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At least 649 records · Page 36Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

Analysis and modelling of signal transduction pathways in systems biology.

There is general agreement that a systems approach is needed for a better understanding of causal and functional relationships that generate the dynamics of biological networks and pathways. These observations have been the basis for efforts to get the engineering and physical sciences involved in life sciences. The emergence of systems biology as a new area of research is evidence for these developments. Dynamic modelling and simulation of signal transduction pathways is an important theme in systems biology and is getting growing attention from researchers with an interest in the analysis of dynamic systems. This paper introduces systems biology in terms of the analysis and modelling of signal transduction pathways. Focusing on mathematical representations of cellular dynamics, a number of emerging challenges and perspectives are discussed.

Computational Biology↗
PubMed2005

Artificial intelligence in hematology.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a computer based science which aims to simulate human brain faculties using a computational system. A brief history of this new science goes from the creation of the first artificial neuron in 1943 to the first artificial neural network application to genetic algorithms. The potential for a similar technology in medicine has immediately been identified by scientists and researchers. The possibility to store and process all medical knowledge has made this technology very attractive to assist or even surpass clinicians in reaching a diagnosis. Applications of AI in medicine include devices applied to clinical diagnosis in neurology and cardiopulmonary diseases, as well as the use of expert or knowledge-based systems in routine clinical use for diagnosis, therapeutic management and for prognostic evaluation. Biological applications include genome sequencing or DNA gene expression microarrays, modeling gene networks, analysis and clustering of gene expression data, pattern recognition in DNA and proteins, protein structure prediction. In the field of hematology the first devices based on AI have been applied to the routine laboratory data management. New tools concern the differential diagnosis in specific diseases such as anemias, thalassemias and leukemias, based on neural networks trained with data from peripheral blood analysis. A revolution in cancer diagnosis, including the diagnosis of hematological malignancies, has been the introduction of the first microarray based and bioinformatic approach for molecular diagnosis: a systematic approach based on the monitoring of simultaneous expression of thousands of genes using DNA microarray, independently of previous biological knowledge, analysed using AI devices. Using gene profiling, the traditional diagnostic pathways move from clinical to molecular based diagnostic systems.

Artificial Intelligence↗
PubMed2003

The next generation of HIV prevention for adolescent females in the United States: linking behavioral and epidemiologic sciences to reduce incidence of HIV.

Given the increasing numbers of new HIV infections among adolescent females and limitations of the current generation of HIV interventions, a new generation of interventions is needed to prevent HIV and other infections in this population. Interventions available today are limited by their focus on single behaviors that have little epidemiologic significance, such as condom use, and their failure to be tested among the highest risk females. Recent advances in epidemiologic sciences suggest that the next generation of interventions should focus on parenting and parenting skills, sexual risk networks in which drug use and other high-risk behaviors are prevalent, and neighborhoods where these networks exist. Future research should include formative and observational studies to inform new intervention trials that reach the highest risk female youth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Building the TeraGrid.

On 1 October 2004, the most ambitious high-performance Grid project in the United States-the TeraGrid-became fully operational. Resources at nine sites--the San Diego Supercomputer Center, the California Institute of Technology, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, the University of Chicago/Argonne National Laboratory, Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, Texas Advanced Computing Center, Purdue University, Indiana University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory-were joined via an ultra-fast optical network, unified policies and security procedures and a sophisticated distributed computing software environment. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the TeraGrid enables scientists and engineers to combine distributed, multiple data sources with computation at any of the sites or link massively parallel computer simulations to extreme-resolution visualizations at remote sites. A single shared utility lets multiple resources be easily leveraged and provides improved access to advanced computational capabilities. One of the demonstrations of this new model for using distributed resources, Teragyroid, linked the infrastructure of the TeraGrid with computing resources in the United Kingdom via a transatlantic data fibre link. Once connected, the software framework of the RealityGrid project was used to successfully explore lattice-Boltzmann simulations involving lattices of over one billion sites.

Computer Security↗
PubMed2001

Environmental signaling: what embryos and evolution teach us about endocrine disrupting chemicals.

