Human Physiology: A Very Short Introduction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie A. Davies
Keyword(s):  
Human Physiology ◽  
Medical Research ◽  
Human Body ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Physiological Mechanisms ◽  
Short Introduction ◽  
Process Information ◽  
Internal Parameters ◽  
The Creation

Human Physiology: A Very Short Introduction explores how the human body works, senses, reacts, and defends itself. Physiology is the science of life. It considers how human bodies are supplied with energy, how they maintain their internal parameters, the ways in which they gather and process information or take action, and the creation of new generations. This VSI examines the experiments undertaken to understand the interplay of the vast variety of physiological mechanisms and principles within us, and analyses the ethical issues involved. It also looks at how enhanced understandings of physiological knowledge can help inform medical research and care.

The Short Story: A Very Short Introduction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Kahn
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Short Story ◽  
Popular Fiction ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Short Introduction ◽  
The Press ◽  
Character Study ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Plot Design

The Short Story: A Very Short Introduction charts the rise of the short story from its original appearance in magazines and newspapers. For much of the 19th century, tales were written for the press, and the form’s history is marked by engagement with popular fiction. The short story then earned a reputation for its skilful use of plot design and character study distinct from the novel. This VSI considers the continuity and variation in key structures and techniques such as the beginning, the creation of voice, the ironic turn or plot twist, and how writers manage endings. Throughout, it draws on examples from an international and flourishing corpus of work.

scholarly journals Wavelet introscopy of human organism bionets

2021 ◽  
pp. 63-72
Author(s):  
Gennady M. Aldonin ◽  
◽  
Vasily V. Cherepanov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Functional State ◽  
Human Body ◽  
Dynamic Models ◽  
Golden Ratio ◽  
The State ◽  
The Body ◽  
Human Organism ◽  
Fractal Structures ◽  
Self Similar ◽  
The Creation

In domestic and foreign practice, a great deal of experience has been accumulated in the creation of means for monitoring the functional state of the human body. The existing complexes mainly analyze the electrocardiogram, blood pressure and a number of other physiological parameters. Diagnostics is often based on formal statistical data which are not always correct due to the nonstationarity of bioprocesses and without taking into account their physical nature. An urgent task of monitoring the state of the cardiovascular system is the creation of effective algorithms for computer technologies to process biosignals based on nonlinear dynamic models of body systems since biosystems and bioprocesses have a nonlinear nature and fractal structure. The nervous and muscular systems of the heart, the vascular and bronchial systems of the human body are examples of such structures. The connection of body systems with their organization in the form of self-similar fractal structures with scaling close to the “golden ratio” makes it possible to diagnose them topically. It is possible to obtain detailed information about the state of the human body’s bio-networks for topical diagnostics on the basis of the wavelet analysis of biosignals (the so-called wavelet-introscopy). With the help of wavelet transform, it is possible to reveal the structure of biosystems and bioprocesses, as a picture of the lines of local extrema of wavelet diagrams of biosignals. Mathematical models and software for wavelet introscopy make it possible to extract additional information from biosignals about the state of biosystems. Early detection of latent forms of diseases using wavelet introscopy can shorten the cure time and reduce the consequences of disorders of the functional state of the body (FSO), and reduce the risk of disability. Taking into account the factors of organizing the body’s biosystems in the form of self-similar fractal structures with a scaling close to the “golden ratio” makes it possible to create a technique for topical diagnostics of the most important biosystems of the human body.

scholarly journals Ethical Issues in Medical Research & Publications

1970 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 42-44
Author(s):  
Quazi Tarikul Islam ◽  
AKM Rafiquddin
Keyword(s):  
Medical Research ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Research Publications

DOI = 10.3329/jom.v7i2.1362 J MEDICINE 2006; 7 : 42-44

A Redesigned Planet?

2020 ◽  
pp. 234-296
Author(s):  
John Parrington
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Molecular Biology ◽  
Medical Research ◽  
Genome Editing ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Biological Weapons ◽  
New Development ◽  
Whole Number

Given the speed of change in the development of new technologies mentioned in this book such as genome editing, optogenetics, stem cell organoids, and synthetic biology, it is hard to predict exactly how radically these technologies are likely to transform our lives in coming decades. What is clear is that as exciting as the new biotechnologies are in terms of their impact on medical research, medicine, and agriculture, they also raise a whole number of socio-political and ethical issues. These include concerns about whether monkeys engineered to have genetic similarities to humans might lead to a ‘Planet of the Apes’ scenario, and fears about ‘designer babies’ being produced in the future to have greater beauty, intelligence or sporting skill. Although one potentially positive new development is the rise of a ‘biohacker’ movement which seeks to make molecular biology more accessible to ordinary people, there are also fears that in the wrong hands genome editing might be used to create new types of biological weapons for terrorist organisations. While such fears should not be dismissed as just an overreaction, to some extent they rest on an underestimation of the complexity of the Iink between the human genome and looks, intelligence, and sporting ability, or of the difficulties involved in creating a deadly virus that is worse than naturally occurring ones. Ultimately, the best way to ensure that new technologies are used for human benefit, not harm, is to take part in an informed debate and use public lobbying to argue for them to be developed safely, ethically, and responsibly.

