A review of wireless sensors and sensor networks, especially for in-home monitoring of elderly people, has been presented in this paper. The characteristics of various sensors for monitoring applications have been studied. The requirements of the sensor for making a smart sensor network have been investigated. A typical in-house developed system for home monitoring and elder-care application ha...

BACKGROUND Ginsenosides are the main pharmacological components of Panax ginseng root, which are thought to be primarily responsible for the suppressing effect on oxidative stress. METHODS 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity and oxygen radical absorption capacity were applied to evaluate the antioxidant activities of the ginsenosides. Human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK-293)...

Background: Recent evidence suggests that the frequency response requirements for peak expiratory flow (PEF) meters are higher than was first thought and that the American Thoracic Society (ATS) waveforms to test PEF meters may not be adequate for the purpose. Methods: The dynamic response of mini-Wright (MW), Vitalograph (V), TruZone (TZ), MultiSpiro (MS) and pneumotachograph (PT) flow meters ...

BACKGROUND The "Escort" spirometer is a lightweight, hand held spirometer employing a Fleisch pneumotachograph. Measurements of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and peak expiratory flow (PEF) are obtained from a single FVC manoeuvre. Results are displayed on a small liquid crystal display, but there is no graphical display. The performance of the Escor...

BACKGROUND Although individuals of Hispanic ethnicity are at high risk for developing heart failure (HF), little is known about differences between Hispanic HF patients stratified by left ventricular ejection fraction (EF). We compared characteristics, quality of care, and outcomes between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white patients hospitalized for HF with preserved EF (PEF) or reduced EF (REF). ...

A randomised, double blind, placebo controlled crossover trial of high dose nebulised ipratropium was carried out in 10 asthmatic patients with documented nocturnal bronchoconstriction. Patients received nebulised saline or ipratropium 1 mg at 10 pm and 2 am on two nights. Absolute peak flow (PEF) rates were higher throughout the night after the patients had received ipratropium (at 2 am, for e...

Our aim was to validate optimal action points in written action plans for early detection of asthma exacerbations. We analysed daily symptoms and morning peak expiratory flows (PEFs) from two previous studies. Potential action points were based on analysis of symptom scores (standard deviations) percentage of personal best PEF, PEF variability in relation to a run-in period or combinations of t...

The aim of this research was to study the effect of pulsed electric fields (PEF) on the flavour profile of red-fleshed sweet cherries (Prunus avium variety Stella). The cherry samples were treated at a constant pulse frequency of 100 Hz, a constant pulse width of 20 μs, different electric field strengths between 0.3 and 2.5 kV/cm and specific energy ranging from 31 to 55 kJ/kg. Volatile compoun...

The pulsed electric fields (PEF) treatment is a novel method for obtaining glycated proteins by way of a Maillard reaction between proteins and polysaccharides but its effect on the preparation of protein-monosaccharide conjugate has not been explored. This study aimed to prepare bovine serum albumin (BSA)-glucose and BSA-mannose conjugates using PEF in pH 10.0 at an intensity of 10 or 20 kV/cm...

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficiency of pulsed electric field (PEF) against Escherichia coli contaminating the liquid whole egg (LWE). The samples of LWE were inoculated with the test bacteria and subsequently treated for 30 μs by the different number of pulses (20-180) of PEF (32.89 kV x cm). Application of PEF resulted in statistically significant reduction of the...