The term "endocrine disrupting chemicals" is commonly used to describe environmental agents that alter the endocrine system. Laboratories working in this emerging field-environmental endocrine research-have looked at chemicals that mimic or block endogenous vertebrate steroid hormones by interacting with the hormone's receptor. Environmental chemicals known to do this do so most often with receptors derived from the steroid/thyroid/retinoid gene family. They include ubiquitous and persistent organochlorines, as well as plasticizers, pharmaceuticals, and natural hormones. These chemicals function as estrogens, antiestrogens, and antiandrogens but have few, if any, structural similarities. Therefore, receptor-based or functional assays have the best chance of detecting putative biological activity of environmental chemicals. Three nuclear estrogen receptor forms-alpha, beta, and gamma-as well as multiple membrane forms and a possible mitochondrial form have been reported, suggesting a previously unknown diversity of signaling pathways available to estrogenic chemicals. Examples of environmental or ambient estrogenization occur in laboratory experiments, zoo animals, domestic animals, wildlife, and humans. Environmentally estrogenized phenotypes may differ depending upon the time of exposure-i.e., whether the exposure occurred at a developmental (organizational and irreversible) or postdevelopmental (activational and reversible) stage. The term "estrogen" must be defined in each case, since steroidal estrogens differ among themselves and from synthetic or plant-derived chemicals. An "estrogen-like function" seems to be an evolutionarily ancient signal that has been retained in a number of chemicals, some of which are vertebrate hormones. Signaling, required for symbiosis between plants and bacteria, may be viewed, therefore, as an early example of hormone cross-talk. Developmental feminization at the structural or functional level is an emerging theme in species exposed, during embryonic or fetal life, to estrogenic compounds. Human experience as well as studies in experimental animals with the potent estrogen diethylstilbestrol provide informative models. Advances in the molecular genetics of sex differentiation in vertebrates facilitate mechanistic understanding. Experiments addressing the concept of gene imprinting or induction of epigenetic memory by estrogen or other hormones suggest a link to persistent, heritable phenotypic changes seen after developmental estrogenization, independent of mutagenesis. Environmental endocrine science provides a new context in which to examine the informational content of ecosystem-wide communication networks. As common features come to light, this research may allow us to predict environmentally induced alterations in internal signaling systems of vertebrates and some invertebrates and eventually to explicate environmental contributions to human reproductive and developmental health.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Delivering health information statewide via the Internet in a collaborative environment: impact on individual member institutions.

The Arizona Health Information Network (AZHIN) is a statewide member-driven organization committed to improving access to information for health sciences students and practitioners. Members include several hospitals and hospital systems, an academic health sciences center, and other diverse health care organizations. AZHIN offers its members unlimited Web access to ten well-known health sciences databases. This paper explores the impact that AZHIN has had on its member institutions. A survey asked members to reflect on AZHIN and its possible effects on the visibility of the librarian within the institution, relative dollars spent on AZHIN and range of resources available, Internet connectivity within their institution, access to AZHIN and other Internet resources, teaching, and benefits of collaboration. Results indicated that AZHIN members have access to a wider range of resources than they would otherwise. There are financial savings for some. Internet connectivity and AZHIN membership can provide the librarian with a broadened role and increased visibility. The availability of MEDLINE and other AZHIN resources encouraged some institutions to install Internet connectivity more quickly. Teaching library users has increased. Overall, AZHIN members recognized many benefits of their collaboration.

Arizona↗
PubMed2000

Library outreach: addressing Utah's "Digital Divide".

A "Digital Divide" in information and technological literacy exists in Utah between small hospitals and clinics in rural areas and the larger health care institutions in the major urban area of the state. The goals of the outreach program of the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library at the University of Utah address solutions to this disparity in partnership with the National Network of Libraries of Medicine-- Midcontinental Region, the Utah Department of Health, and the Utah Area Health Education Centers. In a circuit-rider approach, an outreach librarian offers classes and demonstrations throughout the state that teach information-access skills to health professionals. Provision of traditional library services to unaffiliated health professionals is integrated into the library's daily workload as a component of the outreach program. The paper describes the history, methodology, administration, funding, impact, and results of the program.

