Modelling and classification of respiratory volume wavefourms

A technique is proposed for classifying respiratory volume waveforms(RVW) into normal and abnormal categories of respiratory pathways. The proposed method transforms the temporal sequence into frequency domain by using an orthogonal transform, namely discrete cosine transform (DCT) and the transformed signal is pole-zero modelled. A Bayes classifier using model pole angles as the feature vector performed satisfactorily when a limited number of RVWs recorded under deep and rapid (DR) manoeuvre are classified.

Improved parametric models and DPCM techniques for EGG data compiression

This paper presents a novel algorithm for compression of single lead Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals. The method is based on Pole-Zero modelling of the Discrete Cosine Transformed (DCT) signal. An extension is proposed to the well known Steiglitz-Hcbride algorithm, to model the higher frequency components of the input signal more accurately. This is achieved by weighting the error function minimized by the algorithm to estimate the model parameters. The data compression achieved by the parametric model is further enhanced by Differential Pulse Code Modulation (DPCM) of the model parameters. The method accomplishes a compression ratio in the range of 1:20 to 1:40, which far exceeds those achieved by most of the current methods.

MODELING AND SIMULATION OF HYDRODYNAMIC INTERACTION OF DNA IN A MICRO-FLUIDIC CHANNEL

The motion of DNA (in the bulk solution) and the non-Newtonian effective fluid behavior are considered separately and self-consistently with the fluid motion satisfying the no-slip boundary condition on the surface of the confining geometry in the presence of channel pressure gradients. A different approach has been developed to model DNA in the micro-channel. In this study the DNA is assumed as an elastic chain with its characteristic Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio and density. The force which results from the fluid dynamic pressure, viscous forces and electromotive forces is applied to the elastic chain in a coupled manner. The velocity fields in the micro-channel are influenced by the transport properties. Simulations are carried out for the DNAs attached to the micro-fluidic wall. Numerical solutions based on a coupled multiphysics finite element scheme are presented. The modeling scheme is derived based on mass conservation including biomolecular mass, momentum balance including stress due to Coulomb force field and DNA-fluid interaction, and charge transport associated to DNA and other ionic complexes in the fluid. Variation in the velocity field for the non-Newtonian flow and the deformation of the DNA strand which results from the fluid-structure interaction are first studied considering a single DNA strand. Motion of the effective center of mass is analyzed considering various straight and coil geometries. Effects of DNA statistical parameters (geometry and spatial distribution of DNAs along the channel) on the effective flow behavior are analyzed. In particular, the dynamics of different DNA physical properties such as radius of gyration, end-to-end length etc. which are obtained from various different models (Kratky-Porod, Gaussian bead-spring etc.) are correlated to the nature of interaction and physical properties under the same background fluid environment.

Drug Discovery Research in India: Current State and Future Prospects

Indian civilization developed a strong system of traditional medicine and was one of the first nations to develop a synthetic drug. In the postindependence era, Indian pharmaceutical industry developed a strong base for production of generic drugs. Challenges for the future are to give its traditional medicine a strong scientific base and develop research and clinical capability to consistently produce new drugs based on advances in modem biological sciences.

CANDO and the infinite drug discovery frontier

The Computational Analysis of Novel Drug Opportunities (CANDO) platform (http://protinfo.org/cando) uses similarity of compound-proteome interaction signatures to infer homology of compound/drug behavior. We constructed interaction signatures for 3733 human ingestible compounds covering 48,278 protein structures mapping to 2030 indications based on basic science methodologies to predict and analyze protein structure, function, and interactions developed by us and others. Our signature comparison and ranking approach yielded benchmarking accuracies of 12-25% for 1439 indications with at least two approved compounds. We prospectively validated 49/82 `high value' predictions from nine studies covering seven indications, with comparable or better activity to existing drugs, which serve as novel repurposed therapeutics. Our approach may be generalized to compounds beyond those approved by the FDA, and can also consider mutations in protein structures to enable personalization. Our platform provides a holistic multiscale modeling framework of complex atomic, molecular, and physiological systems with broader applications in medicine and engineering.

