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Technological Approaches (technological + approach)
Selected AbstractsA New Frontier in Soy Bioactive Peptides that May Prevent Age-related Chronic DiseasesCOMPREHENSIVE REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND FOOD SAFETY, Issue 4 2005Wenyi Wang ABSTRACT During gastrointestinal digestion or food processing of proteins, small peptides can be released and may act as regulatory compounds with hormone-like activities. Numerous biologically active peptides (bioactive peptides) have been identified. Most bioactive peptides are derived from milk and dairy products, with the most common being angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory peptides. Soybean protein and soybean derived peptides also play an important role in soybean physiological activities, particularly those related to the prevention of chronic diseases. However, the bioactive potential of soybean derived bioactive peptides is yet to be fully appreciated. After a general introduction of approaches and advances in bioactive peptides from food sources, this review focuses on bioactive peptides derived from soybean proteins and their physiological properties. Technological approaches to generate bioactive peptides, their isolation, purification, characterization, and quantification, and further application in food and drug design are also presented. Safety concerns, such as potential toxicity, allergenicity, and sensory aspect of these peptides are likewise discussed. [source] Clinical Practice of Functional Electrical Stimulation: From "Yesterday" to "Today"ARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 8 2008Milan R. DimitrijevicArticle first published online: 18 AUG 200 Abstract:, Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is an accepted treatment method for paresis or paralysis after spinal cord and head injury as well as stroke and other neurological upper motor neuron disorders. At the beginning, FES worked like an electrophysiological brace for the correction of drop foot of patients after a stroke. When analyzing early accomplishments, it becomes evident that FES was influenced rather by technological and biomedical engineering development than by contemporary knowledge on neurocontrol of movement in individuals with upper motor neuron paralysis. Nevertheless, with better understanding of pathophysiology of spasticity and neurocontrol of impaired movement, FES advanced from an electrophysiological brace to a treatment modality for the improvement of muscle control, neuroaugmentation of residual movements, and supportive procedure for "spontaneous recovery" of motor control. In the present article we shall illustrate barriers which delayed FES to be applied in clinical practice of neuron rehabilitation from "Yesterday" to "Today." We shall discuss the importance to apply FES early after the onset of neurological conditions to prevent disuse of noninjured portions of the CNS. Moreover, FES can play a significant role in the supporting processes of neuroplasticity in the subacute phase of upper motor neuron dysfunction. Therefore, the electrophysiological brace of "Yesterday" provides "Today" a correction of missing neuromuscular function. At the same time, it is an active external device for the correction of motor deficits interacting with the somatosensory-motor integration. Thus, "Yesterday" and "Today" of the same technological approach can be very different, thanks to a different understanding and assessment of "external" and "internal" components of human motor control. [source] Regenerative medicine in dermatology: biomaterials, tissue engineering, stem cells, gene transfer and beyondEXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY, Issue 8 2010Christina Dieckmann Please cite this paper as: Regenerative medicine in dermatology: biomaterials, tissue engineering, stem cells, gene transfer and beyond. Experimental Dermatology 2010; 19: 697,706. Abstract:, The term ,regenerative medicine' refers to a new and expanding field in biomedical research that focuses on the development of innovative therapies allowing the body to replace, restore and regenerate damaged or diseased cells, tissues and organs. It combines several technological approaches including the use of soluble molecules, biomaterials, tissue engineering, gene therapy, stem cell transplantation and the reprogramming of cell and tissue types. Because of its easy accessibility, skin is becoming an attractive model organ for regenerative medicine. Here, we review recent developments in regenerative medicine and their potential relevance for dermatology with a particular emphasis on biomaterials, tissue engineering, skin substitutes and stem cell-based therapies for skin reconstitution in patients suffering from chronic wounds and extensive burns. [source] Miniaturization of Fluorescence Microscopes Using Fibre OpticsEXPERIMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 6 2002Fritjof Helmchen In both medical research and diagnostics characterization of biological tissue on the cellular level relies on high-resolution optical microscopy. In most cases, however, tissue is excised for microscopic investigation, in part because conventional microscopes are bulky instruments. Imaging of cells in the intact living organism has been difficult. Over the last decade several groups have developed miniature confocal microscopes that use fibre optics to deliver light to the specimen and to measure either reflected or excited fluorescence light. In addition, two-photon excitation recently has been employed in a small portable ,fibrescope'. A potential clinical application of these microscope probes is their endoscopic use for optical biopsy of inner organs or guidance of conventional biopsy. As a mobile research tool they may permit imaging of neuronal activity in the brain of awake, behaving animals. Here, we review technological approaches to build miniaturized fluorescence microscopes and discuss their potential applications. [source] User profiling on the Web based on deep knowledge and sequential questioningEXPERT SYSTEMS, Issue 1 2006Silvano Mussi Abstract: User profiling on the Web is a topic that has attracted a great number of technological approaches and applications. In most user profiling approaches the website learns profiles from data implicitly acquired from user behaviours, i.e. observing the behaviours of users with a statistically significant number of accesses. This paper presents an alternative approach. In this approach the website explicitly acquires data from users, user interests are represented in a Bayesian network, and user profiles are enriched and refined over time. The profile enrichment is achieved through a sequential asking algorithm based on the value-of-information theory using the Shannon entropy concept. However, what mostly characterizes the approach is the fact that the user is involved in a collaborative process of profile building. The approach has been tried out for over a year in a real application. On the basis of the experimental results the approach turns out to be particularly suitable for applications where the website is strongly based on deep domain knowledge (as for example is the case for scientific websites) and has a community of users that share the same domain knowledge of the website and produce a ,low' number of accesses (,low' compared to the high number of accesses of a typical commercial website). After presenting the technical aspects of the approach, we discuss the underlying ideas in the light of the experimental results and the literature on human,computer interaction and user profiling. [source] Satellite communications: the contribution of the 5th framework programme and future perspectivesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING, Issue 1 2004Bernard Barani Abstract The telecommunication sector is of key importance for the European economy. Digitization, secure broadband access and mobility are expected to shift an ever-growing proportion of the economy on line, thus creating new markets and business opportunities. With the eEurope 2002 and eEurope 2005 initiatives, the European Union has initiated a number of policy actions aiming at favouring the rapid introduction of innovative communication systems, services and applications. Research and development, as supported under the IST programme of the Union, is closely associated to the overall policy picture. The IST programme is notably instrumental in supporting, with a longer-term approach, key policy orientations such as the pervasive introduction of low cost broadband access, introduction of advanced mobile systems, or migration of networks towards the next generation of Internet protocol, IPv6. Satellite communication form an integral part of this diversified communication landscape, and has also been significantly supported under the 5th Framework Programme. Even if the problematic of the satcom industry are to some extent similar to those of the terrestrial players (e.g. catalysing take up of broadband and advanced mobile markets), the strategies followed by the satcom sector differ from those followed by the terrestrial players. This paper review the current technological approaches of the satcom industry, their relevance in the context of the policy goals of the Union, and how they have been supported under the IST programme. It also introduces briefly how co-ordination with ESA work has been achieved, and the perspectives for further support, notably under the now starting 6th Framework Programme. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||