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Sample records for integrating behavioral biomedical

  1. Integrating systems biology models and biomedical ontologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoehndorf, Robert; Dumontier, Michel; Gennari, John H; Wimalaratne, Sarala; de Bono, Bernard; Cook, Daniel L; Gkoutos, Georgios V

    2011-08-11

    Systems biology is an approach to biology that emphasizes the structure and dynamic behavior of biological systems and the interactions that occur within them. To succeed, systems biology crucially depends on the accessibility and integration of data across domains and levels of granularity. Biomedical ontologies were developed to facilitate such an integration of data and are often used to annotate biosimulation models in systems biology. We provide a framework to integrate representations of in silico systems biology with those of in vivo biology as described by biomedical ontologies and demonstrate this framework using the Systems Biology Markup Language. We developed the SBML Harvester software that automatically converts annotated SBML models into OWL and we apply our software to those biosimulation models that are contained in the BioModels Database. We utilize the resulting knowledge base for complex biological queries that can bridge levels of granularity, verify models based on the biological phenomenon they represent and provide a means to establish a basic qualitative layer on which to express the semantics of biosimulation models. We establish an information flow between biomedical ontologies and biosimulation models and we demonstrate that the integration of annotated biosimulation models and biomedical ontologies enables the verification of models as well as expressive queries. Establishing a bi-directional information flow between systems biology and biomedical ontologies has the potential to enable large-scale analyses of biological systems that span levels of granularity from molecules to organisms.

  2. KaBOB: ontology-based semantic integration of biomedical databases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Livingston, Kevin M; Bada, Michael; Baumgartner, William A; Hunter, Lawrence E

    2015-04-23

    The ability to query many independent biological databases using a common ontology-based semantic model would facilitate deeper integration and more effective utilization of these diverse and rapidly growing resources. Despite ongoing work moving toward shared data formats and linked identifiers, significant problems persist in semantic data integration in order to establish shared identity and shared meaning across heterogeneous biomedical data sources. We present five processes for semantic data integration that, when applied collectively, solve seven key problems. These processes include making explicit the differences between biomedical concepts and database records, aggregating sets of identifiers denoting the same biomedical concepts across data sources, and using declaratively represented forward-chaining rules to take information that is variably represented in source databases and integrating it into a consistent biomedical representation. We demonstrate these processes and solutions by presenting KaBOB (the Knowledge Base Of Biomedicine), a knowledge base of semantically integrated data from 18 prominent biomedical databases using common representations grounded in Open Biomedical Ontologies. An instance of KaBOB with data about humans and seven major model organisms can be built using on the order of 500 million RDF triples. All source code for building KaBOB is available under an open-source license. KaBOB is an integrated knowledge base of biomedical data representationally based in prominent, actively maintained Open Biomedical Ontologies, thus enabling queries of the underlying data in terms of biomedical concepts (e.g., genes and gene products, interactions and processes) rather than features of source-specific data schemas or file formats. KaBOB resolves many of the issues that routinely plague biomedical researchers intending to work with data from multiple data sources and provides a platform for ongoing data integration and development and for

  3. Translational science matters: forging partnerships between biomedical and behavioral science to advance the public's health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mensah, George A; Czajkowski, Susan M

    2018-03-29

    The prevention and effective treatment of many chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes are dependent on behaviors such as not smoking, adopting a physically-active lifestyle, eating a healthy diet, and adhering to prescribed medical and behavioral regimens. Yet adoption and maintenance of these behaviors pose major challenges for individuals, their families and communities, as well as clinicians and health care systems. These challenges can best be met through the integration of the biomedical and behavioral sciences that is achieved by the formation of strategic partnerships between researchers and practitioners in these disciplines to address pressing clinical and public health problems. The National Institutes of Health has supported a number of clinical trials and research initiatives that demonstrate the value of biomedical and behavioral science partnerships in translating fundamental discoveries into significant improvements in health outcomes. We review several such examples of collaborations between biomedical and behavioral researchers, describe key initiatives focused on advancing a transdisciplinary translational perspective, and outline areas which require insights, tools and findings from both the biomedical and behavioral sciences to advance the public's health.

  4. Biomedical data integration in computational drug design and bioinformatics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seoane, Jose A; Aguiar-Pulido, Vanessa; Munteanu, Cristian R; Rivero, Daniel; Rabunal, Juan R; Dorado, Julian; Pazos, Alejandro

    2013-03-01

    In recent years, in the post genomic era, more and more data is being generated by biological high throughput technologies, such as proteomics and transcriptomics. This omics data can be very useful, but the real challenge is to analyze all this data, as a whole, after integrating it. Biomedical data integration enables making queries to different, heterogeneous and distributed biomedical data sources. Data integration solutions can be very useful not only in the context of drug design, but also in biomedical information retrieval, clinical diagnosis, system biology, etc. In this review, we analyze the most common approaches to biomedical data integration, such as federated databases, data warehousing, multi-agent systems and semantic technology, as well as the solutions developed using these approaches in the past few years.

  5. Optimization of behavioral, biobehavioral, and biomedical interventions the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST)

    CERN Document Server

    Collins, Linda M

    2018-01-01

    This book presents a framework for development, optimization, and evaluation of behavioral,  biobehavioral, and biomedical interventions.  Behavioral, biobehavioral, and biomedical interventions are programs with the objective of improving and maintaining human health and well-being, broadly defined, in individuals, families, schools, organizations, or communities.  These interventions may be aimed at, for example, preventing or treating disease, promoting physical and mental health, preventing violence, or improving academic achievement.   This volume introduces the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST), pioneered at The Methodology Center at the Pennsylvania State University, as an alternative to the classical approach of relying solely on the randomized controlled trial (RCT).  MOST borrows heavily from perspectives taken and approaches used in engineering, and also integrates concepts from statistics and behavioral science, including the RCT.  As described in detail in this book, MOST consists of ...

  6. What is the benefit of the biomedical and behavioral interventions in preventing HIV transmission?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Kuchenbecker

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACTIntroduction:Scientific evidence supports the sinergy between biomedical and behavioral interventions aimed at preventing the transmission of HIV as a strategy to eradicate AIDS.Objective:To characterize comparatively the benefits from biomedical and behavioral interventions to prevent HIV transmission.Methods:Narrative review. We performed a comparative analysis of the benefits of studied interventions by means of estimating the number needed to treat (NNT. Evaluated interventions: counseling activities for behavior change to prevent exposure to HIV; antiretroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP and antiretroviral post-exposure prophylasis (PEP for HIV and treatment of serodiscordant couples as a strategy for prevention of HIV transmission (TasP.Results:counseling interventions and TasP have smaller NNTs, equal to, respectively, 11 (95%CI 9 - 18 at 12 months and 34 (95%CI 23 - 54 in 42 months comparatively to PrEP interventions, that resulted in 41 (95%CI 28 - 67 individuals receiving antiretrovirals in order to prevent one case of HIV infection at 36 months for men and serodiscordant couples. PEP interventions are associated with protective effects estimated at 81%. Lack of trials evaluating PEP prevents estimate of NNT.Conclusion:The estimate of the NNT can be a helpful parameter in the comparison between the effectiveness of different behavioral and biomedical HIV prevention strategies. Studies evaluating the benefit and safety of combined behavioral and biomedical interventions are needed, especially considering the attributable fraction of each component. Integration of behavioral and biomedical interventions is required to achieve complete suppression of the virus, and thus reducing viral replication, infectivity and the number of cases.

  7. Mediator infrastructure for information integration and semantic data integration environment for biomedical research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grethe, Jeffrey S; Ross, Edward; Little, David; Sanders, Brian; Gupta, Amarnath; Astakhov, Vadim

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents current progress in the development of semantic data integration environment which is a part of the Biomedical Informatics Research Network (BIRN; http://www.nbirn.net) project. BIRN is sponsored by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A goal is the development of a cyberinfrastructure for biomedical research that supports advance data acquisition, data storage, data management, data integration, data mining, data visualization, and other computing and information processing services over the Internet. Each participating institution maintains storage of their experimental or computationally derived data. Mediator-based data integration system performs semantic integration over the databases to enable researchers to perform analyses based on larger and broader datasets than would be available from any single institution's data. This paper describes recent revision of the system architecture, implementation, and capabilities of the semantically based data integration environment for BIRN.

  8. Multiscale integration of -omic, imaging, and clinical data in biomedical informatics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phan, John H; Quo, Chang F; Cheng, Chihwen; Wang, May Dongmei

    2012-01-01

    This paper reviews challenges and opportunities in multiscale data integration for biomedical informatics. Biomedical data can come from different biological origins, data acquisition technologies, and clinical applications. Integrating such data across multiple scales (e.g., molecular, cellular/tissue, and patient) can lead to more informed decisions for personalized, predictive, and preventive medicine. However, data heterogeneity, community standards in data acquisition, and computational complexity are big challenges for such decision making. This review describes genomic and proteomic (i.e., molecular), histopathological imaging (i.e., cellular/tissue), and clinical (i.e., patient) data; it includes case studies for single-scale (e.g., combining genomic or histopathological image data), multiscale (e.g., combining histopathological image and clinical data), and multiscale and multiplatform (e.g., the Human Protein Atlas and The Cancer Genome Atlas) data integration. Numerous opportunities exist in biomedical informatics research focusing on integration of multiscale and multiplatform data.

  9. USSR report: life sciences. Biomedical and behavioral sciences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1982-09-01

    Studies in life sciences, biomedical sciences, and behavioral sciences are reported. The following fields of interest were studied: agricultural biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, environment effects, medical demography, medicine, microbiology, physiology, radiation biology, and human factors engineering. For individual titles, see N82-33989 through N82-33994

  10. Integrating biomedical and herbal medicine in Ghana

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boateng, Millicent Addai; Danso-Appiah, Anthony; Turkson, Bernard Kofi

    2016-01-01

    Background: Over the past decade there has been growing interest in the use of herbal medicine both in developed and developing countries. Given the high proportion of patients using herbal medicine in Ghana, some health facilities have initiated implementation of herbal medicine as a component...... of their healthcare delivery. However, the extent to which herbal medicine has been integrated in Ghanaian health facilities, how integration is implemented and perceived by different stakeholders has not been documented. The study sought to explore these critical issues at the Kumasi South Hospital (KSH) and outline...... the definition, process and goals of integration were lacking, with respondents sharing different views about the purpose and value of integration of herbal medicine within public health facilities. Key informants were supportive of the initiative. Whilst biomedical health workers perceived the system...

  11. An Approach to Integrating Health Disparities within Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vazquez, Maribel; Marte, Otto; Barba, Joseph; Hubbard, Karen

    2017-11-01

    Health disparities are preventable differences in the incidence, prevalence and burden of disease among communities targeted by gender, geographic location, ethnicity and/or socio-economic status. While biomedical research has identified partial origin(s) of divergent burden and impact of disease, the innovation needed to eradicate health disparities in the United States requires unique engagement from biomedical engineers. Increasing awareness of the prevalence and consequences of health disparities is particularly attractive to today's undergraduates, who have undauntedly challenged paradigms believed to foster inequality. Here, the Department of Biomedical Engineering at The City College of New York (CCNY) has leveraged its historical mission of access-and-excellence to integrate the study of health disparities into undergraduate BME curricula. This article describes our novel approach in a multiyear study that: (i) Integrated health disparities modules at all levels of the required undergraduate BME curriculum; (ii) Developed opportunities to include impacts of health disparities into undergraduate BME research projects and mentored High School summer STEM training; and (iii) Established health disparities-based challenges as BME capstone design and/or independent entrepreneurship projects. Results illustrate the rising awareness of health disparities among the youngest BMEs-to-be, as well as abundant undergraduate desire to integrate health disparities within BME education and training.

  12. Biomedical text mining for research rigor and integrity: tasks, challenges, directions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilicoglu, Halil

    2017-06-13

    An estimated quarter of a trillion US dollars is invested in the biomedical research enterprise annually. There is growing alarm that a significant portion of this investment is wasted because of problems in reproducibility of research findings and in the rigor and integrity of research conduct and reporting. Recent years have seen a flurry of activities focusing on standardization and guideline development to enhance the reproducibility and rigor of biomedical research. Research activity is primarily communicated via textual artifacts, ranging from grant applications to journal publications. These artifacts can be both the source and the manifestation of practices leading to research waste. For example, an article may describe a poorly designed experiment, or the authors may reach conclusions not supported by the evidence presented. In this article, we pose the question of whether biomedical text mining techniques can assist the stakeholders in the biomedical research enterprise in doing their part toward enhancing research integrity and rigor. In particular, we identify four key areas in which text mining techniques can make a significant contribution: plagiarism/fraud detection, ensuring adherence to reporting guidelines, managing information overload and accurate citation/enhanced bibliometrics. We review the existing methods and tools for specific tasks, if they exist, or discuss relevant research that can provide guidance for future work. With the exponential increase in biomedical research output and the ability of text mining approaches to perform automatic tasks at large scale, we propose that such approaches can support tools that promote responsible research practices, providing significant benefits for the biomedical research enterprise. Published by Oxford University Press 2017. This work is written by a US Government employee and is in the public domain in the US.

  13. Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    1988-01-01

    ... of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research Commission on Life Sciences National Research Council Institute of Medicine NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C. 1988 Copyrightoriginal retained, the be not from cannot book, paper original however, for version formatting, authoritative the typesetting-specific created from the as publ...

  14. Technology for 3D System Integration for Flexible Wireless Biomedical Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wen-Cheng Kuo

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a new 3D bottom-up packing technology for integrating a chip, an induction coil, and interconnections for flexible wireless biomedical applications. Parylene was used as a flexible substrate for the bottom-up embedding of the chip, insulation layer, interconnection, and inductors to form a flexible wireless biomedical microsystem. The system can be implanted on or inside the human body. A 50-μm gold foil deposited through laser micromachining by using a picosecond laser was used as an inductor to yield a higher quality factor than that yielded by thickness-increasing methods such as the fold-and-bond method or thick-metal electroplating method at the operation frequency of 1 MHz. For system integration, parylene was used as a flexible substrate, and the contact pads and connections between the coil and chip were generated using gold deposition. The advantage of the proposed process can integrate the chip and coil vertically to generate a single biocompatible system in order to reduce required area. The proposed system entails the use of 3D integrated circuit packaging concepts to integrate the chip and coil. The results validated the feasibility of this technology.

  15. The fully integrated biomedical engineering programme at Eindhoven University of Technology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Slaaf, D.W.; Genderen, van M.H.P.

    2009-01-01

    The development of a fully integrated biomedical engineering programme (life sciences included from the start) is described. Details are provided about background, implementation, and didactic concept: design centred learning combined with courses. The curriculum has developed into a

  16. The fully integrated biomedical engineering programme at Eindhoven University of Technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slaaf, D W; van Genderen, M H P

    2009-05-01

    The development of a fully integrated biomedical engineering programme (life sciences included from the start) is described. Details are provided about background, implementation, and didactic concept: design centred learning combined with courses. The curriculum has developed into a bachelor-master's programme with two different master's degrees: Master's Degree in Biomedical Engineering and Master's Degree in Medical Engineering. Recently, the programme has adopted semester programming, has included a major and minor in the bachelor's degree phase, and a true bachelor's degree final project. Details about the programme and data about where graduates find jobs are provided in this paper.

  17. Wafer-scale integrated micro-supercapacitors on an ultrathin and highly flexible biomedical platform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maeng, Jimin; Meng, Chuizhou; Irazoqui, Pedro P

    2015-02-01

    We present wafer-scale integrated micro-supercapacitors on an ultrathin and highly flexible parylene platform, as progress toward sustainably powering biomedical microsystems suitable for implantable and wearable applications. All-solid-state, low-profile (supercapacitors are formed on an ultrathin (~20 μm) freestanding parylene film by a wafer-scale parylene packaging process in combination with a polyaniline (PANI) nanowire growth technique assisted by surface plasma treatment. These micro-supercapacitors are highly flexible and shown to be resilient toward flexural stress. Further, direct integration of micro-supercapacitors into a radio frequency (RF) rectifying circuit is achieved on a single parylene platform, yielding a complete RF energy harvesting microsystem. The system discharging rate is shown to improve by ~17 times in the presence of the integrated micro-supercapacitors. This result suggests that the integrated micro-supercapacitor technology described herein is a promising strategy for sustainably powering biomedical microsystems dedicated to implantable and wearable applications.

  18. Integrating a Hypernymic Proposition Interpreter into a Semantic Processor for Biomedical Texts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiszman, Marcelo; Rindflesch, Thomas C.; Kilicoglu, Halil

    2003-01-01

    Semantic processing provides the potential for producing high quality results in natural language processing (NLP) applications in the biomedical domain. In this paper, we address a specific semantic phenomenon, the hypernymic proposition, and concentrate on integrating the interpretation of such predications into a more general semantic processor in order to improve overall accuracy. A preliminary evaluation assesses the contribution of hypernymic propositions in providing more specific semantic predications and thus improving effectiveness in retrieving treatment propositions in MEDLINE abstracts. Finally, we discuss the generalization of this methodology to additional semantic propositions as well as other types of biomedical texts. PMID:14728170

  19. Biomedical photonics handbook biomedical diagnostics

    CERN Document Server

    Vo-Dinh, Tuan

    2014-01-01

    Shaped by Quantum Theory, Technology, and the Genomics RevolutionThe integration of photonics, electronics, biomaterials, and nanotechnology holds great promise for the future of medicine. This topic has recently experienced an explosive growth due to the noninvasive or minimally invasive nature and the cost-effectiveness of photonic modalities in medical diagnostics and therapy. The second edition of the Biomedical Photonics Handbook presents fundamental developments as well as important applications of biomedical photonics of interest to scientists, engineers, manufacturers, teachers, studen

  20. Attitudes and beliefs about chronic pain among nurses- biomedical or behavioral? A cross-sectional survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Venkatesan Prem

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Context: Studies have documented that nurses and other health care professionals are inadequately prepared to care for patients in chronic pain. Several reasons have been identified including inadequacies in nursing education, absence of curriculum content related to pain management, and attitudes and beliefs related to chronic pain. Aims: The objective of this paper was to assess the chronic pain-related attitudes and beliefs among nursing professionals in order to evaluate the biomedical and behavioral dimensions of their perceptions on pain. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional survey of 363 nurses in a multispecialty hospital. Materials and Methods: The study utilized a self-report questionnaire - pain attitudes and beliefs scale (PABS - which had 31 items (statements about pain for each of which the person had to indicate the level at which he or she agreed or disagreed with each statement. Factor 1 score indicated a biomedical dimension while factor 2 score indicated a behavioral dimension to pain. Statistical Analysis Used: Comparisons across individual and professional variables for both dimensions were done using one-way ANOVA and correlations were done using the Karl-Pearson co-efficient using SPSS version 11.5 for Windows. Results: The overall factor 1 score was 52.95 ± 10.23 and factor 2 score was 20.93 ± 4.72 (P = 0.00. The female nurses had a higher behavioral dimension score (21.1 ± 4.81 than their male counterparts (19.55 ± 3.67 which was significant at P< 0.05 level. Conclusions: Nurses had a greater orientation toward the biomedical dimension of chronic pain than the behavioral dimension. This difference was more pronounced in female nurses and those nurses who reported "very good" general health had higher behavioral dimension scores than those who had "good" general health. The study findings have important curricular implications for nurses and practical implications in palliative care.

  1. A Semantic Web management model for integrative biomedical informatics.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helena F Deus

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Data, data everywhere. The diversity and magnitude of the data generated in the Life Sciences defies automated articulation among complementary efforts. The additional need in this field for managing property and access permissions compounds the difficulty very significantly. This is particularly the case when the integration involves multiple domains and disciplines, even more so when it includes clinical and high throughput molecular data.The emergence of Semantic Web technologies brings the promise of meaningful interoperation between data and analysis resources. In this report we identify a core model for biomedical Knowledge Engineering applications and demonstrate how this new technology can be used to weave a management model where multiple intertwined data structures can be hosted and managed by multiple authorities in a distributed management infrastructure. Specifically, the demonstration is performed by linking data sources associated with the Lung Cancer SPORE awarded to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center at Houston and the Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. A software prototype, available with open source at www.s3db.org, was developed and its proposed design has been made publicly available as an open source instrument for shared, distributed data management.The Semantic Web technologies have the potential to addresses the need for distributed and evolvable representations that are critical for systems Biology and translational biomedical research. As this technology is incorporated into application development we can expect that both general purpose productivity software and domain specific software installed on our personal computers will become increasingly integrated with the relevant remote resources. In this scenario, the acquisition of a new dataset should automatically trigger the delegation of its analysis.

  2. Systematic integration of biomedical knowledge prioritizes drugs for repurposing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Himmelstein, Daniel Scott; Lizee, Antoine; Hessler, Christine; Brueggeman, Leo; Chen, Sabrina L; Hadley, Dexter; Green, Ari; Khankhanian, Pouya; Baranzini, Sergio E

    2017-09-22

    The ability to computationally predict whether a compound treats a disease would improve the economy and success rate of drug approval. This study describes Project Rephetio to systematically model drug efficacy based on 755 existing treatments. First, we constructed Hetionet (neo4j.het.io), an integrative network encoding knowledge from millions of biomedical studies. Hetionet v1.0 consists of 47,031 nodes of 11 types and 2,250,197 relationships of 24 types. Data were integrated from 29 public resources to connect compounds, diseases, genes, anatomies, pathways, biological processes, molecular functions, cellular components, pharmacologic classes, side effects, and symptoms. Next, we identified network patterns that distinguish treatments from non-treatments. Then, we predicted the probability of treatment for 209,168 compound-disease pairs (het.io/repurpose). Our predictions validated on two external sets of treatment and provided pharmacological insights on epilepsy, suggesting they will help prioritize drug repurposing candidates. This study was entirely open and received realtime feedback from 40 community members.

  3. Integration of relational and textual biomedical sources. A pilot experiment using a semi-automated method for logical schema acquisition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Remesal, M; Maojo, V; Billhardt, H; Crespo, J

    2010-01-01

    Bringing together structured and text-based sources is an exciting challenge for biomedical informaticians, since most relevant biomedical sources belong to one of these categories. In this paper we evaluate the feasibility of integrating relational and text-based biomedical sources using: i) an original logical schema acquisition method for textual databases developed by the authors, and ii) OntoFusion, a system originally designed by the authors for the integration of relational sources. We conducted an integration experiment involving a test set of seven differently structured sources covering the domain of genetic diseases. We used our logical schema acquisition method to generate schemas for all textual sources. The sources were integrated using the methods and tools provided by OntoFusion. The integration was validated using a test set of 500 queries. A panel of experts answered a questionnaire to evaluate i) the quality of the extracted schemas, ii) the query processing performance of the integrated set of sources, and iii) the relevance of the retrieved results. The results of the survey show that our method extracts coherent and representative logical schemas. Experts' feedback on the performance of the integrated system and the relevance of the retrieved results was also positive. Regarding the validation of the integration, the system successfully provided correct results for all queries in the test set. The results of the experiment suggest that text-based sources including a logical schema can be regarded as equivalent to structured databases. Using our method, previous research and existing tools designed for the integration of structured databases can be reused - possibly subject to minor modifications - to integrate differently structured sources.

  4. BIOMedical Search Engine Framework: Lightweight and customized implementation of domain-specific biomedical search engines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jácome, Alberto G; Fdez-Riverola, Florentino; Lourenço, Anália

    2016-07-01

    Text mining and semantic analysis approaches can be applied to the construction of biomedical domain-specific search engines and provide an attractive alternative to create personalized and enhanced search experiences. Therefore, this work introduces the new open-source BIOMedical Search Engine Framework for the fast and lightweight development of domain-specific search engines. The rationale behind this framework is to incorporate core features typically available in search engine frameworks with flexible and extensible technologies to retrieve biomedical documents, annotate meaningful domain concepts, and develop highly customized Web search interfaces. The BIOMedical Search Engine Framework integrates taggers for major biomedical concepts, such as diseases, drugs, genes, proteins, compounds and organisms, and enables the use of domain-specific controlled vocabulary. Technologies from the Typesafe Reactive Platform, the AngularJS JavaScript framework and the Bootstrap HTML/CSS framework support the customization of the domain-oriented search application. Moreover, the RESTful API of the BIOMedical Search Engine Framework allows the integration of the search engine into existing systems or a complete web interface personalization. The construction of the Smart Drug Search is described as proof-of-concept of the BIOMedical Search Engine Framework. This public search engine catalogs scientific literature about antimicrobial resistance, microbial virulence and topics alike. The keyword-based queries of the users are transformed into concepts and search results are presented and ranked accordingly. The semantic graph view portraits all the concepts found in the results, and the researcher may look into the relevance of different concepts, the strength of direct relations, and non-trivial, indirect relations. The number of occurrences of the concept shows its importance to the query, and the frequency of concept co-occurrence is indicative of biological relations

  5. Integrated Confocal and Scanning Probe Microscopy for Biomedical Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B.J. Haupt

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Atomic force microscopy (AFM continues to be developed, not only in design, but also in application. The new focus of using AFM is changing from pure material to biomedical studies. More frequently, it is being used in combination with other optical imaging methods, such as confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM and fluorescent imaging, to provide a more comprehensive understanding of biological systems. To date, AFM has been used increasingly as a precise micromanipulator, probing and altering the mechanobiological characteristics of living cells and tissues, in order to examine specific, receptor-ligand interactions, material properties, and cell behavior. In this review, we discuss the development of this new hybrid AFM, current research, and potential applications in diagnosis and the detection of disease.

  6. Integrated Biomaterials for Biomedical Technology

    CERN Document Server

    Ramalingam, Murugan; Ramakrishna, Seeram; Kobayashi, Hisatoshi

    2012-01-01

    This cutting edge book provides all the important aspects dealing with the basic science involved in materials in biomedical technology, especially structure and properties, techniques and technological innovations in material processing and characterizations, as well as the applications. The volume consists of 12 chapters written by acknowledged experts of the biomaterials field and covers a wide range of topics and applications.

  7. Study designs for identifying risk compensation behavior among users of biomedical HIV prevention technologies: balancing methodological rigor and research ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Underhill, Kristen

    2013-10-01

    The growing evidence base for biomedical HIV prevention interventions - such as oral pre-exposure prophylaxis, microbicides, male circumcision, treatment as prevention, and eventually prevention vaccines - has given rise to concerns about the ways in which users of these biomedical products may adjust their HIV risk behaviors based on the perception that they are prevented from infection. Known as risk compensation, this behavioral adjustment draws on the theory of "risk homeostasis," which has previously been applied to phenomena as diverse as Lyme disease vaccination, insurance mandates, and automobile safety. Little rigorous evidence exists to answer risk compensation concerns in the biomedical HIV prevention literature, in part because the field has not systematically evaluated the study designs available for testing these behaviors. The goals of this Commentary are to explain the origins of risk compensation behavior in risk homeostasis theory, to reframe risk compensation as a testable response to the perception of reduced risk, and to assess the methodological rigor and ethical justification of study designs aiming to isolate risk compensation responses. Although the most rigorous methodological designs for assessing risk compensation behavior may be unavailable due to ethical flaws, several strategies can help investigators identify potential risk compensation behavior during Phase II, Phase III, and Phase IV testing of new technologies. Where concerns arise regarding risk compensation behavior, empirical evidence about the incidence, types, and extent of these behavioral changes can illuminate opportunities to better support the users of new HIV prevention strategies. This Commentary concludes by suggesting a new way to conceptualize risk compensation behavior in the HIV prevention context. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Proof of concept: concept-based biomedical information retrieval

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Trieschnigg, Rudolf Berend

    2010-01-01

    In this thesis we investigate the possibility to integrate domain-specific knowledge into biomedical information retrieval (IR). Recent decades have shown a fast growing interest in biomedical research, reflected by an exponential growth in scientific literature. An important problem for biomedical

  9. Infant difficult behaviors in the context of perinatal biomedical conditions and early child environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sirvinskiene Giedre

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Problems experienced within the first year of an infant's life can be precursors of later mental health conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency and continuity of difficult behaviors in infants at 3 and 6 months of age and the associations of these difficulties with biomedical and psychosocial factors. Methods This study was a part of an ongoing prospective birth-cohort study. Study participants were 189 uniparous mothers and their full-term newborns. The index of infant difficult behavior was constructed. This index was then associated with the following factors: delivery mode, newborn function after birth, maternal emotional well-being, risk behavior, subjective evaluation of the quality of the relationship of the couple, and attitudes toward infant-rearing. Results Common difficult behaviors, including crying, sleeping and eating problems, were characteristic for 30.2% of 3 month old and for 22.2% of 6 month old full-term infants. The expression of infant difficult behaviors at the age of 3 months increased the likelihood of the expression of these difficulties at 6 months by more than 5 times. Factors including younger maternal age, poor prenatal and postnatal emotional well-being, prenatal alcohol consumption, low satisfaction with the couple's relationship before pregnancy, and deficiency of infant-centered maternal attitudes towards infant-rearing increased the likelihood of difficult behaviors in infants at the age of 3 months. Low maternal satisfaction with the relationship of the couple before pregnancy, negative emotional reactions of both parents toward pregnancy (as reported by the mother and the deficiency of an infant-centered maternal attitude towards infant-rearing increased the likelihood of infant difficult behaviors continuing between the ages of 3 to 6 months. Perinatal biomedical conditions were not related to the difficult behaviors in infants. Conclusions Our study suggests

  10. Integration of Multi-Modal Biomedical Data to Predict Cancer Grade and Patient Survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phan, John H; Hoffman, Ryan; Kothari, Sonal; Wu, Po-Yen; Wang, May D

    2016-02-01

    The Big Data era in Biomedical research has resulted in large-cohort data repositories such as The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). These repositories routinely contain hundreds of matched patient samples for genomic, proteomic, imaging, and clinical data modalities, enabling holistic and multi-modal integrative analysis of human disease. Using TCGA renal and ovarian cancer data, we conducted a novel investigation of multi-modal data integration by combining histopathological image and RNA-seq data. We compared the performances of two integrative prediction methods: majority vote and stacked generalization. Results indicate that integration of multiple data modalities improves prediction of cancer grade and outcome. Specifically, stacked generalization, a method that integrates multiple data modalities to produce a single prediction result, outperforms both single-data-modality prediction and majority vote. Moreover, stacked generalization reveals the contribution of each data modality (and specific features within each data modality) to the final prediction result and may provide biological insights to explain prediction performance.

  11. Testing an integrated behavioural and biomedical model of disability in N-of-1 studies with chronic pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quinn, Francis; Johnston, Marie; Johnston, Derek W

    2013-01-01

    Previous research has supported an integrated biomedical and behavioural model explaining activity limitations. However, further tests of this model are required at the within-person level, because while it proposes that the constructs are related within individuals, it has primarily been tested between individuals in large group studies. We aimed to test the integrated model at the within-person level. Six correlational N-of-1 studies in participants with arthritis, chronic pain and walking limitations were carried out. Daily measures of theoretical constructs were collected using a hand-held computer (PDA), the activity was assessed by self-report and accelerometer and the data were analysed using time-series analysis. The biomedical model was not supported as pain impairment did not predict activity, so the integrated model was supported partially. Impairment predicted intention to move around, while perceived behavioural control (PBC) and intention predicted activity. PBC did not predict activity limitation in the expected direction. The integrated model of disability was partially supported within individuals, especially the behavioural elements. However, results suggest that different elements of the model may drive activity (limitations) for different individuals. The integrated model provides a useful framework for understanding disability and suggests interventions, and the utility of N-of-1 methodology for testing theory is illustrated.

  12. An exploration of the biomedical optics course construction of undergraduate biomedical engineering program in medical colleges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Shijun; Lyu, Jie; Zhang, Peiming

    2017-08-01

    In this paper, the teaching goals, teaching contents and teaching methods in biomedical optics course construction are discussed. From the dimension of teaching goals, students should master the principle of optical inspection on the human body, diagnosis and treatment of methodology and instruments, through the study of the theory and practice of this course, and can utilize biomedical optics methods to solve practical problems in the clinical medical engineering practice. From the dimension of teaching contents, based on the characteristics of biomedical engineering in medical colleges, the organic integration of engineering aspects, medical optical instruments, and biomedical aspects dispersed in human anatomy, human physiology, clinical medicine fundamental related to the biomedical optics is build. Noninvasive measurement of the human body composition and noninvasive optical imaging of the human body were taken as actual problems in biomedical optics fields. Typical medical applications such as eye optics and laser medicine were also integrated into the theory and practice teaching. From the dimension of teaching methods, referencing to organ-system based medical teaching mode, optical principle and instrument principle were taught by teachers from school of medical instruments, and the histological characteristics and clinical actual need in areas such as digestive diseases and urinary surgery were taught by teachers from school of basic medicine or clinical medicine of medical colleges. Furthermore, clinical application guidance would be provided by physician and surgeons in hospitals.

  13. Visualization and simulation of complex flows in biomedical engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Imai, Yohsuke; Ishikawa, Takuji; Oliveira, Mónica

    2014-01-01

    This book focuses on the most recent advances in the application of visualization and simulation methods to understand the flow behavior of complex fluids used in biomedical engineering and other related fields. It shows the physiological flow behavior in large arteries, microcirculation, respiratory systems and in biomedical microdevices.

  14. Telemedicine optoelectronic biomedical data processing system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prosolovska, Vita V.

    2010-08-01

    The telemedicine optoelectronic biomedical data processing system is created to share medical information for the control of health rights and timely and rapid response to crisis. The system includes the main blocks: bioprocessor, analog-digital converter biomedical images, optoelectronic module for image processing, optoelectronic module for parallel recording and storage of biomedical imaging and matrix screen display of biomedical images. Rated temporal characteristics of the blocks defined by a particular triggering optoelectronic couple in analog-digital converters and time imaging for matrix screen. The element base for hardware implementation of the developed matrix screen is integrated optoelectronic couples produced by selective epitaxy.

  15. Survey of biomedical and environental data bases, models, and integrated computer systems at Argonne National Laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murarka, I.P.; Bodeau, D.J.; Scott, J.M.; Huebner, R.H.

    1978-08-01

    This document contains an inventory (index) of information resources pertaining to biomedical and environmental projects at Argonne National Laboratory--the information resources include a data base, model, or integrated computer system. Entries are categorized as models, numeric data bases, bibliographic data bases, or integrated hardware/software systems. Descriptions of the Information Coordination Focal Point (ICFP) program, the system for compiling this inventory, and the plans for continuing and expanding it are given, and suggestions for utilizing the services of the ICFP are outlined

  16. Survey of biomedical and environental data bases, models, and integrated computer systems at Argonne National Laboratory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Murarka, I.P.; Bodeau, D.J.; Scott, J.M.; Huebner, R.H.

    1978-08-01

    This document contains an inventory (index) of information resources pertaining to biomedical and environmental projects at Argonne National Laboratory--the information resources include a data base, model, or integrated computer system. Entries are categorized as models, numeric data bases, bibliographic data bases, or integrated hardware/software systems. Descriptions of the Information Coordination Focal Point (ICFP) program, the system for compiling this inventory, and the plans for continuing and expanding it are given, and suggestions for utilizing the services of the ICFP are outlined.

  17. Evolving technologies drive the new roles of Biomedical Engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frisch, P H; St Germain, J; Lui, W

    2008-01-01

    Rapidly changing technology coupled with the financial impact of organized health care, has required hospital Biomedical Engineering organizations to augment their traditional operational and business models to increase their role in developing enhanced clinical applications utilizing new and evolving technologies. The deployment of these technology based applications has required Biomedical Engineering organizations to re-organize to optimize the manner in which they provide and manage services. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has implemented a strategy to explore evolving technologies integrating them into enhanced clinical applications while optimally utilizing the expertise of the traditional Biomedical Engineering component (Clinical Engineering) to provide expanded support in technology / equipment management, device repair, preventive maintenance and integration with legacy clinical systems. Specifically, Biomedical Engineering is an integral component of the Medical Physics Department which provides comprehensive and integrated support to the Center in advanced physical, technical and engineering technology. This organizational structure emphasizes the integration and collaboration between a spectrum of technical expertise for clinical support and equipment management roles. The high cost of clinical equipment purchases coupled with the increasing cost of service has driven equipment management responsibilities to include significant business and financial aspects to provide a cost effective service model. This case study details the dynamics of these expanded roles, future initiatives and benefits for Biomedical Engineering and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

  18. Exploring and linking biomedical resources through multidimensional semantic spaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berlanga, Rafael; Jiménez-Ruiz, Ernesto; Nebot, Victoria

    2012-01-25

    The semantic integration of biomedical resources is still a challenging issue which is required for effective information processing and data analysis. The availability of comprehensive knowledge resources such as biomedical ontologies and integrated thesauri greatly facilitates this integration effort by means of semantic annotation, which allows disparate data formats and contents to be expressed under a common semantic space. In this paper, we propose a multidimensional representation for such a semantic space, where dimensions regard the different perspectives in biomedical research (e.g., population, disease, anatomy and protein/genes). This paper presents a novel method for building multidimensional semantic spaces from semantically annotated biomedical data collections. This method consists of two main processes: knowledge and data normalization. The former one arranges the concepts provided by a reference knowledge resource (e.g., biomedical ontologies and thesauri) into a set of hierarchical dimensions for analysis purposes. The latter one reduces the annotation set associated to each collection item into a set of points of the multidimensional space. Additionally, we have developed a visual tool, called 3D-Browser, which implements OLAP-like operators over the generated multidimensional space. The method and the tool have been tested and evaluated in the context of the Health-e-Child (HeC) project. Automatic semantic annotation was applied to tag three collections of abstracts taken from PubMed, one for each target disease of the project, the Uniprot database, and the HeC patient record database. We adopted the UMLS Meta-thesaurus 2010AA as the reference knowledge resource. Current knowledge resources and semantic-aware technology make possible the integration of biomedical resources. Such an integration is performed through semantic annotation of the intended biomedical data resources. This paper shows how these annotations can be exploited for

  19. Assessing the practice of biomedical ontology evaluation: Gaps and opportunities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amith, Muhammad; He, Zhe; Bian, Jiang; Lossio-Ventura, Juan Antonio; Tao, Cui

    2018-04-01

    With the proliferation of heterogeneous health care data in the last three decades, biomedical ontologies and controlled biomedical terminologies play a more and more important role in knowledge representation and management, data integration, natural language processing, as well as decision support for health information systems and biomedical research. Biomedical ontologies and controlled terminologies are intended to assure interoperability. Nevertheless, the quality of biomedical ontologies has hindered their applicability and subsequent adoption in real-world applications. Ontology evaluation is an integral part of ontology development and maintenance. In the biomedicine domain, ontology evaluation is often conducted by third parties as a quality assurance (or auditing) effort that focuses on identifying modeling errors and inconsistencies. In this work, we first organized four categorical schemes of ontology evaluation methods in the existing literature to create an integrated taxonomy. Further, to understand the ontology evaluation practice in the biomedicine domain, we reviewed a sample of 200 ontologies from the National Center for Biomedical Ontology (NCBO) BioPortal-the largest repository for biomedical ontologies-and observed that only 15 of these ontologies have documented evaluation in their corresponding inception papers. We then surveyed the recent quality assurance approaches for biomedical ontologies and their use. We also mapped these quality assurance approaches to the ontology evaluation criteria. It is our anticipation that ontology evaluation and quality assurance approaches will be more widely adopted in the development life cycle of biomedical ontologies. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Integration of extracellular RNA profiling data using metadata, biomedical ontologies and Linked Data technologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sai Lakshmi Subramanian

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The large diversity and volume of extracellular RNA (exRNA data that will form the basis of the exRNA Atlas generated by the Extracellular RNA Communication Consortium pose a substantial data integration challenge. We here present the strategy that is being implemented by the exRNA Data Management and Resource Repository, which employs metadata, biomedical ontologies and Linked Data technologies, such as Resource Description Framework to integrate a diverse set of exRNA profiles into an exRNA Atlas and enable integrative exRNA analysis. We focus on the following three specific data integration tasks: (a selection of samples from a virtual biorepository for exRNA profiling and for inclusion in the exRNA Atlas; (b retrieval of a data slice from the exRNA Atlas for integrative analysis and (c interpretation of exRNA analysis results in the context of pathways and networks. As exRNA profiling gains wide adoption in the research community, we anticipate that the strategies discussed here will increasingly be required to enable data reuse and to facilitate integrative analysis of exRNA data.

  1. Integration of extracellular RNA profiling data using metadata, biomedical ontologies and Linked Data technologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subramanian, Sai Lakshmi; Kitchen, Robert R; Alexander, Roger; Carter, Bob S; Cheung, Kei-Hoi; Laurent, Louise C; Pico, Alexander; Roberts, Lewis R; Roth, Matthew E; Rozowsky, Joel S; Su, Andrew I; Gerstein, Mark B; Milosavljevic, Aleksandar

    2015-01-01

    The large diversity and volume of extracellular RNA (exRNA) data that will form the basis of the exRNA Atlas generated by the Extracellular RNA Communication Consortium pose a substantial data integration challenge. We here present the strategy that is being implemented by the exRNA Data Management and Resource Repository, which employs metadata, biomedical ontologies and Linked Data technologies, such as Resource Description Framework to integrate a diverse set of exRNA profiles into an exRNA Atlas and enable integrative exRNA analysis. We focus on the following three specific data integration tasks: (a) selection of samples from a virtual biorepository for exRNA profiling and for inclusion in the exRNA Atlas; (b) retrieval of a data slice from the exRNA Atlas for integrative analysis and (c) interpretation of exRNA analysis results in the context of pathways and networks. As exRNA profiling gains wide adoption in the research community, we anticipate that the strategies discussed here will increasingly be required to enable data reuse and to facilitate integrative analysis of exRNA data.

  2. [Integration of fundamental and applied medical and technical research made at the department of the biomedical systems, Moscow State Institute of Electronic Engineering].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Selishchev, S V

    2004-01-01

    The integration results of fundamental and applied medical-and-technical research made at the chair of biomedical systems, Moscow state institute of electronic engineering (technical university--MSIEE), are described in the paper. The chair is guided in its research activity by the traditions of higher education in Russia in the field of biomedical electronics and biomedical engineering. Its activities are based on the extrapolation of methods of electronic tools, computer technologies, physics, biology and medicine with due respect being paid to the requirements of practical medicine and to topical issues of research and design.

  3. Advancing community stakeholder engagement in biomedical HIV prevention trials: principles, practices and evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, Peter A; Rubincam, Clara

    2014-12-01

    Community stakeholder engagement is foundational to fair and ethically conducted biomedical HIV prevention trials. Concerns regarding the ethical engagement of community stakeholders in HIV vaccine trials and early terminations of several international pre-exposure prophylaxis trials have fueled the development of international guidelines, such as UNAIDS' good participatory practice (GPP). GPP aims to ensure that stakeholders are effectively involved in all phases of biomedical HIV prevention trials. We provide an overview of the six guiding principles in the GPP and critically examine them in relation to existing social and behavioral science research. In particular, we highlight the challenges involved in operationalizing these principles on the ground in various global contexts, with a focus on low-income country settings. Increasing integration of social science in biomedical HIV prevention trials will provide evidence to advance a science of community stakeholder engagement to support ethical and effective practices informed by local realities and sociocultural differences.

  4. Advances in biomedical engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Brown, J H U

    1976-01-01

    Advances in Biomedical Engineering, Volume 6, is a collection of papers that discusses the role of integrated electronics in medical systems and the usage of biological mathematical models in biological systems. Other papers deal with the health care systems, the problems and methods of approach toward rehabilitation, as well as the future of biomedical engineering. One paper discusses the use of system identification as it applies to biological systems to estimate the values of a number of parameters (for example, resistance, diffusion coefficients) by indirect means. More particularly, the i

  5. SCALEUS: Semantic Web Services Integration for Biomedical Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sernadela, Pedro; González-Castro, Lorena; Oliveira, José Luís

    2017-04-01

    In recent years, we have witnessed an explosion of biological data resulting largely from the demands of life science research. The vast majority of these data are freely available via diverse bioinformatics platforms, including relational databases and conventional keyword search applications. This type of approach has achieved great results in the last few years, but proved to be unfeasible when information needs to be combined or shared among different and scattered sources. During recent years, many of these data distribution challenges have been solved with the adoption of semantic web. Despite the evident benefits of this technology, its adoption introduced new challenges related with the migration process, from existent systems to the semantic level. To facilitate this transition, we have developed Scaleus, a semantic web migration tool that can be deployed on top of traditional systems in order to bring knowledge, inference rules, and query federation to the existent data. Targeted at the biomedical domain, this web-based platform offers, in a single package, straightforward data integration and semantic web services that help developers and researchers in the creation process of new semantically enhanced information systems. SCALEUS is available as open source at http://bioinformatics-ua.github.io/scaleus/ .

  6. Factorization of Behavioral Integrity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Ximeng; Nielson, Flemming; Nielson, Hanne Riis

    2015-01-01

    We develop a bisimulation-based nonintereference property that describes the allowed dependencies between communication behaviors of different integrity levels. The property is able to capture all possible combinations of integrity levels for the “presence” and “content” of actual communications...

  7. PubFocus: semantic MEDLINE/PubMed citations analytics through integration of controlled biomedical dictionaries and ranking algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chuong Cheng-Ming

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Understanding research activity within any given biomedical field is important. Search outputs generated by MEDLINE/PubMed are not well classified and require lengthy manual citation analysis. Automation of citation analytics can be very useful and timesaving for both novices and experts. Results PubFocus web server automates analysis of MEDLINE/PubMed search queries by enriching them with two widely used human factor-based bibliometric indicators of publication quality: journal impact factor and volume of forward references. In addition to providing basic volumetric statistics, PubFocus also prioritizes citations and evaluates authors' impact on the field of search. PubFocus also analyses presence and occurrence of biomedical key terms within citations by utilizing controlled vocabularies. Conclusion We have developed citations' prioritisation algorithm based on journal impact factor, forward referencing volume, referencing dynamics, and author's contribution level. It can be applied either to the primary set of PubMed search results or to the subsets of these results identified through key terms from controlled biomedical vocabularies and ontologies. NCI (National Cancer Institute thesaurus and MGD (Mouse Genome Database mammalian gene orthology have been implemented for key terms analytics. PubFocus provides a scalable platform for the integration of multiple available ontology databases. PubFocus analytics can be adapted for input sources of biomedical citations other than PubMed.

  8. Mentoring Interventions for Underrepresented Scholars in Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences: Effects on Quality of Mentoring Interactions and Discussions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Vivian; Martina, Camille A.; McDermott, Michael P.; Chaudron, Linda; Trief, Paula M.; LaGuardia, Jennifer G.; Sharp, Daryl; Goodman, Steven R.; Morse, Gene D.; Ryan, Richard M.

    2017-01-01

    Mentors rarely receive education about the unique needs of underrepresented scholars in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. We hypothesized that mentor-training and peer-mentoring interventions for these scholars would enrich the perceived quality and breadth of discussions between mentor-protégé dyads (i.e., mentor-protégé pairs). Our…

  9. From Biomedical to Psychosomatic Reasoning: A Theoretical Framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alireza Monajemi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite a general acceptance of the biopsychosocial model, medical education and patient care are still largely biomedical in focus, and physicians have many deficiencies in biopsychosocial formulations and care. Education in medical schools puts more emphasis on providing biomedical education (BM than biopsychosocial education (BPS; the initial knowledge formed in medical students is mainly with a biomedical approach. Therefore, it seems that psychosocial aspects play a minor role at this level and PSM knowledge will lag behind BM knowledge. However, it seems that the integration of biomedical and psychosocial-knowledge is crucial for a successful and efficient patient encounter. In this paper, based on the theory of medical expertise development, the steps through which biomedical reasoning transforms to psychosomatic reasoning will be discussed.

  10. "Exploring knowledge-user experiences in integrated knowledge translation: a biomedical investigation of the causes and consequences of food allergy".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixon, Jenna; Elliott, Susan J; Clarke, Ann E

    2016-01-01

    Food allergy is a serious public health problem in Canada and other high-income countries, as it is potentially life threatening and severely impacts the quality of life for individuals and their families. Yet, many questions still remain as to its origins and determinants, and the best practices for treatment. Formed to tackle these very questions, the GET-FACTS research study centers on a novel concept in biomedical research: in order to make this science useful, knowledge creation must include meaningful interactions with knowledge-users. With this, knowledge-users are present at every stage of the research and are crucial, central and equal contributors. This study reflects on the early part of that journey from the perspective of the knowledge-users. We conducted interviews with all non-scientist members of the GET-FACTS steering committee, representing Canadian organizations that deal with patient advocacy and policy with regards to food allergy. Steering committee members had a clear sense that scientists and knowledge-users are equally responsible for putting knowledge into action and the importance of consulting and integrating knowledge-users throughout research. They also have high expectations for the GET-FACTS integrated process; that this model of doing science will create better scientists (e.g. improve communication skills) and make the scientific output more useful and relevant. Our work highlights both the unique contributions that knowledge-users can offer to knowledge creation as well as the challenges of trying to unify members from such different communities (policy/advocacy and biomedical science). There remains a real need to develop more touch points and opportunities for collaboration if true integration is to be achieved. Despite the obstacles, this model can help change the way knowledge is created in the biomedical world. ᅟ. Despite the burden of food allergic disease many questions remain as to its origins, determinants and best

  11. MIMI: multimodality, multiresource, information integration environment for biomedical core facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szymanski, Jacek; Wilson, David L; Zhang, Guo-Qiang

    2009-10-01

    The rapid expansion of biomedical research has brought substantial scientific and administrative data management challenges to modern core facilities. Scientifically, a core facility must be able to manage experimental workflow and the corresponding set of large and complex scientific data. It must also disseminate experimental data to relevant researchers in a secure and expedient manner that facilitates collaboration and provides support for data interpretation and analysis. Administratively, a core facility must be able to manage the scheduling of its equipment and to maintain a flexible and effective billing system to track material, resource, and personnel costs and charge for services to sustain its operation. It must also have the ability to regularly monitor the usage and performance of its equipment and to provide summary statistics on resources spent on different categories of research. To address these informatics challenges, we introduce a comprehensive system called MIMI (multimodality, multiresource, information integration environment) that integrates the administrative and scientific support of a core facility into a single web-based environment. We report the design, development, and deployment experience of a baseline MIMI system at an imaging core facility and discuss the general applicability of such a system in other types of core facilities. These initial results suggest that MIMI will be a unique, cost-effective approach to addressing the informatics infrastructure needs of core facilities and similar research laboratories.

  12. Biomedical signal and image processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerutti, Sergio; Baselli, Giuseppe; Bianchi, Anna; Caiani, Enrico; Contini, Davide; Cubeddu, Rinaldo; Dercole, Fabio; Rienzo, Luca; Liberati, Diego; Mainardi, Luca; Ravazzani, Paolo; Rinaldi, Sergio; Signorini, Maria; Torricelli, Alessandro

    2011-01-01

    Generally, physiological modeling and biomedical signal processing constitute two important paradigms of biomedical engineering (BME): their fundamental concepts are taught starting from undergraduate studies and are more completely dealt with in the last years of graduate curricula, as well as in Ph.D. courses. Traditionally, these two cultural aspects were separated, with the first one more oriented to physiological issues and how to model them and the second one more dedicated to the development of processing tools or algorithms to enhance useful information from clinical data. A practical consequence was that those who did models did not do signal processing and vice versa. However, in recent years,the need for closer integration between signal processing and modeling of the relevant biological systems emerged very clearly [1], [2]. This is not only true for training purposes(i.e., to properly prepare the new professional members of BME) but also for the development of newly conceived research projects in which the integration between biomedical signal and image processing (BSIP) and modeling plays a crucial role. Just to give simple examples, topics such as brain–computer machine or interfaces,neuroengineering, nonlinear dynamical analysis of the cardiovascular (CV) system,integration of sensory-motor characteristics aimed at the building of advanced prostheses and rehabilitation tools, and wearable devices for vital sign monitoring and others do require an intelligent fusion of modeling and signal processing competences that are certainly peculiar of our discipline of BME.

  13. A perspective for biomedical data integration: Design of databases for flow cytometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lakoumentas John

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The integration of biomedical information is essential for tackling medical problems. We describe a data model in the domain of flow cytometry (FC allowing for massive management, analysis and integration with other laboratory and clinical information. The paper is concerned with the proper translation of the Flow Cytometry Standard (FCS into a relational database schema, in a way that facilitates end users at either doing research on FC or studying specific cases of patients undergone FC analysis Results The proposed database schema provides integration of data originating from diverse acquisition settings, organized in a way that allows syntactically simple queries that provide results significantly faster than the conventional implementations of the FCS standard. The proposed schema can potentially achieve up to 8 orders of magnitude reduction in query complexity and up to 2 orders of magnitude reduction in response time for data originating from flow cytometers that record 256 colours. This is mainly achieved by managing to maintain an almost constant number of data-mining procedures regardless of the size and complexity of the stored information. Conclusion It is evident that using single-file data storage standards for the design of databases without any structural transformations significantly limits the flexibility of databases. Analysis of the requirements of a specific domain for integration and massive data processing can provide the necessary schema modifications that will unlock the additional functionality of a relational database.

  14. Distributed System for Spaceflight Biomedical Support

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Our project investigated whether a software platform could integrate as wide a variety of devices and data types as needed for spaceflight biomedical support. The...

  15. Review of spectral imaging technology in biomedical engineering: achievements and challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Qingli; He, Xiaofu; Wang, Yiting; Liu, Hongying; Xu, Dongrong; Guo, Fangmin

    2013-10-01

    Spectral imaging is a technology that integrates conventional imaging and spectroscopy to get both spatial and spectral information from an object. Although this technology was originally developed for remote sensing, it has been extended to the biomedical engineering field as a powerful analytical tool for biological and biomedical research. This review introduces the basics of spectral imaging, imaging methods, current equipment, and recent advances in biomedical applications. The performance and analytical capabilities of spectral imaging systems for biological and biomedical imaging are discussed. In particular, the current achievements and limitations of this technology in biomedical engineering are presented. The benefits and development trends of biomedical spectral imaging are highlighted to provide the reader with an insight into the current technological advances and its potential for biomedical research.

  16. Topical Review: Translating Translational Research in Behavioral Science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hommel, Kevin A; Modi, Avani C; Piazza-Waggoner, Carrie; Myers, James D

    2015-01-01

    To present a model of translational research for behavioral science that communicates the role of behavioral research at each phase of translation. A task force identified gaps in knowledge regarding behavioral translational research processes and made recommendations regarding advancement of knowledge. A comprehensive model of translational behavioral research was developed. This model represents T1, T2, and T3 research activities, as well as Phase 1, 2, 3, and 4 clinical trials. Clinical illustrations of translational processes are also offered as support for the model. Behavioral science has struggled with defining a translational research model that effectively articulates each stage of translation and complements biomedical research. Our model defines key activities at each phase of translation from basic discovery to dissemination/implementation. This should be a starting point for communicating the role of behavioral science in translational research and a catalyst for better integration of biomedical and behavioral research. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  17. Innovative curriculum: Integrating the bio-behavioral and social science principles across the LifeStages in basic science years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lele Mookerjee, Anuradha; Fischer, Bradford D; Cavanaugh, Susan; Rajput, Vijay

    2018-05-20

    Behavioral and social science integration in clinical practice improves health outcomes across the life stages. The medical school curriculum requires an integration of the behavioral and social science principles in early medical education. We developed and delivered a four-week course entitled "LifeStages" to the first year medical students. The learning objectives of the bio-behavioral and social science principles along with the cultural, economic, political, and ethical parameters were integrated across the lifespan in the curriculum matrix. We focused on the following major domains: Growth and Brain Development; Sexuality, Hormones and Gender; Sleep; Cognitive and Emotional Development; Mobility, Exercise, Injury and Safety; Nutrition, Diet and Lifestyle; Stress and coping skills, Domestic Violence; Substance Use Disorders; Pain, Illness and Suffering; End of Life, Ethics and Death along with Intergenerational issues and Family Dynamics. Collaboration from the clinical and biomedical science departments led to the dynamic delivery of the course learning objectives and content. The faculty developed and led a scholarly discussion, using the case of a multi-racial, multi-generational family during Active Learning Group (ALG) sessions. The assessment in the LifeStages course involved multiple assessment tools: including the holistic assessment by the faculty facilitator inside ALGs, a Team-Based Learning (TBL) exercise, multiple choice questions and Team Work Assessment during which the students had to create a clinical case on a LifeStages domain along with the facilitators guide and learning objectives.

  18. Mechanical properties and bio-tribological behaviors of novel beta-Zr-type Zr-Al-Fe-Nb alloys for biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hua, Nengbin; Chen, Wenzhe; Zhang, Lei; Li, Guanghui; Liao, Zhenlong; Lin, Yan

    2017-07-01

    The present study prepares novel Zr 70+x Al 5 Fe 15-x Nb 10 (x=0, 5) alloys by arc-melting for potential biomedical application. The mechanical properties and bio-tribological behaviors of the Zr-based alloys are evaluated and compared with biomedical pure Zr. The as-prepared alloys exhibit a microstructure containing a micrometer-sized dendritic beta-Zr phase dispersed in a Zr 2 Fe-typed matrix. It is found that increasing the content of Zr is favorable for the mechanical compatibility with a combination of low Young's modulus, large plasticity, and high compressive strength. The wear resistance of the Zr-Al-Fe-Nb alloys in air and phosphate buffer saline (PBS) solution is superior to that of pure Zr. The wear mechanism of Zr-based alloys sliding in air is controlled by oxidation and abrasive wear whereas that sliding in PBS is controlled by synergistic effects of the abrasive and corrosive wear. Electrochemical measurements demonstrate that the Zr-based alloys are corrosion resistant in PBS. Their bio-corrosion resistance is improved with the increase in Zr content, which is attributed to the enrichment in Zr and decrease in Al concentration in the surface passive film of alloys. The Zr 75 Al 5 Fe 10 Nb 10 exhibits the best corrosion resistance in PBS, which contributes to its superior wear resistance in a simulated body environment. The combination of good mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and biotribological behaviors of the Zr-Al-Fe-Nb alloys offers them potential advantages in biomedical applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. 78 FR 22622 - Joint Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development and Clinical Science Research and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-16

    ... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Joint Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development and Clinical... the panels of the Joint Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development and Clinical Science Research... biomedical, behavioral and clinical science research. The panel meetings will be open to the public for...

  20. 77 FR 64598 - Joint Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development and Clinical Science Research and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-22

    ... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Joint Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development and Clinical...) that the panels of the Joint Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development and Clinical Science... areas of biomedical, behavioral and clinical science research. The panel meetings will be open to the...

  1. Digital fabrication of multi-material biomedical objects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheung, H H; Choi, S H, E-mail: shchoi@hku.h [Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road (Hong Kong)

    2009-12-15

    This paper describes a multi-material virtual prototyping (MMVP) system for modelling and digital fabrication of discrete and functionally graded multi-material objects for biomedical applications. The MMVP system consists of a DMMVP module, an FGMVP module and a virtual reality (VR) simulation module. The DMMVP module is used to model discrete multi-material (DMM) objects, while the FGMVP module is for functionally graded multi-material (FGM) objects. The VR simulation module integrates these two modules to perform digital fabrication of multi-material objects, which can be subsequently visualized and analysed in a virtual environment to optimize MMLM processes for fabrication of product prototypes. Using the MMVP system, two biomedical objects, including a DMM human spine and an FGM intervertebral disc spacer are modelled and digitally fabricated for visualization and analysis in a VR environment. These studies show that the MMVP system is a practical tool for modelling, visualization, and subsequent fabrication of biomedical objects of discrete and functionally graded multi-materials for biomedical applications. The system may be adapted to control MMLM machines with appropriate hardware for physical fabrication of biomedical objects.

  2. Digital fabrication of multi-material biomedical objects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheung, H H; Choi, S H

    2009-01-01

    This paper describes a multi-material virtual prototyping (MMVP) system for modelling and digital fabrication of discrete and functionally graded multi-material objects for biomedical applications. The MMVP system consists of a DMMVP module, an FGMVP module and a virtual reality (VR) simulation module. The DMMVP module is used to model discrete multi-material (DMM) objects, while the FGMVP module is for functionally graded multi-material (FGM) objects. The VR simulation module integrates these two modules to perform digital fabrication of multi-material objects, which can be subsequently visualized and analysed in a virtual environment to optimize MMLM processes for fabrication of product prototypes. Using the MMVP system, two biomedical objects, including a DMM human spine and an FGM intervertebral disc spacer are modelled and digitally fabricated for visualization and analysis in a VR environment. These studies show that the MMVP system is a practical tool for modelling, visualization, and subsequent fabrication of biomedical objects of discrete and functionally graded multi-materials for biomedical applications. The system may be adapted to control MMLM machines with appropriate hardware for physical fabrication of biomedical objects.

