Unfolding the procedure of characterizing recorded ultra low frequency, kHZ and MHz electromagetic anomalies prior to the L'Aquila earthquake as pre-seismic ones. Part I

Ultra low frequency, kHz and MHz electromagnetic anomalies were recorded prior to the L'Aquila catastrophic earthquake that occurred on April 6, 2009. The main aims of this contribution are: (i) To suggest a procedure for the designation of detected EM anomalies as seismogenic ones. We do not expect to be possible to provide a succinct and solid definition of a pre-seismic EM emission. Instead, we attempt, through a multidisciplinary analysis, to provide elements of a definition. (ii) To link the detected MHz and kHz EM anomalies with equivalent last stages of the L'Aquila earthquake preparation process. (iii) To put forward physically meaningful arguments to support a way of quantifying the time to global failure and the identification of distinguishing features beyond which the evolution towards global failure becomes irreversible. The whole effort is unfolded in two consecutive parts. We clarify we try to specify not only whether or not a single EM anomaly is pre-seismic in itself, but mainly whether a combination of kHz, MHz, and ULF EM anomalies can be characterized as pre-seismic one

Automatic epilepsy detection using fractal dimensions segmentation and GP-SVM classification

Objective: The most important part of signal processing for classification is feature extraction as a mapping from original input electroencephalographic (EEG) data space to new features space with the biggest class separability value. Features are not only the most important, but also the most difficult task from the classification process as they define input data and classification quality. An ideal set of features would make the classification problem trivial. This article presents novel methods of feature extraction processing and automatic epilepsy seizure classification combining machine learning methods with genetic evolution algorithms. Methods: Classification is performed on EEG data that represent electric brain activity. At first, the signal is preprocessed with digital filtration and adaptive segmentation using fractal dimensions as the only segmentation measure. In the next step, a novel method using genetic programming (GP) combined with support vector machine (SVM) confusion matrix as fitness function weight is used to extract feature vectors compressed into lower dimension space and classify the final result into ictal or interictal epochs. Results: The final application of GP SVM method improves the discriminatory performance of a classifier by reducing feature dimensionality at the same time. Members of the GP tree structure represent the features themselves and their number is automatically decided by the compression function introduced in this paper. This novel method improves the overall performance of the SVM classification by dramatically reducing the size of input feature vector. Conclusion: According to results, the accuracy of this algorithm is very high and comparable, or even superior to other automatic detection algorithms. In combination with the great efficiency, this algorithm can be used in real-time epilepsy detection applications. From the results of the algorithm's classification, we can observe high sensitivity, specificity results, except for the Generalized Tonic Clonic Seizure (GTCS). As the next step, the optimization of the compression stage and final SVM evaluation stage is in place. More data need to be obtained on GTCS to improve the overall classification score for GTCS.Web of Science142449243

Wavelet analysis of epileptic spikes

Interictal spikes and sharp waves in human EEG are characteristic signatures of epilepsy. These potentials originate as a result of synchronous, pathological discharge of many neurons. The reliable detection of such potentials has been the long standing problem in EEG analysis, especially after long-term monitoring became common in investigation of epileptic patients. The traditional definition of a spike is based on its amplitude, duration, sharpness, and emergence from its background. However, spike detection systems built solely around this definition are not reliable due to the presence of numerous transients and artifacts. We use wavelet transform to analyze the properties of EEG manifestations of epilepsy. We demonstrate that the behavior of wavelet transform of epileptic spikes across scales can constitute the foundation of a relatively simple yet effective detection algorithm.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Classification of Epileptic and Non-Epileptic Electroencephalogram (EEG) Signals Using Fractal Analysis and Support Vector Regression

Seizures are a common symptom of this neurological condition, which is caused by the discharge of brain nerve cells at an excessively fast rate. Chaos, nonlinearity, and other nonlinearities are common features of scalp and intracranial Electroencephalogram (EEG) data recorded in clinics. EEG signals that aren't immediately evident are challenging to categories because of their complexity. The Gradient Boost Decision Tree (GBDT) classifier was used to classify the majority of the EEG signal segments automatically. According to this study, the Hurst exponent, in combination with AFA, is an efficient way to identify epileptic signals. As with any fractal analysis approach, there are problems and factors to keep in mind, such as identifying whether or not linear scaling areas are present. These signals were classified as either epileptic or non-epileptic by using a combination of GBDT and a Support Vector Regression (SVR). The combined method's identification accuracy was 98.23%. This study sheds light on the effectiveness of AFA feature extraction and GBDT classifiers in EEG classification. The findings can be utilized to develop theoretical guidance for the clinical identification and prediction of epileptic EEG signals. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2022-06-01-011 Full Text: PD

Fractals in the Nervous System: conceptual Implications for Theoretical Neuroscience

This essay is presented with two principal objectives in mind: first, to document the prevalence of fractals at all levels of the nervous system, giving credence to the notion of their functional relevance; and second, to draw attention to the as yet still unresolved issues of the detailed relationships among power law scaling, self-similarity, and self-organized criticality. As regards criticality, I will document that it has become a pivotal reference point in Neurodynamics. Furthermore, I will emphasize the not yet fully appreciated significance of allometric control processes. For dynamic fractals, I will assemble reasons for attributing to them the capacity to adapt task execution to contextual changes across a range of scales. The final Section consists of general reflections on the implications of the reviewed data, and identifies what appear to be issues of fundamental importance for future research in the rapidly evolving topic of this review

The Fractal Analysis of the Images and Signals in Medical Diagnostics

In the present chapter, we summarize our results concerning fractal analysis of some medical data. The aim of this study is to identify the inherent human body “chaotic” dynamics and insufficient disclosure of the physical essence of the processes observed, depending on the extent of developing a pathology that is characterized by a decrease or increase in the degree of complexity and as a consequence—randomness, for which, in some cases, hidden fractal. The proposed approach based on identifying the presence of the properties of self‐similarity can be useful in preliminary clinical trials for the diagnosis of cancerous epithelial diseases, blood, and liver in the initial stage, the analysis of digital images, the structure of correlations biomedical parameters, as well as in the study of pathologies of the central nervous system—the neurological, neurodegenerative disorders, psychiatric disorders, and may be the basis for the development of the interface “brain‐computer”, on the basis of electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography. Additional measures are proposed to study the presence of self‐similar properties in the form of self‐similarity and magnitude SRGB ratio (area of a triangle in the coordinate system of the properties)

Towards the text compression based feature extraction in high impedance fault detection

High impedance faults of medium voltage overhead lines with covered conductors can be identified by the presence of partial discharges. Despite it is a subject of research for more than 60 years, online partial discharges detection is always a challenge, especially in environment with heavy background noise. In this paper, a new approach for partial discharge pattern recognition is presented. All results were obtained on data, acquired from real 22 kV medium voltage overhead power line with covered conductors. The proposed method is based on a text compression algorithm and it serves as a signal similarity estimation, applied for the first time on partial discharge pattern. Its relevancy is examined by three different variations of classification model. The improvement gained on an already deployed model proves its quality.Web of Science1211art. no. 214