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) somehow affect the production of body odors in several vertebrates, including humans. Here we discuss whether variation in the intensity of body odors may be influenced by the MHC. In order to examine this question, we have to control for MHC-linked odor perception on the smeller's side. Such a control is necessary because the perception of pleasantness and intensity seem to be confounded, a...

  8. Impacts of exhalation flow on the microenvironment around the human body under different room temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jafari, Mohammad Javad; Gharari, Noradin; Azari, Mansour Rezazade; Ashrafi, Khosro

    2018-04-01

    Exhalation flow and room temperature can have a considerable effect on the microenvironment in the vicinity of human body. In this study, impacts of exhalation flow and room temperature on the microenvironment around a human body were investigated using a numerical simulation. For this purpose, a computational fluid dynamic program was applied to study thermal plume around a sitting human body at different room temperatures of a calm indoor room by considering the exhalation flow. The simulation was supported by some experimental measurements. Six different room temperatures (18 to 28 °C) with two nose exhalation modes (exhalation and non-exhalation) were investigated. Overhead and breathing zone velocities and temperatures were simulated in different scenarios. This study finds out that the exhalation through the nose has a significant impact on both quantitative and qualitative features of the human microenvironment in different room temperatures. At a given temperature, the exhalation through the nose can change the location and size of maximum velocity at the top of the head. In the breathing zone, the effect of exhalation through the nose on velocity and temperature distribution was pronounced for the point close to mouth. Also, the exhalation through the nose strongly influences the thermal boundary layer on the breathing zone while it only minimally influences the convective boundary layer on the breathing zone. Overall results demonstrate that it is important to take the exhalation flow into consideration in all areas, especially at a quiescent flow condition with low temperature.

  9. The Body That Speaks: Recombining Bodies and Speech Sources in Unscripted Face-to-Face Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillespie, Alex; Corti, Kevin

    2016-01-01

    This article examines advances in research methods that enable experimental substitution of the speaking body in unscripted face-to-face communication. A taxonomy of six hybrid social agents is presented by combining three types of bodies (mechanical, virtual, and human) with either an artificial or human speech source. Our contribution is to introduce and explore the significance of two particular hybrids: (1) the cyranoid method that enables humans to converse face-to-face through the medium of another person's body, and (2) the echoborg method that enables artificial intelligence to converse face-to-face through the medium of a human body. These two methods are distinct in being able to parse the unique influence of the human body when combined with various speech sources. We also introduce a new framework for conceptualizing the body's role in communication, distinguishing three levels: self's perspective on the body, other's perspective on the body, and self's perspective of other's perspective on the body. Within each level the cyranoid and echoborg methodologies make important research questions tractable. By conceptualizing and synthesizing these methods, we outline a novel paradigm of research on the role of the body in unscripted face-to-face communication.

  10. Natural radionuclides in the human body; Natuerliche Radionuklide im menschlichen Koerper

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Voelkle, Hansruedi [Fribourg Univ. (Switzerland). Physikdept.

    2017-08-01

    Natural radionuclides in the human body produce worldwide a medium annual radiation exposure of 0.31 mSv. 0.17 mSv are due to potassium-40 (K-40) per year, 0.12 mSv per year are due to radionuclides from the uranium and thorium decay series, less than 0.02 mSv due to cosmogenic radionuclides. Natural radioactivity is therefore the largest exposure source, anthropogenic exposure is comparatively marginal.

  11. Measurement of whole-body human centers of gravity and moments of inertia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albery, C B; Schultz, R B; Bjorn, V S

    1998-06-01

    With the inclusion of women in combat aircraft, the question of safe ejection seat operation has been raised. The potential expanded population of combat pilots would include both smaller and larger ejection seat occupants, which could significantly affect seat performance. The method developed to measure human whole-body CG and MOI used a scale, a knife edge balance, and an inverted torsional pendulum. Subjects' moments of inertia were measured along six different axes. The inertia tensor was calculated from these values, and principal moments of inertia were then derived. Thirty-eight antropometric measurements were also taken for each subject to provide a means for direct correlation of inertial properties to body dimensions and for modeling purposes. Data collected in this study has been used to validate whole-body mass properties predictions. In addition, data will be used to improve Air Force and Navy ejection seat trajectory models for the expanded population.

  12. Does human body odor represent a significant and rewarding social signal to individuals high in social openness?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katrin T Lübke

    Full Text Available Across a wide variety of domains, experts differ from novices in their response to stimuli linked to their respective field of expertise. It is currently unknown whether similar patterns can be observed with regard to social expertise. The current study therefore focuses on social openness, a central social skill necessary to initiate social contact. Human body odors were used as social cues, as they inherently signal the presence of another human being. Using functional MRI, hemodynamic brain responses to body odors of women reporting a high (n = 14 or a low (n = 12 level of social openness were compared. Greater activation within the inferior frontal gyrus and the caudate nucleus was observed in high socially open individuals compared to individuals low in social openness. With the inferior frontal gyrus being a crucial part of the human mirror neuron system, and the caudate nucleus being implicated in social reward, it is discussed whether human body odor might constitute more of a significant and rewarding social signal to individuals high in social openness compared to individuals low in social openness process.