  3. Influence of aggressive ions on the degradation behavior of biomedical magnesium alloy in physiological environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xin, Yunchang; Huo, Kaifu; Tao, Hu; Tang, Guoyi; Chu, Paul K

    2008-11-01

    Various electrochemical approaches, including potentiodynamic polarization, open circuit potential evolution and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), are employed to investigate the degradation behavior of biomedical magnesium alloy under the influence of aggressive ions, such as chloride, phosphate, carbonate and sulfate, in a physiological environment. The synergetic effects and mutual influence of these ions on the degradation behavior of Mg are revealed. Our results demonstrate that chloride ions can induce porous pitting corrosion. In the presence of phosphates, the corrosion rate decreases and the formation of pitting corrosion is significantly delayed due to precipitation of magnesium phosphate. Hydrogen carbonate ions are observed to stimulate the corrosion of magnesium alloy during the early immersion stage but they can also induce rapid passivation on the surface. This surface passivation behavior mainly results from the fast precipitation of magnesium carbonate in the corrosion product layer that can subsequently inhibit pitting corrosion completely. Sulfate ions are also found to stimulate magnesium dissolution. These results improve our understanding on the degradation mechanism of surgical magnesium in the physiological environment.

  4. Biomedical photonics handbook therapeutics and advanced biophotonics

    CERN Document Server

    Vo-Dinh, Tuan

    2014-01-01

    Shaped by Quantum Theory, Technology, and the Genomics RevolutionThe integration of photonics, electronics, biomaterials, and nanotechnology holds great promise for the future of medicine. This topic has recently experienced an explosive growth due to the noninvasive or minimally invasive nature and the cost-effectiveness of photonic modalities in medical diagnostics and therapy. The second edition of the Biomedical Photonics Handbook presents recent fundamental developments as well as important applications of biomedical photonics of interest to scientists, engineers, manufacturers, teachers,

  5. Optimizing biomedical science learning in a veterinary curriculum: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren, Amy L; Donnon, Tyrone

    2013-01-01

    As veterinary medical curricula evolve, the time dedicated to biomedical science teaching, as well as the role of biomedical science knowledge in veterinary education, has been scrutinized. Aside from being mandated by accrediting bodies, biomedical science knowledge plays an important role in developing clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic reasoning skills in the application of clinical skills, in supporting evidence-based veterinary practice and life-long learning, and in advancing biomedical knowledge and comparative medicine. With an increasing volume and fast pace of change in biomedical knowledge, as well as increased demands on curricular time, there has been pressure to make biomedical science education efficient and relevant for veterinary medicine. This has lead to a shift in biomedical education from fact-based, teacher-centered and discipline-based teaching to applicable, student-centered, integrated teaching. This movement is supported by adult learning theories and is thought to enhance students' transference of biomedical science into their clinical practice. The importance of biomedical science in veterinary education and the theories of biomedical science learning will be discussed in this article. In addition, we will explore current advances in biomedical teaching methodologies that are aimed to maximize knowledge retention and application for clinical veterinary training and practice.

  6. Integrating biomedical and herbal medicine in Ghana - experiences from the Kumasi South Hospital: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boateng, Millicent Addai; Danso-Appiah, Anthony; Turkson, Bernard Kofi; Tersbøl, Britt Pinkowski

    2016-07-07

    Over the past decade there has been growing interest in the use of herbal medicine both in developed and developing countries. Given the high proportion of patients using herbal medicine in Ghana, some health facilities have initiated implementation of herbal medicine as a component of their healthcare delivery. However, the extent to which herbal medicine has been integrated in Ghanaian health facilities, how integration is implemented and perceived by different stakeholders has not been documented. The study sought to explore these critical issues at the Kumasi South Hospital (KSH) and outline the challenges and motivations of the integration process. Qualitative phenomenological exploratory study design involving fieldwork observations, focus group discussion, in-depth interviews and key informants' interviews was employed to collect data. Policies and protocols outlining the definition, process and goals of integration were lacking, with respondents sharing different views about the purpose and value of integration of herbal medicine within public health facilities. Key informants were supportive of the initiative. Whilst biomedical health workers perceived the system to be parallel than integrated, health personnel providing herbal medicine perceived the system as integrated. Most patients were not aware of the herbal clinic in the hospital but those who had utilized services of the herbal clinic viewed the clinic as part of the hospital. The lack of a regulatory policy and protocol for the integration seemed to have led to the different perception of the integration. Policy and protocol to guide the integration are key recommendations.

  7. Should biomedical research be like Airbnb?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonazzi, Vivien R; Bourne, Philip E

    2017-04-01

    The thesis presented here is that biomedical research is based on the trusted exchange of services. That exchange would be conducted more efficiently if the trusted software platforms to exchange those services, if they exist, were more integrated. While simpler and narrower in scope than the services governing biomedical research, comparison to existing internet-based platforms, like Airbnb, can be informative. We illustrate how the analogy to internet-based platforms works and does not work and introduce The Commons, under active development at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and elsewhere, as an example of the move towards platforms for research.

  8. A scoping review of competencies for scientific editors of biomedical journals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galipeau, James; Barbour, Virginia; Baskin, Patricia; Bell-Syer, Sally; Cobey, Kelly; Cumpston, Miranda; Deeks, Jon; Garner, Paul; MacLehose, Harriet; Shamseer, Larissa; Straus, Sharon; Tugwell, Peter; Wager, Elizabeth; Winker, Margaret; Moher, David

    2016-02-02

    Biomedical journals are the main route for disseminating the results of health-related research. Despite this, their editors operate largely without formal training or certification. To our knowledge, no body of literature systematically identifying core competencies for scientific editors of biomedical journals exists. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a scoping review to determine what is known on the competency requirements for scientific editors of biomedical journals. We searched the MEDLINE®, Cochrane Library, Embase®, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and ERIC databases (from inception to November 2014) and conducted a grey literature search for research and non-research articles with competency-related statements (i.e. competencies, knowledge, skills, behaviors, and tasks) pertaining to the role of scientific editors of peer-reviewed health-related journals. We also conducted an environmental scan, searched the results of a previous environmental scan, and searched the websites of existing networks, major biomedical journal publishers, and organizations that offer resources for editors. A total of 225 full-text publications were included, 25 of which were research articles. We extracted a total of 1,566 statements possibly related to core competencies for scientific editors of biomedical journals from these publications. We then collated overlapping or duplicate statements which produced a list of 203 unique statements. Finally, we grouped these statements into seven emergent themes: (1) dealing with authors, (2) dealing with peer reviewers, (3) journal publishing, (4) journal promotion, (5) editing, (6) ethics and integrity, and (7) qualities and characteristics of editors. To our knowledge, this scoping review is the first attempt to systematically identify possible competencies of editors. Limitations are that (1) we may not have captured all aspects of a biomedical editor's work in our searches, (2) removing redundant and overlapping items may have led to the

  9. Requirements for data integration platforms in biomedical research networks: a reference model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganzinger, Matthias; Knaup, Petra

    2015-01-01

    Biomedical research networks need to integrate research data among their members and with external partners. To support such data sharing activities, an adequate information technology infrastructure is necessary. To facilitate the establishment of such an infrastructure, we developed a reference model for the requirements. The reference model consists of five reference goals and 15 reference requirements. Using the Unified Modeling Language, the goals and requirements are set into relation to each other. In addition, all goals and requirements are described textually in tables. This reference model can be used by research networks as a basis for a resource efficient acquisition of their project specific requirements. Furthermore, a concrete instance of the reference model is described for a research network on liver cancer. The reference model is transferred into a requirements model of the specific network. Based on this concrete requirements model, a service-oriented information technology architecture is derived and also described in this paper.

  10. Should biomedical research be like Airbnb?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vivien R Bonazzi

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The thesis presented here is that biomedical research is based on the trusted exchange of services. That exchange would be conducted more efficiently if the trusted software platforms to exchange those services, if they exist, were more integrated. While simpler and narrower in scope than the services governing biomedical research, comparison to existing internet-based platforms, like Airbnb, can be informative. We illustrate how the analogy to internet-based platforms works and does not work and introduce The Commons, under active development at the National Institutes of Health (NIH and elsewhere, as an example of the move towards platforms for research.

  11. Improving Maladaptive Behaviors Using Sensory Integration Techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shuman, Theresa

    A study examined the use of sensory integration techniques to reduce the maladaptive behaviors that interfered with the learning of nine high school students with mental impairments attending a special school. Maladaptive behaviors identified included rocking, toe walking, echolalia, resistance to change, compulsive behaviors, aggression,…

  12. Healthy Eating and Harambee: curriculum development for a culturally-centered bio-medically oriented nutrition education program to reach African American women of childbearing age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kannan, Srimathi; Sparks, Arlene V; Webster, J DeWitt; Krishnakumar, Ambika; Lumeng, Julie

    2010-07-01

    The purpose was to develop, implement and evaluate a peer-led nutrition curriculum Healthy Eating and Harambee that addresses established objectives of maternal and infant health and to shift the stage for African American women of childbearing age in Genesee County toward healthier dietary patterns using a socio-cultural and biomedical orientation. The PEN-3 model, which frames culture in the context of health promotion interventions, was integrated with the Transtheoretical Model to guide this 13-week pre-test/post-test curriculum. Materials developed included soul food plate visuals, a micronutrient availability worksheet, a fruit stand, and gardening kits. Learning activities included affirmations, stories, case-scenarios, point-of-purchase product recognition, church health teams, and community health fairs. We investigated health-promoting dietary behaviors (consumption of more fruits and vegetables (F&V), serving more F&V to their families, and moderating dietary sodium and fat intakes), and biomedical behaviors (self-monitoring blood pressure and exercising) across five stages of change. Session attendance and program satisfaction were assessed. N = 102 women participated (mean age = 27.5 years). A majority (77%) reported adopting at least one healthy eating behavior (moderating sodium, serving more F&V to their families), 23% adopted at least two such behaviors (reading food labels for sodium; using culinary herbs/spices; serving more F&V to their families), and 45% adopted both dietary (moderating sodium; eating more fruits) and biomedical behaviors. Participants and facilitators favorably evaluated the curriculum and suggested improvements. A multi-conceptual approach coupled with cultural and biomedical tailoring has potential to promote young African American women's movement to more advanced stages of change and improve self-efficacy for fruit and vegetable intake, dietary sodium moderation, and self-monitoring blood pressure and physical activity.

  13. African Americans, democracy, and biomedical and behavioral research: contradictions or consensus in community-based participatory research?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spigner, C

    Individualism, in both its political and attitudinal senses, reinforces societal and institutional racism in the United States. Because of individualism's dominant focus on self-interest and self-reliance, any application of "participatory democracy" in community-based biomedical and behavioral research is fraught with dilemmas similar to those that Gunnar Myrdal observed between American racism and democracy. The research establishment is overwhelmed by well-meaning non-minorities who recognize racism and its consequences in health, but only greater representation of people-of-color in the health establishment can ameliorate the inherent contradictions of "participatory democracy" which is so fundamental to the process of community-based participatory research.

  14. A service-oriented distributed semantic mediator: integrating multiscale biomedical information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mora, Oscar; Engelbrecht, Gerhard; Bisbal, Jesus

    2012-11-01

    Biomedical research continuously generates large amounts of heterogeneous and multimodal data spread over multiple data sources. These data, if appropriately shared and exploited, could dramatically improve the research practice itself, and ultimately the quality of health care delivered. This paper presents DISMED (DIstributed Semantic MEDiator), an open source semantic mediator that provides a unified view of a federated environment of multiscale biomedical data sources. DISMED is a Web-based software application to query and retrieve information distributed over a set of registered data sources, using semantic technologies. It also offers a userfriendly interface specifically designed to simplify the usage of these technologies by non-expert users. Although the architecture of the software mediator is generic and domain independent, in the context of this paper, DISMED has been evaluated for managing biomedical environments and facilitating research with respect to the handling of scientific data distributed in multiple heterogeneous data sources. As part of this contribution, a quantitative evaluation framework has been developed. It consist of a benchmarking scenario and the definition of five realistic use-cases. This framework, created entirely with public datasets, has been used to compare the performance of DISMED against other available mediators. It is also available to the scientific community in order to evaluate progress in the domain of semantic mediation, in a systematic and comparable manner. The results show an average improvement in the execution time by DISMED of 55% compared to the second best alternative in four out of the five use-cases of the experimental evaluation.

  15. Magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krustev, P.; Ruskov, T.

    2007-01-01

    In this paper we describe different biomedical application using magnetic nanoparticles. Over the past decade, a number of biomedical applications have begun to emerge for magnetic nanoparticles of differing sizes, shapes, and compositions. Areas under investigation include targeted drug delivery, ultra-sensitive disease detection, gene therapy, high throughput genetic screening, biochemical sensing, and rapid toxicity cleansing. Magnetic nanoparticles exhibit ferromagnetic or superparamagnetic behavior, magnetizing strongly under an applied field. In the second case (superparamagnetic nanoparticles) there is no permanent magnetism once the field is removed. The superparamagnetic nanoparticles are highly attractive as in vivo probes or in vitro tools to extract information on biochemical systems. The optical properties of magnetic metal nanoparticles are spectacular and, therefore, have promoted a great deal of excitement during the last few decades. Many applications as MRI imaging and hyperthermia rely on the use of iron oxide particles. Moreover magnetic nanoparticles conjugated with antibodies are also applied to hyperthermia and have enabled tumor specific contrast enhancement in MRI. Other promising biomedical applications are connected with tumor cells treated with magnetic nanoparticles with X-ray ionizing radiation, which employs magnetic nanoparticles as a complementary radiate source inside the tumor. (authors)

  16. 78 FR 66992 - Joint Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development and Clinical Science Research and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-07

    ... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Joint Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development and Clinical... the panels of the Joint Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development and Clinical Science Research..., behavioral, and clinical science research. The panel meetings will be open to the public for approximately...

  17. Enterprising Behavior in an Integral Competence Framework

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loredana Orhei; S. Nandram; Marise Born

    2013-01-01

    We present insights from literature on enterprising behavior and competence followed by an application of the competence perspective. Data collection is based on the Critical Incident Technique among 205 entrepreneurs. The study shows how entrepreneurial behavior benefits from an Integral competence

  18. [Biomedical informatics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capurro, Daniel; Soto, Mauricio; Vivent, Macarena; Lopetegui, Marcelo; Herskovic, Jorge R

    2011-12-01

    Biomedical Informatics is a new discipline that arose from the need to incorporate information technologies to the generation, storage, distribution and analysis of information in the domain of biomedical sciences. This discipline comprises basic biomedical informatics, and public health informatics. The development of the discipline in Chile has been modest and most projects have originated from the interest of individual people or institutions, without a systematic and coordinated national development. Considering the unique features of health care system of our country, research in the area of biomedical informatics is becoming an imperative.

  19. Vertically integrated monolithic pixel sensors for charged particle tracking and biomedical imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ratti, L.; Gaioni, L.; Manghisoni, M.; Re, V.; Traversi, G.

    2011-01-01

    Three-dimensional monolithic pixel sensors have been designed following the same approach that was exploited for the development of the so-called deep N-well (DNW) MAPS in planar CMOS process. The new 3D design relies upon stacking two homogeneous layers fabricated in a 130 nm CMOS technology. One of the two tiers, which are face-to-face bonded, has to be thinned down to about 12μm to expose the through silicon vias connecting the circuits to the back-metal bond pads. As a consequence of the way the two parts of each single chip are designed and fabricated, the prototypes of the 3D monolithic detector will include both samples with a thick substrate underneath the collecting DNW electrode, suitable for charged particle tracking, and samples with a very thin (about 6μm) sensitive volume, which may be used to detect low energy particles in biomedical imaging applications. Device physics simulations have been performed to evaluate the collection properties and detection efficiency of the proposed vertically integrated structures.

  20. Vertically integrated monolithic pixel sensors for charged particle tracking and biomedical imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ratti, L., E-mail: lodovico.ratti@unipv.it [Universita di Pavia, Dipartimento di Elettronica, Via Ferrata 1, I-27100 Pavia (Italy); INFN, Sezione di Pavia, Via Bassi 6, I-27100 Pavia (Italy); Gaioni, L. [INFN, Sezione di Pavia, Via Bassi 6, I-27100 Pavia (Italy); Manghisoni, M.; Re, V.; Traversi, G. [Universita di Bergamo, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Via Marconi 5, I-24044 Dalmine (Italy); INFN, Sezione di Pavia, Via Bassi 6, I-27100 Pavia (Italy)

    2011-10-01

    Three-dimensional monolithic pixel sensors have been designed following the same approach that was exploited for the development of the so-called deep N-well (DNW) MAPS in planar CMOS process. The new 3D design relies upon stacking two homogeneous layers fabricated in a 130 nm CMOS technology. One of the two tiers, which are face-to-face bonded, has to be thinned down to about 12{mu}m to expose the through silicon vias connecting the circuits to the back-metal bond pads. As a consequence of the way the two parts of each single chip are designed and fabricated, the prototypes of the 3D monolithic detector will include both samples with a thick substrate underneath the collecting DNW electrode, suitable for charged particle tracking, and samples with a very thin (about 6{mu}m) sensitive volume, which may be used to detect low energy particles in biomedical imaging applications. Device physics simulations have been performed to evaluate the collection properties and detection efficiency of the proposed vertically integrated structures.

  1. Biomedical waste management in Ayurveda hospitals - current practices & future prospectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajan, Renju; Robin, Delvin T; M, Vandanarani

    2018-03-16

    Biomedical waste management is an integral part of traditional and contemporary system of health care. The paper focuses on the identification and classification of biomedical wastes in Ayurvedic hospitals, current practices of its management in Ayurveda hospitals and its future prospective. Databases like PubMed (1975-2017 Feb), Scopus (1960-2017), AYUSH Portal, DOAJ, DHARA and Google scholar were searched. We used the medical subject headings 'biomedical waste' and 'health care waste' for identification and classification. The terms 'biomedical waste management', 'health care waste management' alone and combined with 'Ayurveda' or 'Ayurvedic' for current practices and recent advances in the treatment of these wastes were used. We made a humble attempt to categorize the biomedical wastes from Ayurvedic hospitals as the available data about its grouping is very scarce. Proper biomedical waste management is the mainstay of hospital cleanliness, hospital hygiene and maintenance activities. Current disposal techniques adopted for Ayurveda biomedical wastes are - sewage/drains, incineration and land fill. But these methods are having some merits as well as demerits. Our review has identified a number of interesting areas for future research such as the logical application of bioremediation techniques in biomedical waste management and the usage of effective micro-organisms and solar energy in waste disposal. Copyright © 2017 Transdisciplinary University, Bangalore and World Ayurveda Foundation. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Wearable and Implantable Mechanical Energy Harvesters for Self-Powered Biomedical Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinchet, Ronan; Kim, Sang-Woo

    2015-08-25

    In this issue of ACS Nano, Tang et al. investigate the ability of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) to self-power a low-level laser cure system for osteogenesis by studying the efficiency of a bone remodeling laser treatment that is powered by a skin-patch-like TENG instead of a battery. We outline this field by highlighting the motivations for self-powered biomedical systems and by discussing recent progress in nanogenerators. We note the overlap between biomedical devices and TENGs and their dawning synergy, and we highlight key prospects for future developments. Biomedical systems should be more autonomous. This advance could improve their body integration and fields of action, leading to new medical diagnostics and treatments. However, future self-powered biomedical systems will need to be more flexible, biocompatible, and biodegradable. These advances hold the promise of enabling new smart autonomous biomedical systems and contributing significantly to the Internet of Things.

  3. A Behavioral Theory of Human Capital Integration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Jesper

    design in fostering the integration and use of human capital is bounded by individual cognitive limitations that may lead employees to deviate from expected behavior, both individually and in collaboration. The thesis consists of three research papers relying on comprehensive longitudinal project data...... with one another. The overarching contribution of the thesis is to demonstrate, through the combination of psychological and organizational theory, how the ability of firms to properly activate and apply the knowledge held by their employees is fundamentally contingent on the interplay of cognitive...... of a behavioral theory of human capital integration....

  4. Personalized biomedical devices & systems for healthcare applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, I.-Ming; Phee, Soo Jay; Luo, Zhiqiang; Lim, Chee Kian

    2011-03-01

    With the advancement in micro- and nanotechnology, electromechanical components and systems are getting smaller and smaller and gradually can be applied to the human as portable, mobile and even wearable devices. Healthcare industry have started to benefit from this technology trend by providing more and more miniature biomedical devices for personalized medical treatments in order to obtain better and more accurate outcome. This article introduces some recent development in non-intrusive and intrusive biomedical devices resulted from the advancement of niche miniature sensors and actuators, namely, wearable biomedical sensors, wearable haptic devices, and ingestible medical capsules. The development of these devices requires carful integration of knowledge and people from many different disciplines like medicine, electronics, mechanics, and design. Furthermore, designing affordable devices and systems to benefit all mankind is a great challenge ahead. The multi-disciplinary nature of the R&D effort in this area provides a new perspective for the future mechanical engineers.

  5. Knowledge-sharing Behavior and Post-acquisition Integration Failure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gammelgaard, Jens; Husted, Kenneth; Michailova, Snejina

    2004-01-01

    AbstractNot achieving the anticipated synergy effects in the post-acquisition integration context is a serious causefor the high acquisition failure rate. While existing studies on failures of acquisitions exist fromeconomics, finance, strategy, organization theory, and human resources management......, this paper appliesinsights from the knowledge-sharing literature. The paper establishes a conceptual link between obstaclesin the post-acquisition integration processes and individual knowledge-sharing behavior as related toknowledge transmitters and knowledge receivers. We argue that such an angle offers...... important insights toexplaining the high failure rate in acquisitions.Descriptors: post-acquisition integration, acquisition failure, individual knowledge-sharing behavior...

  6. Integration of a Copper-Containing Biohybrid (CuHARS with Cellulose for Subsequent Degradation and Biomedical Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anik Karan

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available We previously described the novel synthesis of a copper high-aspect ratio structure (CuHARS biohybrid material using cystine. While extremely stable in water, CuHARS is completely (but slowly degradable in cellular media. Here, integration of the CuHARS into cellulose matrices was carried out to provide added control for CuHARS degradation. Synthesized CuHARS was concentrated by centrifugation and then dried. The weighed mass was re-suspended in water. CuHARS was stable in water for months without degradation. In contrast, 25 μg/mL of the CuHARS in complete cell culture media was completely degraded (slowly in 18 days under physiological conditions. Stable integration of CuHARS into cellulose matrices was achieved through assembly by mixing cellulose micro- and nano-fibers and CuHARS in an aqueous (pulp mixture phase, followed by drying. Additional materials were integrated to make the hybrids magnetically susceptible. The cellulose-CuHARS composite films could be transferred, weighed, and cut into usable pieces; they maintained their form after rehydration in water for at least 7 days and were compatible with cell culture studies using brain tumor (glioma cells. These studies demonstrate utility of a CuHARS-cellulose biohybrid for applied applications including: (1 a platform for biomedical tracking and (2 integration into a 2D/3D matrix using natural products (cellulose.

  7. The National Center for Biomedical Ontology: Advancing Biomedicinethrough Structured Organization of Scientific Knowledge

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rubin, Daniel L.; Lewis, Suzanna E.; Mungall, Chris J.; Misra,Sima; Westerfield, Monte; Ashburner, Michael; Sim, Ida; Chute,Christopher G.; Solbrig, Harold; Storey, Margaret-Anne; Smith, Barry; Day-Richter, John; Noy, Natalya F.; Musen, Mark A.

    2006-01-23

    The National Center for Biomedical Ontology (http://bioontology.org) is a consortium that comprises leading informaticians, biologists, clinicians, and ontologists funded by the NIH Roadmap to develop innovative technology and methods that allow scientists to record, manage, and disseminate biomedical information and knowledge in machine-processable form. The goals of the Center are: (1) to help unify the divergent and isolated efforts in ontology development by promoting high quality open-source, standards-based tools to create, manage, and use ontologies, (2) to create new software tools so that scientists can use ontologies to annotate and analyze biomedical data, (3) to provide a national resource for the ongoing evaluation, integration, and evolution of biomedical ontologies and associated tools and theories in the context of driving biomedical projects (DBPs), and (4) to disseminate the tools and resources of the Center and to identify, evaluate, and communicate best practices of ontology development to the biomedical community. The Center is working toward these objectives by providing tools to develop ontologies and to annotate experimental data, and by developing resources to integrate and relate existing ontologies as well as by creating repositories of biomedical data that are annotated using those ontologies. The Center is providing training workshops in ontology design, development, and usage, and is also pursuing research in ontology evaluation, quality, and use of ontologies to promote scientific discovery. Through the research activities within the Center, collaborations with the DBPs, and interactions with the biomedical community, our goal is to help scientists to work more effectively in the e-science paradigm, enhancing experiment design, experiment execution, data analysis, information synthesis, hypothesis generation and testing, and understand human disease.

  8. Data Analysis and Data Mining: Current Issues in Biomedical Informatics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellazzi, Riccardo; Diomidous, Marianna; Sarkar, Indra Neil; Takabayashi, Katsuhiko; Ziegler, Andreas; McCray, Alexa T.

    2011-01-01

    Summary Background Medicine and biomedical sciences have become data-intensive fields, which, at the same time, enable the application of data-driven approaches and require sophisticated data analysis and data mining methods. Biomedical informatics provides a proper interdisciplinary context to integrate data and knowledge when processing available information, with the aim of giving effective decision-making support in clinics and translational research. Objectives To reflect on different perspectives related to the role of data analysis and data mining in biomedical informatics. Methods On the occasion of the 50th year of Methods of Information in Medicine a symposium was organized, that reflected on opportunities, challenges and priorities of organizing, representing and analysing data, information and knowledge in biomedicine and health care. The contributions of experts with a variety of backgrounds in the area of biomedical data analysis have been collected as one outcome of this symposium, in order to provide a broad, though coherent, overview of some of the most interesting aspects of the field. Results The paper presents sections on data accumulation and data-driven approaches in medical informatics, data and knowledge integration, statistical issues for the evaluation of data mining models, translational bioinformatics and bioinformatics aspects of genetic epidemiology. Conclusions Biomedical informatics represents a natural framework to properly and effectively apply data analysis and data mining methods in a decision-making context. In the future, it will be necessary to preserve the inclusive nature of the field and to foster an increasing sharing of data and methods between researchers. PMID:22146916

  9. Micro-/nano-engineered cellular responses for soft tissue engineering and biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tay, Chor Yong; Irvine, Scott Alexander; Boey, Freddy Y C; Tan, Lay Poh; Venkatraman, Subbu

    2011-05-23

    The development of biomedical devices and reconstruction of functional ex vivo tissues often requires the need to fabricate biomimetic surfaces with features of sub-micrometer precision. This can be achieved with the advancements in micro-/nano-engineering techniques, allowing researchers to manipulate a plethora of cellular behaviors at the cell-biomaterial interface. Systematic studies conducted on these 2D engineered surfaces have unraveled numerous novel findings that can potentially be integrated as part of the design consideration for future 2D and 3D biomaterials and will no doubt greatly benefit tissue engineering. In this review, recent developments detailing the use of micro-/nano-engineering techniques to direct cellular orientation and function pertinent to soft tissue engineering will be highlighted. Particularly, this article aims to provide valuable insights into distinctive cell interactions and reactions to controlled surfaces, which can be exploited to understand the mechanisms of cell growth on micro-/nano-engineered interfaces, and to harness this knowledge to optimize the performance of 3D artificial soft tissue grafts and biomedical applications. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. Misconduct Policies in High-Impact Biomedical Journals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosch, Xavier; Hernández, Cristina; Pericas, Juan M.; Doti, Pamela; Marušić, Ana

    2012-01-01

    Background It is not clear which research misconduct policies are adopted by biomedical journals. This study assessed the prevalence and content policies of the most influential biomedical journals on misconduct and procedures for handling and responding to allegations of misconduct. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of misconduct policies of 399 high-impact biomedical journals in 27 biomedical categories of the Journal Citation Reports in December 2011. Journal websites were reviewed for information relevant to misconduct policies. Results Of 399 journals, 140 (35.1%) provided explicit definitions of misconduct. Falsification was explicitly mentioned by 113 (28.3%) journals, fabrication by 104 (26.1%), plagiarism by 224 (56.1%), duplication by 242 (60.7%) and image manipulation by 154 (38.6%). Procedures for responding to misconduct were described in 179 (44.9%) websites, including retraction, (30.8%) and expression of concern (16.3%). Plagiarism-checking services were used by 112 (28.1%) journals. The prevalences of all types of misconduct policies were higher in journals that endorsed any policy from editors’ associations, Office of Research Integrity or professional societies compared to those that did not state adherence to these policy-producing bodies. Elsevier and Wiley-Blackwell had the most journals included (22.6% and 14.8%, respectively), with Wiley journals having greater a prevalence of misconduct definition and policies on falsification, fabrication and expression of concern and Elsevier of plagiarism-checking services. Conclusions Only a third of top-ranking peer-reviewed journals had publicly-available definitions of misconduct and less than a half described procedures for handling allegations of misconduct. As endorsement of international policies from policy-producing bodies was positively associated with implementation of policies and procedures, journals and their publishers should standardize their policies globally in order to

  11. Misconduct policies in high-impact biomedical journals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xavier Bosch

    Full Text Available It is not clear which research misconduct policies are adopted by biomedical journals. This study assessed the prevalence and content policies of the most influential biomedical journals on misconduct and procedures for handling and responding to allegations of misconduct.We conducted a cross-sectional study of misconduct policies of 399 high-impact biomedical journals in 27 biomedical categories of the Journal Citation Reports in December 2011. Journal websites were reviewed for information relevant to misconduct policies.Of 399 journals, 140 (35.1% provided explicit definitions of misconduct. Falsification was explicitly mentioned by 113 (28.3% journals, fabrication by 104 (26.1%, plagiarism by 224 (56.1%, duplication by 242 (60.7% and image manipulation by 154 (38.6%. Procedures for responding to misconduct were described in 179 (44.9% websites, including retraction, (30.8% and expression of concern (16.3%. Plagiarism-checking services were used by 112 (28.1% journals. The prevalences of all types of misconduct policies were higher in journals that endorsed any policy from editors' associations, Office of Research Integrity or professional societies compared to those that did not state adherence to these policy-producing bodies. Elsevier and Wiley-Blackwell had the most journals included (22.6% and 14.8%, respectively, with Wiley journals having greater a prevalence of misconduct definition and policies on falsification, fabrication and expression of concern and Elsevier of plagiarism-checking services.Only a third of top-ranking peer-reviewed journals had publicly-available definitions of misconduct and less than a half described procedures for handling allegations of misconduct. As endorsement of international policies from policy-producing bodies was positively associated with implementation of policies and procedures, journals and their publishers should standardize their policies globally in order to increase public trust in the

  12. Toward Speech and Nonverbal Behaviors Integration for Humanoid Robot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Wang

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available It is essential to integrate speeches and nonverbal behaviors for a humanoid robot in human-robot interaction. This paper presents an approach using multi-object genetic algorithm to match the speeches and behaviors automatically. Firstly, with humanoid robot's emotion status, we construct a hierarchical structure to link voice characteristics and nonverbal behaviors. Secondly, these behaviors corresponding to speeches are matched and integrated into an action sequence based on genetic algorithm, so the robot can consistently speak and perform emotional behaviors. Our approach takes advantage of relevant knowledge described by psychologists and nonverbal communication. And from experiment results, our ultimate goal, implementing an affective robot to act and speak with partners vividly and fluently, could be achieved.

  13. Blended learning as an effective pedagogical paradigm for biomedical science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Perry Hartfield

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Blended learning combines face-to-face class based and online teaching and learning delivery in order to increase flexibility in how, when, and where students study and learn. The development, integration, and promotion of blended learning in frameworks of curriculum design can optimize the opportunities afforded by information and communication technologies and, concomitantly, accommodate a broad range of student learning styles. This study critically reviews the potential benefits of blended learning as a progressive educative paradigm for the teaching of biomedical science and evaluates the opportunities that blended learning offers for the delivery of accessible, flexible and sustainable teaching and learning experiences. A central tenet of biomedical science education at the tertiary level is the development of comprehensive hands-on practical competencies and technical skills (many of which require laboratory-based learning environments, and it is advanced that a blended learning model, which combines face-to-face synchronous teaching and learning activities with asynchronous online teaching and learning activities, effectively creates an authentic, enriching, and student-centred learning environment for biomedical science. Lastly, a blending learning design for introductory biochemistry will be described as an effective example of integrating face-to-face and online teaching, learning and assessment activities within the teaching domain of biomedical science.   DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v3i4.169

  14. Building integrated pathways to independence for diverse biomedical researchers: Project Pathways, the BUILD program at Xavier University of Louisiana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foroozesh, Maryam; Giguette, Marguerite; Morgan, Kathleen; Johanson, Kelly; D'Amour, Gene; Coston, Tiera; Wilkins-Green, Clair

    2017-01-01

    Xavier University of Louisiana is a historically Black and Catholic university that is nationally recognized for its science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curricula. Approximately 73% of Xavier's students are African American, and about 77% major in the biomedical sciences. Xavier is a national leader in the number of STEM majors who go on to receive M.D. degrees and Ph.D. degrees in science and engineering. Despite Xavier's advances in this area, African Americans still earn about 7.5% of the Bachelor's degrees, less than 8% of the Master's degrees, and less than 5% of the doctoral degrees conferred in STEM disciplines in the United States. Additionally, although many well-prepared, highly-motivated students are attracted by Xavier's reputation in the sciences, many of these students, though bright and capable, come from underperforming public school systems and receive substandard preparation in STEM disciplines. The purpose of this article is to describe how Xavier works to overcome unequal education backgrounds and socioeconomic challenges to develop student talent through expanding biomedical training opportunities and build on an established reputation in science education. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)-funded BUILD (Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity) Program at Xavier University of Louisiana, Project Pathways , is a highly-innovative program designed to broaden the career interests of students early on, and to engage them in activities that entice them to continue their education towards biomedical research careers. Project strategies involve a transformation of Xavier's academic and non-academic programs through the redesign, supplementation and integration of academic advising, tutoring, career services, personal counseling, undergraduate research training, faculty research mentoring, and development of new biomedical and research skills courses. The Program also

  15. Desiderata for ontologies to be used in semantic annotation of biomedical documents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bada, Michael; Hunter, Lawrence

    2011-02-01

    A wealth of knowledge valuable to the translational research scientist is contained within the vast biomedical literature, but this knowledge is typically in the form of natural language. Sophisticated natural-language-processing systems are needed to translate text into unambiguous formal representations grounded in high-quality consensus ontologies, and these systems in turn rely on gold-standard corpora of annotated documents for training and testing. To this end, we are constructing the Colorado Richly Annotated Full-Text (CRAFT) Corpus, a collection of 97 full-text biomedical journal articles that are being manually annotated with the entire sets of terms from select vocabularies, predominantly from the Open Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) library. Our efforts in building this corpus has illuminated infelicities of these ontologies with respect to the semantic annotation of biomedical documents, and we propose desiderata whose implementation could substantially improve their utility in this task; these include the integration of overlapping terms across OBOs, the resolution of OBO-specific ambiguities, the integration of the BFO with the OBOs and the use of mid-level ontologies, the inclusion of noncanonical instances, and the expansion of relations and realizable entities. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. The medical home and integrated behavioral health: advancing the policy agenda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ader, Jeremy; Stille, Christopher J; Keller, David; Miller, Benjamin F; Barr, Michael S; Perrin, James M

    2015-05-01

    There has been a considerable expansion of the patient-centered medical home model of primary care delivery, in an effort to reduce health care costs and to improve patient experience and population health. To attain these goals, it is essential to integrate behavioral health services into the patient-centered medical home, because behavioral health problems often first present in the primary care setting, and they significantly affect physical health. At the 2013 Patient-Centered Medical Home Research Conference, an expert workgroup convened to determine policy recommendations to promote the integration of primary care and behavioral health. In this article we present these recommendations: Build demonstration projects to test existing approaches of integration, develop interdisciplinary training programs to support members of the integrated care team, implement population-based strategies to improve behavioral health, eliminate behavioral health carve-outs and test innovative payment models, and develop population-based measures to evaluate integration. Copyright © 2015 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  17. Biomedical engineering and nanotechnology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pawar, S.H.; Khyalappa, R.J.; Yakhmi, J.V.

    2009-01-01

    This book is predominantly a compilation of papers presented in the conference which is focused on the development in biomedical materials, biomedical devises and instrumentation, biomedical effects of electromagnetic radiation, electrotherapy, radiotherapy, biosensors, biotechnology, bioengineering, tissue engineering, clinical engineering and surgical planning, medical imaging, hospital system management, biomedical education, biomedical industry and society, bioinformatics, structured nanomaterial for biomedical application, nano-composites, nano-medicine, synthesis of nanomaterial, nano science and technology development. The papers presented herein contain the scientific substance to suffice the academic directivity of the researchers from the field of biomedicine, biomedical engineering, material science and nanotechnology. Papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately

  18. Facilitating biomedical researchers' interrogation of electronic health record data: Ideas from outside of biomedical informatics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hruby, Gregory W; Matsoukas, Konstantina; Cimino, James J; Weng, Chunhua

    2016-04-01

    Electronic health records (EHR) are a vital data resource for research uses, including cohort identification, phenotyping, pharmacovigilance, and public health surveillance. To realize the promise of EHR data for accelerating clinical research, it is imperative to enable efficient and autonomous EHR data interrogation by end users such as biomedical researchers. This paper surveys state-of-art approaches and key methodological considerations to this purpose. We adapted a previously published conceptual framework for interactive information retrieval, which defines three entities: user, channel, and source, by elaborating on channels for query formulation in the context of facilitating end users to interrogate EHR data. We show the current progress in biomedical informatics mainly lies in support for query execution and information modeling, primarily due to emphases on infrastructure development for data integration and data access via self-service query tools, but has neglected user support needed during iteratively query formulation processes, which can be costly and error-prone. In contrast, the information science literature has offered elaborate theories and methods for user modeling and query formulation support. The two bodies of literature are complementary, implying opportunities for cross-disciplinary idea exchange. On this basis, we outline the directions for future informatics research to improve our understanding of user needs and requirements for facilitating autonomous interrogation of EHR data by biomedical researchers. We suggest that cross-disciplinary translational research between biomedical informatics and information science can benefit our research in facilitating efficient data access in life sciences. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Cloud Based Metalearning System for Predictive Modeling of Biomedical Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milan Vukićević

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Rapid growth and storage of biomedical data enabled many opportunities for predictive modeling and improvement of healthcare processes. On the other side analysis of such large amounts of data is a difficult and computationally intensive task for most existing data mining algorithms. This problem is addressed by proposing a cloud based system that integrates metalearning framework for ranking and selection of best predictive algorithms for data at hand and open source big data technologies for analysis of biomedical data.

  20. Biomedical engineering principles

    CERN Document Server

    Ritter, Arthur B; Valdevit, Antonio; Ascione, Alfred N

    2011-01-01

    Introduction: Modeling of Physiological ProcessesCell Physiology and TransportPrinciples and Biomedical Applications of HemodynamicsA Systems Approach to PhysiologyThe Cardiovascular SystemBiomedical Signal ProcessingSignal Acquisition and ProcessingTechniques for Physiological Signal ProcessingExamples of Physiological Signal ProcessingPrinciples of BiomechanicsPractical Applications of BiomechanicsBiomaterialsPrinciples of Biomedical Capstone DesignUnmet Clinical NeedsEntrepreneurship: Reasons why Most Good Designs Never Get to MarketAn Engineering Solution in Search of a Biomedical Problem

  1. INTEGRATED INFORMATION SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE PROVIDING BEHAVIORAL FEATURE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir N. Shvedenko

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with creation of integrated information system architecture capable of supporting management decisions using behavioral features. The paper considers the architecture of information decision support system for production system management. The behavioral feature is given to an information system, and it ensures extraction, processing of information, management decision-making with both automated and automatic modes of decision-making subsystem being permitted. Practical implementation of information system with behavior is based on service-oriented architecture: there is a set of independent services in the information system that provides data of its subsystems or data processing by separate application under the chosen variant of the problematic situation settlement. For creation of integrated information system with behavior we propose architecture including the following subsystems: data bus, subsystem for interaction with the integrated applications based on metadata, business process management subsystem, subsystem for the current state analysis of the enterprise and management decision-making, behavior training subsystem. For each problematic situation a separate logical layer service is created in Unified Service Bus handling problematic situations. This architecture reduces system information complexity due to the fact that with a constant amount of system elements the number of links decreases, since each layer provides communication center of responsibility for the resource with the services of corresponding applications. If a similar problematic situation occurs, its resolution is automatically removed from problem situation metamodel repository and business process metamodel of its settlement. In the business process performance commands are generated to the corresponding centers of responsibility to settle a problematic situation.

  2. Race and Genetics: Controversies in Biomedical, Behavioral, and Forensic Sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ossorio, Pilar; Duster, Troy

    2005-01-01

    Among biomedical scientists, there is a great deal of controversy over the nature of race, the relevance of racial categories for research, and the proper methods of using racial variables. This article argues that researchers and scholars should avoid a binary-type argument, in which the question is whether to use race always or never.…

  3. Organizational buying behavior: An integrated model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rakić Beba

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Organizational buying behavior is decision making process by which formal organizations establish the need for purchased products and services, and identify, evaluate, and choose among alternative brands and suppliers. Understanding the buying decision processes is essential to developing the marketing programs of companies that sell to organizations, or to 'industrial customers'. In business (industrial marketing, exchange relationships between the organizational selling center and the organizational buying center are crucial. Integrative model of organizational buying behavior offers a systematic framework in analyzing the complementary factors and what effect they have on the behavior of those involved in making buying decisions.

  4. IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    The IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI) is a scientific conference dedicated to mathematical, algorithmic, and computational aspects of biological and biomedical imaging, across all scales of observation. It fosters knowledge transfer among different imaging communities and contributes to an integrative approach to biomedical imaging. ISBI is a joint initiative from the IEEE Signal Processing Society (SPS) and the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS). The 2018 meeting will include tutorials, and a scientific program composed of plenary talks, invited special sessions, challenges, as well as oral and poster presentations of peer-reviewed papers. High-quality papers are requested containing original contributions to the topics of interest including image formation and reconstruction, computational and statistical image processing and analysis, dynamic imaging, visualization, image quality assessment, and physical, biological, and statistical modeling. Accepted 4-page regular papers will be published in the symposium proceedings published by IEEE and included in IEEE Xplore. To encourage attendance by a broader audience of imaging scientists and offer additional presentation opportunities, ISBI 2018 will continue to have a second track featuring posters selected from 1-page abstract submissions without subsequent archival publication.

  5. Behavior and analysis of an integral abutment bridge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-01

    As a result of abutment spalling on the integral abutment bridge over 400 South Street in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) instigated research measures to better understand the behavior of integral abutment bridges. ...

  6. ICNBME-2011: International Conference on Nanotechnologies and Biomedical Engineering; German-Moldovan Workshop on Novel Nanomaterials for Electronic, Photonic and Biomedical Applications. Proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tiginyanu, Ion; Sontea, Victor

    2011-01-01

    This book includes articles which cover a vast range of subjects, such as: nano technologies and nano materials, micro- and nano-objects, nanostructured and highly integrated systems, biophysics, biomedical instrumentation and devices, biomaterials, medical imaging, information technologies for health care, tele medicine, etc.

  7. Biomedical engineering fundamentals

    CERN Document Server

    Bronzino, Joseph D

    2014-01-01

    Known as the bible of biomedical engineering, The Biomedical Engineering Handbook, Fourth Edition, sets the standard against which all other references of this nature are measured. As such, it has served as a major resource for both skilled professionals and novices to biomedical engineering.Biomedical Engineering Fundamentals, the first volume of the handbook, presents material from respected scientists with diverse backgrounds in physiological systems, biomechanics, biomaterials, bioelectric phenomena, and neuroengineering. More than three dozen specific topics are examined, including cardia

  8. Virtual firm as a role-playing tool for biomedical education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blagosklonov, Oleg; Soto-Romero, Georges; Guyon, Florent; Courjal, Nadège; Euphrasie, Sebatien; Yahiaoui, Reda; Butterlin, Nadia

    2006-01-01

    The paper describes design of a role-playing tool based on the experience of the practice firm which allows participants to obtain relevant and practical on-the-job experience. The students played the roles of the employees and the applicants for vacant positions at the virtual firm - a small business specialized in biomedical sector - founded to design the demonstration vehicle for a biomedical device. We found that this innovative concept may be used to improve the young engineers performance and to facilitate their post-graduate integration.

  9. An integrative model of organizational safety behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Lin; Fan, Di; Fu, Gui; Zhu, Cherrie Jiuhua

    2013-06-01

    This study develops an integrative model of safety management based on social cognitive theory and the total safety culture triadic framework. The purpose of the model is to reveal the causal linkages between a hazardous environment, safety climate, and individual safety behaviors. Based on primary survey data from 209 front-line workers in one of the largest state-owned coal mining corporations in China, the model is tested using structural equation modeling techniques. An employee's perception of a hazardous environment is found to have a statistically significant impact on employee safety behaviors through a psychological process mediated by the perception of management commitment to safety and individual beliefs about safety. The integrative model developed here leads to a comprehensive solution that takes into consideration the environmental, organizational and employees' psychological and behavioral aspects of safety management. Copyright © 2013 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. MIMI: Multimodality, Multiresource, Information Integration Environment for Biomedical Core Facilities

    OpenAIRE

    Szymanski, Jacek; Wilson, David L.; Zhang, Guo-Qiang

    2007-01-01

    The rapid expansion of biomedical research has brought substantial scientific and administrative data management challenges to modern core facilities. Scientifically, a core facility must be able to manage experimental workflow and the corresponding set of large and complex scientific data. It must also disseminate experimental data to relevant researchers in a secure and expedient manner that facilitates collaboration and provides support for data interpretation and analysis. Administrativel...

  11. Work station learning activities: a flexible and scalable instrument for integrating across basic subjects in biomedical education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Soltero, Rocío; Learte, Ana Isabel R; Sánchez, Ana Mª; Gal, Beatriz

    2017-11-29

    Establishing innovative teaching programs in biomedical education involves dealing with several national and supra-national (i.e. European) regulations as well as with new pedagogical and demographic demands. We aimed to develop and validate a suitable instrument to integrate activities across preclinical years in all Health Science Degrees while meeting requirements of national quality agencies. The new approach was conceived at two different levels: first, we identified potentially integrative units from different fields according to national learning goals established for each preclinical year (national quality agency regulations). Secondly, we implemented a new instrument that combines active methodologies in Work Station Learning Activities (WSLA), using clinical scenarios as a guiding common thread to instruct students from an integrated perspective. We evaluated students' perception through a Likert-type survey of a total of 118 students enrolled in the first year of the Bachelor's Degree in Medicine. Our model of integrated activities through WSLA is feasible, scalable and manageable with large groups of students and a minimum number of instructors, two major limitations in many medical schools. Students' perception of WSLA was positive in overall terms. Seventy nine percent of participants stated that WSLA sessions were more useful than non-integrated activities. Eighty three percent confirmed that the WSLA methodology was effective at integrating concepts covered by different subjects. The WSLA approach is a flexible and scalable instrument for moving towards integrated curricula, and it can be successfully adapted to teach basic subjects in preclinical years of Health Science degrees. WSLA can be applied to large groups of students in a variety of contexts or environments using clinical cases as connecting threads.

  12. High performance flexible electronics for biomedical devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvatore, Giovanni A; Munzenrieder, Niko; Zysset, Christoph; Kinkeldei, Thomas; Petti, Luisa; Troster, Gerhard

    2014-01-01

    Plastic electronics is soft, deformable and lightweight and it is suitable for the realization of devices which can form an intimate interface with the body, be implanted or integrated into textile for wearable and biomedical applications. Here, we present flexible electronics based on amorphous oxide semiconductors (a-IGZO) whose performance can achieve MHz frequency even when bent around hair. We developed an assembly technique to integrate complex electronic functionalities into textile while preserving the softness of the garment. All this and further developments can open up new opportunities in health monitoring, biotechnology and telemedicine.

  13. ICNBME-2013: 2. international conference on nanotechnologies and biomedical engineering; German-Moldovan workshop on novel nanomaterials for electronic, photonic and biomedical applications. Proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tiginyanu, Ion; Sontea, Victor

    2013-01-01

    This book includes articles which cover a vast range of subjects, such as: nano technologies and nano materials, micro- and nano-objects, nanostructured and highly integrated systems, biophysics, biomedical instrumentation and devices, biomaterials, medical imaging, information technologies for health care, tele medicine, etc.

  14. Sensory integration regulating male courtship behavior in Drosophila.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimitrije Krstic

    Full Text Available The courtship behavior of Drosophila melanogaster serves as an excellent model system to study how complex innate behaviors are controlled by the nervous system. To understand how the underlying neural network controls this behavior, it is not sufficient to unravel its architecture, but also crucial to decipher its logic. By systematic analysis of how variations in sensory inputs alter the courtship behavior of a naïve male in the single-choice courtship paradigm, we derive a model describing the logic of the network that integrates the various sensory stimuli and elicits this complex innate behavior. This approach and the model derived from it distinguish (i between initiation and maintenance of courtship, (ii between courtship in daylight and in the dark, where the male uses a scanning strategy to retrieve the decamping female, and (iii between courtship towards receptive virgin females and mature males. The last distinction demonstrates that sexual orientation of the courting male, in the absence of discriminatory visual cues, depends on the integration of gustatory and behavioral feedback inputs, but not on olfactory signals from the courted animal. The model will complement studies on the connectivity and intrinsic properties of the neurons forming the circuitry that regulates male courtship behavior.

  15. Women's mental health research: the emergence of a biomedical field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blehar, Mary C

    2006-01-01

    This review surveys the field of women's mental health, with particular emphasis on its evolution into a distinct area of biomedical research. The field employs a biomedical disease model but it also emphasizes social and cultural influences on health outcomes. In recent years, its scope has expanded beyond studies of disorders occurring in women at times of reproductive transitions and it now encompasses a broader study of sex and gender differences. Historical and conceptual influences on the field are discussed. The review also surveys gender differences in the prevalence and clinical manifestations of mental disorders. Epidemiological findings have provided a rich resource for theory development, but without research tools to test theories adequately, findings of gender differences have begged the question of their biological, social, and cultural origins. Clinical depression is used to exemplify the usefulness of a sex/gender perspective in understanding mental illness; and major theories proposed to account for gender differences are critically evaluated. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary federal funding source for biomedical women's mental health research. The review surveys areas of emphasis in women's mental health research at the NIH as well as some collaborative activities that represent efforts to translate research findings into the public health and services arenas. As new analytic methods become available, it is anticipated that a more fundamental understanding of the biological and behavioral mechanisms underlying sex and gender differences in mental illness will emerge. Nonetheless, it is also likely that integration of findings predicated on different conceptual models of the nature and causes of mental illness will remain a challenge. These issues are discussed with reference to their impact on the field of women's mental health research.

  16. Introduction to biomedical engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Enderle, John D; Blanchard, Susan M

    2005-01-01

    Under the direction of John Enderle, Susan Blanchard and Joe Bronzino, leaders in the field have contributed chapters on the most relevant subjects for biomedical engineering students. These chapters coincide with courses offered in all biomedical engineering programs so that it can be used at different levels for a variety of courses of this evolving field. Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, Second Edition provides a historical perspective of the major developments in the biomedical field. Also contained within are the fundamental principles underlying biomedical engineering design, analysis, and modeling procedures. The numerous examples, drill problems and exercises are used to reinforce concepts and develop problem-solving skills making this book an invaluable tool for all biomedical students and engineers. New to this edition: Computational Biology, Medical Imaging, Genomics and Bioinformatics. * 60% update from first edition to reflect the developing field of biomedical engineering * New chapters o...

  17. Microstructure, elastic deformation behavior and mechanical properties of biomedical β-type titanium alloy thin-tube used for stents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Yuxing; Yu, Zhentao; Ong, Chun Yee Aaron; Kent, Damon; Wang, Gui

    2015-05-01

    Cold-deformability and mechanical compatibility of the biomedical β-type titanium alloy are the foremost considerations for their application in stents, because the lower ductility restricts the cold-forming of thin-tube and unsatisfactory mechanical performance causes a failed tissue repair. In this paper, β-type titanium alloy (Ti-25Nb-3Zr-3Mo-2Sn, wt%) thin-tube fabricated by routine cold rolling is reported for the first time, and its elastic behavior and mechanical properties are discussed for the various microstructures. The as cold-rolled tube exhibits nonlinear elastic behavior with large recoverable strain of 2.3%. After annealing and aging, a nonlinear elasticity, considered as the intermediate stage between "double yielding" and normal linear elasticity, is attributable to a moderate precipitation of α phase. Quantitive relationships are established between volume fraction of α phase (Vα) and elastic modulus, strength as well as maximal recoverable strain (εmax-R), where the εmax-R of above 2.0% corresponds to the Vα range of 3-10%. It is considered that the "mechanical" stabilization of the (α+β) microstructure is a possible elastic mechanism for explaining the nonlinear elastic behavior. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Portable blood extraction device integrated with biomedical monitoring system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khumpuang, S.; Horade, M.; Fujioka, K.; Sugiyama, S.

    2006-01-01

    Painless and portable blood extraction device has been immersed in the world of miniaturization on bio-medical research particularly in manufacturing point-of-care systems. The fabrication of a blood extraction device integrated with an electrolyte-monitoring system is reported in this paper. The device has advantages in precise controlled dosage of blood extracted including the slightly damaged blood vessels and nervous system. The in-house blood diagnostic will become simple for the patients. Main components of the portable system are; the blood extraction device and electrolyte-monitoring system. The monitoring system consists of ISFET (Ion Selective Field Effect Transistor) for measuring the concentration level of minerals in blood. In this work, we measured the level of 3 ions; Na+, K+ and Cl-. The mentioned ions are frequently required the measurement since their concentration levels in the blood can indicate whether the kidney, pancreas, liver or heart is being malfunction. The fabrication of the whole system and experimentation on each ISM (Ion Sensitive Membrane) will be provided. Taking the advantages of LIGA technology, the 100 hollow microneedles fabricated by Synchrotron Radiation deep X-ray lithography through PCT (Plane-pattern to Cross-section Transfer) technique have been consisted in 5x5 mm2 area. The microneedle is 300 μm in base-diameter, 500 μm-pitch, 800 μm-height and 50 μm hole-diameter. The total size of the blood extraction device is 2x2x2 cm 3. The package is made from a plastic socket including slots for inserting microneedle array and ISFET connecting to an electrical circuit for the monitoring. Through the dimensional design for simply handling and selection of disposable material, the patients can self-evaluate the critical level of the body minerals in anywhere and anytime.

  19. From childhood adversity to problem behaviors: Role of psychological and structural social integration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chao, Lo-Hsin; Tsai, Meng-Che; Liang, Ya-Lun; Strong, Carol; Lin, Chung-Ying

    2018-01-01

    Childhood adversity (CA) is associated with problem behaviors in adolescence, but the mediators, that is, those factors that help build resilience and prevent some children who experience CA from engaging in problem behaviors, await more exploration, including social integration. The aim of this study was to identify the association between CA and adolescent problem behaviors, and to further examine the mediating role of social integration distinctly as psychological and structural integration. Data used were from the Taiwan Education Panel Survey, a core panel of 4,261 students (age 13) surveyed in 2001 and followed for three more waves until age 18. For psychological integration, an average score was calculated to represent adolescents' feelings about their school. Structural integration was constructed using several items about adolescents' school and extracurricular activities. We used structural equation modeling with the diagonally weighted least squares method to examine the effect of CA on the primary outcome: adolescent problem behaviors via social integration. The hypothesized structural equation model specifying the path from CA to adolescent problem behavior had good fit. Respondents with one CA were indirectly linked to problem behaviors via psychological but not structural integration (e.g. the level of participation in school and non-school activities). On mediation analysis, psychological integration significantly mediated the paths from one CA to all six problem behaviors (all P integration; two or more CA were not associated with significant paths to problem behaviors. The contribution of social integration is crucial to an adolescent's development from CA to problem behaviors. To form supportive social relationships to achieve better health, we suggest that those adolescents who have been exposed to CA should be helped to join more teams and take part in more activities, thereby increasing their opportunities for social interaction, and improving

  20. A Qualitative Study of Medical Mistrust, Perceived Discrimination, and Risk Behavior Disclosure to Clinicians by U.S. Male Sex Workers and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men: Implications for Biomedical HIV Prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Underhill, Kristen; Morrow, Kathleen M; Colleran, Christopher; Holcomb, Richard; Calabrese, Sarah K; Operario, Don; Galárraga, Omar; Mayer, Kenneth H

    2015-08-01

    Access to biomedical HIV prevention technologies such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) requires individuals to disclose risk behavior to clinicians, but experiences of discrimination and medical mistrust may limit disclosure among male sex workers and other MSM. We explored experiences of perceived discrimination, medical mistrust, and behavior disclosure among male sex workers compared to other men who have sex with men (MSM). We conducted 56 interviews with MSM and compared findings about medical mistrust, discrimination, and disclosure for 31 men who engaged in sex work vs. 25 men who did not. MSM who engaged in sex work reported more medical mistrust and healthcare discrimination due to issues beyond MSM behavior/identity (e.g., homelessness, substance use, poverty). MSM who did not report sex work described disclosing sex with men to clinicians more often. Both subgroups reported low PrEP awareness, but willingness to disclose behavior to obtain PrEP. Medical mistrust and perceived discrimination create barriers for sexual behavior disclosure to clinicians, potentially impeding access to PrEP and other forms of biomedical HIV prevention. These barriers may be higher among male sex workers compared to other MSM, given overlapping stigmas including sex work, substance use, homelessness, and poverty. An intersectionality framework for understanding multiple stigmas can help to identify how these dynamics may limit access to biomedical HIV prevention among male sex workers, as well as suggesting strategies for addressing stigmas to improve the delivery of PrEP and other HIV prevention approaches in this population.

  1. Building a biomedical ontology recommender web service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonquet Clement

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Researchers in biomedical informatics use ontologies and terminologies to annotate their data in order to facilitate data integration and translational discoveries. As the use of ontologies for annotation of biomedical datasets has risen, a common challenge is to identify ontologies that are best suited to annotating specific datasets. The number and variety of biomedical ontologies is large, and it is cumbersome for a researcher to figure out which ontology to use. Methods We present the Biomedical Ontology Recommender web service. The system uses textual metadata or a set of keywords describing a domain of interest and suggests appropriate ontologies for annotating or representing the data. The service makes a decision based on three criteria. The first one is coverage, or the ontologies that provide most terms covering the input text. The second is connectivity, or the ontologies that are most often mapped to by other ontologies. The final criterion is size, or the number of concepts in the ontologies. The service scores the ontologies as a function of scores of the annotations created using the National Center for Biomedical Ontology (NCBO Annotator web service. We used all the ontologies from the UMLS Metathesaurus and the NCBO BioPortal. Results We compare and contrast our Recommender by an exhaustive functional comparison to previously published efforts. We evaluate and discuss the results of several recommendation heuristics in the context of three real world use cases. The best recommendations heuristics, rated ‘very relevant’ by expert evaluators, are the ones based on coverage and connectivity criteria. The Recommender service (alpha version is available to the community and is embedded into BioPortal.