Area Health Education Centers↗
PubMed1984

Programs advancing developmental psychopathology.

This report provides an overview of recent activities designed to further the integration of developmental perspectives in research involving infant and childhood psychopathology. Definitions are provided for what appears to be an emerging field of developmental psychopathology. Various methods to foster the growth of this interdisciplinary endeavor are presented. Examples given include: (a) informing key science administrators in funding institutions; (b) creating forums for research communication, evaluation and planning; (c) building researcher networks; (d) interpreting priorities at funding institutions; (e) providing new publication outlets; and (f) developing interdisciplinary research training programs.

Child↗
PubMed2006

Policy and science in children's health and environment: recommendations from the PINCHE project.

BACKGROUND: Policy recommendations result from the discussions and analysis of the present situation in environment and health. Such analysis was performed in PINCHE. This led to recommendations based on the scientific literature. In the field of children's environmental health the policy process will follow more or less fixed rules, but this process is still at an early level of development. The link between science and policy still faces many challenges. Scientific assessment of environmental risk must recognize and tackle the problems of data sets, variability of human and environmental systems, the range, spatial and temporal diffusion of potential health effects and many biases and confounding factors. RESULTS: The PINCHE network recommends a general improvement of the supporting scientific fields in environment and health. Assessments from epidemiology or toxicology should play a key role in influencing science-policy decisions in programmes that are intended to inform the public policy process. Scientific committees at a local level could play a role. The relation between health and environment needs to be better incorporated in training and education. There is a need for harmonization of data production and use. The priorities in PINCHE focus on the most important issues. A classification of low, medium or high priority for action was used to describe a range of different environmental stressors. CONCLUSIONS: PINCHE provided recommendations to reduce exposure for children. Exposure reduction is not always linked to improved health in the short term, but it will reduce the body burden of accumulating chemicals in children. A strategic choice is reduction of exposure of children to compounds by changing production techniques or by increasing the distance of child specific settings to sources. The contribution of all players in the production, distribution and use of scientific knowledge in the field of children's environmental health is necessary.

Advisory Committees↗
PubMed2005

[Health economic evaluation of rehabilitation programmes in the "rehabilitation sciences" research funding programme in Germany].

A main problem of the German rehabilitation sector is to meet the increasing demand for rehabilitation treatment while available resources are scarce. Thus, health economic evaluation is gaining more importance for decision making in the rehab system. In the "Rehabilitation Sciences" research funding programme the relevance of health economic analyses was recognised from the outset. In nearly all regional networks health economic analyses were conducted - though with different scope. In the first funding period the main focus of health economic evaluation was on (1) patient education programmes and (2) the comparison of inpatient versus outpatient rehabilitation. The projects of the research funding programme have initialised health economic evaluation of rehabilitation in Germany. It was shown that health economics can contribute relevant results for designing rehabilitation concepts. The article concludes with an outlook on the main future questions of rehab economic evaluation.

Biomedical Research↗
PubMed1999

A connectionist theory of phenomenal experience.

When cognitive scientists apply computational theory to the problem of phenomenal consciousness, as many have been doing recently, there are two fundamentally distinct approaches available. Consciousness is to be explained either in terms of the nature of the representational vehicles the brain deploys or in terms of the computational processes defined over these vehicles. We call versions of these two approaches vehicle and process theories of consciousness, respectively. However, although there may be space for vehicle theories of consciousness in cognitive science, they are relatively rare. This is because of the influence exerted, on the one hand, by a large body of research that purports to show that the explicit representation of information in the brain and conscious experience are dissociable, and on the other, by the classical computational theory of mind--the theory that takes human cognition to be a species of symbol manipulation. Two recent developments in cognitive science combine to suggest that a reappraisal of this situation is in order. First, a number of theorists have recently been highly critical of the experimental methodologies used in the dissociation studies--so critical, in fact, that it is no longer reasonable to assume that the dissociability of conscious experience and explicit representation has been adequately demonstrated. Second, classicism, as a theory of human cognition, is no longer as dominant in cognitive science as it once was. It now has a lively competitor in the form of connectionism; and connectionism, unlike classicism, does have the computational resources to support a robust vehicle theory of consciousness. In this target article we develop and defend this connectionist vehicle theory of consciousness. It takes the form of the following simple empirical hypothesis: phenomenal experience consists of the explicit representation of information in neurally realized parallel distributed processing (PDP) networks. This hypothesis leads us to reassess some common wisdom about consciousness, but, we argue, in fruitful and ultimately plausible ways.

