Blind Source Separation for the Processing of Contact-Less Biosignals

(Spatio-temporale) Blind Source Separation (BSS) eignet sich für die Verarbeitung von Multikanal-Messungen im Bereich der kontaktlosen Biosignalerfassung. Ziel der BSS ist dabei die Trennung von (z.B. kardialen) Nutzsignalen und Störsignalen typisch für die kontaktlosen Messtechniken. Das Potential der BSS kann praktisch nur ausgeschöpft werden, wenn (1) ein geeignetes BSS-Modell verwendet wird, welches der Komplexität der Multikanal-Messung gerecht wird und (2) die unbestimmte Permutation unter den BSS-Ausgangssignalen gelöst wird, d.h. das Nutzsignal praktisch automatisiert identifiziert werden kann. Die vorliegende Arbeit entwirft ein Framework, mit dessen Hilfe die Effizienz von BSS-Algorithmen im Kontext des kamera-basierten Photoplethysmogramms bewertet werden kann. Empfehlungen zur Auswahl bestimmter Algorithmen im Zusammenhang mit spezifischen Signal-Charakteristiken werden abgeleitet. Außerdem werden im Rahmen der Arbeit Konzepte für die automatisierte Kanalauswahl nach BSS im Bereich der kontaktlosen Messung des Elektrokardiogramms entwickelt und bewertet. Neuartige Algorithmen basierend auf Sparse Coding erwiesen sich dabei als besonders effizient im Vergleich zu Standard-Methoden.(Spatio-temporal) Blind Source Separation (BSS) provides a large potential to process distorted multichannel biosignal measurements in the context of novel contact-less recording techniques for separating distortions from the cardiac signal of interest. This potential can only be practically utilized (1) if a BSS model is applied that matches the complexity of the measurement, i.e. the signal mixture and (2) if permutation indeterminacy is solved among the BSS output components, i.e the component of interest can be practically selected. The present work, first, designs a framework to assess the efficacy of BSS algorithms in the context of the camera-based photoplethysmogram (cbPPG) and characterizes multiple BSS algorithms, accordingly. Algorithm selection recommendations for certain mixture characteristics are derived. Second, the present work develops and evaluates concepts to solve permutation indeterminacy for BSS outputs of contact-less electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings. The novel approach based on sparse coding is shown to outperform the existing concepts of higher order moments and frequency-domain features

Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Antenna Sensor Based Microwave Breast Imaging: A Review

Globally, breast cancer is reported as a primary cause of death in women. More than 1.8 million new breast cancer cases are diagnosed every year. Because of the current limitations on clinical imaging, researchers are motivated to investigate complementary tools and alternatives to available techniques for detecting breast cancer in earlier stages. This article presents a review of concepts and electromagnetic techniques for microwave breast imaging. More specifically, this work reviews ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna sensors and their current applications in medical imaging, leading to breast imaging. We review the use of UWB sensor based microwave energy in various imaging applications for breast tumor related diseases, tumor detection, and breast tumor detection. In microwave imaging, the back-scattered signals radiating by sensors from a human body are analyzed for changes in the electrical properties of tissues. Tumorous cells exhibit higher dielectric constants because of their high water content. The goal of this article is to provide microwave researchers with in-depth information on electromagnetic techniques for microwave imaging sensors and describe recent developments in these techniques

An investigation on electrical properties of major constituents of grape must under fermentation using electrical impedance spectroscopy

Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) has been used for investigating structures of organic and inorganic materials since the 1960s. Recently, research on detecting physical and chemical changes in plants and biological tissues by EIS measurements has become a focus of interest. This research confirmed that EIS is effective in monitoring the ripening stages and physical damage to fruit, such as chilling and bruising. However, the EIS applications on wine fermentation analysis are rarely researched. Due to the huge rise of wine consumption all over the world, analytical tools on wine fermentation monitoring, which can measure major components in fermenting grape juice quickly, is required. As a rapid, inexpensive and simple method, EIS has great potential to replace the current slow response tools, such as High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Gas Chromatography (GC) . In this research, an investigation into the application of electrical impedance measurements to simulated solutions and grape musts is carried out. The dissertation outlines the experimental research conducted on relationships between impedance properties and concentration of major components of grape must. EIS measurements for monitoring ethanol, sugar, tartaric acid and malic acid changes in the process of fermentation are investigated. Experiments were performed on single solvent solutions, compound solutions and grape juice under fermentation. As a result, linear relationships between impedance properties (including impedance magnitude on specific frequency, diameter of Nyquist plot and value of components in equivalent electrical circuits) and concentration of ethanol in pure solutions are found. Two major organic acids in grape juice, tartaric acid and malic acid, are also tested. Power relationships between malic and tartaric acid concentrations and solution resistance which is measured by EIS are found. It has also been discovered that the ionization resistance of organic acids has a linear relationship with the concentration of ethanol. Based on these findings, the ethanol concentration and organic acid concentrations in compound solutions can be measured by EIS . Two models containing constant phase elements are established for high and low conductivity solutions and they fit the data better than any previous models, such as the Cole model and the Hayden model, etc. Validation experiments on ethanol solutions and real fermenting grape juice are also carried out to confirm the applicability of ethanol measurement in real condition. In conclusion, this research proves that the impedance measurements are suitable to measure ethanol concentrations in fermenting grape must. They are rapid in response and easy to operate. This method may cause a revolution in current fermentation analysis. Further research may consummate the EIS method for industrial wine applications, and spread this method to applications in other alcoholic beverages and food products

Biomedical signal filtering for noisy environments

 Luke\u27s work addresses issue of robustly attenuating multi-source noise from surface EEG signals using a novel Adaptive-Multiple-Reference Least-Means-Squares filter (AMR-LMS). In practice, the filter successfully removes electrical interference and muscle noise generated during movement which contaminates EEG, allowing subjects to maintain maximum mobility throughout signal acquisition and during the use of a Brain Computer Interface