  2. Mentoring Interventions for Underrepresented Scholars in Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences: Effects on Quality of Mentoring Interactions and Discussions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Vivian; Martina, Camille A; McDermott, Michael P; Chaudron, Linda; Trief, Paula M; LaGuardia, Jennifer G; Sharp, Daryl; Goodman, Steven R; Morse, Gene D; Ryan, Richard M

    2017-01-01

    Mentors rarely receive education about the unique needs of underrepresented scholars in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. We hypothesized that mentor-training and peer-mentoring interventions for these scholars would enrich the perceived quality and breadth of discussions between mentor-protégé dyads (i.e., mentor-protégé pairs). Our multicenter, randomized study of 150 underrepresented scholar-mentor dyads compared: 1) mentor training, 2) protégé peer mentoring, 3) combined mentor training and peer mentoring, and 4) a control condition (i.e., usual practice of mentoring). In this secondary analysis, the outcome variables were quality of dyad time and breadth of their discussions. Protégé participants were graduate students, fellows, and junior faculty in behavioral and biomedical research and healthcare. Dyads with mentor training were more likely than those without mentor training to have discussed teaching and work-life balance. Dyads with peer mentoring were more likely than those without peer mentoring to have discussed clinical care and career plans. The combined intervention dyads were more likely than controls to perceive that the quality of their time together was good/excellent. Our study supports the value of these mentoring interventions to enhance the breadth of dyad discussions and quality of time together, both important components of a good mentoring relationship. © 2017 V. Lewis et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

  3. Ultra low-power biomedical signal processing: An analog wavelet filter approach for pacemakers

    OpenAIRE

    Pavlík Haddad, S.A.

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this thesis is to describe novel signal processing methodologies and analog integrated circuit techniques for low-power biomedical systems. Physiological signals, such as the electrocardiogram (ECG), the electroencephalogram (EEG) and the electromyogram (EMG) are mostly non-stationary. The main difficulty in dealing with biomedical signal processing is that the information of interest is often a combination of features that are well localized temporally (e.g., spikes) and other...

  4. Three-dimensional biomedical imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robb, R.A.

    1985-01-01

    Scientists in biomedical imaging provide researchers, physicians, and academicians with an understanding of the fundamental theories and practical applications of three-dimensional biomedical imaging methodologies. Succinct descriptions of each imaging modality are supported by numerous diagrams and illustrations which clarify important concepts and demonstrate system performance in a variety of applications. Comparison of the different functional attributes, relative advantages and limitations, complementary capabilities, and future directions of three-dimensional biomedical imaging modalities are given. Volume 1: Introductions to Three-Dimensional Biomedical Imaging Photoelectronic-Digital Imaging for Diagnostic Radiology. X-Ray Computed Tomography - Basic Principles. X-Ray Computed Tomography - Implementation and Applications. X-Ray Computed Tomography: Advanced Systems and Applications in Biomedical Research and Diagnosis. Volume II: Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography. Position Emission Tomography (PET). Computerized Ultrasound Tomography. Fundamentals of NMR Imaging. Display of Multi-Dimensional Biomedical Image Information. Summary and Prognostications

  5. Data integration and knowledge discovery in biomedical databases. Reliable information from unreliable sources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A Mitnitski

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available To better understand information about human health from databases we analyzed three datasets collected for different purposes in Canada: a biomedical database of older adults, a large population survey across all adult ages, and vital statistics. Redundancy in the variables was established, and this led us to derive a generalized (macroscopic state variable, being a fitness/frailty index that reflects both individual and group health status. Evaluation of the relationship between fitness/frailty and the mortality rate revealed that the latter could be expressed in terms of variables generally available from any cross-sectional database. In practical terms, this means that the risk of mortality might readily be assessed from standard biomedical appraisals collected for other purposes.

  6. An integrated biomedical knowledge extraction and analysis platform: using federated search and document clustering technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Donald P

    2007-01-01

    High content screening (HCS) requires time-consuming and often complex iterative information retrieval and assessment approaches to optimally conduct drug discovery programs and biomedical research. Pre- and post-HCS experimentation both require the retrieval of information from public as well as proprietary literature in addition to structured information assets such as compound libraries and projects databases. Unfortunately, this information is typically scattered across a plethora of proprietary bioinformatics tools and databases and public domain sources. Consequently, single search requests must be presented to each information repository, forcing the results to be manually integrated for a meaningful result set. Furthermore, these bioinformatics tools and data repositories are becoming increasingly complex to use; typically they fail to allow for more natural query interfaces. Vivisimo has developed an enterprise software platform to bridge disparate silos of information. The platform automatically categorizes search results into descriptive folders without the use of taxonomies to drive the categorization. A new approach to information retrieval for HCS experimentation is proposed.

  7. Engineering mechanical microenvironment of macrophage and its biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jing; Li, Yuhui; Gao, Bin; Qin, Chuanguang; He, Yining; Xu, Feng; Yang, Hui; Lin, Min

    2018-03-01

    Macrophages are the most plastic cells in the hematopoietic system and can be widely found in almost all tissues. Recently studies have shown that mechanical cues (e.g., matrix stiffness and stress/strain) can significantly affect macrophage behaviors. Although existing reviews on the physical and mechanical cues that regulate the macrophage's phenotype are available, engineering mechanical microenvironment of macrophages in vitro as well as a comprehensive overview and prospects for their biomedical applications (e.g., tissue engineering and immunotherapy) has yet to be summarized. Thus, this review provides an overview on the existing methods for engineering mechanical microenvironment of macrophages in vitro and then a section on their biomedical applications and further perspectives are presented.

  8. Biomedical engineering strategies in system design space.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savageau, Michael A

    2011-04-01

    Modern systems biology and synthetic bioengineering face two major challenges in relating properties of the genetic components of a natural or engineered system to its integrated behavior. The first is the fundamental unsolved problem of relating the digital representation of the genotype to the analog representation of the parameters for the molecular components. For example, knowing the DNA sequence does not allow one to determine the kinetic parameters of an enzyme. The second is the fundamental unsolved problem of relating the parameters of the components and the environment to the phenotype of the global system. For example, knowing the parameters does not tell one how many qualitatively distinct phenotypes are in the organism's repertoire or the relative fitness of the phenotypes in different environments. These also are challenges for biomedical engineers as they attempt to develop therapeutic strategies to treat pathology or to redirect normal cellular functions for biotechnological purposes. In this article, the second of these fundamental challenges will be addressed, and the notion of a "system design space" for relating the parameter space of components to the phenotype space of bioengineering systems will be focused upon. First, the concept of a system design space will be motivated by introducing one of its key components from an intuitive perspective. Second, a simple linear example will be used to illustrate a generic method for constructing the design space in which qualitatively distinct phenotypes can be identified and counted, their fitness analyzed and compared, and their tolerance to change measured. Third, two examples of nonlinear systems from different areas of biomedical engineering will be presented. Finally, after giving reference to a few other applications that have made use of the system design space approach to reveal important design principles, some concluding remarks concerning challenges and opportunities for further development

  9. Timing sensory integration for robot simulation of autistic behavior

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Barakova, E.I.; Chonnaparamutt, W.

    2009-01-01

    The experiments in this paper show that the impact of temporal aspects of sensory integration on the precision of movement is concordant with behavioral studies of sensory integrative dysfunction and autism. Specifically, the simulation predicts that distant grasping will be performed properly by

  10. Fundamental of biomedical engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Sawhney, GS

    2007-01-01

    About the Book: A well set out textbook explains the fundamentals of biomedical engineering in the areas of biomechanics, biofluid flow, biomaterials, bioinstrumentation and use of computing in biomedical engineering. All these subjects form a basic part of an engineer''s education. The text is admirably suited to meet the needs of the students of mechanical engineering, opting for the elective of Biomedical Engineering. Coverage of bioinstrumentation, biomaterials and computing for biomedical engineers can meet the needs of the students of Electronic & Communication, Electronic & Instrumenta

  11. The biomedical disciplines and the structure of biomedical and clinical knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nederbragt, H

    2000-11-01

    The relation between biomedical knowledge and clinical knowledge is discussed by comparing their respective structures. The knowledge of a disease as a biological phenomenon is constructed by the interaction of facts and theories from the main biomedical disciplines: epidemiology, diagnostics, clinical trial, therapy development and pathogenesis. Although these facts and theories are based on probabilities and extrapolations, the interaction provides a reliable and coherent structure, comparable to a Kuhnian paradigma. In the structure of clinical knowledge, i.e. knowledge of the patient with the disease, not only biomedical knowledge contributes to the structure but also economic and social relations, ethics and personal experience. However, the interaction between each of the participating "knowledges" in clinical knowledge is not based on mutual dependency and accumulation of different arguments from each, as in biomedical knowledge, but on competition and partial exclusion. Therefore, the structure of biomedical knowledge is different from that of clinical knowledge. This difference is used as the basis for a discussion in which the place of technology, evidence-based medicine and the gap between scientific and clinical knowledge are evaluated.

  12. A Scalable Data Integration and Analysis Architecture for Sensor Data of Pediatric Asthma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stripelis, Dimitris; Ambite, José Luis; Chiang, Yao-Yi; Eckel, Sandrah P; Habre, Rima

    2017-04-01

    According to the Centers for Disease Control, in the United States there are 6.8 million children living with asthma. Despite the importance of the disease, the available prognostic tools are not sufficient for biomedical researchers to thoroughly investigate the potential risks of the disease at scale. To overcome these challenges we present a big data integration and analysis infrastructure developed by our Data and Software Coordination and Integration Center (DSCIC) of the NIBIB-funded Pediatric Research using Integrated Sensor Monitoring Systems (PRISMS) program. Our goal is to help biomedical researchers to efficiently predict and prevent asthma attacks. The PRISMS-DSCIC is responsible for collecting, integrating, storing, and analyzing real-time environmental, physiological and behavioral data obtained from heterogeneous sensor and traditional data sources. Our architecture is based on the Apache Kafka, Spark and Hadoop frameworks and PostgreSQL DBMS. A main contribution of this work is extending the Spark framework with a mediation layer, based on logical schema mappings and query rewriting, to facilitate data analysis over a consistent harmonized schema. The system provides both batch and stream analytic capabilities over the massive data generated by wearable and fixed sensors.

  13. Biomedical signals, imaging, and informatics

    CERN Document Server

    Bronzino, Joseph D

    2014-01-01

    Known as the bible of biomedical engineering, The Biomedical Engineering Handbook, Fourth Edition, sets the standard against which all other references of this nature are measured. As such, it has served as a major resource for both skilled professionals and novices to biomedical engineering.Biomedical Signals, Imaging, and Informatics, the third volume of the handbook, presents material from respected scientists with diverse backgrounds in biosignal processing, medical imaging, infrared imaging, and medical informatics.More than three dozen specific topics are examined, including biomedical s

  14. Powering biomedical devices

    CERN Document Server

    Romero, Edwar

    2013-01-01

    From exoskeletons to neural implants, biomedical devices are no less than life-changing. Compact and constant power sources are necessary to keep these devices running efficiently. Edwar Romero's Powering Biomedical Devices reviews the background, current technologies, and possible future developments of these power sources, examining not only the types of biomedical power sources available (macro, mini, MEMS, and nano), but also what they power (such as prostheses, insulin pumps, and muscular and neural stimulators), and how they work (covering batteries, biofluids, kinetic and ther

  15. Biomedical photoacoustics: fundamentals, instrumentation and perspectives on nanomedicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Chunpeng; Wu, Beibei; Dong, Yanyan; Song, Zhangwei; Zhao, Yaping; Ni, Xianwei; Yang, Yan; Liu, Zhe

    Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is an integrated biomedical imaging modality which combines the advantages of acoustic deep penetration and optical high sensitivity. It can provide functional and structural images with satisfactory resolution and contrast which could provide abundant pathological information for disease-oriented diagnosis. Therefore, it has found vast applications so far and become a powerful tool of precision nanomedicine. However, the investigation of PAI-based imaging nanomaterials is still in its infancy. This perspective article aims to summarize the developments in photoacoustic technologies and instrumentations in the past years, and more importantly, present a bright outlook for advanced PAI-based imaging nanomaterials as well as their emerging biomedical applications in nanomedicine. Current challenges and bottleneck issues have also been discussed and elucidated in this article to bring them to the attention of the readership.

  16. Biomedical device prototype based on small scale hydrodynamic cavitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghorbani, Morteza; Sozer, Canberk; Alcan, Gokhan; Unel, Mustafa; Ekici, Sinan; Uvet, Huseyin; Koşar, Ali

    2018-03-01

    This study presents a biomedical device prototype based on small scale hydrodynamic cavitation. The application of small scale hydrodynamic cavitation and its integration to a biomedical device prototype is offered as an important alternative to other techniques, such as ultrasound therapy, and thus constitutes a local, cheap, and energy-efficient solution, for urinary stone therapy and abnormal tissue ablation (e.g., benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH)). The destructive nature of bubbly, cavitating, flows was exploited, and the potential of the prototype was assessed and characterized. Bubbles generated in a small flow restrictive element (micro-orifice) based on hydrodynamic cavitation were utilized for this purpose. The small bubbly, cavitating, flow generator (micro-orifice) was fitted to a small flexible probe, which was actuated with a micromanipulator using fine control. This probe also houses an imaging device for visualization so that the emerging cavitating flow could be locally targeted to the desired spot. In this study, the feasibility of this alternative treatment method and its integration to a device prototype were successfully accomplished.

  17. Biomedical device prototype based on small scale hydrodynamic cavitation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Morteza Ghorbani

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This study presents a biomedical device prototype based on small scale hydrodynamic cavitation. The application of small scale hydrodynamic cavitation and its integration to a biomedical device prototype is offered as an important alternative to other techniques, such as ultrasound therapy, and thus constitutes a local, cheap, and energy-efficient solution, for urinary stone therapy and abnormal tissue ablation (e.g., benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH. The destructive nature of bubbly, cavitating, flows was exploited, and the potential of the prototype was assessed and characterized. Bubbles generated in a small flow restrictive element (micro-orifice based on hydrodynamic cavitation were utilized for this purpose. The small bubbly, cavitating, flow generator (micro-orifice was fitted to a small flexible probe, which was actuated with a micromanipulator using fine control. This probe also houses an imaging device for visualization so that the emerging cavitating flow could be locally targeted to the desired spot. In this study, the feasibility of this alternative treatment method and its integration to a device prototype were successfully accomplished.

  18. Biomedical engineering frontier research and converging technologies

    CERN Document Server

    Jun, Ho-Wook; Shin, Jennifer; Lee, SangHoon

    2016-01-01

    This book provides readers with an integrative overview of the latest research and developments in the broad field of biomedical engineering. Each of the chapters offers a timely review written by leading biomedical engineers and aims at showing how the convergence of scientific and engineering fields with medicine has created a new basis for practically solving problems concerning human health, wellbeing and disease. While some of the latest frontiers of biomedicine, such as neuroscience and regenerative medicine, are becoming increasingly dependent on new ideas and tools from other disciplines, the paradigm shift caused by technological innovations in the fields of information science, nanotechnology, and robotics is opening new opportunities in healthcare, besides dramatically changing the ways we actually practice science. At the same time, a new generation of engineers, fluent in many different scientific “languages,” is creating entirely new fields of research that approach the “old” questions f...

  19. Nanodiamond-Based Composite Structures for Biomedical Imaging and Drug Delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenholm, Jessica M; Vlasov, Igor I; Burikov, Sergey A; Dolenko, Tatiana A; Shenderova, Olga A

    2015-02-01

    Nanodiamond particles are widely recognized candidates for biomedical applications due to their excellent biocompatibility, bright photoluminescence based on color centers and outstanding photostability. Recently, more complex architectures with a nanodiamond core and an external shell or nanostructure which provides synergistic benefits have been developed, and their feasibility for biomedical applications has been demonstrated. This review is aimed at summarizing recent achievements in the fabrication and functional demonstrations of nanodiamond-based composite structures, along with critical considerations that should be taken into account in the design of such structures from a biomedical point of view. A particular focus of the review is core/shell structures of nanodiamond surrounded by porous silica shells, which demonstrate a remarkable increase in drug loading efficiency; as well as nanodiamonds decorated with carbon dots, which have excellent potential as bioimaging probes. Other combinations are also considered, relying on the discussed inherent properties of the inorganic materials being integrated in a way to advance inorganic nanomedicine in the quest for better health-related nanotechnology.

  20. Unifying the field: developing an integrative paradigm for behavior therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eifert, G H; Forsyth, J P; Schauss, S L

    1993-06-01

    The limitations of early conditioning models and treatments have led many behavior therapists to abandon conditioning principles and replace them with loosely defined cognitive theories and treatments. Systematic theory extensions to human behavior, using new concepts and processes derived from and built upon the basic principles, could have prevented the divisive debates over whether psychological dysfunctions are the results of conditioning or cognition and whether they should be treated with conditioning or cognitive techniques. Behavior therapy could also benefit from recent advances in experimental cognitive psychology that provide objective behavioral methods of studying dysfunctional processes. We suggest a unifying paradigm for explaining abnormal behavior that links and integrates different fields of study and processes that are frequently believed to be incompatible or antithetical such as biological vulnerability variables, learned behavioral repertoires, and that also links historical and current antecedents of the problem. An integrative paradigmatic behavioral approach may serve a unifying function in behavior therapy (a) by promoting an understanding of the dysfunctional processes involved in different disorders and (b) by helping clinicians conduct functional analyses that lead to theory-based, individualized, and effective treatments.

  1. Understanding Eating Behaviors through Parental Communication and the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheinfeld, Emily; Shim, Minsun

    2017-05-01

    Emerging adulthood (EA) is an important yet overlooked period for developing long-term health behaviors. During these years, emerging adults adopt health behaviors that persist throughout life. This study applies the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction (IMBP) to examine the role of childhood parental communication in predicting engagement in healthful eating during EA. Participants included 239 college students, ages 18 to 25, from a large university in the southern United States. Participants were recruited and data collection occurred spring 2012. Participants responded to measures to assess perceived parental communication, eating behaviors, attitudes, subjective norms, and behavioral control over healthful eating. SEM and mediation analyses were used to address the hypotheses posited. Data demonstrated that perceived parent-child communication - specifically, its quality and target-specific content - significantly predicted emerging adults' eating behaviors, mediated through subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. This study sets the stage for further exploration and understanding of different ways parental communication influences emerging adults' healthy behavior enactment.

  2. Cobalt nanoparticles for biomedical applications: Facile synthesis, physiochemical characterization, cytotoxicity behavior and biocompatibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ansari, S. M.; Bhor, R. D.; Pai, K. R.; Sen, D.; Mazumder, S.; Ghosh, Kartik; Kolekar, Y. D.; Ramana, C. V.

    2017-08-01

    Cobalt (Co) nanoparticles (NPs) were produced by a simple, one step hydrothermal method with the capping of oleic acid. Intrinsic structural, physiochemical and magnetic properties of Co NPs were investigated and demonstrated their applicability in biomedicine. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and infrared (IR) spectroscopic studies confirm the single phase Co NPs with a high structural quality. The IR data revealed the capping of oleic acid via monodentate interaction. Small angle scattering studies suggest the existence of sticky hard sphere type of interaction among the Co NPs because of magnetic interaction which is further evidenced by electron microscopy imaging analyses. The Co NPs exhibit a ferromagnetic character over a wide range of temperature (20-300 K). The temperature dependence of magnetic parameters namely, saturation magnetization, remanent magnetization, coercivity and reduced remanent magnetization were determined and correlated with structure of Co NPs. The Cytotoxicity studies demonstrate that these Co NPs exhibit the mild anti-proliferative character against the cancer cells (cisplatin resistant ovarian cancer (A2780/CP70)) and safe nature towards the normal cells. Haemolytic behavior of human red blood cells (RBC) revealed (<5%) haemolysis signifying the compatibility of Co NPs with human RBC which is an essential feature in vivo biomedical applications without creating any harmful effects in the human blood stream.

  3. Cobalt nanoparticles for biomedical applications: Facile synthesis, physiochemical characterization, cytotoxicity behavior and biocompatibility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ansari, S.M. [Department of Physics, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, 411007, Maharashtra (India); Bhor, R.D.; Pai, K.R. [Department of Zoology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, 411007, Maharashtra (India); Sen, D.; Mazumder, S. [Solid State Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, 400 085 (India); Ghosh, Kartik [Department of Physics, Astronomy and Materials Science, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO, 65897 (United States); Kolekar, Y.D., E-mail: ydkolekar@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, 411007, Maharashtra (India); Ramana, C.V., E-mail: rvchintalapalle@utep.edu [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, 79968 (United States)

    2017-08-31

    Cobalt (Co) nanoparticles (NPs) were produced by a simple, one step hydrothermal method with the capping of oleic acid. Intrinsic structural, physiochemical and magnetic properties of Co NPs were investigated and demonstrated their applicability in biomedicine. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and infrared (IR) spectroscopic studies confirm the single phase Co NPs with a high structural quality. The IR data revealed the capping of oleic acid via monodentate interaction. Small angle scattering studies suggest the existence of sticky hard sphere type of interaction among the Co NPs because of magnetic interaction which is further evidenced by electron microscopy imaging analyses. The Co NPs exhibit a ferromagnetic character over a wide range of temperature (20–300 K). The temperature dependence of magnetic parameters namely, saturation magnetization, remanent magnetization, coercivity and reduced remanent magnetization were determined and correlated with structure of Co NPs. The Cytotoxicity studies demonstrate that these Co NPs exhibit the mild anti-proliferative character against the cancer cells (cisplatin resistant ovarian cancer (A2780/CP70)) and safe nature towards the normal cells. Haemolytic behavior of human red blood cells (RBC) revealed (<5%) haemolysis signifying the compatibility of Co NPs with human RBC which is an essential feature in vivo biomedical applications without creating any harmful effects in the human blood stream.

  4. Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering in Clinical Environment and Legal Surrounding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Medvedec, M.

    2013-01-01

    An application of radiation in medicine is essentially associated with medical physics and biomedical engineering. The purpose of this study is to analyze the perception and the status of clinical medical physicists and biomedical engineers within the current international and Croatian legal framework. The International Labour Organization (ILO) in its International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08) notes that medical physicists and biomedical engineers are an integral part of the health workforce, alongside those occupations classified as health professionals. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in its basic safety standards for radiation protection and safety of radiation sources also defines medical physicists as health professional. The World Health Organization (WHO) urges member states to include biomedical engineers in assessment, planning, procurement, implementation and management of health technologies, in particular biomedical devices. The Council of the European Union (EU) in its directives defines qualified professionals, especially experts in medical physics, as workers who carry out physical, technical and radiochemical work in regard to dosimetry, radiation protection, quality assurance and quality control, equipment management, etc. According to the U.S. Office of Labor Statistics, biomedical engineer is an occupation with the third-fastest growth rate in the economy, as projected for the period 2010-2020. It is expected that the role and the importance of medical physics and biomedical engineering profession in Croatia, a member state of ILO, WHO, IAEA and EU, will be soon fully regulated in a way comparable to the career paths of other health professionals within a clinical environment, primarily for the benefit of patients and hospital staff, healthcare facilities and healthcare system in general.(author)

  5. Biomedical ontologies: toward scientific debate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maojo, V; Crespo, J; García-Remesal, M; de la Iglesia, D; Perez-Rey, D; Kulikowski, C

    2011-01-01

    Biomedical ontologies have been very successful in structuring knowledge for many different applications, receiving widespread praise for their utility and potential. Yet, the role of computational ontologies in scientific research, as opposed to knowledge management applications, has not been extensively discussed. We aim to stimulate further discussion on the advantages and challenges presented by biomedical ontologies from a scientific perspective. We review various aspects of biomedical ontologies going beyond their practical successes, and focus on some key scientific questions in two ways. First, we analyze and discuss current approaches to improve biomedical ontologies that are based largely on classical, Aristotelian ontological models of reality. Second, we raise various open questions about biomedical ontologies that require further research, analyzing in more detail those related to visual reasoning and spatial ontologies. We outline significant scientific issues that biomedical ontologies should consider, beyond current efforts of building practical consensus between them. For spatial ontologies, we suggest an approach for building "morphospatial" taxonomies, as an example that could stimulate research on fundamental open issues for biomedical ontologies. Analysis of a large number of problems with biomedical ontologies suggests that the field is very much open to alternative interpretations of current work, and in need of scientific debate and discussion that can lead to new ideas and research directions.

  6. The Melanin-Concentrating Hormone as an Integrative Peptide Driving Motivated Behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diniz, Giovanne B; Bittencourt, Jackson C

    2017-01-01

    The melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is an important peptide implicated in the control of motivated behaviors. History, however, made this peptide first known for its participation in the control of skin pigmentation, from which its name derives. In addition to this peripheral role, MCH is strongly implicated in motivated behaviors, such as feeding, drinking, mating and, more recently, maternal behavior. It is suggested that MCH acts as an integrative peptide, converging sensory information and contributing to a general arousal of the organism. In this review, we will discuss the various aspects of energy homeostasis to which MCH has been associated to, focusing on the different inputs that feed the MCH peptidergic system with information regarding the homeostatic status of the organism and the exogenous sensory information that drives this system, as well as the outputs that allow MCH to act over a wide range of homeostatic and behavioral controls, highlighting the available morphological and hodological aspects that underlie these integrative actions. Besides the well-described role of MCH in feeding behavior, a prime example of hypothalamic-mediated integration, we will also examine those functions in which the participation of MCH has not yet been extensively characterized, including sexual, maternal, and defensive behaviors. We also evaluated the available data on the distribution of MCH and its function in the context of animals in their natural environment. Finally, we briefly comment on the evidence for MCH acting as a coordinator between different modalities of motivated behaviors, highlighting the most pressing open questions that are open for investigations and that could provide us with important insights about hypothalamic-dependent homeostatic integration.

  7. Strict integrity control of biomedical images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coatrieux, Gouenou; Maitre, Henri; Sankur, Bulent

    2001-08-01

    The control of the integrity and authentication of medical images is becoming ever more important within the Medical Information Systems (MIS). The intra- and interhospital exchange of images, such as in the PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication Systems), and the ease of copying, manipulation and distribution of images have brought forth the security aspects. In this paper we focus on the role of watermarking for MIS security and address the problem of integrity control of medical images. We discuss alternative schemes to extract verification signatures and compare their tamper detection performance.

  8. Density functional theory (DFT) study on the hydrolysis behavior of degradable Mg/Mg alloys for biomedical applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nezafati, Marjan

    Magnesium-based (Mg and/or Mg alloys) materials possess many advantageous physicochemical/biological characteristics such as good biocompatibility and similarity of the mechanical properties to the human bone tissue, which renders this material a promising candidate for the biomedical and implant applications. One of the most attractive features of Mg-based materials is the degradability in the physiological environment. With the burst of research on the biodegradable materials for the healthcare device applications, Mg and its alloys attracted a strong attention in the bioengineering field in recent years. However, the major limitation of applying Mg-based materials to biomedical applications is the fast degradation/corrosion rate with regards to the healing process time-span. In the present thesis, an atomistic model employing the density-functional theory (DFT) has been developed to study the hydrolysis process by understanding the influences of commonly used alloying elements (zinc (Zn), calcium (Ca), aluminum (Al), and yttrium (Y)) and the crystallographic orientation of the dissolution surfaces (basal (0001), prism (1010), and pyramidal (1011) planes) on the corrosion behavior. These parameters are known to strongly impact the initial hydrolysis phenomena of Mg-based materials. To develop the atomistic computational model, we have implemented the Dmol3 software package in conjunction with PBE (Perdew, Burke and Ernzerhof) correlation energy functional in the GGA (generalized gradient approximation) scheme. Throughout the thesis, we performed three sets of calculations, i) surface energy, ii) dissolution potential, and iii) water adsorption computations, to examine the hydrolysis mechanism and the subsequent corrosion/degradation of Mg/Mg alloys. The total energy changes of various Mg-based systems in different conditions for these surface energies, dissolution behavior, and tendency of the system for adsorbing the water molecule were quantified. The results

  9. Integrating Contemplative Tools into Biomedical Science Education and Research Training Programs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodney R. Dietert

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Academic preparation of science researchers and/or human or veterinary medicine clinicians through the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM curriculum has usually focused on the students (1 acquiring increased disciplinary expertise, (2 learning needed methodologies and protocols, and (3 expanding their capacity for intense, persistent focus. Such educational training is effective until roadblocks or problems arise via this highly-learned approach. Then, the health science trainee may have few tools available for effective problem solving. Training to achieve flexibility, adaptability, and broadened perspectives using contemplative practices has been rare among biomedical education programs. To address this gap, a Cornell University-based program involving formal biomedical science coursework, and health science workshops has been developed to offer science students, researchers and health professionals a broader array of personal, contemplation-based, problem-solving tools. This STEM educational initiative includes first-person exercises designed to broaden perceptional awareness, decrease emotional drama, and mobilize whole-body strategies for creative problem solving. Self-calibration and journaling are used for students to evaluate the personal utility of each exercise. The educational goals are to increase student self-awareness and self-regulation and to provide trainees with value-added tools for career-long problem solving. Basic elements of this educational initiative are discussed using the framework of the Tree of Contemplative Practices.

  10. Parasite-altered feeding behavior in insects: integrating functional and mechanistic research frontiers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernardo, Melissa A; Singer, Michael S

    2017-08-15

    Research on parasite-altered feeding behavior in insects is contributing to an emerging literature that considers possible adaptive consequences of altered feeding behavior for the host or the parasite. Several recent ecoimmunological studies show that insects can adaptively alter their foraging behavior in response to parasitism. Another body of recent work shows that infection by parasites can change the behavior of insect hosts to benefit the parasite; manipulations of host feeding behavior may be part of this phenomenon. Here, we address both the functional and the underlying physiological frontiers of parasite-altered feeding behavior in order to spur research that better integrates the two. Functional categories of parasite-altered behavior that are adaptive for the host include prophylaxis, therapy and compensation, while host manipulation is adaptive for the parasite. To better understand and distinguish prophylaxis, therapy and compensation, further study of physiological feedbacks affecting host sensory systems is especially needed. For host manipulation in particular, research on mechanisms by which parasites control host feedbacks will be important to integrate with functional approaches. We see this integration as critical to advancing the field of parasite-altered feeding behavior, which may be common in insects and consequential for human and environmental health. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  11. Preparing the Workforce for Behavioral Health and Primary Care Integration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Jennifer; Cohen, Deborah J; Davis, Melinda; Gunn, Rose; Blount, Alexander; Pollack, David A; Miller, William L; Smith, Corey; Valentine, Nancy; Miller, Benjamin F

    2015-01-01

    To identify how organizations prepare clinicians to work together to integrate behavioral health and primary care. Observational cross-case comparison study of 19 U.S. practices, 11 participating in Advancing Care Together, and 8 from the Integration Workforce Study. Practices varied in size, ownership, geographic location, and experience delivering integrated care. Multidisciplinary teams collected data (field notes from direct practice observations, semistructured interviews, and online diaries as reported by practice leaders) and then analyzed the data using a grounded theory approach. Organizations had difficulty finding clinicians possessing the skills and experience necessary for working in an integrated practice. Practices newer to integration underestimated the time and resources needed to train and organizationally socialize (onboard) new clinicians. Through trial and error, practices learned that clinicians needed relevant training to work effectively as integrated care teams. Training efforts exclusively targeting behavioral health clinicians (BHCs) and new employees were incomplete if primary care clinicians (PCCs) and others in the practice also lacked experience working with BHCs and delivering integrated care. Organizations' methods for addressing employees' need for additional preparation included hiring a consultant to provide training, sending employees to external training programs, hosting residency or practicum training programs, or creating their own internal training program. Onboarding new employees through the development of training manuals; extensive shadowing processes; and protecting time for ongoing education, mentoring, and support opportunities for new and established clinicians and staff were featured in these internal training programs. Insufficient training capacity and practical experience opportunities continue to be major barriers to supplying the workforce needed for effective behavioral health and primary care integration

  12. An Integrated Chip High-Voltage Power Receiver for Wireless Biomedical Implants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vijith Vijayakumaran Nair

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In near-field wireless-powered biomedical implants, the receiver voltage largely overrides the compliance of low-voltage power receiver systems. To limit the induced voltage, generally, low-voltage topologies utilize limiter circuits, voltage clippers or shunt regulators, which are power-inefficient methods. In order to overcome the voltage limitation and improve power efficiency, we propose an integrated chip high-voltage power receiver based on the step down approach. The topology accommodates voltages as high as 30 V and comprises a high-voltage semi-active rectifier, a voltage reference generator and a series regulator. Further, a battery management circuit that enables safe and reliable implant battery charging based on analog control is proposed and realized. The power receiver is fabricated in 0.35-μm high-voltage Bipolar-CMOS-DMOStechnology based on the LOCOS0.35-μm CMOS process. Measurement results indicate 83.5% power conversion efficiency for a rectifier at 2.1 mA load current. The low drop-out regulator based on the current buffer compensation and buffer impedance attenuation scheme operates with low quiescent current, reduces the power consumption and provides good stability. The topology also provides good power supply rejection, which is adequate for the design application. Measurement results indicate regulator output of 4 ± 0.03 V for input from 5 to 30 V and 10 ± 0.05 V output for input from 11 to 30 V with load current 0.01–100 mA. The charger circuit manages the charging of the Li-ion battery through all if the typical stages of the Li-ion battery charging profile.

  13. Resource for the Development of Biomedical Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Turteltaub, K. W. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Bench, G. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Buchholz, B. A. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Enright, H. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Kulp, K. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); McCartt, A. D. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Malfatti, M. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Ognibene, T. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Loots, G. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Stewart, B. J. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2016-04-08

    The NIH Research Resource for Biomedical AMS was originally funded at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1999 to develop and apply the technology of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) in broad- based biomedical research. The Resource’s niche is to fill needs for ultra high sensitivity quantitation when isotope-labeled agents are used. The Research Resource’s Technology Research and Development (TR&D) efforts will focus on the needs of the biomedical research community in the context of seven Driving Biomedical Projects (DBPs) that will drive the Center’s technical capabilities through three core TR&Ds. We will expand our present capabilities by developing a fully integrated HPLC AMS to increase our capabilities for metabolic measurements, we will develop methods to understand cellular processes and we will develop and validate methods for the application of AMS in human studies, which is a growing area of demand by collaborators and service users. In addition, we will continue to support new and ongoing collaborative and service projects that require the capabilities of the Resource. The Center will continue to train researchers in the use of the AMS capabilities being developed, and the results of all efforts will be widely disseminated to advance progress in biomedical research. Towards these goals, our specific aims are to:1.) Increase the value and information content of AMS measurements by combining molecular speciation with quantitation of defined macromolecular isolates. Specifically, develop and validate methods for macromolecule labeling, characterization and quantitation.2.) Develop and validate methods and strategies to enable AMS to become more broadly used in human studies. Specifically, demonstrate robust methods for conducting pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamics studies in humans and model systems.3.) Increase the accessibility of AMS to the Biomedical research community and the throughput of AMS through direct coupling to separatory

  14. Resource for the Development of Biomedical Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tuerteltaub, K. W. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Bench, G. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Buchholz, B. A. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Enright, H. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Kulp, K. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Loots, G. G. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); McCartt, A. D. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Malfatti, M. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Ognibene, T. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Stewart, B. J. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2017-03-21

    The NIH Research Resource for Biomedical AMS was originally funded at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1999 to develop and apply the technology of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) in broad- based biomedical research. The Resource’s niche is to fill needs for ultra high sensitivity quantitation when isotope-labeled agents are used. The Research Resource’s Technology Research and Development (TR&D) efforts will focus on the needs of the biomedical research community in the context of seven Driving Biomedical Projects (DBPs) that will drive the Center’s technical capabilities through three core TR&Ds. We will expand our present capabilities by developing a fully integrated HPLC AMS to increase our capabilities for metabolic measurements, we will develop methods to understand cellular processes and we will develop and validate methods for the application of AMS in human studies, which is a growing area of demand by collaborators and service users. In addition, we will continue to support new and ongoing collaborative and service projects that require the capabilities of the Resource. The Center will continue to train researchers in the use of the AMS capabilities being developed, and the results of all efforts will be widely disseminated to advance progress in biomedical research. Towards these goals, our specific aims are to:1.) Increase the value and information content of AMS measurements by combining molecular speciation with quantitation of defined macromolecular isolates. Specifically, develop and validate methods for macromolecule labeling, characterization and quantitation.2.) Develop and validate methods and strategies to enable AMS to become more broadly used in human studies. Specifically, demonstrate robust methods for conducting pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamics studies in humans and model systems.3.) Increase the accessibility of AMS to the Biomedical research community and the throughput of AMS through direct coupling to separatory

  15. Production and Biomedical Applications of Probiotic Biosurfactants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fariq, Anila; Saeed, Ayesha

    2016-04-01

    Biosurfactants have been widely used for environmental and industrial applications. However, their use in medical field is still limited. Probiotic biosurfactants possess an immense antimicrobial, anti-adhesive, antitumor, and antibiofilm potential. Moreover, they have an additional advantage over conventional microbial surfactants because probiotics are an integral part of normal human microflora and their biosurfactants are innocuous to human. So, they can be effectively exploited for medicinal use. Present review is aimed to discourse the production and biomedical applications of probiotic biosurfactants.

  16. Advanced Methods of Biomedical Signal Processing

    CERN Document Server

    Cerutti, Sergio

    2011-01-01

    This book grew out of the IEEE-EMBS Summer Schools on Biomedical Signal Processing, which have been held annually since 2002 to provide the participants state-of-the-art knowledge on emerging areas in biomedical engineering. Prominent experts in the areas of biomedical signal processing, biomedical data treatment, medicine, signal processing, system biology, and applied physiology introduce novel techniques and algorithms as well as their clinical or physiological applications. The book provides an overview of a compelling group of advanced biomedical signal processing techniques, such as mult

  17. Electrochemical Behavior of Biomedical Titanium Alloys Coated with Diamond Carbon in Hanks' Solution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gnanavel, S.; Ponnusamy, S.; Mohan, L.; Radhika, R.; Muthamizhchelvan, C.; Ramasubramanian, K.

    2018-03-01

    Biomedical implants in the knee and hip are frequent failures because of corrosion and stress on the joints. To solve this important problem, metal implants can be coated with diamond carbon, and this coating plays a critical role in providing an increased resistance to implants toward corrosion. In this study, we have employed diamond carbon coating over Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloys using hot filament chemical vapor deposition method which is well-established coating process that significantly improves the resistance toward corrosion, wears and hardness. The diamond carbon-coated Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy showed an increased microhardness in the range of 850 HV. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and polarization studies in SBF solution (simulated body fluid solution) were carried out to understand the in vitro behavior of uncoated as well as coated titanium alloys. The experimental results showed that the corrosion resistance of Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy is relatively higher when compared with diamond carbon-coated Ti-6Al-4V alloys due to the presence of β phase in the Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy. Electrochemical impedance results showed that the diamond carbon-coated alloys behave as an ideal capacitor in the body fluid solution. Moreover, the stability in mechanical properties during the corrosion process was maintained for diamond carbon-coated titanium alloys.

  18. Handbook of biomedical optics

    CERN Document Server

    Boas, David A

    2011-01-01

    Biomedical optics holds tremendous promise to deliver effective, safe, non- or minimally invasive diagnostics and targeted, customizable therapeutics. Handbook of Biomedical Optics provides an in-depth treatment of the field, including coverage of applications for biomedical research, diagnosis, and therapy. It introduces the theory and fundamentals of each subject, ensuring accessibility to a wide multidisciplinary readership. It also offers a view of the state of the art and discusses advantages and disadvantages of various techniques.Organized into six sections, this handbook: Contains intr

  19. Ultra low-power biomedical signal processing : An analog wavelet filter approach for pacemakers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pavlík Haddad, S.A.

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this thesis is to describe novel signal processing methodologies and analog integrated circuit techniques for low-power biomedical systems. Physiological signals, such as the electrocardiogram (ECG), the electroencephalogram (EEG) and the electromyogram (EMG) are mostly

  20. The waste management program VUB-AZ: An integrated solution for nuclear biomedical waste management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Covens, P.; Sonck, M.; Eggermont, G.; Meert, D.

    2001-01-01

    Due to escalating costs and the lack of acceptance of near-surface disposal facilities, the University of Brussels (VUB) and its Academic hospital (AZ) have developed an on-site waste storage program in collaboration with Canberra Europe. This programme is based on selective collection, measurement before decay, storage for decay of short-lived radionuclides, measurement after decay and eventual clearance as non-nuclear waste. It has proved its effectiveness over the past 5 years. Effective characterisation for on-site storage for decay of short-lived radionuclides makes selective collection of waste streams mandatory and requires motivated and trained laboratory staff. Dynamic optimisation of this selective collection increases the efficiency of the storage for decay programme. The accurate qualitative and quantitative measurement of nuclear biomedical waste before decay has several advantages such as verification of correct selective collection, optimisation of the decay period and possibility of clearance below the minimal detectable activity. In the research phase of the program several measurement techniques were investigated. The following measurement concept was selected. Closed PE drums containing low density solid waste materials contaminated with small amounts of β/γ-or pure β-emitting radionuclides are assessed for specific activity by the Canberra measurement unit for nuclear biomedical waste, based on a HPGe-detector. Liquid waste containing (β/γ-emitters are characterised by the same technique while for pure β-emitting liquid waste a Packard liquid scintillation counter is used. Measurement results are obtained by using the gamma-spectroscopy software Genie-2000. A user-friendly interface, based on Procount-2000 and optimised by Canberra for the characterisation of nuclear biomedical waste, has increased the sample throughput of the measurement concept. The MDA (minimal detectable activity) of different radionuclides obtained by the measurement

  1. Text mining patents for biomedical knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez-Esteban, Raul; Bundschus, Markus

    2016-06-01

    Biomedical text mining of scientific knowledge bases, such as Medline, has received much attention in recent years. Given that text mining is able to automatically extract biomedical facts that revolve around entities such as genes, proteins, and drugs, from unstructured text sources, it is seen as a major enabler to foster biomedical research and drug discovery. In contrast to the biomedical literature, research into the mining of biomedical patents has not reached the same level of maturity. Here, we review existing work and highlight the associated technical challenges that emerge from automatically extracting facts from patents. We conclude by outlining potential future directions in this domain that could help drive biomedical research and drug discovery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Journal of Biomedical Investigation: Editorial Policies

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Journal of Biomedical Investigation: Editorial Policies. Journal Home ... The focus of the Journal of Biomedical Research is to promote interdisciplinary research across all Biomedical Sciences. It publishes ... Business editor – Sam Meludu.

  3. Passage-Based Bibliographic Coupling: An Inter-Article Similarity Measure for Biomedical Articles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Rey-Long

    2015-01-01

    Biomedical literature is an essential source of biomedical evidence. To translate the evidence for biomedicine study, researchers often need to carefully read multiple articles about specific biomedical issues. These articles thus need to be highly related to each other. They should share similar core contents, including research goals, methods, and findings. However, given an article r, it is challenging for search engines to retrieve highly related articles for r. In this paper, we present a technique PBC (Passage-based Bibliographic Coupling) that estimates inter-article similarity by seamlessly integrating bibliographic coupling with the information collected from context passages around important out-link citations (references) in each article. Empirical evaluation shows that PBC can significantly improve the retrieval of those articles that biomedical experts believe to be highly related to specific articles about gene-disease associations. PBC can thus be used to improve search engines in retrieving the highly related articles for any given article r, even when r is cited by very few (or even no) articles. The contribution is essential for those researchers and text mining systems that aim at cross-validating the evidence about specific gene-disease associations. PMID:26440794

  4. A roadmap for caGrid, an enterprise Grid architecture for biomedical research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saltz, Joel; Hastings, Shannon; Langella, Stephen; Oster, Scott; Kurc, Tahsin; Payne, Philip; Ferreira, Renato; Plale, Beth; Goble, Carole; Ervin, David; Sharma, Ashish; Pan, Tony; Permar, Justin; Brezany, Peter; Siebenlist, Frank; Madduri, Ravi; Foster, Ian; Shanbhag, Krishnakant; Mead, Charlie; Chue Hong, Neil

    2008-01-01

    caGrid is a middleware system which combines the Grid computing, the service oriented architecture, and the model driven architecture paradigms to support development of interoperable data and analytical resources and federation of such resources in a Grid environment. The functionality provided by caGrid is an essential and integral component of the cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG) program. This program is established by the National Cancer Institute as a nationwide effort to develop enabling informatics technologies for collaborative, multi-institutional biomedical research with the overarching goal of accelerating translational cancer research. Although the main application domain for caGrid is cancer research, the infrastructure provides a generic framework that can be employed in other biomedical research and healthcare domains. The development of caGrid is an ongoing effort, adding new functionality and improvements based on feedback and use cases from the community. This paper provides an overview of potential future architecture and tooling directions and areas of improvement for caGrid and caGrid-like systems. This summary is based on discussions at a roadmap workshop held in February with participants from biomedical research, Grid computing, and high performance computing communities.

  5. Passage-Based Bibliographic Coupling: An Inter-Article Similarity Measure for Biomedical Articles.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rey-Long Liu

    Full Text Available Biomedical literature is an essential source of biomedical evidence. To translate the evidence for biomedicine study, researchers often need to carefully read multiple articles about specific biomedical issues. These articles thus need to be highly related to each other. They should share similar core contents, including research goals, methods, and findings. However, given an article r, it is challenging for search engines to retrieve highly related articles for r. In this paper, we present a technique PBC (Passage-based Bibliographic Coupling that estimates inter-article similarity by seamlessly integrating bibliographic coupling with the information collected from context passages around important out-link citations (references in each article. Empirical evaluation shows that PBC can significantly improve the retrieval of those articles that biomedical experts believe to be highly related to specific articles about gene-disease associations. PBC can thus be used to improve search engines in retrieving the highly related articles for any given article r, even when r is cited by very few (or even no articles. The contribution is essential for those researchers and text mining systems that aim at cross-validating the evidence about specific gene-disease associations.

  6. Computational intelligence in biomedical imaging

    CERN Document Server

    2014-01-01

    This book provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art computational intelligence research and technologies in biomedical images with emphasis on biomedical decision making. Biomedical imaging offers useful information on patients’ medical conditions and clues to causes of their symptoms and diseases. Biomedical images, however, provide a large number of images which physicians must interpret. Therefore, computer aids are demanded and become indispensable in physicians’ decision making. This book discusses major technical advancements and research findings in the field of computational intelligence in biomedical imaging, for example, computational intelligence in computer-aided diagnosis for breast cancer, prostate cancer, and brain disease, in lung function analysis, and in radiation therapy. The book examines technologies and studies that have reached the practical level, and those technologies that are becoming available in clinical practices in hospitals rapidly such as computational inte...

  7. Branding the bio/biomedical engineering degree.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voigt, Herbert F

    2011-01-01

    The future challenges to medical and biological engineering, sometimes referred to as biomedical engineering or simply bioengineering, are many. Some of these are identifiable now and others will emerge from time to time as new technologies are introduced and harnessed. There is a fundamental issue regarding "Branding the bio/biomedical engineering degree" that requires a common understanding of what is meant by a B.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering, or Biological Engineering. In this paper we address some of the issues involved in branding the Bio/Biomedical Engineering degree, with the aim of clarifying the Bio/Biomedical Engineering brand.

  8. Integrated Theory of Health Behavior Change: background and intervention development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Polly

    2009-01-01

    An essential characteristic of advanced practice nurses is the use of theory in practice. Clinical nurse specialists apply theory in providing or directing patient care, in their work as consultants to staff nurses, and as leaders influencing and facilitating system change. Knowledge of technology and pharmacology has far outpaced knowledge of how to facilitate health behavior change, and new theories are needed to better understand how practitioners can facilitate health behavior change. In this article, the Integrated Theory of Health Behavior Change is described, and an example of its use as foundation to intervention development is presented. The Integrated Theory of Health Behavior Change suggests that health behavior change can be enhanced by fostering knowledge and beliefs, increasing self-regulation skills and abilities, and enhancing social facilitation. Engagement in self-management behaviors is seen as the proximal outcome influencing the long-term distal outcome of improved health status. Person-centered interventions are directed to increasing knowledge and beliefs, self-regulation skills and abilities, and social facilitation. Using a theoretical framework improves clinical nurse specialist practice by focusing assessments, directing the use of best-practice interventions, and improving patient outcomes. Using theory fosters improved communication with other disciplines and enhances the management of complex clinical conditions by providing holistic, comprehensive care.

  9. Biomedical nanotechnology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hurst, Sarah J

    2011-01-01

    This chapter summarizes the roles of nanomaterials in biomedical applications, focusing on those highlighted in this volume. A brief history of nanoscience and technology and a general introduction to the field are presented. Then, the chemical and physical properties of nanostructures that make them ideal for use in biomedical applications are highlighted. Examples of common applications, including sensing, imaging, and therapeutics, are given. Finally, the challenges associated with translating this field from the research laboratory to the clinic setting, in terms of the larger societal implications, are discussed.

  10. Biomedical applications of polymers

    CERN Document Server

    Gebelein, C G

    1991-01-01

    The biomedical applications of polymers span an extremely wide spectrum of uses, including artificial organs, skin and soft tissue replacements, orthopaedic applications, dental applications, and controlled release of medications. No single, short review can possibly cover all these items in detail, and dozens of books andhundreds of reviews exist on biomedical polymers. Only a few relatively recent examples will be cited here;additional reviews are listed under most of the major topics in this book. We will consider each of the majorclassifications of biomedical polymers to some extent, inclu

  11. Biomedical Engineering Desk Reference

    CERN Document Server

    Ratner, Buddy D; Schoen, Frederick J; Lemons, Jack E; Dyro, Joseph; Martinsen, Orjan G; Kyle, Richard; Preim, Bernhard; Bartz, Dirk; Grimnes, Sverre; Vallero, Daniel; Semmlow, John; Murray, W Bosseau; Perez, Reinaldo; Bankman, Isaac; Dunn, Stanley; Ikada, Yoshito; Moghe, Prabhas V; Constantinides, Alkis

    2009-01-01

    A one-stop Desk Reference, for Biomedical Engineers involved in the ever expanding and very fast moving area; this is a book that will not gather dust on the shelf. It brings together the essential professional reference content from leading international contributors in the biomedical engineering field. Material covers a broad range of topics including: Biomechanics and Biomaterials; Tissue Engineering; and Biosignal Processing* A hard-working desk reference providing all the essential material needed by biomedical and clinical engineers on a day-to-day basis * Fundamentals, key techniques,

  12. SATORI: a system for ontology-guided visual exploration of biomedical data repositories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lekschas, Fritz; Gehlenborg, Nils

    2018-04-01

    The ever-increasing number of biomedical datasets provides tremendous opportunities for re-use but current data repositories provide limited means of exploration apart from text-based search. Ontological metadata annotations provide context by semantically relating datasets. Visualizing this rich network of relationships can improve the explorability of large data repositories and help researchers find datasets of interest. We developed SATORI-an integrative search and visual exploration interface for the exploration of biomedical data repositories. The design is informed by a requirements analysis through a series of semi-structured interviews. We evaluated the implementation of SATORI in a field study on a real-world data collection. SATORI enables researchers to seamlessly search, browse and semantically query data repositories via two visualizations that are highly interconnected with a powerful search interface. SATORI is an open-source web application, which is freely available at http://satori.refinery-platform.org and integrated into the Refinery Platform. nils@hms.harvard.edu. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  13. Biomedical research applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1982-01-01

    The biomedical research Panel believes that the Calutron facility at Oak Ridge is a national and international resource of immense scientific value and of fundamental importance to continued biomedical research. This resource is essential to the development of new isotope uses in biology and medicine. It should therefore be nurtured by adequate support and operated in a way that optimizes its services to the scientific and technological community. The Panel sees a continuing need for a reliable supply of a wide variety of enriched stable isotopes. The past and present utilization of stable isotopes in biomedical research is documented in Appendix 7. Future requirements for stable isotopes are impossible to document, however, because of the unpredictability of research itself. Nonetheless we expect the demand for isotopes to increase in parallel with the continuing expansion of biomedical research as a whole. There are a number of promising research projects at the present time, and these are expected to lead to an increase in production requirements. The Panel also believes that a high degree of priority should be given to replacing the supplies of the 65 isotopes (out of the 224 previously available enriched isotopes) no longer available from ORNL

  14. hMuLab: A Biomedical Hybrid MUlti-LABel Classifier Based on Multiple Linear Regression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Pu; Ge, Ruiquan; Xiao, Xuan; Zhou, Manli; Zhou, Fengfeng

    2017-01-01

    Many biomedical classification problems are multi-label by nature, e.g., a gene involved in a variety of functions and a patient with multiple diseases. The majority of existing classification algorithms assumes each sample with only one class label, and the multi-label classification problem remains to be a challenge for biomedical researchers. This study proposes a novel multi-label learning algorithm, hMuLab, by integrating both feature-based and neighbor-based similarity scores. The multiple linear regression modeling techniques make hMuLab capable of producing multiple label assignments for a query sample. The comparison results over six commonly-used multi-label performance measurements suggest that hMuLab performs accurately and stably for the biomedical datasets, and may serve as a complement to the existing literature.

  15. Pathophysiologic mechanisms of biomedical nanomaterials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Liming; Chen, Chunying

    2016-01-01

    Nanomaterials (NMs) have been widespread used in biomedical fields, daily consuming, and even food industry. It is crucial to understand the safety and biomedical efficacy of NMs. In this review, we summarized the recent progress about the physiological and pathological effects of NMs from several levels: protein-nano interface, NM-subcellular structures, and cell–cell interaction. We focused on the detailed information of nano-bio interaction, especially about protein adsorption, intracellular trafficking, biological barriers, and signaling pathways as well as the associated mechanism mediated by nanomaterials. We also introduced related analytical methods that are meaningful and helpful for biomedical effect studies in the future. We believe that knowledge about pathophysiologic effects of NMs is not only significant for rational design of medical NMs but also helps predict their safety and further improve their applications in the future. - Highlights: • Rapid protein adsorption onto nanomaterials that affects biomedical effects • Nanomaterials and their interaction with biological membrane, intracellular trafficking and specific cellular effects • Nanomaterials and their interaction with biological barriers • The signaling pathways mediated by nanomaterials and related biomedical effects • Novel techniques for studying translocation and biomedical effects of NMs

  16. Pathophysiologic mechanisms of biomedical nanomaterials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Liming, E-mail: wangliming@ihep.ac.cn; Chen, Chunying, E-mail: chenchy@nanoctr.cn

    2016-05-15

    Nanomaterials (NMs) have been widespread used in biomedical fields, daily consuming, and even food industry. It is crucial to understand the safety and biomedical efficacy of NMs. In this review, we summarized the recent progress about the physiological and pathological effects of NMs from several levels: protein-nano interface, NM-subcellular structures, and cell–cell interaction. We focused on the detailed information of nano-bio interaction, especially about protein adsorption, intracellular trafficking, biological barriers, and signaling pathways as well as the associated mechanism mediated by nanomaterials. We also introduced related analytical methods that are meaningful and helpful for biomedical effect studies in the future. We believe that knowledge about pathophysiologic effects of NMs is not only significant for rational design of medical NMs but also helps predict their safety and further improve their applications in the future. - Highlights: • Rapid protein adsorption onto nanomaterials that affects biomedical effects • Nanomaterials and their interaction with biological membrane, intracellular trafficking and specific cellular effects • Nanomaterials and their interaction with biological barriers • The signaling pathways mediated by nanomaterials and related biomedical effects • Novel techniques for studying translocation and biomedical effects of NMs.

  17. Biomedical signal analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Rangayyan, Rangaraj M

    2015-01-01

    The book will help assist a reader in the development of techniques for analysis of biomedical signals and computer aided diagnoses with a pedagogical examination of basic and advanced topics accompanied by over 350 figures and illustrations. Wide range of filtering techniques presented to address various applications. 800 mathematical expressions and equations. Practical questions, problems and laboratory exercises. Includes fractals and chaos theory with biomedical applications.

  18. Biomedical informatics and translational medicine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarkar Indra

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Biomedical informatics involves a core set of methodologies that can provide a foundation for crossing the "translational barriers" associated with translational medicine. To this end, the fundamental aspects of biomedical informatics (e.g., bioinformatics, imaging informatics, clinical informatics, and public health informatics may be essential in helping improve the ability to bring basic research findings to the bedside, evaluate the efficacy of interventions across communities, and enable the assessment of the eventual impact of translational medicine innovations on health policies. Here, a brief description is provided for a selection of key biomedical informatics topics (Decision Support, Natural Language Processing, Standards, Information Retrieval, and Electronic Health Records and their relevance to translational medicine. Based on contributions and advancements in each of these topic areas, the article proposes that biomedical informatics practitioners ("biomedical informaticians" can be essential members of translational medicine teams.

  19. iDASH: integrating data for analysis, anonymization, and sharing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bafna, Vineet; Boxwala, Aziz A; Chapman, Brian E; Chapman, Wendy W; Chaudhuri, Kamalika; Day, Michele E; Farcas, Claudiu; Heintzman, Nathaniel D; Jiang, Xiaoqian; Kim, Hyeoneui; Kim, Jihoon; Matheny, Michael E; Resnic, Frederic S; Vinterbo, Staal A

    2011-01-01

    iDASH (integrating data for analysis, anonymization, and sharing) is the newest National Center for Biomedical Computing funded by the NIH. It focuses on algorithms and tools for sharing data in a privacy-preserving manner. Foundational privacy technology research performed within iDASH is coupled with innovative engineering for collaborative tool development and data-sharing capabilities in a private Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-certified cloud. Driving Biological Projects, which span different biological levels (from molecules to individuals to populations) and focus on various health conditions, help guide research and development within this Center. Furthermore, training and dissemination efforts connect the Center with its stakeholders and educate data owners and data consumers on how to share and use clinical and biological data. Through these various mechanisms, iDASH implements its goal of providing biomedical and behavioral researchers with access to data, software, and a high-performance computing environment, thus enabling them to generate and test new hypotheses. PMID:22081224

  20. NCBO Ontology Recommender 2.0: an enhanced approach for biomedical ontology recommendation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Romero, Marcos; Jonquet, Clement; O'Connor, Martin J; Graybeal, John; Pazos, Alejandro; Musen, Mark A

    2017-06-07

    Ontologies and controlled terminologies have become increasingly important in biomedical research. Researchers use ontologies to annotate their data with ontology terms, enabling better data integration and interoperability across disparate datasets. However, the number, variety and complexity of current biomedical ontologies make it cumbersome for researchers to determine which ones to reuse for their specific needs. To overcome this problem, in 2010 the National Center for Biomedical Ontology (NCBO) released the Ontology Recommender, which is a service that receives a biomedical text corpus or a list of keywords and suggests ontologies appropriate for referencing the indicated terms. We developed a new version of the NCBO Ontology Recommender. Called Ontology Recommender 2.0, it uses a novel recommendation approach that evaluates the relevance of an ontology to biomedical text data according to four different criteria: (1) the extent to which the ontology covers the input data; (2) the acceptance of the ontology in the biomedical community; (3) the level of detail of the ontology classes that cover the input data; and (4) the specialization of the ontology to the domain of the input data. Our evaluation shows that the enhanced recommender provides higher quality suggestions than the original approach, providing better coverage of the input data, more detailed information about their concepts, increased specialization for the domain of the input data, and greater acceptance and use in the community. In addition, it provides users with more explanatory information, along with suggestions of not only individual ontologies but also groups of ontologies to use together. It also can be customized to fit the needs of different ontology recommendation scenarios. Ontology Recommender 2.0 suggests relevant ontologies for annotating biomedical text data. It combines the strengths of its predecessor with a range of adjustments and new features that improve its reliability

  1. Use of systematic review to inform the infection risk for biomedical engineers and technicians servicing biomedical devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, Anne-Louise

    2011-01-01

    Full text: Many microorganisms responsible for hospital acquired infections are able to stay viable on surfaces with no visible sign of contamination, in dry conditions and on non-porous surfaces. The infection risk to biomedical staff when servicing biomedical devices is not documented. An indirect approach has been used to examine the different aspects that will affect the risk of infection including a systematic review of microbial contamination and transmission relating to biomedical devices. A systematic review found 58% of biomedical devices have microbial contamination with 13% having at least one pathogenic organism. These microbes can persist for some months. Occupational-infections of biomedical service staff are low compared to other healthcare workers. A biomedical device with contaminated surface or dust was identified as the source of patient outbreaks in 13 papers. The cleaning agent most tested for removal of micro-organisms from devices was alcohol swabs, but sterile water swabs were also effective. However, manufacturers mainly recommend (74%) cleaning devices with water and detergent. Biomedical engineers and technicians have a small risk of being exposed to dangerous micro-organisms on most biomedical devices, but without skin breakage, this exposure is unlikely to cause ill-health. It is recommended that biomedical staff follow good infection control practices, wipe devices with detergent, sterile water or alcohol swabs as recommended by the manufacturer before working on them, and keep alcohol hand rubs accessible at all benches. (author)

  2. Research on pressure sensors for biomedical instruments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angell, J. B.

