Browsing by Subject "Functionality"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Energy efficiency in software: a case study on sustainability in personal health records
    (Elsevier, 2021-02-01) García Berná, José Alberto; Fernández Alemán, José Luis; Carrillo de Gea, Juan Manuel; Toval Álvarez, Jose Ambrosio; Mancebo, Javier; Calero, Coral; García, Félix; Informática y Sistemas
    A personal health record is an eHealth technology in which users can observe their progress over time for a given condition. A research gap was identified in the literature concerning the study of the amount of energy that these systems need for their operation, and the energy efficiency that may be attained depending on their design. After the selection of five representative personal health records, a total of 20 tasks commonly done, and based on previous work, were performed with regard to two proposed scenarios, namely patient use and health personnel usage. The power consumption of the main components of a host machine was measured during the performance of the proposed duties. To that end, a hardware tool called the Energy Efficiency Tester was employed. The data collected were analyzed statistically, and significant differences were found in the respective consumption of the display (χ2 (4) = 23.782, p = 0.000), the processor (χ2 (4) = 29.018, p = 0.000) and the whole PC (χ2 (4) = 28.582, p = 0.000). For all of these components, NoMoreClipBoard was the personal health record that required the least energy (57.699 W for the display, 3.162 W for the processor and 181.113 W for the whole PC). A total of two strong correlations were found in the energy consumption between the hard disk and the graphics card (r = 0.791, p < 0.001), and the processor and the PC (r = 0.950, p < 0.001). Some features generated special amounts of power consumption, such as the news wall found on PatientsLikeMe, or the use of load icons that had an impact on most PC components. In addition, an in-depth analysis of the user interfaces was performed. A discussion was carried out on the design of the user interfaces, also taking into account recommendations drawn from the literature, checking for their implementation in the personal health records selected. With the aim of promoting sustainability among software developers, a best practice guideline on sustainable software design was proposed. Basic sustainability recommendations were collected for professionals to consider when developing a software system in general, and a personal health record in particular.
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    Open Access
    Limitations and challenges of direct cell reprogramming in vitro and in vivo
    (Universidad de Murcia, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Histiologia, 2022) Zhang, Yi-Xuan; Chen, Si-Lin; Li, Yu-Mei; Zheng, Yun-Wen
    Direct reprogramming, whether in vitro or in vivo, has attracted great attention because of its advantages of convenience, short-term conversion, direct targets, no immune rejection, and potential clinical applications. In addition, due to its independence from the pluripotent state, direct programming minimizes some safety concerns associated with the use of human pluripotent stem cells. However, the significant limitations of reprogrammed cells, such as poor proliferative ability, low efficiency, and immature function, need to be addressed before the clinical application potential can be expanded. Here, we review the recent achievements of direct reprogramming in 2D and 3D systems in vitro and in vivo, covering cells derived from the three germ layers from stem/progenitor cells to terminal cells, such as hepatocytes, pancreatic β cells, cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, osteoblasts, chondrocytes, neurons, and melanocytes. Combining our lab experiences with current work, we summarize the practical and potential issues that need to be solved and the prospects of strategies for addressing the current dilemmas. Through comprehensive analyses, it is concluded that the directions for dealing with efficiency and functionality issues could be the optimization of transcription factors, the upgradation for delivery systems, the regulation of epigenetic factors and pathways, and the improvement of cellular maintenance conditions. Besides, converting cells into the progenitor state firstly and then differentiating them into the desired cell types with chemical compounds may provide an approach to obtaining functional and safe converted cells in batches with a better proliferative ability. With the emergence of more and more direct reprogramming techniques and approaches with both safety and effectiveness, it is bound to bring a new dawn for mechanism research and therapeutic applications for relevant diseases in the future.
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    Open Access
    Myeloid cell distribution and activity in multiple sclerosis
    (Universidad de Murcia. Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, 2016) Moliné-Velázquez, Verónica; Vila-del Sol, Virginia; de Castro, Fernando; Clemente, Diego
    Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease in which an exacerbated immune response provokes oligodendrocyte loss and demyelination, the hallmarks of this neurological disease. The destruction of myelin due to the uncontrolled activity of the invading immune cells leads to the formation of MS plaques. Among the different leukocytes that participate in the immune response associated with MS, the role of myeloid cells has been analyzed extensively (i.e. macrophages, dendritic cells -DCs- and neutrophils). Hence, in this review we will summarize what is known about the distribution, expression and markers available to study myeloid cells, and their histopathology, not only in a standard animal model of MS (autoimmune experimental encephalomyelitis -EAE) but also in MS tissue. In this review, we will not only refer to mature myeloid cells but also to the undifferentiated and almost unexplored myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). The active role of MDSCs in the prompt resolution of an immune episode is gaining importance, yet is still the subject of some debate. Finally, the similarities and differences between MS and EAE are discussed, particularly in terms of myeloid cell phenotype, activity and the markers used.