Cognition↗
PubMed2001

[A non-classical approach to medical practices: Michel Foucault and Actor-Network Theory].

The text presents an analysis of medical practices stemming from two sources: Michel Foucault's conception and the research of Annemarie Mol and John Law, representatives of a trend known as Actor-Network Theory. Both approaches reveal significant theoretical kinship: they can be successfully consigned to the framework of non-classical sociology of science. I initially refer to the cited conceptions as a version of non-classical sociology of medicine. The identity of non-classical sociology of medicine hinges on the fact that it undermines the possibility of objective definitions of disease, health and body. These are rather approached as variable social and historical phenomena, co-constituted by medical practices. To both Foucault and Mol the main object of interest was not medicine as such, but rather the network of medical practices. Mol and Law sketch a new theoretical perspective for the analysis of medical practices. They attempt to go beyond the dichotomous scheme of thinking about the human body as an object of medical research and the subject of private experience. Research on patients suffering blood-sugar deficiency provide the empirical background for the thesis of Actor-Network Theory representatives. Michel Foucault's conceptions are extremely critical of medical practices. The French researcher describes the processes of 'medicalising' Western society as the emergence of a new type of power. He attempts to sensitise the reader to the ethical dimension of the processes of medicalising society.

France↗
PubMed2002

Development of a learning module using a virtual environment to demonstrate EMG and telerobotic control principles.

A prototype system was developed for use as a teaching tool, allowing students to link EMG monitoring, data smoothing, robotic control, and neural network training within a rapid prototyping virtual environment (VE). The VE software allowed for the rapid development of scenarios and, when linked with EMG data input to a neural network, allowed the user to control an artificial world containing a virtual arm. Student teams then attempted to control the arm in the VE while performing the tasks by use of a neural network system they had specifically developed and trained using their own EMG signals. The results from their system were then translated into a form that enabled the control of a real robot. Students enjoyed the challenge and uniqueness of the module, and were enthusiastic about extending the concept to other areas of interest.

Biological Science Disciplines↗
PubMed1998

[On the origins of university psychology in France (1870-1900): intellectual stakes, political context, networks and strategies].

The university study of psychology originated in France in the 1880's. The first practitioners conceived of it as psychophysiology, a natural science, as opposed to an aspect of spiritual philosophy, which needed to be understood in a specific political context. This paper analyses this seminal period through the militant activity of its main architect, Theodule Ribot (1839-1916). It particularly questions the orientations of the Revue philosophique, founded in 1876, which proved a rally-point for the young philosophers and physicians who derived from Ribot their alliance strategy within the medical milieu. The inquiry is continued to the turn of the century, when psychology became firmly institutionalized.

Education↗
PubMed1992

High-performance computing, high-speed networks, and configurable computing environments: progress toward fully distributed computing.