    1975-01-01

    The development of a piezo-resistive pressure transducer is discussed suitable for recording pressures typically encountered in biomedical applications. The pressure transducer consists of a thin silicon diaphragm containing four strain-sensitive resistors, and is fabricated using silicon monolithic integrated-circuit technology. The pressure transducers can be as small as 0.7 mm outer diameter, and are, as a result, suitable for mounting at the tip of a catheter. Pressure-induced stress in the diaphragm is sensed by the resistors, which are interconnected to form a Wheatstone bridge.

  3. Integrating Motivational Interviewing and Brief Behavioral Activation Therapy: Theoretical and Practical Considerations

    OpenAIRE

    Balán, Iván C.; Lejuez, C. W.; Hoffer, Marcela; Blanco, Carlos

    2016-01-01

    Behavioral Activation and specifically the Brief Behavioral Activation Therapy for Depression (BATD) has a strong record of empirical support but its focus on practical out of session activation-based assignments can lead to poor levels of adherence if efforts to enhance motivation are not prioritized. Towards this end, this manuscript describes the assimilative integration of Motivational Interviewing (MI) and BATD to improve clinical outcomes by integrating MI's focus on building and mainta...

  4. Electrochemical corrosion behavior and elasticity properties of Ti-6Al-xFe alloys for biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Jinwen; Zhao, Yongqing; Niu, Hongzhi; Zhang, Yusheng; Du, Yuzhou; Zhang, Wei; Huo, Wangtu

    2016-05-01

    The present study is to investigate the microstructural characteristics, electrochemical corrosion behavior and elasticity properties of Ti-6Al-xFe alloys with Fe addition for biomedical application, and Ti-6Al-4V alloy with two-phase (α+β) microstructure is also studied as a comparison. Microstructural characterization reveals that the phase and crystal structure are sensitive to the Fe content. Ti-6Al alloy displays feather-like hexagonal α phase, and Ti-6Al-1Fe exhibits coarse lath structure of hexagonal α phase and a small amount of β phase. Ti-6Al-2Fe and Ti-6Al-4Fe alloys are dominated by elongated, equiaxed α phase and retained β phase, but the size of α phase particle in Ti-6Al-4Fe alloy is much smaller than that in Ti-6Al-2Fe alloy. The corrosion resistance of these alloys is determined in SBF solution at 37 °C. It is found that the alloys spontaneously form a passive oxide film on their surface after immersion for 500 s, and then they are stable for polarizations up to 0 VSCE. In comparison with Ti-6Al and Ti-6Al-4V alloys, Ti-6Al-xFe alloys exhibit better corrosion resistance with lower anodic current densities, larger polarization resistances and higher open-circuit potentials. The passive layers show stable characteristics, and the wide frequency ranges displaying capacitive characteristics occur for high iron contents. Elasticity experiments are performed to evaluate the elasticity property at room temperature. Ti-6Al-4Fe alloy has the lowest Young's modulus (112 GPa) and exhibits the highest strength/modulus ratios as large as 8.6, which is similar to that of c.p. Ti (8.5). These characteristics of Ti-6Al-xFe alloys form the basis of a great potential to be used as biomedical implantation materials. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Social and behavioral science priorities for genomic translation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koehly, Laura M; Persky, Susan; Spotts, Erica; Acca, Gillian

    2018-01-29

    This commentary highlights the essential role of the social and behavioral sciences for genomic translation, and discusses some priority research areas in this regard. The first area encompasses genetics of behavioral, social, and neurocognitive factors, and how integration of these relationships might impact the development of treatments and interventions. The second area includes the contributions that social and behavioral sciences make toward the informed translation of genomic developments. Further, there is a need for behavioral and social sciences to inform biomedical research for effective implementation. The third area speaks to the need for increased outreach and education efforts to improve the public's genomic literacy such that individuals and communities can make informed health-related and societal (e.g., in legal or consumer settings) decisions. Finally, there is a need to prioritize representation of diverse communities in genomics research and equity of access to genomic technologies. Examples from National Institutes of Health-based intramural and extramural research programs and initiatives are used to discuss these points. © Society of Behavioral Medicine 2018.

  6. Understanding national culture effects on user behavior in integrative IS implementations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Krijnse Locker, Niels; Vos, Janita F.J.; Boonstra, Albert

    2016-01-01

    This study examines how national culture manifests itself in integrative IS implementations and how it influences user behavior. Adopting a case survey approach, a sample of 70 cases encompassing 18 countries/regions, 18 industries and over 25 different integrative IT systems resulted in 481

  7. The ethics of biomedical big data

    CERN Document Server

    Mittelstadt, Brent Daniel

    2016-01-01

    This book presents cutting edge research on the new ethical challenges posed by biomedical Big Data technologies and practices. ‘Biomedical Big Data’ refers to the analysis of aggregated, very large datasets to improve medical knowledge and clinical care. The book describes the ethical problems posed by aggregation of biomedical datasets and re-use/re-purposing of data, in areas such as privacy, consent, professionalism, power relationships, and ethical governance of Big Data platforms. Approaches and methods are discussed that can be used to address these problems to achieve the appropriate balance between the social goods of biomedical Big Data research and the safety and privacy of individuals. Seventeen original contributions analyse the ethical, social and related policy implications of the analysis and curation of biomedical Big Data, written by leading experts in the areas of biomedical research, medical and technology ethics, privacy, governance and data protection. The book advances our understan...

  8. Labor and skills gap analysis of the biomedical research workforce

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, Julie L.; Johnston, Elizabeth; Berndt, Sam; Segal, Katie; Lei, Ming; Wiest, Jonathan S.

    2016-01-01

    The United States has experienced an unsustainable increase of the biomedical research workforce over the past 3 decades. This expansion has led to a myriad of consequences, including an imbalance in the number of researchers and available tenure-track faculty positions, extended postdoctoral training periods, increasing age of investigators at first U.S. National Institutes of Health R01 grant, and exodus of talented individuals seeking careers beyond traditional academe. Without accurate data on the biomedical research labor market, challenges will remain in resolving these problems and in advising trainees of viable career options and the skills necessary to be productive in their careers. We analyzed workforce trends, integrating both traditional labor market information and real-time job data. We generated a profile of the current biomedical research workforce, performed labor gap analyses of occupations in the workforce at regional and national levels, and assessed skill transferability between core and complementary occupations. We conclude that although supply into the workforce and the number of job postings for occupations within that workforce have grown over the past decade, supply continues to outstrip demand. Moreover, we identify practical skill sets from real-time job postings to optimally equip trainees for an array of careers to effectively meet future workforce demand.—Mason, J. L., Johnston, E., Berndt, S., Segal, K., Lei, M., Wiest, J. S. Labor and skills gap analysis of the biomedical research workforce. PMID:27075242

  9. Labor and skills gap analysis of the biomedical research workforce.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, Julie L; Johnston, Elizabeth; Berndt, Sam; Segal, Katie; Lei, Ming; Wiest, Jonathan S

    2016-08-01

    The United States has experienced an unsustainable increase of the biomedical research workforce over the past 3 decades. This expansion has led to a myriad of consequences, including an imbalance in the number of researchers and available tenure-track faculty positions, extended postdoctoral training periods, increasing age of investigators at first U.S. National Institutes of Health R01 grant, and exodus of talented individuals seeking careers beyond traditional academe. Without accurate data on the biomedical research labor market, challenges will remain in resolving these problems and in advising trainees of viable career options and the skills necessary to be productive in their careers. We analyzed workforce trends, integrating both traditional labor market information and real-time job data. We generated a profile of the current biomedical research workforce, performed labor gap analyses of occupations in the workforce at regional and national levels, and assessed skill transferability between core and complementary occupations. We conclude that although supply into the workforce and the number of job postings for occupations within that workforce have grown over the past decade, supply continues to outstrip demand. Moreover, we identify practical skill sets from real-time job postings to optimally equip trainees for an array of careers to effectively meet future workforce demand.-Mason, J. L., Johnston, E., Berndt, S., Segal, K., Lei, M., Wiest, J. S. Labor and skills gap analysis of the biomedical research workforce. © FASEB.

  10. Biomedical and Health Informatics Education – the IMIA Years

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    Summary Objective This paper presents the development of medical informatics education during the years from the establishment of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) until today. Method A search in the literature was performed using search engines and appropriate keywords as well as a manual selection of papers. The search covered English language papers and was limited to search on papers title and abstract only. Results The aggregated papers were analyzed on the basis of the subject area, origin, time span, and curriculum development, and conclusions were drawn. Conclusions From the results, it is evident that IMIA has played a major role in comparing and integrating the Biomedical and Health Informatics educational efforts across the different levels of education and the regional distribution of educators and institutions. A large selection of references is presented facilitating future work on the field of education in biomedical and health informatics. PMID:27488405

  11. Biodegradable toughened nanohybrid shape memory polymer for smart biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biswas, Arpan; Singh, Akhand Pratap; Rana, Dipak; Aswal, Vinod K; Maiti, Pralay

    2018-05-17

    A polyurethane nanohybrid has been prepared through the in situ polymerization of an aliphatic diisocyanate, ester polyol and a chain extender in the presence of two-dimensional platelets. Polymerization within the platelet galleries helps to intercalate, generate diverse nanostructure and improve the nano to macro scale self-assembly, which leads to a significant enhancement in the toughness and thermal stability of the nanohybrid in comparison to pure polyurethane. The extensive interactions, the reason for property enhancement, between nanoplatelets and polymer chains are revealed through spectroscopic measurements and thermal studies. The nanohybrid exhibits significant improvement in the shape memory phenomena (91% recovery) at the physiological temperature, which makes it suitable for many biomedical applications. The structural alteration, studied through temperature dependent small angle neutron scattering and X-ray diffraction, along with unique crystallization behavior have extensively revealed the special shape memory behavior of this nanohybrid and facilitated the understanding of the molecular flipping in the presence of nanoplatelets. Cell line studies and subsequent imaging testify that this nanohybrid is a superior biomaterial that is suitable for use in the biomedical arena. In vivo studies on albino rats exhibit the potential of the shape memory effect of the nanohybrid as a self-tightening suture in keyhole surgery by appropriately closing the lips of the wound through the recovery of the programmed shape at physiological temperature with faster healing of the wound and without the formation of any scar. Further, the improved biodegradable nature along with the rapid self-expanding ability of the nanohybrid at 37 °C make it appropriate for many biomedical applications including a self-expanding stent for occlusion recovery due to its tough and flexible nature.

  12. Implementation and management of a biomedical observation dictionary in a large healthcare information system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandenbussche, Pierre-Yves; Cormont, Sylvie; André, Christophe; Daniel, Christel; Delahousse, Jean; Charlet, Jean; Lepage, Eric

    2013-01-01

    This study shows the evolution of a biomedical observation dictionary within the Assistance Publique Hôpitaux Paris (AP-HP), the largest European university hospital group. The different steps are detailed as follows: the dictionary creation, the mapping to logical observation identifier names and codes (LOINC), the integration into a multiterminological management platform and, finally, the implementation in the health information system. AP-HP decided to create a biomedical observation dictionary named AnaBio, to map it to LOINC and to maintain the mapping. A management platform based on methods used for knowledge engineering has been put in place. It aims at integrating AnaBio within the health information system and improving both the quality and stability of the dictionary. This new management platform is now active in AP-HP. The AnaBio dictionary is shared by 120 laboratories and currently includes 50 000 codes. The mapping implementation to LOINC reaches 40% of the AnaBio entries and uses 26% of LOINC records. The results of our work validate the choice made to develop a local dictionary aligned with LOINC. This work constitutes a first step towards a wider use of the platform. The next step will support the entire biomedical production chain, from the clinician prescription, through laboratory tests tracking in the laboratory information system to the communication of results and the use for decision support and biomedical research. In addition, the increase in the mapping implementation to LOINC ensures the interoperability allowing communication with other international health institutions.

  13. 76 FR 79273 - Joint Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development and Clinical Science Research and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-21

    ... Science Research and Development Services Scientific Merit Review Board Panel for Eligibility, Notice of... and Clinical Science Research and Development Services Scientific Merit Review Board will meet on... medical specialties within the general areas of biomedical, behavioral, and clinical science research. The...

  14. Integrated employee assistance program/managed behavioral health care benefits: relationship with access and client characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levy Merrick, Elizabeth S; Hodgkin, Dominic; Horgan, Constance M; Hiatt, Deirdre; McCann, Bernard; Azzone, Vanessa; Zolotusky, Galina; Ritter, Grant; Reif, Sharon; McGuire, Thomas G

    2009-11-01

    This study examined service user characteristics and determinants of access for enrollees in integrated EAP/behavioral health versus standard managed behavioral health care plans. A national managed behavioral health care organization's claims data from 2004 were used. Integrated plan service users were more likely to be employees rather than dependents, and to be diagnosed with adjustment disorder. Logistic regression analyses found greater likelihood in integrated plans of accessing behavioral health services (OR 1.20, CI 1.17-1.24), and substance abuse services specifically (OR 1.23, CI 1.06-1.43). Results are consistent with the concept that EAP benefits may increase access and address problems earlier.

  15. Biomedical applications engineering tasks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laenger, C. J., Sr.

    1976-01-01

    The engineering tasks performed in response to needs articulated by clinicians are described. Initial contacts were made with these clinician-technology requestors by the Southwest Research Institute NASA Biomedical Applications Team. The basic purpose of the program was to effectively transfer aerospace technology into functional hardware to solve real biomedical problems.

  16. Simulation study of a high power density rectenna array for biomedical implantable devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Day, John; Yoon, Hargsoon; Kim, Jaehwan; Choi, Sang H.; Song, Kyo D.

    2016-04-01

    The integration of wireless power transmission devices using microwaves into the biomedical field is close to a practical reality. Implanted biomedical devices need a long lasting power source or continuous power supply. Recent development of high efficiency rectenna technology enables continuous power supply to these implanted devices. Due to the size limit of most of medical devices, it is imperative to minimize the rectenna as well. The research reported in this paper reviews the effects of close packing the rectenna elements which show the potential of directly empowering the implanted devices, especially within a confined area. The rectenna array is tested in the X band frequency range.

  17. Frontiers in biomedical engineering and biotechnology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Feng; Goodarzi, Ali; Wang, Haifeng; Stasiak, Joanna; Sun, Jianbo; Zhou, Yu

    2014-01-01

    The 2nd International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology (iCBEB 2013), held in Wuhan on 11–13 October 2013, is an annual conference that aims at providing an opportunity for international and national researchers and practitioners to present the most recent advances and future challenges in the fields of Biomedical Information, Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology. The papers published by this issue are selected from this conference, which witnesses the frontier in the field of Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology, which particularly has helped improving the level of clinical diagnosis in medical work.

  18. [Master course in biomedical engineering].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jobbágy, Akos; Benyó, Zoltán; Monos, Emil

    2009-11-22

    The Bologna Declaration aims at harmonizing the European higher education structure. In accordance with the Declaration, biomedical engineering will be offered as a master (MSc) course also in Hungary, from year 2009. Since 1995 biomedical engineering course has been held in cooperation of three universities: Semmelweis University, Budapest Veterinary University, and Budapest University of Technology and Economics. One of the latter's faculties, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, has been responsible for the course. Students could start their biomedical engineering studies - usually in parallel with their first degree course - after they collected at least 180 ECTS credits. Consequently, the biomedical engineering course could have been considered as a master course even before the Bologna Declaration. Students had to collect 130 ECTS credits during the six-semester course. This is equivalent to four-semester full-time studies, because during the first three semesters the curriculum required to gain only one third of the usual ECTS credits. The paper gives a survey on the new biomedical engineering master course, briefly summing up also the subjects in the curriculum.

  19. Education of biomedical engineering in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Kang-Ping; Kao, Tsair; Wang, Jia-Jung; Chen, Mei-Jung; Su, Fong-Chin

    2014-01-01

    Biomedical Engineers (BME) play an important role in medical and healthcare society. Well educational programs are important to support the healthcare systems including hospitals, long term care organizations, manufacture industries of medical devices/instrumentations/systems, and sales/services companies of medical devices/instrumentations/system. In past 30 more years, biomedical engineering society has accumulated thousands people hold a biomedical engineering degree, and work as a biomedical engineer in Taiwan. Most of BME students can be trained in biomedical engineering departments with at least one of specialties in bioelectronics, bio-information, biomaterials or biomechanics. Students are required to have internship trainings in related institutions out of campus for 320 hours before graduating. Almost all the biomedical engineering departments are certified by IEET (Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan), and met the IEET requirement in which required mathematics and fundamental engineering courses. For BMEs after graduation, Taiwanese Society of Biomedical Engineering (TSBME) provides many continue-learning programs and certificates for all members who expect to hold the certification as a professional credit in his working place. In current status, many engineering departments in university are continuously asked to provide joint programs with BME department to train much better quality students. BME is one of growing fields in Taiwan.

  20. Integrated micro/nanoengineered functional biomaterials for cell mechanics and mechanobiology: a materials perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shao, Yue; Fu, Jianping

    2014-03-12

    The rapid development of micro/nanoengineered functional biomaterials in the last two decades has empowered materials scientists and bioengineers to precisely control different aspects of the in vitro cell microenvironment. Following a philosophy of reductionism, many studies using synthetic functional biomaterials have revealed instructive roles of individual extracellular biophysical and biochemical cues in regulating cellular behaviors. Development of integrated micro/nanoengineered functional biomaterials to study complex and emergent biological phenomena has also thrived rapidly in recent years, revealing adaptive and integrated cellular behaviors closely relevant to human physiological and pathological conditions. Working at the interface between materials science and engineering, biology, and medicine, we are now at the beginning of a great exploration using micro/nanoengineered functional biomaterials for both fundamental biology study and clinical and biomedical applications such as regenerative medicine and drug screening. In this review, an overview of state of the art micro/nanoengineered functional biomaterials that can control precisely individual aspects of cell-microenvironment interactions is presented and they are highlighted them as well-controlled platforms for mechanistic studies of mechano-sensitive and -responsive cellular behaviors and integrative biology research. The recent exciting trend where micro/nanoengineered biomaterials are integrated into miniaturized biological and biomimetic systems for dynamic multiparametric microenvironmental control of emergent and integrated cellular behaviors is also discussed. The impact of integrated micro/nanoengineered functional biomaterials for future in vitro studies of regenerative medicine, cell biology, as well as human development and disease models are discussed. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. Developing a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum for professionalism and scientific integrity training for biomedical graduate students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Nancy L; Peiffer, Ann M; Lambros, Ann; Guthold, Martin; Johnson, A Daniel; Tytell, Michael; Ronca, April E; Eldridge, J Charles

    2010-10-01

    A multidisciplinary faculty committee designed a curriculum to shape biomedical graduate students into researchers with a high commitment to professionalism and social responsibility and to provide students with tools to navigate complex, rapidly evolving academic and societal environments with a strong ethical commitment. The curriculum used problem-based learning (PBL), because it is active and learner-centred and focuses on skill and process development. Two courses were developed: Scientific Professionalism: Scientific Integrity addressed discipline-specific and broad professional norms and obligations for the ethical practice of science and responsible conduct of research (RCR). Scientific Professionalism: Bioethics and Social Responsibility focused on current ethical and bioethical issues within the scientific profession, and implications of research for society. Each small-group session examined case scenarios that included: (1) learning objectives for professional norms and obligations; (2) key ethical issues and philosophies within each topic area; (3) one or more of the RCR instructional areas; and (4) at least one type of moral reflection. Cases emphasised professional standards, obligations and underlying philosophies for the ethical practice of science, competing interests of stakeholders and oversight of science (internal and external). To our knowledge, this is the first use of a longitudinal, multi-semester PBL course to teach scientific integrity and professionalism. Both faculty and students endorsed the active learning approach for these topics, in contrast to a compliance-based approach that emphasises learning rules and regulations.

  2. Tactile Sliding Behavior of R2R Mass-Produced PLLA Nanosheet towards Biomedical Device in Skin Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sheng Zhang

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available In this research, sliding friction was measured between the fingertip and nanosheet on a silicon substrate under two conditions: dry and wet. By using a force transducer, the tactile friction force and applied load were measured. According to the experimental results, the relationship of friction force and applied load exhibits a positive correlation under both dry and wet conditions. In addition, the nanosheets are able to reduce the friction force and coefficient of friction (COF compared to the reference sample, especially under the wet condition. Under the assumption of a full contact condition, the estimated contact area increases with larger applied loads. Furthermore, based on the wear observation, the skin sliding performance caused slight abrasions to the surface of the nanosheet samples with a mild wear track along the sliding direction. Overall, the sliding behavior between the skin and nanosheet was investigated in terms of friction force, COF, applied load, contact area, and wear. These findings can contribute to the nanosheet-related research towards biomedical devices in skin applications.

  3. Distinguishing integrative from eclectic practice in cognitive behavioral therapies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrik, Alexandra M; Kazantzis, Nikolaos; Hofmann, Stefan G

    2013-09-01

    In psychotherapy research, practice, and training, there remains marked controversy about the merits of theoretical purism (i.e., model specific), versus integration, as well as how such principles may be represented in practice. Adding to the confusion is that many attributes of the therapeutic relationship, processes in therapy, and techniques have been popularized in the context of one or two theoretical approaches, but are incorporated into the practice of many approaches. This article demonstrates the various ways in which three core interventions (i.e., activity scheduling, self-monitoring, and identification, evaluation, and modification of thoughts) can be applied within the context of different cognitive and behavioral therapeutic models. It also demonstrates the role of in-session therapist language in describing the theoretical basis and processes underpinning therapeutic interventions. Case examples are presented to illustrate therapy provided by two hypothetical clinicians, Therapist A and Therapist B. Whether or not a practitioner elects to practice integrative psychotherapy, we advocate for consistency in the theoretical approach through the course of a service for a particular patient. Implications are outlined and discussed within the context of the current state of cognitive and behaviorally focused psychotherapies and integrative psychotherapy. 2013 APA, all rights reserved

  4. Environmental/Biomedical Terminology Index

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huffstetler, J.K.; Dailey, N.S.; Rickert, L.W.; Chilton, B.D.

    1976-12-01

    The Information Center Complex (ICC), a centrally administered group of information centers, provides information support to environmental and biomedical research groups and others within and outside Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In-house data base building and development of specialized document collections are important elements of the ongoing activities of these centers. ICC groups must be concerned with language which will adequately classify and insure retrievability of document records. Language control problems are compounded when the complexity of modern scientific problem solving demands an interdisciplinary approach. Although there are several word lists, indexes, and thesauri specific to various scientific disciplines usually grouped as Environmental Sciences, no single generally recognized authority can be used as a guide to the terminology of all environmental science. If biomedical terminology for the description of research on environmental effects is also needed, the problem becomes even more complex. The building of a word list which can be used as a general guide to the environmental/biomedical sciences has been a continuing activity of the Information Center Complex. This activity resulted in the publication of the Environmental Biomedical Terminology Index

  5. Using the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction to Understand College Students' STI Testing Beliefs, Intentions, and Behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wombacher, Kevin; Dai, Minhao; Matig, Jacob J; Harrington, Nancy Grant

    2018-03-22

    To identify salient behavioral determinants related to STI testing among college students by testing a model based on the integrative model of behavioral (IMBP) prediction. 265 undergraduate students from a large university in the Southeastern US. Formative and survey research to test an IMBP-based model that explores the relationships between determinants and STI testing intention and behavior. Results of path analyses supported a model in which attitudinal beliefs predicted intention and intention predicted behavior. Normative beliefs and behavioral control beliefs were not significant in the model; however, select individual normative and control beliefs were significantly correlated with intention and behavior. Attitudinal beliefs are the strongest predictor of STI testing intention and behavior. Future efforts to increase STI testing rates should identify and target salient attitudinal beliefs.

  6. Biomedical Engineering in Modern Society

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attinger, E. O.

    1971-01-01

    Considers definition of biomedical engineering (BME) and how biomedical engineers should be trained. State of the art descriptions of BME and BME education are followed by a brief look at the future of BME. (TS)

  7. Integrating simultaneous prosocial and antisocial behavior into theories of collective action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basurto, Xavier; Blanco, Esther; Nenadovic, Mateja; Vollan, Björn

    2016-03-01

    Trust and cooperation constitute cornerstones of common-pool resource theory, showing that "prosocial" strategies among resource users can overcome collective action problems and lead to sustainable resource governance. Yet, antisocial behavior and especially the coexistence of prosocial and antisocial behaviors have received less attention. We broaden the analysis to include the effects of both "prosocial" and "antisocial" interactions. We do so in the context of marine protected areas (MPAs), the most prominent form of biodiversity conservation intervention worldwide. Our multimethod approach relied on lab-in-the-field economic experiments (n = 127) in two MPA and two non-MPA communities in Baja California, Mexico. In addition, we deployed a standardized fishers' survey (n = 544) to verify the external validity of our findings and expert informant interviews (n = 77) to develop potential explanatory mechanisms. In MPA sites, prosocial and antisocial behavior is significantly higher, and the presence of antisocial behavior does not seem to have a negative effect on prosocial behavior. We suggest that market integration, economic diversification, and strengthened group identity in MPAs are the main potential mechanisms for the simultaneity of prosocial and antisocial behavior we observed. This study constitutes a first step in better understanding the interaction between prosociality and antisociality as related to natural resources governance and conservation science, integrating literatures from social psychology, evolutionary anthropology, behavioral economics, and ecology.

  8. Biomedical text mining and its applications in cancer research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Fei; Patumcharoenpol, Preecha; Zhang, Cheng; Yang, Yang; Chan, Jonathan; Meechai, Asawin; Vongsangnak, Wanwipa; Shen, Bairong

    2013-04-01

    Cancer is a malignant disease that has caused millions of human deaths. Its study has a long history of well over 100years. There have been an enormous number of publications on cancer research. This integrated but unstructured biomedical text is of great value for cancer diagnostics, treatment, and prevention. The immense body and rapid growth of biomedical text on cancer has led to the appearance of a large number of text mining techniques aimed at extracting novel knowledge from scientific text. Biomedical text mining on cancer research is computationally automatic and high-throughput in nature. However, it is error-prone due to the complexity of natural language processing. In this review, we introduce the basic concepts underlying text mining and examine some frequently used algorithms, tools, and data sets, as well as assessing how much these algorithms have been utilized. We then discuss the current state-of-the-art text mining applications in cancer research and we also provide some resources for cancer text mining. With the development of systems biology, researchers tend to understand complex biomedical systems from a systems biology viewpoint. Thus, the full utilization of text mining to facilitate cancer systems biology research is fast becoming a major concern. To address this issue, we describe the general workflow of text mining in cancer systems biology and each phase of the workflow. We hope that this review can (i) provide a useful overview of the current work of this field; (ii) help researchers to choose text mining tools and datasets; and (iii) highlight how to apply text mining to assist cancer systems biology research. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Development of Flexible Luminous Fabrics for Photodynamic Therapy in Biomedical Applications

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    KONG Lingbao; BAI Ziqian

    2017-01-01

    Fabrics integrating with side-emitting polymer optical fiber (SE-POF) have great potentials for photodynamic therapy (PDT),which is a form of phototherapy recognized as a treatment strategy that is both minimally invasive and minimally toxic.Preliminary research has been undertaken to develop flexible luminous fabrics (FLF) device for PDT used in biomedical applications.The FLF device consists of SE-POFs,textile substrates,light source (LEDs or laser) with proper wavelength,and optical fiber coupling,etc.Different patterns of the fabrics were designed and fabricated purposely,and the light illumination effect was tested including the light power emitting from the patterned optical fiber fabrics,the stability of the illumination,and the light with different wavelengths.The work contributes to the successful development of an efficient and pain-alleviated illumination device for PDT in biomedical application.

  10. Functionalized conjugated polyelectrolytes design and biomedical applications

    CERN Document Server

    Wang, Shu

    2014-01-01

    Functionalized Conjugated Polyelectrolytes presents a comprehensive review of these polyelectrolytes and their biomedical applications. Basic aspects like molecular design and optoelectronic properties are covered in the first chapter. Emphasis is placed on the various applications including sensing (chemical and biological), disease diagnosis, cell imaging, drug/gene delivery and disease treatment. This book explores a multi-disciplinary topic of interest to researchers working in the fields of chemistry, materials, biology and medicine. It also offers an integrated perspective on both basic research and application issues. Functionalized conjugated polyelectrolyte materials, which have already drawn considerable interest, will become a major new direction for biomedicine development.

  11. The role of a creative "joint assignment" project in biomedical engineering bachelor degree education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiehui Jiang; Yuting Zhang; Mi Zhou; Xiaosong Zheng; Zhuangzhi Yan

    2017-07-01

    Biomedical Engineering (BME) bachelor education aims to train qualified engineers who devote themselves to addressing biological and medical problems by integrating the technological, medical and biological knowledge. Design thinking and teamwork with other disciplines are necessary for biomedical engineers. In the current biomedical engineering education system of Shanghai University (SHU), however, such design thinking and teamwork through a practical project is lacking. This paper describes a creative "joint assignment" project in Shanghai University, China, which has provided BME bachelor students a two-year practical experience to work with students from multidisciplinary departments including sociology, mechanics, computer sciences, business and art, etc. To test the feasibility of this project, a twenty-month pilot project has been carried out from May 2015 to December 2016. The results showed that this pilot project obviously enhanced competitive power of BME students in Shanghai University, both in the capabilities of design thinking and teamwork.

  12. The biomedical discourse relation bank

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshi Aravind

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Identification of discourse relations, such as causal and contrastive relations, between situations mentioned in text is an important task for biomedical text-mining. A biomedical text corpus annotated with discourse relations would be very useful for developing and evaluating methods for biomedical discourse processing. However, little effort has been made to develop such an annotated resource. Results We have developed the Biomedical Discourse Relation Bank (BioDRB, in which we have annotated explicit and implicit discourse relations in 24 open-access full-text biomedical articles from the GENIA corpus. Guidelines for the annotation were adapted from the Penn Discourse TreeBank (PDTB, which has discourse relations annotated over open-domain news articles. We introduced new conventions and modifications to the sense classification. We report reliable inter-annotator agreement of over 80% for all sub-tasks. Experiments for identifying the sense of explicit discourse connectives show the connective itself as a highly reliable indicator for coarse sense classification (accuracy 90.9% and F1 score 0.89. These results are comparable to results obtained with the same classifier on the PDTB data. With more refined sense classification, there is degradation in performance (accuracy 69.2% and F1 score 0.28, mainly due to sparsity in the data. The size of the corpus was found to be sufficient for identifying the sense of explicit connectives, with classifier performance stabilizing at about 1900 training instances. Finally, the classifier performs poorly when trained on PDTB and tested on BioDRB (accuracy 54.5% and F1 score 0.57. Conclusion Our work shows that discourse relations can be reliably annotated in biomedical text. Coarse sense disambiguation of explicit connectives can be done with high reliability by using just the connective as a feature, but more refined sense classification requires either richer features or more

  13. Biomedical Progress Rates as New Parameters for Models of Economic Growth in Developed Countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex Zhavoronkov

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available While the doubling of life expectancy in developed countries during the 20th century can be attributed mostly to decreases in child mortality, the trillions of dollars spent on biomedical research by governments, foundations and corporations over the past sixty years are also yielding longevity dividends in both working and retired population. Biomedical progress will likely increase the healthy productive lifespan and the number of years of government support in the old age. In this paper we introduce several new parameters that can be applied to established models of economic growth: the biomedical progress rate, the rate of clinical adoption and the rate of change in retirement age. The biomedical progress rate is comprised of the rejuvenation rate (extending the productive lifespan and the non-rejuvenating rate (extending the lifespan beyond the age at which the net contribution to the economy becomes negative. While staying within the neoclassical economics framework and extending the overlapping generations (OLG growth model and assumptions from the life cycle theory of saving behavior, we provide an example of the relations between these new parameters in the context of demographics, labor, households and the firm.

  14. Biomedical progress rates as new parameters for models of economic growth in developed countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhavoronkov, Alex; Litovchenko, Maria

    2013-11-08

    While the doubling of life expectancy in developed countries during the 20th century can be attributed mostly to decreases in child mortality, the trillions of dollars spent on biomedical research by governments, foundations and corporations over the past sixty years are also yielding longevity dividends in both working and retired population. Biomedical progress will likely increase the healthy productive lifespan and the number of years of government support in the old age. In this paper we introduce several new parameters that can be applied to established models of economic growth: the biomedical progress rate, the rate of clinical adoption and the rate of change in retirement age. The biomedical progress rate is comprised of the rejuvenation rate (extending the productive lifespan) and the non-rejuvenating rate (extending the lifespan beyond the age at which the net contribution to the economy becomes negative). While staying within the neoclassical economics framework and extending the overlapping generations (OLG) growth model and assumptions from the life cycle theory of saving behavior, we provide an example of the relations between these new parameters in the context of demographics, labor, households and the firm.

  15. Reaching Consensus on Essential Biomedical Science Learning Objectives in a Dental Curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Best, Leandra; Walton, Joanne N; Walker, Judith; von Bergmann, HsingChi

    2016-04-01

    This article describes how the University of British Columbia Faculty of Dentistry reached consensus on essential basic biomedical science objectives for DMD students and applied the information to the renewal of its DMD curriculum. The Delphi Method was used to build consensus among dental faculty members and students regarding the relevance of over 1,500 existing biomedical science objectives. Volunteer panels of at least three faculty members (a basic scientist, a general dentist, and a dental specialist) and a fourth-year dental student were formed for each of 13 biomedical courses in the first two years of the program. Panel members worked independently and anonymously, rating each course objective as "need to know," "nice to know," "irrelevant," or "don't know." Panel members were advised after each round which objectives had not yet achieved a 75% consensus and were asked to reconsider their ratings. After a maximum of three rounds to reach consensus, a second group of faculty experts reviewed and refined the results to establish the biomedical science objectives for the renewed curriculum. There was consensus on 46% of the learning objectives after round one, 80% after round two, and 95% after round three. The second expert group addressed any remaining objectives as part of its review process. Only 47% of previous biomedical science course objectives were judged to be essential or "need to know" for the general dentist. The consensus reached by participants in the Delphi Method panels and a second group of faculty experts led to a streamlined, better integrated DMD curriculum to prepare graduates for future practice.

  16. Biomedical Science Technologists in Lagos Universities: Meeting ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Biomedical Science Technologists in Lagos Universities: Meeting Modern Standards ... like to see in biomedical science in Nigeria; 5) their knowledge of ten state-of-the-arts ... KEY WORDS: biomedical science, state-of-the-arts, technical staff ...

  17. Differing Perceptions Concerning Research Integrity Between Universities and Industry: A Qualitative Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godecharle, Simon; Nemery, Benoit; Dierickx, Kris

    2017-09-14

    Despite the ever increasing collaboration between industry and universities, the previous empirical studies on research integrity and misconduct excluded participants of biomedical industry. Hence, there is a lack of empirical data on how research managers and biomedical researchers active in industry perceive the issues of research integrity and misconduct, and whether or not their perspectives differ from those of researchers and research managers active in universities. If various standards concerning research integrity and misconduct are upheld between industry and universities, this might undermine research collaborations. Therefore we performed a qualitative study by conducting 22 semi-structured interviews in order to investigate and compare the perspectives and attitudes concerning the issues of research integrity and misconduct of research managers and biomedical researchers active in industry and universities. Our study showed clear discrepancies between both groups. Diverse strategies in order to manage research misconduct and to stimulate research integrity were observed. Different definitions of research misconduct were given, indicating that similar actions are judged heterogeneously. There were also differences at an individual level, whether the interviewees were active in industry or universities. Overall, the management of research integrity proves to be a difficult exercise, due to many diverse perspectives on several essential elements connected to research integrity and misconduct. A management policy that is not in line with the vision of the biomedical researchers and research managers is at risk of being inefficient.

  18. LINNAEUS: A species name identification system for biomedical literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nenadic Goran

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The task of recognizing and identifying species names in biomedical literature has recently been regarded as critical for a number of applications in text and data mining, including gene name recognition, species-specific document retrieval, and semantic enrichment of biomedical articles. Results In this paper we describe an open-source species name recognition and normalization software system, LINNAEUS, and evaluate its performance relative to several automatically generated biomedical corpora, as well as a novel corpus of full-text documents manually annotated for species mentions. LINNAEUS uses a dictionary-based approach (implemented as an efficient deterministic finite-state automaton to identify species names and a set of heuristics to resolve ambiguous mentions. When compared against our manually annotated corpus, LINNAEUS performs with 94% recall and 97% precision at the mention level, and 98% recall and 90% precision at the document level. Our system successfully solves the problem of disambiguating uncertain species mentions, with 97% of all mentions in PubMed Central full-text documents resolved to unambiguous NCBI taxonomy identifiers. Conclusions LINNAEUS is an open source, stand-alone software system capable of recognizing and normalizing species name mentions with speed and accuracy, and can therefore be integrated into a range of bioinformatics and text-mining applications. The software and manually annotated corpus can be downloaded freely at http://linnaeus.sourceforge.net/.

  19. Publishing priorities of biomedical research funders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, Ellen

    2013-01-01

    Objectives To understand the publishing priorities, especially in relation to open access, of 10 UK biomedical research funders. Design Semistructured interviews. Setting 10 UK biomedical research funders. Participants 12 employees with responsibility for research management at 10 UK biomedical research funders; a purposive sample to represent a range of backgrounds and organisation types. Conclusions Publicly funded and large biomedical research funders are committed to open access publishing and are pleased with recent developments which have stimulated growth in this area. Smaller charitable funders are supportive of the aims of open access, but are concerned about the practical implications for their budgets and their funded researchers. Across the board, biomedical research funders are turning their attention to other priorities for sharing research outputs, including data, protocols and negative results. Further work is required to understand how smaller funders, including charitable funders, can support open access. PMID:24154520

  20. Analysis and application of analog electronic circuits to biomedical instrumentation

    CERN Document Server

    Northrop, Robert B

    2012-01-01

    All chapters include an introduction and chapter summary.Sources and Properties of Biomedical SignalsSources of Endogenous Bioelectric SignalsNerve Action PotentialsMuscle Action PotentialsThe ElectrocardiogramOther BiopotentialsElectrical Properties of BioelectrodesExogenous Bioelectric SignalsProperties and Models of Semiconductor Devices Used in Analog Electronic Systemspn Junction DiodesMidfrequency Models for BJT BehaviorMidfrequency Models for Field-Effect TransistorsHigh-Frequency Models for Transistors and Simple Transistor AmplifiersPhotons, Photodiodes, Photoconductors, LEDs, and Las

  1. COEUS: "semantic web in a box" for biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopes, Pedro; Oliveira, José Luís

    2012-12-17

    As the "omics" revolution unfolds, the growth in data quantity and diversity is bringing about the need for pioneering bioinformatics software, capable of significantly improving the research workflow. To cope with these computer science demands, biomedical software engineers are adopting emerging semantic web technologies that better suit the life sciences domain. The latter's complex relationships are easily mapped into semantic web graphs, enabling a superior understanding of collected knowledge. Despite increased awareness of semantic web technologies in bioinformatics, their use is still limited. COEUS is a new semantic web framework, aiming at a streamlined application development cycle and following a "semantic web in a box" approach. The framework provides a single package including advanced data integration and triplification tools, base ontologies, a web-oriented engine and a flexible exploration API. Resources can be integrated from heterogeneous sources, including CSV and XML files or SQL and SPARQL query results, and mapped directly to one or more ontologies. Advanced interoperability features include REST services, a SPARQL endpoint and LinkedData publication. These enable the creation of multiple applications for web, desktop or mobile environments, and empower a new knowledge federation layer. The platform, targeted at biomedical application developers, provides a complete skeleton ready for rapid application deployment, enhancing the creation of new semantic information systems. COEUS is available as open source at http://bioinformatics.ua.pt/coeus/.

  2. Basics of biomedical ultrasound for engineers

    CERN Document Server

    Azhari, Haim

    2010-01-01

    "Basics of Biomedical Ultrasound for Engineers is a structured textbook for university engineering courses in biomedical ultrasound and for researchers in the field. This book offers a tool for building a solid understanding of biomedical ultrasound, and leads the novice through the field in a step-by-step manner. The book begins with the most basic definitions of waves, proceeds to ultrasounds in fluids, and then delves into solid ultrasounds, the most complicated kind of ultrasound. It encompasses a wide range of topics within biomedical ultrasound, from conceptual definitions of waves to the intricacies of focusing devices, transducers, and acoustic fields"--Provided by publisher.

  3. Environmental/Biomedical Terminology Index

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huffstetler, J.K.; Dailey, N.S.; Rickert, L.W.; Chilton, B.D.

    1976-12-01

    The Information Center Complex (ICC), a centrally administered group of information centers, provides information support to environmental and biomedical research groups and others within and outside Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In-house data base building and development of specialized document collections are important elements of the ongoing activities of these centers. ICC groups must be concerned with language which will adequately classify and insure retrievability of document records. Language control problems are compounded when the complexity of modern scientific problem solving demands an interdisciplinary approach. Although there are several word lists, indexes, and thesauri specific to various scientific disciplines usually grouped as Environmental Sciences, no single generally recognized authority can be used as a guide to the terminology of all environmental science. If biomedical terminology for the description of research on environmental effects is also needed, the problem becomes even more complex. The building of a word list which can be used as a general guide to the environmental/biomedical sciences has been a continuing activity of the Information Center Complex. This activity resulted in the publication of the Environmental Biomedical Terminology Index (EBTI).

  4. Conditional Economic Incentives for Reducing HIV Risk Behaviors: Integration of Psychology and Behavioral Economics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Operario, Don; Kuo, Caroline C.; Sosa-Rubí, Sandra G.; Gálarraga, Omar

    2014-01-01

    Objective This paper reviews psychology and behavioral economic approaches to HIV prevention, and examines the integration and application of these approaches in conditional economic incentive (CEI) programs for reducing HIV risk behavior. Methods We discuss the history of HIV prevention approaches, highlighting the important insights and limitations of psychological theories. We provide an overview of the theoretical tenets of behavioral economics that are relevant to HIV prevention, and utilize CEIs as an illustrative example of how traditional psychological theories end behavioral economics can be combined into new approaches for HIV prevention. Results Behavioral economic interventions can complement psychological frameworks for reducing HIV risk by introducing unique theoretical understandings about the conditions under which risky decisions are amenable to intervention. Findings from illustrative CEI programs show mixed but generally promising effects of economic interventions on HIV and STI prevalence, HIV testing, HIV medication adherence, and drug use. Conclusion CEI programs can complement psychological interventions for HIV prevention and behavioral risk reduction. To maximize program effectiveness, CEI programs must be designed according to contextual and population-specific factors that may determine intervention applicability and success. PMID:24001243

  5. Conditional economic incentives for reducing HIV risk behaviors: integration of psychology and behavioral economics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Operario, Don; Kuo, Caroline; Sosa-Rubí, Sandra G; Gálarraga, Omar

    2013-09-01

    This article reviews psychology and behavioral economic approaches to HIV prevention, and examines the integration and application of these approaches in conditional economic incentive (CEI) programs for reducing HIV risk behavior. We discuss the history of HIV prevention approaches, highlighting the important insights and limitations of psychological theories. We provide an overview of the theoretical tenets of behavioral economics that are relevant to HIV prevention, and utilize CEIs as an illustrative example of how traditional psychological theories and behavioral economics can be combined into new approaches for HIV prevention. Behavioral economic interventions can complement psychological frameworks for reducing HIV risk by introducing unique theoretical understandings about the conditions under which risky decisions are amenable to intervention. Findings from illustrative CEI programs show mixed but generally promising effects of economic interventions on HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevalence, HIV testing, HIV medication adherence, and drug use. CEI programs can complement psychological interventions for HIV prevention and behavioral risk reduction. To maximize program effectiveness, CEI programs must be designed according to contextual and population-specific factors that may determine intervention applicability and success. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  6. Functionalized carbon nanotubes: biomedical applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vardharajula, Sandhya; Ali, Sk Z; Tiwari, Pooja M; Eroğlu, Erdal; Vig, Komal; Dennis, Vida A; Singh, Shree R

    2012-01-01

    Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are emerging as novel nanomaterials for various biomedical applications. CNTs can be used to deliver a variety of therapeutic agents, including biomolecules, to the target disease sites. In addition, their unparalleled optical and electrical properties make them excellent candidates for bioimaging and other biomedical applications. However, the high cytotoxicity of CNTs limits their use in humans and many biological systems. The biocompatibility and low cytotoxicity of CNTs are attributed to size, dose, duration, testing systems, and surface functionalization. The functionalization of CNTs improves their solubility and biocompatibility and alters their cellular interaction pathways, resulting in much-reduced cytotoxic effects. Functionalized CNTs are promising novel materials for a variety of biomedical applications. These potential applications are particularly enhanced by their ability to penetrate biological membranes with relatively low cytotoxicity. This review is directed towards the overview of CNTs and their functionalization for biomedical applications with minimal cytotoxicity. PMID:23091380

  7. Development and initial feasibility of an organizational measure of behavioral health integration in medical care settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGovern, Mark P; Urada, Darren; Lambert-Harris, Chantal; Sullivan, Steven T; Mazade, Noel A

    2012-12-01

    In the advent of health care reform, models are sought to integrate behavioral health and routine medical care services. Historically, the behavioral health specialty has not itself been integrated, but instead bifurcated by substance use and mental health across treatment systems, care providers and even research. With the present opportunity to transform the health care delivery system, it is incumbent upon policymakers, researchers and clinicians to avoid repeating this historical error, and provide integrated behavioral health services in medical contexts. An organizational measure designed to assess this capacity is described: the Dual Diagnosis Capability in Health Care Settings (DDCHCS). The DDCHCS was used to assess a sample of federally-qualified health centers (N=13) on the degree of behavioral health integration. The measure was found to be feasible and sensitive to detecting variation in integrated behavioral health services capacity. Three of the 13 agencies were dual diagnosis capable, with significant variation in DDCHCS dimensions measuring staffing, treatment practices and program milieu. In general, mental health services were more integrated than substance use. Future research should consider a revised version of the measure, a larger and more representative sample, and linking organizational capacity with patient outcomes. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  8. Review of The Behavioral Health Specialist in Primary Care: Skills for Integrated Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harsh, Jennifer

    2016-03-01

    Reviews the book, The Behavioral Health Specialist in Primary Care: Skills for Integrated Practice edited by Mary Ann Burg and Oliver Oyama (see record 2015-46891-000). The editors and the chapter authors of this useful book provide insight into the skills and knowledge needed to do integrated behavioral health in primary care. The most beneficial part of the book is the layout of the chapters, and the authors do a great job of articulating the clinical components of care. Behavioral health and medical providers in practice or in training could greatly benefit from reading this book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  9. New roles & responsibilities of hospital biomedical engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frisch, P H; Stone, B; Booth, P; Lui, W

    2014-01-01

    Over the last decade the changing healthcare environment has required hospitals and specifically Biomedical Engineering to critically evaluate, optimize and adapt their operations. The focus is now on new technologies, changes to the environment of care, support requirements and financial constraints. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), an NIH-designated comprehensive cancer center, has been transitioning to an increasing outpatient care environment. This transition is driving an increase in-patient acuity coupled with the need for added urgency of support and response time. New technologies, regulatory requirements and financial constraints have impacted operating budgets and in some cases, resulted in a reduction in staffing. Specific initiatives, such as the Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals, requirements for an electronic medical record, meaningful use and ICD10 have caused institutions to reevaluate their operations and processes including requiring Biomedical Engineering to manage new technologies, integrations and changes in the electromagnetic environment, while optimizing operational workflow and resource utilization. This paper addresses the new and expanding responsibilities and approach of Biomedical Engineering organizations, specifically at MSKCC. It is suggested that our experience may be a template for other organizations facing similar problems. Increasing support is necessary for Medical Software - Medical Device Data Systems in the evolving wireless environment, including RTLS and RFID. It will be necessary to evaluate the potential impact on the growing electromagnetic environment, on connectivity resulting in the need for dynamic and interactive testing and the growing demand to establish new and needed operational synergies with Information Technology operations and other operational groups within the institution, such as nursing, facilities management, central supply, and the user departments.

  10. International symposium on Biomedical Data Infrastructure (BDI 2013)

    CERN Document Server

    Dhillon, Sarinder; Advances in biomedical infrastructure 2013

    2013-01-01

    Current Biomedical Databases are independently administered in geographically distinct locations, lending them almost ideally to adoption of intelligent data management approaches. This book focuses on research issues, problems and opportunities in Biomedical Data Infrastructure identifying new issues and directions for future research in Biomedical Data and Information Retrieval, Semantics in Biomedicine, and Biomedical Data Modeling and Analysis. The book will be a useful guide for researchers, practitioners, and graduate-level students interested in learning state-of-the-art development in biomedical data management.

  11. Professional Identification for Biomedical Engineers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Francis M.

    1973-01-01

    Discusses four methods of professional identification in biomedical engineering including registration, certification, accreditation, and possible membership qualification of the societies. Indicates that the destiny of the biomedical engineer may be under the control of a new profession, neither the medical nor the engineering. (CC)

  12. Egyptian Journal of Biomedical Sciences

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Egyptian Journal of Biomedical Sciences publishes in all aspects of biomedical research sciences. Both basic and clinical research papers are welcomed. Vol 23 (2007). DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT Open Access DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT Subscription or Fee Access. Table of Contents. Articles. Phytochemical And ...

  13. Feasibility study of the production of biomedical Ti-6Al-4V alloy by powder metallurgy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolzoni, L; Ruiz-Navas, E M; Gordo, E

    2015-04-01

    Titanium and its alloys are characterized by an exceptional combination of properties like high strength, good corrosion resistance and biocompatibility which makes them suitable materials for biomedical prosthesis and devices. The wrought Ti-6Al-4V alloy is generally favored in comparison to other metallic biomaterials due to its relatively low elastic modulus and it has been long used to obtain products for biomedical applications. In this work an alternative route to fabricate biomedical implants made out of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy is investigated. Specifically, the feasibility of the conventional powder metallurgy route of cold uniaxial pressing and sintering is addressed by considering two types of powders (i.e. blended elemental and prealloyed). The characterization of physical properties, chemical analysis, mechanical behavior and microstructural analysis is carried out in-depth and the properties are correlated among them. On the base of the results found, the produced alloys are promising materials for biomedical applications as well as cheaper surgical devices and tools. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Does Integrated Behavioral Health Care Reduce Mental Health Disparities for Latinos? Initial Findings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bridges, Ana J.; Andrews, Arthur R.; Villalobos, Bianca T.; Pastrana, Freddie A.; Cavell, Timothy A.; Gomez, Debbie

    2014-01-01

    Integrated behavioral health care (IBHC) is a model of mental health care service delivery that seeks to reduce stigma and service utilization barriers by embedding mental health professionals into the primary care team. This study explored whether IBHC service referrals, utilization, and outcomes were comparable for Latinos and non-Latino White primary care patients. Data for the current study were collected from 793 consecutive patients (63.8% Latino; M age = 29.02 years [SD = 17.96]; 35.1% under 18 years; 65.3% women; 54.3% uninsured) seen for behavioral health services in 2 primary care clinics during a 10.5 month period. The most common presenting concerns were depression (21.6%), anxiety (18.5%), adjustment disorder (13.0%), and externalizing behavior problems (9.8%). Results revealed that while Latino patients had significantly lower self-reported psychiatric distress, significantly higher clinician-assigned global assessment of functioning scores, and fewer received a psychiatric diagnosis at their initial visit compared to non-Latino White patients, both groups had comparable utilization rates, comparable and clinically significant improvements in symptoms (Cohen’s d values > .50), and expressed high satisfaction with integrated behavioral services. These data provide preliminary evidence suggesting integration of behavioral health services into primary care clinics may help reduce mental health disparities for Latinos. PMID:25309845

  15. Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care: Consulting, Coordinating and Collaborating Among Professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Deborah J; Davis, Melinda; Balasubramanian, Bijal A; Gunn, Rose; Hall, Jennifer; deGruy, Frank V; Peek, C J; Green, Larry A; Stange, Kurt C; Pallares, Carla; Levy, Sheldon; Pollack, David; Miller, Benjamin F

    2015-01-01

    This paper sought to describe how clinicians from different backgrounds interact to deliver integrated behavioral and primary health care, and the contextual factors that shape such interactions. This was a comparative case study in which a multidisciplinary team used an immersion-crystallization approach to analyze data from observations of practice operations, interviews with practice members, and implementation diaries. The observed practices were drawn from 2 studies: Advancing Care Together, a demonstration project of 11 practices located in Colorado; and the Integration Workforce Study, consisting of 8 practices located across the United States. Primary care and behavioral health clinicians used 3 interpersonal strategies to work together in integrated settings: consulting, coordinating, and collaborating (3Cs). Consulting occurred when clinicians sought advice, validated care plans, or corroborated perceptions of a patient's needs with another professional. Coordinating involved 2 professionals working in a parallel or in a back-and-forth fashion to achieve a common patient care goal, while delivering care separately. Collaborating involved 2 or more professionals interacting in real time to discuss a patient's presenting symptoms, describe their views on treatment, and jointly develop a care plan. Collaborative behavior emerged when a patient's care or situation was complex or novel. We identified contextual factors shaping use of the 3Cs, including: time to plan patient care, staffing, employing brief therapeutic approaches, proximity of clinical team members, and electronic health record documenting behavior. Primary care and behavioral health clinicians, through their interactions, consult, coordinate, and collaborate with each other to solve patients' problems. Organizations can create integrated care environments that support these collaborations and health professions training programs should equip clinicians to execute all 3Cs routinely in practice

  16. CNN-based ranking for biomedical entity normalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Haodi; Chen, Qingcai; Tang, Buzhou; Wang, Xiaolong; Xu, Hua; Wang, Baohua; Huang, Dong

    2017-10-03

    Most state-of-the-art biomedical entity normalization systems, such as rule-based systems, merely rely on morphological information of entity mentions, but rarely consider their semantic information. In this paper, we introduce a novel convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture that regards biomedical entity normalization as a ranking problem and benefits from semantic information of biomedical entities. The CNN-based ranking method first generates candidates using handcrafted rules, and then ranks the candidates according to their semantic information modeled by CNN as well as their morphological information. Experiments on two benchmark datasets for biomedical entity normalization show that our proposed CNN-based ranking method outperforms traditional rule-based method with state-of-the-art performance. We propose a CNN architecture that regards biomedical entity normalization as a ranking problem. Comparison results show that semantic information is beneficial to biomedical entity normalization and can be well combined with morphological information in our CNN architecture for further improvement.

  17. Under-reporting of Adverse Events in the Biomedical Literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ronald N. Kostoff

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: To address the under-reporting of research results, with emphasis on the underreporting/distorted reporting of adverse events in the biomedical research literature. Design/methodology/approach: A four-step approach is used:(1 To identify the characteristics of literature that make it adequate to support policy; (2 to show how each of these characteristics becomes degraded to make inadequate literature; (3 to identify incentives to prevent inadequate literature; and (4 to show policy implications of inadequate literature. Findings: This review has provided reasons for, and examples of, adverse health effects of myriad substances (1 being under-reported in the premiere biomedical literature, or (2 entering this literature in distorted form. Since there is no way to gauge the extent of this under/distorted-reporting, the quality and credibility of the ‘premiere’ biomedical literature is unknown. Therefore, any types of meta-analyses or scientometric analyses of this literature will have unknown quality and credibility. The most sophisticated scientometric analysis cannot compensate for a highly flawed database. Research limitations: The main limitation is in identifying examples of under-reporting. There are many incentives for under-reporting and few dis-incentives. Practical implications: Almost all research publications, addressing causes of disease, treatments for disease, diagnoses for disease, scientometrics of disease and health issues, and other aspects of healthcare, build upon previous healthcare-related research published. Many researchers will not have laboratories or other capabilities to replicate or validate the published research, and depend almost completely on the integrity of this literature. If the literature is distorted, then future research can be misguided, and health policy recommendations can be ineffective or worse. Originality/value: This review has examined a much wider range of technical and nontechnical

  18. Factors Influencing College Women's Contraceptive Behavior: An Application of the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutton, Jazmyne A.; Walsh-Buhi, Eric R.

    2017-01-01

    Objective: This study investigated variables within the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction (IMBP) as well as differences across socioeconomic status (SES) levels within the context of inconsistent contraceptive use among college women. Participants: A nonprobability sample of 515 female college students completed an Internet-based survey…

  19. SORTA : a system for ontology-based re-coding and technical annotation of biomedical phenotype data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pang, Chao; Sollie, Annet; Sijtsma, Anna; Hendriksen, Dennis; Charbon, Bart; Haan, Mark de; de Boer, Tommy; Kelpin, Fleur; Jetten, Jonathan; van der Velde, Joeri K.; Smidt, Nynke; Sijmons, Rolf; Hillege, Hans; Swertz, Morris A.

    2015-01-01

    There is an urgent need to standardize the semantics of biomedical data values, such as phenotypes, to enable comparative and integrative analyses. However, it is unlikely that all studies will use the same data collection protocols. As a result, retrospective standardization is often required,

  20. [Biomedical engineering today : An overview from the viewpoint of the German Biomedical Engineering Society].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlötelburg, C; Becks, T; Stieglitz, T

    2010-08-01

    Biomedical engineering is characterized by the interdisciplinary co-operation of technology, science, and ways of thinking, probably more than any other technological area. The close interaction of engineering and information sciences with medicine and biology results in innovative products and methods, but also requires high standards for the interdisciplinary transfer of ideas into products for patients' benefits. This article describes the situation of biomedical engineering in Germany. It displays characteristics of the medical device industry and ranks it with respect to the international market. The research landscape is described as well as up-to-date research topics and trends. The national funding situation of research in biomedical engineering is reviewed and existing innovation barriers are discussed.

  1. African Journal of Biomedical Research

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The African Journal of biomedical Research was founded in 1998 as a joint project ... of the journal led to the formation of a group (Biomedical Communications Group, ... analysis of multidrug resistant aerobic gram-negative clinical isolates from a ... Dental formula and dental abnormalities observed in the Eidolon helvum ...

  2. NOBLE - Flexible concept recognition for large-scale biomedical natural language processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tseytlin, Eugene; Mitchell, Kevin; Legowski, Elizabeth; Corrigan, Julia; Chavan, Girish; Jacobson, Rebecca S

    2016-01-14

    Natural language processing (NLP) applications are increasingly important in biomedical data analysis, knowledge engineering, and decision support. Concept recognition is an important component task for NLP pipelines, and can be either general-purpose or domain-specific. We describe a novel, flexible, and general-purpose concept recognition component for NLP pipelines, and compare its speed and accuracy against five commonly used alternatives on both a biological and clinical corpus. NOBLE Coder implements a general algorithm for matching terms to concepts from an arbitrary vocabulary set. The system's matching options can be configured individually or in combination to yield specific system behavior for a variety of NLP tasks. The software is open source, freely available, and easily integrated into UIMA or GATE. We benchmarked speed and accuracy of the system against the CRAFT and ShARe corpora as reference standards and compared it to MMTx, MGrep, Concept Mapper, cTAKES Dictionary Lookup Annotator, and cTAKES Fast Dictionary Lookup Annotator. We describe key advantages of the NOBLE Coder system and associated tools, including its greedy algorithm, configurable matching strategies, and multiple terminology input formats. These features provide unique functionality when compared with existing alternatives, including state-of-the-art systems. On two benchmarking tasks, NOBLE's performance exceeded commonly used alternatives, performing almost as well as the most advanced systems. Error analysis revealed differences in error profiles among systems. NOBLE Coder is comparable to other widely used concept recognition systems in terms of accuracy and speed. Advantages of NOBLE Coder include its interactive terminology builder tool, ease of configuration, and adaptability to various domains and tasks. NOBLE provides a term-to-concept matching system suitable for general concept recognition in biomedical NLP pipelines.

  3. Special Issue: 3D Printing for Biomedical Engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chua, Chee Kai; Yeong, Wai Yee; An, Jia

    2017-02-28

    Three-dimensional (3D) printing has a long history of applications in biomedical engineering. The development and expansion of traditional biomedical applications are being advanced and enriched by new printing technologies. New biomedical applications such as bioprinting are highly attractive and trendy. This Special Issue aims to provide readers with a glimpse of the recent profile of 3D printing in biomedical research.

