scholarly journals Localisation of Room Occupants in Home Environments using Unobtrusive Sensing Solutions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Idongesit Ekerete ◽  
Chris Nugent ◽  
James McLaughlin
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Wave ◽  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Ground Truth ◽  
Battery Life ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Radar Sensor ◽  
Home Environments ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Unobtrusive Sensing

This paper proposes the localisation of room occupants in home environments using Unobtrusive Sensing Solutions (USSs). The ability to localise room occupants in home environments can help in the objective monitoring of sedentary behaviour. While wearable sensors can provide tangible information on health and wellness, they have battery life issues and the inability to perform prolonged monitoring. This work uses heterogeneous USSs in the form of an Infrared Thermopile Array (ITA-64) thermal sensor and a Multi-Chirp Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Mono-pulse (MC-FMCW-M) Radar sensor to monitor room occupants. Digital filters and background subtraction algorithms were used to process the thermal images gleaned from the ITA-64 thermal sensors. The MC-FMCW-M Radar sensor used multi-chirp and Doppler shift principles to estimate the exact location of the targeted room occupants. The estimated distances from the Radar Sensor were compared with ground truth values. Experimental results demonstrated the ability to identify thermal blobs of occupants present in the room at any particular time. Data analyses indicated no significant difference (p = 0.975) and a very strong positive correlation (r = 0.998) between the ground truth distance values and those obtained from the Radar Sensor.

scholarly journals Fusion of Unobtrusive Sensing Solutions for Sprained Ankle Rehabilitation Exercises Monitoring in Home Environments

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (22) ◽  
pp. 7560
Author(s):  
Idongesit Ekerete ◽  
Matias Garcia-Constantino ◽  
Yohanca Diaz-Skeete ◽  
Chris Nugent ◽  
James McLaughlin
Keyword(s):  
Home Environment ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Battery Life ◽  
Home Environments ◽  
Video Cameras ◽  
Average Classification Accuracy ◽  
Accuracy And Precision ◽  
Ankle Rehabilitation ◽  
Rehabilitation Exercises ◽  
Unobtrusive Sensing

The ability to monitor Sprained Ankle Rehabilitation Exercises (SPAREs) in home environments can help therapists ascertain if exercises have been performed as prescribed. Whilst wearable devices have been shown to provide advantages such as high accuracy and precision during monitoring activities, disadvantages such as limited battery life and users’ inability to remember to charge and wear the devices are often the challenges for their usage. In addition, video cameras, which are notable for high frame rates and granularity, are not privacy-friendly. Therefore, this paper proposes the use and fusion of privacy-friendly and Unobtrusive Sensing Solutions (USSs) for data collection and processing during SPAREs in home environments. The present work aims to monitor SPAREs such as dorsiflexion, plantarflexion, inversion, and eversion using radar and thermal sensors. The main contributions of this paper include (i) privacy-friendly monitoring of SPAREs in a home environment, (ii) fusion of SPAREs data from homogeneous and heterogeneous USSs, and (iii) analysis and comparison of results from single, homogeneous, and heterogeneous USSs. Experimental results indicated the advantages of using heterogeneous USSs and data fusion. Cluster-based analysis of data gleaned from the sensors indicated an average classification accuracy of 96.9% with Neural Network, AdaBoost, and Support Vector Machine, amongst others.

scholarly journals A Real-Time, Automatic, and Dynamic Scheduling and Control System for PET Patients Based on Wearable Sensors

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1104
Author(s):  
Shin-Yan Chiou ◽  
Kun-Ju Lin ◽  
Ya-Xin Dong
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Human Error ◽  
Dynamic Scheduling ◽  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Scan Time ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
And Control ◽  
Automatic Scheduling

Positron emission tomography (PET) is one of the commonly used scanning techniques. Medical staff manually calculate the estimated scan time for each PET device. However, the number of PET scanning devices is small, the number of patients is large, and there are many changes including rescanning requirements, which makes it very error-prone, puts pressure on staff, and causes trouble for patients and their families. Although previous studies proposed algorithms for specific inspections, there is currently no research on improving the PET process. This paper proposes a real-time automatic scheduling and control system for PET patients with wearable sensors. The system can automatically schedule, estimate and instantly update the time of various tasks, and automatically allocate beds and announce schedule information in real time. We implemented this system, collected time data of 200 actual patients, and put these data into the implementation program for simulation and comparison. The average time difference between manual and automatic scheduling was 7.32 min, and it could reduce the average examination time of 82% of patients by 6.14 ± 4.61 min. This convinces us the system is correct and can improve time efficiency, while avoiding human error and staff pressure, and avoiding trouble for patients and their families.

scholarly journals Comparison of the Effects of a Bioceramic and Conventional Resin-Based Sealers on Postoperative Pain after Nonsurgical Root Canal Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Study

