Category Archives: BioEngineering

Collaborative study looks at development of infants at risk of hypoglycaemia

Researchers from the University of Canterburys Bioengineering Mechatronics Programme are part of a large, collaborative project looking at the development of young children who were at risk of hypoglycaemia, or low blood sugar, in their early neonatal period.

Director of the UC Mechatronics Programme, Professor Geoff Chase, says UC researchers are involved in the project because of their expertise with hyperglycaemia through the management of patients with high blood sugar at both the adult ICU at Christchurch Hospital and in extremely pre-term infants at Christchurch Womens NICU, as well as expertise in managing complex data and signals.

We model the major human physiological systems the metabolic system, the cardio-vascular system and pulmonary mechanics. We then use these models, with data in clinic, to provide better monitoring of something that cannot be measured directly with ease, or in diagnostics, or to guide treatment, he says.

The multi-disciplinary study, called CHYLD (Children with Hypoglycaemia and their Later Development), is based at The University of Auckland, led by Distinguished Professor Jane Harding from the Liggins Institute.

It was Professor Chases team that, several years ago, developed the Specialised Relative Insulin Nutrition Table (SPRINT), a laminated wheel-based system to control blood glucose levels and nutritional intakes in intensive care patients. Already proven to have saved 50 lives a year and $1m/year in costs at Christchurch Hospital, the system has now been improved and computerised.

We are very familiar with the continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) that are used in this study, says Professor Chase. These are tiny sensors which, when inserted under the skin, can sense subcutaneous glucose. To remove the need for invasive testing which was previously done by pinstick, CGMs were used to measure blood sugar concentrations of the newborn babies in the study at Waikato Hospital.

CGMs do need frequent calibration however, and can produce significant random noise. The way you calibrate the devices can change the data produced, and thus the results, so how this is done and the way that subsequent data is managed is something that best leverages engineering skills.

Hypoglycaemia in neonatal infants can cause brain damage, but currently it is not known which babies will be affected or what levels of blood sugar might trigger the damage.

The CHYLD study investigates the development of children from two neonatal studies. The first, BABIES, observed 100 newborns from the NICU at Waikato Hospital between December 2006 and February 2009. The second, Sugar Babies, recruited 514 babies between November 2008 and November 2010.

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Development of infants at risk of hypoglycaemia - study

Starting this fall, the College of Engineering will offer a new Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering degree.

The degree will be available for entering freshmen and transfer students with fewer than 24 credits.

Bioengineering department chairman Khosrow Behbehani said the degree was created because of the increase in demand and opportunities in the field.

For almost 38 years we had the graduate program at UTA, and throughout this time we have received a lot of interest and inquiry about having a bachelors degree, Behbehani said. Given the history we have in bioengineering for almost 40 years now, we are in a good position to do so.

Engineering associate dean Lynn Peterson said the number of applications is three times than expected, and the number is expected to double by the fall.

We were expecting to have about 50 students, but we received 160 applications so far, she said. Between now and the fall, the number of applications usually doubles, and at the end of the first year, 70 percent of the students stay back. We have to plan about that now.

Two degree plans are available one with emphasis on medical imaging and another on biomaterials and tissue, said Danielle Tucker, bioengineering department academic adviser. Medical imaging is a 119 credit-hour plan, and biomaterials and tissue is a 120 credit-hour plan.

Introduction to Engineering and Introduction to Bioengineering are the two bioengineering courses that will be available for freshmen in the fall. The college is still looking for faculty to teach the Introduction to Bioengineering class. Bonnie Boardman, industrial and manufacturing systems engineering senior lecturer, will be the faculty representative for the Introduction to Engineering class.

Faculty for other courses will be hired as students progress through the degree plan. Most of the 2000 and 3000 level undergraduate classes will be joined with graduate classes and be taught by the present graduate faculty, Peterson said.

Peterson said this new degree program is expected to attract more women to the field.

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UTA’s College of Engineering introduces Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering

Sheng Zhong, of the Institute for Genomic Biology and Department of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois. Zhong and his lab study causal relationships between gene regulation and cellular behaviors, by developing computational and experimental methods on network modeling, stem cell engineering, epigenomic and single-cell analyses. Recently he has contributed to introducing "comparative epigenomics" -- using cross-species epigenomic comparison to annotate the genomes. Credit: Photo by Kathryn Coulter, courtesy of Institute for Genomic Biology

The sequencing of the human genome has provided a wealth of genetic information, yet the goal of understanding the function of every gene remains outstanding. New research from the University of Illinois published in Cell suggests determining the purpose of genes through a new method they call "comparative epigenomics."

