Rapid detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms using the MinION nanopore sequencer: a feasibility study for perioperative precision medicine

Introduction: Precision medicine is a phrase used to describe personalized medical care tailored to specific patients based on their clinical presentation and genetic makeup. However, despite the fact that several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been reported to be associated with increased susceptibility to particular anesthetic agents and the occurrence of perioperative complications, genomic profiling and thus precision medicine has not been widely applied in perioperative management. Methods: We validated six SNP loci known to affect perioperative outcomes in Japanese patients using genomic DNA from saliva specimens and nanopore sequencing of each SNP loci to facilitate allele frequency calculations and then compared the nanopore results to those produced using the conventional dideoxy sequencing method. Results: Nanopore sequencing reads clustered into the expected genotypes in both homozygous and heterozygous cases. In addition, the nanopore sequencing results were consistent with those obtained using conventional dideoxy sequencing and the workflow provided reliable allele frequency estimation, with a total analysis time of less than 4 h. Conclusion: Thus, our results suggest that nanopore sequencing may be a promising and versatile tool for SNP genotyping, allowing for rapid and feasible risk prediction of perioperative outcomes.

Critical Review of Basic Methods on DoA Estimation of EM Waves Impinging a Spherical Antenna Array

Direction-of-arrival (DoA) estimation of electromagnetic (EM) waves impinging on a spherical antenna array in short time windows is examined in this paper. Reflected EM signals due to non-line-of-sight propagation measured with a spherical antenna array can be coherent and/or highly correlated in a snapshot. This makes spectral-based methods inefficient. Spectral methods, such as maximum likelihood (ML) methods, multiple signal classification (MUSIC), and beamforming methods, are theoretically and systematically investigated in this study. MUSIC is an approach used for frequency estimation and radio direction finding, ML is a technique used for estimating the parameters of an assumed probability distribution for given observed data, and PWD applies a Fourier transform to the capture response and produces them in the frequency domain. Although they have been previously adapted and used to estimate DoA of EM signals impinging on linear and planar antenna array configurations, this paper investigates their suitability and effectiveness for a spherical antenna array. Various computer simulations were conducted, and plots of root-mean-square error (RMSE) against the square root of the Cramér–Rao lower bound (CRLB) were generated and used to evaluate the performance of each method. Numerical experiments and results from measured data show the degree of appropriateness and efficiency of each method. For instance, the techniques exhibit identical performance to that in the wideband scenario when the frequency f = 8 GHz, f = 16 GHz, and f = 32 GHz, but f = 16 GHz performs best. This indicates that the difference between the covariance matrix of the signal is coherent and that the steering vectors of signals impinging from that angle are small. MUSIC and PWD share the same problems in the single-frequency scenario as in the wideband scenario when the delay sample d = 0. Consequently, the DoA estimation obtained with ML techniques is more suitable, less biased, and more robust against noise than beamforming and MUSIC techniques. In addition, deterministic ML (DML) and weighted subspace fitting (WSF) techniques show better DoA estimation performance than the stochastic ML (SML) technique. For a large number of snapshots, WSF is a better choice because it is more computationally efficient than DML. Finally, the results obtained indicate that WSF and ML methods perform better than MUSIC and PWD for the coherent or partially correlated signals studied.

The scaled RCS measurement method for lossy targets via dynamically matching the reflection coefficients in the THz band

In the terahertz band, the dispersive characteristic of dielectric material is one of the major problems in the scaled radar cross section (RCS) measurement, which is inconsistent with the electrodynamics similitude deducted according to the Maxwell’s equations. Based on the high-frequency estimation method of physical optics (PO), a scaled RCS measurement method for lossy objects is proposed through dynamically matching the reflection coefficients according to the distribution of the object’s facets. Simulations on the model of SLICY were conducted, the inversed RCS of the lossy prototype was obtained using the proposed method. Via comparing the inversed RCS with the calculated results, the validity of the proposed method is demonstrated. The proposed method provides an effective solution to the scaled RCS measurement for lossy objects in the THz band.

Two-Time Procedure for Calculation of Carrier Frequency of Phasomodulated in Communication Systems

The use in radio communication systems of phase modulation of a signal intended for the transmission of useful information in a continuous mode creates the problem of frequency uncertainty of the received signal by frequency.In practice, it is not possible to implement frequency estimation in the conditions of chat uncertainty of the signal in the channel with low energy of the signal received in the continuous mode. Therefore, the estimation of the carrier frequency offset of the signal received relative to the nominal value is carried out before other synchronization procedures are included, namely: phase synchronization and clock synchronization. The paper generalizes the procedure and forms a two-step procedure for calculating the carrier frequency of the phase-modulated signal of a radio communication system for data transmission in a continuous mode, taking into account the condition of uncertainty of all signal parameters. Achieving the minimum observation interval in the given order of calculation of the carrier frequency is ensured by the use of the fast Fourier transform function. In order to analyze the effectiveness of this procedure, the process of estimating the carrier frequency of the phase-modulated signal of the radio communication system during data transmission in continuous mode and functional dependences of the maximum frequency in the signal spectrum and the minimum variance of carrier frequency estimation. This procedure allows a two-stage assessment of the carrier frequency according to the rule of maximum likelihood, taking into account the condition of uncertainty of all parameters of the signal received by the satellite communication system in a continuous mode with a minimum observation interval. Achieving the minimum observation interval in the given order of carrier frequency estimation is ensured by using the fast Fourier transform function and two estimation steps. The analysis of the efficiency of the estimation of the specified order was carried out on the basis of comparison of a ratio of the received minimum variance of an estimation of a carrier frequency and theoretically possible border of the minimum variance.

High Accuracy Motion Detection Algorithm via ISM Band FMCW Radar

The conventional frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar accuracy range detection algorithm is based on the frequency estimation and additional phase evaluation which contains Fourier transform and frequency refining analysis in each chirp, so it has the disadvantages of being computationally expensive, and not being suitable for real-time motion measurement. In addition, if there are other objects near the target, the spectra of the clutter and the target will be adjacent and affect each other, making it more challenging to estimate the frequency of the target. In this paper, the analytical expression of the Fourier transform of the beat signal is presented and it can be seen that spectrum leakage makes the phase of Fourier transform no longer consistent with the real phase of signal. The change regularities of real and imaginary parts of Fourier transform are studied, and the corrected phase of ellipse approximation is given in the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. Accurate displacement can be obtained by accurate phase. The algorithm can filter the direct current (DC) offset which is mainly caused by stationary objects. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated by a radar system whose center frequency is 24.075 GHz and the bandwidth is 0.15 GHz; the measurement accuracy of displacement is 0.087 mm and the accuracy of distance is 0.043 m.