  13. SAR distribution in human beings when using body-worn RF transmitters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Christ, A.; Samaras, T.; Neufeld, E.; Klingenboeck, A.; Kuster, N.

    2007-01-01

    This study analyzes the exposure of the human torso to electromagnetic fields caused by wireless body-mounted or hand-held devices. Because of the frequency and distance ranges from 30-5800 MHz and 10 to 200 mm, respectively, both near-field and far-field effects are considered. A generic body model and simulations of anatomical models are used to evaluate the worst case tissue composition with respect to the absorption of electromagnetic energy. Both standing wave effects and enhanced coupling of reactive near-field components can lead to a specific absorption rate (SAR) increase in comparison to homogeneous tissue. In addition, the exposure and temperature increase of different inner organs is assessed. With respect to compliance testing, the observed SAR enhancement may require the introduction of a multiplication factor for the spatial peak SAR measured in the liquid-filled phantom in order to obtain a conservative exposure assessment. The observed tissue heating at the body surface under adiabatic conditions can be significant, whereas the temperature increase in the inner organs turned out to be negligible for the cases investigated. (authors)

  14. Characteristics and parametric analysis of a novel flexible ink-based thermoelectric generator for human body sensor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Qing, Shaowei; Rezaniakolaei, Alireza; Rosendahl, Lasse Aistrup

    2018-01-01

    Flexible thermoelectric generator became an attractive technology for its wide use especially for curved surfaces applications. This study proposes design of a flexible thermoelectric generator, which is part of a sensor and supplies required electrical power for human body application...... elements thickness and thermoelectric module row number in a proper range can significantly enhance thermoelectric generator performance. The maximum output power can reach 0.2 μW/cm2, which indicates the proposed design is promising for supplying human body sensors. In addition, the basic optimal design....... The thermoelectric generator module has ink-based thermoelements which are made of nano-carbon bismuth telluride materials. Flexible fins conduct the body heat to the thermoelectric uni-couples, extended fins exchange the heat from the cold side of the thermoelectric generator to the ambient. A fully developed one...

  15. Human UBL5 protein interacts with coilin and meets the Cajal bodies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Švéda, Martin; Častorálová, Markéta; Lipov, Jan; Ruml, Tomáš; Knejzlík, Zdeněk

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: •Localization of the UBL5 protein in Hela cells was determined by fluorescence microscopy and biochemical fractionation. •Colocalization of UBL5 with Cajal bodies was observed. •Interaction of UBL5 with coilin was proven by pull-down. -- Abstract: UBL5 protein, a structural homologue of ubiquitin, was shown to be involved in pre-mRNA splicing and transcription regulation in yeast and Caenorhabditis elegans, respectively. However, role of the UBL5 human orthologue is still elusive. In our study, we observed that endogenous human UBL5 that was localized in the nucleus, partially associates with Cajal bodies (CBs), nuclear domains where spliceosomal components are assembled. Simultaneous expression of exogenous UBL5 and coilin resulted in their nuclear colocalization in HeLa cells. The ability of UBL5 to interact with coilin was proved by GST pull-down assay using coilin that was either in vitro translated or extracted from HEK293T cells. Further, our results showed that the UBL5–coilin interaction was not influenced by coilin phosphorylation. These results suggest that UBL5 could be targeted to CBs via its interaction with coilin. Relation between human UBL5 protein and CBs is in the agreement with current observations about yeast orthologue Hub1 playing important role in alternative splicing

  16. Human UBL5 protein interacts with coilin and meets the Cajal bodies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Švéda, Martin; Častorálová, Markéta; Lipov, Jan; Ruml, Tomáš; Knejzlík, Zdeněk, E-mail: knejzliz@vscht.cz

    2013-06-28

    Highlights: •Localization of the UBL5 protein in Hela cells was determined by fluorescence microscopy and biochemical fractionation. •Colocalization of UBL5 with Cajal bodies was observed. •Interaction of UBL5 with coilin was proven by pull-down. -- Abstract: UBL5 protein, a structural homologue of ubiquitin, was shown to be involved in pre-mRNA splicing and transcription regulation in yeast and Caenorhabditis elegans, respectively. However, role of the UBL5 human orthologue is still elusive. In our study, we observed that endogenous human UBL5 that was localized in the nucleus, partially associates with Cajal bodies (CBs), nuclear domains where spliceosomal components are assembled. Simultaneous expression of exogenous UBL5 and coilin resulted in their nuclear colocalization in HeLa cells. The ability of UBL5 to interact with coilin was proved by GST pull-down assay using coilin that was either in vitro translated or extracted from HEK293T cells. Further, our results showed that the UBL5–coilin interaction was not influenced by coilin phosphorylation. These results suggest that UBL5 could be targeted to CBs via its interaction with coilin. Relation between human UBL5 protein and CBs is in the agreement with current observations about yeast orthologue Hub1 playing important role in alternative splicing.