  4. Individual behavioral phenotypes: an integrative meta-theoretical framework. Why "behavioral syndromes" are not analogs of "personality".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uher, Jana

    2011-09-01

    Animal researchers are increasingly interested in individual differences in behavior. Their interpretation as meaningful differences in behavioral strategies stable over time and across contexts, adaptive, heritable, and acted upon by natural selection has triggered new theoretical developments. However, the analytical approaches used to explore behavioral data still address population-level phenomena, and statistical methods suitable to analyze individual behavior are rarely applied. I discuss fundamental investigative principles and analytical approaches to explore whether, in what ways, and under which conditions individual behavioral differences are actually meaningful. I elaborate the meta-theoretical ideas underlying common theoretical concepts and integrate them into an overarching meta-theoretical and methodological framework. This unravels commonalities and differences, and shows that assumptions of analogy to concepts of human personality are not always warranted and that some theoretical developments may be based on methodological artifacts. Yet, my results also highlight possible directions for new theoretical developments in animal behavior research. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Biomedical research leaders: report on needs, opportunities, difficulties, education and training, and evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, S H; Merkle, S; Brown, D; Moskowitz, J; Hurley, D; Brown, D; Bailey, B J; McClain, M; Misenhimer, M; Buckalew, J; Burks, T

    2000-12-01

    The National Association of Physicians for the Environment (NAPE) has assumed a leadership role in protecting environmental health in recent years. The Committee of Biomedical Research Leaders was convened at the recent NAPE Leadership Conference: Biomedical Research and the Environment held on 1--2 November 1999, at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. This report summarizes the discussion of the committee and its recommendations. The charge to the committee was to raise and address issues that will promote and sustain environmental health, safety, and energy efficiency within the biomedical community. Leaders from every important research sector (industry laboratories, academic health centers and institutes, hospitals and care facilities, Federal laboratories, and community-based research facilities) were gathered in this committee to discuss issues relevant to promoting environmental health. The conference and this report focus on the themes of environmental stewardship, sustainable development and "best greening practices." Environmental stewardship, an emerging theme within and outside the biomedical community, symbolizes the effort to provide an integrated, synthesized, and concerted effort to protect the health of the environment in both the present and the future. The primary goal established by the committee is to promote environmentally responsible leadership in the biomedical research community. Key outcomes of the committee's discussion and deliberation were a) the need for a central organization to evaluate, promote, and oversee efforts in environmental stewardship; and b) immediate need to facilitate efficient information transfer relevant to protecting the global environment through a database/clearinghouse. Means to fulfill these needs are discussed in this report.

  6. Behavioral integrity for safety, priority of safety, psychological safety, and patient safety : a team-level study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leroy, H.; Dierynck, B.; Anseel, F.; Simons, T.; Halbesleben, J.R.; McCaughey, D.; Savage, G.T.; Sels, L.

    2012-01-01

    This article clarifies how leader behavioral integrity for safety helps solve follower's double bind between adhering to safety protocols and speaking up about mistakes against protocols. Path modeling of survey data in 54 nursing teams showed that head nurse behavioral integrity for safety

  7. Applications of computational intelligence in biomedical technology

    CERN Document Server

    Majernik, Jaroslav; Pancerz, Krzysztof; Zaitseva, Elena

    2016-01-01

    This book presents latest results and selected applications of Computational Intelligence in Biomedical Technologies. Most of contributions deal with problems of Biomedical and Medical Informatics, ranging from theoretical considerations to practical applications. Various aspects of development methods and algorithms in Biomedical and Medical Informatics as well as Algorithms for medical image processing, modeling methods are discussed. Individual contributions also cover medical decision making support, estimation of risks of treatments, reliability of medical systems, problems of practical clinical applications and many other topics  This book is intended for scientists interested in problems of Biomedical Technologies, for researchers and academic staff, for all dealing with Biomedical and Medical Informatics, as well as PhD students. Useful information is offered also to IT companies, developers of equipment and/or software for medicine and medical professionals.  .

  8. Payment reform in the patient-centered medical home: Enabling and sustaining integrated behavioral health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Benjamin F; Ross, Kaile M; Davis, Melinda M; Melek, Stephen P; Kathol, Roger; Gordon, Patrick

    2017-01-01

    The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is a promising framework for the redesign of primary care and more recently specialty care. As defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the PCMH framework has 5 attributes: comprehensive care, patient-centered care, coordinated care, accessible services, and quality and safety. Evidence increasingly demonstrates that for the PCMH to best achieve the Triple Aim (improved outcomes, decreased cost, and enhanced patient experience), treatment for behavioral health (including mental health, substance use, and life stressors) must be integrated as a central tenet. However, challenges to implementing the PCMH framework are compounded for real-world practitioners because payment reform rarely happens concurrently. Nowhere is this more evident than in attempts to integrate behavioral health clinicians into primary care. As behavioral health clinicians find opportunities to work in integrated settings, a comprehensive understanding of payment models is integral to the dialogue. This article describes alternatives to the traditional fee for service (FFS) model, including modified FFS, pay for performance, bundled payments, and global payments (i.e., capitation). We suggest that global payment structures provide the best fit to enable and sustain integrated behavioral health clinicians in ways that align with the Triple Aim. Finally, we present recommendations that offer specific, actionable steps to achieve payment reform, complement PCMH, and support integration efforts through policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  9. Biomedical Applications of Thermally Activated Shape Memory Polymers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Small IV, W; Singhal, P; Wilson, T S; Maitland, D J

    2009-04-10

    Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are smart materials that can remember a primary shape and can return to this primary shape from a deformed secondary shape when given an appropriate stimulus. This property allows them to be delivered in a compact form via minimally invasive surgeries in humans, and deployed to achieve complex final shapes. Here we review the various biomedical applications of SMPs and the challenges they face with respect to actuation and biocompatibility. While shape memory behavior has been demonstrated with heat, light and chemical environment, here we focus our discussion on thermally stimulated SMPs.

  10. Special Issue: 3D Printing for Biomedical Engineering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chee Kai Chua

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Three-dimensional (3D printing has a long history of applications in biomedical engineering. The development and expansion of traditional biomedical applications are being advanced and enriched by new printing technologies. New biomedical applications such as bioprinting are highly attractive and trendy. This Special Issue aims to provide readers with a glimpse of the recent profile of 3D printing in biomedical research.

  11. The BioLexicon: a large-scale terminological resource for biomedical text mining

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thompson Paul

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Due to the rapidly expanding body of biomedical literature, biologists require increasingly sophisticated and efficient systems to help them to search for relevant information. Such systems should account for the multiple written variants used to represent biomedical concepts, and allow the user to search for specific pieces of knowledge (or events involving these concepts, e.g., protein-protein interactions. Such functionality requires access to detailed information about words used in the biomedical literature. Existing databases and ontologies often have a specific focus and are oriented towards human use. Consequently, biological knowledge is dispersed amongst many resources, which often do not attempt to account for the large and frequently changing set of variants that appear in the literature. Additionally, such resources typically do not provide information about how terms relate to each other in texts to describe events. Results This article provides an overview of the design, construction and evaluation of a large-scale lexical and conceptual resource for the biomedical domain, the BioLexicon. The resource can be exploited by text mining tools at several levels, e.g., part-of-speech tagging, recognition of biomedical entities, and the extraction of events in which they are involved. As such, the BioLexicon must account for real usage of words in biomedical texts. In particular, the BioLexicon gathers together different types of terms from several existing data resources into a single, unified repository, and augments them with new term variants automatically extracted from biomedical literature. Extraction of events is facilitated through the inclusion of biologically pertinent verbs (around which events are typically organized together with information about typical patterns of grammatical and semantic behaviour, which are acquired from domain-specific texts. In order to foster interoperability, the BioLexicon is

  12. The BioLexicon: a large-scale terminological resource for biomedical text mining

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background Due to the rapidly expanding body of biomedical literature, biologists require increasingly sophisticated and efficient systems to help them to search for relevant information. Such systems should account for the multiple written variants used to represent biomedical concepts, and allow the user to search for specific pieces of knowledge (or events) involving these concepts, e.g., protein-protein interactions. Such functionality requires access to detailed information about words used in the biomedical literature. Existing databases and ontologies often have a specific focus and are oriented towards human use. Consequently, biological knowledge is dispersed amongst many resources, which often do not attempt to account for the large and frequently changing set of variants that appear in the literature. Additionally, such resources typically do not provide information about how terms relate to each other in texts to describe events. Results This article provides an overview of the design, construction and evaluation of a large-scale lexical and conceptual resource for the biomedical domain, the BioLexicon. The resource can be exploited by text mining tools at several levels, e.g., part-of-speech tagging, recognition of biomedical entities, and the extraction of events in which they are involved. As such, the BioLexicon must account for real usage of words in biomedical texts. In particular, the BioLexicon gathers together different types of terms from several existing data resources into a single, unified repository, and augments them with new term variants automatically extracted from biomedical literature. Extraction of events is facilitated through the inclusion of biologically pertinent verbs (around which events are typically organized) together with information about typical patterns of grammatical and semantic behaviour, which are acquired from domain-specific texts. In order to foster interoperability, the BioLexicon is modelled using the Lexical

  13. Research evaluation support services in biomedical libraries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen Elizabeth Gutzman

    2018-01-01

    Conclusions: Libraries can leverage a variety of evaluation support services as an opportunity to successfully meet an array of challenges confronting the biomedical research community, including robust efforts to report and demonstrate tangible and meaningful outcomes of biomedical research and clinical care. These services represent a transformative direction that can be emulated by other biomedical and research libraries.

  14. Social integration, psychological distress, and smoking behaviors in a midwest LGBT community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivadon, Angela; Matthews, Alicia K; David, Kevin M

    2014-01-01

    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations have smoking rates twice that of their heterosexual counterparts. To design effective outreach, prevention, and treatments for these individuals, a comprehensive understanding of associated factors is needed. To increase understanding of how social integration and psychological distress are related to smoking behaviors among LGBT populations. A cross-sectional, descriptive study of 135 LGBT adults using an online data collection strategy. Multivariate analyses were performed to examine factors associated with current smoking status. Social integration was not significantly related to smoking behaviors in this LGBT population, although psychological distress was higher among smokers than nonsmokers. Although social support has been reported to have an impact on health behaviors in the general population, the present findings suggest that the benefits of social support may not apply to the smoking activities of LGBT individuals. © The Author(s) 2014.

  15. Biomedical nanomaterials from design to implementation

    CERN Document Server

    Webster, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    Biomedical Nanomaterials brings together the engineering applications and challenges of using nanostructured surfaces and nanomaterials in healthcare in a single source. Each chapter covers important and new information in the biomedical applications of nanomaterials.

  16. Discovery informatics in biological and biomedical sciences: research challenges and opportunities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honavar, Vasant

    2015-01-01

    New discoveries in biological, biomedical and health sciences are increasingly being driven by our ability to acquire, share, integrate and analyze, and construct and simulate predictive models of biological systems. While much attention has focused on automating routine aspects of management and analysis of "big data", realizing the full potential of "big data" to accelerate discovery calls for automating many other aspects of the scientific process that have so far largely resisted automation: identifying gaps in the current state of knowledge; generating and prioritizing questions; designing studies; designing, prioritizing, planning, and executing experiments; interpreting results; forming hypotheses; drawing conclusions; replicating studies; validating claims; documenting studies; communicating results; reviewing results; and integrating results into the larger body of knowledge in a discipline. Against this background, the PSB workshop on Discovery Informatics in Biological and Biomedical Sciences explores the opportunities and challenges of automating discovery or assisting humans in discovery through advances (i) Understanding, formalization, and information processing accounts of, the entire scientific process; (ii) Design, development, and evaluation of the computational artifacts (representations, processes) that embody such understanding; and (iii) Application of the resulting artifacts and systems to advance science (by augmenting individual or collective human efforts, or by fully automating science).

  17. Leading change: curriculum reform in graduate education in the biomedical sciences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dasgupta, Shoumita; Symes, Karen; Hyman, Linda

    2015-01-01

    The Division of Graduate Medical Sciences at the Boston University School of Medicine houses numerous dynamic graduate programs. Doctoral students began their studies with laboratory rotations and classroom training in a variety of fundamental disciplines. Importantly, with 15 unique pathways of admission to these doctoral programs, there were also 15 unique curricula. Departments and programs offered courses independently, and students participated in curricula that were overlapping combinations of these courses. This system created curricula that were not coordinated and that had redundant course content as well as content gaps. A partnership of key stakeholders began a curriculum reform process to completely restructure doctoral education at the Boston University School of Medicine. The key pedagogical goals, objectives, and elements designed into the new curriculum through this reform process created a curriculum designed to foster the interdisciplinary thinking that students are ultimately asked to utilize in their research endeavors. We implemented comprehensive student and peer evaluation of the new Foundations in Biomedical Sciences integrated curriculum to assess the new curriculum. Furthermore, we detail how this process served as a gateway toward creating a more fully integrated graduate experience, under the umbrella of the Program in Biomedical Sciences. © 2015 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

  18. The HIPAA Security Rule: implications for biomedical devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2004-11-01

    The HIPAA Security Rule, with which hospitals must become compliant by April 2005, is broad in scope. Some aspect of this rule will affect virtually every function and department within a healthcare organization. The functions and departments that deal with biomedical technologies face special challenges due to the great diversity of technologies, the variety of data maintained and transmitted, and the risks associated with compromises to data security--combined with the presence of older technology and the absence of integrated expertise. It is essential that hospitals recognize this challenge and initiate steps now to implement appropriate information security management.

  19. The Aotus nancymaae erythrocyte proteome and its importance for biomedical research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno-Pérez, D A; García-Valiente, R; Ibarrola, N; Muro, A; Patarroyo, M A

    2017-01-30

    The Aotus nancymaae species has been of great importance in researching the biology and pathogenesis of malaria, particularly for studying Plasmodium molecules for including them in effective vaccines against such microorganism. In spite of the forgoing, there has been no report to date describing the biology of parasite target cells in primates or their biomedical importance. This study was thus designed to analyse A. nancymaae erythrocyte protein composition using MS data collected during a previous study aimed at characterising the Plasmodium vivax proteome and published in the pertinent literature. Most peptides identified were similar to those belonging to 1189 Homo sapiens molecules; >95% of them had orthologues in New World primates. GO terms revealed a correlation between categories having the greatest amount of proteins and vital cell function. Integral membrane molecules were also identified which could be possible receptors facilitating interaction with Plasmodium species. The A. nancymaae erythrocyte proteome is described here for the first time, as a starting point for more in-depth/extensive studies. The data reported represents a source of invaluable information for laboratories interested in carrying out basic and applied biomedical investigation studies which involve using this primate. An understanding of the proteomics characteristics of A. nancymaae erythrocytes represents a fascinating area for research regarding the study of the pathogenesis of malaria since these are the main target for Plasmodium invasion. However, and even though Aotus is one of the non-human primate models considered most appropriate for biomedical research, knowledge of its proteome, particularly its erythrocytes, remains unknown. According to the above and bearing in mind the lack of information about the A. nancymaae species genome and transcriptome, this study involved a search for primate proteins for comparing their MS/MS spectra with the available information for

  20. For 481 biomedical open access journals, articles are not searchable in the Directory of Open Access Journals nor in conventional biomedical databases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liljekvist, Mads Svane; Andresen, Kristoffer; Pommergaard, Hans-Christian; Rosenberg, Jacob

    2015-01-01

    Background. Open access (OA) journals allows access to research papers free of charge to the reader. Traditionally, biomedical researchers use databases like MEDLINE and EMBASE to discover new advances. However, biomedical OA journals might not fulfill such databases' criteria, hindering dissemination. The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a database exclusively listing OA journals. The aim of this study was to investigate DOAJ's coverage of biomedical OA journals compared with the conventional biomedical databases. Methods. Information on all journals listed in four conventional biomedical databases (MEDLINE, PubMed Central, EMBASE and SCOPUS) and DOAJ were gathered. Journals were included if they were (1) actively publishing, (2) full OA, (3) prospectively indexed in one or more database, and (4) of biomedical subject. Impact factor and journal language were also collected. DOAJ was compared with conventional databases regarding the proportion of journals covered, along with their impact factor and publishing language. The proportion of journals with articles indexed by DOAJ was determined. Results. In total, 3,236 biomedical OA journals were included in the study. Of the included journals, 86.7% were listed in DOAJ. Combined, the conventional biomedical databases listed 75.0% of the journals; 18.7% in MEDLINE; 36.5% in PubMed Central; 51.5% in SCOPUS and 50.6% in EMBASE. Of the journals in DOAJ, 88.7% published in English and 20.6% had received impact factor for 2012 compared with 93.5% and 26.0%, respectively, for journals in the conventional biomedical databases. A subset of 51.1% and 48.5% of the journals in DOAJ had articles indexed from 2012 and 2013, respectively. Of journals exclusively listed in DOAJ, one journal had received an impact factor for 2012, and 59.6% of the journals had no content from 2013 indexed in DOAJ. Conclusions. DOAJ is the most complete registry of biomedical OA journals compared with five conventional biomedical databases

  1. Integration of Molecular Pathology, Epidemiology, and Social Science for Global Precision Medicine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishi, Akihiro; Milner, Danny A; Giovannucci, Edward L.; Nishihara, Reiko; Tan, Andy S.; Kawachi, Ichiro; Ogino, Shuji

    2015-01-01

    Summary The precision medicine concept and the unique disease principle imply that each patient has unique pathogenic processes resulting from heterogeneous cellular genetic and epigenetic alterations, and interactions between cells (including immune cells) and exposures, including dietary, environmental, microbial, and lifestyle factors. As a core method field in population health science and medicine, epidemiology is a growing scientific discipline that can analyze disease risk factors, and develop statistical methodologies to maximize utilization of big data on populations and disease pathology. The evolving transdisciplinary field of molecular pathological epidemiology (MPE) can advance biomedical and health research by linking exposures to molecular pathologic signatures, enhancing causal inference, and identifying potential biomarkers for clinical impact. The MPE approach can be applied to any diseases, although it has been most commonly used in neoplastic diseases (including breast, lung and colorectal cancers) because of availability of various molecular diagnostic tests. However, use of state-of-the-art genomic, epigenomic and other omic technologies and expensive drugs in modern healthcare systems increases racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities. To address this, we propose to integrate molecular pathology, epidemiology, and social science. Social epidemiology integrates the latter two fields. The integrative social MPE model can embrace sociology, economics and precision medicine, address global health disparities and inequalities, and elucidate biological effects of social environments, behaviors, and networks. We foresee advancements of molecular medicine, including molecular diagnostics, biomedical imaging, and targeted therapeutics, which should benefit individuals in a global population, by means of an interdisciplinary approach of integrative MPE and social health science. PMID:26636627

  2. Integration of molecular pathology, epidemiology and social science for global precision medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishi, Akihiro; Milner, Danny A; Giovannucci, Edward L; Nishihara, Reiko; Tan, Andy S; Kawachi, Ichiro; Ogino, Shuji

    2016-01-01

    The precision medicine concept and the unique disease principle imply that each patient has unique pathogenic processes resulting from heterogeneous cellular genetic and epigenetic alterations and interactions between cells (including immune cells) and exposures, including dietary, environmental, microbial and lifestyle factors. As a core method field in population health science and medicine, epidemiology is a growing scientific discipline that can analyze disease risk factors and develop statistical methodologies to maximize utilization of big data on populations and disease pathology. The evolving transdisciplinary field of molecular pathological epidemiology (MPE) can advance biomedical and health research by linking exposures to molecular pathologic signatures, enhancing causal inference and identifying potential biomarkers for clinical impact. The MPE approach can be applied to any diseases, although it has been most commonly used in neoplastic diseases (including breast, lung and colorectal cancers) because of availability of various molecular diagnostic tests. However, use of state-of-the-art genomic, epigenomic and other omic technologies and expensive drugs in modern healthcare systems increases racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities. To address this, we propose to integrate molecular pathology, epidemiology and social science. Social epidemiology integrates the latter two fields. The integrative social MPE model can embrace sociology, economics and precision medicine, address global health disparities and inequalities, and elucidate biological effects of social environments, behaviors and networks. We foresee advancements of molecular medicine, including molecular diagnostics, biomedical imaging and targeted therapeutics, which should benefit individuals in a global population, by means of an interdisciplinary approach of integrative MPE and social health science.

  3. Integrating knowledge across domains to advance the science of health behavior: overcoming challenges and facilitating success.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein, William M P; Grenen, Emily G; O'Connell, Mary; Blanch-Hartigan, Danielle; Chou, Wen-Ying Sylvia; Hall, Kara L; Taber, Jennifer M; Vogel, Amanda L

    2017-03-01

    Health behaviors often co-occur and have common determinants at multiple levels (e.g., individual, relational, environmental). Nevertheless, research programs often examine single health behaviors without a systematic attempt to integrate knowledge across behaviors. This paper highlights the significant potential of cross-cutting behavioral research to advance our understanding of the mechanisms and causal factors that shape health behaviors. It also offers suggestions for how researchers could develop more effective interventions. We highlight barriers to such an integrative science along with potential steps that can be taken to address these barriers. With a more nuanced understanding of health behavior, redundancies in research can be minimized, and a stronger evidence base for the development of health behavior interventions can be realized.

  4. Collective intelligence for translational medicine: Crowdsourcing insights and innovation from an interdisciplinary biomedical research community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budge, Eleanor Jane; Tsoti, Sandra Maria; Howgate, Daniel James; Sivakumar, Shivan; Jalali, Morteza

    2015-01-01

    Translational medicine bridges the gap between discoveries in biomedical science and their safe and effective clinical application. Despite the gross opportunity afforded by modern research for unparalleled advances in this field, the process of translation remains protracted. Efforts to expedite science translation have included the facilitation of interdisciplinary collaboration within both academic and clinical environments in order to generate integrated working platforms fuelling the sharing of knowledge, expertise, and tools to align biomedical research with clinical need. However, barriers to scientific translation remain, and further progress is urgently required. Collective intelligence and crowdsourcing applications offer the potential for global online networks, allowing connection and collaboration between a wide variety of fields. This would drive the alignment of biomedical science with biotechnology, clinical need, and patient experience, in order to deliver evidence-based innovation which can revolutionize medical care worldwide. Here we discuss the critical steps towards implementing collective intelligence in translational medicine using the experience of those in other fields of science and public health.

  5. Effects of Video Modeling on Treatment Integrity of Behavioral Interventions

    Science.gov (United States)

    DiGennaro-Reed, Florence D.; Codding, Robin; Catania, Cynthia N.; Maguire, Helena

    2010-01-01

    We examined the effects of individualized video modeling on the accurate implementation of behavioral interventions using a multiple baseline design across 3 teachers. During video modeling, treatment integrity improved above baseline levels; however, teacher performance remained variable. The addition of verbal performance feedback increased…

  6. Exploring subdomain variation in biomedical language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Séaghdha Diarmuid Ó

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Applications of Natural Language Processing (NLP technology to biomedical texts have generated significant interest in recent years. In this paper we identify and investigate the phenomenon of linguistic subdomain variation within the biomedical domain, i.e., the extent to which different subject areas of biomedicine are characterised by different linguistic behaviour. While variation at a coarser domain level such as between newswire and biomedical text is well-studied and known to affect the portability of NLP systems, we are the first to conduct an extensive investigation into more fine-grained levels of variation. Results Using the large OpenPMC text corpus, which spans the many subdomains of biomedicine, we investigate variation across a number of lexical, syntactic, semantic and discourse-related dimensions. These dimensions are chosen for their relevance to the performance of NLP systems. We use clustering techniques to analyse commonalities and distinctions among the subdomains. Conclusions We find that while patterns of inter-subdomain variation differ somewhat from one feature set to another, robust clusters can be identified that correspond to intuitive distinctions such as that between clinical and laboratory subjects. In particular, subdomains relating to genetics and molecular biology, which are the most common sources of material for training and evaluating biomedical NLP tools, are not representative of all biomedical subdomains. We conclude that an awareness of subdomain variation is important when considering the practical use of language processing applications by biomedical researchers.

  7. Integrating intersectionality and biomedicine in health disparities research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Ursula A

    2009-01-01

    Persisting health disparities have lead to calls for an increase in health research to address them. Biomedical scientists call for research that stratifies individual indicators associated with health disparities, for example, ethnicity. Feminist social scientists recommend feminist intersectionality research. Intersectionality is the multiplicative effect of inequalities experienced by nondominant marginalized groups, for example, ethnic minorities, women, and the poor. The elimination of health disparities necessitates integration of both paradigms in health research. This study provides a practical application of the integration of biomedical and feminist intersectionality paradigms in nursing research, using a psychiatric intervention study with battered Latino women as an example.

  8. Handbook of photonics for biomedical engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Kim, Donghyun; Somekh, Michael

    2017-01-01

    Nanophotonics has emerged rapidly into technological mainstream with the advent and maturity of nanotechnology available in photonics and enabled many new exciting applications in the area of biomedical science and engineering that were unimagined even a few years ago with conventional photonic engineering techniques. Handbook of Nanophotonics in Biomedical Engineering is intended to be a reliable resource to a wealth of information on nanophotonics that can inspire readers by detailing emerging and established possibilities of nanophotonics in biomedical science and engineering applications. This comprehensive reference presents not only the basics of nanophotonics but also explores recent experimental and clinical methods used in biomedical and bioengineering research. Each peer-reviewed chapter of this book discusses fundamental aspects and materials/fabrication issues of nanophotonics, as well as applications in interfaces, cell, tissue, animal studies, and clinical engineering. The organization provides ...

  9. BIG: a Grid Portal for Biomedical Data and Images

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giovanni Aloisio

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available Modern management of biomedical systems involves the use of many distributed resources, such as high performance computational resources to analyze biomedical data, mass storage systems to store them, medical instruments (microscopes, tomographs, etc., advanced visualization and rendering tools. Grids offer the computational power, security and availability needed by such novel applications. This paper presents BIG (Biomedical Imaging Grid, a Web-based Grid portal for management of biomedical information (data and images in a distributed environment. BIG is an interactive environment that deals with complex user's requests, regarding the acquisition of biomedical data, the "processing" and "delivering" of biomedical images, using the power and security of Computational Grids.

  10. The Impact of Nursing Leader's Behavioral Integrity and Intragroup Relationship Conflict on Staff Nurses' Intention to Remain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Seung-Wan; Lee, Soojin; Choi, Suk Bong

    2017-05-01

    This study tested a multilevel model examining the effect of nursing leader's behavioral integrity and intragroup relationship conflict on staff nurses' intent to remain. In the challenging situation of nursing shortage, nurse executives are required to focus on the retention of nurses. No previous studies have examined the impact of nursing leader's behavioral integrity and intragroup relationship conflict on nurses' intention to remain. A cross-sectional survey of 480 RNs in 34 nursing units of a large public hospital in South Korea was conducted to test the hypothesized multilevel model. Nursing leader's behavioral integrity was positively related to nurses' intention to remain (b = 0.34, P relationship was enhanced when the level of intragroup relationship conflict was high (b = 0.21, P relationship conflict should endeavor to maintain their behavioral integrity to promote nurses' intention to remain.

  11. Enhancing biomedical design with design thinking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemnitzer, Ronald; Dorsa, Ed

    2009-01-01

    The development of biomedical equipment is justifiably focused on making products that "work." However, this approach leaves many of the people affected by these designs (operators, patients, etc.) with little or no representation when it comes to the design of these products. Industrial design is a "user focused" profession which takes into account the needs of diverse groups when making design decisions. The authors propose that biomedical equipment design can be enhanced, made more user and patient "friendly" by adopting the industrial design approach to researching, analyzing, and ultimately designing biomedical products.

  12. The development of biomedical engineering as experienced by one biomedical engineer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newell, Jonathan C

    2012-12-12

    This personal essay described the development of the field of Biomedical Engineering from its early days, from the perspective of one who lived through that development. It describes the making of a major invention using data that had been rejected by other scientists, the re-discovery of an obscure fact of physiology and its use in developing a major medical instrument, the development of a new medical imaging modality, and the near-death rescue of a research project. The essay concludes with comments about the development and present status of impedance imaging, and recent changes in the evolution of biomedical engineering as a field.

  13. Biomedical Research Institute, Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana, Shreveport, Louisiana

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    Department of Energy (DOE) has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA), DOE/EA-0789, evaluating the environmental impacts of construction and operation of a Biomedical Research Institute (BRI) at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Medical Center, Shreveport, Louisiana. The purpose of the BRI is to accelerate the development of biomedical research in cardiovascular disease, molecular biology, and neurobiology. Based on the analyses in the EA, DOE has determined that the proposed action does not constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Therefore, the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is not required

  14. Sierra Leone Journal of Biomedical Research

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Sierra Leone Journal of Biomedical Research publishes papers in all fields of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences including Basic Medical Sciences, Clinical Sciences, Dental Sciences, Behavioural Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Molecular Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biotechnology in relation to Medicine, ...

  15. Development of the novel ferrous-based stainless steel for biomedical applications, part I: high-temperature microstructure, mechanical properties and damping behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Ching-Zong; Chen, Shih-Chung; Shih, Yung-Hsun; Hung, Jing-Ming; Lin, Chia-Cheng; Lin, Li-Hsiang; Ou, Keng-Liang

    2011-10-01

    This research investigated the high-temperature microstructure, mechanical properties, and damping behavior of Fe-9 Al-30 Mn-1C-5 Co (wt.%) alloy by means of electron microscopy, experimental model analysis, and hardness and tensile testing. Subsequent microstructural transformation occurred when the alloy under consideration was subjected to heat treatment in the temperature range of 1000-1150 °C: γ → (γ+κ). The κ-phase carbides had an ordered L'1(2)-type structure with lattice parameter a = 0.385 nm. The maximum yield strength (σ(y)), hardness, elongation, and damping coefficient of this alloy are 645 MPa, Hv 292, ~54%, and 178.5 × 10(-4), respectively. These features could be useful in further understanding the relationship between the biocompatibility and the wear and corrosion resistance of the alloy, so as to allow the development of a promising biomedical material. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. From the NIH: A Systems Approach to Increasing the Diversity of the Biomedical Research Workforce

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valantine, Hannah A.; Lund, P. Kay; Gammie, Alison E.

    2016-01-01

    The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is committed to attracting, developing, and supporting the best scientists from all groups as an integral part of excellence in training. Biomedical research workforce diversity, capitalizing on the full spectrum of skills, talents, and viewpoints, is essential for solving complex human health challenges.…

  17. All-optically integrated photoacoustic and optical coherence tomography: A review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Qiao

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available All-optically integrated photoacoustic (PA and optical coherence tomography (OCT dual-mode imaging technology that could offer comprehensive pathological information for accurate diagnosis in clinic has gradually become a promising imaging technology in the aspect of biomedical imaging during the recent years. This review refers to the technology aspects of all-optical PA detection and system evolution of optically integrated PA and OCT, including Michelson interferometer dual-mode imaging system, Fabry–Perot (FP interferometer dual-mode imaging system and Mach–Zehnder interferometer dual-mode imaging system. It is believed that the optically integrated PA and OCT has great potential applications in biomedical imaging.

  18. Integrating professional behavior development across a professional allied health curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsoumas, Linda J; Pelletier, Deborah

    2007-01-01

    Professional behaviors are an integral part of clinical practice in all allied health and medical fields. A systematic process for instruction, the education, and development of professional behaviors, cannot be taught in the same way that memorization of human anatomy or medical terminology is taught. One cannot expect professional behaviors to just appear in an individual upon graduation and entry into a health care field. Professional behavior development is an essential component of physical therapy professional education and is clearly defined through the guiding documents of the American Physical Therapy Association, which include 'A Normative Model of Physical Therapist Professional Education,' 'Evaluative Criteria for Accreditation of Education Programs for the Preparation of Physical Therapists,' and the 'Guide to Physical Therapist Practice.' Building a comprehensive and progressive curricular thread for professional behaviors can pose a challenge for a professional program and the core faculty. This paper will present a curricular model of weaving professional behaviors into a core entry-level professional curriculum using a specific curricular thread, activities for different levels of students, and assessment at each point in the path. This paper will demonstrate the potential for universal application of a professional behaviors.

  19. Review of behavioral health integration in primary care at Baylor Scott and White Healthcare, Central Region

    OpenAIRE

    Jolly, John B.; Fluet, Norman R.; Reis, Michael D.; Stern, Charles H.; Thompson, Alexander W.; Jolly, Gillian A.

    2016-01-01

    The integration of behavioral health services in primary care has been referred to in many ways, but ultimately refers to common structures and processes. Behavioral health is integrated into primary care because it increases the effectiveness and efficiency of providing care and reduces costs in the care of primary care patients. Reimbursement is one factor, if not the main factor, that determines the level of integration that can be achieved. The federal health reform agenda supports change...

  20. Advances in biomedical engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Brown, J H U

    1976-01-01

    Advances in Biomedical Engineering, Volume 5, is a collection of papers that deals with application of the principles and practices of engineering to basic and applied biomedical research, development, and the delivery of health care. The papers also describe breakthroughs in health improvements, as well as basic research that have been accomplished through clinical applications. One paper examines engineering principles and practices that can be applied in developing therapeutic systems by a controlled delivery system in drug dosage. Another paper examines the physiological and materials vari

  1. Review of behavioral health integration in primary care at Baylor Scott and White Healthcare, Central Region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jolly, John B; Fluet, Norman R; Reis, Michael D; Stern, Charles H; Thompson, Alexander W; Jolly, Gillian A

    2016-04-01

    The integration of behavioral health services in primary care has been referred to in many ways, but ultimately refers to common structures and processes. Behavioral health is integrated into primary care because it increases the effectiveness and efficiency of providing care and reduces costs in the care of primary care patients. Reimbursement is one factor, if not the main factor, that determines the level of integration that can be achieved. The federal health reform agenda supports changes that will eventually permit behavioral health to be fully integrated and will allow the health of the population to be the primary target of intervention. In an effort to develop more integrated services at Baylor Scott and White Healthcare, models of integration are reviewed and the advantages and disadvantages of each model are discussed. Recommendations to increase integration include adopting a disease management model with care management, planned guideline-based stepped care, follow-up, and treatment monitoring. Population-based interventions can be completed at the pace of the development of alternative reimbursement methods. The program should be based upon patient-centered medical home standards, and research is needed throughout the program development process.

  2. Relational Databases and Biomedical Big Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Silva, N H Nisansa D

    2017-01-01

    In various biomedical applications that collect, handle, and manipulate data, the amounts of data tend to build up and venture into the range identified as bigdata. In such occurrences, a design decision has to be taken as to what type of database would be used to handle this data. More often than not, the default and classical solution to this in the biomedical domain according to past research is relational databases. While this used to be the norm for a long while, it is evident that there is a trend to move away from relational databases in favor of other types and paradigms of databases. However, it still has paramount importance to understand the interrelation that exists between biomedical big data and relational databases. This chapter will review the pros and cons of using relational databases to store biomedical big data that previous researches have discussed and used.

  3. In-vitro bioactivity and electrochemical behavior of polyaniline encapsulated titania nanotube arrays for biomedical applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agilan, P.; Rajendran, N.

    2018-05-01

    Titania nanotube arrays (TNTA) have attracted increasing attention due to their outstanding properties and potential applications in biomedical field. Fabrication of titania nanotubes on titanium surface enhances the biocompatibility. Polyaniline (PANI) is one of the best conducting polymers with remarkable corrosion resistance and reasonable biocompatibility. In this work, the corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of polyaniline encapsulated TiO2 nanotubes for orthopaedic applications were investigated. The vertically oriented, highly ordered TiO2 nanotubes were fabricated on titanium by electrochemical anodization process using fluoride containing electrolytes. The anodization parameters viz., voltage, pH, time and electrolyte concentration were optimized to get orderly arranged TNTA. Further, the conducting polymer PANI was encapsulated on TNTA by electropolymerization process to enhance the corrosion resistance. The nanostructure of the fabricated TNTA and polyaniline encapsulated titania nanotube arrays (PANI-TNTA) were investigated by HR SEM analysis. The formed phases and functional groups were find using XRD, ATR-FTIR. The hydrophilic surface of TNTA and PANI-TNTA was identified by water contact angle studies. The corrosion behavior of specimens was evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization studies. In-vitro immersion studies were carried out in simulated body fluid solution (Hanks' solution) to evaluate the bioactivity of the TNTA and PANI-TNTA. The surface morphological studies revealed the formation of PANI on the TNTA surface. Formation of hydroxyapatite (HAp) on the surfaces of TNTA and PANI-TNTA enhanced the bioactivity and corrosion resistance.

  4. Dynamic behavior and functional integrity tests on RC shear walls

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akino, Kinji; Nasuda, Toshiaki; Shibata, Akenori.

    1991-01-01

    A project consisting of seven subprojects has been conducted to study the dynamic behavior and functional integrity of reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls in reactor buildings. The objective of this project is to obtain the data to improve and prepare the seismic analysis code regarding the nonlinear structural behavior and integrity of reactor buildings during and after earthquakes. The project started in April, 1986, and will end in March, 1994. Seven subprojects are strain rate test, damping characteristic test, ultimate state response test and the verification test for the test of restoring force characteristics regarding dynamic restoring force characteristics and damping performance; the restoring force characteristic test on the shear walls with openings; and pull-out strength test and the test on air leakage through concrete cracks regarding the functional integrity. The objectives of respective subprojects, the test models and the interim results are reported. Three subprojects have been completed by March, 1990. The results of these projects will be used for the overall evaluation. The strain rate test showed that the ultimate strength of shear walls increased with strain rate. A formula for estimating air flow through the cracks in walls was given by the leakage test. (K.I.)

  5. VII Latin American Congress on Biomedical Engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Bustamante, John; Sierra, Daniel

    2017-01-01

    This volume presents the proceedings of the CLAIB 2016, held in Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia, 26, 27 & 28 October 2016. The proceedings, presented by the Regional Council of Biomedical Engineering for Latin America (CORAL), offer research findings, experiences and activities between institutions and universities to develop Bioengineering, Biomedical Engineering and related sciences. The conferences of the American Congress of Biomedical Engineering are sponsored by the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE), Society for Engineering in Biology and Medicine (EMBS) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), among other organizations and international agencies to bring together scientists, academics and biomedical engineers in Latin America and other continents in an environment conducive to exchange and professional growth.

  6. Industry careers for the biomedical engineer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munzner, Robert F

    2004-01-01

    This year's conference theme is "linkages for innovation in biomedicine." Biomedical engineers, especially those transitioning their career from academic study into medical device industry, will play a critical role in converting the fruits of scientific research into the reality of modern medical devices. This special session is organized to help biomedical engineers to achieve their career goals more effectively. Participants will have opportunities to hear from and interact with leading industrial experts on many issues. These may include but not limited to 1) career paths for biomedical engineers (industrial, academic, or federal; technical vs. managerial track; small start-up or large established companies); 2) unique design challenges and regulatory requirements in medical device development; 3) aspects of a successful biomedical engineering job candidate (such as resume, interview, follow-up). Suggestions for other topics are welcome and should be directed to xkong@ieee.org The distinguished panelists include: Xuan Kong, Ph.D., VP of Research, NEUROMetrix Inc, Waltham, MA Robert F. Munzner, Ph.D., Medical Device Consultant, Doctor Device, Herndon, VA Glen McLaughlin, Ph.D., VP of Engineering and CTO, Zonare Medical System Inc., Mountain View, CA Grace Bartoo, Ph.D., RAC, General Manager, Decus Biomedical LLC San Carlos, CA.

  7. Simbody: multibody dynamics for biomedical research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherman, Michael A; Seth, Ajay; Delp, Scott L

    Multibody software designed for mechanical engineering has been successfully employed in biomedical research for many years. For real time operation some biomedical researchers have also adapted game physics engines. However, these tools were built for other purposes and do not fully address the needs of biomedical researchers using them to analyze the dynamics of biological structures and make clinically meaningful recommendations. We are addressing this problem through the development of an open source, extensible, high performance toolkit including a multibody mechanics library aimed at the needs of biomedical researchers. The resulting code, Simbody, supports research in a variety of fields including neuromuscular, prosthetic, and biomolecular simulation, and related research such as biologically-inspired design and control of humanoid robots and avatars. Simbody is the dynamics engine behind OpenSim, a widely used biomechanics simulation application. This article reviews issues that arise uniquely in biomedical research, and reports on the architecture, theory, and computational methods Simbody uses to address them. By addressing these needs explicitly Simbody provides a better match to the needs of researchers than can be obtained by adaptation of mechanical engineering or gaming codes. Simbody is a community resource, free for any purpose. We encourage wide adoption and invite contributions to the code base at https://simtk.org/home/simbody.

  8. An Integrative Behavioral Health Care Model Using Automated SBIRT and Care Coordination in Community Health Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dwinnells, Ronald; Misik, Lauren

    2017-10-01

    Efficient and effective integration of behavioral health programs in a community health care practice emphasizes patient-centered medical home principles to improve quality of care. A prospective, 3-period, interrupted time series study was used to explore which of 3 different integrative behavioral health care screening and management processes were the most efficient and effective in prompting behavioral health screening, identification, interventions, and referrals in a community health practice. A total of 99.5% ( P < .001) of medical patients completed behavioral health screenings; brief intervention rates nearly doubled to 83% ( P < .001) and 100% ( P < .001) of identified at-risk patients had referrals made using a combination of electronic tablets, electronic medical record, and behavioral health care coordination.

  9. Biocompatible electrospun polymer blends for biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munj, Hrishikesh Ramesh; Nelson, M Tyler; Karandikar, Prathamesh Sadanand; Lannutti, John Joseph; Tomasko, David Lane

    2014-10-01

    Blends of natural and synthetic polymers have received considerable attention as biomaterials due to the potential to optimize both mechanical and bioactive properties. Electrospinning of biocompatible polymers is an efficient method producing biomimetic topographies suited to various applications. In the ultimate application, electrospun scaffolds must also incorporate drug/protein delivery for effective cell growth and tissue repair. This study explored the suitability of a ternary Polymethylmethacrylate-Polycaprolactone-gelatin blend in the preparation of electrospun scaffolds for biomedical applications. Tuning the blend composition allows control over scaffold mechanical properties and degradation rate. Significant improvements were observed in the mechanical properties of the blend compared with the individual components. In order to study drug delivery potential, triblends were impregnated with the model compound Rhodamine-B using sub/supercritical CO₂ infusion under benign conditions. Results show significantly distinct release profiles of the impregnated dye from the triblends. Specific factors such as porosity, degradation rate, stress relaxation, dye-polymer interactions, play key roles in impregnation and release. Each polymer component of the triblends shows distinct behavior during impregnation and release process. This affects the aforementioned factors and the release profiles of the dye. Careful control over blend composition and infusion conditions creates the flexibility needed to produce biocompatible electrospun scaffolds for a variety of biomedical applications. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Archives of Medical and Biomedical Research

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Archives of Medical and Biomedical Research is the official journal of the International Association of Medical and Biomedical Researchers (IAMBR) and the Society for Free Radical Research Africa (SFRR-Africa). It is an internationally peer reviewed, open access and multidisciplinary journal aimed at publishing original ...

  11. Ensemble Deep Learning for Biomedical Time Series Classification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lin-peng Jin

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Ensemble learning has been proved to improve the generalization ability effectively in both theory and practice. In this paper, we briefly outline the current status of research on it first. Then, a new deep neural network-based ensemble method that integrates filtering views, local views, distorted views, explicit training, implicit training, subview prediction, and Simple Average is proposed for biomedical time series classification. Finally, we validate its effectiveness on the Chinese Cardiovascular Disease Database containing a large number of electrocardiogram recordings. The experimental results show that the proposed method has certain advantages compared to some well-known ensemble methods, such as Bagging and AdaBoost.

  12. Balanced program plan. Volume 10. Fusion: analysis for biomedical and environmental research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hungate, F.P.

    1976-06-01

    Development of the Balanced Program Plan for analysis for biomedical and environmental research was initiated in the spring of 1975. The goal was a redefinition of research efforts and priorities to meet ERDA's requirements for a program of health and environmental research to support the development and commercialization of energy technologies. As part of the Balanced Program planning effort the major ERDA-supported multidisciplinary laboratories were assigned responsibility for analyzing the research needs of each of nine energy technologies and describing a research program to meet these needs. The staff of the Division of Biomedical and Environmental Research was assigned the task of defining a research program addressed to each of five biomedical and environmental research categories (characterization, measurement and monitoring; physical and chemical processes and effects; health effects; ecological effects; and integrated assessment and socioeconomic processes and effects) applicable to all energy technologies. The first drafts of these documents were available for a work-shop in June 1975 at which the DBER staff and scientists from the laboratories developed a comprehensive set of program recommendations. Pacific Northwest Laboratory was assigned responsibility for defining research needs and a recommended research program for fusion and fission technologies. This report, Volume 10, presents the input for fusion

  13. Factors associated with health risk behaviors among Brazilian adolescents: an integrative review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moura, Luciana Ramos de; Torres, Lilian Machado; Cadete, Matilde Meire Miranda; Cunha, Cristiane de Freitas

    2018-01-01

    Identifying knowledge about factors associated with health risk behaviors among Brazilian adolescents. An integrative review of the literature conducted in the Cochrane, IBECS, LILACS, MEDLINE and SciELO databases in relation to risk behaviors recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thirty-seven (37) studies were analyzed, with a predominance of risky sexual behavior, tobacco use and violent behavior. Advancing age favored unprotected sex, alcohol and tobacco use. Family and friends influence was related to smoking and alcoholism. Males were more involved in situations of violence and the female gender was associated with physical inactivity. Belonging to a lower economic class was related to unprotected sex, physical inactivity, unhealthy dietary behaviors and violence. Studying in private school was related to unhealthy dietary behavior. Risk behaviors were related to social, economic and family factors and they tend to agglomerate.

  14. Mechanisms of Percept-Percept and Image-Percept Integration in Vision: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Evidence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalvit, Silvia; Eimer, Martin

    2011-01-01

    Previous research has shown that the detection of a visual target can be guided not only by the temporal integration of two percepts, but also by integrating a percept and an image held in working memory. Behavioral and event-related brain potential (ERP) measures were obtained in a target detection task that required temporal integration of 2…

  15. Study on the Nanomechanical and Nanotribological Behaviors of PEEK and CFRPEEK for Biomedical Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian Song

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This study was to investigate the nanomechanical and nanotribological properties of polyether ether ketone (PEEK-based composites for biomedical applications and to gain a fundamental understanding of the effects of carbon fibers in carbon-fiber-reinforced PEEK (CFRPEEK on the mechanical properties and wear performance in a microscale. Nanoindentation tests with a Berkovich indenter and nanoscratch experiments with a diamond stylus were performed on PEEK and CFRPEEK samples. The nanowear features and mechanisms of the tested samples were analyzed using 3D white-light interfering profilometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM. The obtained results indicated that the reinforced carbon fibers increased the nanohardness and elastic modulus and decreased the friction coefficient and wear rate of PEEK. Different to many existing studies where a constant load was used in a nanoscratch test and the normal load was a key factor influencing the scratch performances of the tested specimens, stick–slip phenomena were observed on both PEEK and CFRPEEK in the nanoscratch tests with load increasing progressively. In constant load conditions, it was found that the major nanowear mechanisms of PEEK are adhesion, abrasion, and plastic deformation, while the nanowear mechanisms of CFRPEEK are dominated by severe adhesive wear, abrasive wear and mild fatigue. CFRPEEK has demonstrated superior nanomechanical and nanotribological performances, and hence can be considered a potential candidate for biomedical applications.

  16. Analyzing rare diseases terms in biomedical terminologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erika Pasceri

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Rare disease patients too often face common problems, including the lack of access to correct diagnosis, lack of quality information on the disease, lack of scientific knowledge of the disease, inequities and difficulties in access to treatment and care. These things could be changed by implementing a comprehensive approach to rare diseases, increasing international cooperation in scientific research, by gaining and sharing scientific knowledge about and by developing tools for extracting and sharing knowledge. A significant aspect to analyze is the organization of knowledge in the biomedical field for the proper management and recovery of health information. For these purposes, the sources needed have been acquired from the Office of Rare Diseases Research, the National Organization of Rare Disorders and Orphanet, organizations that provide information to patients and physicians and facilitate the exchange of information among different actors involved in this field. The present paper shows the representation of rare diseases terms in biomedical terminologies such as MeSH, ICD-10, SNOMED CT and OMIM, leveraging the fact that these terminologies are integrated in the UMLS. At the first level, it was analyzed the overlap among sources and at a second level, the presence of rare diseases terms in target sources included in UMLS, working at the term and concept level. We found that MeSH has the best representation of rare diseases terms.

  17. [Development and application of electroanalytical methods in biomedical fields].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusu, Fumiyo

    2015-01-01

    To summarize our electroanalytical research in the biomedical field over the past 43 years, this review describes studies on specular reflection measurement, redox potential determination, amperometric acid sensing, HPLC with electrochemical detection, and potential oscillation across a liquid membrane. The specular reflection method was used for clarifying the adsorption of neurotransmitters and their related drugs onto a gold electrode and the interaction between dental alloys and compound iodine glycerin. A voltammetric screening test using a redox potential for the antioxidative effect of flavonoids was proposed. Amperometric acid sensing based on the measurement of the reduction prepeak current of 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (VK3) or 3,5-di-tert-buty1-1,2-benzoquinone (DBBQ) was applied to determine acid values of fats and oils, titrable acidity of coffee, and enzyme activity of lipase, free fatty acids (FFAs) in serum, short-chain fatty acids in feces, etc. The electrode reactions of phenothiazines, catechins, and cholesterol were applied to biomedical analysis using HPLC with electrochemical detection. A three-channel electrochemical detection system was utilized for the sensitive determination of redox compounds in Chinese herbal medicines. The behavior of barbituric acid derivatives was examined based on potential oscillation measurements.

  18. 3rd International Conference on Nanotechnologies and Biomedical Engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Tiginyanu, Ion

    2016-01-01

    This volume presents the proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Nanotechnologies and Biomedical Engineering which was held on September 23-26, 2015 in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova. ICNBME-2015 continues the series of International Conferences in the field of nanotechnologies and biomedical engineering. It aims at bringing together scientists and engineers dealing with fundamental and applied research for reporting on the latest theoretical developments and applications involved in the fields. Topics include Nanotechnologies and nanomaterials Plasmonics and metamaterials Bio-micro/nano technologies Biomaterials Biosensors and sensors systems Biomedical instrumentation Biomedical signal processing Biomedical imaging and image processing Molecular, cellular and tissue engineering Clinical engineering, health technology management and assessment; Health informatics, e-health and telemedicine Biomedical engineering education Nuclear and radiation safety and security Innovations and technology transfer...

  19. Biomedical engineering for health research and development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, X-Y

    2015-01-01

    Biomedical engineering is a new area of research in medicine and biology, providing new concepts and designs for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of various diseases. There are several types of biomedical engineering, such as tissue, genetic, neural and stem cells, as well as chemical and clinical engineering for health care. Many electronic and magnetic methods and equipments are used for the biomedical engineering such as Computed Tomography (CT) scans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans, Electroencephalography (EEG), Ultrasound and regenerative medicine and stem cell cultures, preparations of artificial cells and organs, such as pancreas, urinary bladders, liver cells, and fibroblasts cells of foreskin and others. The principle of tissue engineering is described with various types of cells used for tissue engineering purposes. The use of several medical devices and bionics are mentioned with scaffold, cells and tissue cultures and various materials are used for biomedical engineering. The use of biomedical engineering methods is very important for the human health, and research and development of diseases. The bioreactors and preparations of artificial cells or tissues and organs are described here.

  20. Sensor Fusion and Smart Sensor in Sports and Biomedical Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Jair Alves Mendes Jr.

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The following work presents an overview of smart sensors and sensor fusion targeted at biomedical applications and sports areas. In this work, the integration of these areas is demonstrated, promoting a reflection about techniques and applications to collect, quantify and qualify some physical variables associated with the human body. These techniques are presented in various biomedical and sports applications, which cover areas related to diagnostics, rehabilitation, physical monitoring, and the development of performance in athletes, among others. Although some applications are described in only one of two fields of study (biomedicine and sports, it is very likely that the same application fits in both, with small peculiarities or adaptations. To illustrate the contemporaneity of applications, an analysis of specialized papers published in the last six years has been made. In this context, the main characteristic of this review is to present the largest quantity of relevant examples of sensor fusion and smart sensors focusing on their utilization and proposals, without deeply addressing one specific system or technique, to the detriment of the others.

  1. What is the role of curvature on the properties of nanomaterials for biomedical applications?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez Solveyra, Estefania; Szleifer, Igal

    2016-05-01

    The use of nanomaterials for drug delivery and theranostics applications is a promising paradigm in nanomedicine, as it brings together the best features of nanotechnolgy, molecular biology, and medicine. To fully exploit the synergistic potential of such interdisciplinary strategy, a comprehensive description of the interactions at the interface between nanomaterials and biological systems is not only crucial, but also mandatory. Routine strategies to engineer nanomaterial-based drugs comprise modifying their surface with biocompatible and targeting ligands, in many cases resorting to modular approaches that assume additive behavior. However, emergent behavior can be observed when combining confinement and curvature. The final properties of functionalized nanomaterials become dependent not only on the properties of their constituents but also on the geometry of the nano-bio interface, and on the local molecular environment. Modularity no longer holds, and the coupling between interactions, chemical equilibrium, and molecular organization has to be directly addressed in order to design smart nanomaterials with controlled spatial functionalization envisioning optimized biomedical applications. Nanoparticle's curvature becomes an integral part of the design strategy, enabling to control and engineer the chemical and surface properties with molecular precision. Understanding how nanoparticle size, morphology, and surface chemistry are interrelated will put us one step closer to engineering nanobiomaterials capable of mimicking biological structures and their behaviors, paving the way into applications and the possibility to elucidate the use of curvature by biological systems. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2016, 8:334-354. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1365 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Archives: Journal of Medical and Biomedical Sciences

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Items 1 - 20 of 20 ... Archives: Journal of Medical and Biomedical Sciences. Journal Home > Archives: Journal of Medical and Biomedical Sciences. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  3. Archives: Journal of Medicine and Biomedical Research

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Items 1 - 19 of 19 ... Archives: Journal of Medicine and Biomedical Research. Journal Home > Archives: Journal of Medicine and Biomedical Research. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  4. Social Integration and Health Behavioral Change in San Luis, Honduras

    Science.gov (United States)

    McQuestion, Michael J.; Calle, Ana Quijano; Drasbek, Christopher; Harkins, Thomas; Sagastume, Lourdes J.

    2010-01-01

    This study explores the effects of social integration on behavioral change in the course of an intensive, community-based public health intervention. The intervention trained volunteers and mobilized local organizations to promote 16 key family health practices in rural San Luis, Honduras, during 2004 to 2006. A mixed methods approach is used.…

  5. From behavior to neural dynamics: An integrated theory of attention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buschman, Timothy J.; Kastner, Sabine

    2015-01-01

    The brain has a limited capacity and therefore needs mechanisms to selectively enhance the information most relevant to one’s current behavior. We refer to these mechanisms as ‘attention’. Attention acts by increasing the strength of selected neural representations and preferentially routing them through the brain’s large-scale network. This is a critical component of cognition and therefore has been a central topic in cognitive neuroscience. Here we review a diverse literature that has studied attention at the level of behavior, networks, circuits and neurons. We then integrate these disparate results into a unified theory of attention. PMID:26447577

  6. Biomedical Engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Suh, Sang C; Tanik, Murat M

    2011-01-01

    Biomedical Engineering: Health Care Systems, Technology and Techniques is an edited volume with contributions from world experts. It provides readers with unique contributions related to current research and future healthcare systems. Practitioners and researchers focused on computer science, bioinformatics, engineering and medicine will find this book a valuable reference.

  7. Biomedical technology prosperity game{trademark}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berman, M.; Boyack, K.W.; Wesenberg, D.L.

    1996-07-01

    Prosperity Games{trademark} are an outgrowth and adaptation of move/countermove and seminar War Games. Prosperity Games{trademark} are simulations that explore complex issues in a variety of areas including economics, politics, sociology, environment, education and research. These issues can be examined from a variety of perspectives ranging from a global, macroeconomic and geopolitical viewpoint down to the details of customer/supplier/market interactions in specific industries. All Prosperity Games{trademark} are unique in that both the game format and the player contributions vary from game to game. This report documents the Biomedical Technology Prosperity Game{trademark} conducted under the sponsorship of Sandia National Laboratories, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the Koop Foundation, Inc. Players were drawn from all stakeholders involved in biomedical technologies including patients, hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, legislators, suppliers/manufacturers, regulators, funding organizations, universities/laboratories, and the legal profession. The primary objectives of this game were to: (1) Identify advanced/critical technology issues that affect the cost and quality of health care. (2) Explore the development, patenting, manufacturing and licensing of needed technologies that would decrease costs while maintaining or improving quality. (3) Identify policy and regulatory changes that would reduce costs and improve quality and timeliness of health care delivery. (4) Identify and apply existing resources and facilities to develop and implement improved technologies and policies. (5) Begin to develop Biomedical Technology Roadmaps for industry and government cooperation. The deliberations and recommendations of these players provided valuable insights as to the views of this diverse group of decision makers concerning biomedical issues. Significant progress was made in the roadmapping of key areas in the biomedical technology field.

  8. Teachers' Beliefs about Integrating Digital Literacy into Classroom Practice: An Investigation Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadaf, Ayesha; Johnson, Barbara L.

    2017-01-01

    This study explored teachers' behavioral, normative, and control beliefs related to digital literacy integration into their classrooms. Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used as a theoretical framework to collect and analyze data. Findings revealed that teachers' integration of digital literacy were related to their behavioral beliefs…

  9. Engineering β-sheet peptide assemblies for biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Zhiqiang; Cai, Zheng; Chen, Qiling; Liu, Menghua; Ye, Ling; Ren, Jiaoyan; Liao, Wenzhen; Liu, Shuwen

    2016-03-01

    Hydrogels have been widely studied in various biomedical applications, such as tissue engineering, cell culture, immunotherapy and vaccines, and drug delivery. Peptide-based nanofibers represent a promising new strategy for current drug delivery approaches and cell carriers for tissue engineering. This review focuses on the recent advances in the use of self-assembling engineered β-sheet peptide assemblies for biomedical applications. The applications of peptide nanofibers in biomedical fields, such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, immunotherapy, and vaccines, are highlighted. The current challenges and future perspectives for self-assembling peptide nanofibers in biomedical applications are discussed.

  10. Biomedical engineering education--status and perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magjarevic, Ratko; Zequera Diaz, Martha L

    2014-01-01

    Biomedical Engineering programs are present at a large number of universities all over the world with an increasing trend. New generations of biomedical engineers have to face the challenges of health care systems round the world which need a large number of professionals not only to support the present technology in the health care system but to develop new devices and services. Health care stakeholders would like to have innovative solutions directed towards solving problems of the world growing incidence of chronic disease and ageing population. These new solutions have to meet the requirements for continuous monitoring, support or care outside clinical settlements. Presence of these needs can be tracked through data from the Labor Organization in the U.S. showing that biomedical engineering jobs have the largest growth at the engineering labor market with expected 72% growth rate in the period from 2008-2018. In European Union the number of patents (i.e. innovation) is the highest in the category of biomedical technology. Biomedical engineering curricula have to adopt to the new needs and for expectations of the future. In this paper we want to give an overview of engineering professions in related to engineering in medicine and biology and the current status of BME education in some regions, as a base for further discussions.

  11. Innovations in Biomedical Engineering 2016

    CERN Document Server

    Tkacz, Ewaryst; Paszenda, Zbigniew; Piętka, Ewa

    2017-01-01

    This book presents the proceedings of the “Innovations in Biomedical Engineering IBE’2016” Conference held on October 16–18, 2016 in Poland, discussing recent research on innovations in biomedical engineering. The past decade has seen the dynamic development of more and more sophisticated technologies, including biotechnologies, and more general technologies applied in the area of life sciences. As such the book covers the broadest possible spectrum of subjects related to biomedical engineering innovations. Divided into four parts, it presents state-of-the-art achievements in: • engineering of biomaterials, • modelling and simulations in biomechanics, • informatics in medicine • signal analysis The book helps bridge the gap between technological and methodological engineering achievements on the one hand and clinical requirements in the three major areas diagnosis, therapy and rehabilitation on the other.