Fully 3D refraction correction dosimetry system

The irradiation of selective regions in a polymer gel dosimeter results in an increase in optical density and refractive index (RI) at those regions. An optical tomography-based dosimeter depends on rayline path through the dosimeter to estimate and reconstruct the dose distribution. The refraction of light passing through a dose region results in artefacts in the reconstructed images. These refraction errors are dependant on the scanning geometry and collection optics. We developed a fully 3D image reconstruction algorithm, algebraic reconstruction technique-refraction correction (ART-rc) that corrects for the refractive index mismatches present in a gel dosimeter scanner not only at the boundary, but also for any rayline refraction due to multiple dose regions inside the dosimeter. In this study, simulation and experimental studies have been carried out to reconstruct a 3D dose volume using 2D CCD measurements taken for various views. The study also focuses on the effectiveness of using different refractive-index matching media surrounding the gel dosimeter. Since the optical density is assumed to be low for a dosimeter, the filtered backprojection is routinely used for reconstruction. We carry out the reconstructions using conventional algebraic reconstruction (ART) and refractive index corrected ART (ART-rc) algorithms. The reconstructions based on FDK algorithm for cone-beam tomography has also been carried out for comparison. Line scanners and point detectors, are used to obtain reconstructions plane by plane. The rays passing through dose region with a RI mismatch does not reach the detector in the same plane depending on the angle of incidence and RI. In the fully 3D scanning setup using 2D array detectors, light rays that undergo refraction are still collected and hence can still be accounted for in the reconstruction algorithm. It is found that, for the central region of the dosimeter, the usable radius using ART-rc algorithm with water as RI matched medium is 71.8%, an increase of 6.4% compared to that achieved using conventional ART algorithm. Smaller diameter dosimeters are scanned with dry air scanning by using a wide-angle lens that collects refracted light. The images reconstructed using cone beam geometry is seen to deteriorate in some planes as those regions are not scanned. Refraction correction is important and needs to be taken in to consideration to achieve quantitatively accurate dose reconstructions. Refraction modeling is crucial in array based scanners as it is not possible to identify refracted rays in the sinogram space.

Defensa de la vida física del paciente en estado terminal : entre la dignidad y la autonomía

Resumen: Proponemos un análisis crítico de los fundamentos que sustentan la llamada “Ley de Muerte Digna” incorporada en la Ley que consagra la regulación de los derechos del paciente, historia clínica, consentimiento informado, (Art. 2º, inc. “e” párr. 2º de la Ley 26.529 modificada por la Ley 26.742), que introduce en nuestro país la existencia real de un sistema eutanásico formal sin fundamentos de orden científico, éticos e incluso jurídicos. ¿Es moralmente lícito suprimir la vida del enfermo terminal?, ¿la legalización de esta práctica eutanásica es la primera piedra de una nueva “cultura” de la vida? Entendemos que la llamada “tesis de la autonomía”, fundante de la reforma legislativa en cuestión, desde una óptica Bioética personalista, merece serias objeciones bioéticas ya que puede distorsionar gravemente el ejercicio de la medicina y la relación médico paciente.

Investigation of Interactions between Two Monoclonal Antibodies and SARS Virus with a Label-Free Protein Array

The investigation of interactions between two kinds of monoclonal antibodies and SARS virus with a label-free protein array technique were presented in this paper. The performance consists of three parts: a surface modification for ligand immobilization/surface, a protein array fabrication with an integrated microfluidic system for patterning, packaging and liquid handling, and a protein array reader of imaging ellipsometer. This revealed the technique could be used as an immunoassay for qualitative and quantitative detection as wen as kinetic analysis of biomolecule interaction.

Study of Interaction Force between Antigen and Antibody Using Flow Chamber Method

A parallel plate flow chamber was used to study the interaction force between human IgG (immobilized on a chip surface as ligand) and goat anti-human IgG (immobilized on microspheres surface as receptor). First, it was demonstrated that the binding force between the microspheres and the chip surface came from the bio-specific interaction between the antigen and the antibody. Secondly, it was obtained that the critical shear rate to detach microspheres from the chip surface increases with the ligand surface concentration. Finally, two models to estimate the antigen-antibody bond strength considering bonds' positions were proposed and analyzed.

