Measuring the effects of cognitive stress and relaxation using a wearable smart ring

Abstract. Prolonged stress is known to be a risk factor for various kinds of diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases. If stress could be easily measured, it would enable monitoring of stress and help people make better choices to achieve a healthier lifestyle. In this study, a polysomnography system as well as a wearable smart ring were used to measure the responses of central and autonomic nervous systems from ten healthy test subjects (five male and five female), aged 23–26. The responses were measured in two conditions: cognitive stress induced by a mental calculation task and relaxation induced by a focused attention meditation exercise. Power spectral densities of two electroencephalography frequency bands, alpha and beta, were calculated to represent the central nervous system response. The autonomic nervous system response was measured using heart rate, heart rate variability and peripheral (finger) temperature. In cognitive stress, alpha and beta bands both showed higher activity, increasing by 53.26% and 94.70%, respectively. Heart rate also increased by 19.33%, while heart rate variability decreased by 25.65% and peripheral temperature change was 0.77℃ lower. Results show that the changes in autonomic nervous system responses acquired by the smart ring correlate with the changes in central nervous system responses acquired by the polysomnography system. This suggests that a smart ring could be used for an indirect measurement of human stress level. Follow-up studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm the findings of this study and to determine the most suitable features for representation of human stress level.Kognitiivisen stressin ja rentoutumisen vaikutusten mittaaminen älysormuksella. Tiivistelmä. Pitkittynyt stressi toimii riskitekijänä lukuisille sairauksille, kuten sydän- ja verisuonitaudeille. Stressin vaivaton mittaaminen mahdollistaisi stressitason seuraamisen, mikä vuorostaan auttaisi ihmisiä tekemään parempia valintoja terveellisemmän elämäntyylin puolesta. Tässä tutkimuksessa käytettiin polysomnografialaitteistoa sekä puettavaa älysormusta keskushermoston ja autonomisen hermoston vasteiden mittaamiseen kymmeneltä terveeltä koehenkilöltä (viisi miestä ja viisi naista), iältään 23–26. Vasteet mitattiin kahdessa tilassa: päässälaskutehtävän aikaansaamassa kognitiivisessa stressissä sekä hengitykseen keskittyvän meditaatioharjoituksen aikaansaamassa rentoutumisessa. Kahdelle elektroenkefalografian taajuuskaistalle, alfalle ja beetalle, laskettiin tehon spektritiheydet kuvastamaan keskushermoston vastetta. Lisäksi laskettiin syke, sykevälivaihtelu sekä ääreislämpötila (sormen lämpötila) kuvastamaan autonomisen hermoston vastetta. Kognitiivisessa stressissä sekä alfa- että beetakaistan aktiivisuus kasvoi, alfalla 53,26 % ja beetalla 94,70 %. Myös syke nousi 19,33 %, kun taas sykevälivaihtelu pieneni 25,65 % ja ääreislämpötilan muutos oli 0,77 ℃ pienempi. Tulokset osoittavat, että älysormuksella mitatut autonomisen hermoston vasteen muutokset korreloivat polysomnografialaitteistolla mitattujen keskushermoston vasteen muutosten kanssa. Tämä antaa ymmärtää, että älysormusta voitaisiin käyttää ihmisen stressitason epäsuoraan mittaamiseen. Suuremman kokoluokan jatkotutkimuksia tarvitaan varmistamaan tämän tutkimuksen löydökset sekä määrittämään sopivimmat fysiologiset piirteet kuvastamaan ihmisen stressitasoa

Metabolite Profiling of Osteoporosis and Atherosclerosis in Postmenopausal Women : A Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose: Atherosclerosis (AS) and osteoporosis (OP) are common causes of morbidity and mortality in postmenopausal women and are connected via an unknown mechanistic link. Metabolite profiling of blood samples may allow the identification of new biomarkers and pathways for this enigmatic association. Patients and Methods: We studied the difference in 148 metabolite levels from serum samples in postmenopausal women with AS and OP compared with those in healthy participants in this cross-sectional study. Quantitative AS was assessed by carotid artery intima-media thickness (cIMT) and carotid artery calcifications (CACs) by ultrasound, as well as OP by femoral neck (FN) bone mineral density (BMD) and 148 metabolic measures with high-throughput proton (H-1) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in serum samples from 280 postmenopausal (PM) women. Subjects were a randomly selected subsample from the population-based Kuopio Osteoporosis Risk Factor and Prevention (OSTPRE) study. The final study population included the following groups: OP with CAC (n=16, group I), non-OP with no CAC (n=59, group II), high cIMT tertile with OP (n=11, group III) and low cIMT tertile without OP (n=48, group IV). Results: There were differences in several metabolite levels between groups I and II. The acetate level was lower in group I compared to that in group II (group I mean +/- SD: 0.033 +/- 0.0070; group II: 0.041 +/- 0.014, CI95%: 0.018.0.15, p=0.014). The result was similar with diacylglycerol (p=0.002), leucine (p=0.031), valine (p=0.022) and several very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) metabolite levels, which were lower in group I compared to those in group II. However, no associations were found in adjusted analyses with total body (TB) fat mass (FM), age and statin use (p>0.05). Conclusion: Our novel study found differences in the metabolite profiling of altered amino acid and lipoprotein metabolism in participants with OP and AS compared with those in healthy women. The causative mechanisms remain unknown and further studies are needed.Peer reviewe

