SUNMONTUEWEDTHUFRISAT
Events for November 18, 2013
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Seminars in Biomedical Engineering
Mon, Nov 18, 2013 @ 12:30 PM - 01:50 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Victor Rodgers, Ph.D, Professor and Chair of Bioengineering at the University of California, Riverside
Talk Title: “Demystifying Concentrated Protein Osmotic Pressure. Resulting Novel Applications for Diagnostics and Therapy”
Series: Invited Chair Series
Abstract: High concentrated multicomponent protein solutions or “crowded” solutions are prevalent throughout nature and, subsequently, they make a substantial contribution to natural functions. In cells, multicomponent protein concentration can be as high as 50 â 400 mg/ml. This high protein concentration has been found to contribute to a number of natural phenomena. As well, concentrated multicomponent protein solutions are inevitable in a number of bioseparations processes. As examples, concentrated proteins are prevalent in the final preparations of many pharmaceuticals products and, in membrane separations, concentrated proteins are the dominant factor in permeate flux resistance. In fact the very high concentration of proteins at membrane surfaces has been considered one of the most important areas in separations research.
The most dramatic contribution that concentrated proteins exert on their surroundings, whether in living cells or on membrane surfaces, is the highly non-ideal osmotic pressure. Understanding these phenomena can provide a tremendous appreciation of natural functions and provide direct design improvements in new separations methods. The current virial expansion paradigm, based on McMillan-Mayer theory, assumes that the non-idealities observed in the osmotic pressure data from crowded protein solutions are almost exclusively the result of protein-protein interaction.
However, we have developed a novel approach to understanding the osmotic pressure of highly concentrated protein solutions based on a free-solvent model. Uniquely, the associated parameters of the model are both physically realistic and independently measureable. Consequently, the results of this free-solvent model has a wide range of applications from providing insight to observed phenomena to providing the impetus for medical diagnostic tools for detecting protein mutations. This presentation will discuss the free-solvent model as well as the practical applications of osmotic pressure in bioengineering.
Biography: www.engr.ucr.edu/~vrodgers
Host: Michael Khoo
Location: Olin Hall of Engineering (OHE) - 122
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Mischalgrace Diasanta
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Engineering Neuroscience & Health Seminar
Mon, Nov 18, 2013 @ 04:00 PM - 05:30 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Tim Carroll, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Talk Title: Multiple spatial coordinate systems for new maps between sensory information and motor commands
Abstract: Humans can learn to make accurate movements when the required map between sensory inputs and motor commands changes, such as when using tools that alter limb dynamics or when sensory information is distorted. Moreover, motor learning can also involve a ââ¬Åuse-dependentââ¬Â component that biases subsequent movements towards those repeated during practice, but that does not require the correction of movement errors. A key question regarding the sensorimotor adaptations that underlie this flexibility is the spatial frame of reference in which remapping is encoded. Are new sensorimotor maps defined according to the particular joint angles or torques required for movement, the native coordinate systems of the relevant sensory information (e.g. retinotopic motion direction), or composite extrinsic coordinate systems such as Cartesian space relative to the body? We have addressed this question in a series of visuomotor adaptation studies in which subjects had to move a cursor to visual targets by exerting isometric forces with the finger or wrist. We assessed how adaptation of the initial movement direction generalized to new target directions, postures and between left and right limbs, to systematically manipulate the alignment of the learned perturbation in various spatial coordinate systems. For transfer of visuomotor adaptation between left and right limbs, and generalization of visuomotor gain adaptation, transfer of adaptation only occurred when visuomotor distortion had identical effects in eye- and joint-based coordinates bilaterally. However, generalization of visoumotor adaptation to different postures within a single limb, and bias in force direction generated in response to repetition of a single movement direction were expressed according to a purely extrinsic or visual (rather than limb-based) reference frame. The results imply that new visuomotor maps are encoded in neural circuits associated with both intrinsic and extrinsic movement representations, but that the behavioral outcomes of remapping (i.e. generalization patterns) depend on the sensory context.
Biography: Dr Carroll completed his doctorate in Neuroscience at the University of Queensland in 2001. He was awarded an Isaac Walton Killam Memorial Scholarship to pursue postdoctoral studies at the University of Alberta in 2002, before accepting a position as a Lecturer in Human Motor Control at the University of New South Wales in 2003. He joined the School of Human Movement Studies as a Senior Lecturer in July 2007.
Dr Carrollââ¬â¢s research interests lie in the broad field of integrative human physiology. His work spans the fields of exercise science and integrative neuroscience, with a focus on determining how the central nervous system is reorganised as a consequence of motor learning and exercise. He has a specific interest in the area of strength training. Dr Carrollââ¬â¢s research involves the application of electro-physiological techniques such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), peripheral nerve stimulation, and electromyography (EMG) in experiments involving human subjects. The ultimate purpose of his work is to generate basic knowledge that will lead to the development of exercise protocols that yield maximal benefits for rehabilitation and injury prevention. His work has been funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) since 2004
Host: Dr. Francisco Valero-Cuevas/Dr.Gerald Loeb/Dr. Terry Sanger
More Info: http://bbdl.usc.edu
Webcast: http://capture.usc.edu/college/Catalog/?cid=af180d48-ceff-42b9-a35c-eb199daed320More Information: Tim Carroll Flyer.pdf
Location: Center For Health Professions (CHP) - 147
WebCast Link: http://capture.usc.edu/college/Catalog/?cid=af180d48-ceff-42b9-a35c-eb199daed320
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: BME-ENH Seminar
Event Link: http://bbdl.usc.edu