Coral Disease and Health Workshop: Coral Histopathology II

The health and continued existence of coral reef ecosystems are threatened by an increasing array of environmental and anthropogenic impacts. Coral disease is one of the prominent causes of increased mortality among reefs globally, particularly in the Caribbean. Although over 40 different coral diseases and syndromes have been reported worldwide, only a few etiological agents have been confirmed; most pathogens remain unknown and the dynamics of disease transmission, pathogenicity and mortality are not understood. Causal relationships have been documented for only a few of the coral diseases, while new syndromes continue to emerge. Extensive field observations by coral biologists have provided substantial documentation of a plethora of new pathologies, but our understanding, however, has been limited to descriptions of gross lesions with names reflecting these observations (e.g., black band, white band, dark spot). To determine etiology, we must equip coral diseases scientists with basic biomedical knowledge and specialized training in areas such as histology, cell biology and pathology. Only through combining descriptive science with mechanistic science and employing the synthesis epizootiology provides will we be able to gain insight into causation and become equipped to handle the pending crisis. One of the critical challenges faced by coral disease researchers is to establish a framework to systematically study coral pathologies drawing from the field of diagnostic medicine and pathology and using generally accepted nomenclature. This process began in April 2004, with a workshop titled Coral Disease and Health Workshop: Developing Diagnostic Criteria co-convened by the Coral Disease and Health Consortium (CDHC), a working group organized under the auspices of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, and the International Registry for Coral Pathology (IRCP). The workshop was hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) in Madison, Wisconsin and was focused on gross morphology and disease signs observed in the field. A resounding recommendation from the histopathologists participating in the workshop was the urgent need to develop diagnostic criteria that are suitable to move from gross observations to morphological diagnoses based on evaluation of microscopic anatomy. (PDF contains 92 pages)

A ciência das doenças e a Arte de curar: trajetória das medicina hipocrática

Este trabalho tem como objeto as trajetórias da medicina hipocrática no pensamento médico ocidental. Através da análise bibliográfica de textos e documentos, objetivou-se compreender como os conceitos de vida e do processo saúde-doença, partindo de uma mesma raiz, foram se definindo em sistemas médicos baseados em paradigmas distintos. Para tanto, inicialmente, procurou-se levantar e analisar o nascimento e desenvolvimento da medicina hipocrática, com ênfase em seu método de observação clínica e em sua proposta terapêutica. Em seguida, foi realizada a análise do histórico e das dimensões das racionalidades médicas homeopatia e biomedicina, avaliando o papel dos conceitos sobre physis, vida e vis medicatrix naturae em cada paradigma. Na abordagem dos referidos conceitos, Canguilhem e Jacob foram os principais apoios teóricos. Conclusões: para a medicina homeopática, tal como para a medicina hipocrática, o adoecer e o curar são processo de equilíbrio e desequilíbrio que fazem parte da vida do ser humano e, por isso, também considerados único e individuais. Hahnemann criou uma terapêutica baseada no reconhecimento da pessoa enferma como um indivíduo único, singular, dotado de capacidade automantenedora e autorrestauradora, levando em conta a ideia de natureza que se manifesta em singularidades plurais a cada momento e, portanto, a prescrição medicamentosa é individualizada e mobilizadora da vis medicatrix naturae. A racionalidade médica homeopática compartilha dos conceitos hipocráticos tanto em sua doutrina, quanto nos seus sistemas diagnóstico e terapêutico. Apesar de a biomedicina ter em suas bases a medicina hipocrática, ao se tornar uma ciência das doenças, não mais compartilhou dos conceitos hipocráticos que permitiriam uma abordagem de saúde positiva e de um enfoque terapêutico baseado no sujeito como um ser único. A homeopatia afirma uma medicina que tem como categoria central de seu paradigma a categoria saúde e não a doença, consideradas fenômenos da vida. A vida, assim valorizada, se colocaria no caminho da Grande Saúde, afirmando-se em seu potencial criativo e capaz de transmutar valores.

Divining for meaning and searching for a female literary identity in Alice Munros Lives of girls and women and Margaret Laurences The diviners

Esta dissertação tem por objetivo investigar como Alice Munro e Margaret Laurence se apropriam de gêneros canônicos, especificamente do Bildungsroman e do Künstlerroman, para subvertê-los e representar versões diferentes do sujeito feminino através de romances de cunho autobiográfico escritos por mulheres. A investigação é focada em dois romances: Lives of Girls and Women (1971), escrito por Alice Munro, e The Diviners (1974), escrito por Margaret Laurence. No romance de Alice Munro, as estratégias de apagamento das fronteiras entre gêneros, a ideia de que perspectivas de realidade mudam de acordo com a experiência e a memória de cada indivíduo, como também a ênfase no desenvolvimento da protagonista enquanto pessoa e escritora, são assuntos amplamente discutidos. No romance de Margaret Laurence, a ênfase no aspecto subjetivo da memória, a desconstrução de estereótipos de gênero e a renegociação da representação do sujeito feminino para o alcance de uma identidade feminina autônoma na vida e na arte são os principais assuntos investigados. Em vista disso, esta dissertação visa mostrar como a representação da identidade feminina é redefinida por duas escritoras canadenses que se apropriaram de discursos dominantes para subvertê-los e, então, reescreverem suas histórias