  12. Biomedical Engineering | Classification | College of Engineering & Applied

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engineering Concentration on Ergonomics M.S. Program in Computer Science Interdisciplinary Concentration on Energy Doctoral Programs in Engineering Non-Degree Candidate Departments Biomedical Engineering Biomedical Engineering Industry Advisory Council Civil & Environmental Engineering Civil &

  13. VI Latin American Congress on Biomedical Engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Hadad, Alejandro

    2015-01-01

    This volume presents the proceedings of the CLAIB 2014, held in Paraná, Entre Ríos, Argentina 29, 30 & 31 October 2014. The proceedings, presented by the Regional Council of Biomedical Engineering for Latin America (CORAL) offer research findings, experiences and activities between institutions and universities to develop Bioengineering, Biomedical Engineering and related sciences. The conferences of the American Congress of Biomedical Engineering are sponsored by the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE), Society for Engineering in Biology and Medicine (EMBS) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), among other organizations and international agencies and bringing together scientists, academics and biomedical engineers in Latin America and other continents in an environment conducive to exchange and professional growth. The Topics include: - Bioinformatics and Computational Biology - Bioinstrumentation; Sensors, Micro and Nano Technologies - Biomaterials, Tissu...

  14. John Glenn Biomedical Engineering Consortium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nall, Marsha

    2004-01-01

    The John Glenn Biomedical Engineering Consortium is an inter-institutional research and technology development, beginning with ten projects in FY02 that are aimed at applying GRC expertise in fluid physics and sensor development with local biomedical expertise to mitigate the risks of space flight on the health, safety, and performance of astronauts. It is anticipated that several new technologies will be developed that are applicable to both medical needs in space and on earth.

  15. Biomedical enhancements as justice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nam, Jeesoo

    2015-02-01

    Biomedical enhancements, the applications of medical technology to make better those who are neither ill nor deficient, have made great strides in the past few decades. Using Amartya Sen's capability approach as my framework, I argue in this article that far from being simply permissible, we have a prima facie moral obligation to use these new developments for the end goal of promoting social justice. In terms of both range and magnitude, the use of biomedical enhancements will mark a radical advance in how we compensate the most disadvantaged members of society. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Sex-related online behaviors, perceived peer norms and adolescents' experience with sexual behavior : Testing an integrative model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Doornwaard, Suzan M.; Ter Bogt, Tom F M; Reitz, Ellen; Van Den Eijnden, Regina J J M

    2015-01-01

    Research on the role of sex-related Internet use in adolescents' sexual development has often isolated the Internet and online behaviors from other, offline influencing factors in adolescents' lives, such as processes in the peer domain. The aim of this study was to test an integrative model

  17. Phytofabricated gold nanoparticles and their biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Bashir; Hafeez, Nabia; Bashir, Shumaila; Rauf, Abdur; Mujeeb-Ur-Rehman

    2017-05-01

    In a couple of decades, nanotechnology has become a trending technology owing to its integrated science collection that incorporates variety of fields such as chemistry, physics, medicine, catalytic processes, food processing industries, electronics and energy sectors. One of the emerging fields of nanotechnology that has gained momentous admiration is nano-biotechnology. Nano-biotechnology is an integrated combination of biology with nanotechnology that encompasses the tailoring, and synthesis of small particles that are less than 100nm in size and subsequent exploitation of these particles for their biological applications. Though the variety of physical techniques and chemical procedures are known for the nanoparticles synthesis, biological approach is considered to be the preferred one. Environmental hazards and concerns associated with the physical and chemical approaches of nanoparticles synthesis has added impetus and zenith to the biological approach involving the use of plants and microorganisms. The current review article is focused on the synthesis of plant-derived (phytochemical) gold nanoparticles alongside their scope in biomedical applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  18. Harmonising and linking biomedical and clinical data across disparate data archives to enable integrative cross-biobank research

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    O. Spjuth (Ola); M. Krestyaninova (Maria); J. Hastings (Janna); H.-Y. Shen (Huei-Yi); J. Heikkinen (Jani); M. Waldenberger (Melanie); A. Langhammer (Arnulf); C. Ladenvall (Claes); T. Esko (Tõnu); M.-A. Persson (Mats-Ake); J. Heggland (Jon); J. Dietrich (Joern); S. Ose (Sandra); C. Gieger (Christian); J.S. Ried (Janina); A. Peters; I. Fortier (Isabel); E.J.C. de Geus (Eco); J. Klovins (Janis); L. Zaharenko (Linda); G. Willemsen (Gonneke); J.J. Hottenga (Jouke Jan); J.-E. Litton (Jan-Eric); J. Karvanen (Juha); D.I. Boomsma (Dorret); L. Groop (Leif); J. Rung (Johan); J. Palmgren (Juni); N.L. Pedersen (Nancy L.); M.I. McCarthy (Mark); C.M. van Duijn (Cornelia); K. Hveem (Kristian); A. Metspalu (Andres); S. Ripatti (Samuli); I. Prokopenko (Inga); J.R. Harris (Jennifer)

    2016-01-01

    textabstractA wealth of biospecimen samples are stored in modern globally distributed biobanks. Biomedical researchers worldwide need to be able to combine the available resources to improve the power of large-scale studies. A prerequisite for this effort is to be able to search and access

  19. Behavior Selection of Mobile Robot Based on Integration of Multimodal Information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Bin; Kaneko, Masahide

    Recently, biologically inspired robots have been developed to acquire the capacity for directing visual attention to salient stimulus generated from the audiovisual environment. On purpose to realize this behavior, a general method is to calculate saliency maps to represent how much the external information attracts the robot's visual attention, where the audiovisual information and robot's motion status should be involved. In this paper, we represent a visual attention model where three modalities, that is, audio information, visual information and robot's motor status are considered, while the previous researches have not considered all of them. Firstly, we introduce a 2-D density map, on which the value denotes how much the robot pays attention to each spatial location. Then we model the attention density using a Bayesian network where the robot's motion statuses are involved. Secondly, the information from both of audio and visual modalities is integrated with the attention density map in integrate-fire neurons. The robot can direct its attention to the locations where the integrate-fire neurons are fired. Finally, the visual attention model is applied to make the robot select the visual information from the environment, and react to the content selected. Experimental results show that it is possible for robots to acquire the visual information related to their behaviors by using the attention model considering motion statuses. The robot can select its behaviors to adapt to the dynamic environment as well as to switch to another task according to the recognition results of visual attention.

  20. An integrated brain-behavior model for working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moser, D A; Doucet, G E; Ing, A; Dima, D; Schumann, G; Bilder, R M; Frangou, S

    2017-12-05

    Working memory (WM) is a central construct in cognitive neuroscience because it comprises mechanisms of active information maintenance and cognitive control that underpin most complex cognitive behavior. Individual variation in WM has been associated with multiple behavioral and health features including demographic characteristics, cognitive and physical traits and lifestyle choices. In this context, we used sparse canonical correlation analyses (sCCAs) to determine the covariation between brain imaging metrics of WM-network activation and connectivity and nonimaging measures relating to sensorimotor processing, affective and nonaffective cognition, mental health and personality, physical health and lifestyle choices derived from 823 healthy participants derived from the Human Connectome Project. We conducted sCCAs at two levels: a global level, testing the overall association between the entire imaging and behavioral-health data sets; and a modular level, testing associations between subsets of the two data sets. The behavioral-health and neuroimaging data sets showed significant interdependency. Variables with positive correlation to the neuroimaging variate represented higher physical endurance and fluid intelligence as well as better function in multiple higher-order cognitive domains. Negatively correlated variables represented indicators of suboptimal cardiovascular and metabolic control and lifestyle choices such as alcohol and nicotine use. These results underscore the importance of accounting for behavioral-health factors in neuroimaging studies of WM and provide a neuroscience-informed framework for personalized and public health interventions to promote and maintain the integrity of the WM network.Molecular Psychiatry advance online publication, 5 December 2017; doi:10.1038/mp.2017.247.

  1. Integrated Care Model Developed by the Rwanda Biomedical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    : Integrated Care Model, psychological Interventions, genocide, ... ate a resurgence of memories from the genocide itself. ... interventions to be available throughout the commemo- .... allows easier accessibility with a strong professionally net-.

  2. An information technology emphasis in biomedical informatics education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kane, Michael D; Brewer, Jeffrey L

    2007-02-01

    Unprecedented growth in the interdisciplinary domain of biomedical informatics reflects the recent advancements in genomic sequence availability, high-content biotechnology screening systems, as well as the expectations of computational biology to command a leading role in drug discovery and disease characterization. These forces have moved much of life sciences research almost completely into the computational domain. Importantly, educational training in biomedical informatics has been limited to students enrolled in the life sciences curricula, yet much of the skills needed to succeed in biomedical informatics involve or augment training in information technology curricula. This manuscript describes the methods and rationale for training students enrolled in information technology curricula in the field of biomedical informatics, which augments the existing information technology curriculum and provides training on specific subjects in Biomedical Informatics not emphasized in bioinformatics courses offered in life science programs, and does not require prerequisite courses in the life sciences.

  3. Ethics and integrative medicine: moving beyond the biomedical model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guinn, D E

    2001-01-01

    For the most part, those who have written on the ethics of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and integrative medicine have attempted simply to apply traditional bioethics (in the form of principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice) to this new area of healthcare. In this article I argue that adopting the practices of CAM requires a new ethical understanding that incorporates the values implicit in those practices. The characteristics of CAM and conventional medicine can be translated into the language of healthcare values in a variety of ways. I suggest that they support 5 core values: integrated humanity, ecological integrity, naturalism, relationalism, and spiritualism. Characteristics of both CAM and conventional medicine are present in value. What is now thought of as principlism is, in this understanding, simply a subset within these values.

  4. Consideration for solar system exploration - A system to Mars. [biomedical, environmental, and psychological factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicogossian, Arnauld E.; Garshnek, Victoria

    1989-01-01

    Biomedical issues related to a manned mission to Mars are reviewed. Consideration is given to cardiovascular deconditioning, hematological and immunological changes, bone and muscle changes, nutritional issues, and the development of physiological countermeasures. Environmental issues are discussed, including radiation hazards, toxic chemical exposure, and the cabin environment. Also, human factors, performance and behavior, medical screening of the crew, disease prediction, and health maintenance are examined.

  5. World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering

    CERN Document Server

    2015-01-01

    This book presents the proceedings of the IUPESM World Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics, a tri-annual high-level policy meeting dedicated exclusively to furthering the role of biomedical engineering and medical physics in medicine. The book offers papers about emerging issues related to the development and sustainability of the role and impact of medical physicists and biomedical engineers in medicine and healthcare. It provides a unique and important forum to secure a coordinated, multileveled global response to the need, demand, and importance of creating and supporting strong academic and clinical teams of biomedical engineers and medical physicists for the benefit of human health.

  6. Writing intelligible English prose for biomedical journals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ludbrook, John

    2007-01-01

    1. I present a combination of semi-objective and subjective evidence that the quality of English prose in biomedical scientific writing is deteriorating. 2. I consider seven possible strategies for reversing this apparent trend. These refer to a greater emphasis on good writing by students in schools and by university students, consulting books on science writing, one-on-one mentoring, using 'scientific' measures to reveal lexical poverty, making use of freelance science editors and encouraging the editors of biomedical journals to pay more attention to the problem. 3. I conclude that a fruitful, long-term, strategy would be to encourage more biomedical scientists to embark on a career in science editing. This strategy requires a complementary initiative on the part of biomedical research institutions and universities to employ qualified science editors. 4. An immediately realisable strategy is to encourage postgraduate students in the biomedical sciences to undertake the service courses provided by many universities on writing English prose in general and scientific prose in particular. This strategy would require that heads of departments and supervisors urge their postgraduate students to attend such courses. 5. Two major publishers of biomedical journals, Blackwell Publications and Elsevier Science, now provide lists of commercial editing services on their web sites. I strongly recommend that authors intending to submit manuscripts to their journals (including Blackwell's Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology) make use of these services. This recommendation applies especially to those for whom English is a second language.

  7. Science gateways for biomedical big data analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shahand, S.

    2015-01-01

    Biomedical researchers are facing data deluge challenges such as dealing with large volume of complex heterogeneous data and complex and computationally demanding data processing methods. Such scale and complexity of biomedical research requires multi-disciplinary collaboration between scientists

  8. Designing Clinical Space for the Delivery of Integrated Behavioral Health and Primary Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunn, Rose; Davis, Melinda M; Hall, Jennifer; Heintzman, John; Muench, John; Smeds, Brianna; Miller, Benjamin F; Miller, William L; Gilchrist, Emma; Brown Levey, Shandra; Brown, Jacqueline; Wise Romero, Pam; Cohen, Deborah J

    2015-01-01

    This study sought to describe features of the physical space in which practices integrating primary care and behavioral health care work and to identify the arrangements that enable integration of care. We conducted an observational study of 19 diverse practices located across the United States. Practice-level data included field notes from 2-4-day site visits, transcripts from semistructured interviews with clinicians and clinical staff, online implementation diary posts, and facility photographs. A multidisciplinary team used a 4-stage, systematic approach to analyze data and identify how physical layout enabled the work of integrated care teams. Two dominant spatial layouts emerged across practices: type-1 layouts were characterized by having primary care clinicians (PCCs) and behavioral health clinicians (BHCs) located in separate work areas, and type-2 layouts had BHCs and PCCs sharing work space. We describe these layouts and the influence they have on situational awareness, interprofessional "bumpability," and opportunities for on-the-fly communication. We observed BHCs and PCCs engaging in more face-to-face methods for coordinating integrated care for patients in type 2 layouts (41.5% of observed encounters vs 11.7%; P < .05). We show that practices needed to strike a balance between professional proximity and private work areas to accomplish job tasks. Private workspace was needed for focused work, to see patients, and for consults between clinicians and clinical staff. We describe the ways practices modified and built new space and provide 2 recommended layouts for practices integrating care based on study findings. Physical layout and positioning of professionals' workspace is an important consideration in practices implementing integrated care. Clinicians, researchers, and health-care administrators are encouraged to consider the role of professional proximity and private working space when creating new facilities or redesigning existing space to foster

  9. Sex-Related Online Behaviors, Perceived Peer Norms and Adolescents’ Experience with Sexual Behavior: Testing an Integrative Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doornwaard, Suzan M.; ter Bogt, Tom F. M.; Reitz, Ellen; van den Eijnden, Regina J. J. M.

    2015-01-01

    Research on the role of sex-related Internet use in adolescents’ sexual development has often isolated the Internet and online behaviors from other, offline influencing factors in adolescents’ lives, such as processes in the peer domain. The aim of this study was to test an integrative model explaining how receptive (i.e., use of sexually explicit Internet material [SEIM]) and interactive (i.e., use of social networking sites [SNS]) sex-related online behaviors interrelate with perceived peer norms in predicting adolescents’ experience with sexual behavior. Structural equation modeling on longitudinal data from 1,132 Dutch adolescents (Mage T1 = 13.95; range 11-17; 52.7% boys) demonstrated concurrent, direct, and indirect effects between sex-related online behaviors, perceived peer norms, and experience with sexual behavior. SEIM use (among boys) and SNS use (among boys and girls) predicted increases in adolescents’ perceptions of peer approval of sexual behavior and/or in their estimates of the numbers of sexually active peers. These perceptions, in turn, predicted increases in adolescents’ level of experience with sexual behavior at the end of the study. Boys’ SNS use also directly predicted increased levels of experience with sexual behavior. These findings highlight the need for multisystemic research and intervention development to promote adolescents’ sexual health. PMID:26086606

  10. New frontiers in biomedical science and engineering during 2014-2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Feng; Lee, Dong-Hoon; Lagoa, Ricardo; Kumar, Sandeep

    2015-01-01

    The International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology (ICBEB) is an international meeting held once a year. This, the fourth International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology (ICBEB2015), will be held in Shanghai, China, during August 18th-21st, 2015. This annual conference intends to provide an opportunity for researchers and practitioners at home and abroad to present the most recent frontiers and future challenges in the fields of biomedical science, biomedical engineering, biomaterials, bioinformatics and computational biology, biomedical imaging and signal processing, biomechanical engineering and biotechnology, etc. The papers published in this issue are selected from this Conference, which witness the advances in biomedical engineering and biotechnology during 2014-2015.

  11. Effective use of latent semantic indexing and computational linguistics in biological and biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hongyu; Martin, Bronwen; Daimon, Caitlin M; Maudsley, Stuart

    2013-01-01

    Text mining is rapidly becoming an essential technique for the annotation and analysis of large biological data sets. Biomedical literature currently increases at a rate of several thousand papers per week, making automated information retrieval methods the only feasible method of managing this expanding corpus. With the increasing prevalence of open-access journals and constant growth of publicly-available repositories of biomedical literature, literature mining has become much more effective with respect to the extraction of biomedically-relevant data. In recent years, text mining of popular databases such as MEDLINE has evolved from basic term-searches to more sophisticated natural language processing techniques, indexing and retrieval methods, structural analysis and integration of literature with associated metadata. In this review, we will focus on Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI), a computational linguistics technique increasingly used for a variety of biological purposes. It is noted for its ability to consistently outperform benchmark Boolean text searches and co-occurrence models at information retrieval and its power to extract indirect relationships within a data set. LSI has been used successfully to formulate new hypotheses, generate novel connections from existing data, and validate empirical data.

  12. Social Integration and Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Women: The Role of Lifestyle Behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Shun-Chiao; Glymour, Maria; Cornelis, Marilyn; Walter, Stefan; Rimm, Eric B; Tchetgen Tchetgen, Eric; Kawachi, Ichiro; Kubzansky, Laura D

    2017-06-09

    Higher social integration is associated with lower cardiovascular mortality; however, whether it is associated with incident coronary heart disease (CHD), especially in women, and whether associations differ by case fatality are unclear. This study sought to examine the associations between social integration and risk of incident CHD in a large female prospective cohort. Seventy-six thousand three hundred and sixty-two women in the Nurses' Health Study, free of CHD and stroke at baseline (1992), were followed until 2014. Social integration was assessed by a simplified Berkman-Syme Social Network Index every 4 years. End points included nonfatal myocardial infarction and fatal CHD. Two thousand three hundred and seventy-two incident CHD events occurred throughout follow-up. Adjusting for demographic, health/medical risk factors, and depressive symptoms, being socially integrated was significantly associated with lower CHD risk, particularly fatal CHD. The most socially integrated women had a hazard ratio of 0.55 (95% confidence interval, 0.41-0.73) of developing fatal CHD compared with those least socially integrated ( P for trend social integration and nonfatal myocardial infarction risk were largely explained by health-promoting behaviors, particularly through differences in cigarette smoking; however, the association with fatal CHD risk remained after accounting for these behaviors and, thus, may involve more direct biological mechanisms. Social integration is inversely associated with CHD incidence in women, but is largely explained by lifestyle/behavioral pathways. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

  13. Can Andean medicine coexist with biomedical healthcare? A comparison of two rural communities in Peru and Bolivia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathez-Stiefel, Sarah-Lan; Vandebroek, Ina; Rist, Stephan

    2012-07-24

    It is commonly assumed that indigenous medical systems remain strong in developing countries because biomedicine is physically inaccessible or financially not affordable. This paper compares the health-seeking behavior of households from rural Andean communities at a Peruvian and a Bolivian study site. The main research question was whether the increased presence of biomedicine led to a displacement of Andean indigenous medical practices or to coexistence of the two healing traditions. Open-ended interviews and free listing exercises were conducted between June 2006 and December 2008 with 18 households at each study site. Qualitative identification of households' therapeutic strategies and use of remedies was carried out by means of content analysis of interview transcriptions and inductive interference. Furthermore, a quantitative assessment of the incidence of culture-bound illnesses in local ethnobiological inventories was performed. Our findings indicate that the health-seeking behavior of the Andean households in this study is independent of the degree of availability of biomedical facilities in terms of quality of services provided, physical accessibility, and financial affordability, except for specific practices such as childbirth. Preference for natural remedies over pharmaceuticals coexists with biomedical healthcare that is both accessible and affordable. Furthermore, our results show that greater access to biomedicine does not lead to less prevalence of Andean indigenous medical knowledge, as represented by the levels of knowledge about culture-bound illnesses. The take-home lesson for health policy-makers from this study is that the main obstacle to use of biomedicine in resource-poor rural areas might not be infrastructural or economic alone. Rather, it may lie in lack of sufficient recognition by biomedical practitioners of the value and importance of indigenous medical systems. We propose that the implementation of health care in indigenous

  14. The use of AMS to the biomedical sciences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vogel, J.S.

    1991-04-01

    The Center for Accelerator Mass Spectroscopy (AMS) began making AMS measurements in 1989. Biomedical experiments were originally limited by sample preparation techniques, but we expect the number of biomedical samples to increase five-fold. While many of the detailed techniques for making biomedical measurements resemble those used in other fields, biological tracer experiments differ substantially from the observational approaches of earth science investigators. The role of xenobiotius in initiating mutations in cells is of particular interest. One measure of the damage caused to the genetic material is obtained by counting the number of adducts formed by a chemical agent at a given dose. AMS allows direct measurement of the number of adducts through stoichiometric quantification of the 14 C label attached to the DNA after exposure to a labelled carcinogen. Other isotopes of interest include tritium, 36 Cl, 79 SE, 41 Ca, 26 Al and 129 I. Our experiments with low dose environmental carcinogens reflect the protocols which will become a common part of biomedical AMS. In biomedical experiments, the researcher defines the carbon to be analyzed through dissection and/or chemical purification; thus the sample is ''merely'' combusted and graphitized at the AMS facility. However, since biomedical samples can have a 14 C range of five orders of magnitude, preparation of graphite required construction of a special manifold to prevent cross-contamination. Additionally, a strain of 14 C-depleted C57BL/6 mice is being developed to further reduce background in biomedical experiments. AMS has a bright and diverse future in radioisotope tracing. Such work requires a dedicated amalgamation of AMS scientists and biomedical researchers who will redesign experimental protocols to maximize the AMS technique and minimize the danger of catastrophic contamination. 18 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

  15. A hybrid model based on neural networks for biomedical relation extraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yijia; Lin, Hongfei; Yang, Zhihao; Wang, Jian; Zhang, Shaowu; Sun, Yuanyuan; Yang, Liang

    2018-05-01

    Biomedical relation extraction can automatically extract high-quality biomedical relations from biomedical texts, which is a vital step for the mining of biomedical knowledge hidden in the literature. Recurrent neural networks (RNNs) and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are two major neural network models for biomedical relation extraction. Neural network-based methods for biomedical relation extraction typically focus on the sentence sequence and employ RNNs or CNNs to learn the latent features from sentence sequences separately. However, RNNs and CNNs have their own advantages for biomedical relation extraction. Combining RNNs and CNNs may improve biomedical relation extraction. In this paper, we present a hybrid model for the extraction of biomedical relations that combines RNNs and CNNs. First, the shortest dependency path (SDP) is generated based on the dependency graph of the candidate sentence. To make full use of the SDP, we divide the SDP into a dependency word sequence and a relation sequence. Then, RNNs and CNNs are employed to automatically learn the features from the sentence sequence and the dependency sequences, respectively. Finally, the output features of the RNNs and CNNs are combined to detect and extract biomedical relations. We evaluate our hybrid model using five public (protein-protein interaction) PPI corpora and a (drug-drug interaction) DDI corpus. The experimental results suggest that the advantages of RNNs and CNNs in biomedical relation extraction are complementary. Combining RNNs and CNNs can effectively boost biomedical relation extraction performance. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Hydroxyapatite coatings for biomedical applications

    CERN Document Server

    Zhang, Sam

    2013-01-01

    Hydroxyapatite coatings are of great importance in the biological and biomedical coatings fields, especially in the current era of nanotechnology and bioapplications. With a bonelike structure that promotes osseointegration, hydroxyapatite coating can be applied to otherwise bioinactive implants to make their surface bioactive, thus achieving faster healing and recovery. In addition to applications in orthopedic and dental implants, this coating can also be used in drug delivery. Hydroxyapatite Coatings for Biomedical Applications explores developments in the processing and property characteri

  17. Neuroscience data integration through mediation: An (FBIRN case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naveen Ashish

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available We describe an application of the BIRN mediator to the integration of neuroscience experimental data sources. The BIRN mediator is a general purpose solution to the problem of providing integrated, semantically-consistent access to biomedical data from multiple, distributed, heterogeneous data sources. The system follows the mediation approach, where the data remains at the sources, providers maintain control of the data, and the integration system retrieves data from the sources in real-time in response to client queries. Our aim with this paper is to illustrate how domain-specific data integration applications can be developed quickly and in a principled way by using our general mediation technology. We describe in detail the integration of two leading, but radically different, experimental neuroscience sources, namely, the Human Imaging Database (HID, a relational database, and the eXtensible Neuroimaging Archive Toolkit (XNAT, an XML web services system. We discuss the steps, sources of complexity, effort and time required to build such applications, as well as outline directions of ongoing and future research on biomedical data integration.

  18. Integrated EAP/Managed Behavioral Health Plan Utilization by Persons with Substance Use Disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levy Merrick, Elizabeth S.; Hodgkin, Dominic; Hiatt, Deirdre; Horgan, Constance M.; Greenfield, Shelly F.; McCann, Bernard

    2011-01-01

    New federal parity and health reform legislation, promising increased behavioral health care access and a focus on prevention, has heightened interest in employee assistance programs (EAPs). This study investigated service utilization by persons with a primary substance use disorder (SUD) diagnosis in a managed behavioral healthcare organization's integrated EAP/managed behavioral health care product (N=1,158). In 2004, 25.0% of clients used the EAP first for new treatment episodes. After initial EAP utilization, 44.4% received no additional formal services through the plan and 40.4% received regular outpatient services. Overall, outpatient care, intensive outpatient/day treatment, and inpatient/residential detoxification were most common. About half of clients had co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses. Mental health service utilization was extensive. Findings suggest that for service users with primary SUD diagnoses in an integrated EAP/MBHC product, the EAP benefit plays a key role at the front end of treatment and is often only one component of treatment episodes. PMID:21185684

  19. Social Ecology of Asthma: Engaging Stakeholders in Integrating Health Behavior Theories and Practice-Based Evidence through Systems Mapping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillen, Emily M.; Hassmiller Lich, Kristen; Yeatts, Karin B.; Hernandez, Michelle L.; Smith, Timothy W.; Lewis, Megan A.

    2014-01-01

    This article describes a process for integrating health behavior and social science theories with practice-based insights using participatory systems thinking and diagramming methods largely inspired by system dynamics methods. This integration can help close the gap between research and practice in health education and health behavior by offering…

  20. CDAPubMed: a browser extension to retrieve EHR-based biomedical literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Perez-Rey David

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Over the last few decades, the ever-increasing output of scientific publications has led to new challenges to keep up to date with the literature. In the biomedical area, this growth has introduced new requirements for professionals, e.g., physicians, who have to locate the exact papers that they need for their clinical and research work amongst a huge number of publications. Against this backdrop, novel information retrieval methods are even more necessary. While web search engines are widespread in many areas, facilitating access to all kinds of information, additional tools are required to automatically link information retrieved from these engines to specific biomedical applications. In the case of clinical environments, this also means considering aspects such as patient data security and confidentiality or structured contents, e.g., electronic health records (EHRs. In this scenario, we have developed a new tool to facilitate query building to retrieve scientific literature related to EHRs. Results We have developed CDAPubMed, an open-source web browser extension to integrate EHR features in biomedical literature retrieval approaches. Clinical users can use CDAPubMed to: (i load patient clinical documents, i.e., EHRs based on the Health Level 7-Clinical Document Architecture Standard (HL7-CDA, (ii identify relevant terms for scientific literature search in these documents, i.e., Medical Subject Headings (MeSH, automatically driven by the CDAPubMed configuration, which advanced users can optimize to adapt to each specific situation, and (iii generate and launch literature search queries to a major search engine, i.e., PubMed, to retrieve citations related to the EHR under examination. Conclusions CDAPubMed is a platform-independent tool designed to facilitate literature searching using keywords contained in specific EHRs. CDAPubMed is visually integrated, as an extension of a widespread web browser, within the standard

  1. Signal and image analysis for biomedical and life sciences

    CERN Document Server

    Sun, Changming; Pham, Tuan D; Vallotton, Pascal; Wang, Dadong

    2014-01-01

    With an emphasis on applications of computational models for solving modern challenging problems in biomedical and life sciences, this book aims to bring collections of articles from biologists, medical/biomedical and health science researchers together with computational scientists to focus on problems at the frontier of biomedical and life sciences. The goals of this book are to build interactions of scientists across several disciplines and to help industrial users apply advanced computational techniques for solving practical biomedical and life science problems. This book is for users in t

  2. Usage of cell nomenclature in biomedical literature

    KAUST Repository

    Kafkas, Senay

    2017-12-21

    Background Cell lines and cell types are extensively studied in biomedical research yielding to a significant amount of publications each year. Identifying cell lines and cell types precisely in publications is crucial for science reproducibility and knowledge integration. There are efforts for standardisation of the cell nomenclature based on ontology development to support FAIR principles of the cell knowledge. However, it is important to analyse the usage of cell nomenclature in publications at a large scale for understanding the level of uptake of cell nomenclature in literature by scientists. In this study, we analyse the usage of cell nomenclature, both in Vivo, and in Vitro in biomedical literature by using text mining methods and present our results. Results We identified 59% of the cell type classes in the Cell Ontology and 13% of the cell line classes in the Cell Line Ontology in the literature. Our analysis showed that cell line nomenclature is much more ambiguous compared to the cell type nomenclature. However, trends indicate that standardised nomenclature for cell lines and cell types are being increasingly used in publications by the scientists. Conclusions Our findings provide an insight to understand how experimental cells are described in publications and may allow for an improved standardisation of cell type and cell line nomenclature as well as can be utilised to develop efficient text mining applications on cell types and cell lines. All data generated in this study is available at https://github.com/shenay/CellNomenclatureStudy.

  3. The importance of Zebrafish in biomedical research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tavares, Bárbara; Santos Lopes, Susana

    2013-01-01

    Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is an ideal model organism for the study of vertebrate development. This is due to the large clutches that each couple produces, with up to 200 embryos every 7 days, and to the fact that the embryos and larvae are small, transparent and undergo rapid external development. Using scientific literature research tools available online and the keywords Zebrafish, biomedical research, human disease, and drug screening, we reviewed original studies and reviews indexed in PubMed. In this review we summarized work conducted with this model for the advancement of our knowledge related to several human diseases. We also focused on the biomedical research being performed in Portugal with the zebrafish model. Powerful live imaging and genetic tools are currently available for zebrafish making it a valuable model in biomedical research. The combination of these properties with the optimization of automated systems for drug screening has transformed the zebrafish into "a top model" in biomedical research, drug discovery and toxicity testing. Furthermore, with the optimization of xenografts technology it will be possible to use zebrafish to aide in the choice of the best therapy for each patient. Zebrafish is an excellent model organism in biomedical research, drug development and in clinical therapy.

  4. [Biomedical research in Revista de Biologia Tropical].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutiérrez, José María

    2002-01-01

    The contributions published in Revista de Biología Tropical in the area of Biomedical Sciences are reviewed in terms of number of contributions and scope of research subjects. Biomedical Sciences, particularly Parasitology and Microbiology, constituted the predominant subject in the Revista during the first decade, reflecting the intense research environment at the School of Microbiology of the University of Costa Rica and at Hospital San Juan de Dios. The relative weight of Biomedicine in the following decades diminished, due to the outstanding increment in publications in Biological Sciences; however, the absolute number of contributions in Biomedical Sciences remained constant throughout the last decades, with around 80 contributions per decade. In spite of the predominance of Parasitology as the main biomedical subject, the last decades have witnessed the emergence of new areas of interest in the Revista, such as Pharmacology of natural products, Toxinology, especially related to snake venoms, and Human Genetics. This retrospective analysis evidences that Biomedical Sciences, particularly those related to Tropical Medicine, were a fundamental component during the first years of Revista de Biología Tropical, and have maintained a significant presence in the scientific output of this journal, the most relevant scientific publication in biological sciences in Central America.

  5. Biomedical Imaging Principles and Applications

    CERN Document Server

    Salzer, Reiner

    2012-01-01

    This book presents and describes imaging technologies that can be used to study chemical processes and structural interactions in dynamic systems, principally in biomedical systems. The imaging technologies, largely biomedical imaging technologies such as MRT, Fluorescence mapping, raman mapping, nanoESCA, and CARS microscopy, have been selected according to their application range and to the chemical information content of their data. These technologies allow for the analysis and evaluation of delicate biological samples, which must not be disturbed during the profess. Ultimately, this may me

  6. Camera systems in human motion analysis for biomedical applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chin, Lim Chee; Basah, Shafriza Nisha; Yaacob, Sazali; Juan, Yeap Ewe; Kadir, Aida Khairunnisaa Ab.

    2015-05-01

    Human Motion Analysis (HMA) system has been one of the major interests among researchers in the field of computer vision, artificial intelligence and biomedical engineering and sciences. This is due to its wide and promising biomedical applications, namely, bio-instrumentation for human computer interfacing and surveillance system for monitoring human behaviour as well as analysis of biomedical signal and image processing for diagnosis and rehabilitation applications. This paper provides an extensive review of the camera system of HMA, its taxonomy, including camera types, camera calibration and camera configuration. The review focused on evaluating the camera system consideration of the HMA system specifically for biomedical applications. This review is important as it provides guidelines and recommendation for researchers and practitioners in selecting a camera system of the HMA system for biomedical applications.

  7. Integrating Informational, Social, and Behavioral Exchanges Between Humans, Urban Centers, and the Internet

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-06-01

    behaviors were solely enacted within the physical bounds of an urban center- mall , outdoor shopping plaza, or downtown, to name a few. The Internet has...Homans, G. 1974. Social Behavior , revised ed. New York: Harcourt-Brace. Langford, Gary O. 2012. Engineering Systems Integration: Theory , Metrics, and...merging of city theory ( plans , goals, aggregate functions) with physical design (Levy 2013). City planning takes into consideration the needs, benefits

  8. A new educational program on biomedical engineering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Alste, Jan A.

    2000-01-01

    At the University of Twente together with the Free University of Amsterdam a new educational program on Biomedical Engineering will be developed. The academic program with a five-year duration will start in September 2001. After a general, broad education in Biomedical Engineering in the first three

  9. Practical radiation shielding for biomedical research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klein, R.C.; Reginatto, M.; Party, E.; Gershey, E.L.

    1990-01-01

    This paper reports on calculations which exist for estimating shielding required for radioactivity; however, they are often not applicable for the radionuclides and activities common in biomedical research. A variety of commercially available Lucite shields are being marketed to the biomedical community. Their advertisements may lead laboratory workers to expect better radiation protection than these shields can provide or to assume erroneously that very weak beta emitters require extensive shielding. The authors have conducted a series of shielding experiments designed to simulate exposures from the amounts of 32 P, 51 Cr and 125 I typically used in biomedical laboratories. For most routine work, ≥0.64 cm of Lucite covered with various thicknesses of lead will reduce whole-body occupational exposure rates of < 1mR/hr at the point of contact

  10. Biomedical Big Data Training Collaborative (BBDTC): An effort to bridge the talent gap in biomedical science and research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purawat, Shweta; Cowart, Charles; Amaro, Rommie E; Altintas, Ilkay

    2016-06-01

    The BBDTC (https://biobigdata.ucsd.edu) is a community-oriented platform to encourage high-quality knowledge dissemination with the aim of growing a well-informed biomedical big data community through collaborative efforts on training and education. The BBDTC collaborative is an e-learning platform that supports the biomedical community to access, develop and deploy open training materials. The BBDTC supports Big Data skill training for biomedical scientists at all levels, and from varied backgrounds. The natural hierarchy of courses allows them to be broken into and handled as modules . Modules can be reused in the context of multiple courses and reshuffled, producing a new and different, dynamic course called a playlist . Users may create playlists to suit their learning requirements and share it with individual users or the wider public. BBDTC leverages the maturity and design of the HUBzero content-management platform for delivering educational content. To facilitate the migration of existing content, the BBDTC supports importing and exporting course material from the edX platform. Migration tools will be extended in the future to support other platforms. Hands-on training software packages, i.e., toolboxes , are supported through Amazon EC2 and Virtualbox virtualization technologies, and they are available as: ( i ) downloadable lightweight Virtualbox Images providing a standardized software tool environment with software packages and test data on their personal machines, and ( ii ) remotely accessible Amazon EC2 Virtual Machines for accessing biomedical big data tools and scalable big data experiments. At the moment, the BBDTC site contains three open Biomedical big data training courses with lecture contents, videos and hands-on training utilizing VM toolboxes, covering diverse topics. The courses have enhanced the hands-on learning environment by providing structured content that users can use at their own pace. A four course biomedical big data series is

  11. Biomedical engineering: A platform for research and innovation in ultrasound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holland, Christy K.

    2004-05-01

    An undergraduate or graduate degree in biomedical engineering prepares students to solve problems at the interface between engineering and medicine. Biomedical engineering encompasses evolving areas such as advanced medical imaging for diagnosis and treatment of disease, tissue engineering for designing and manufacturing biological implants for damaged or diseased tissues and organs, and bioinformatics for determining which genes play a major role in health and disease. Biomedical engineering academic programs produce graduates with the ability to pursue successful careers in the biomedical device industry or to obtain advanced degrees leading to careers in biomedical engineering research, medicine, law or business. Biomedical engineering majors take courses in biology, anatomy, physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and medical product design and value life-long learning. Students learn to work effectively in interdisciplinary teams comprised of individuals with diverse social, cultural and technical backgrounds. Biomedical engineering is becoming increasingly important in imaging and image-guided research. Some examples of innovative ultrasound technology under development are ultrasound devices to accelerate the dissolution of blood clots, advanced surgical instruments with ultrasound guidance and ultrasound contrast agents for targeted drug delivery. Biomedical engineering is a great career choice for technically minded individuals who endeavor to work on applied problems that are medically relevant.

  12. Blockchain distributed ledger technologies for biomedical and health care applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuo, Tsung-Ting; Kim, Hyeon-Eui; Ohno-Machado, Lucila

    2017-11-01

    To introduce blockchain technologies, including their benefits, pitfalls, and the latest applications, to the biomedical and health care domains. Biomedical and health care informatics researchers who would like to learn about blockchain technologies and their applications in the biomedical/health care domains. The covered topics include: (1) introduction to the famous Bitcoin crypto-currency and the underlying blockchain technology; (2) features of blockchain; (3) review of alternative blockchain technologies; (4) emerging nonfinancial distributed ledger technologies and applications; (5) benefits of blockchain for biomedical/health care applications when compared to traditional distributed databases; (6) overview of the latest biomedical/health care applications of blockchain technologies; and (7) discussion of the potential challenges and proposed solutions of adopting blockchain technologies in biomedical/health care domains. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association.

  13. Advances in biomedical engineering and biotechnology during 2013-2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Feng; Wang, Ying; Burkhart, Timothy A; González Penedo, Manuel Francisco; Ma, Shaodong

    2014-01-01

    The 3rd International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology (iCBEB 2014), held in Beijing from the 25th to the 28th of September 2014, is an annual conference that intends to provide an opportunity for researchers and practitioners around the world to present the most recent advances and future challenges in the fields of biomedical engineering, biomaterials, bioinformatics and computational biology, biomedical imaging and signal processing, biomechanical engineering and biotechnology, amongst others. The papers published in this issue are selected from this conference, which witnesses the advances in biomedical engineering and biotechnology during 2013-2014.

  14. A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Versus Individual Addiction Counseling for Co-occurring Substance Use and Posttraumatic Stress Disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGovern, Mark P; Lambert-Harris, Chantal; Alterman, Arthur I; Xie, Haiyi; Meier, Andrea

    2011-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: Co-occurring posttraumatic stress (PTSD) and substance use disorders provide clinical challenges to addiction treatment providers. Interventions are needed that are effective, well-tolerated by patients, and capable of being delivered by typical clinicians in community settings. This is a randomized controlled trial of integrated cognitive behavioral therapy for co-occurring PTSD and substance use disorders. METHODS: Fifty-three participants sampled from seven community addiction treatment programs were randomized to integrated cognitive behavioral therapy plus standard care or individual addiction counseling plus standard care. Fourteen community therapists employed by these programs delivered both manual-guided therapies. Primary outcomes were PTSD symptoms, substance use symptoms and therapy retention. Participants were assessed at baseline, 3- and 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: Integrated cognitive behavioral therapy was more effective than individual addiction counseling in reducing PTSD re-experiencing symptoms and PTSD diagnosis. Individual addiction counseling was comparably effective to integrated cognitive behavioral therapy in substance use outcomes and on other measures of psychiatric symptom severity. Participants assigned to individual addiction counseling with severe PTSD were less likely to initiate and engage in the therapy than those assigned to integrated cognitive behavioral therapy. In general, participants with severe PTSD were more likely to benefit from integrated cognitive behavioral therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the promise of efficacy of integrated cognitive behavioral therapy in improving outcomes for persons in addiction treatment with PTSD. Community counselors delivered both interventions with satisfactory adherence and competence. Despite several limitations to this research, a larger randomized controlled trial of integrated cognitive behavioral therapy appears warranted.

  15. Biomedical applications of magnetic particles

    CERN Document Server

    Mefford, Thompson

    2018-01-01

    Magnetic particles are increasingly being used in a wide variety of biomedical applications. Written by a team of internationally respected experts, this book provides an up-to-date authoritative reference for scientists and engineers. The first section presents the fundamentals of the field by explaining the theory of magnetism, describing techniques to synthesize magnetic particles, and detailing methods to characterize magnetic particles. The second section describes biomedical applications, including chemical sensors and cellular actuators, and diagnostic applications such as drug delivery, hyperthermia cancer treatment, and magnetic resonance imaging contrast.

  16. Determinants of Consumers’ Pro-Environmental Behavior – Toward an Integrated Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Octav-Ionuţ Macovei

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims at constructing a model which will explain consumers’ pro-environmental behavior by analyzing its direct and indirect predictors. To achieve this, variables from wellestablished models and theories were employed, such as Schwartz’s Norm Activation Theory (NAT, Stern’s Value-belief-norms Theory (VBN and Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB. Important variables like perceived behavioral control, normative beliefs, awareness of the consequences of environmental problems, Compatibility with a pro-environmental behaviour, attitude towards a proenvironmental behavior and intention to behave in a pro-environmental manner are considered to be determinants of consumers’ pro-environmental behavior. All these variables were discussed and assembled in an integrated research model which can be validated through a quantitative survey. Each variable was described at a conceptual and operational level, items and scales being proposed for each one The proposed model will offer to organizations a valuable green marketing tool which can be used in the fight for environment protection. The proposed model is unique can be used as a solid based for future research.

  17. Development of an information retrieval tool for biomedical patents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alves, Tiago; Rodrigues, Rúben; Costa, Hugo; Rocha, Miguel

    2018-06-01

    The volume of biomedical literature has been increasing in the last years. Patent documents have also followed this trend, being important sources of biomedical knowledge, technical details and curated data, which are put together along the granting process. The field of Biomedical text mining (BioTM) has been creating solutions for the problems posed by the unstructured nature of natural language, which makes the search of information a challenging task. Several BioTM techniques can be applied to patents. From those, Information Retrieval (IR) includes processes where relevant data are obtained from collections of documents. In this work, the main goal was to build a patent pipeline addressing IR tasks over patent repositories to make these documents amenable to BioTM tasks. The pipeline was developed within @Note2, an open-source computational framework for BioTM, adding a number of modules to the core libraries, including patent metadata and full text retrieval, PDF to text conversion and optical character recognition. Also, user interfaces were developed for the main operations materialized in a new @Note2 plug-in. The integration of these tools in @Note2 opens opportunities to run BioTM tools over patent texts, including tasks from Information Extraction, such as Named Entity Recognition or Relation Extraction. We demonstrated the pipeline's main functions with a case study, using an available benchmark dataset from BioCreative challenges. Also, we show the use of the plug-in with a user query related to the production of vanillin. This work makes available all the relevant content from patents to the scientific community, decreasing drastically the time required for this task, and provides graphical interfaces to ease the use of these tools. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Magnetic microfluidic platform for biomedical applications using magnetic nanoparticles

    KAUST Repository

    Stipsitz, Martin

    2015-05-01

    Microfluidic platforms are well-suited for biomedical analysis and usually consist of a set of units which guarantee the manipulation, detection and recognition of bioanalyte in a reliable and flexible manner. Additionally, the use of magnetic fields for perfoming the aforementioned tasks has been steadily gainining interest. This is due to the fact that magnetic fields can be well tuned and applied either externally or from a directly integrated solution in the diagnostic system. In combination with these applied magnetic fields, magnetic nanoparticles are used. In this paper, we present some of our most recent results in research towards a) microfluidic diagnostics using MR sensors and magnetic particles and b) single cell analysis using magnetic particles. We have successfully manipulated magnetically labeled bacteria and measured their response with integrated GMR sensors and we have also managed to separate magnetically labeled jurkat cells for single cell analysis. © 2015 Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.

  19. Magnetic microfluidic platform for biomedical applications using magnetic nanoparticles

    KAUST Repository

    Stipsitz, Martin; Kokkinis, Georgios; Gooneratne, Chinthaka Pasan; Kosel, Jü rgen; Cardoso, Susana; Cardoso, Filipe; Giouroudi, Ioanna

    2015-01-01

    Microfluidic platforms are well-suited for biomedical analysis and usually consist of a set of units which guarantee the manipulation, detection and recognition of bioanalyte in a reliable and flexible manner. Additionally, the use of magnetic fields for perfoming the aforementioned tasks has been steadily gainining interest. This is due to the fact that magnetic fields can be well tuned and applied either externally or from a directly integrated solution in the diagnostic system. In combination with these applied magnetic fields, magnetic nanoparticles are used. In this paper, we present some of our most recent results in research towards a) microfluidic diagnostics using MR sensors and magnetic particles and b) single cell analysis using magnetic particles. We have successfully manipulated magnetically labeled bacteria and measured their response with integrated GMR sensors and we have also managed to separate magnetically labeled jurkat cells for single cell analysis. © 2015 Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.

  20. Biomedical Optical Imaging Technologies Design and Applications

    CERN Document Server

    2013-01-01

    This book provides an introduction to design of biomedical optical imaging technologies and their applications. The main topics include: fluorescence imaging, confocal imaging, micro-endoscope, polarization imaging, hyperspectral imaging, OCT imaging, multimodal imaging and spectroscopic systems. Each chapter is written by the world leaders of the respective fields, and will cover: principles and limitations of optical imaging technology, system design and practical implementation for one or two specific applications, including design guidelines, system configuration, optical design, component requirements and selection, system optimization and design examples, recent advances and applications in biomedical researches and clinical imaging. This book serves as a reference for students and researchers in optics and biomedical engineering.

  1. Bio-Inspired Extreme Wetting Surfaces for Biomedical Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Sera; Seo, Jungmok; Han, Heetak; Kang, Subin; Kim, Hyunchul; Lee, Taeyoon

    2016-01-01

    Biological creatures with unique surface wettability have long served as a source of inspiration for scientists and engineers. More specifically, materials exhibiting extreme wetting properties, such as superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic surfaces, have attracted considerable attention because of their potential use in various applications, such as self-cleaning fabrics, anti-fog windows, anti-corrosive coatings, drag-reduction systems, and efficient water transportation. In particular, the engineering of surface wettability by manipulating chemical properties and structure opens emerging biomedical applications ranging from high-throughput cell culture platforms to biomedical devices. This review describes design and fabrication methods for artificial extreme wetting surfaces. Next, we introduce some of the newer and emerging biomedical applications using extreme wetting surfaces. Current challenges and future prospects of the surfaces for potential biomedical applications are also addressed. PMID:28787916

  2. Research enrichment: evaluation of structured research in the curriculum for dental medicine students as part of the vertical and horizontal integration of biomedical training and discovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kingsley, Karl; O'Malley, Susan; Stewart, Tanis; Howard, Katherine M

    2008-02-19

    Research programs within medical and dental schools are important vehicles for biomedical and clinical discovery, serving as effective teaching and learning tools by providing situations in which predoctoral students develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Although research programs at many medical and dental schools are well-established, they may not be well integrated into the predoctoral curriculum to effectively support the learning objectives for their students. A series of structured seminars, incorporating faculty research, was designed for first-year dental students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Dental Medicine to reinforce and support the concepts and skills taught in concurrent courses. A structured research enrichment period was also created to facilitate student engagement in active research using faculty and student curricular release time. Course evaluations and surveys were administered to gauge student perceptions of the curricular integration of research, the impact of these seminars on recruitment to the research program, and overall levels of student satisfaction with research enrichment. The analysis of course surveys revealed that students perceived the research-containing seminars effectively illustrated concepts, were logically sequenced, and were well-integrated into their curriculum. In addition, analysis of surveys revealed that the Integration Seminar courses motivated students to engage in research enrichment. Finally, this analysis provided evidence that students were very satisfied with their overall learning experience during research enrichment. Curricular integration is one method of improving the teaching and learning of complicated and inter-related concepts, providing an opportunity to incorporate research training and objectives into traditionally separate didactic courses. Despite the benefits of curricular integration, finding the most appropriate points of integration, obtaining release time

  3. Amotivation in schizophrenia: integrated assessment with behavioral, clinical, and imaging measures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf, Daniel H; Satterthwaite, Theodore D; Kantrowitz, Jacob J; Katchmar, Natalie; Vandekar, Lillie; Elliott, Mark A; Ruparel, Kosha

    2014-11-01

    Motivational deficits play a central role in disability caused by schizophrenia and constitute a major unmet therapeutic need. Negative symptoms have previously been linked to hypofunction in ventral striatum (VS), a core component of brain motivation circuitry. However, it remains unclear to what extent this relationship holds for specific negative symptoms such as amotivation, and this question has not been addressed with integrated behavioral, clinical, and imaging measures. Here, 41 individuals with schizophrenia and 37 controls performed a brief, computerized progressive ratio task (PRT) that quantifies effort exerted in pursuit of monetary reward. Clinical amotivation was assessed using the recently validated Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS). VS function was probed during functional magnetic resonance imaging using a monetary guessing paradigm. We found that individuals with schizophrenia had diminished motivation as measured by the PRT, which significantly and selectively related to clinical amotivation as measured by the CAINS. Critically, lower PRT motivation in schizophrenia was also dimensionally related to VS hypofunction. Our results demonstrate robust dimensional associations between behavioral amotivation, clinical amotivation, and VS hypofunction in schizophrenia. Integrating behavioral measures such as the PRT will facilitate translational efforts to identify biomarkers of amotivation and to assess response to novel therapeutic interventions. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. Biomedical Data Mining

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Peek, N.; Combi, C.; Tucker, A.

    2009-01-01

    Objective: To introduce the special topic of Methods of Information in Medicine on data mining in biomedicine, with selected papers from two workshops on Intelligent Data Analysis in bioMedicine (IDAMAP) held in Verona (2006) and Amsterdam (2007). Methods: Defining the field of biomedical data

  5. The Tsimane Health and Life History Project: Integrating anthropology and biomedicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurven, Michael; Stieglitz, Jonathan; Trumble, Benjamin; Blackwell, Aaron D; Beheim, Bret; Davis, Helen; Hooper, Paul; Kaplan, Hillard

    2017-04-01

    The Tsimane Health and Life History Project, an integrated bio-behavioral study of the human life course, is designed to test competing hypotheses of human life-history evolution. One aim is to understand the bidirectional connections between life history and social behavior in a high-fertility, kin-based context lacking amenities of modern urban life (e.g. sanitation, banks, electricity). Another aim is to understand how a high pathogen burden influences health and well-being during development and adulthood. A third aim addresses how modernization shapes human life histories and sociality. Here we outline the project's goals, history, and main findings since its inception in 2002. We reflect on the implications of current findings and highlight the need for more coordinated ethnographic and biomedical study of contemporary nonindustrial populations to address broad questions that can situate evolutionary anthropology in a key position within the social and life sciences. © 2017 The Authors Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Superhydrophobic Materials for Biomedical Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colson, Yolonda L.; Grinstaff, Mark W.

    2016-01-01

    Superhydrophobic surfaces are actively studied across a wide range of applications and industries, and are now finding increased use in the biomedical arena as substrates to control protein adsorption, cellular interaction, and bacterial growth, as well as platforms for drug delivery devices and for diagnostic tools. The commonality in the design of these materials is to create a stable or metastable air state at the material surface, which lends itself to a number of unique properties. These activities are catalyzing the development of new materials, applications, and fabrication techniques, as well as collaborations across material science, chemistry, engineering, and medicine given the interdisciplinary nature of this work. The review begins with a discussion of superhydrophobicity, and then explores biomedical applications that are utilizing superhydrophobicity in depth including material selection characteristics, in vitro performance, and in vivo performance. General trends are offered for each application in addition to discussion of conflicting data in the literature, and the review concludes with the authors’ future perspectives on the utility of superhydrophobic surfaces for biomedical applications. PMID:27449946

  7. Cross-border integration in the European electricity market. Evidence from the pricing behavior of Norwegian and Swiss exporters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balaguer, Jacint

    2011-01-01

    This paper examines the electricity market integration process in two European areas based on the pricing behavior of Norwegian and Swiss exporters. The aim is to gain evidence for the period after the adoption of the 'Second Legislative Package' (2003). The pricing behavior of Norwegian exporters indicates that the wholesale markets for Denmark and Sweden are highly integrated. Moreover, results are fully compatible with the existence of a very competitive marketplace for electricity. This clearly contrasts with the evidence provided by Swiss exporters. In this last case, analysis revealed differences in pricing-to-market behavior between Italy, France and Germany, which indicates that exporters take advantage of international market segmentation and divergences between market structures. This outcome provides a reasonable explanation as to why price differences between countries cannot be fully attributed to transmission costs, as has been claimed in previous research. We also found cross-country convergence in levels of markups and in pricing-to-market behavior of the Swiss exporters for the first part of the period that was analyzed. The evidence is fully consistent with an initial impulse toward market integration originated by reforms implemented at the beginning of the last decade. - Highlights: → We exploit a model based on pricing-to-market behavior. → Price discrimination by Swiss exporters is found. → Nordic electricity markets are found to be already highly integrated. → Market integration was recently improved in continental area. → Results are consistent with reforms under the 'Second Legislative Package'.

  8. Cross-border integration in the European electricity market. Evidence from the pricing behavior of Norwegian and Swiss exporters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Balaguer, Jacint, E-mail: jacint.balaguer@eco.uji.es [Department of Economics, Universitat Jaume I, 12071 Castellon (Spain)

    2011-09-15

    This paper examines the electricity market integration process in two European areas based on the pricing behavior of Norwegian and Swiss exporters. The aim is to gain evidence for the period after the adoption of the 'Second Legislative Package' (2003). The pricing behavior of Norwegian exporters indicates that the wholesale markets for Denmark and Sweden are highly integrated. Moreover, results are fully compatible with the existence of a very competitive marketplace for electricity. This clearly contrasts with the evidence provided by Swiss exporters. In this last case, analysis revealed differences in pricing-to-market behavior between Italy, France and Germany, which indicates that exporters take advantage of international market segmentation and divergences between market structures. This outcome provides a reasonable explanation as to why price differences between countries cannot be fully attributed to transmission costs, as has been claimed in previous research. We also found cross-country convergence in levels of markups and in pricing-to-market behavior of the Swiss exporters for the first part of the period that was analyzed. The evidence is fully consistent with an initial impulse toward market integration originated by reforms implemented at the beginning of the last decade. - Highlights: > We exploit a model based on pricing-to-market behavior. > Price discrimination by Swiss exporters is found. > Nordic electricity markets are found to be already highly integrated. > Market integration was recently improved in continental area. > Results are consistent with reforms under the 'Second Legislative Package'.

  9. Semiconducting silicon nanowires for biomedical applications

    CERN Document Server

    Coffer, JL

    2014-01-01

    Biomedical applications have benefited greatly from the increasing interest and research into semiconducting silicon nanowires. Semiconducting Silicon Nanowires for Biomedical Applications reviews the fabrication, properties, and applications of this emerging material. The book begins by reviewing the basics, as well as the growth, characterization, biocompatibility, and surface modification, of semiconducting silicon nanowires. It goes on to focus on silicon nanowires for tissue engineering and delivery applications, including cellular binding and internalization, orthopedic tissue scaffol

  10. Advanced computational approaches to biomedical engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Saha, Punam K; Basu, Subhadip

    2014-01-01

    There has been rapid growth in biomedical engineering in recent decades, given advancements in medical imaging and physiological modelling and sensing systems, coupled with immense growth in computational and network technology, analytic approaches, visualization and virtual-reality, man-machine interaction and automation. Biomedical engineering involves applying engineering principles to the medical and biological sciences and it comprises several topics including biomedicine, medical imaging, physiological modelling and sensing, instrumentation, real-time systems, automation and control, sig

  11. Biomedical sensor design using analog compressed sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balouchestani, Mohammadreza; Krishnan, Sridhar

    2015-05-01

    The main drawback of current healthcare systems is the location-specific nature of the system due to the use of fixed/wired biomedical sensors. Since biomedical sensors are usually driven by a battery, power consumption is the most important factor determining the life of a biomedical sensor. They are also restricted by size, cost, and transmission capacity. Therefore, it is important to reduce the load of sampling by merging the sampling and compression steps to reduce the storage usage, transmission times, and power consumption in order to expand the current healthcare systems to Wireless Healthcare Systems (WHSs). In this work, we present an implementation of a low-power biomedical sensor using analog Compressed Sensing (CS) framework for sparse biomedical signals that addresses both the energy and telemetry bandwidth constraints of wearable and wireless Body-Area Networks (BANs). This architecture enables continuous data acquisition and compression of biomedical signals that are suitable for a variety of diagnostic and treatment purposes. At the transmitter side, an analog-CS framework is applied at the sensing step before Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) in order to generate the compressed version of the input analog bio-signal. At the receiver side, a reconstruction algorithm based on Restricted Isometry Property (RIP) condition is applied in order to reconstruct the original bio-signals form the compressed bio-signals with high probability and enough accuracy. We examine the proposed algorithm with healthy and neuropathy surface Electromyography (sEMG) signals. The proposed algorithm achieves a good level for Average Recognition Rate (ARR) at 93% and reconstruction accuracy at 98.9%. In addition, The proposed architecture reduces total computation time from 32 to 11.5 seconds at sampling-rate=29 % of Nyquist rate, Percentage Residual Difference (PRD)=26 %, Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE)=3 %.

  12. Biomedical Image Registration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on Biomedical Image Registration, WBIR 2018, held in Leiden, The Netherlands, in June 2018. The 11 full and poster papers included in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 17 submitted papers. The pap...

