Institute of Measurement Science
Information, Coding, and Biological Function: the Dynamics of Life
Informácia, kódovanie a biologická funkcia:Dynamika života
| Duration: | 11.1.2023 - 18.9.2026 |
| Program: | COST |
| Project leader: | Mgr. Chvosteková Martina PhD. |
| Annotation: | In the mid-twentieth century two new scientific disciplines emerged forcefully: molecular biology and information-communication theory. At the beginning cross-fertilisation was so deep that the term genetic code was universally accepted for describing the meaning of triplets of mRNA (codons) as amino acids.However, today, such synergy has not take advantage of the vertiginous advances in the two disciplines and presents more challenges than answers. These challenges are not only of great theoretical relevance but also represent unavoidable milestones for next generation biology: from personalized genetic therapy and diagnosis, to artificial life, to the production of biologically active proteins. Moreover, the matter is intimately connected to a paradigm shift needed in theoretical biology, pioneered long time ago in Europe, and that requires combined contributions from disciplines well outside the biological realm. The use of information as a conceptual metaphor needs to be turned into quantitative and predictive models that can be tested empirically and integrated in a unified view. The successful achievement of these tasks requires a wide multidisciplinary approach, and Europe is uniquely placed to construct a world leading network to address such an endeavour. The aim of this Action is to connect involved research groups throughout Europe into a strong network that promotes innovative and high-impact multi and inter-disciplinary research and, at the same time, to develop a strong dissemination activity aimed at breaking the communication barriers between disciplines, at forming young researchers, and at bringing the field closer to a broad general audience. |
Understanding interaction light - biological surfaces: possibility for new electronic materials and devices
Pochopenie interakcie svetlo - biologické povrchy: možnosti pre nové elektronické materiály a zariadenia
| Duration: | 19.10.2022 - 18.10.2026 |
| Program: | COST |
| Project leader: | RNDr. Hain Miroslav PhD. |
| Annotation: | It is known that various biological surfaces are covered with micro- and nano-structures that perform a variety of functions (e.g., anti-reflective, structural coloration, anti-fouling, pro- or anti-adhesion ...) and inspire us to many industrial applications. In recent years, there has been a significant upsurge of research in this field. The main objective of the COST Action "Understanding light-biological surface interactions: opportunities for new electronic materials and devices" is to bring together scientists coming from different disciplines in this lively area of research, focusing on the photonic effects of nano- and micro-structures of biological surfaces and their bionic applications. The consortium will ensure cross-inspiration between participants coming from different research fields and foster research innovation and possible industrial development. |
Sudden cardiac arrest prediction and resuscitation network: Improving the quality of care
Predikcia náhlej srdcovej zástavy a systém resuscitácie: Zvýšenie kvality zdravotnej starostlivosti
| Duration: | 26.10.2020 - 25.10.2024 |
| Program: | COST |
| Project leader: | Ing. Švehlíková Jana PhD. |
| Annotation: | Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) causes 2 million deaths each year in Europe alone. Since SCA strikes unexpectedly and is lethal within minutes if untreated, solving this problem requires (1) recognizing individuals at risk and designing preventive strategies, (2) providing timely and effective treatment. Because SCA mostly occurs out-of-hospital, SCA victims rely on first-response treatment provided by citizens, firefighters and emergency medical services. There are large regional differences in SCA survival rates across Europe (1-30%). This suggests that regional differences in individual risk prediction, prevention and treatment have a major impact on the chance to survive. To improve survival rates across Europe it is imperative to study: 1) inherited, acquired, and environmental risk factors of SCA across European regions; 2) regional differences in preventive measures and first-response treatment strategies and their effectiveness. The PARQ Action will facilitate this research by forming a pan-European network of excellence in SCA and resuscitation science. This network includes investigators from different disciplines including cardiology, molecular biology, resuscitation science, emergency medicine, general practice and health economics. The main objectives of the Action are to promote development of standards for collection of clinical data and biological samples and to harmonize data analysis. This will aid in development of risk prediction models based on inherited, acquired and environmental risks. The PARQ action will focus on European differences in first-response treatment and develop guidelines. In summary, the PARQ Action investigators will enable breakthrough developments to decrease the incidence of SCA and improve survival, while reducing the vast regional European differences in survival rates. |
Towards an ecologically valid symbiosis of BCI and head-mounted VR displays: focus on collaborative post-stroke neurorehabilitation
Smerovanie k spoľahlivej a uživateľsky prijateľnej symbióze BCI a VR: zameranie na kolaboratívnu neurorehabilitáciu po cievnej mozgovej príhode
| Duration: | 1.1.2022 - 31.12.2024 |
| Program: | ERANET |
| Project leader: | Ing. Mgr. Rosipal Roman DrSc. |
