513 research outputs found
A wavelet-based ECG delineation algorithm for 32-bit integer online processing
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Since the first well-known electrocardiogram (ECG) delineator based on Wavelet Transform (WT) presented by Li <it>et al. </it>in 1995, a significant research effort has been devoted to the exploitation of this promising method. Its ability to reliably delineate the major waveform components (mono- or bi-phasic P wave, QRS, and mono- or bi-phasic T wave) would make it a suitable candidate for efficient online processing of ambulatory ECG signals. Unfortunately, previous implementations of this method adopt non-linear operators such as <it>root mean square </it>(RMS) or floating point algebra, which are computationally demanding.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This paper presents a 32-bit integer, linear algebra advanced approach to online QRS detection and P-QRS-T waves delineation of a single lead ECG signal, based on WT.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The QRS detector performance was validated on the MIT-BIH Arrhythmia Database (sensitivity Se = 99.77%, positive predictive value P+ = 99.86%, on 109010 annotated beats) and on the European ST-T Database (Se = 99.81%, P+ = 99.56%, on 788050 annotated beats). The ECG delineator was validated on the QT Database, showing a mean error between manual and automatic annotation below 1.5 samples for all fiducial points: P-onset, P-peak, P-offset, QRS-onset, QRS-offset, T-peak, T-offset, and a mean standard deviation comparable to other established methods.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The proposed algorithm exhibits reliable QRS detection as well as accurate ECG delineation, in spite of a simple structure built on integer linear algebra.</p
Análise e comparação filogenética de expansinas presentes em Urochloa decumbens cv Basilick.
O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar 4 expansinas de Urochloa decumbens, verificando a similaridade e a homologia delas com as de outras plantas
High serum immunoglobulin g and m levels predict freedom from adverse cardiovascular events in hypertension: a nested case-control substudy of the Anglo-Scandinavian cardiac outcomes trial
Aims:
We aimed to determine whether the levels of total serum IgM and IgG, together with specific antibodies against malondialdehyde-conjugated low-density lipoprotein (MDA-LDL), can improve cardiovascular risk discrimination.
Methods and Results:
The Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT) randomized 9098 patients in the UK and Ireland into the Blood Pressure-Lowering Arm. 485 patients that had cardiovascular (CV) events over 5.5 years were age and sex matched with 1367 controls. Higher baseline total serum IgG, and to a lesser extent IgM, were associated with decreased risk of CV events (IgG odds ratio (OR) per one standard deviation (SD) 0.80 [95% confidence interval, CI 0.72,0.89], p < 0.0001; IgM 0.83[0.75,0.93], p = 0.001), and particularly events due to coronary heart disease (CHD) (IgG OR 0.66 (0.57,0.76); p < 0.0001, IgM OR 0.81 (0.71,0.93); p = 0.002). The association persisted after adjustment for a basic model with variables in the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) as well as following inclusion of C-reactive protein (CRP) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NtProBNP). IgG and IgM antibodies against MDA-LDL were also associated with CV events but their significance was lost following adjustment for total serum IgG and IgM respectively. The area under the receiver operator curve for CV events was improved from the basic risk model when adding in total serum IgG, and there was improvement in continuous and categorical net reclassification (17.6% and 7.5% respectively) as well as in the integrated discrimination index.
Conclusion:
High total serum IgG levels are an independent predictor of freedom from adverse cardiovascular events, particularly those attributed to CHD, in patients with hypertension
Surface Scaling Analysis of a Frustrated Spring-network Model for Surfactant-templated Hydrogels
We propose and study a simplified model for the surface and bulk structures
of crosslinked polymer gels, into which voids are introduced through templating
by surfactant micelles. Such systems were recently studied by Atomic Force
Microscopy [M. Chakrapani et al., e-print cond-mat/0112255]. The gel is
represented by a frustrated, triangular network of nodes connected by springs
of random equilibrium lengths. The nodes represent crosslinkers, and the
springs correspond to polymer chains. The boundaries are fixed at the bottom,
free at the top, and periodic in the lateral direction. Voids are introduced by
deleting a proportion of the nodes and their associated springs. The model is
numerically relaxed to a representative local energy minimum, resulting in an
inhomogeneous, ``clumpy'' bulk structure. The free top surface is defined at
evenly spaced points in the lateral (x) direction by the height of the topmost
spring, measured from the bottom layer, h(x). Its scaling properties are
studied by calculating the root-mean-square surface width and the generalized
increment correlation functions C_q(x)= . The surface is
found to have a nontrivial scaling behavior on small length scales, with a
crossover to scale-independent behavior on large scales. As the vacancy
concentration approaches the site-percolation limit, both the crossover length
and the saturation value of the surface width diverge in a manner that appears
to be proportional to the bulk connectivity length. This suggests that a
percolation transition in the bulk also drives a similar divergence observed in
surfactant templated polyacrylamide gels at high surfactant concentrations.Comment: 17 pages RevTex4, 10 imbedded eps figures. Expanded discussion of
multi-affinit
Crystal Structure of the Sodium Cobaltate Deuterate Superconductor NaxCoO2o4xD2O (x=1/3)
Neutron and x-ray powder diffraction have been used to investigate the
crystal structures of a sample of the newly-discovered superconducting sodium
cobaltate deuterate compound with composition Na0.31(3)CoO2o1.25(2)D2O and its
anhydrous parent compound Na0.61(1)CoO2. The deuterate superconducting compound
is formed by coordinating four D2O molecules (two above and two below) to each
Na ion in a way that gives Na-O distances nearly equal to those in the parent
compound. One deuteron of the D2O molecule is hydrogen bonded to an oxygen atom
in the CoO2 plane and the oxygen atom and the second deuteron of each D2O
molecule lie approximately in a plane between the Na layer and the CoO2 layers.