Tyypin 2 diabeteksen ja siihen liittyvien ominaisuuksien periytyvyys

Disturbances in insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion precede the manifestation of type 2 diabetes. Both genes and environment contribute to the diabetes risk. Heritability indicates the proportion to which genotype determines the variability of a trait, such as for example blood glucose concentration. The current work was done for the Hjelt institute and for the Finnish institute of Molecular Medicine (FiMM) in the University of Helsinki. Heritability of insulin sensitivity, insulin secretion and traits associated with type 2 diabetes were estimated by means of twin and family studies. The twins belonged to the Finnish Twin Cohort Study of the University of Helsinki and the families participated in the Botnia study, a project on type 2 diabetes genetics. The collecting of the material was made between the years 1992 - 2004. Insulin sensitivity was measured by means of hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic clamp technique. Insulin secretion was measured both via oral (OGTT) and intravenous (IVGTT) glucose tolerance tests. The heritability of body mass index (BMI) and type 2 diabetes were estimated in a follow-up study of twins. Furthermore, heritability estimates of several glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity related traits were obtained by examining Botnia study families where at least two family members had type 2 diabetes. Altogether 66 monozygotic (MZ) and 85 dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs underwent OGTT. A subset of the pairs participated also in IVGTT- and clamp studies. The follow-up study was based on information that was received from 10400 twin pairs during a maximum of 28 years of follow-up. From the Botnia-study, 5810 adults from 942 families were chosen: 1707 of them had type 2 diabetes. The average family size was 6,17. On the basis of the metabolic studies, it was concluded that the genotype determines the insulin secretion's early phase, which begins immediately after the ingestion or infusion of glucose. The heritability of this trait varied between 55% and 76%. The majority of variation in insulin sensitivity, instead, seemed to be due to non-hereditary factors, as the heritability of insulin sensitivity was only 37%. In the follow-up study, 6.3% of male and 5.1% of female twins got type 2 diabetes. BMI calculated on the basis of the data recorded at the start of the follow-up, predicted future diabetes well. On average, the hazard ratio for type 2 diabetes was 1,22 per each BMI unit and the risk began to increase already from the BMI-value of 20kg/m2. The hazard ratios for type 2 diabetes in normal weight, overweight, obese and morbidly obese twins were 0.59, 2.96, 6.80 and 13.64, respectively. When BMI and type 2 diabetes were modelled together, the heritability of BMI in men was 75%, and 71% in women. Correspondingly, the heritability of type 2 diabetes was 73% in men and 64% in women, respectively. The genetic factors influencing BMI explained only 16% of the risk for type 2 diabetes among men and 21% of the risk among women. In the Botnia study, the highest heritability estimate for type 2 diabetes, 69%, was observed among individuals aged 35 to 60 years. The heritability of the early phase of insulin secretion varied between 41% (all subjects) and 50% (non-diabetic subjects). The heritability of insulin sensitivity was the same as among twins, from 37% to 40%. Among diabetes-related traits, the highest heritability estimates were obtained for lean body mass (53% to 65%), serum HDL cholesterol concentration (52% to 61%) and suppression of free fatty acids during OGTT (63% to 76%). The variation of all insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion -related traits were smaller within than between families. It is stated as a summary of this doctoral thesis that the risk for type 2 diabetes seems to be an inherited trait. A relatively small share in this risk, on the other hand, seems to be due to genes which influence BMI. Finally, the early phase of the pancreatic insulin secretion appears to be an aspect of metabolism that encompasses promising phenotypes for genomic studies.Häiriöt sokeriaineenvaihdunnan insuliiniherkkyydessä ja