| Annotation: | A growing body of evidence suggests that integrated technologies of brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and virtual reality (VR) environments provide a flexible platform for a series of neurorehabilitation therapies, including significant post-stroke motor recovery and cognitive-behavioral therapy. When immersed in such an environment, the subject's perceptual level of social interaction is often impaired due to the sub-optimal quality of the interface lacking the social aspect of human interactions. The project proposes a user-friendly wearable low-power smart BCI system with an ecologically valid VR environment in which both the patient and therapist collaboratively interact via their person-specific avatar representations. On the one hand, the patient voluntarily, and in a self-paced manner, manages their activity in the environment and interacts with the therapist via a BCI-driven mental imagery process. This process is computed and rendered in real-time on an energy-efficient wearable device. On the other hand, the therapist's unlimited motor and communication skills allow him to fully control the environment. Thus, the VR environment may be flexibly modified by the therapist allowing for different occupational therapy scenarios to be created and selected following the patient's recovery needs, mental states, and instantaneous responses. |
The technologically undemanding of aluminate glasses with interested optical properties
Technologicky nenáročná príprava hlinitanových skiel so zaujímavými optickými valstnosťami
| Duration: | 1.1.2023 - 31.12.2024 |
| Program: | Open Mobility |
| Project leader: | Ing. Majerová Melinda PhD. |
| Annotation: | The alumina-rare-earth oxide glasses with high alumina content have been reported recently to have excellent mechanical properties, especially hardness, which is comparable to that of single crystal sapphire. These glasses can be applied in transparent ballistic protection, or other applications, which at the same time require good transparency, outstanding mechanical properties, and high chemical durability. Alumina-rare-earth glasses (REAl) doped with a transition metal or lanthanide elements, such as Er, Yb or Nd, are important and promising solid-state laser materials with possible application in luminescence systems, window materials for a variety of lamps and ultimately for fiber-optic telecommunication systems, too. The advantage of these REAl glasses over crystalline aluminates is that they can bind into matrix higher content of optically active ions and thus have higher emission efficiency as crystalline aluminates. Preparation of these glasses in bulk is difficult, because Al2O3 is a reluctant glass former, which necessitates the use of high quenching rates, in some instances as high as 107 K.s-1. Special ways of preparation are therefore required. Weber et al. used containerless melting techniques to prepare Y3Al5O12 and Er3Al5O12 glasses. Containerless melting techniques with the use of an aero-acoustic levitator (AAL) or a conical nozzle levitator (CNL) were used to eliminate heterogeneous nucleation on melting container surfaces and thus to suppress crystallization on cooling [1]. But these methods are very technologically and energetically demanding and time consuming. McMillan et al. prepared CaO-Al2O3 glasses, containing 50 mol % Al2O3 via splat quenching technique [2]. The recent work of Rosenflanz [3] et al. describes a novel process for preparing of high alumina glasses and glass ceramics with aluminate glass matrix and dispersed nanosized crystals of rare earth aluminates, with hardness between 14.4 and 18.3 GPa and the fracture toughness between 2.1 and 4.2 MPa.m1/2. Fully dense bulk glasses were obtained by pressure-assisted sintering of glass microbeads. Glass microspheres in the system Re2O3-Al2O3 (Re = Y, La, Gd) composition were prepared by flame-spraying technique in a hydrogen-oxygen burner. Prnova et all. prepared Y2O3-Al2O3 glasses doped by Er3+ and Nd3+ ions by combination of sol-gel Pechini method and flame synthesis in which methane-oxygen flame was used. The prepared glasses exhibit good optical properties, comparable with commercially used materials. In other work, Majerova et all prepared by combination of solid-state synthesis and flame synthesis gehlenite glasses with high alumina content, doped by different values of Bi3+ and Ni2+. The prepared glasses had very interesting optical properties compared with commercially used materials. In this project, binary aluminate glasses in system Al2O3-Yb2O3, doped by different amount of Er3+ ion and ternary Al2O3-Yb2O3-ZrO2 will be prepared by combination of sol-gel method and flame synthesis. The flame synthesis in combination with hot-pressing technique proves to be a suitable technologically and economically undemanding method for preparation of aluminate glasses will be easily applicable in practice in large-scale industrial production. Also, ytterbium-aluminate glasses are highly interesting for their potential laser applications. Another valuable benefit of this work will be, that these systems have not been prepared in large quantities and we know relatively little about their properties. Prepared systems will be obtained in form of glass microspheres and will be subsequently hot-press sintered and characterized by OM, SEM, XRD, HT XRD, DSC analysis. Finally, optical properties of prepared glasses will be measured by UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy and results will be compared with commercially used materials. This project is submitted in cooperation with Belgian partner – Ghent University, because the rich experiences with solution methods and UV-VIS-NIR measurements optical properties of many different kinds of glasses and ceramics materials. [1] J. K. R. Weber, J. H. Abadie, A. D. Hixson, P. C. Nordine, G. A.Jerman, T. E. Mitchell, Glass Formation and Polyamorphism in Rare-earth Oxide – Aluminum Oxide Compositions, J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 83, 1868-1872, 2000 [2] A. Y. Haeri, Ch. T. Ho, R.Weber, J. Diefenbacher, P. F. McMillan, Elastic properties of aluminate glasses via Brillouin spectroscopy, Journal of Non- crystalline solids, 241, 200-203, 1998. [3] A. Rosenflanz, M. Frey, B. Endres , T. Anderson, E. Richards, C. Schardt, Bulk glasses and ultrahard nanoceramics based on alumina and rare-earth oxides, Nature, 430, 761-764, (2004) |
The total number of projects: 5