A Sensor-Based Perspective in Early-Stage Parkinson's Disease: Current State and the Need for Machine Learning Processes.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder associated with dysfunction of dopaminergic neurons in the brain, lack of dopamine and the formation of abnormal Lewy body protein particles. PD is an idiopathic disease of the nervous system, characterized by motor and nonmotor manifestations without a discrete onset of symptoms until a substantial loss of neurons has already occurred, enabling early diagnosis very challenging. Sensor-based platforms have gained much attention in clinical practice screening various biological signals simultaneously and allowing researchers to quickly receive a huge number of biomarkers for diagnostic and prognostic purposes.

Genetic Pathways Involved in the Pathogenesis of Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. PD pathogenesis includes both genetic and environmental factors. Previous studies have linked the disease with several genes such as Parkin, SNCA, PINK1 and HTRA2.

The Importance of Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarker Identification and Classification Towards Understanding ALS Pathogenesis.

ALS is increasingly perceived as a multisystem neurodegenerative disorder, and the identification of a panel of biomarkers that accurately reflect features of pathology is a priority, not only for diagnostic purposes but also for prognostic or predictive applications [1]. Thus, as a multisystemic disease, it is likely that a panel of biomarkers will be needed to fully capture the features of ALS pathology. Taking also into consideration the fact that its causes remain unknown to their majority, it remains a complex disease driven by a combination of several systemic parameters [2].

Bioinformatics Approaches for Parkinson's Disease in Clinical Practice: Data-Driven Biomarkers and Pharmacological Treatment.

Parkinson's disease is a gradually progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a selective loss of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain area called the substantia nigra pars compacta and cytoplasmic alpha-synuclein-rich inclusions termed Lewy bodies. The etiology and pathogenesis remain incompletely understood. The development of reliable biomarkers for the early and accurate diagnosis, including biochemical, genetic, clinical, and neuroimaging markers, is crucial for unraveling the pathogenic processes of the disease as well as patients' progress surveillance.

Development of a Protein Biochip Platform for Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by severe motor symptoms which lead to progressive weakness of motor function caused by prominent loss of dopamine-secreting neurons within the substantia nigra. Compelling neuropathological evidence reveals the accumulation of insoluble protein aggregates, such as α-synuclein and tau, which are important hallmarks of the disease. Protein biochips have great potential to be powerful tools for clinical diagnostics, whereas novel sensing methods implementing biosensors for protein quantification in body fluids are highly required.

Mobile Application for Monitoring and Preventing Cognitive Decline Through Lifestyle Intervention.

Diagnosing and preventing Alzheimer's disease is a complex task, partly due to being characterized by a lengthy asymptomatic stage. In order to tackle this, most preclinical studies are multidimensional in nature and largely focus on prevention through lifestyle interventions, such as improving nutrition and introducing physical as well as cognitive exercise. With the widespread use of mobile smart devices today, mobile health applications can help inform high-risk individuals at a low cost, while also aiding in the prevention of cognitive decline through constant virtual coaching services that contribute to lifestyle interventions.

Improving the Utility of Polygenic Risk Scores as a Biomarker for Alzheimer's Disease.

The treatment of complex and multifactorial diseases constitutes a big challenge in day-to-day clinical practice. As many parameters influence clinical phenotypes, accurate diagnosis and prompt therapeutic management is often difficult. Significant research and investment focuses on state-of-the-art genomic and metagenomic analyses in the burgeoning field of Precision (or Personalized) Medicine with genome-wide-association-studies (GWAS) helping in this direction by linking patient genotypes at specific polymorphic sites (single-nucleotide polymorphisms, ) to the specific phenotype.

Correction to: Particular Biomolecular Processes as Computing Paradigms.

In the original version of this book, Chapter 20 was inadvertently published without carrying the corrections provided by the author. This has now been rectified in this revised version of the book.

Undergraduate Students' Brain Activity in Visual and Textual Programming.

Eight computer science students, novice programmers, who were in the first semester of their studies, participated in a field study in order to explore potential differences in their brain activity during programming with a visual versus a textual programming language. The students were asked to develop two specific programs in both programming languages (a total of four tasks). Measurements of cerebral activity were performed by the electroencephalography (EEG) imaging method.

Detecting Common Pathways and Key Molecules of Neurodegenerative Diseases from the Topology of Molecular Networks.

MotivationNeurodegenerative diseases (NDs), including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's disease, occur as a result of neurodegenerative processes. Thus, it has been increasingly appreciated that many neurodegenerative conditions overlap at multiple levels. However, traditional clinicopathological correlation approaches to better classify a disease have met with limited success.

Modeling the Critical Activation of Chaperone Machinery in Protein Folding.

Protein homeostasis is a dynamic network that plays a pivotal role in systems' maintenance within a cell. This quality control system involves a number of mechanisms regarding the process of protein folding. Chaperones play a critical role in the folding, refolding, and unfolding of proteins.

A Systems Biology Approach for the Identification of Active Molecular Pathways During the Progression of Alzheimer's Disease.