insuliininerityksessä edeltävät tyypin 2 diabeteksen puhkeamista. Sekä perimä (geneettiset tekijät) että elintavat vaikuttavat diabetesriskiin. Periytyvyys eli heritabiliteetti ilmaisee, paljonko perimä määrää mitattavan ominaisuuden kuten esimerkiksi verensokerin vaihtelua. Helsingin yliopiston lääketieteellisen tiedekunnan alaisessa, Hjelt-instituutille ja Suomen molekyylilääketieteen instituutille (FiMM) tehdyssä väitöstutkimuksessa selvitettiin sokeriaineenaihdunnan, insuliininerityksen ja diabetesriskin periytyvyyttä kaksos- ja perhetutkimuksen keinoin. Kaksoset kuuluivat Helsingin yliopiston Kaksostutkimukseen, joka vuonna 2014 täyttää 40 vuotta. Perheaineisto koottiin suomalaisesta Botnia-tutkimuksesta, joka on maailman huomattavimpia tyypin 2 diabeteksen perimää selvittäviä projekteja. Aineiston kokoaminen ja seuranta tehtiin vuosien 1992 - 2004 aikana. Tutkimuksessa määritettiin insuliiniherkkyys clamp-tekniikan avulla: tutkittavan henkilön veren insuliinitaso nostettiin keinotekoisesti halutulle tasolle ja katsottiin, kuinka paljon sokeriliuosta on annettava laskimoon estämään insuliinin aikaansaama verensokerin lasku. Insuliinineritys mitattiin sekä tavallista (oraalista, OGTT) että laskimonsisäistä (IVGTT) sokerirasitusta käyttäen. Tyypin 2 diabeteksen ja kehon painoindeksin (BMI) periytyvyys selvitettiin pitkässä seurantatutkimuksessa. Lisäksi useille sokeriaineenvaihduntaan ja insuliiniherkkyyteen liittyville piirteille määritettiin periytyvyys tutkimalla Botnia-tutkimukseen osallistuneita perheitä, joissa vähintään kahdella perheenjäsenellä on tyypin 2 diabetes. Kaikkian 66 identtiselle ja 85 epäidenttiselle kaksosparille tehtiin OGTT ja osalle lisäksi sekä IVGTT että clamp. Seurantatutkimus perustui 10400 kaksosparista saatuihin tietoihin. Pisin seuranta-aika oli 28 vuotta. Botnia-tutkimuksesta valittiin 942 perhettä, joihin kuului 5810 aikuista. Heistä 1707:llä oli tyypin 2 diabetes. Keskimääräinen perhekoko oli 6,17. Kaksosille tehtyjen aineenvaihduntatutkimusten perusteella ilmeni, että perimä määrää vahvasti erityisesti insuliininerityksen varhaista vaihetta, joka alkaa välittömästi sokerin nauttimisen tai laskimoon annostelun jälkeen. Tämän ominaisuuden periytyvyys vaihteli 55 ja 76% välillä. Valtaosa insuliiniherkkyyden vaihtelusta sen sijaan näytti johtuvan ei-perinnöllisistä syistä ja insuliiniherkkyyden periytyvyydeksi saatiin vain 37%. Seurantatutkimuksessa 6,3% mies- ja 5,1% naiskaksosista sairastui tyypin 2 diabetekseen. Seurannan alussa kerättyjen tietojen perusteella laskettu painoindeksi ennusti tulevaa diabetesta erittäin hyvin. Keskimäärin riskisuhde oli 1,22 jokaista nousevaa BMI-yksikköä kohti. Diabetesriski alkoi lisääntyä jo BMI-arvosta 20 kg/m2 lähtien. Normaalipainoisten, ylipainoisten, lihavien ja sairaalloisen lihavien riskisuhteet olivat 0,59, 2,96, 6,80 ja 13,64. Kun sekä BMI että tyypin 2 diabetes huomioitiin yhtä aikaa, saatiin BMI:n periytyvyydeksi 75% miehillä ja 71% naisilla. Vastaavasti tyypin 2 diabeteksen periytyvyydeksi saatiin miehillä 73% ja naisilla 64%. Painoindeksin perintötekijät selittivät vain 16% miesten ja 21% naisten riskistä sairastua tyypin 2 diabetekseen. Botniatutkimuksessa tyypin 2 diabeteksen periytyvyys oli suurimmillaan 69 prosenttia, 35 - 60 -vuotiaiden keskuudessa. Insuliininerityksen varhaisen vaiheen periytyvyys vaihteli 41% (kaikki tutkittavat) ja 50% (tutkittavat, joilla ei diabetesta) välillä. Insuliiniherkkyyden periytyvyys oli sama kuin kaksostutkimuksessa, 37-40%. Diabetekseen liittyvistä aineenvaihdunnan ominaisuuksista korkein periytyvyys saatiin kehon rasvattomalle massalle (53-65%), seerumin HDL-kolesteroli-pitoisuudelle (52-61%) ja OGTT:n aikaiselle vapaiden rasvahappojen pitoisuuden laskulle (63-76%). Kaikkien insuliiniherkkyyteen ja insuliinineritykseen liittyvien ominaisuuksien vaihtelu perheiden sisällä oli pienempää kuin perheiden välillä. Väitöstutkimuksen yhteenvetona todetaan, että riski sairastua tyypin 2 diabetekseen on periytyvä. Painoindeksiin vaikuttavilla geeneillä on merkittävä, kenties tähän asti oletettua pienempi osuus tässä riskissä. Lisäksi todetaan, että insuliininerityksen varhainen vaihe kannattaa huomioida haettaessa tyypin 2 diabetekselle altistavia perintötekijöitä esimerkiksi koko genomin laajuisissa assosiaatiotutukimuksissa