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2661
Author(s):  
Kiche Shim ◽  
Young-Eun Jang ◽  
Yemi Kim
Keyword(s):  
Postoperative Pain ◽  
Postoperative Period ◽  
Root Canal ◽  
Continuous Wave ◽  
Root Canal Treatment ◽  
Root Canals ◽  
Anterior Teeth ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Ah Plus ◽  
Group 2

Background: This clinical trial aimed to compare the effects of bioceramic sealer and resin-based sealer on the incidence and intensity of postoperative pain. Methods: Patients with anterior teeth or premolars requiring root canal treatment were assigned to group 1 (n = 51). Those with molars requiring treatment were assigned to group 2 (n = 57). In groups 1En and 2En, root canals were obturated with Endoseal MTA using the single-cone technique. In groups 1AH and 2AH, the sealer used was AH Plus with the continuous wave technique. On the day of canal filling, each patient was instructed to indicate their pain intensity over the 7 day postoperative period, at rest and, while biting, using a visual analog scale. Results: There was no significant difference in the incidence or intensity of postoperative pain between the Endoseal MTA and AH Plus groups during the 7 day postoperative period (p > 0.05). Less time was needed to seal the root canals with Endoseal MTA, especially in group 2 (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Endoseal MTA and AH Plus had similar effects on the incidence and intensity of postoperative pain. The obturation time was shorter when using Endoseal MTA compared to AH Plus.

scholarly journals Computing infection distributions and longitudinal evolution patterns in lung CT images

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongdong Gu ◽  
Liyun Chen ◽  
Fei Shan ◽  
Liming Xia ◽  
Jun Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Lower Lobe ◽  
Ground Truth ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Lung Infection ◽  
Ct Images ◽  
Community Acquired Pneumonia ◽  
Disease Course ◽  
Distribution Maps ◽  
Significant Difference

Abstract Background Spatial and temporal lung infection distributions of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and their changes could reveal important patterns to better understand the disease and its time course. This paper presents a pipeline to analyze statistically these patterns by automatically segmenting the infection regions and registering them onto a common template. Methods A VB-Net is designed to automatically segment infection regions in CT images. After training and validating the model, we segmented all the CT images in the study. The segmentation results are then warped onto a pre-defined template CT image using deformable registration based on lung fields. Then, the spatial distributions of infection regions and those during the course of the disease are calculated at the voxel level. Visualization and quantitative comparison can be performed between different groups. We compared the distribution maps between COVID-19 and community acquired pneumonia (CAP), between severe and critical COVID-19, and across the time course of the disease. Results For the performance of infection segmentation, comparing the segmentation results with manually annotated ground-truth, the average Dice is 91.6% ± 10.0%, which is close to the inter-rater difference between two radiologists (the Dice is 96.1% ± 3.5%). The distribution map of infection regions shows that high probability regions are in the peripheral subpleural (up to 35.1% in probability). COVID-19 GGO lesions are more widely spread than consolidations, and the latter are located more peripherally. Onset images of severe COVID-19 (inpatients) show similar lesion distributions but with smaller areas of significant difference in the right lower lobe compared to critical COVID-19 (intensive care unit patients). About the disease course, critical COVID-19 patients showed four subsequent patterns (progression, absorption, enlargement, and further absorption) in our collected dataset, with remarkable concurrent HU patterns for GGO and consolidations. Conclusions By segmenting the infection regions with a VB-Net and registering all the CT images and the segmentation results onto a template, spatial distribution patterns of infections can be computed automatically. The algorithm provides an effective tool to visualize and quantify the spatial patterns of lung infection diseases and their changes during the disease course. Our results demonstrate different patterns between COVID-19 and CAP, between severe and critical COVID-19, as well as four subsequent disease course patterns of the severe COVID-19 patients studied, with remarkable concurrent HU patterns for GGO and consolidations.

Comparison of hematological parameters and perinatal outcomes between COVID-19 pregnancies and healthy pregnancy cohort

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Esin Merve Erol Koç ◽  
Rahime Bedir Fındık ◽  
Hatice Akkaya ◽  
Işılay Karadağ ◽  
Eda Özden Tokalıoğlu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Complete Blood Count ◽  
Perinatal Outcomes ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Monocyte Count ◽  
Distribution Width ◽  
Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio ◽  
Lymphocyte Ratio ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Adverse Perinatal Outcomes