Computers in medicine and health care

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald M. Baecker
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Precision Medicine ◽  
Human Body ◽  
Medical Information ◽  
Adverse Drug Events ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Huge Impact ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Online Availability

As with the chapter on learning, we begin our discussion of health applications by examining influential early visions of the possible role of computers in improving health care and medicine. We then look at the great variety of roles played by current digital technologies in this field. We first consider the online availability of health information. There are two possible sources: one from respected centres of expertise, the other from consumers of medical care, that is, patients, who in working together form what may be viewed as communities of care. There is strong evidence that people are using these online medical resources to become more intelligent guardians of their own health and to support themselves when seeking help from physicians. Next, we examine the care improvements promised by personal health and electronic medical records. Progress here has been disappointingly slow; we shall discuss the mix of technical, cultural, administrative, interpersonal, and financial reasons for the sluggishness in development and deployment. Two particularly interesting cases of medical information are data dealing with adverse drug reactions and interactions, commonly known as adverse drug events (ADEs), and the use of big data and social media in epidemic surveillance and control, by which we are becoming better equipped to indicate, predict, and track outbreaks of disease. Computers have made a huge impact on medical education through the development of human body simulators. There also continue to be more and more advanced uses of technology embedded within the human body, either to augment the functioning of organs or to replace body parts that no longer work, which could possibly result in bionic people or androids in the future. We shall present some examples indicating the pace at which these technologies are developing. Recent advances in understanding the human genome have enabled a new form of medicine called precision medicine. The goal is to use genetic screening of patients to enable more specific treatments than were hitherto possible. Precision medicine also enables what some call designer babies. We shall introduce policy and ethical issues raised by this concept.

scholarly journals Morocco’s First Biobank: Establishment, Ethical Issues, Biomedical Research Opportunities, and Challenges

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Saida Lhousni ◽  
Karam Yahya Belmokhtar ◽  
Ihab Belmokhtar ◽  
Mounia Elidrissi Errahhali ◽  
Manal Elidrissi Errahhali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Research ◽  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Blood Donation ◽  
Sex Differentiation ◽  
White Blood Cells ◽  
Translational Medical Research ◽  
Biomedical Data ◽  
Sample Collection ◽  
Healthy Donors

Background. Biobanks are highly organized infrastructures that allow the storage of human biological specimens associated with donors’ personal and clinical data. These infrastructures play a key role in the development of translational medical research. In this context, we launched, in November 2015, the first biobank in Morocco (BRO Biobank) in order to promote biomedical research and provide opportunities to include Moroccan and North African ethnic groups in international biomedical studies. Here, we present the setup and the sample characteristics of BRO Biobank. Methods. Patients were recruited at several departments of two major health-care centers in the city of Oujda. Healthy donors were enrolled during blood donation campaigns all over Eastern Morocco. From each participant, personal, clinical, and biomedical data were collected, and several biospecimens were stored. Standard operating procedures have been established in accordance with international guidelines on human biobanks. Results. Between November 2015 and July 2020, 2446 participants were recruited into the BRO Biobank, of whom 2013 were healthy donors, and 433 were patients. For healthy donors, the median age was 35 years with a range between 18 and 65 years and the consanguinity rate was 28.96%. For patients, the median age was 11 years with a range between 1 day and 83 years. Among these patients, 55% had rare diseases (hemoglobinopathies, intellectual disabilities, disorders of sex differentiation, myopathies, etc.), 13% had lung cancer, 4% suffered from hematological neoplasms, 3% were from the kidney transplantation project, and 25% had unknown diagnoses. The BRO Biobank has collected 5092 biospecimens, including blood, white blood cells, plasma, serum, urine, frozen tissue, FFPE tissue, and nucleic acids. A sample quality control has been implemented and suggested that samples of the BRO Biobank are of high quality and therefore suitable for high-throughput nucleic acid analysis. Conclusions. The BRO Biobank is the largest sample collection in Morocco, and it is ready to provide samples to national and international research projects. Therefore, the BRO Biobank is a valuable resource for advancing translational medical research.

scholarly journals d-amino Acids in Health and Disease: A Focus on Cancer

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacco J.A.J. Bastings ◽  
Hans M. van Eijk ◽  
Steven W. Olde Damink ◽  
Sander S. Rensen
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Human Physiology ◽  
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Human Body ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Gut Barrier Function ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

d-amino acids, the enantiomeric counterparts of l-amino acids, were long considered to be non-functional or not even present in living organisms. Nowadays, d-amino acids are acknowledged to play important roles in numerous physiological processes in the human body. The most commonly studied link between d-amino acids and human physiology concerns the contribution of d-serine and d-aspartate to neurotransmission. These d-amino acids and several others have also been implicated in regulating innate immunity and gut barrier function. Importantly, the presence of certain d-amino acids in the human body has been linked to several diseases including schizophrenia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and age-related disorders such as cataract and atherosclerosis. Furthermore, increasing evidence supports a role for d-amino acids in the development, pathophysiology, and treatment of cancer. In this review, we aim to provide an overview of the various sources of d-amino acids, their metabolism, as well as their contribution to physiological processes and diseases in man, with a focus on cancer.

Research Ethics in Criminology

2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-66
Author(s):  
Gerry Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
Medical Research ◽  
Research Ethics ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Medical Model ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Criminological Research ◽  
Current Thinking ◽  
Ethics Of Research

This paper provides a brief but critical review of current thinking and debate about research ethics in criminology; it falls into two parts. The first part of the paper describes the sorts of ethical issues that tend to be flagged up in ‘textbook’ accounts of ethics in criminological research; some recent efforts to devise codes of ethics for researchers in criminology; and developments in what might be termed the ‘ethical policing’ of social research. The second part briefly sketches some deeper issues to do with the ethics of research with ‘deviant subjects’. It suggests, in particular, that the ethical issues faced by criminological researchers cannot be ‘read off’ from a medical model of research. This, however, is not due simply to the greater use of qualitative methods of research in criminology. Rather, it is due to the distinctive political and ethical terrain occupied by criminology, which is significantly different to that occupied by medical research.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document