Motivation: In the last years, systems-level network-based approaches have gained ground in the research field of systems biology. These approaches are based on the analysis of high-throughput sequencing studies, which are rapidly increasing year by year. Nowadays, the single-cell RNA-sequencing, an optimized next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology that offers a better understanding of the function of an individual cell in the context of its microenvironment, prevails.

Alzheimer's Disease: The Role of Mutations in Protein Folding.

Misfolded proteins result when a protein follows the wrong folding pathway. Accumulation of misfolded proteins can cause disorders, known as amyloid diseases. Unfortunately, some of them are very common.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Current Status in Diagnostic Biomarkers.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare, neurodegenerative disease that affects the human motor system. ALS is a highly heterogeneous disease, depending on several causative factors. The heterogeneity of the disease is also reflected in the variation of the symptoms in ALS patients.

Buccal Mucosa Biomarkers in Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) precipitation in the elderly population increases the need for sensitive biomarkers that can be applied to large population screening. Buccal cells can be obtained easily, noninvasively, and contain many proteins related to cerebral processes. Hence, they offer an ideal candidate for AD biomarker discovery.

Exhaled Breath Condensate (EBC): Is It a Viable Source of Biomarkers for Lung Diseases?

The exhaled breath condensate is a source of biomarkers with many advantages and benefits compared to other traditional sampling techniques in respiratory medicine. It is a biological product that is formed by cooling the exhaled air via its guidance through a condenser. It is characterized as a cocktail of volatile and non-volatile compounds with water being the predominant constituent.

A Hypothesis of Circulating MicroRNAs' Implication in High Incidence of Atrial Fibrillation and Other Electrocardiographic Abnormalities in Cancer Patients.

MicroRNAs are short non-coding RNA molecules that control posttranscriptional gene expression and are present in tissues cells but also circulate in biological fluids in various forms (exosome, connected with proteins, apoptotic bodies, etc.). The roles that circulated extracellular serum microRNAs possess in cancer development, like in the delivery from a recipient cell to distant tissues and the repression of host genes resulting in the impairment of critical functions, are still undetermined.

Disease-biased and shared characteristics of the immunoglobulin gene repertoires in marginal zone B cell lymphoproliferations.

The B cell receptor immunoglobulin (Ig) gene repertoires of marginal zone (MZ) lymphoproliferations were analyzed in order to obtain insight into their ontogenetic relationships. Our cohort included cases with MZ lymphomas (n = 488), i.e.

Automated shape-based clustering of 3D immunoglobulin protein structures in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Background: Although the etiology of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common type of adult leukemia, is still unclear, strong evidence implicates antigen involvement in disease ontogeny and evolution. Primary and 3D structure analysis has been utilised in order to discover indications of antigenic pressure. The latter has been mostly based on the 3D models of the clonotypic B cell receptor immunoglobulin (BcR IG) amino acid sequences.

Molecular Chaperones in Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Short Review.

Stress and misfolded proteins result to dysfunction in the cell, often leading to neurodegenerative diseases and aging. Misfolded proteins form toxic aggregates that threaten cell's stability and normal functions. In order to restore its homeostasis, the cell activates the UPR system.

Scheduling and Modeling a Cognitive Assessment Guide for Screening AD by Primary Care Physicians.

New research data on Alzheimer's Disease define it as a clinicobiological entity, which has a long preclinical and presymptomatic phase. Emphasis has been given in early detection and diagnosis, which will allow professionals, caregivers and patients themselves to plan and adjust better to the response of the disease. Primary care physicians, who most often are the first to witness and perceive cognitive impairment, may play a central role in the diagnostic procedure, but frequently they are reluctant to be engaged to the screening procedure.

Integrating Omic Technologies in Alzheimer's Disease.

Scientific advances in biomedical disciplines have allowed us to identify the underlying causes of many diseases with increased comprehension-leading the way towards precision medicine. In this context, unique disease and medical traits pave the way for the development of adapted disease management, drugs and therapies tailored to each patient. Bearing in mind that reductionism, an approach that has dominated biomedical research for many years and has resulted in the identification of definite cellular phenotypes and human diseases which are linked with specific integral molecules, we strongly believe that Alzheimer's Disease, one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, could not be applied to the model of one disease-one assay-one drug.

IoT Applications with 5G Connectivity in Medical Tourism Sector Management: Third-Party Service Scenarios.

5G is the next generation of mobile communication technology. Current generation of wireless technologies is being evolved toward 5G for better serving end users and transforming our society. Supported by 5G cloud technology, personal devices will extend their capabilities to various applications, supporting smart life.

Mobile Applications Improve Quality of Life on Citizens with Disorientation: The 'NeverLost App' Paradigm.

Mobile technology has been evolved as an important tool in healthcare. Mobile applications are being designed in order to assist patients in their everyday life and also to play a vital role on the improvement of their everyday activities and quality of life. Meanwhile students use advanced techniques in order to design and implement high quality applications that aim to introduce them to the advantages of the mobile technology.