The next several years will see the maturing of a collection of technologies that will enable fully and transparently distributed computing environments. Networks will be used to configure independent computing, storage, and I/O elements into "virtual systems" that are optimal for solving a particular problem. This environment will make the most powerful computing systems those that are logically assembled from network-based components and will also make those systems available to a widespread audience. Anticipating that the necessary technology and communications infrastructure will be available in the next 3 to 5 years, we are developing and demonstrating prototype applications that test and exercise the currently available elements of this configurable environment. The Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) Information and Computing Sciences and Research Medicine Divisions have collaborated with the Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center to demonstrate one distributed application that illuminates the issues and potential of using networks to configure virtual systems. This application allows the interactive visualization of large three-dimensional (3D) scalar fields (voxel data sets) by using a network-based configuration of heterogeneous supercomputers and workstations. The specific test case is visualization of 3D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. The virtual system architecture consists of a Connection Machine-2 (CM-2) that performs surface reconstruction from the voxel data, a Cray Y-MP that renders the resulting geometric data into an image, and a workstation that provides the display of the image and the user interface for specifying the parameters for the geometry generation and 3D viewing. These three elements are configured into a virtual system by using several different network technologies. This paper reviews the current status of the software, hardware, and communications technologies that are needed to enable this configurable environment. These interdependent technologies include: (1) user interface and application program construction methodologies, (2) the interprocess communication (IPC) mechanisms used to connect the software modules of the application, (3) the network protocols and interface hardware used by the IPC for communicating between modules running on separate and independent computing system elements, (4) the telecommunications infrastructure that provides the low-level data transfer functions for the networks that connect the geographically distributed elements used by the application, and (5) the nature of the functional elements that will be connected to form virtual systems.

Computer Communication Networks↗
PubMed1995

Guide to the Internet. Logging in, fetching files, reading news.

Aside from email and the world wide web, there are several other systems for distributing information on the Internet. Telnet is a system that allows you to log on to a remote computer from anywhere on the Internet and affords access to many useful biomedical sites on the Internet. File transfer protocol (FTP) is a method of transferring files from one computer to another over the Internet. It can be used to download files, including software, from numerous publiclly accessible "anonymous FTP archives" around the world. Such archives can be searched using a tool known as Archie. Network News is a system of electronic discussion groups covering almost every imaginable subject, including many areas of medicine and the biomedical sciences; MOOs are virtual environments that allow real time electronic conferencing and teaching over the Internet. It is difficult to predict the future of medicine on the Internet. However, the net opens up many possibilities not available through previous technologies. It is now up to medical practitioners to realise the Internet's full potential.

Computer Communication Networks↗
PubMed2002

Food for thought?: the relations between the Royal Society Food Committee and government, 1915-19.

This paper traces the relationship between the food committees of the Royal Society and government during the First World War, concentrating on the period up to the resignation of Lord Devonport as first Food Controller. It argues that, in the context of a radical public science discourse emanating from some sections of the scientific community and greatly increased contacts between scientists and the government, the food scientists of the committees were moved to press for a formalization of the committees' role in food policy. The members constantly manoeuvered to achieve this aim, but also used a network of alternative channels into the heart of the policy process to get their findings translated into hard policy. In doing so, they explicitly rehearsed characteristic 'public science' arguments. In the institutional blur of wartime state-science relations, scientists often got close to the policy-making process. Post-War, the state swiftly moved to clarify the position: science was to be given more money, but was to be specifically blocked by new administrative arrangements embodied in the Haldane Report on the Machinery of Government from having any say in the core areas of general policy, the expert domain of the generalist policy-maker.

Food Supply↗
PubMed2004

Information system architectures for syndromic surveillance.

INTRODUCTION: Public health agencies are developing the capacity to automatically acquire, integrate, and analyze clinical information for disease surveillance. The design of such surveillance systems might benefit from the incorporation of advanced architectures developed for biomedical data integration. Data integration is not unique to public health, and both information technology and academic research should influence development of these systems. OBJECTIVES: The goal of this paper is to describe the essential architectural components of a syndromic surveillance information system and discuss existing and potential architectural approaches to data integration. METHODS: This paper examines the role of data elements, vocabulary standards, data extraction, transport and security, transformation and normalization, and analysis data sets in developing disease-surveillance systems. It then discusses automated surveillance systems in the context of biomedical and computer science research in data integration, both to characterize existing systems and to indicate potential avenues of investigation to build systems that support public health practice. RESULTS: The Public Health Information Network (PHIN) identifies best practices for essential architectural components of a syndromic surveillance system. A schema for classifying biomedical data-integration software is useful for classifying present approaches to syndromic surveillance and for describing architectural variation. CONCLUSIONS: Public health informatics and computer science research in data-integration systems can supplement approaches recommended by PHIN and provide information for future public health surveillance systems.

Bioterrorism↗