AbstractObjectivesTo evaluate the relationship between Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in pregnancy and adverse perinatal outcomes. The secondary aim is to analyze the diagnostic value of hematologic parameters in COVID-19 complicated pregnancies.MethodsThe current study is conducted in a high volume tertiary obstetrics center burdened by COVID-19 pandemics, in Turkey. In this cohort study, perinatal outcomes and complete blood count indices performed at the time of admission of 39 pregnancies (Study group) complicated by COVID-19 were compared with 69 uncomplicated pregnancies (Control group).ResultsThere was no significant difference between the obstetric and neonatal outcomes of pregnancies with COVID-19 compared to data of healthy pregnancies, except the increased C-section rate (p=0.026). Monocyte count, red cell distribution width (RDW), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR) were significantly increased (p<0.0001, p=0.009, p=0.043, p<0.0001, respectively) whereas the MPV and plateletcrit were significantly decreased (p=0.001, p=0.008) in pregnants with COVID-19. ROC analysis revealed that the optimal cut-off value for MLR was 0.354 which indicated 96.7% specificity and 59.5% sensitivity in diagnosis of pregnant women with COVID-19. A strong positive correlation was found between the MLR and the presence of cough symptom (r=41.4, p=<0.0001).ConclusionsThe study revealed that, pregnancies complicated by COVID-19 is not related with adverse perinatal outcomes. MLR may serve as a supportive diagnostic parameter together with the Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) in assessment of COVID-19 in pregnant cohort.

scholarly journals Correction: Park, J.-H. et al. 915-MHz Continuous-Wave Doppler Radar Sensor for Detection of Vital Signs. Electronics 2019, 8, 561

Electronics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Park ◽  
Jeong ◽  
Lee ◽  
Oh ◽  
Yang
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Wave ◽  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Vital Signs ◽  
Radar Sensor ◽  
Continuous Wave Doppler ◽  
Published Paper

The authors wish to make the following corrections to the published paper [...]

Photoacoustic Nanotracers for Subsurface Applications: Opportunities and Challenges

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesus Manuel Felix Servin ◽  
Hala A. Al-Sadeg ◽  
Amr Abdel-Fattah
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Waves ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Continuous Wave ◽  
Tracer Tests ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Oil Reservoirs ◽  
Medical Community ◽  
Sound Waves ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Gas Industry

Abstract Tracers are practical tools to gather information about the subsurface fluid flow in hydrocarbon reservoirs. Typical interwell tracer tests involve injecting and producing tracers from multiple wells to evaluate important parameters such as connectivity, flow paths, fluid-fluid and fluid-rock interactions, and reservoir heterogeneity, among others. The upcoming of nanotechnology enables the development of novel nanoparticle-based tracers to overcome many of the challenges faced by conventional tracers. Among the advantages of nanoparticle-based tracers is the capability to functionalize their surface to yield stability and transportability through the subsurface. In addition, nanoparticles can be engineered to respond to a wide variety of stimuli, including light. The photoacoustic effect is the formation of sound waves following light absorption in a material sample. The medical community has successfully employed photoacoustic nanotracers as contrast agents for photoacoustic tomography imaging. We propose that properly engineered photoacoustic nanoparticles can be used as tracers in oil reservoirs. Our analysis begins by investigating the parameters controlling the conversion of light to acoustic waves, and strategies to optimize such parameters. Next, we analyze different kind of nanoparticles that we deem potential candidates for our subsurface operations. Then, we briefly discuss the excitation sources and make a comparison between continuous wave and pulsed sources. We finish by discussing the research gaps and challenges that must be addressed to incorporate these agents into our operations. At the time of this writing, no other study investigating the feasibility of using photoacoustic nanoparticles for tracer applications was found. Our work paves the way for a new class of passive tracers for oil reservoirs. Photoacoustic nanotracers are easy to detect and quantify and are therefore suitable for continuous in-line monitoring, contributing to the ongoing real-time data efforts in the oil and gas industry.

scholarly journals Pharmacokinetics of intramuscularly administered aminosidine in healthy subjects.

1997 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 982-986 ◽  
Author(s):  
T P Kanyok ◽  
A D Killian ◽  
K A Rodvold ◽  
L H Danziger
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Randomized Clinical Trials ◽  
Elimination Rate ◽  
Pharmacokinetic Parameters ◽  
Multiple Drug ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Time Curve ◽  
First Order ◽  
Significant Difference

