Spirulina is a species of filamentous cyanobacteria that has long been used as a food supplement. In particular,
Spirulina platensis
and
Spirulina maxima
are the most important. Thanks to a high ...protein and vitamin content, Spirulina is used as a nutraceutical food supplement, although its other potential health benefits have attracted much attention. Oxidative stress and dysfunctional immunity cause many diseases in humans, including atherosclerosis, cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, and hypertension. Thus, the antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and anti-inflammatory activities of these microalgae may play an important role in human health. Here, we discuss the antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and anti-inflammatory activities of Spirulina in both animals and humans, along with the underlying mechanisms. In addition, its commercial and regulatory status in different countries is discussed as well. Spirulina activates cellular antioxidant enzymes, inhibits lipid peroxidation and DNA damage, scavenges free radicals, and increases the activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase. Notably, there appears to be a threshold level above which Spirulina will taper off the antioxidant activity. Clinical trials show that Spirulina prevents skeletal muscle damage under conditions of exercise-induced oxidative stress and can stimulate the production of antibodies and up- or downregulate the expression of cytokine-encoding genes to induce immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory responses. The molecular mechanism(s) by which Spirulina induces these activities is unclear, but phycocyanin and β-carotene are important molecules. Moreover, Spirulina effectively regulates the ERK1/2, JNK, p38, and IκB pathways. This review provides new insight into the potential therapeutic applications of Spirulina and may provide new ideas for future studies.
Currently, there is an increasing trend in the shift from the use of traditional technologies such as a desktop computer towards the use of mobile technologies such as a mobile phone. Nearly all ...students nowadays own a mobile device and about half of them own more than one. Therefore, students are nowadays well equipped for mobile learning. The aim of this review is to explore the use of mobile phones and/or smartphones and their apps for teaching foreign languages, specifically English, and highlight their benefits and limitations for their use in the teaching of English as a foreign language. This was done by conducting a literature search in the databases Web of Science, Scopus, and ScienceDirect, and consequently, by evaluating the findings of the relevant studies. The findings indicate that the use of mobile phones and/or smartphones and their apps generate positive effects on learning English as a foreign language, especially in the development of learners’ vocabulary and their increased motivation to study. Nevertheless, more longitudinal randomized controlled studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of the use of mobile phone and smartphone apps on specific language skills and knowledge.
Medical device development, from the product's conception to release to market, is very complex and relies significantly on the application of exact processes. This paper aims to provide an analysis ...and summary of current research in the field of medical device development methodologies, discuss its phases, and evaluate the associated legislative and risk aspects.
The literature search was conducted to detect peer-reviewed studies in Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct, on content published between 2007 and November 2019. Based on exclusion and inclusion criteria, 13 papers were included in the first session and 11 were included in the second session. Thus, a total of 24 papers were analyzed. Most of the publications originated in the United States (7 out of 24).
The medical device development process comprises one to seven stages. Six studies also contain a model of the medical device development process for all stages or for just some of the stages. These studies specifically describe the concept stage during which all uncertainties, such as the clinical need definition, customer requirements/needs, finances, reimbursement strategy, team selection, and legal aspects, must be considered.
The crucial factor in healthcare safety is the stability of factors over a long production time. Good manufacturing practices cannot be tested on individual batches of products; they must be inherently built into the manufacturing process. The key issues that must be addressed in the future are the consistency in the classification of devices throughout the EU and globally, and the transparency of approval processes.
Currently, there is an increasing number of older population groups, especially in developed countries. This demographic trend, however, may cause serious problems, such as an increase in aging ...diseases, one of which is dementia whose main symptom consists in the decline of cognitive functioning. Although there has been ongoing pharmacological research on this neurological disorder, it has not brought satisfying results as far as its treatment is concerned. Therefore, governments all over the world are trying to develop alternative, non-pharmacological strategies/activities, which could help to prevent this cognitive decline while this aging population is still healthy in order to reduce future economic and social burden. One of the non-pharmacological approaches, which may enhance cognitive abilities and protect against the decline in healthy older population, seems to be the learning of a foreign language. The purpose of this mini-review article is to discuss recent findings about the effect of foreign language learning on the enhancement of cognitive functions among healthy older individuals. The findings, divided into three research areas, show that the learning of a foreign language may generate a lot of benefits for older individuals, such as enhancement of cognitive functioning, their self-esteem, increased opportunities of socializing, or reduction of costs. However, as Ware et al. (2017) indicate, any intervention program on foreign language learning should be well thought of and tailored to the needs of older people in order to be effective and avoid accompanying factors, such as older people's anxiety or low self-confidence. Nevertheless, more empirical studies should be done in this area.
Currently, mobile learning is a new trend in medical education. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the use of m-learning in medical education and discuss its effect on student learning ...process in order to help future medical professionals deliver better care for patients and populations. This was done by conducting a literature search in the databases Web of Science, Scopus, and MEDLINE, and consequently by evaluating the findings of the selected studies. The results of this study confirm that mobile learning is efficient, especially in the acquisition of new knowledge and skills. Nevertheless, so far, the role of mobile learning has been perceived as an appropriate complement to traditional learning. Therefore, more research should be conducted on the efficacy of the use mobile learning in medical education, as well as to explore the unique features of mobile devices for the enhancement of learning outcomes.