  13. Stimuli-responsive magnetic particles for biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medeiros, S F; Santos, A M; Fessi, H; Elaissari, A

    2011-01-17

    In recent years, magnetic nanoparticles have been studied due to their potential applications as magnetic carriers in biomedical area. These materials have been increasingly exploited as efficient delivery vectors, leading to opportunities of use as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) agents, mediators of hyperthermia cancer treatment and in targeted therapies. Much attention has been also focused on "smart" polymers, which are able to respond to environmental changes, such as changes in the temperature and pH. In this context, this article reviews the state-of-the art in stimuli-responsive magnetic systems for biomedical applications. The paper describes different types of stimuli-sensitive systems, mainly temperature- and pH sensitive polymers, the combination of this characteristic with magnetic properties and, finally, it gives an account of their preparation methods. The article also discusses the main in vivo biomedical applications of such materials. A survey of the recent literature on various stimuli-responsive magnetic gels in biomedical applications is also included. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. [Biomedical waste management in five hospitals in Dakar, Senegal].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ndiaye, M; El Metghari, L; Soumah, M M; Sow, M L

    2012-10-01

    Biomedical waste is currently a real health and environmental concern. In this regard, a study was conducted in 5 hospitals in Dakar to review their management of biomedical waste and to formulate recommendations. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted from 1 April to 31 July 2010 in five major hospitals of Dakar. A questionnaire administered to hospital managers, heads of departments, residents and heads of hospital hygiene departments as well as interviews conducted with healthcare personnel and operators of waste incinerators made it possible to assess mechanisms and knowledge on biomedical waste management. Content analysis of interviews, observations and a data sheet allowed processing the data thus gathered. Of the 150 questionnaires distributed, 98 responses were obtained representing a response rate of 65.3%. An interview was conducted with 75 employees directly involved in the management of biomedical waste and observations were made on biomedical waste management in 86 hospital services. Sharps as well as blood and liquid waste were found in all services except in pharmacies, pharmaceutical waste in 66 services, infectious waste in 49 services and anatomical waste in 11 services. Sorting of biomedical waste was ill-adapted in 53.5% (N = 46) of services and the use of the colour-coding system effective in 31.4% (N = 27) of services. Containers for the safe disposal of sharps were available in 82.5% (N = 71) of services and were effectively utilized in 51.1% (N = 44) of these services. In most services, an illadapted packaging was observed with the use of plastic bottles and bins for waste collection and overfilled containers. With the exception of Hôpital Principal, the main storage area was in open air, unsecured, with biomedical waste littered on the floor and often mixed with waste similar to household refuse. The transfer of biomedical waste to the main storage area was done using trolleys or carts in 67.4% (N = 58) of services and

  15. Translational Bioinformatics and Clinical Research (Biomedical) Informatics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sirintrapun, S Joseph; Zehir, Ahmet; Syed, Aijazuddin; Gao, JianJiong; Schultz, Nikolaus; Cheng, Donavan T

    2015-06-01

    Translational bioinformatics and clinical research (biomedical) informatics are the primary domains related to informatics activities that support translational research. Translational bioinformatics focuses on computational techniques in genetics, molecular biology, and systems biology. Clinical research (biomedical) informatics involves the use of informatics in discovery and management of new knowledge relating to health and disease. This article details 3 projects that are hybrid applications of translational bioinformatics and clinical research (biomedical) informatics: The Cancer Genome Atlas, the cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics, and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center clinical variants and results database, all designed to facilitate insights into cancer biology and clinical/therapeutic correlations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Discrete-Time Biomedical Signal Encryption

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victor Grigoraş

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Chaotic modulation is a strong method of improving communication security. Analog and discrete chaotic systems are presented in actual literature. Due to the expansion of digital communication, discrete-time systems become more efficient and closer to actual technology. The present contribution offers an in-depth analysis of the effects chaos encryption produce on 1D and 2D biomedical signals. The performed simulations show that modulating signals are precisely recovered by the synchronizing receiver if discrete systems are digitally implemented and the coefficients precisely correspond. Channel noise is also applied and its effects on biomedical signal demodulation are highlighted.

  17. Development of Biomedical Polymer-Silicate Nanocomposites: A Materials Science Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chia-Jung Wu

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Biomedical polymer-silicate nanocomposites have potential to become critically important to the development of biomedical applications, ranging from diagnostic and therapeutic devices, tissue regeneration and drug delivery matrixes to various bio-technologies that are inspired by biology but have only indirect biomedical relation. The fundamental understanding of polymer-nanoparticle interactions is absolutely necessary to control structure-property relationships of materials that need to work within the chemical, physical and biological constraints required by an application. This review summarizes the most recent published strategies to design and develop polymer-silicate nanocomposites (including clay based silicate nanoparticles and bioactive glass nanoparticles for a variety of biomedical applications. Emerging trends in bio-technological and biomedical nanocomposites are highlighted and potential new fields of applications are examined.

  18. Statistics and Biomedical Informatics in Forensic Sciences

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Zvárová, Jana

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 20, č. 6 (2009), s. 743-750 ISSN 1180-4009. [TIES 2007. Annual Meeting of the International Environmental Society /18./. Mikulov, 16.08.2007-20.08.2007] Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : biomedical informatics * biomedical statistics * genetic information * forensic dentistry Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research Impact factor: 1.000, year: 2009

  19. Religiously Integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A New Method of Treatment for Major Depression in Patients With Chronic Medical Illness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearce, Michelle J.; Koenig, Harold G.; Robins, Clive J.; Nelson, Bruce; Shaw, Sally F.; Cohen, Harvey J.; King, Michael B.

    2015-01-01

    Intervention studies have found that psychotherapeutic interventions that explicitly integrate clients’ spiritual and religious beliefs in therapy are as effective, if not more so, in reducing depression than those that do not for religious clients. However, few empirical studies have examined the effectiveness of religiously (vs. spiritually) integrated psychotherapy, and no manualized mental health intervention had been developed for the medically ill with religious beliefs. To address this gap, we developed and implemented a novel religiously integrated adaptation of cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) for the treatment of depression in individuals with chronic medical illness. This article describes the development and implementation of the intervention. First, we provide a brief overview of CBT. Next, we describe how religious beliefs and behaviors can be integrated into a CBT framework. Finally, we describe Religiously Integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (RCBT), a manualized therapeutic approach designed to assist depressed individuals to develop depression-reducing thoughts and behaviors informed by their own religious beliefs, practices, and resources. This treatment approach has been developed for 5 major world religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism), increasing its potential to aid the depressed medically ill from a variety of religious backgrounds. PMID:25365155

  20. Figure text extraction in biomedical literature.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daehyun Kim

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Figures are ubiquitous in biomedical full-text articles, and they represent important biomedical knowledge. However, the sheer volume of biomedical publications has made it necessary to develop computational approaches for accessing figures. Therefore, we are developing the Biomedical Figure Search engine (http://figuresearch.askHERMES.org to allow bioscientists to access figures efficiently. Since text frequently appears in figures, automatically extracting such text may assist the task of mining information from figures. Little research, however, has been conducted exploring text extraction from biomedical figures.We first evaluated an off-the-shelf Optical Character Recognition (OCR tool on its ability to extract text from figures appearing in biomedical full-text articles. We then developed a Figure Text Extraction Tool (FigTExT to improve the performance of the OCR tool for figure text extraction through the use of three innovative components: image preprocessing, character recognition, and text correction. We first developed image preprocessing to enhance image quality and to improve text localization. Then we adapted the off-the-shelf OCR tool on the improved text localization for character recognition. Finally, we developed and evaluated a novel text correction framework by taking advantage of figure-specific lexicons.The evaluation on 382 figures (9,643 figure texts in total randomly selected from PubMed Central full-text articles shows that FigTExT performed with 84% precision, 98% recall, and 90% F1-score for text localization and with 62.5% precision, 51.0% recall and 56.2% F1-score for figure text extraction. When limiting figure texts to those judged by domain experts to be important content, FigTExT performed with 87.3% precision, 68.8% recall, and 77% F1-score. FigTExT significantly improved the performance of the off-the-shelf OCR tool we used, which on its own performed with 36.6% precision, 19.3% recall, and 25.3% F1-score for

  1. An optimal big data workflow for biomedical image analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aurelle Tchagna Kouanou

    Full Text Available Background and objective: In the medical field, data volume is increasingly growing, and traditional methods cannot manage it efficiently. In biomedical computation, the continuous challenges are: management, analysis, and storage of the biomedical data. Nowadays, big data technology plays a significant role in the management, organization, and analysis of data, using machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques. It also allows a quick access to data using the NoSQL database. Thus, big data technologies include new frameworks to process medical data in a manner similar to biomedical images. It becomes very important to develop methods and/or architectures based on big data technologies, for a complete processing of biomedical image data. Method: This paper describes big data analytics for biomedical images, shows examples reported in the literature, briefly discusses new methods used in processing, and offers conclusions. We argue for adapting and extending related work methods in the field of big data software, using Hadoop and Spark frameworks. These provide an optimal and efficient architecture for biomedical image analysis. This paper thus gives a broad overview of big data analytics to automate biomedical image diagnosis. A workflow with optimal methods and algorithm for each step is proposed. Results: Two architectures for image classification are suggested. We use the Hadoop framework to design the first, and the Spark framework for the second. The proposed Spark architecture allows us to develop appropriate and efficient methods to leverage a large number of images for classification, which can be customized with respect to each other. Conclusions: The proposed architectures are more complete, easier, and are adaptable in all of the steps from conception. The obtained Spark architecture is the most complete, because it facilitates the implementation of algorithms with its embedded libraries. Keywords: Biomedical images, Big

  2. International Symposium on Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics

    CERN Document Server

    Katashev, Alexei; Lancere, Linda

    2013-01-01

    This volume presents the proceedings of the International Symposium on Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics and is dedicated to the 150 anniversary of the Riga Technical University, Latvia. The content includes various hot topics in biomedical engineering and medical physics.

  3. Integrated Behavior Therapy for Selective Mutism: a randomized controlled pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergman, R Lindsey; Gonzalez, Araceli; Piacentini, John; Keller, Melody L

    2013-10-01

    To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a novel behavioral intervention for reducing symptoms of selective mutism and increasing functional speech. A total of 21 children ages 4 to 8 with primary selective mutism were randomized to 24 weeks of Integrated Behavior Therapy for Selective Mutism (IBTSM) or a 12-week Waitlist control. Clinical outcomes were assessed using blind independent evaluators, parent-, and teacher-report, and an objective behavioral measure. Treatment recipients completed a three-month follow-up to assess durability of treatment gains. Data indicated increased functional speaking behavior post-treatment as rated by parents and teachers, with a high rate of treatment responders as rated by blind independent evaluators (75%). Conversely, children in the Waitlist comparison group did not experience significant improvements in speaking behaviors. Children who received IBTSM also demonstrated significant improvements in number of words spoken at school compared to baseline, however, significant group differences did not emerge. Treatment recipients also experienced significant reductions in social anxiety per parent, but not teacher, report. Clinical gains were maintained over 3 month follow-up. IBTSM appears to be a promising new intervention that is efficacious in increasing functional speaking behaviors, feasible, and acceptable to parents and teachers. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Conference on medical physics and biomedical engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-01-01

    Due to the rapid technological development in the world today, the role of physics in modern medicine is of great importance. The frequent use of equipment that produces ionizing radiation further increases the need for radiation protection, complicated equipment requires technical support, the diagnostic and therapeutic methods impose the highest professionals in the field of medical physics. Thus, medical physics and biomedical engineering have become an inseparable part of everyday medical practice. There are a certain number of highly qualified and dedicated professionals in medical physics in Macedonia who committed themselves to work towards resolving medical physics issues. In 2000 they established the first and still only professional Association for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering (AMPBE) in Macedonia; a one competent to cope with problems in the fields of medicine, which applies methods of physics and biomedical engineering to medical procedures in order to develop tools essential to the physicians that will ultimately lead to improve the quality of medical practice in general. The First National Conference on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering was organized by the AMPBE in 2007. The idea was to gather all the professionals working in medical physics and biomedical engineering in one place in order to present their work and increase the collaboration among them. Other involved professions such as medical doctors, radiation technologists, engineers and professors of physics at the University also took part and contributed to the success of the conference. As a result, the Proceedings were published in Macedonian, with summaries in English. In order to further promote the medical physics amongst the scientific community in Macedonia, our society decided to organize The Second Conference on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering in November 2010. Unlike the first, this one was with international participation. This was very suitable

  5. Design, Microfabrication and Characterization of a Power Delivery System for new Biomedical Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CARUSO Massimo

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the design, microfabrication and characterization of a wireless power delivery system capable of driving a surface acoustic wave sensor (SAW for biomedical applications. The system consists of two planar, spiral-square microcoils, which have been geometrically optimized in order to maximize the quality factor Q. The integration of the SAW - microcoil system into artificial implant sites will allow a real-time biofilm growth monitoring and treatment, providing countless advantages to the related medical applications.

  6. Advances in electronic-nose technologies developed for biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Alphus D; Baietto, Manuela

    2011-01-01

    The research and development of new electronic-nose applications in the biomedical field has accelerated at a phenomenal rate over the past 25 years. Many innovative e-nose technologies have provided solutions and applications to a wide variety of complex biomedical and healthcare problems. The purposes of this review are to present a comprehensive analysis of past and recent biomedical research findings and developments of electronic-nose sensor technologies, and to identify current and future potential e-nose applications that will continue to advance the effectiveness and efficiency of biomedical treatments and healthcare services for many years. An abundance of electronic-nose applications has been developed for a variety of healthcare sectors including diagnostics, immunology, pathology, patient recovery, pharmacology, physical therapy, physiology, preventative medicine, remote healthcare, and wound and graft healing. Specific biomedical e-nose applications range from uses in biochemical testing, blood-compatibility evaluations, disease diagnoses, and drug delivery to monitoring of metabolic levels, organ dysfunctions, and patient conditions through telemedicine. This paper summarizes the major electronic-nose technologies developed for healthcare and biomedical applications since the late 1980s when electronic aroma detection technologies were first recognized to be potentially useful in providing effective solutions to problems in the healthcare industry.

  7. Advances in Electronic-Nose Technologies Developed for Biomedical Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alphus D. Wilson

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The research and development of new electronic-nose applications in the biomedical field has accelerated at a phenomenal rate over the past 25 years. Many innovative e-nose technologies have provided solutions and applications to a wide variety of complex biomedical and healthcare problems. The purposes of this review are to present a comprehensive analysis of past and recent biomedical research findings and developments of electronic-nose sensor technologies, and to identify current and future potential e-nose applications that will continue to advance the effectiveness and efficiency of biomedical treatments and healthcare services for many years. An abundance of electronic-nose applications has been developed for a variety of healthcare sectors including diagnostics, immunology, pathology, patient recovery, pharmacology, physical therapy, physiology, preventative medicine, remote healthcare, and wound and graft healing. Specific biomedical e-nose applications range from uses in biochemical testing, blood-compatibility evaluations, disease diagnoses, and drug delivery to monitoring of metabolic levels, organ dysfunctions, and patient conditions through telemedicine. This paper summarizes the major electronic-nose technologies developed for healthcare and biomedical applications since the late 1980s when electronic aroma detection technologies were first recognized to be potentially useful in providing effective solutions to problems in the healthcare industry.

  8. Biomedical sensor technologies on the platform of mobile phones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Lin; Liu, Jing

    2011-06-01

    Biomedical sensors have been widely used in various areas of biomedical practices, which play an important role in disease detection, diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, health management, and so on. However, most of them and their related platforms are generally not easily accessible or just too expensive or complicated to be kept at home. As an alternative, new technologies enabled from the mobile phones are gradually changing such situations. As can be freely available to almost everyone, mobile phone offers a unique way to improve the conventional medical care through combining with various biomedical sensors. Moreover, the established systems will be both convenient and low cost. In this paper, we present an overview on the state-of-art biomedical sensors, giving a brief introduction of the fundamental principles and showing several new examples or concepts in the area. The focus was particularly put on interpreting the technical strategies to innovate the biomedical sensor technologies based on the platform of mobile phones. Some challenging issues, including feasibility, usability, security, and effectiveness, were discussed. With the help of electrical and mechanical technologies, it is expected that a full combination between the biomedical sensors and mobile phones will bring a bright future for the coming pervasive medical care.

  9. [Scientometric and publication malpractices. The appearance of globalization in biomedical publishing].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fazekas, T; Varró, V

    2001-09-16

    Attention is drawn to publication and scientometric malpractices utilized by biomedical authors who do not adhere to the accepted ethical norms. The difference between duplicate/redundant and bilingual publications is defined. In the course of discussion of the manipulations that may be observed in the field of scientometry, it is pointed out that abstract of congress lectures/posters can not be taken into consideration for scientometric purposes even if such abstracts are published in journals with impact factors. A further behavioral form is likewise regarded as unacceptable from the aspect of publication ethics: when a physician who has participated in a multicentre, randomized clinical trial receives recognition (in an appendix or in an acknowledgement of an article) as having contributed data, but assesses this appreciation as co-authorship and thereby attempts to augment the value of his or her publication activity. The effects of globalization on biomedical publication activity are considered, and evidence is provided that the rapidly spreading electronic publication for a give rise to new types of ethical dilemmas. It is recommended that, in the current age of Anglo-American globalization, greater emphasis should be placed on the development of medical publication in the mother tongue (Hungarian).

  10. An Integrative, Cognitive-Behavioral, Systemic Approach to Working with Students Diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shillingford, Margaret Ann; Lambie, Glenn W.; Walter, Sara Meghan

    2007-01-01

    Attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent diagnostic disorder for many students, which correlates with negative academic, social, and personal consequences. This article presents an integrative, cognitive-behavioral, systemic approach that offers behaviorally based interventions for professional school counselors to support…

  11. Total Quality Management and Organizational Behavior Management: An Integration for Continual Improvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mawhinney, Thomas C.

    1992-01-01

    The history and main features of organizational behavior management (OBM) are compared and integrated with those of total quality management (TQM), with emphasis on W.E. Deming's 14 points and OBM's operant-based approach to performance management. Interventions combining OBM, TQM, and statistical process control are recommended. (DB)

  12. Design of Biomedical Robots for Phenotype Prediction Problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    deAndrés-Galiana, Enrique J; Fernández-Martínez, Juan Luis; Sonis, Stephen T

    2016-08-01

    Genomics has been used with varying degrees of success in the context of drug discovery and in defining mechanisms of action for diseases like cancer and neurodegenerative and rare diseases in the quest for orphan drugs. To improve its utility, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness optimization of analytical methods, especially those that translate to clinically relevant outcomes, is critical. Here we define a novel tool for genomic analysis termed a biomedical robot in order to improve phenotype prediction, identifying disease pathogenesis and significantly defining therapeutic targets. Biomedical robot analytics differ from historical methods in that they are based on melding feature selection methods and ensemble learning techniques. The biomedical robot mathematically exploits the structure of the uncertainty space of any classification problem conceived as an ill-posed optimization problem. Given a classifier, there exist different equivalent small-scale genetic signatures that provide similar predictive accuracies. We perform the sensitivity analysis to noise of the biomedical robot concept using synthetic microarrays perturbed by different kinds of noises in expression and class assignment. Finally, we show the application of this concept to the analysis of different diseases, inferring the pathways and the correlation networks. The final aim of a biomedical robot is to improve knowledge discovery and provide decision systems to optimize diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. This analysis shows that the biomedical robots are robust against different kinds of noises and particularly to a wrong class assignment of the samples. Assessing the uncertainty that is inherent to any phenotype prediction problem is the right way to address this kind of problem.

  13. BEST: Next-Generation Biomedical Entity Search Tool for Knowledge Discovery from Biomedical Literature.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sunwon Lee

    Full Text Available As the volume of publications rapidly increases, searching for relevant information from the literature becomes more challenging. To complement standard search engines such as PubMed, it is desirable to have an advanced search tool that directly returns relevant biomedical entities such as targets, drugs, and mutations rather than a long list of articles. Some existing tools submit a query to PubMed and process retrieved abstracts to extract information at query time, resulting in a slow response time and limited coverage of only a fraction of the PubMed corpus. Other tools preprocess the PubMed corpus to speed up the response time; however, they are not constantly updated, and thus produce outdated results. Further, most existing tools cannot process sophisticated queries such as searches for mutations that co-occur with query terms in the literature. To address these problems, we introduce BEST, a biomedical entity search tool. BEST returns, as a result, a list of 10 different types of biomedical entities including genes, diseases, drugs, targets, transcription factors, miRNAs, and mutations that are relevant to a user's query. To the best of our knowledge, BEST is the only system that processes free text queries and returns up-to-date results in real time including mutation information in the results. BEST is freely accessible at http://best.korea.ac.kr.

  14. Optical Polarizationin Biomedical Applications

    CERN Document Server

    Tuchin, Valery V; Zimnyakov, Dmitry A

    2006-01-01

    Optical Polarization in Biomedical Applications introduces key developments in optical polarization methods for quantitative studies of tissues, while presenting the theory of polarization transfer in a random medium as a basis for the quantitative description of polarized light interaction with tissues. This theory uses the modified transfer equation for Stokes parameters and predicts the polarization structure of multiple scattered optical fields. The backscattering polarization matrices (Jones matrix and Mueller matrix) important for noninvasive medical diagnostic are introduced. The text also describes a number of diagnostic techniques such as CW polarization imaging and spectroscopy, polarization microscopy and cytometry. As a new tool for medical diagnosis, optical coherent polarization tomography is analyzed. The monograph also covers a range of biomedical applications, among them cataract and glaucoma diagnostics, glucose sensing, and the detection of bacteria.

  15. Radiation protection in medical and biomedical research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fuente Puch, A.E. de la

    2013-01-01

    The human exposure to ionizing radiation in the context of medical and biomedical research raises specific ethical challenges whose resolution approaches should be based on scientific, legal and procedural matters. Joint Resolution MINSAP CITMA-Regulation 'Basic Standards of Radiation Safety' of 30 November 2001 (hereafter NBS) provides for the first time in Cuba legislation specifically designed to protect patients and healthy people who participate in research programs medical and biomedical and exposed to radiation. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the need to develop specific requirements for radiation protection in medical and biomedical research, as well as to identify all the institutions involved in this in order to establish the necessary cooperation to ensure the protection of persons participating in the investigation

  16. Complex Behavior in an Integrate-and-Fire Neuron Model Based on Small World Networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin Min; Chen Tianlun

    2005-01-01

    Based on our previously pulse-coupled integrate-and-fire neuron model in small world networks, we investigate the complex behavior of electroencephalographic (EEG)-like activities produced by such a model. We find EEG-like activities have obvious chaotic characteristics. We also analyze the complex behaviors of EEG-like signals, such as spectral analysis, reconstruction of the phase space, the correlation dimension, and so on.

  17. Biomedical applications of nanodiamond (Review)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turcheniuk, K.; Mochalin, Vadym N.

    2017-06-01

    The interest in nanodiamond applications in biology and medicine is on the rise over recent years. This is due to the unique combination of properties that nanodiamond provides. Small size (∼5 nm), low cost, scalable production, negligible toxicity, chemical inertness of diamond core and rich chemistry of nanodiamond surface, as well as bright and robust fluorescence resistant to photobleaching are the distinct parameters that render nanodiamond superior to any other nanomaterial when it comes to biomedical applications. The most exciting recent results have been related to the use of nanodiamonds for drug delivery and diagnostics—two components of a quickly growing area of biomedical research dubbed theranostics. However, nanodiamond offers much more in addition: it can be used to produce biodegradable bone surgery devices, tissue engineering scaffolds, kill drug resistant microbes, help us to fight viruses, and deliver genetic material into cell nucleus. All these exciting opportunities require an in-depth understanding of nanodiamond. This review covers the recent progress as well as general trends in biomedical applications of nanodiamond, and underlines the importance of purification, characterization, and rational modification of this nanomaterial when designing nanodiamond based theranostic platforms.

  18. BiOSS: A system for biomedical ontology selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Romero, Marcos; Vázquez-Naya, José M; Pereira, Javier; Pazos, Alejandro

    2014-04-01

    In biomedical informatics, ontologies are considered a key technology for annotating, retrieving and sharing the huge volume of publicly available data. Due to the increasing amount, complexity and variety of existing biomedical ontologies, choosing the ones to be used in a semantic annotation problem or to design a specific application is a difficult task. As a consequence, the design of approaches and tools addressed to facilitate the selection of biomedical ontologies is becoming a priority. In this paper we present BiOSS, a novel system for the selection of biomedical ontologies. BiOSS evaluates the adequacy of an ontology to a given domain according to three different criteria: (1) the extent to which the ontology covers the domain; (2) the semantic richness of the ontology in the domain; (3) the popularity of the ontology in the biomedical community. BiOSS has been applied to 5 representative problems of ontology selection. It also has been compared to existing methods and tools. Results are promising and show the usefulness of BiOSS to solve real-world ontology selection problems. BiOSS is openly available both as a web tool and a web service. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Can Andean medicine coexist with biomedical healthcare? A comparison of two rural communities in Peru and Bolivia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mathez-Stiefel Sarah-Lan

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background It is commonly assumed that indigenous medical systems remain strong in developing countries because biomedicine is physically inaccessible or financially not affordable. This paper compares the health-seeking behavior of households from rural Andean communities at a Peruvian and a Bolivian study site. The main research question was whether the increased presence of biomedicine led to a displacement of Andean indigenous medical practices or to coexistence of the two healing traditions. Methodology Open-ended interviews and free listing exercises were conducted between June 2006 and December 2008 with 18 households at each study site. Qualitative identification of households’ therapeutic strategies and use of remedies was carried out by means of content analysis of interview transcriptions and inductive interference. Furthermore, a quantitative assessment of the incidence of culture-bound illnesses in local ethnobiological inventories was performed. Results Our findings indicate that the health-seeking behavior of the Andean households in this study is independent of the degree of availability of biomedical facilities in terms of quality of services provided, physical accessibility, and financial affordability, except for specific practices such as childbirth. Preference for natural remedies over pharmaceuticals coexists with biomedical healthcare that is both accessible and affordable. Furthermore, our results show that greater access to biomedicine does not lead to less prevalence of Andean indigenous medical knowledge, as represented by the levels of knowledge about culture-bound illnesses. Conclusions The take-home lesson for health policy-makers from this study is that the main obstacle to use of biomedicine in resource-poor rural areas might not be infrastructural or economic alone. Rather, it may lie in lack of sufficient recognition by biomedical practitioners of the value and importance of indigenous medical systems

  20. Building the biomedical data science workforce.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunn, Michelle C; Bourne, Philip E

    2017-07-01

    This article describes efforts at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 2013 to 2016 to train a national workforce in biomedical data science. We provide an analysis of the Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) training program strengths and weaknesses with an eye toward future directions aimed at any funder and potential funding recipient worldwide. The focus is on extramurally funded programs that have a national or international impact rather than the training of NIH staff, which was addressed by the NIH's internal Data Science Workforce Development Center. From its inception, the major goal of BD2K was to narrow the gap between needed and existing biomedical data science skills. As biomedical research increasingly relies on computational, mathematical, and statistical thinking, supporting the training and education of the workforce of tomorrow requires new emphases on analytical skills. From 2013 to 2016, BD2K jump-started training in this area for all levels, from graduate students to senior researchers.

  1. Building the biomedical data science workforce.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle C Dunn

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This article describes efforts at the National Institutes of Health (NIH from 2013 to 2016 to train a national workforce in biomedical data science. We provide an analysis of the Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K training program strengths and weaknesses with an eye toward future directions aimed at any funder and potential funding recipient worldwide. The focus is on extramurally funded programs that have a national or international impact rather than the training of NIH staff, which was addressed by the NIH's internal Data Science Workforce Development Center. From its inception, the major goal of BD2K was to narrow the gap between needed and existing biomedical data science skills. As biomedical research increasingly relies on computational, mathematical, and statistical thinking, supporting the training and education of the workforce of tomorrow requires new emphases on analytical skills. From 2013 to 2016, BD2K jump-started training in this area for all levels, from graduate students to senior researchers.

  2. 5th International Conference on Biomedical Engineering in Vietnam

    CERN Document Server

    Phuong, Tran

    2015-01-01

    This volume presents the proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on the Development of Biomedical Engineering in Vietnam which was held from June 16-18, 2014 in Ho Chi Minh City. The volume reflects the progress of Biomedical Engineering and discusses problems and solutions. I aims identifying new challenges, and shaping future directions for research in biomedical engineering fields including medical instrumentation, bioinformatics, biomechanics, medical imaging, drug delivery therapy, regenerative medicine and entrepreneurship in medical devices.

  3. Selection of Quantum Dot Wavelengths for Biomedical Assays and Imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yong Taik Lim

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Fluorescent semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots [QDs] are hypothesized to be excellent contrast agents for biomedical assays and imaging. A unique property of QDs is that their absorbance increases with increasing separation between excitation and emission wavelengths. Much of the enthusiasm for using QDs in vivo stems from this property, since photon yield should be proportional to the integral of the broadband absorption. In this study, we demonstrate that tissue scatter and absorbance can sometimes offset increasing QD absorption at bluer wavelengths, and counteract this potential advantage. By using a previously validated mathematical model, we explored the effects of tissue absorbance, tissue scatter, wavelength dependence of the scatter, water-to- hemoglobin ratio, and tissue thickness on QD performance. We conclude that when embedded in biological fluids and tissues, QD excitation wavelengths will often be quite constrained, and that excitation and emission wavelengths should be selected carefully based on the particular application. Based on our results, we produced near-infrared QDs optimized for imaging surface vasculature with white light excitation and a silicon CCD camera, and used them to image the coronary vasculature in vivo. Taken together, our data should prove useful in designing fluorescent QD contrast agents optimized for specific biomedical applications.

  4. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Neuroscience: Towards Closer Integration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nataša Jokić-Begić

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this review article is to provide an integrative perspective by combining basic assumptions of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT with neuroscience research results. In recent years, interdisciplinary research in the field of neuroscience has expanded our knowledge about neurobiological correlates of mental processes and changes occurring in the brain due to therapeutic interventions. The studies are largely based on non-invasive brain imaging techniques, such as functional neuroimaging technologies of positron emission tomography (PET and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI. The neuroscientific investigations of basic CBT hypotheses have shown that (i functional and non-functional behavior and experiences may be learned through lifelong learning, due to brain neuroplasticity that continues across the entire lifespan; (ii cognitive activity contributes to dysfunctional behavior and emotional experience through focusing, selective perception, memory and recall, and characteristic cognitive distortion; on a neurobiological level, there is a relationship between top-down and bottom-up regulation of unpleasant emotional states; and (iii cognitive activity may be changed, as shown by therapeutic success achieved by metacognitive and mindfulness techniques, which also have their neurobiological correlates in the changes occurring in the cortical and subcortical structures and endocrine and immune systems. The empirical research also shows that neurobiological changes occur after CBT in patients with arachnophobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social phobia, major depressive disorder and chronic fatigue syndrome.disorder and chronic fatigue syndrome.

  5. Implementation of Treatment Integrity Procedures An Analysis of Outcome Studies of Youth Interventions Targeting Externalizing Behavioral Problems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Goense, Pauline; Boendermaker, Leonieke; van Yperen, Tom; Stams, Geert-Jan; van Laar, Jose

    2014-01-01

    This systematic review evaluates the implementation of treatment integrity procedures in outcome studies of youth interventions targeting behavioral problems. The Implementation of Treatment Integrity Procedures Scale (ITIPS), developed by Perepletchikova, Treat, and Kazdin (2007), was adapted

  6. Integrating cross-scale analysis in the spatial and temporal domains for classification of behavioral movement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Soleymani

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Since various behavioral movement patterns are likely to be valid within different, unique ranges of spatial and temporal scales (e.g., instantaneous, diurnal, or seasonal with the corresponding spatial extents, a cross-scale approach is needed for accurate classification of behaviors expressed in movement. Here, we introduce a methodology for the characterization and classification of behavioral movement data that relies on computing and analyzing movement features jointly in both the spatial and temporal domains. The proposed methodology consists of three stages. In the first stage, focusing on the spatial domain, the underlying movement space is partitioned into several zonings that correspond to different spatial scales, and features related to movement are computed for each partitioning level. In the second stage, concentrating on the temporal domain, several movement parameters are computed from trajectories across a series of temporal windows of increasing sizes, yielding another set of input features for the classification. For both the spatial and the temporal domains, the ``reliable scale'' is determined by an automated procedure. This is the scale at which the best classification accuracy is achieved, using only spatial or temporal input features, respectively. The third stage takes the measures from the spatial and temporal domains of movement, computed at the corresponding reliable scales, as input features for behavioral classification. With a feature selection procedure, the most relevant features contributing to known behavioral states are extracted and used to learn a classification model. The potential of the proposed approach is demonstrated on a dataset of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio swimming movements in testing tanks, following exposure to different drug treatments. Our results show that behavioral classification accuracy greatly increases when firstly cross-scale analysis is used to determine the best analysis scale, and

  7. The AIBS In Yugoslavia: Programs in Biomedical Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Mary-Frances

    1978-01-01

    Programs in biomedical engineering have been developing worldwide since World War II. This article describes a multidisciplinary program which operates in Yugoslavia through a cooperative effort between that county and the AIBS. A major problem has been the slowness with which hospitals accept the concept of biomedical engineering. (MA)

  8. Europium enabled luminescent nanoparticles for biomedical applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Syamchand, S.S., E-mail: syamchand.ss@gmail.com; Sony, G., E-mail: emailtosony@gmail.com

    2015-09-15

    Lanthanide based nanoparticles are receiving great attention ought to their excellent luminescent and magnetic properties and find challenging biomedical applications. Among the luminescent lanthanide NPs, europium based NPs (Eu-NPs) are better candidates for immunoassay and imaging applications. The Eu-NPs have an edge over quantum dots (QDs) by means of their stable luminescence, long fluorescence lifetime, sharp emission peaks with narrow band width, lack of blinking and biocompatibility. This review surveys the synthesis and properties of a variety of Eu-NPs consolidated from different research articles, for their applications in medicine and biology. The exquisite luminescent properties of Eu-NPs are explored for developing biomedical applications such as immunoassay and bioimaging including multimodal imaging. The biomedical applications of Eu-NPs are mostly diagnostic in nature and mainly focus on various key analytes present in biological systems. The luminescent properties of europium enabled NPs are influenced by a number of factors such as the site symmetry, the metal nanoparticles, metal ions, quantum dots, surfactants, morphology of Eu-NPs, crystal defect, phenomena like antenna effect and physical parameters like temperature. Through this review we explore and assimilate all the factors which affect the luminescence in Eu-NPs and coil a new thread of parameters that control the luminescence in Eu-NPs, which would provide further insight in developing Eu-based nanoprobes for future biomedical prospects. - Highlights: • The review describes 14 major factors that influence the luminescence properties of europium enabled luminescent nanoparticles (Eu-NPs). • Surveys different types of europium containing nanoparticles that have been reported for their biomedical applications. • Eu-NPs are conveniently divided into four different categories, based on the type of the substrates involved. The four categories are (1) virgin Eu-substrate based NPs; (2

  9. Europium enabled luminescent nanoparticles for biomedical applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Syamchand, S.S.; Sony, G.

    2015-01-01

    Lanthanide based nanoparticles are receiving great attention ought to their excellent luminescent and magnetic properties and find challenging biomedical applications. Among the luminescent lanthanide NPs, europium based NPs (Eu-NPs) are better candidates for immunoassay and imaging applications. The Eu-NPs have an edge over quantum dots (QDs) by means of their stable luminescence, long fluorescence lifetime, sharp emission peaks with narrow band width, lack of blinking and biocompatibility. This review surveys the synthesis and properties of a variety of Eu-NPs consolidated from different research articles, for their applications in medicine and biology. The exquisite luminescent properties of Eu-NPs are explored for developing biomedical applications such as immunoassay and bioimaging including multimodal imaging. The biomedical applications of Eu-NPs are mostly diagnostic in nature and mainly focus on various key analytes present in biological systems. The luminescent properties of europium enabled NPs are influenced by a number of factors such as the site symmetry, the metal nanoparticles, metal ions, quantum dots, surfactants, morphology of Eu-NPs, crystal defect, phenomena like antenna effect and physical parameters like temperature. Through this review we explore and assimilate all the factors which affect the luminescence in Eu-NPs and coil a new thread of parameters that control the luminescence in Eu-NPs, which would provide further insight in developing Eu-based nanoprobes for future biomedical prospects. - Highlights: • The review describes 14 major factors that influence the luminescence properties of europium enabled luminescent nanoparticles (Eu-NPs). • Surveys different types of europium containing nanoparticles that have been reported for their biomedical applications. • Eu-NPs are conveniently divided into four different categories, based on the type of the substrates involved. The four categories are (1) virgin Eu-substrate based NPs; (2

  10. Important skills for biomedical services: The perspectives of Malaysian employers and employees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buntat, Yahya; Saud, Muhammad Sukri; Mokhtar, Mahani; Kamin, Yusri; Feh, Lim Set

    2016-10-17

    Increase in the occurrence of existing diseases, continual emergence of new or exotic diseases and re-emergence of old diseases have placed increasing demands on biomedical services in Malaysia. Biomedical technicians play an important role in operating biomedical instruments. However, there are no clear specifications about characteristics and traits for these semi-professional employees. Employers in a few studies claimed that biomedical graduates are not ready to enter and face challenges in the job market. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify technical and generic skills for a biomedical technician from the perspectives of the biomedical technicians and their employers. A quantitative survey design was employed whereby data were obtained through the administration of an instrument developed by the researchers. The sample consisted of 20 hospital managers and 186 biomedical technicians who are currently working in Malaysian government hospitals. The findings show that there are no difference in the perceptions of hospital managers and biomedical technicians regarding technical and non-technical skills. These findings resulted in a checklist which can be used for institutions to produce future biomedical technician graduates in order to meet job demands. However, future research is needed to validate the findings and explore the variables in depth.

  11. Micro/Nanostructured Films and Adhesives for Biomedical Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jungkyu K; Kang, Sung Min; Yang, Sung Ho; Cho, Woo Kyung

    2015-12-01

    The advanced technologies available for micro/nanofabrication have opened new avenues for interdisciplinary approaches to solve the unmet medical needs of regenerative medicine and biomedical devices. This review highlights the recent developments in micro/nanostructured adhesives and films for biomedical applications, including waterproof seals for wounds or surgery sites, drug delivery, sensing human body signals, and optical imaging of human tissues. We describe in detail the fabrication processes required to prepare the adhesives and films, such as tape-based adhesives, nanofilms, and flexible and stretchable film-based electronic devices. We also discuss their biomedical functions, performance in vitro and in vivo, and the future research needed to improve the current systems.

  12. Proceedings of the international society for optical engineering biomedical image processing 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bovik, A.G.; Howard, V.

    1991-01-01

    This book contains the proceedings of biomedical image processing. Topics covered include: Filtering and reconstruction of biomedical images; analysis, classification and recognition of biomedical images; and 3-D microscopy

  13. A Study of the Information Literacy of Biomedical Graduate Students: Based on the Thesis Topic Discovery Process in Molecular Biology Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jhao-Yen Huang

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The biomedical information environment is in a state of constant and rapid change due to the increase in research data and rapid technological advances. In Taiwan, few research has investigated the information literacy of biomedical graduate students. This exploratory study examined the information literacy abilities and training of biomedical graduate students in Taiwan. Semi-structured interviews based on the Association of College and Research Libraries Information Literacy Competency Standards for Science and Engineering/Technology were conducted with 20 molecular biological graduate students. The interview inquired about their information-seeking channels and information literacy education. The findings show that the biomedical graduate students developed a workable thesis topic with their advisors. Through various information-seeking channels and retrieval strategies, they obtained and critically evaluated information to address different information needs for their thesis research. Through seminars, annual conferences and papers, the interviewees were informed of current developments in their field. Subsequently, through written or oral communications, they were able to integrate and exchange the information. Most interviewees cared about the social, economic, legal, and ethical issues surrounding the use of information. College courses and labs were the main information literacy education environment for them to learn about research skills and knowledge. The study concludes four areas to address for the information literacy of biomedical graduate students, i.e., using professional information, using the current information, efficiency in assessing the domain information, and utilization of diverse information channels. Currently, the interviewees showed rather low usage of library resources, which is a concern for biomedical educators and libraries. [Article content in Chinese

  14. Using the Integrative Model to Explain How Exposure to Sexual Media Content Influences Adolescent Sexual Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bleakley, Amy; Hennessy, Michael; Fishbein, Martin; Jordan, Amy

    2011-01-01

    Published research demonstrates an association between exposure to media sexual content and a variety of sex-related outcomes for adolescents. What is not known is the mechanism through which sexual content produces this "media effect" on adolescent beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. Using the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction, this…

  15. Developing an Integrative Play Therapy Group Model for Middle School Male Students to Address Bullying Behaviors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, Jakarla

    2016-01-01

    This research examines the systematic process of developing an integrative play therapy group model for middle school male students, ages 11-15 who participate in bullying behaviors. Play therapy approaches and evidence-based practices are documented as effective measures for addressing bullying behaviors with children and adolescents. This group…

  16. European virtual campus for biomedical engineering EVICAB.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malmivuo, Jaakko A; Nousiainen, Juha O; Lindroos, Kari V

    2007-01-01

    European Commission has funded building a curriculum on Biomedical Engineering to the Internet for European universities under the project EVICAB. EVICAB forms a curriculum which will be free access and available free of charge. Therefore, in addition to the European universities, it will be available worldwide. EVICAB will make high quality education available for everyone, not only for the university students, and facilitate the development of the discipline of Biomedical Engineering.

  17. Laser surface texturing of polymers for biomedical applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riveiro, Antonio; Maçon, Anthony L. B.; del Val, Jesus; Comesaña, Rafael; Pou, Juan

    2018-02-01

    Polymers are materials widely used in biomedical science because of their biocompatibility, and good mechanical properties (which, in some cases, are similar to those of human tissues); however, these materials are, in general, chemically and biologically inert. Surface characteristics, such as topography (at the macro-, micro, and nanoscale), surface chemistry, surface energy, charge or wettability are interrelated properties, and they cooperatively influence the biological performance of materials when used for biomedical applications. They regulate the biological response at the implant/tissue interface (e.g., influencing the cell adhesion, cell orientation, cell motility, etc.). Several surface processing techniques have been explored to modulate these properties for biomedical applications. Despite their potentials, these methods have limitations that prevent their applicability. In this regard, laser-based methods, in particular laser surface texturing (LST), can be an interesting alternative. Different works have showed the potentiality of this technique to control the surface properties of biomedical polymers and enhance their biological performance; however, more research is needed to obtain the desired biological response. This work provides a general overview of the basics and applications of LST for the surface modification of polymers currently used in the clinical practice (e.g. PEEK, UHMWPE, PP, etc.). The modification of roughness, wettability, and their impact on the biological response is addressed to offer new insights on the surface modification of biomedical polymers.

  18. Nano/micro-scale magnetophoretic devices for biomedical applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, Byeonghwa; Kim, CheolGi; Vavassori, Paolo; Sooryakumar, R

    2017-01-01

    In recent years there have been tremendous advances in the versatility of magnetic shuttle technology using nano/micro-scale magnets for digital magnetophoresis. While the technology has been used for a wide variety of single-cell manipulation tasks such as selection, capture, transport, encapsulation, transfection, or lysing of magnetically labeled and unlabeled cells, it has also expanded to include parallel actuation and study of multiple bio-entities. The use of nano/micro-patterned magnetic structures that enable remote control of the applied forces has greatly facilitated integration of the technology with microfluidics, thereby fostering applications in the biomedical arena. The basic design and fabrication of various scaled magnets for remote manipulation of individual and multiple beads/cells, and their associated energies and forces that underlie the broad functionalities of this approach, are presented. One of the most useful features enabled by such advanced integrated engineering is the capacity to remotely tune the magnetic field gradient and energy landscape, permitting such multipurpose shuttles to be implemented within lab-on-chip platforms for a wide range of applications at the intersection of cellular biology and biotechnology. (topical review)

  19. Nano/micro-scale magnetophoretic devices for biomedical applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Byeonghwa; Vavassori, Paolo; Sooryakumar, R.; Kim, CheolGi

    2017-01-01

    In recent years there have been tremendous advances in the versatility of magnetic shuttle technology using nano/micro-scale magnets for digital magnetophoresis. While the technology has been used for a wide variety of single-cell manipulation tasks such as selection, capture, transport, encapsulation, transfection, or lysing of magnetically labeled and unlabeled cells, it has also expanded to include parallel actuation and study of multiple bio-entities. The use of nano/micro-patterned magnetic structures that enable remote control of the applied forces has greatly facilitated integration of the technology with microfluidics, thereby fostering applications in the biomedical arena. The basic design and fabrication of various scaled magnets for remote manipulation of individual and multiple beads/cells, and their associated energies and forces that underlie the broad functionalities of this approach, are presented. One of the most useful features enabled by such advanced integrated engineering is the capacity to remotely tune the magnetic field gradient and energy landscape, permitting such multipurpose shuttles to be implemented within lab-on-chip platforms for a wide range of applications at the intersection of cellular biology and biotechnology.

  20. Bio-medical CMOS ICs

    CERN Document Server

    Yoo, Hoi-Jun

    2011-01-01

    This book is based on a graduate course entitled, Ubiquitous Healthcare Circuits and Systems, that was given by one of the editors. It includes an introduction and overview to biomedical ICs and provides information on the current trends in research.

  1. NDE in biomedical engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhagwat, Aditya; Kumar, Pradeep

    2015-01-01

    Biomedical Engineering (BME) is an interdisciplinary field, marking the conjunction of Medical and Engineering disciplines. It combines the design and problem solving skills of engineering with medical and biological sciences to advance health care treatment, including diagnosis, monitoring, and therapy

  2. Low-level radioactive biomedical wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Casarett, G.W.

    A summary of the management and hazards of low-level radioactive biomedical wastes is presented. The volume, disposal methods, current problems, regulatory agencies, and possible solutions to disposal problems are discussed. The benefits derived from using radioactivity in medicine are briefly described. Potential health risks are discussed. The radioactivity in most of the radioactive biomedical waste is a small fraction of that contained naturally in the human body or in the natural environment. Benefit-risk-cost considerations are presented. The cost of managing these wastes is getting so high that a new perspective for comparison of radioactivity (facts, risks, costs, benefits and trade-offs) and alternate approaches to minimize the risk and cost and maximize the benefits is suggested

  3. Energy and behavioral impacts of integrative retrofits for residential buildings: What is at stake for building energy policy reforms in northern China?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Peng; Xu, Tengfang; Shen, Pengyuan

    2013-01-01

    Based upon the results from extensive building monitoring and surveys on occupant’s behaviors in a representative nine-story apartment building in northern China, building energy simulations were performed to evaluate the impacts of integrative retrofits implemented. Integrative retrofits required by the newer building energy standard produced significant heating-energy savings (i.e., 53%) when compared with baseline buildings commonly built in early 1980s. Taking into account district-heating-system upgrades as part of integrative retrofit measures, a representative apartment building was 66% more efficient than the baseline building. Contrary to expectation, little behavioral change was found in response to the provisions of monetary incentive, billing-method reform, or metering of heating energy use in individual apartment units. Yet this paper identified sizable energy savings potential if occupants’ behavioral changes were to actually happen. This indicates that provisions of financial incentives or individual metering were insufficient for triggering substantial behavioral changes leading toward more energy savings in the current buildings. It is recommended that innovative energy policies, technology upgrades, and education would be needed to promote behavioral changes toward additional energy savings. Finally, measures and strategies to further enhance thermal integrity criteria (e.g., insulations of roof and balcony) are recommended in China’s future building energy policy reforms. - Highlights: ► Integrative retrofits significantly reduce residential heating energy in north China. ► Energy effects of retrofits, incentive, billing and behavioral changes were studied. ► Monetary incentive, control or metering technologies did not lead to behavior change. ► Potential energy savings due to occupants’ behavioral changes are sizable. ► Thermal integrity needs to be enhanced in future building standards and policies.

  4. Research enrichment: evaluation of structured research in the curriculum for dental medicine students as part of the vertical and horizontal integration of biomedical training and discovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stewart Tanis

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Research programs within medical and dental schools are important vehicles for biomedical and clinical discovery, serving as effective teaching and learning tools by providing situations in which predoctoral students develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Although research programs at many medical and dental schools are well-established, they may not be well integrated into the predoctoral curriculum to effectively support the learning objectives for their students. Methods A series of structured seminars, incorporating faculty research, was designed for first-year dental students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Dental Medicine to reinforce and support the concepts and skills taught in concurrent courses. A structured research enrichment period was also created to facilitate student engagement in active research using faculty and student curricular release time. Course evaluations and surveys were administered to gauge student perceptions of the curricular integration of research, the impact of these seminars on recruitment to the research program, and overall levels of student satisfaction with research enrichment. Results The analysis of course surveys revealed that students perceived the research-containing seminars effectively illustrated concepts, were logically sequenced, and were well-integrated into their curriculum. In addition, analysis of surveys revealed that the Integration Seminar courses motivated students to engage in research enrichment. Finally, this analysis provided evidence that students were very satisfied with their overall learning experience during research enrichment. Conclusion Curricular integration is one method of improving the teaching and learning of complicated and inter-related concepts, providing an opportunity to incorporate research training and objectives into traditionally separate didactic courses. Despite the benefits of curricular integration, finding

  5. A robust approach to extract biomedical events from literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bui, Quoc-Chinh; Sloot, Peter M A

    2012-10-15

    The abundance of biomedical literature has attracted significant interest in novel methods to automatically extract biomedical relations from the literature. Until recently, most research was focused on extracting binary relations such as protein-protein interactions and drug-disease relations. However, these binary relations cannot fully represent the original biomedical data. Therefore, there is a need for methods that can extract fine-grained and complex relations known as biomedical events. In this article we propose a novel method to extract biomedical events from text. Our method consists of two phases. In the first phase, training data are mapped into structured representations. Based on that, templates are used to extract rules automatically. In the second phase, extraction methods are developed to process the obtained rules. When evaluated against the Genia event extraction abstract and full-text test datasets (Task 1), we obtain results with F-scores of 52.34 and 53.34, respectively, which are comparable to the state-of-the-art systems. Furthermore, our system achieves superior performance in terms of computational efficiency. Our source code is available for academic use at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10256952/BioEvent.zip.

  6. Predictors of Traditional Medical Practices in Illness Behavior in Northwestern Ethiopia: An Integrated Model of Behavioral Prediction Based Logistic Regression Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abenezer Yared

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed at investigating traditional medical beliefs and practices in illness behavior as well as predictors of the practices in Gondar city, northwestern Ethiopia, by using the integrated model of behavioral prediction. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted to collect data through interviewer administered structured questionnaires from 496 individuals selected by probability proportional to size sampling technique. Unadjusted bivariate and adjusted multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed, and the results indicated that sociocultural predictors of normative response and attitude as well as psychosocial individual difference variables of traditional understanding of illness causation and perceived efficacy had statistically significant associations with traditional medical practices. Due to the influence of these factors, majority of the study population (85% thus relied on both herbal and spiritual varieties of traditional medicine to respond to their perceived illnesses, supporting the conclusion that characterized the illness behavior of the people as mainly involving traditional medical practices. The results implied two-way medicine needs to be developed with ongoing research, and health educations must take the traditional customs into consideration, for integrating interventions in the health care system in ways that the general public accepts yielding a better health outcome.

  7. Finding and accessing diagrams in biomedical publications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuhn, Tobias; Luong, ThaiBinh; Krauthammer, Michael

    2012-01-01

    Complex relationships in biomedical publications are often communicated by diagrams such as bar and line charts, which are a very effective way of summarizing and communicating multi-faceted data sets. Given the ever-increasing amount of published data, we argue that the precise retrieval of such diagrams is of great value for answering specific and otherwise hard-to-meet information needs. To this end, we demonstrate the use of advanced image processing and classification for identifying bar and line charts by the shape and relative location of the different image elements that make up the charts. With recall and precisions of close to 90% for the detection of relevant figures, we discuss the use of this technology in an existing biomedical image search engine, and outline how it enables new forms of literature queries over biomedical relationships that are represented in these charts.

  8. Networked Biomedical System for Ubiquitous Health Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arjan Durresi

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available We propose a distributed system that enables global and ubiquitous health monitoring of patients. The biomedical data will be collected by wearable health diagnostic devices, which will include various types of sensors and will be transmitted towards the corresponding Health Monitoring Centers. The permanent medical data of patients will be kept in the corresponding Home Data Bases, while the measured biomedical data will be sent to the Visitor Health Monitor Center and Visitor Data Base that serves the area of present location of the patient. By combining the measured biomedical data and the permanent medical data, Health Medical Centers will be able to coordinate the needed actions and help the local medical teams to make quickly the best decisions that could be crucial for the patient health, and that can reduce the cost of health service.

  9. Selected Topics in MicroNano-robotics for Biomedical Applications

    CERN Document Server

    2013-01-01

    Selected Topics in Micro/Nano-robotics for Biomedical Applications features a system approach and incorporates modern methodologies in autonomous mobile robots for programmable and controllable micro/nano-robots aiming at biomedical applications. The book provides chapters of instructional materials and cutting-edge research results in micro/nanorobotics for biomedical applications. The book presents new sensing technology on nanofibers, new power supply techniques including miniature fuel cells and energy harvesting devices, and manipulation techniques including AFM-based nano-robotic manipulation, robot-aided optical tweezers, and robot-assisted catheter surgery systems. It also contains case studies on using micro/nano-robots in biomedical environments and in biomedicine, as well as a design example to conceptually develop a Vitamin-pill sized robot to enter human’s gastrointestinal tract. Each chapter covers a different topic of the highly interdisciplinary area. Bring together the selected topics into ...

  10. qPortal: A platform for data-driven biomedical research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohr, Christopher; Friedrich, Andreas; Wojnar, David; Kenar, Erhan; Polatkan, Aydin Can; Codrea, Marius Cosmin; Czemmel, Stefan; Kohlbacher, Oliver; Nahnsen, Sven

    2018-01-01

    Modern biomedical research aims at drawing biological conclusions from large, highly complex biological datasets. It has become common practice to make extensive use of high-throughput technologies that produce big amounts of heterogeneous data. In addition to the ever-improving accuracy, methods are getting faster and cheaper, resulting in a steadily increasing need for scalable data management and easily accessible means of analysis. We present qPortal, a platform providing users with an intuitive way to manage and analyze quantitative biological data. The backend leverages a variety of concepts and technologies, such as relational databases, data stores, data models and means of data transfer, as well as front-end solutions to give users access to data management and easy-to-use analysis options. Users are empowered to conduct their experiments from the experimental design to the visualization of their results through the platform. Here, we illustrate the feature-rich portal by simulating a biomedical study based on publically available data. We demonstrate the software's strength in supporting the entire project life cycle. The software supports the project design and registration, empowers users to do all-digital project management and finally provides means to perform analysis. We compare our approach to Galaxy, one of the most widely used scientific workflow and analysis platforms in computational biology. Application of both systems to a small case study shows the differences between a data-driven approach (qPortal) and a workflow-driven approach (Galaxy). qPortal, a one-stop-shop solution for biomedical projects offers up-to-date analysis pipelines, quality control workflows, and visualization tools. Through intensive user interactions, appropriate data models have been developed. These models build the foundation of our biological data management system and provide possibilities to annotate data, query metadata for statistics and future re-analysis on

  11. Integrating Educational, Environmental, and Behavioral Economic Strategies May Improve the Effectiveness of Obesity Interventions

    OpenAIRE

    Joel Gittelsohn; Katherine Lee

    2013-01-01

    Interventions that change the food environment, provide nutrition education, and employ behavioral economics strategies can potentially contribute to healthier diets and reduce the risk of chronic disease, but no attempt has been made to integrate these into the same conceptual framework. We present case studies of three multilevel, integrated interventions implemented by Johns Hopkins University between 2004–2011. We develop a conceptual model based on these case studies. Interventions and p...

  12. Statistics in biomedical research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    González-Manteiga, Wenceslao

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available The discipline of biostatistics is nowadays a fundamental scientific component of biomedical, public health and health services research. Traditional and emerging areas of application include clinical trials research, observational studies, physiology, imaging, and genomics. The present article reviews the current situation of biostatistics, considering the statistical methods traditionally used in biomedical research, as well as the ongoing development of new methods in response to the new problems arising in medicine. Clearly, the successful application of statistics in biomedical research requires appropriate training of biostatisticians. This training should aim to give due consideration to emerging new areas of statistics, while at the same time retaining full coverage of the fundamentals of statistical theory and methodology. In addition, it is important that students of biostatistics receive formal training in relevant biomedical disciplines, such as epidemiology, clinical trials, molecular biology, genetics, and neuroscience.La Bioestadística es hoy en día una componente científica fundamental de la investigación en Biomedicina, salud pública y servicios de salud. Las áreas tradicionales y emergentes de aplicación incluyen ensayos clínicos, estudios observacionales, fisología, imágenes, y genómica. Este artículo repasa la situación actual de la Bioestadística, considerando los métodos estadísticos usados tradicionalmente en investigación biomédica, así como los recientes desarrollos de nuevos métodos, para dar respuesta a los nuevos problemas que surgen en Medicina. Obviamente, la aplicación fructífera de la estadística en investigación biomédica exige una formación adecuada de los bioestadísticos, formación que debería tener en cuenta las áreas emergentes en estadística, cubriendo al mismo tiempo los fundamentos de la teoría estadística y su metodología. Es importante, además, que los estudiantes de

  13. Peptide Integrated Optics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Handelman, Amir; Lapshina, Nadezda; Apter, Boris; Rosenman, Gil

    2018-02-01

    Bio-nanophotonics is a wide field in which advanced optical materials, biomedicine, fundamental optics, and nanotechnology are combined and result in the development of biomedical optical chips. Silk fibers or synthetic bioabsorbable polymers are the main light-guiding components. In this work, an advanced concept of integrated bio-optics is proposed, which is based on bioinspired peptide optical materials exhibiting wide optical transparency, nonlinear and electrooptical properties, and effective passive and active waveguiding. Developed new technology combining bottom-up controlled deposition of peptide planar wafers of a large area and top-down focus ion beam lithography provides direct fabrication of peptide optical integrated circuits. Finding a deep modification of peptide optical properties by reconformation of biological secondary structure from native phase to β-sheet architecture is followed by the appearance of visible fluorescence and unexpected transition from a native passive optical waveguiding to an active one. Original biocompatibility, switchable regimes of waveguiding, and multifunctional nonlinear optical properties make these new peptide planar optical materials attractive for application in emerging technology of lab-on-biochips, combining biomedical photonic and electronic circuits toward medical diagnosis, light-activated therapy, and health monitoring. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. KISTI at TREC 2014 Clinical Decision Support Track: Concept-based Document Re-ranking to Biomedical Information Retrieval

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    sematic type. Injury or Poisoning inpo T037 Anatomical Abnormality anab T190 Given a document D, a concept vector = {1, 2, … , ...integrating biomedical terminology . Nucleic acids research 32, Database issue (2004), 267–270. 5. Chapman, W.W., Hillert, D., Velupillai, S., et...Conference (TREC), (2011). 9. Koopman, B. and Zuccon, G. Understanding negation and family history to improve clinical information retrieval. Proceedings

  15. A novel biomedical image indexing and retrieval system via deep preference learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pang, Shuchao; Orgun, Mehmet A; Yu, Zhezhou

    2018-05-01

    The traditional biomedical image retrieval methods as well as content-based image retrieval (CBIR) methods originally designed for non-biomedical images either only consider using pixel and low-level features to describe an image or use deep features to describe images but still leave a lot of room for improving both accuracy and efficiency. In this work, we propose a new approach, which exploits deep learning technology to extract the high-level and compact features from biomedical images. The deep feature extraction process leverages multiple hidden layers to capture substantial feature structures of high-resolution images and represent them at different levels of abstraction, leading to an improved performance for indexing and retrieval of biomedical images. We exploit the current popular and multi-layered deep neural networks, namely, stacked denoising autoencoders (SDAE) and convolutional neural networks (CNN) to represent the discriminative features of biomedical images by transferring the feature representations and parameters of pre-trained deep neural networks from another domain. Moreover, in order to index all the images for finding the similarly referenced images, we also introduce preference learning technology to train and learn a kind of a preference model for the query image, which can output the similarity ranking list of images from a biomedical image database. To the best of our knowledge, this paper introduces preference learning technology for the first time into biomedical image retrieval. We evaluate the performance of two powerful algorithms based on our proposed system and compare them with those of popular biomedical image indexing approaches and existing regular image retrieval methods with detailed experiments over several well-known public biomedical image databases. Based on different criteria for the evaluation of retrieval performance, experimental results demonstrate that our proposed algorithms outperform the state

  16. Molecular Biomedical Imaging Laboratory (MBIL)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Molecular Biomedical Imaging Laboratory (MBIL) is adjacent-a nd has access-to the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences clinical imaging facilities. MBIL...

  17. Sleep and aggression in substance-abusing adolescents: results from an integrative behavioral sleep-treatment pilot program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haynes, Patricia L; Bootzin, Richard R; Smith, Leisha; Cousins, Jennifer; Cameron, Michael; Stevens, Sally

    2006-04-01

    To examine whether change in total sleep time during an integrative, behavioral sleep intervention is associated with aggression. Specifically, we tested whether adolescents who reported experiencing aggressive thoughts or actions after treatment had worse treatment trajectories (e.g., less total sleep time across treatment) than adolescents with no aggressive thoughts or actions after treatment. Nonpharmacologic open trial with 9 weeks of weekly assessment. University of Arizona Sleep Research Laboratory Twenty-three adolescents recently treated for substance abuse in outpatient community centers. Six-week integrative, behavioral sleep intervention. Weekly sleep-summary indexes were calculated from daily sleep diaries and entered as dependent variables in a series of growth-curve analyses. Statistically significant Session x Post-treatment Aggressive Ideation interactions emerged when predicting changes in total sleep time, gamma13 = 9.76 (SE = 4.12), p aggressive ideation and the frequency of substance use, as assessed at baseline. A similar pattern of results was seen for self-reported aggressive actions occurring during conflicts. These pilot data suggest that inadequate sleep in substance-abusing adolescents may contribute to the experiencing of aggressive thoughts and actions. Limitations include a small sample size and a restricted assessment of aggression. Nonetheless, these findings lend preliminary support to the breadth of therapeutic effectiveness of an integrative, behavioral sleep-therapy program for adolescents with a history of substance abuse and related behaviors.