Aminosidine is an older, broad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotic that has been shown to be effective in in vitro and animal models against multiple-drug-resistant tuberculosis and the Mycobacterium avium complex. The objective of this randomized, parallel trial was to characterize the single-dose pharmacokinetics of aminosidine sulfate in healthy subjects (eight males, eight females). Sixteen adults (mean [+/- standard deviation] age, 27.6 +/- 5.6 years) were randomly allocated to receive a single, intramuscular aminosidine sulfate injection at a dose of 12 or 15 mg/kg of body weight. Serial plasma and urine samples were collected over a 24-h period and used to determine aminosidine concentrations by high-performance liquid chromatographic assay. A one-compartment model with first-order input, first-order output, and a lag time (Tlag) and with a weighting factor of 1/y2 best described the data. Compartmental and noncompartmental pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated with the microcomputer program WinNonlin. One subject was not included (15-mg/kg group) because of the lack of sampling time data. On average, subjects attained peak concentrations of 22.4 +/- 3.2 microg/ml at 1.34 +/- 0.45 h. All subjects had plasma aminosidine concentrations below 2 microg/ml at 12 h, and all but two subjects (one in each dosing group) had undetectable plasma aminosidine concentrations at 24 h. The dose-adjusted area under the concentration-time curve from 0 h to infinity of aminosidine was identical for the 12- and 15-mg/kg groups (9.29 +/- 1.5 versus 9.29 +/- 2.2 microg x h/ml per mg/kg; P = 0.998). Similarly, no significant differences (P > 0.05) were observed between dosing groups for peak aminosidine concentration in plasma, time to peak aminosidine concentration in plasma, Tlag, apparent clearance, renal clearance, elimination rate constant, and elimination half-life. A significant difference was observed for the volume of distribution (0.35 versus 0.41 liters/kg; P = 0.037) between the 12 and 15 mg/kg dosing groups. Now that comparable pharmacokinetic profiles between dosing groups have been demonstrated, therapeutic equivalency testing via in vitro pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modelling and randomized clinical trials in humans should be conducted.

scholarly journals Analysis of Symptom Development in Relation to Quantity of Rice stripe virus in Rice (Oryza sativa) to Simplify Evaluation of Resistance

2019 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
pp. 701-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitsuru Okuda ◽  
Takuya Shiba ◽  
Masahiro Hirae ◽  
Akira Masunaka ◽  
Minoru Takeshita
Keyword(s):  
Oryza Sativa ◽  
Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽  
Relative Concentration ◽  
Elongation Factor ◽  
Experimental System ◽  
Rice Stripe Virus ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Grade Scale ◽  
New Formula

Rice stripe virus (RSV) is one of the most devastating pathogens of rice (Oryza sativa) in rice-growing regions of East Asia. We analyzed the increase in RSV accumulation in infected rice plants over time and evaluated the association between disease severity and RSV accumulation with the aim of establishing an experimental system for accurate and efficient evaluation of RSV resistance in rice. As an index of RSV accumulation in plants, relative concentration of RNA corresponding to the coat protein gene region was measured using reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Actin and elongation factor 1a were used as the host reference genes. RSV concentrations tended to increase with time from 7 to 28 days after inoculation, and a strong positive correlation was observed between the log RSV concentrations in the midsections of the uppermost leaves and in the stems at the first leaf sheath position. We analyzed RSV concentrations at these two locations 21 days after inoculation with RSV and assessed severity of disease symptoms based on a commonly used scale (Washio’s six-grade scale) rated as A (most severe), B, Bt, C, Cr, or D (mild symptoms). RSV concentrations at both locations were high in plants graded A, B, or Bt, with no significant difference in concentration of RSV among the three grades, but concentrations were significantly higher in the three grades compared with that in the plants in grade D. RSV concentrations were highly variable among plants in grades C and Cr. On the basis of these data, we propose a new formula to estimate the range of disease severities with greater ease and practical value. The values calculated by the new formula corresponded well to those based on Washio’s six-grade scale.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Sealing Ability of Three Obturation Techniques Using a Glucose Leakage Test

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Olczak ◽  
Halina Pawlicka
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Wave ◽  
Negative Control Group ◽  
Positive Control ◽  
Negative Control ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Thermal Methods ◽  
Root Canals ◽  
Anterior Teeth ◽  
Sealing Ability ◽  
Significant Difference

The aim of this study was to evaluate the sealing ability of three different canal filling techniques. Sixty-four roots of extracted human maxillary anterior teeth were prepared using ProTaper® rotary instruments. The specimens were then randomly divided into 3 experimental groups (n=16) and 2 control groups (n=8). The root canals were filled using cold lateral compaction (CLC group), continuous wave condensation technique using the Elements Obturation Unit® (EOU group), and ProTaper obturators (PT group). For the negative control group, 8 roots were filled using lateral compaction as in the CLC group, and the teeth were covered twice with a layer of nail varnish (NCG group). Another 8 roots were filled using lateral compaction, but without sealer, and these were used as the positive control (PCG group). A glucose leakage model was used for quantitative evaluation of microleakage for 24 hours and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 weeks. No significant difference in the cumulative amount of leakage was found between the three experimental groups at all observation times. The lateral condensation of cold gutta-percha can guarantee a similar seal of canal fillings as can be achieved by using thermal methods, in the round canals.

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