A high multiple sclerosis activity while on alemtuzumab is rather uncommon compared to moderate-efficacy drugs. The purpose of this case report is to present a case of a 37-year-old female patient ...with bronchial asthma and no other medical history, whose disease activity required switching from dimethyl fumarate to fingolimod, then to alemtuzumab and finally to ocrelizumab.
In our patient, two severe attacks were observed and treated after administration of the first pulse of alemtuzumab. After six months of therapy, patient's immunological profile showed the expected decrease in CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells and, markedly increased values of CD19+ B-cells. Surprisingly memory B-cells, which typically repopulate very slowly following alemtuzumab treatment, were above baseline levels. Regular administration of ocrelizumab based on a standardised scheme, after the alemtuzumab therapy failure, resulted in the stabilisation of the patient's condition both clinically and radiologically.
Thus, when the alemtuzumab treatment is unsuccessful, the authors recommend testing T- and B-cell levels and proceeding with an early switch to ocrelizumab if high B-cell counts are found.
At present, hardly any younger person can imagine life without mobile technologies. They use them on a daily basis, including in language learning. Such learning supported with mobile devices is ...called mobile learning, which seems beneficial especially thanks to the unique features of mobile applications (e.g., interactivity, ubiquity, and portability) and teachers’ encouragement and feedback. The purpose of this review study is to explore original, peer-reviewed English studies from 2015 to April 2019 and to determine whether mobile applications used in the learning of English as a foreign language are beneficial and/or effective. The methods are based on a literature review of available sources found on the research topic in two acknowledged databases: Web of Science and Scopus. Altogether, 16 original journal studies on the research topic were detected. The results reveal that mobile learning is becoming a salient feature of education as it is a great opportunity for foreign language learning. Its key benefits are as follows: the enhancement of the learner’s cognitive capacity, the learner’s motivation to study in both formal and informal settings, the learner’s autonomy and confidence, as well as the promotion of personalized learning, helping low-achieving students to reach their study goals. Although mobile learning seems to be effective overall, it is desirable to design, plan and implement it with caution, according to students’ needs, and to deliver multiple language skills in authentic learning environments.
At present, there has been a growing number of aging people. This increasing trend in the rise of older population groups brings about serious economic and social changes accompanied with a number of ...aging diseases such as dementia. The purpose of this article is to explore the role of mobile phone apps for patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and/or mild-to moderate dementia and/or their caregivers. In addition, the author of this article highlights benefits and limitations of mobile phone apps for people suffering from cognitive disorders. The principal research methods comprise a method of literature review of available research studies found on the use of mobile phone apps in the management of dementia in the world’s databases Web of Science, Scopus, and MEDLINE, and a method of comparison and evaluation of the findings from the detected studies. The results of this study indicate that the mobile phone apps can provide support for patients with MCI and/or mild-to-moderate dementia in their activities of daily life. Moreover, the evidence-based findings from the selected research studies show that these mobile phone apps are especially suitable for fast and accurate cognitive assessment of dementia. They also reduce both mental and economic burden of patients and their caregivers. Nevertheless, more evidence-based research studies should be conducted to prove the efficacy of mobile phone apps intervention in the management of dementia. In addition, companies developing health mobile phone apps should be challenged to tailor these devices to the specific needs of people suffering from cognitive impairments.
Today, mobile learning is a well-established methodology thanks to its countless benefits such as accessing learning content anytime and anywhere, adjusting the content to students’ needs, and timely ...feedback. The purpose of this pilot study is to illustrate that foreign language learning supported by a personalized smartphone app can be effective in the enhancement of university students’ performance by implementing smartphone app learning in a continuous assessment. The methodology is a case study analysis of students’ needs, with statistical processing of the collected data. The results reveal that foreign language learning, particularly studying and revising English vocabulary and phrases via smartphones is effective in the enhancement of university students’ performance. However, such learning must be designed around students’ needs and continuously facilitated by a teacher. Only then can it contribute to positive learning outcomes. In addition, the results also confirm that mobile learning can serve as an appropriate complementary method to other forms of course delivery. Further research should extend the mobile app to the Apple platform and iOS.
The purpose of this mini-review is to investigate if there are any cognitive benefits of computer-based foreign language training for healthy older individuals aged 55+ years. The author conducted a ...literature search of peer-reviewed English written research articles found in Pub Med, Web of Science and Scopus. The findings of this mini-review reveal that the research on the cognitive benefits of computer-based foreign language training for healthy older individuals is small-scale. The limited research findings of only three relevant studies indicate that these computer-based foreign language training programs may bring cognitive benefits for healthy elderly people, especially as far as the enhancement of their cognitive functions such as working memory are concerned. In addition, the authors of these studies suggest that foreign language learning is a useful activity for healthy older adults since it has the benefits of being meaningful (an advantage over other cognitive training approaches) and provides the chance for acquiring important skills that can benefit other aspects of life, such as travel or communication. In conclusion, the author of this mini-review also provides several implications for practice and future research.
PDF