"Comparative epigenomics is to use interspecies comparison of DNA and histone modificationsas an approach for annotation of the regulatory genome," says Sheng Zhong, of the Institute for Genomic Biology and Department of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois.

While the genome of an organism contains all its genes, it is the epigenome that decides which are expressed, or "turned on." Though genomic science has long focused on comparative genomicscomparing the genomes of similar species and finding the commonalities to determine how common traits are regulatedcomparative epigenetics provides a more in-depth look at regulatory functions.

The researchers, led by Zhong, in collaboration with Ting Wang at Washington University, Harris Lewin, and Franklin West at University of Georgia, focused their work on three species: humans, mice, and pigs. By analyzing 9 epigenomic marks in pluripotent stem cells, they were able to create an epigenomic map for each which they could then compare.

The team concluded that, with proper analysis procedures, traces of interspecies epigenomic conservation could be identified. They then demonstrated that the conserved epigenetic markers can be effectively used to annotate the genome, clarifying the genome's regulatory function.

Understanding the genome is one of the most pressing problems for science, and this study sheds light on a promising alternative method. "Comparative epigenomics enables us to find more clues from evolution about the functions of our genomes," adds Zhong.

More information: "Comparative Epigenomic Annotation of Regulatory DNA," Shu Xiao, Dan Xie, Xiaoyi Cao, Pengfei Yu, Xiaoyun Xing, Chieh-Chun Chen, Meagan Musselman, Mingchao Xie, Franklin D. West, Harris A. Lewin, Ting Wang, Sheng Zhong. Cell doi:10.1016/j.cell.2012.04.029 (volume 149 issue 6 pp.1381 - 1392)

Journal reference: Cell

Provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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Lessons from epigenome evolution: Exploring the epigenome's regulatory function

For Immediate Release Monday, June 11, 2012

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NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health

Excerpt from:
A decade of innovation for health

NEWARK, N.J., June 9, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ --American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc., (the "Company" or "AOBI"), a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving health through the development, manufacture and commercialization of a broad range of prescription and over-the-counter ("OTC") products, today announced that Boke Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd., one of the Company's wholly owned subsidiaries has passed the short notice inspections of its capsule products directed by China State Food and Drug Administration ("SFDA").

About American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc.

American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving health through the development, manufacture and commercialization of a broad range of prescription and over the counter products.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements made in this press release are forward-looking and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. The economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors identified in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in the forward looking statements in this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Contact:

American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc.

Kewa Luo

(646) 367-1765

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American Oriental Bioengineering Announces Boke Subsidiary Passes Inspection

A non-profit startup called Wishbone is using the Internet to connect donors with underprivileged and at-risk kids hoping to participate in summer instructional programs in areas like computer science, bioengineering, art, and fashion.

Wishbone was founded in 2008 by former Teach for America high school English teacher Beth Schmidt but only recently launched Wishbone.org, a digital meeting ground for students needing assistance to attend summer programs and potential sponsors.

Profiles of students participating in the program indicate the areas of summer study they'd like to pursue, the idea being that would-be sponsors can more easily find a student whose interests match their own, according to Reed Matheny, outreach coordinator for Wishbone.org.

"We've had some good momentum since we've launched. We've been able to fully fund 12 of our students now," Matheny told PCMag recently. "They're ready to go to their summer programs. More than 50 percent of the rest are pretty close to being fully funded as well."

Wishbone is currently open to 9th through 12th graders from low-income families at a dozen schools located in New York and San Francisco, but hopes to expand to other schools and cities, Matheny said. The non-profit may also expand its mission to sponsor students for programs offered during the school year in addition to its summer program activities.

The initial online effort has already turned up some interesting data. Matheny said most sponsored students have received a steady stream of small donations rather than big lump sums, for example.

"So far it's been a big collection of smaller donations. A huge number of people are coming in and donating like $25 or even just $10. We do have some bigger donors who'll find a student they really like and donate $250 or something really sizable," he said.

For safety and propriety reasons, students and sponsors don't directly communicate. But Wishbone.org does post "success stories" about students who've secured funding for a summer program. Profiles include video messages from the students themselves and donors can also read about a sponsored student's experiences at an instructional program like the UC Davis Cosmos Camp, which one Wishbone student interested in bioengineering will attend this year.

Other Wishbone kids are headed for fashion design and technology camps in New York this summer, and a couple of Bay Area kids will attend an art program at San Francisco's Academy of Art, Matheny said.

Several students still need funding for their summer camp dreams, he noted. The good news is that those programs don't start until late June and July, so there's plenty of time for interested PCMag readers to head over to Wishbone.org and contribute to a deserving student's cause.

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Wishbone Taps Power of the Net to Help At-Risk Kids