Search results for "20(60)"

A bio-imitating approach to fabricate an artificial matrix for cartilage tissue engineering using magnesium-polyphosphate and hyaluronic acid

2016

Here we describe an artificial cartilage-like material based on a hyaluronic acid-Mg/Ca-polyphosphate paste (HA-aMg/Ca-polyP-p) that is fabricated from a water-soluble Na-salt of energy-rich inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) and soluble hyaluronic acid in the presence of water-insoluble CaCO3. The resulting material, after conversion of Na-polyP into the less soluble Mg/Ca-salt consisting of amorphous Mg/Ca-polyP microparticles, was found to mimic the physiological cartilage tissue and to bind Ca2+ ions present in the synovial fluid. After the Mg2+/Ca2+ exchange and water extrusion, the polyP becomes more stable, but is still susceptible to hydrolytic cleavage by the alkaline phosphatase (ALP…

Distributed and Lumped Parameter Models for the Characterization of High Throughput Bioreactors

2016

Next generation bioreactors are being developed to generate multiple human cell-based tissue analogs within the same fluidic system, to better recapitulate the complexity and interconnection of human physiology. The effective development of these devices requires a solid understanding of their interconnected fluidics, to predict the transport of nutrients and waste through the constructs and improve the design accordingly. In this work, we focus on a specific model of bioreactor, with multiple input/outputs, aimed at gen- erating osteochondral constructs, i.e., a biphasic construct in which one side is cartilagi- nous in nature, while the other is osseous. We next develop a general computat…

Comparison of region of interest segmentation methods for video-based heart rate measurements

2018

International audience; Conventional contact photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors are not suitable in situations of skin damage or when unconstrained movement is required. As a consequence, remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) has recently emerged because it provides remote physiological measurements without expensive hardware and improves comfort for long-term monitoring. RPPG estimation methods use the spatially averaged RGB values of pixels in a Region Of Interest (ROI) to generate a temporal RGB signal. The selection of ROI is a critical first step to obtain reliable pulse signals and must contain as many skin pixels as possible with a low percentage of non-skin pixels. In this paper, we ex…

Quantifying multidimensional control mechanisms of cardiovascular dynamics during multiple concurrent stressors

2021

Heartbeat regulation is achieved through different routes originating from central autonomic network sources, as well as peripheral control mechanisms. While previous studies successfully characterized cardiovascular regulatory mechanisms during a single stressor, to the best of our knowledge, a combination of multiple concurrent elicitations leading to the activation of different autonomic regulatory routes has not been investigated yet. Therefore, in this study, we propose a novel modeling framework for the quantification of heartbeat regulatory mechanisms driven by different neural routes. The framework is evaluated using two heartbeat datasets gathered from healthy subjects undergoing p…

Remote Photoplethysmography measurement using constrained ICA

2017

Remote Photoplethysmography (rPPG) is a technique that consists in estimating physiological parameters such as heart rate from live or recorded video sequences taken by conventional camera or even webcams. This technique is increasingly used in many application fields thanks to its simplicity and affordability. The basic idea is that the arterial blood flow shows regularity due to the heartbeat. This regularity is manifested by very small periodic variations in the color of the skin, which can be isolated and quantified by signal and image processing methods. In this context, Independent Component Analysis (ICA) is largely used to separate the signal due to arterial flow from signals from o…

Does shoe heel-to-toe drop have an influence on performance in downhill trail running?

2019

Trail running (TR) is characterized by sequences of uphill and downhill performed in a natural environment. Recently, studies investigated performance factors specific to TR. During a full race of ...

2019

Despite substantial advances in many different fields of neurorobotics in general, and biomimetic robots in particular, a key challenge is the integration of concepts: to collate and combine research on disparate and conceptually disjunct research areas in the neurosciences and engineering sciences. We claim that the development of suitable robotic integration platforms is of particular relevance to make such integration of concepts work in practice. Here, we provide an example for a hexapod robotic integration platform for autonomous locomotion. In a sequence of six focus sections dealing with aspects of intelligent, embodied motor control in insects and multipedal robots-ranging from comp…

Forward acceleration of the centre of mass during ski skating calculated from force and motion capture data

2016

The purpose of this paper was to present and evaluate a methodology to determine the contribution of bilateral leg and pole thrusts to forward acceleration of the centre of mass (COM) of cross-country skiers from multi-dimensional ground reaction forces and motion capture data. Nine highly skilled cross-country (XC) skiers performed leg skating and V2-alternate skating (V2A) under constant environmental conditions on snow, while ground reaction forces measured from ski bindings and poles and 3D motion with high-speed cameras were captured. COM acceleration determined from 3D motion analyses served as a reference and was compared to the results of the proposed methodology. The obtained value…

Work-life balance during the COVID-19 outbreak: the case of Latvia

2020

This paper aims to shed light on work-life balance in Latvia during the state of emergency The COVID-19 outbreak has led many governments to introduce lockdowns While imposed restrictions may help to contain the spread of the virus, they may also result in substantial damage to population well-being The COVID-19 outbreak in Latvia demonstrates the extent and ways in which socio-demographics factors have determined different patterns of behaviour, attitudes, employment changes and harmonised work and life balance The study describes the chronological development of COVID-19 in the country It describes labour migration to and from Latvia before the COVID-19 outbreak It provides geographical f…

Computer-Assisted Approaches for Uterine Fibroid Segmentation in MRgFUS Treatments: Quantitative Evaluation and Clinical Feasibility Analysis

2019

Nowadays, uterine fibroids can be treated using Magnetic Resonance guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery (MRgFUS), which is a non-invasive therapy exploiting thermal ablation. In order to measure the Non-Perfused Volume (NPV) for treatment response assessment, the ablated fibroid areas (i.e., Region of Treatment, ROT) are manually contoured by a radiologist. The current operator-dependent methodology could affect the subsequent follow-up phases, due to the lack of result repeatability. In addition, this fully manual procedure is time-consuming, considerably increasing execution times. These critical issues can be addressed only by means of accurate and efficient automated Pattern Recognition ap…