Near Real-Time Data Labeling Using a Depth Sensor for EMG Based Prosthetic Arms

Recognizing sEMG (Surface Electromyography) signals belonging to a particular action (e.g., lateral arm raise) automatically is a challenging task as EMG signals themselves have a lot of variation even for the same action due to several factors. To overcome this issue, there should be a proper separation which indicates similar patterns repetitively for a particular action in raw signals. A repetitive pattern is not always matched because the same action can be carried out with different time duration. Thus, a depth sensor (Kinect) was used for pattern identification where three joint angles were recording continuously which is clearly separable for a particular action while recording sEMG signals. To Segment out a repetitive pattern in angle data, MDTW (Moving Dynamic Time Warping) approach is introduced. This technique is allowed to retrieve suspected motion of interest from raw signals. MDTW based on DTW algorithm, but it will be moving through the whole dataset in a pre-defined manner which is capable of picking up almost all the suspected segments inside a given dataset an optimal way. Elevated bicep curl and lateral arm raise movements are taken as motions of interest to show how the proposed technique can be employed to achieve auto identification and labelling. The full implementation is available at https://github.com/GPrathap/OpenBCIPytho

Effect of Bacillus subtilis on the growth and survival rate of shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)

The effect ofBacillus subtilis, isolated from digestive tract of Macrobrachium rosenbergii was investigated on growth and survival rate of Litopenaeus vannamei during 60 days of culture. Sixteen aquaria with four replicates were used for treatments and controls. Treatment groups were consisted of  Bacillus subtilis, isolated from digestive tract of Macrobrachium rosenbergii was investigated on growth and survival rate of Litopenaeus vannamei during 60 days of culture. Sixteen aquaria with four replicates were used for treatments and controls. Treatment groups were consisted of Bacillus subtilis, isolated from digestive tract of Macrobrachium rosenbergii was investigated on growth and survival rate of Litopenaeus vannamei during 60 days of culture. Sixteen aquaria with four replicates were used for treatments and controls. Treatment groups were consisted of ) shrimp fed diet with B. subtilis (T1), and ii) shrimp fed diet mixed with B. subtilis and commercial probiotic (T2). Control groups were consisted of ) shrimp fed diet with commercial probiotic as positive control, and ii) shrimp fed unaltered diet as negative control. Results showed that B. subtilis was proliferated in digestive tract of treated shrimps, and the number of Vibrio spp. was reduced in digestive tract during the cultural period. Survival rate, 75.5± 4.62 %, and yields of shrimps, 190.00 ±13.13 g, treated with B. subtilis were significantly greater (

Five-year survival outcomes for patients with advanced melanoma treated with pembrolizumab in KEYNOTE-001.

BackgroundPembrolizumab demonstrated robust antitumor activity and safety in the phase Ib KEYNOTE-001 study (NCT01295827) of advanced melanoma. Five-year outcomes in all patients and treatment-naive patients are reported herein. Patients whose disease progressed following initial response and who received a second course of pembrolizumab were also analyzed.Patients and methodsPatients aged ≥18 years with previously treated or treatment-naive advanced/metastatic melanoma received pembrolizumab 2 mg/kg every 3 weeks, 10 mg/kg every 3 weeks, or 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks until disease progression, intolerable toxicity, or patient/investigator decision to withdraw. Kaplan-Meier estimates of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were calculated. Objective response rate and PFS were based on immune-related response criteria by investigator assessment (data cut-off, September 1, 2017).ResultsKEYNOTE-001 enrolled 655 patients with melanoma; median follow-up was 55 months. Estimated 5-year OS was 34% in all patients and 41% in treatment-naive patients; median OS was 23.8 months (95% CI, 20.2-30.4) and 38.6 months (95% CI, 27.2-not reached), respectively. Estimated 5-year PFS rates were 21% in all patients and 29% in treatment-naive patients; median PFS was 8.3 months (95% CI, 5.8-11.1) and 16.9 months (95% CI, 9.3-35.5), respectively. Median response duration was not reached; 73% of all responses and 82% of treatment-naive responses were ongoing at data cut-off; the longest response was ongoing at 66 months. Four patients [all with prior response of complete response (CR)] whose disease progressed during observation subsequently received second-course pembrolizumab. One patient each achieved CR and partial response (after data cut-off). Treatment-related AEs (TRAEs) occurred in 86% of patients and resulted in study discontinuation in 7.8%; 17% experienced grade 3/4 TRAE.ConclusionsThis 5-year analysis of KEYNOTE-001 represents the longest follow-up for pembrolizumab to date and confirms the durable antitumor activity and tolerability of pembrolizumab in advanced melanoma.Clinical trial registryClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01295827