6,038 research outputs found
Bio-Inspired Filter Banks for SSVEP-based Brain-Computer Interfaces
Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) have the potential to play a vital role in
future healthcare technologies by providing an alternative way of communication
and control. More specifically, steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)
based BCIs have the advantage of higher accuracy and higher information
transfer rate (ITR). In order to fully exploit the capabilities of such
devices, it is necessary to understand the features of SSVEP and design the
system considering its biological characteristics. This paper introduces
bio-inspired filter banks (BIFB) for a novel SSVEP frequency detection method.
It is known that SSVEP response to a flickering visual stimulus is frequency
selective and gets weaker as the frequency of the stimuli increases. In the
proposed approach, the gain and bandwidth of the filters are designed and tuned
based on these characteristics while also incorporating harmonic SSVEP
responses. This method not only improves the accuracy but also increases the
available number of commands by allowing the use of stimuli frequencies elicit
weak SSVEP responses. The BIFB method achieved reliable performance when tested
on datasets available online and compared with two well-known SSVEP frequency
detection methods, power spectral density analysis (PSDA) and canonical
correlation analysis (CCA). The results show the potential of bio-inspired
design which will be extended to include further SSVEP characteristic (e.g.
time-domain waveform) for future SSVEP based BCIs.Comment: 2016 IEEE International Conference on Biomedical and Health
Informatics (BHI
Upregulated wnt-11 and mir-21 expression trigger epithelial mesenchymal transition in aggressive prostate cancer cells
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second-leading cause of cancer-related death among men. microRNAs have been identified as having potential roles in tumorigenesis. An oncomir, miR-21, is commonly highly upregulated in many cancers, including PCa, and showed correlation with the Wnt-signaling axis to increase invasion. Wnt-11 is a developmentally regulated gene and has been found to be upregulated in PCa, but its mechanism is unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the roles of miR-21 and Wnt-11 in PCa in vivo and in vitro. First, different Gleason score PCa tissue samples were used; both miR-21 and Wnt-11 expressions correlate with high Gleason scores in PCa patient tissues. This data then was confirmed with formalin-fixed paraffin cell blocks using PCa cell lines LNCaP and PC3. Cell survival and colony formation studies proved that miR-21 involves in cells’ behaviors, as well as the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Consistent with the previous data, silencing miR-21 led to significant inhibition of cellular invasiveness. Overall, these results suggest that miR-21 plays a significant role related to Wnt-11 in the pathophysiology of PCa
Effect of 7-dehydrocholesterol and cholesterol-loaded cyclodextrins on bull sperm motility during short term storage.
Regression on feature projections
Cataloged from PDF version of article.This paper describes a machine learning method, called Regression on Feature Projections (RFP), for predicting a real-valued target
feature, given the values of multiple predictive features. In RFP training is based on simply storing the projections of the training instances on
each feature separately. Prediction of the target value for a query point is obtained through two averaging procedures executed sequentially.
The ®rst averaging process is to ®nd the individual predictions of features by using the K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) algorithm. The second
averaging process combines the predictions of all features. During the ®rst averaging step, each feature is associated with a weight in order to
determine the prediction ability of the feature at the local query point. The weights, found for each local query point, are used in the second
prediction step and enforce the method to have an adaptive or context-sensitive nature. We have compared RFP with KNN and the rule
based-regression algorithms. Results on real data sets show that RFP achieves better or comparable accuracy and is faster than both KNN and
Rule-based regression algorithms. (C)2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
Reflections of the Mature Market and What It Says to the Travel Industry
This article explores the trend of privatization among public, quasi-public, and private institutions. The primary factor that must be resolved is whether a cooperative or a competitive approach is used. Morgan\u27s model of privatization, with greater utilization of the private non-profit sector, coupled with voluntary involvement of dedicated individuals, seems to hold the most promise
Adaptive function and correlates of anxiety during a pandemic
Background and objectives: Most studies to date have focused on the negative aspects of anxiety. Anxiety, however, is an evolved emotional response that can provide protection in the face of risk. Pandemics are characterized by increased mortality risk coupled with future uncertainties, which both cause heightened anxiety. Here, we examine the factors associated with anxiety levels and risk avoidance behaviours during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We asked how individual time perspectives (future-oriented consideration and attention to present moment experience) affect anxiety in uncertain times, and whether anxiety reduces mortality risk by promoting risk avoidance behaviour. /
Methodology: We conducted an online survey in the UK (N = 1088) and Turkey (N = 3935) and measured participants’ generalized and pandemic-related anxiety levels, future-oriented consideration, mindfulness, intolerance of uncertainty, risk perception and risk avoidance behaviours. /
Results: We found that people less tolerant of uncertainties had higher levels of pandemic anxiety. Those with higher pandemic anxiety exhibited risk avoidance behaviours more frequently. Mindfulness and increased financial satisfaction reduced pandemic anxiety. People in Turkey reported higher levels of generalized and pandemic anxiety and greater engagement in risk avoidance behaviours than people in the UK. /
Conclusions and implications: Our study shows an elevated anxiety response can help mitigate infection risk during pandemics and emphasizes the importance of the underlying situation in understanding whether an anxiety response is adaptive or pathological. Maintaining a healthy level of anxiety can promote engagement in protective behaviours. Therapies addressing anxiety can focus on increasing tolerance to future uncertainties
The improved diesel-like fuel from upgraded tire pyrolytic oil
Tire pyrolytic oil (TPO) obtained from thermal pyrolysis of scrap tires is not a diesel equivalent fuel which can be used directly in vehicles due to its high density, viscosity, sulfur content, low flash point and low cetane index. It can only be used in a limited way by mixing with diesel fuel (DF) in amounts less than 30 %. In this study, the pyrolysis of scrap tires was carried out at a heating rates of 5 and 10 °C min-1 in the range of 450–600 °C, using a mixture of hierarchical zeolite (HZSM-5), mesoporous silica (MCM-41) and quicklime (CaO) as the catalyst. The obtained TPO and catalytic pyrolytic oil (CPO) were upgraded by pre-treatment, and distillation consisting of a mixture of Cu(I)-loaded mesoporous aluminosilicate (Cu(I)–MAS) and MCM-41, desulfurization and decolourization steps, respectively. To obtain diesel-like fuel, the upgraded catalytic pyrolytic oil (UCPO) and biodiesel (PBD) obtained from palm oil were blended in certain proportions. Density, viscosity, flash point and cetane index of the obtained diesel-like fuels were found within the limit values of diesel fuel. © 2022 Serbian Chemical Society. All rights reserved
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