ISM 2014 For over a decade, ISM has been an internationally renowned forum for researchers and practitioners to develop solutions and exchange ideas in emerging multimedia research and applications. In January 2015, the authors of the top ISM 2014 papers were invited to submit extended versions of their papers (with at least 30 percent new material) to this special issue. After a rigorous peer-...

DNA microarray technology permits simultaneous analysis of thousands of DNA sequences for genomic research and diagnostics applications. Microarray technology represents the most recent and exciting advance in the application of hybridization-based technology for biological sciences analysis. This review focuses on the classification (oligonucleotide vs. cDNA) and application (mutation-genotypi...

O ptometry has a history of taking the lead in correcting the optical defects of the eye. While the primary definition of optometry has changed as the profession has expanded its scope of practice, the secondary definition of optometry has remained unchanged. The second definition of optometry is the use of an optometer. The definition of optometer is any of several objective or subjective devi...

In the last century many researchers have tried to discover the secrets involved in the function of the brain. While the old view about the brain operations was based on the principle of mass action [1], using the new techniques for example using the functional neuroimaging experiments, it has been shown that the structure and the function of the brain are correlated together. Modern neuroimagi...

fMRI has unique potential in the study of psychiatric patients, particularly in characterizing individual variations and changes over time. We have performed four studies of patients with schizophrenia, using three different fMRI acquisition protocols: (1) 3-D echo-shifted FLASH, a multishot volumetric approach; (2) 3-D PRESTO, a hybid of multishot and echo-planar imaging (EPI) methods that als...

The article summarizes the collective views expressed at the fourth session of the workshop Tissue Engineering--the Next Generation, which was devoted to the translation of results of tissue engineering research into applications. Ernst Hunziker described the paradigm of a dual translational approach, and argued that tissue engineering should be guided by the dimensions and physiological settin...

Endophytic microorganisms, mainly bacteria and fungi, have intrinsic relationships with the host plants, involving complex chemical and genetic communication networks. The relationship among these organisms involves the development of regulatory mechanisms of gene expression that control their development and response to different interactions. Although RNA molecules are already being used in s...