This coordination of Na by four D2O molecules leads to ordering of the Na ions
and D2O molecules. The sample studied here, which has Tc=4.5 K, has a refined
composition of Na0.31(3)CoO2o1.25(2)D2O, in agreement with the expected 1:4
ratio of Na to D2O. These results show that the optimal superconducting
composition should be viewed as a specific hydrated compound, not a solid
solution of Na and D2O (H2O) in NaxCoO2oyD2O. Studies of physical properties
vs. Na or D2O composition should be viewed with caution until it is verified
that the compound remains in the same phase over the composition range of the
study.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figure
Identification of Nuclear Relaxation Processes in a Gapped Quantum Magnet: Proton NMR in the S=1/2 Heisenberg Ladder Cu2(C5H12N2)2Cl4
The proton hyperfine shift K and NMR relaxation rate have been
measured as a function of temperature in the S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic
ladder Cu2(C5H12N2)2Cl4. The presence of a spin gap in this strongly coupled ladder ()
is supported by the K and results. By comparing at two
different proton sites, we infer the evolution of the spectral functions
and . When the gap is significantly
reduced by the magnetic field, two different channels of nuclear relaxation,
specific to gapped antiferromagnets, are identified and are in agreement with
theoretical predictions.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. Letter
Specific heat of an S=1/2 Heisenberg ladder compound Cu(CHN)Cl under magnetic fields
Specific heat measurements down to 0.5 K have been performed on a single
crystal sample of a spin-ladder like compound
Cu(CHN)Cl under magnetic fields up to 12
T. The temperature dependence of the observed data in a magnetic field below 6
T is well reproduced by numerical results calculated for the S=1/2 two-leg
ladder with /=5. In the gapless region above 7 T
(), the agreement between experiment and calculation is good above
about 2 K and a sharp and a round peak were observed below 2 K in a magnetic
field around 10 T, but the numerical data show only a round peak, the magnitude
of which is smaller than that of the observed one. The origin of the sharp peak
and the difference between the experimental and numerical round peak are
discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, Submitted to PR
NMR study of the S=1/2 Heisenberg Ladder Cu2(C5H12N2)2Cl4 : Quantum phase transition and critical dynamics
We present an extensive NMR study of the spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic
Heisenberg ladder Cu2(C5H12N2)2Cl4 in a magnetic field range 4.5 - 16.7 T. By
measuring the proton NMR relaxation rate 1/T_1 and varying the magnetic field
around the critical field H_c1 = Delta / g\mu_B = 7.5 T, we have studied the
transition from a gapped spin liquid ground state to a gapless magnetic regime
which can be described as a Luttinger liquid. We identify an intermediate
regime T > |H-H_c1|, where the spin dynamics is (possibly) only controlled by
the T=0 critical point H_c1.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Frustrated 3-Dimensional Quantum Spin Liquid in CuHpCl
Inelastic neutron scattering measurements are reported for the quantum
antiferromagnetic material Cu_2(C_5H_12N_2)_2Cl_4 (CuHpCl). The magnetic
excitation spectrum forms a band extending from 0.9 meV to 1.4 meV. The
spectrum contains two modes that disperse throughout the a-c plane of the
monoclinic unit cell with less dispersion along the unique b-axis. Simple
arguments based on the measured dispersion relations and the crystal structure
show that a spin ladder model is inappropriate for describing CuHpCl. Instead,
it is proposed that hydrogen bond mediated exchange interactions between the
bi-nuclear molecular units yield a three-dimensional interacting spin system
with a recurrent triangular motif similar to the Shastry-Sutherland Model
(SSM). Model independent analysis based on the first moment sum rule shows that
at least four distinct spin pairs are strongly correlated and that two of
these, including the dimer bond of the corresponding SSM, are magnetically
frustrated. These results show that CuHpCl should be classified as a
frustration induced three dimensional quantum spin liquid.Comment: 13 pages, 17 figures (Color) ReSubmitted to Phys. Rev. B 9/21/2001
resubmission has new content email comments to [email protected] or
[email protected]
Inter-individual variability in sensory weighting of a plantar pressure-based, tongue-placed tactile biofeedback for controlling posture
The purpose of the present experiment was to investigate whether the sensory
weighting of a plantar pressure-based, tongue-placed tactile biofeedback for
controlling posture could be subject to inter-individual variability. To
achieve this goal, 60 young healthy adults were asked to stand as immobile as
possible with their eyes closed in two conditions of No-biofeedback and
Biofeedback. Centre of foot pressure (CoP) displacements were recorded using a
force platform. Overall, results showed reduced CoP displacements in the
Biofeedback relative to the No-biofeedback condition, evidencing the ability of
the central nervous system to efficiently integrate an artificial
plantar-based, tongue-placed tactile biofeedback for controlling posture during
quiet standing. Results further showed a significant positive correlation
between the CoP displacements measured in the No-biofeedback condition and the
decrease in the CoP displacements induced by the use of the biofeedback. In
other words, the degree of postural stabilization appeared to depend on each
subject's balance control capabilities, the biofeedback yielding a greater
stabilizing effect in subjects exhibiting the largest CoP displacements when
standing in the No-biofeedback condition. On the whole, by evidencing a
significant inter-individual variability in sensory weighting of an additional
tactile information related to foot sole pressure distribution for controlling
posture, the present findings underscore the need and the necessity to address
the issue of inter-individual variability in the field of neuroscience
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