  17. Evaluation of Human Body Tracking System for Gesture-based Programming of Industrial Robots

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Høilund, Carsten; Krüger, Volker; Moeslund, Thomas B.

    2012-01-01

    Is low-cost tracking precise enough for recognition of pointing actions? We investigate the quality of the human body tracking available with a Kinect camera by comparing it to a state-of-the-art motion capture system. The application is action recognition with parametric hidden Markov Models...

  18. Robust human body model injury prediction in simulated side impact crashes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golman, Adam J; Danelson, Kerry A; Stitzel, Joel D

    2016-01-01

    This study developed a parametric methodology to robustly predict occupant injuries sustained in real-world crashes using a finite element (FE) human body model (HBM). One hundred and twenty near-side impact motor vehicle crashes were simulated over a range of parameters using a Toyota RAV4 (bullet vehicle), Ford Taurus (struck vehicle) FE models and a validated human body model (HBM) Total HUman Model for Safety (THUMS). Three bullet vehicle crash parameters (speed, location and angle) and two occupant parameters (seat position and age) were varied using a Latin hypercube design of Experiments. Four injury metrics (head injury criterion, half deflection, thoracic trauma index and pelvic force) were used to calculate injury risk. Rib fracture prediction and lung strain metrics were also analysed. As hypothesized, bullet speed had the greatest effect on each injury measure. Injury risk was reduced when bullet location was further from the B-pillar or when the bullet angle was more oblique. Age had strong correlation to rib fractures frequency and lung strain severity. The injuries from a real-world crash were predicted using two different methods by (1) subsampling the injury predictors from the 12 best crush profile matching simulations and (2) using regression models. Both injury prediction methods successfully predicted the case occupant's low risk for pelvic injury, high risk for thoracic injury, rib fractures and high lung strains with tight confidence intervals. This parametric methodology was successfully used to explore crash parameter interactions and to robustly predict real-world injuries.

  19. Cultural influences on children's understanding of the human body and the concept of life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panagiotaki, Georgia; Nobes, Gavin

    2014-09-01

    This study aimed to identify the age by which children begin to demonstrate a biological understanding of the human body and the idea that the purpose of body functioning is to maintain life. The study also explored the influence of education, culturally specific experiences and religion on knowledge acquisition in this domain. Children aged between 4 and 7 years from three different cultural backgrounds (White British, British Muslim, and Pakistani Muslim) were interviewed about the human body and its functioning. At least half of the 4- to 5-year-olds in each cultural group, and almost all 6- to 7-year-olds, referred to the maintenance of life when explaining organs' functions and so were classified as 'life theorizers'. Pakistani Muslim children gave fewer biological responses to questions about organs' functions and the purpose of eating and breathing, but referred to life more than their British counterparts. Irrespective of cultural group, older children understood organ location and function better than younger children. These findings support Jaakkola and Slaughter's (2002, Br. J. Dev. Psychol., 20, 325) view that children's understanding of the body as a 'life machine' emerges around the ages of 4-5 years. They also suggest that, despite many similarities in children's ideas cross-culturally, different educational input and culturally specific experiences influence aspects of their biological understanding. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

  20. Evaluation of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for determination of deuterium abundance in body fluids: application to measurement of total-body water in human infants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rebouche, C.J.; Pearson, G.A.; Serfass, R.E.; Roth, C.W.; Finley, J.W.

    1987-01-01

    Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to quantitate abundance of 2H in body water of human infants. This method provides precise measurement of total-body water without the extensive sample preparation requirements of previously described methods for determination of 2H content in body fluids. 2H2O (1 g/kg body weight) was administered to infants and saliva and urine were collected for up to 5 h. An internal standard was added directly to the fluid specimen and 2H enrichment in water was measured by NMR spectroscopy. Working range of deuterium abundance was 0.04-0.32 atom %. Coefficients of variation for saliva samples at 0.20 atom % 2H was 1.97%. 2H content in urine and saliva water reached a plateau by 4 h after administration, and amounts in the two fluids were virtually identical. Mean total-body water determination for six infants was 58.3 +/- 5.8% of body weight (range 53-66%)