Neuroendocrine perturbations in human obesity

The evolutionary advantage to conserve energy in the form of adipose issue in order to survive long periods of food shortage in the past, turned into a major health problem in current times of plenty. Excess accumulation of body fat, or "obesity", is associated with severely increased co-morbidity and mortality risks and is a global epidemical medical condition which is difficult to manage. The exact pathophysiologic mechanism of obesity remains elusive and various factors such as genetic, social, behavioral and physiological cues are involved in its development. From a biological point of view, obesity might be partly explained by differences in the regulation of energy intake, expenditure and storage (energy homeostasis) between obese and lean individuals. The neuroendocrine system provides a source of humoral messengers, which modulate energy homeostasis. This thesis will focus on changes of the neuroendocrine environment of obese women. First of all, spontaneous diurnal plasma hormone concentrations and secretion of different hormonal systems were studied. Secondly, the effect of weight loss on neuroendocrine perturbations of some of these hormonal axes was evaluated. Finally, the impact of modulation of potential physiological cues (increased circulating FFAs and deficit dopaminergic signaling), which might be involved in the neuroendocrine changes and metabolic alterations, was investigated.UBL - phd migration 201

Microwave Breast Phantom Measurement System with Compact Side Slotted Directional Antenna

In this paper, a new, complete, and comprehensive breast phantom measurement system is presented. A side slotted vivaldi antenna is used for breast phantom measurement. The radiating fins are modified by etching six side slots to enhance the electrical length and produce stronger directive radiation with higher gain. This approach reduces the lower operating frequency and increases the gain and efficiency without compromising the size of the antenna. The overall size of the antenna is 8.8 (L) × 7.5 (W) cm 2 or approximately 0.4λ × 0.5λ at the first resonant frequency of 1.79 GHz. The results show that the antenna has a fractional bandwidth of approximately 127% from 1.54 to 7 GHz for return loss less than 10 dB with a directional radiation pattern. The average gain of the proposed prototype is 8.5 dBi, and the radiation efficiency is approximately 92% on average over the operating bandwidth. The fidelity factor for face to face is 0.98, and that for side by side is 0.4479, which proves the directionality and lower distortion of the signal. The prototype is successfully simulated, fabricated, and analyzed. The radiating fins of the proposed prototype are optimized to achieve the desired properties for breast phantom measurement. The antenna is used as the transceiver in a breast phantom measurement system to detect unwanted tumor cells inside the breast. An automated electromechanical imaging system with the necessary data post processing makes it an easy and suitable tool for microwave imaging to detect breast tumors

Narcolepsy beyond sleepiness : endocrine, metabolic and other aspects

The thesis contains a large study in which eight male hypocretin deficient narcolepsy with cataplexy patients and eight matched controls were enrolled. Blood was sampled before and on the 5th day of SXB administration. SXB was taken 2 times 3g per night for 5 consecutive nights. Both groups underwent 24-h blood sampling and many hormones (prolactin, Growth hormone, melatonin, ghrelin, leptin) were measured and compared before and during SXB treatment. A study using the golden standard on insuline sensitivity is decribed to compare insuline sensitivity between patients and controls, and between patients, before and during satisfactory SXB treatment. ANother study describes body and skintemperature differences between narcolepsy patients and controls. Another chapter describes a rarely described, common feature in narcolepsy, in which patients mistake the memory of a dream for a real experience. In another chapter describes that date of birth is not a risk factor for narcolepsy.SEIN, UCB Pharma, Koninklijke Auping, Wave Medical, Nederlandse vereniging voor Narcolepsie, Nederlandse vereniging voor slaap- en waak onderzoek, Heinen en Löwenstein, ChipsoftUBL - phd migration 201

Special oils for halal and safe cosmetics

Three types of non conventional oils were extracted, analyzed and tested for toxicity. Date palm kernel oil (DPKO), mango kernel oil (MKO) and Ramputan seed oil (RSO). Oil content for tow cultivars of dates Deglect Noor and Moshkan was 9.67% and 7.30%, respectively. The three varieties of mango were found to contain about 10% oil in average. The red yellow types of Ramputan were found to have 11 and 14% oil, respectively. The phenolic compounds in DPKO, MKO and RSO were 0.98, 0.88 and 0.78 mg/ml Gallic acid equivalent, respectively. Oils were analyzed for their fatty acid composition and they are rich in oleic acid C18:1 and showed the presence of (dodecanoic acid) lauric acid C12:0, which reported to appear some antimicrobial activities. All extracted oils, DPKO, MKO and RSO showed no toxic effect using prime shrimp bioassay. Since these oils are stable, melt at skin temperature, have good lubricity and are great source of essential fatty acids; they could be used as highly moisturizing, cleansing and nourishing oils because of high oleic acid content. They are ideal for use in such halal cosmetics such as Science, Engineering and Technology 75 skin care and massage, hair-care, soap and shampoo products