The effects of training of morphological structure on spelling derived words by dyslexic adolescents.

This exploratory study aimed to determine the effects of explicit instruction about morphological structure on the spelling of derived words. A cross-sectional ability level-design was employed in order to determine differences in response to instruction between dyslexic students aged 13 + years and age-matched and spelling level matched control groups. The study was based on the word-pair paradigm (a base and derived word) and combined oral instruction with written materials.

Modeling risk in distributed healthcare information systems.

This paper presents a modeling approach for performing a risk analysis study of networked healthcare information systems. The proposed method is based on CRAMM for studying the assets, threats and vulnerabilities of the distributed information system, and models their interrelationships using Bayesian networks. The most critical events are identified and prioritized, based on "what - if" studies of system operation.

EmerLoc: location-based services for emergency medical incidents.

Background: Recent developments in positioning systems and telecommunications have provided the technology needed for the development of location aware medical applications. We developed a system, named EmerLoc, which is based upon this technology and uses a set of sensors that are attached to the patient's body, a micro-computing unit which is responsible for processing the sensor readings and a central monitoring unit, which coordinates the data flow.

Objective: To demonstrate that the proposed system is technically feasible and acceptable for the potential users.

Enabling collaborative medical diagnosis over the Internet via peer-to-peer distribution of electronic health records.

Recent developments in networking and computing technologies and the expansion of the electronic health record system have enabled the possibility of online collaboration between geographically distributed medical personnel. In this context, the paper presents a Web-based application, which implements a collaborative working environment for physicians by enabling the peer-to-peer exchange of electronic health records. The paper treats technological issues such as Video, Audio and Message Communication, Workspace Management, Distributed Medical Data Management and exchange, while it emphasizes on the Security issues arisen, due to the sensitive and private nature of the medical information.

Computational vision systems for the detection of malignant melanoma.

In recent years, computational vision-based diagnostic systems for dermatology have demonstrated significant progress. We review these systems by first presenting the installation, visual features utilized for skin lesion classification and the methods for defining them. We also describe how to extract these features through digital image processing methods, i.

Assessing the impact of pluriactivity on sustainable agriculture. A case study in rural areas of Beotia in Greece.

Pluriactivity of farms, or part-time farming, is a common feature of agriculture in all countries regardless of their socioeconomic system and level of development. Currently, pluriactivity is related to the values of sustainable agriculture. The objective of this study is to delineate those specific characteristics of pluriactive farms that contribute to sustainable agriculture.

An integrated computer supported acquisition, handling, and characterization system for pigmented skin lesions in dermatological images.

This paper describes an integrated prototype computer-based system for the characterization of skin digital images. The first stage includes an image acquisition arrangement designed for capturing skin images, under reproducible conditions. The system processes the captured images and performs unsupervised image segmentation and image registration utilizing an efficient algorithm based on the log-polar transform of the images' Fourier spectrum.

Team work based care in speech and language therapy through web-based tools and methods.

Speech and language therapists (SLTs) are faced daily with a diversity of speech and language disabilities, which are associated with a variety of conditions ranging from client groups with overall cognitive deficits to those with more specific difficulties. It is desirable that those working with such a range of problems and with such a demanding workload, plan care efficiently. Therefore, the introduction of methodologies, reference models of work and tools, which significantly improve the effectiveness of therapy, are particularly welcome.

Web-based asthma collaboration management and public awareness.

Recent studies have shown that long-term monitoring of asthma severity can reduce asthma exacerbations, optimise drug therapy and decrease the cost of asthma management. The management of a chronic patient is a collective and cooperative enterprise that may exploit Information Technologies (IT) to improve the overall quality of care. The aim of this paper is to present a web based asthma tool that significantly enhances public information and awareness to support illness prevention, patients independent living through user profiling and personalisation and collaborative work between health professionals, therapists, caregivers and patients through Tele-Care and Tele-Consultation.

Technology assisted speech and language therapy.

Speech and language therapists (SLTs) are faced daily with a diversity of speech and language disabilities, which are associated with a variety of conditions ranging from client groups with overall cognitive deficits to those with more specific difficulties. It is desirable that those working with such a range of problems and with such a demanding workload, plan care efficiently. Therefore, the introduction of methodologies, reference models of work and tools, which significantly improve the effectiveness of therapy, are particularly welcome.

A system for the acquisition of reproducible digital skin lesions images.

A major issue concerning the design and implementation of an image acquisition system for skin lesions is its ability to capture reproducible images. The reproducibility is considered essential for image analysis and for the comparison of sequential images during follow-up studies. This paper describes a prototype image acquisition system that includes a standardized illumination and capturing geometry with polarizing filters and a series of software corrections: Calibration to Black, White and Color for color constancy, Internal camera Parameters adjustment and Pose extraction for stereo vision, Shading correction and Noise Filtering for color quality.

The occurrence of disinfection by-products in the drinking water of Athens, Greece.

Application of chlorination for the disinfection of drinking water results in the formation of a wide range of organic compounds, called disinfection by-products (DBPs), which occur due to the reaction of chlorine with natural organic materials. The occurrence of DBPs was studied in samples from four drinking-water treatment plants (WTPs) and from the distribution network of Athens, Greece. Twenty-four compounds, which belong to different categories of DBPs, were monitored, including trihalomethanes (THMs), haloacetic acids (HAAs), haloacetonitriles (HANs), haloketones (HAKs), chloral hydrate (CH) and chloropicrin (CP).

Variation in organic acids content during ripening of pickled white cheese.

Nine organic acids (formic, pyruvic, lactic, acetic, orotic, citric, uric, propionic, and butyric) were analyzed during ripening of pickled White cheese for 12 mo by high-performance liquid chromatography with a reverse phase C18 (120x 5-mm) column and UV detector. The level oftotal organic acids showed an increase along the ripening period, but its composition varied during the process. Initially, lactic acid accounted for 95% of the total, after 9 and 12 mo of ripening, butyric acid constituted 20 and 27% of the total, respectively.

An integrated architecture for deploying a virtual private medical network over the web.

In this paper we describe a pilot architecture aiming at protecting Web-based medical applications through the development of a virtual private medical network. The basic technology, which is utilized by this integrated architecture, is the Trusted Third Party (TTP). In specific, a TTP is used to generate, distribute, and revoke digital certificates to/from medical practitioners and healthcare organizations wishing to communicate in a secure way.

Influence of yogurt and acidophilus yogurt on serum cholesterol levels in mice.

The effects of yogurt and acidophilus yogurt on the weight gain, serum cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and the numbers of fecal lactobacilli and coliforms were investigated in mice assigned to three dietary treatments for 56 d: 1) commercial rodent chow and water (control), 2) commercial rodent chow and yogurt made from milk inoculated with a 3% (vol/vol) liquid culture of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus (yogurt), and 3) commercial rodent chow plus yogurt made from milk inoculated with a 0.01% (wt/vol) freeze-dried culture of Streptococcus thermophilus plus Lactobacillus acidophilus.