  18. Amotivation in Schizophrenia: Integrated Assessment With Behavioral, Clinical, and Imaging Measures

    OpenAIRE

    Wolf, Daniel H.; Satterthwaite, Theodore D.; Kantrowitz, Jacob J.; Katchmar, Natalie; Vandekar, Lillie; Elliott, Mark A.; Ruparel, Kosha

    2014-01-01

    Motivational deficits play a central role in disability caused by schizophrenia and constitute a major unmet therapeutic need. Negative symptoms have previously been linked to hypofunction in ventral striatum (VS), a core component of brain motivation circuitry. However, it remains unclear to what extent this relationship holds for specific negative symptoms such as amotivation, and this question has not been addressed with integrated behavioral, clinical, and imaging measures. Here, 41 indiv...

  19. Biomedical semantics in the Semantic Web.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Splendiani, Andrea; Burger, Albert; Paschke, Adrian; Romano, Paolo; Marshall, M Scott

    2011-03-07

    The Semantic Web offers an ideal platform for representing and linking biomedical information, which is a prerequisite for the development and application of analytical tools to address problems in data-intensive areas such as systems biology and translational medicine. As for any new paradigm, the adoption of the Semantic Web offers opportunities and poses questions and challenges to the life sciences scientific community: which technologies in the Semantic Web stack will be more beneficial for the life sciences? Is biomedical information too complex to benefit from simple interlinked representations? What are the implications of adopting a new paradigm for knowledge representation? What are the incentives for the adoption of the Semantic Web, and who are the facilitators? Is there going to be a Semantic Web revolution in the life sciences?We report here a few reflections on these questions, following discussions at the SWAT4LS (Semantic Web Applications and Tools for Life Sciences) workshop series, of which this Journal of Biomedical Semantics special issue presents selected papers from the 2009 edition, held in Amsterdam on November 20th.

  20. THE ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGISTS IN HEALTH CARE DELIVERY

    OpenAIRE

    Wahass, Saeed H.

    2005-01-01

    Advances in the biomedical and the behavioral sciences have paved the way for the integration of medical practice towards the biopsychosocial approach. Therefore, dealing with health and illness overtakes looking for the presence or absence of the disease and infirmity (the biomedical paradigm) to the biopsychosocial paradigm in which health means a state of complete physical, psychological and social well-being. Psychology as a behavioral health discipline is the key to the biopsychosocial p...

  1. New Directions for Biomedical Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plonsey, Robert

    1973-01-01

    Discusses the definition of "biomedical engineering" and the development of educational programs in the field. Includes detailed descriptions of the roles of bioengineers, medical engineers, and chemical engineers. (CC)

  2. Integration of Descending Command Systems for the Generation of Context-Specific Locomotor Behaviors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda H. Kim

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Over the past decade there has been a renaissance in our understanding of spinal cord circuits; new technologies are beginning to provide key insights into descending circuits which project onto spinal cord central pattern generators. By integrating work from both the locomotor and animal behavioral fields, we can now examine context-specific control of locomotion, with an emphasis on descending modulation arising from various regions of the brainstem. Here we examine approach and avoidance behaviors and the circuits that lead to the production and arrest of locomotion.

  3. Development, implementation and critique of a bioethics framework for pharmaceutical sponsors of human biomedical research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Campen, Luann E; Therasse, Donald G; Klopfenstein, Mitchell; Levine, Robert J

    2015-11-01

    Pharmaceutical human biomedical research is a multi-dimensional endeavor that requires collaboration among many parties, including those who sponsor, conduct, participate in, or stand to benefit from the research. Human subjects' protections have been promulgated to ensure that the benefits of such research are accomplished with respect for and minimal risk to individual research participants, and with an overall sense of fairness. Although these protections are foundational to clinical research, most ethics guidance primarily highlights the responsibilities of investigators and ethics review boards. Currently, there is no published resource that comprehensively addresses bioethical responsibilities of industry sponsors; including their responsibilities to parties who are not research participants, but are, nevertheless key stakeholders in the endeavor. To fill this void, in 2010 Eli Lilly and Company instituted a Bioethics Framework for Human Biomedical Research. This paper describes how the framework was developed and implemented and provides a critique based on four years of experience. A companion article provides the actual document used by Eli Lilly and Company to guide ethical decisions regarding all phases of human clinical trials. While many of the concepts presented in this framework are not novel, compiling them in a manner that articulates the ethical responsibilities of a sponsor is novel. By utilizing this type of bioethics framework, we have been able to develop bioethics positions on various topics, provide research ethics consultations, and integrate bioethics into the daily operations of our human biomedical research. We hope that by sharing these companion papers we will stimulate discussion within and outside the biopharmaceutical industry for the benefit of the multiple parties involved in pharmaceutical human biomedical research.

  4. Careers in biomedical engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madrid, R E; Rotger, V I; Herrera, M C

    2010-01-01

    Although biomedical engineering was started in Argentina about 35 years ago, it has had a sustained growth for the last 25 years in human resources, with the emergence of new undergraduate and postgraduate careers, as well as in research, knowledge, technological development, and health care.

  5. New Dandelion Algorithm Optimizes Extreme Learning Machine for Biomedical Classification Problems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiguang Li

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Inspired by the behavior of dandelion sowing, a new novel swarm intelligence algorithm, namely, dandelion algorithm (DA, is proposed for global optimization of complex functions in this paper. In DA, the dandelion population will be divided into two subpopulations, and different subpopulations will undergo different sowing behaviors. Moreover, another sowing method is designed to jump out of local optimum. In order to demonstrate the validation of DA, we compare the proposed algorithm with other existing algorithms, including bat algorithm, particle swarm optimization, and enhanced fireworks algorithm. Simulations show that the proposed algorithm seems much superior to other algorithms. At the same time, the proposed algorithm can be applied to optimize extreme learning machine (ELM for biomedical classification problems, and the effect is considerable. At last, we use different fusion methods to form different fusion classifiers, and the fusion classifiers can achieve higher accuracy and better stability to some extent.

  6. Length-dependent corrosion behavior, Ni2+ release, cytocompatibility, and antibacterial ability of Ni-Ti-O nanopores anodically grown on biomedical NiTi alloy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hang, Ruiqiang; Liu, Yanlian; Bai, Long; Zhang, Xiangyu; Huang, Xiaobo; Jia, Husheng; Tang, Bin

    2018-08-01

    In the present work, nickel-titanium-oxygen nanopores with different length (0.55-114 μm) were anodically grown on nearly equiatomic nickel-titanium (NiTi) alloy. Length-dependent corrosion behavior, nickel ion (Ni 2+ ) release, cytocompatibility, and antibacterial ability were investigated by electrochemical, analytical chemistry, and biological methods. The results show constructing nanoporous structure on the NiTi alloy improve its corrosion resistance. However, the anodized samples release more Ni 2+ than that of the bare NiTi alloy, suggesting chemical dissolution of the nanopores rather than electrochemical corrosion governs the Ni 2+ release. In addition, the Ni 2+ release amount increases with nanopore length. The anodized samples show good cytocompatibility when the nanopore length is covers the one (1-11 μm) that the nanopores showing favorable antibacterial ability. Consequently, the nanopores with length in the range of 1-11 μm are promising as coatings of biomedical NiTi alloy for anti-infection, drug delivery, and other desirable applications. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Artificial Sight Basic Research, Biomedical Engineering, and Clinical Advances

    CERN Document Server

    Humayun, Mark S; Chader, Gerald; Greenbaum, Elias

    2008-01-01

    Artificial sight is a frontier area of modern ophthalmology combining the multidisciplinary skills of surgical ophthalmology, biomedical engineering, biological physics, and psychophysical testing. Many scientific, engineering, and surgical challenges must be surmounted before widespread practical applications can be realized. The goal of Artificial Sight is to summarize the state-of-the-art research in this exciting area, and to describe some of the current approaches and initiatives that may help patients in a clinical setting. The Editors are active researchers in the fields of artificial sight, biomedical engineering and biological physics. They have received numerous professional awards and recognition for their work. The artificial sight team at the Doheny Eye Institute, led by Dr. Mark Humayun, is a world leader in this area of biomedical engineering and clinical research. Key Features Introduces and assesses the state of the art for a broad audience of biomedical engineers, biophysicists, and clinical...

  8. On-chip integrated lasers for biophotonic applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mappes, Timo; Wienhold, Tobias; Bog, Uwe

    Meeting the need of biomedical users, we develop disposable Lab-on-a-Chip systems based on commercially available polymers. We are combining passive microfluidics with active optical elements on-chip by integrating multiple solid-state and liquid-core lasers. While covering a wide range of laser ...

  9. Polymer/metal nanocomposites for biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zare, Yasser; Shabani, Iman

    2016-03-01

    Polymer/metal nanocomposites consisting of polymer as matrix and metal nanoparticles as nanofiller commonly show several attractive advantages such as electrical, mechanical and optical characteristics. Accordingly, many scientific and industrial communities have focused on polymer/metal nanocomposites in order to develop some new products or substitute the available materials. In the current paper, characteristics and applications of polymer/metal nanocomposites for biomedical applications are extensively explained in several categories including strong and stable materials, conductive devices, sensors and biomedical products. Moreover, some perspective utilizations are suggested for future studies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. The Effect of Health Beliefs, Media Perceptions, and Communicative Behaviors on Health Behavioral Intention: An Integrated Health Campaign Model on Social Media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoo, Sun-Wook; Kim, Jarim; Lee, Yeunjae

    2018-01-01

    Social media have recently gained attention as a potential health campaign tool. This study examines this line of expectation concerning the role social media may play in health campaigns by testing an integrated health campaign model that combines insights from research on social media-specific perceptions and communicative behaviors in order to predict health behaviors. Specifically, this study aims to (a) develop a more holistic social media campaign model for predicting health behaviors in the social media context, (b) investigate how social media channel-related perceptions affect preventive health behaviors, and (c) investigate how communicative behaviors mediate perceptions and behavioral intention. The study conducted an online survey of 498 females who followed the Purple Ribbon Twitter campaign (@pprb), a cervical cancer prevention campaign. The results indicated that information acquisition mediated perceived risk's effect on intention. Information acquisition also mediated the relationships between intention and information selection and information transmission. On the other hand, social media-related perceptions indirectly impacted behavioral intention through communicative behaviors. The findings' theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

  11. Biomedical Applications of Enzymes From Marine Actinobacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamala, K; Sivaperumal, P

    Marine microbial enzyme technologies have progressed significantly in the last few decades for different applications. Among the various microorganisms, marine actinobacterial enzymes have significant active properties, which could allow them to be biocatalysts with tremendous bioactive metabolites. Moreover, marine actinobacteria have been considered as biofactories, since their enzymes fulfill biomedical and industrial needs. In this chapter, the marine actinobacteria and their enzymes' uses in biological activities and biomedical applications are described. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Biomedical engineering and society: policy and ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flexman, J A; Lazareck, L

    2007-01-01

    Biomedical engineering impacts health care and contributes to fundamental knowledge in medicine and biology. Policy, such as through regulation and research funding, has the potential to dramatically affect biomedical engineering research and commercialization. New developments, in turn, may affect society in new ways. The intersection of biomedical engineering and society and related policy issues must be discussed between scientists and engineers, policy-makers and the public. As a student, there are many ways to become engaged in the issues surrounding science and technology policy. At the University of Washington in Seattle, the Forum on Science Ethics and Policy (FOSEP, www.fosep.org) was started by graduate students and post-doctoral fellows interested in improving the dialogue between scientists, policymakers and the public and has received support from upper-level administration. This is just one example of how students can start thinking about science policy and ethics early in their careers.

  13. 15th International Conference on Biomedical Engineering

    CERN Document Server

    2014-01-01

    This volume presents the proceedings of the 15th ICMBE held from 4th to 7th December 2013, Singapore. Biomedical engineering is applied in most aspects of our healthcare ecosystem. From electronic health records to diagnostic tools to therapeutic, rehabilitative and regenerative treatments, the work of biomedical engineers is evident. Biomedical engineers work at the intersection of engineering, life sciences and healthcare. The engineers would use principles from applied science including mechanical, electrical, chemical and computer engineering together with physical sciences including physics, chemistry and mathematics to apply them to biology and medicine. Applying such concepts to the human body is very much the same concepts that go into building and programming a machine. The goal is to better understand, replace or fix a target system to ultimately improve the quality of healthcare. With this understanding, the conference proceedings offer a single platform for individuals and organisations working i...

  14. Biomedical applications using low temperature plasma technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dai Xiujuan; Jiang Nan

    2006-01-01

    Low temperature plasma technology and biomedicine are two different subjects, but the combination of the two may play a critical role in modern science and technology. The 21 st century is believed to be a biotechnology century. Plasma technology is becoming a widely used platform for the fabrication of biomaterials and biomedical devices. In this paper some of the technologies used for material surface modification are briefly introduced. Some biomedical applications using plasma technology are described, followed by suggestions as to how a bridge between plasma technology and biomedicine can be built. A pulsed plasma technique that is used for surface functionalization is discussed in detail as an example of this kind of bridge or combination. Finally, it is pointed out that the combination of biomedical and plasma technology will be an important development for revolutionary 21st century technologies that requires different experts from different fields to work together. (authors)

  15. Integrating Norm Activation Model and Theory of Planned Behavior to Understand Sustainable Transport Behavior: Evidence from China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yuwei; Sheng, Hong; Mundorf, Norbert; Redding, Colleen; Ye, Yinjiao

    2017-12-18

    With increasing urbanization in China, many cities are facing serious environmental problems due to continuous and substantial increase in automobile transportation. It is becoming imperative to examine effective ways to reduce individual automobile use to facilitate sustainable transportation behavior. Empirical, theory-based research on sustainable transportation in China is limited. In this research, we propose an integrated model based on the norm activation model and the theory of planned behavior by combining normative and rational factors to predict individuals' intention to reduce car use. Data from a survey of 600 car drivers in China's three metropolitan areas was used to test the proposed model and hypotheses. Results showed that three variables, perceived norm of car-transport reduction, attitude towards reduction, and perceived behavior control over car-transport reduction, significantly affected the intention to reduce car-transport. Personal norms mediated the relationship between awareness of consequences of car-transport, ascription of responsibility of car-transport, perceived subjective norm for car-transport reduction, and intention to reduce car-transport. The results of this research not only contribute to theory development in the area of sustainable transportation behavior, but also provide a theoretical frame of reference for relevant policy-makers in urban transport management.

  16. Integrating Norm Activation Model and Theory of Planned Behavior to Understand Sustainable Transport Behavior: Evidence from China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuwei Liu

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available With increasing urbanization in China, many cities are facing serious environmental problems due to continuous and substantial increase in automobile transportation. It is becoming imperative to examine effective ways to reduce individual automobile use to facilitate sustainable transportation behavior. Empirical, theory-based research on sustainable transportation in China is limited. In this research, we propose an integrated model based on the norm activation model and the theory of planned behavior by combining normative and rational factors to predict individuals’ intention to reduce car use. Data from a survey of 600 car drivers in China’s three metropolitan areas was used to test the proposed model and hypotheses. Results showed that three variables, perceived norm of car-transport reduction, attitude towards reduction, and perceived behavior control over car-transport reduction, significantly affected the intention to reduce car-transport. Personal norms mediated the relationship between awareness of consequences of car-transport, ascription of responsibility of car-transport, perceived subjective norm for car-transport reduction, and intention to reduce car-transport. The results of this research not only contribute to theory development in the area of sustainable transportation behavior, but also provide a theoretical frame of reference for relevant policy-makers in urban transport management.

  17. Biomedical Engineering and its Relevance to Total Health Care ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Aim: To highlight the importance of biomedical engineering, with respect to the many basic amenities including adequate water supply, electricity, drugs and medical equipment necessary for the proper functioning of medical doctors which are totally lacking in most developing countries. Method: Review of biomedical ...

  18. For 481 biomedical open access journals, articles are not searchable in the Directory of Open Access Journals nor in conventional biomedical databases

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liljekvist, Mads Svane; Andresen, Kristoffer; Pommergaard, Hans-Christian

    2015-01-01

    biomedical databases (MEDLINE, PubMed Central, EMBASE and SCOPUS) and DOAJ were gathered. Journals were included if they were (1) actively publishing, (2) full OA, (3) prospectively indexed in one or more database, and (4) of biomedical subject. Impact factor and journal language were also collected. DOAJ...... journals, 86.7% were listed in DOAJ. Combined, the conventional biomedical databases listed 75.0% of the journals; 18.7% in MEDLINE; 36.5% in PubMed Central; 51.5% in SCOPUS and 50.6% in EMBASE. Of the journals in DOAJ, 88.7% published in English and 20.6% had received impact factor for 2012 compared...

  19. Up and down or down and up? The process of change in constructive couple behavior during Traditional and Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sevier, Mia; Atkins, David C; Doss, Brian D; Christensen, Andrew

    2015-01-01

    Observed positive and negative spouse behavior during sessions of Traditional (TBCT) and Integrative Behavioral Couples Therapy (IBCT) were compared for couples with successful outcomes and their unsuccessful counterparts. One hundred and thirty-four married chronically and seriously distressed couples (on average in their forties and 80% Caucasian) were randomly assigned to TBCT or IBCT. Trained observers made ratings of 1224 segments from approximately 956 sessions sampled from the course of up to 26 sessions. Multilevel modeling was used to examine change over time. TBCT treatment responders demonstrated a boost-drop pattern, increasing in constructive behaviors early (more positive behaviors and less negative behaviors) but decreasing later. IBCT responders demonstrated an opposite, drop-boost pattern, decreasing in constructive behaviors early and increasing later. Patterns were significant for positive behaviors (p behaviors (p = .05). In both treatments, nonresponders showed a significant pattern of decline in positive and increase in negative behaviors over time, although a trend (p = .05) indicates that TBCT nonresponders initially declined in negative behaviors. This study helps clarify the different process of change in two behavioral couple therapies, which may assist in treatment development and provide a guide for therapists in considering behavioral markers of change during treatment. © 2013 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

  20. Noncanonical self-assembly of multifunctional DNA nanoflowers for biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Guizhi; Hu, Rong; Zhao, Zilong; Chen, Zhuo; Zhang, Xiaobing; Tan, Weihong

    2013-11-06

    DNA nanotechnology has been extensively explored to assemble various functional nanostructures for versatile applications. Mediated by Watson-Crick base-pairing, these DNA nanostructures have been conventionally assembled through hybridization of many short DNA building blocks. Here we report the noncanonical self-assembly of multifunctional DNA nanostructures, termed as nanoflowers (NFs), and the versatile biomedical applications. These NFs were assembled from long DNA building blocks generated via rolling circle replication (RCR) of a designer template. NF assembly was driven by liquid crystallization and dense packaging of building blocks, without relying on Watson-Crick base-pairing between DNA strands, thereby avoiding the otherwise conventional complicated DNA sequence design. NF sizes were readily tunable in a wide range, by simply adjusting such parameters as assembly time and template sequences. NFs were exceptionally resistant to nuclease degradation, denaturation, or dissociation at extremely low concentration, presumably resulting from the dense DNA packaging in NFs. The exceptional biostability is critical for biomedical applications. By rational design, NFs can be readily incorporated with myriad functional moieties. All these properties make NFs promising for versatile applications. As a proof-of-principle demonstration, in this study, NFs were integrated with aptamers, bioimaging agents, and drug loading sites, and the resultant multifunctional NFs were demonstrated for selective cancer cell recognition, bioimaging, and targeted anticancer drug delivery.

  1. Rules and management of biomedical waste at Vivekananda Polyclinic: A case study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gupta, Saurabh; Boojh, Ram; Mishra, Ajai; Chandra, Hem

    2009-01-01

    Hospitals and other healthcare establishments have a 'duty of care' for the environment and for public health, and have particular responsibilities in relation to the waste they produce (i.e., biomedical waste). Negligence, in terms of biomedical waste management, significantly contributes to polluting the environment, affects the health of human beings, and depletes natural and financial resources. In India, in view of the serious situation of biomedical waste management, the Ministry of Environment and Forests, within the Government of India, ratified the Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, in July 1998. The present paper provides a brief description of the biomedical waste (Management and Handling) Rules 1998, and the current biomedical waste management practices in one of the premier healthcare establishments of Lucknow, the Vivekananda Polyclinic. The objective in undertaking this study was to analyse the biomedical waste management system, including policy, practice (i.e., storage, collection, transportation and disposal), and compliance with the standards prescribed under the regulatory framework. The analysis consisted of interviews with medical authorities, doctors, and paramedical staff involved in the management of the biomedical wastes in the Polyclinic. Other important stakeholders that were consulted and interviewed included environmental engineers (looking after the Biomedical Waste Cell) of the State Pollution Control Board, and randomly selected patients and visitors to the Polyclinic. A general survey of the facilities of the Polyclinic was undertaken to ascertain the efficacy of the implemented measures. The waste was quantified based on random samples collected from each ward. It was found that, although the Polyclinic in general abides by the prescribed regulations for the treatment and disposal of biomedical waste, there is a need to further build the capacity of the Polyclinic and its staff in terms of providing state

  2. The role of ontologies in biological and biomedical research: a functional perspective

    KAUST Repository

    Hoehndorf, Robert

    2015-04-10

    Ontologies are widely used in biological and biomedical research. Their success lies in their combination of four main features present in almost all ontologies: provision of standard identifiers for classes and relations that represent the phenomena within a domain; provision of a vocabulary for a domain; provision of metadata that describes the intended meaning of the classes and relations in ontologies; and the provision of machine-readable axioms and definitions that enable computational access to some aspects of the meaning of classes and relations. While each of these features enables applications that facilitate data integration, data access and analysis, a great potential lies in the possibility of combining these four features to support integrative analysis and interpretation of multimodal data. Here, we provide a functional perspective on ontologies in biology and biomedicine, focusing on what ontologies can do and describing how they can be used in support of integrative research. We also outline perspectives for using ontologies in data-driven science, in particular their application in structured data mining and machine learning applications.

  3. The role of ontologies in biological and biomedical research: a functional perspective

    KAUST Repository

    Hoehndorf, Robert; Schofield, P. N.; Gkoutos, G. V.

    2015-01-01

    Ontologies are widely used in biological and biomedical research. Their success lies in their combination of four main features present in almost all ontologies: provision of standard identifiers for classes and relations that represent the phenomena within a domain; provision of a vocabulary for a domain; provision of metadata that describes the intended meaning of the classes and relations in ontologies; and the provision of machine-readable axioms and definitions that enable computational access to some aspects of the meaning of classes and relations. While each of these features enables applications that facilitate data integration, data access and analysis, a great potential lies in the possibility of combining these four features to support integrative analysis and interpretation of multimodal data. Here, we provide a functional perspective on ontologies in biology and biomedicine, focusing on what ontologies can do and describing how they can be used in support of integrative research. We also outline perspectives for using ontologies in data-driven science, in particular their application in structured data mining and machine learning applications.

  4. Biomedical engineering and the whitaker foundation: a thirty-year partnership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katona, Peter G

    2006-06-01

    The Whitaker Foundation, established in 1976, will close in 2006. It will have made awards totaling 805 million US dollars, with over 710 million US dollars in biomedical engineering. Close to 1,500 faculty members received research grants to help them establish academic careers in biomedical engineering, and over 400 graduate students received fellowship support. The Foundation also supported the enhancement or establishment of educational programs in biomedical engineering, especially encouraging the formation of departments. The number of biomedical engineering departments almost tripled during the past 10 years, now numbering close to 75. Leveraging of grants enabled the construction of 13 new buildings. With the field firmly established, the grant program supporting new faculty members will be the one missed the most. New opportunities, however, are emerging as interdisciplinary research is being embraced by both public and private funding sources. The life sciences will be increasingly incorporated into all areas of engineering, and it is expected that such "biofication" will pose both opportunities and challenges to biomedical engineering.

  5. A model for integrating elementary neural functions into delayed-response behavior.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Gisiger

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available It is well established that various cortical regions can implement a wide array of neural processes, yet the mechanisms which integrate these processes into behavior-producing, brain-scale activity remain elusive. We propose that an important role in this respect might be played by executive structures controlling the traffic of information between the cortical regions involved. To illustrate this hypothesis, we present a neural network model comprising a set of interconnected structures harboring stimulus-related activity (visual representation, working memory, and planning, and a group of executive units with task-related activity patterns that manage the information flowing between them. The resulting dynamics allows the network to perform the dual task of either retaining an image during a delay (delayed-matching to sample task, or recalling from this image another one that has been associated with it during training (delayed-pair association task. The model reproduces behavioral and electrophysiological data gathered on the inferior temporal and prefrontal cortices of primates performing these same tasks. It also makes predictions on how neural activity coding for the recall of the image associated with the sample emerges and becomes prospective during the training phase. The network dynamics proves to be very stable against perturbations, and it exhibits signs of scale-invariant organization and cooperativity. The present network represents a possible neural implementation for active, top-down, prospective memory retrieval in primates. The model suggests that brain activity leading to performance of cognitive tasks might be organized in modular fashion, simple neural functions becoming integrated into more complex behavior by executive structures harbored in prefrontal cortex and/or basal ganglia.

  6. A model for integrating elementary neural functions into delayed-response behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gisiger, Thomas; Kerszberg, Michel

    2006-04-01

    It is well established that various cortical regions can implement a wide array of neural processes, yet the mechanisms which integrate these processes into behavior-producing, brain-scale activity remain elusive. We propose that an important role in this respect might be played by executive structures controlling the traffic of information between the cortical regions involved. To illustrate this hypothesis, we present a neural network model comprising a set of interconnected structures harboring stimulus-related activity (visual representation, working memory, and planning), and a group of executive units with task-related activity patterns that manage the information flowing between them. The resulting dynamics allows the network to perform the dual task of either retaining an image during a delay (delayed-matching to sample task), or recalling from this image another one that has been associated with it during training (delayed-pair association task). The model reproduces behavioral and electrophysiological data gathered on the inferior temporal and prefrontal cortices of primates performing these same tasks. It also makes predictions on how neural activity coding for the recall of the image associated with the sample emerges and becomes prospective during the training phase. The network dynamics proves to be very stable against perturbations, and it exhibits signs of scale-invariant organization and cooperativity. The present network represents a possible neural implementation for active, top-down, prospective memory retrieval in primates. The model suggests that brain activity leading to performance of cognitive tasks might be organized in modular fashion, simple neural functions becoming integrated into more complex behavior by executive structures harbored in prefrontal cortex and/or basal ganglia.

  7. Vacuum behavior and control of a MEMS stage with integrated thermal displacement sensor

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Krijnen, B.; Brouwer, Dannis Michel; Abelmann, Leon; Herder, Justus Laurens

    2015-01-01

    We investigate the applicability of a MEMS stage in a vacuum environment. The stage is suspended by a flexure mechanism and is actuated by electrostatic comb-drives. The position of the stage is measured by an integrated sensor based on the conductance of heat through air. The vacuum behavior of the

  8. Biomedical research applications of electromagnetically separated enriched stable isotopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lambrecht, R.M.

    1982-01-01

    The current and projected annual requirements through 1985 for stable isotopes enriched by electromagnetic separation methods were reviewed for applications in various types of biomedical research: (1) medical radiosotope production, labeled compounds, and potential radiopharmaceuticals; (2) nutrition, food science, and pharmacology; (3) metallobiochemistry and environmental toxicology; (4) nuclear magnetic resonance, electron paramagnetic resonance, and Moessbauer spectroscopy in biochemical, biophysical, and biomedical research; and (5) miscellaneous advances in radioactive and non-radioactive tracer technology. Radioisotopes available from commercial sources or routinely used in clinical nuclear medicine were excluded. Priorities and summaries are based on statements in the references and from answers to a survey conducted in the fall of 1981. Current requirements for enriched stable isotopes in biomedical research are not being satisfied. Severe shortages exist for 26 Mg, 43 Ca, 70 Zn, 76 Se, 78 Se, 102 Pd, 111 Cd, 113 Cd, and 190 Os. Many interesting and potentially important investigations in biomedical research require small quantities of specific elements at high isotopic enrichments

  9. From biomedical-engineering research to clinical application and industrialization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taguchi, Tetsushi; Aoyagi, Takao

    2012-12-01

    The rising costs and aging of the population due to a low birth rate negatively affect the healthcare system in Japan. In 2011, the Council for Science and Technology Policy released the 4th Japan's Science and Technology Basic Policy Report from 2011 to 2015. This report includes two major innovations, 'Life Innovation' and 'Green Innovation', to promote economic growth. Biomedical engineering research is part of 'Life Innovation' and its outcomes are required to maintain people's mental and physical health. It has already resulted in numerous biomedical products, and new ones should be developed using nanotechnology-based concepts. The combination of accumulated knowledge and experience, and 'nanoarchitechtonics' will result in novel, well-designed functional biomaterials. This focus issue contains three reviews and 19 original papers on various biomedical topics, including biomaterials, drug-delivery systems, tissue engineering and diagnostics. We hope that it demonstrates the importance of collaboration among scientists, engineers and clinicians, and will contribute to the further development of biomedical engineering.

  10. Will Biomedical Enhancements Undermine Solidarity, Responsibility, Equality and Autonomy?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lev, Ori

    2009-01-01

    Prominent thinkers such as Jurgen Habermas and Michael Sandel are warning that biomedical enhancements will undermine fundamental political values. Yet, whether biomedical enhancements will undermine such values depends on how biomedical enhancements will function, how they will be administered and to whom. Since only few enhancements are obtainable, it is difficult to tell whether their predictions are sound. Nevertheless, such warnings are extremely valuable. As a society we must, at the very least, be aware of developments that could have harmful consequences. Indeed, if important values would be jeopardized, we should take appropriate measures to protect them. This paper focuses on four central values: solidarity, personal responsibility, equality and autonomy. It delineates the conditions under which biomedical enhancements would undermine these values. It also details the circumstances under which these values would be unaffected by enhancements as well as those under which they would be promoted. Specifying these conditions is valuable; it would enable society to prepare appropriate ethical guidelines and policy responses in advance. PMID:20002073

  11. Enhancing biomedical text summarization using semantic relation extraction.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yue Shang

    Full Text Available Automatic text summarization for a biomedical concept can help researchers to get the key points of a certain topic from large amount of biomedical literature efficiently. In this paper, we present a method for generating text summary for a given biomedical concept, e.g., H1N1 disease, from multiple documents based on semantic relation extraction. Our approach includes three stages: 1 We extract semantic relations in each sentence using the semantic knowledge representation tool SemRep. 2 We develop a relation-level retrieval method to select the relations most relevant to each query concept and visualize them in a graphic representation. 3 For relations in the relevant set, we extract informative sentences that can interpret them from the document collection to generate text summary using an information retrieval based method. Our major focus in this work is to investigate the contribution of semantic relation extraction to the task of biomedical text summarization. The experimental results on summarization for a set of diseases show that the introduction of semantic knowledge improves the performance and our results are better than the MEAD system, a well-known tool for text summarization.

  12. Enhancing biomedical text summarization using semantic relation extraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Yue; Li, Yanpeng; Lin, Hongfei; Yang, Zhihao

    2011-01-01

    Automatic text summarization for a biomedical concept can help researchers to get the key points of a certain topic from large amount of biomedical literature efficiently. In this paper, we present a method for generating text summary for a given biomedical concept, e.g., H1N1 disease, from multiple documents based on semantic relation extraction. Our approach includes three stages: 1) We extract semantic relations in each sentence using the semantic knowledge representation tool SemRep. 2) We develop a relation-level retrieval method to select the relations most relevant to each query concept and visualize them in a graphic representation. 3) For relations in the relevant set, we extract informative sentences that can interpret them from the document collection to generate text summary using an information retrieval based method. Our major focus in this work is to investigate the contribution of semantic relation extraction to the task of biomedical text summarization. The experimental results on summarization for a set of diseases show that the introduction of semantic knowledge improves the performance and our results are better than the MEAD system, a well-known tool for text summarization.

  13. GABAergic Signaling within a Limbic-Hypothalamic Circuit Integrates Social and Anxiety-Like Behavior with Stress Reactivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers, Brent; Carvalho-Netto, Eduardo; Wick-Carlson, Dayna; Wu, Christine; Naser, Sam; Solomon, Matia B; Ulrich-Lai, Yvonne M; Herman, James P

    2016-05-01

    The posterior hypothalamic nucleus (PH) stimulates autonomic stress responses. However, the role of the PH in behavioral correlates of psychiatric illness, such as social and anxiety-like behavior, is largely unexplored, as is the neurochemistry of PH connectivity with limbic and neuroendocrine systems. Thus, the current study tested the hypothesis that GABAergic signaling within the PH is a critical link between forebrain behavior-regulatory nuclei and the neuroendocrine hypothalamus, integrating social and anxiety-related behaviors with physiological stress reactivity. To address this hypothesis, GABAA receptor pharmacology was used to locally inhibit or disinhibit the PH immediately before behavioral measures of social and anxiety-like behavior in rats. Limbic connectivity of the PH was then established by simultaneous co-injection of anterograde and retrograde tracers. Further, the role of PH GABAergic signaling in neuroendocrine stress responses was tested via inhibition/disinhibition of the PH. These studies determined a prominent role for the PH in the expression of anxiety-related behaviors and social withdrawal. Histological analyses revealed divergent stress-activated limbic input to the PH, emanating predominantly from the prefrontal cortex, lateral septum, and amygdala. PH projections also targeted both parvicellular and magnocellular peptidergic neurons in the paraventricular and supraoptic hypothalamus. Further, GABAA receptor pharmacology determined an excitatory effect of the PH on neuroendocrine responses to stress. These data indicate that the PH represents an important stress-integrative center, regulating behavioral processes and connecting the limbic forebrain with neuroendocrine systems. Moreover, the PH appears to be uniquely situated to have a role in stress-related pathologies associated with limbic-hypothalamic dysfunction.

  14. Bio-based hyperbranched polyurethane/Fe3O4 nanocomposites: smart antibacterial biomaterials for biomedical devices and implants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Das, Beauty; Karak, Niranjan; Mandal, Manabendra; Upadhyay, Aadesh; Chattopadhyay, Pronobesh

    2013-01-01

    The fabrication of a smart magnetically controllable bio-based polymeric nanocomposite (NC) has immense potential in the biomedical domain. In this context, magneto-thermoresponsive sunflower oil modified hyperbranched polyurethane (HBPU)/Fe 3 O 4 NCs with different wt.% of magnetic nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 ) were prepared by an in situ polymerization technique. Fourier-transform infrared, x-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometer, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, thermal analysis and differential scanning calorimetric were used to analyze various physico-chemical structural attributes of the prepared NC. The results showed good interfacial interactions between HBPU and well-dispersed superparamagnetic Fe 3 O 4 , with an average diameter of 7.65 nm. The incorporation of Fe 3 O 4 in HBPU significantly improved the thermo-mechanical properties along with the shape-memory behavior, antibacterial activity, biocompatibility as well as biodegradability in comparison to the pristine system. The cytocompatibility of the degraded products of the NC was also verified by in vitro hemolytic activity and MTT assay. In addition, the in vivo biocompatibility and non-immunological behavior, as tested in Wistar rats after subcutaneous implantation, show promising signs for the NC to be used as antibacterial biomaterial for biomedical device and implant applications. (paper)

  15. The Ontology for Biomedical Investigations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bandrowski, Anita; Brinkman, Ryan; Brochhausen, Mathias; Brush, Matthew H; Bug, Bill; Chibucos, Marcus C; Clancy, Kevin; Courtot, Mélanie; Derom, Dirk; Dumontier, Michel; Fan, Liju; Fostel, Jennifer; Fragoso, Gilberto; Gibson, Frank; Gonzalez-Beltran, Alejandra; Haendel, Melissa A; He, Yongqun; Heiskanen, Mervi; Hernandez-Boussard, Tina; Jensen, Mark; Lin, Yu; Lister, Allyson L; Lord, Phillip; Malone, James; Manduchi, Elisabetta; McGee, Monnie; Morrison, Norman; Overton, James A; Parkinson, Helen; Peters, Bjoern; Rocca-Serra, Philippe; Ruttenberg, Alan; Sansone, Susanna-Assunta; Scheuermann, Richard H; Schober, Daniel; Smith, Barry; Soldatova, Larisa N; Stoeckert, Christian J; Taylor, Chris F; Torniai, Carlo; Turner, Jessica A; Vita, Randi; Whetzel, Patricia L; Zheng, Jie

    2016-01-01

    The Ontology for Biomedical Investigations (OBI) is an ontology that provides terms with precisely defined meanings to describe all aspects of how investigations in the biological and medical domains are conducted. OBI re-uses ontologies that provide a representation of biomedical knowledge from the Open Biological and Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) project and adds the ability to describe how this knowledge was derived. We here describe the state of OBI and several applications that are using it, such as adding semantic expressivity to existing databases, building data entry forms, and enabling interoperability between knowledge resources. OBI covers all phases of the investigation process, such as planning, execution and reporting. It represents information and material entities that participate in these processes, as well as roles and functions. Prior to OBI, it was not possible to use a single internally consistent resource that could be applied to multiple types of experiments for these applications. OBI has made this possible by creating terms for entities involved in biological and medical investigations and by importing parts of other biomedical ontologies such as GO, Chemical Entities of Biological Interest (ChEBI) and Phenotype Attribute and Trait Ontology (PATO) without altering their meaning. OBI is being used in a wide range of projects covering genomics, multi-omics, immunology, and catalogs of services. OBI has also spawned other ontologies (Information Artifact Ontology) and methods for importing parts of ontologies (Minimum information to reference an external ontology term (MIREOT)). The OBI project is an open cross-disciplinary collaborative effort, encompassing multiple research communities from around the globe. To date, OBI has created 2366 classes and 40 relations along with textual and formal definitions. The OBI Consortium maintains a web resource (http://obi-ontology.org) providing details on the people, policies, and issues being addressed

  16. Design and implementation of efficient low complexity biomedical artifact canceller for nano devices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md Zia Ur RAHMAN

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available In the current day scenario, with the rapid development of communication technology remote health care monitoring becomes as an intense research area. In remote health care monitoring, the primary aim is to facilitate the doctor with high resolution biomedical data. In order to cancel various artifacts in clinical environment in this paper we propose some efficient adaptive noise cancellation techniques. To obtain low computational complexity we combine clipping the data or error with Least Mean Square (LMS algorithm. This results sign regressor LMS (SRLMS, sign LMS (SLMS and sign LMS (SSLMS algorithms. Using these algorithms, we design Very-large-scale integration (VLSI architectures of various Biomedical Noise Cancellers (BNCs. In addition, the filtering capabilities of the proposed implementations are measured using real biomedical signals. Among the various BNCs tested, SRLMS based BNC is found to be better with reference to convergence speed, filtering capability and computational complexity. The main advantage of this technique is it needs only one multiplication to compute next weight. In this manner SRLMS based BNC is independent of filter length with reference to its computations. Whereas, the average signal to noise ratio achieved in the noise cancellation experiments are recorded as 7.1059dBs, 7.1776dBs, 6.2795dBs and 5.8847dBs for various BNCs based on LMS, SRLMS, SLMS and SSSLMS algorithms respectively. Based on the filtering characteristics, convergence and computational complexity, the proposed SRLMS based BNC architecture is well suited for nanotechnology applications.

  17. Biomedical Applications of Zinc Oxide Nanomaterials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yin; Nayak, Tapas R.; Hong, Hao; Cai, Weibo

    2013-01-01

    Nanotechnology has witnessed tremendous advancement over the last several decades. Zinc oxide (ZnO), which can exhibit a wide variety of nanostructures, possesses unique semiconducting, optical, and piezoelectric properties hence has been investigated for a wide variety of applications. One of the most important features of ZnO nanomaterials is low toxicity and biodegradability. Zn2+ is an indispensable trace element for adults (~10 mg of Zn2+ per day is recommended) and it is involved in various aspects of metabolism. Chemically, the surface of ZnO is rich in -OH groups, which can be readily functionalized by various surface decorating molecules. In this review article, we summarized the current status of the use of ZnO nanomaterials for biomedical applications, such as biomedical imaging (which includes fluorescence, magnetic resonance, positron emission tomography, as well as dual-modality imaging), drug delivery, gene delivery, and biosensing of a wide array of molecules of interest. Research in biomedical applications of ZnO nanomaterials will continue to flourish over the next decade, and much research effort will be needed to develop biocompatible/biodegradable ZnO nanoplatforms for potential clinical translation. PMID:24206130

  18. Professional ethics in biomedical engineering practice and research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monzon, Jorge E; Monzon-Wyngaard, Alvaro

    2008-01-01

    This paper discusses some guidelines for use with the accepted fundamental canons of ethics for engineers. We present some rules of practice and professional obligations emerging from these canons. Basic recommendations for engineers dissenting on ethical grounds are also presented. Ethical issues relating to Biomedical Engineering research are illustrated. We mention some cases that could be used to further understanding the ethical implications of biomedical engineering practice.

  19. Adolf Friedrich Fercher: a pioneer of biomedical optics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hitzenberger, Christoph K

    2017-11-01

    Adolf Friedrich Fercher, an outstanding pioneer of biomedical optics, passed away earlier this year. He was a brilliant and visionary researcher who pioneered various fields of biomedical optics, such as laser speckle flowgraphy, tissue interferometry, and optical coherence tomography (OCT). On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of OCT, this paper reviews and commemorates Fercher's pioneering work. (2017) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

  20. Diode laser based light sources for biomedical applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Müller, André; Marschall, Sebastian; Jensen, Ole Bjarlin

    2013-01-01

    Diode lasers are by far the most efficient lasers currently available. With the ever-continuing improvement in diode laser technology, this type of laser has become increasingly attractive for a wide range of biomedical applications. Compared to the characteristics of competing laser systems, diode...... imaging. This review provides an overview of the latest development of diode laser technology and systems and their use within selected biomedical applications....

  1. Value Priorities and Behavior: Applying a Theory of Integrated Value Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shalom Schwartz

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available A major goal of research on values has been to relate individual differences in value priorities to differences in attitudes, behavior and background variables. Past research most commonly adopted one of two approaches. Much research has selected a few single target values whose priorities were postulated to associate with the attitude, behavior and background variable of interest and then examined empirical relationships. Other research has been more exploratory.It has related lists of values to various other variables and then discussed the significant associations that emerge. The focus on relationships with single values make both these approaches insatisfying. My work has sought to overcome those approaches.It has derived what may be a nearly comprehensive set of different motivational types of values, recognized across cultures. Each value type is represented by a number of single values that are combined to form relatively reliable indexes of values priorities. Value systems can be treated as integrated wholes in their relations with behaviors and, thereby, encourages researches to abandom the prevailing single-values approaches. 

  2. A study to assess the knowledge and practice on bio-medical waste ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: The proper handling and disposal of bio-medical waste is very imperative. Unfortunately, laxity and lack of adequate knowledge and practice on bio-medical waste disposal leads to staid health and environment apprehension. Aim: To assess the knowledge and practice on bio-medical waste management ...

  3. Assessment of Substance Abuse Behaviors in Adolescents’: Integration of Self-Control into Extended Parallel Process Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K Witte

    2005-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: An effective preventive health education program on drug abuse can be delivered by applying behavior change theories in a complementary fashion. Methods: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of integrating self-control into Extended Parallel Process Model in drug substance abuse behaviors. A sample of 189 governmental high school students participated in this survey. Information was collected individually by completing researcher designed questionnaire and a urinary rapid immuno-chromatography test for opium and marijuana. Results: The results of the study show that 6.9% of students used drugs (especially opium and marijuana and also peer pressure was determinant factor for using drugs. Moreover the EPPM theoretical variables of perceived severity and perceived self-efficacy with self-control are predictive factors to behavior intention against substance abuse. In this manner, self-control had a significant effect on protective motivation and perceived efficacy. Low self- control was a predictive factor of drug abuse and low self-control students had drug abuse experience. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that an integration of self-control into EPPM can be effective in expressing and designing primary preventive programs against drug abuse, and assessing abused behavior and deviance behaviors among adolescent population, especially risk seekers

  4. Semantic relatedness and similarity of biomedical terms: examining the effects of recency, size, and section of biomedical publications on the performance of word2vec.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Yongjun; Yan, Erjia; Wang, Fei

    2017-07-03

    Understanding semantic relatedness and similarity between biomedical terms has a great impact on a variety of applications such as biomedical information retrieval, information extraction, and recommender systems. The objective of this study is to examine word2vec's ability in deriving semantic relatedness and similarity between biomedical terms from large publication data. Specifically, we focus on the effects of recency, size, and section of biomedical publication data on the performance of word2vec. We download abstracts of 18,777,129 articles from PubMed and 766,326 full-text articles from PubMed Central (PMC). The datasets are preprocessed and grouped into subsets by recency, size, and section. Word2vec models are trained on these subtests. Cosine similarities between biomedical terms obtained from the word2vec models are compared against reference standards. Performance of models trained on different subsets are compared to examine recency, size, and section effects. Models trained on recent datasets did not boost the performance. Models trained on larger datasets identified more pairs of biomedical terms than models trained on smaller datasets in relatedness task (from 368 at the 10% level to 494 at the 100% level) and similarity task (from 374 at the 10% level to 491 at the 100% level). The model trained on abstracts produced results that have higher correlations with the reference standards than the one trained on article bodies (i.e., 0.65 vs. 0.62 in the similarity task and 0.66 vs. 0.59 in the relatedness task). However, the latter identified more pairs of biomedical terms than the former (i.e., 344 vs. 498 in the similarity task and 339 vs. 503 in the relatedness task). Increasing the size of dataset does not always enhance the performance. Increasing the size of datasets can result in the identification of more relations of biomedical terms even though it does not guarantee better precision. As summaries of research articles, compared with article

  5. Human factors design for the BMIT biomedical beamlines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, C Denise; Wysokinski, Tomasz W; Belev, George; Chapman, L Dean

    2013-01-01

    Operation of a biomedical beamline poses a unique set of operational and instrumentation challenges for a synchrotron facility. From proper handling and care of live animals and animal tissues, to a user community drawn primarily from the medical and veterinary realms, the work of a biomedical beamline is unique when compared to other beamlines. At the Biomedical Imaging and Therapy (BMIT) beamlines at Canadian Light Source (CLS), operation of the beamlines is geared towards our user community of medical personnel, in addition to basic science researchers. Human factors considerations have been incorporated wherever possible on BMIT, including in the design of software and hardware, as well as ease-of-use features of beamline control stations and experiment hutches. Feedback from users continues to drive usability improvements to beamline operations.

  6. Biomedical engineering education through global engineering teams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheffer, C; Blanckenberg, M; Garth-Davis, B; Eisenberg, M

    2012-01-01

    Most industrial projects require a team of engineers from a variety of disciplines. The team members are often culturally diverse and geographically dispersed. Many students do not acquire sufficient skills from typical university courses to function efficiently in such an environment. The Global Engineering Teams (GET) programme was designed to prepare students such a scenario in industry. This paper discusses five biomedical engineering themed projects completed by GET students. The benefits and success of the programme in educating students in the field of biomedical engineering are discussed.

  7. Information Retrieval in Biomedical Research: From Articles to Datasets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Wei

    2017-01-01

    Information retrieval techniques have been applied to biomedical research for a variety of purposes, such as textual document retrieval and molecular data retrieval. As biomedical research evolves over time, information retrieval is also constantly facing new challenges, including the growing number of available data, the emerging new data types,…

  8. Incorporating "motivation" into the functional analysis of challenging behavior: on the interactive and integrative potential of the motivating operation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langthorne, Paul; McGill, Peter; O'Reilly, Mark

    2007-07-01

    Sensitivity theory attempts to account for the variability often observed in challenging behavior by recourse to the "aberrant motivation" of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In this article, we suggest that a functional analysis based on environmental (challenging environments) and biological (challenging needs) motivating operations provides a more parsimonious and empirically grounded account of challenging behavior than that proposed by sensitivity theory. It is argued that the concept of the motivating operation provides a means of integrating diverse strands of research without the undue inference of mentalistic constructs. An integrated model of challenging behavior is proposed, one that remains compatible with the central tenets of functional analysis.

  9. Toxicity, toxicokinetics and biodistribution of dextran stabilized Iron oxide Nanoparticles for biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Remya, N S; Syama, S; Sabareeswaran, A; Mohanan, P V

    2016-09-10

    Advancement in the field of nanoscience and technology has alarmingly raised the call for comprehending the potential health effects caused by deliberate or unintentional exposure to nanoparticles. Iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles have an increasing number of biomedical applications and hence a complete toxicological profile of the nanomaterial is therefore a mandatory requirement prior to its intended usage to ensure safety and to minimize potential health hazards upon its exposure. The present study elucidates the toxicity of in house synthesized Dextran stabilized iron oxide nanoparticles (DINP) in a regulatory perspective through various routes of exposure, its associated molecular, immune, genotoxic, carcinogenic effects and bio distribution profile. Synthesized ferrite nanomaterials were successfully coated with dextran (dextran helps in improvising particle stability in biological environments. The nanoparticles do not seem to induce oxidative stress mediated toxicological effects, nor altered physiological process or behavior changes or visible pathological lesions. Furthermore no anticipated health hazards are likely to be associated with the use of DINP and could be concluded that the synthesized DINP is nontoxic/safe to be used for biomedical applications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. An inventory of biomedical imaging physics elements-of-competence for diagnostic radiography education in Europe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Caruana, Carmel J. [University of Malta, Institute of Health Care, St Lukes Hospital, Gwardamangia (Malta)]. E-mail: carmel.j.caruana@um.edu.mt; Plasek, Jaromir [Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Institute of Physics, Division of Biophysics, Prague (Czech Republic)

    2006-08-15

    Purpose: To develop an inventory of biomedical physics elements-of-competence for diagnostic radiography education in Europe. Method: Research articles in the English literature and UK documentation pertinent to radiography education, competences and role development were subjected to a rigorous analysis of content from a functional and competence analysis perspective. Translations of radiography curricula from across Europe and relevant EU legislation were likewise analysed to ensure a pan-European perspective. Broad Subject Specific Competences for diagnostic radiography that included major biomedical physics components were singled out. These competences were in turn carefully deconstructed into specific elements-of-competence and those elements falling within the biomedical physics learning domain inventorised. A pilot version of the inventory was evaluated by participants during a meeting of the Higher Education Network for Radiography in Europe (HENRE), held in Marsascala, Malta, in November 2004. The inventory was further refined taking into consideration suggestions by HENRE members and scientific, professional and educational developments. Findings: The evaluation of the pilot inventory was very positive and indicated that the overall structure of the inventory was sensible, easily understood and acceptable - hence a good foundation for further development. Conclusions: Use of the inventory by radiography programme leaders and biomedical physics educators would guarantee that all necessary physics elements-of-competence underpinning the safe, effective and economical use of imaging devices are included within radiography curricula. It will also ensure the relevancy of physics content within radiography education. The inventory is designed to be a pragmatic tool for curriculum development across the entire range of radiography education up to doctorate level and irrespective of whether curriculum delivery is discipline-based or integrated, presentation

  11. An inventory of biomedical imaging physics elements-of-competence for diagnostic radiography education in Europe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caruana, Carmel J.; Plasek, Jaromir

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: To develop an inventory of biomedical physics elements-of-competence for diagnostic radiography education in Europe. Method: Research articles in the English literature and UK documentation pertinent to radiography education, competences and role development were subjected to a rigorous analysis of content from a functional and competence analysis perspective. Translations of radiography curricula from across Europe and relevant EU legislation were likewise analysed to ensure a pan-European perspective. Broad Subject Specific Competences for diagnostic radiography that included major biomedical physics components were singled out. These competences were in turn carefully deconstructed into specific elements-of-competence and those elements falling within the biomedical physics learning domain inventorised. A pilot version of the inventory was evaluated by participants during a meeting of the Higher Education Network for Radiography in Europe (HENRE), held in Marsascala, Malta, in November 2004. The inventory was further refined taking into consideration suggestions by HENRE members and scientific, professional and educational developments. Findings: The evaluation of the pilot inventory was very positive and indicated that the overall structure of the inventory was sensible, easily understood and acceptable - hence a good foundation for further development. Conclusions: Use of the inventory by radiography programme leaders and biomedical physics educators would guarantee that all necessary physics elements-of-competence underpinning the safe, effective and economical use of imaging devices are included within radiography curricula. It will also ensure the relevancy of physics content within radiography education. The inventory is designed to be a pragmatic tool for curriculum development across the entire range of radiography education up to doctorate level and irrespective of whether curriculum delivery is discipline-based or integrated, presentation

  12. MAPI: a software framework for distributed biomedical applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karlsson Johan

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The amount of web-based resources (databases, tools etc. in biomedicine has increased, but the integrated usage of those resources is complex due to differences in access protocols and data formats. However, distributed data processing is becoming inevitable in several domains, in particular in biomedicine, where researchers face rapidly increasing data sizes. This big data is difficult to process locally because of the large processing, memory and storage capacity required. Results This manuscript describes a framework, called MAPI, which provides a uniform representation of resources available over the Internet, in particular for Web Services. The framework enhances their interoperability and collaborative use by enabling a uniform and remote access. The framework functionality is organized in modules that can be combined and configured in different ways to fulfil concrete development requirements. Conclusions The framework has been tested in the biomedical application domain where it has been a base for developing several clients that are able to integrate different web resources. The MAPI binaries and documentation are freely available at http://www.bitlab-es.com/mapi under the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 2.5 Spain License. The MAPI source code is available by request (GPL v3 license.

  13. Pre-asymptotic behavior of single-particle overlap integrals of non-Borromean two-neutron halos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Timofeyuk, N.K.; Tostevin, J.A.; Blokhintsev, L.D.

    2003-01-01

    For non-Borromean two-neutron halo nuclei, modifications to the behavior of single-particle overlap integrals will arise due to the correlations of the two interacting nucleons in the halo. An additional contribution to the overlap integral can be obtained using the Feynman diagram approach. This additional term is modeled using a simple local potential model. We show that these modifications may play a role in detailed interpretations of experimental results from single-nucleon knockout, transfer, and other reactions that probe the single-nucleon overlap functions

  14. Health coaching to improve healthy lifestyle behaviors: an integrative review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olsen, Jeanette M; Nesbitt, Bonnie J

    2010-01-01

    Chronic diseases account for 70% of U.S. deaths. Health coaching may help patients adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors that prevent and control diseases. This integrative review analyzed health coaching studies for evidence of effectiveness and to identify key program features. Multiple electronic databases were utilized, yielding a final sample of 15 documents. The search was limited to peer-reviewed research articles published between 1999 and 2008. Studies were further analyzed if they (1) specifically cited coaching as a program intervention, and (2) applied the intervention to research. Articles describing various quantitative and qualitative methodologies were critically analyzed using a systematic method. Data were synthesized using a matrix format according to purpose, method, intervention, findings, critique, and quality rating. All 15 studies utilized nonprobability sampling, 7 (47%) with randomized intervention and control groups. Significant improvements in one or more of the behaviors of nutrition, physical activity, weight management, or medication adherence were identified in six (40%) of the studies. Common features of effective programs were goal setting (73%), motivational interviewing (27%), and collaboration with health care providers (20%). Health coaching studies with well-specified methodologies and more rigorous designs are needed to strengthen findings; however, this behavioral change intervention suggests promise.

  15. Education and research in biomedical engineering of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benyó, Z

    2006-03-01

    Biomedical Engineering is a relatively new interdisciplinary science. This review paper presents the biomedical engineering activity, which is carried out at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE) and its partner institutions. In the first parts the main goals and the curriculum of the Biomedical Engineering Education Program is presented. The second part of the paper summarizes the most important biomedical engineering researches most of them carried out in the Biomedical Engineering Laboratory of BUTE.

  16. A pilot biomedical engineering course in rapid prototyping for mobile health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stokes, Todd H; Venugopalan, Janani; Hubbard, Elena N; Wang, May D

    2013-01-01

    Rapid prototyping of medically assistive mobile devices promises to fuel innovation and provides opportunity for hands-on engineering training in biomedical engineering curricula. This paper presents the design and outcomes of a course offered during a 16-week semester in Fall 2011 with 11 students enrolled. The syllabus covered a mobile health design process from end-to-end, including storyboarding, non-functional prototypes, integrated circuit programming, 3D modeling, 3D printing, cloud computing database programming, and developing patient engagement through animated videos describing the benefits of a new device. Most technologies presented in this class are open source and thus provide unlimited "hackability". They are also cost-effective and easily transferrable to other departments.

  17. An enhanced approach for biomedical image restoration using image fusion techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karam, Ghada Sabah; Abbas, Fatma Ismail; Abood, Ziad M.; Kadhim, Kadhim K.; Karam, Nada S.

    2018-05-01

    Biomedical image is generally noisy and little blur due to the physical mechanisms of the acquisition process, so one of the common degradations in biomedical image is their noise and poor contrast. The idea of biomedical image enhancement is to improve the quality of the image for early diagnosis. In this paper we are using Wavelet Transformation to remove the Gaussian noise from biomedical images: Positron Emission Tomography (PET) image and Radiography (Radio) image, in different color spaces (RGB, HSV, YCbCr), and we perform the fusion of the denoised images resulting from the above denoising techniques using add image method. Then some quantive performance metrics such as signal -to -noise ratio (SNR), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), and Mean Square Error (MSE), etc. are computed. Since this statistical measurement helps in the assessment of fidelity and image quality. The results showed that our approach can be applied of Image types of color spaces for biomedical images.

  18. DNA nanotechnology and its applications in biomedical research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Lifan; Yu, Lu; Shen, Wanqiu

    2014-09-01

    DNA nanotechnology, which uses DNA as a material to self-assemble designed nanostructures, including DNA 2D arrays, 3D nanostructures, DNA nanotubes and DNA nanomechanical devices, has showed great promise in biomedical applications. Various DNA nanostructures have been used for protein characterization, enzyme assembly, biosensing, drug delivery and biomimetic assemblies. In this review, we will present recent advances of DNA nanotechnology and its applications in biomedical research field.

  19. Multiscale computer modeling in biomechanics and biomedical engineering

    CERN Document Server

    2013-01-01

    This book reviews the state-of-the-art in multiscale computer modeling, in terms of both accomplishments and challenges. The information in the book is particularly useful for biomedical engineers, medical physicists and researchers in systems biology, mathematical biology, micro-biomechanics and biomaterials who are interested in how to bridge between traditional biomedical engineering work at the organ and tissue scales, and the newer arenas of cellular and molecular bioengineering.

  20. Towards precision medicine; a new biomedical cosmology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vegter, M W

    2018-02-10

    Precision Medicine has become a common label for data-intensive and patient-driven biomedical research. Its intended future is reflected in endeavours such as the Precision Medicine Initiative in the USA. This article addresses the question whether it is possible to discern a new 'medical cosmology' in Precision Medicine, a concept that was developed by Nicholas Jewson to describe comprehensive transformations involving various dimensions of biomedical knowledge and practice, such as vocabularies, the roles of patients and physicians and the conceptualisation of disease. Subsequently, I will elaborate my assessment of the features of Precision Medicine with the help of Michel Foucault, by exploring how precision medicine involves a transformation along three axes: the axis of biomedical knowledge, of biomedical power and of the patient as a self. Patients are encouraged to become the managers of their own health status, while the medical domain is reframed as a data-sharing community, characterised by changing power relationships between providers and patients, producers and consumers. While the emerging Precision Medicine cosmology may surpass existing knowledge frameworks; it obscures previous traditions and reduces research-subjects to mere data. This in turn, means that the individual is both subjected to the neoliberal demand to share personal information, and at the same time has acquired the positive 'right' to become a member of the data-sharing community. The subject has to constantly negotiate the meaning of his or her data, which can either enable self-expression, or function as a commanding Superego.