Eclipse Scripting API:sädehoitosuunnitelmien DVH-datan kerääminen ohjelmointiympäristöllä

Oulun yliopistollisen sairaalan sädehoidon yksikkö käyttää hoitojen suunnitteluun Varian Medical Systemsin Eclipse-hoitosuunnittelujärjestelmää. Työn tarkoituksena oli tutustua Eclipsen ohjelmointiympäristöön (Eclipse Scripting API, ESAPI) ja selvittää, mitä se mahdollistaa. Tämän jälkeen asetettiin uusi tavoite: tehdään ESAPI:a käyttäen uusi ohjelma, jolla voidaan valita useilta potilailta halutut sädehoitosuunnitelmat ja tuoda niistä struktuurien DVH-datat Matlab-yhteensopivaan tekstitiedostoon. Etsittiin internetistä tietoa ESAPI:in liittyen ja ajettiin esimerkkiskriptejä. Ohjelmaa kirjoittaessa hyödynnettiin kahta valmista skriptiä, joita muokattiin tarpeisiin sopiviksi ja yhdistettiin omaan koodiin. Ohjelmassa on selkeä hierarkia: ensimmäisellä tasolla käydään läpi käyttäjän syöttämät potilaat, toisella potilaan sisältämät suunnitelmat, kolmannella suunnitelman sisältämät struktuurit ja neljännellä struktuurin sisältämä DVH-data. Ohjelmassa valitaan kansio, jonne data halutaan tuoda. Jokaiselle potilaalle luodaan oma kansio, joka sisältää suunnitelmien tai ns. plan sumien mukaan nimetyt .csv-tiedostot. Yhdessä tiedostossa on suunnitelman tai plan sumin jokaisen struktuurin sisältämä DVH-data. Tätä dataa voidaan käsitellä mm. Matlab- ja Excel-ohjelmissa ja piirtää sen pohjalta DVH-kuvaajia. ESAPI:n avulla voidaan hakea tietoa ARIA-tietokannasta laajalta alueelta ja automatisoida tiedonhakuprosesseja, mistä on hyötyä sädehoidon henkilökunnalle. Ohjelma täytti annetut vaatimukset ja soveltuu käytettäväksi mahdollisissa jatkotutkimuksissa.The radiation therapy unit of Oulu University Hospital uses Eclipse treatment planning system by Varian Medical Systems for treatment planning. Objective was to become acquainted with Eclipse’s programming interface (Eclipse Scripting API, ESAPI) and find out what it enables. After this a new objective was set: a new program with which one could choose treatment plans from several patients and export DVH data from their structures to a text file compatible with Matlab. Information about ESAPI was searched and example scripts were run. In the final program two written scripts were exploited. These scripts were remodeled to fit the needs and joined with self-written code. There is a clear hierarchy in the program. At the first level program goes through the patients that user has chosen. Then at the second level it goes through the plans that patient includes. At the third level program iterates through the structures in a plan and at the fourth through the DVH data in a structure. In the program user chooses a folder where to export the data. For every patient, a folder is created and inside one are the .csv-files named by plans or plan summaries. A file contains DVH-data of each structure in a plan / plan summary. One can process this data in Matlab or Excel and based on it, plot DVH graphs. With ESAPI one can gather information of ARIA database from a wide area and automatize information retrieval processes, which is useful for the staff of radiation therapy unit. The program met given demands and can be used in potential further studies

Microstructural characteristics of vehicle-aged heavy-duty diesel oxidation catalyst and natural gas three-way catalyst

Abstract Techniques to control vehicle engine emissions have been under increasing need for development during the last few years in the more and more strictly regulated society. In this study, vehicle-aged heavy-duty catalysts from diesel and natural gas engines were analyzed using a cross-sectional electron microscopy method with both a scanning electron microscope and a transmission electron microscope. Also, additional supporting characterization methods including X-ray diffractometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and catalytic performance analyses were used to reveal the ageing effects. Structural and elemental investigations were performed on these samples, and the effect of real-life ageing of the catalyst was studied in comparison with fresh catalyst samples. In the real-life use of two different catalysts, the poison penetration varied greatly depending on the engine and fuel at hand: the diesel oxidation catalyst appeared to suffer more thorough changes than the natural gas catalyst, which was affected only in the inlet part of the catalyst. The most common poison, sulphur, in the diesel oxidation catalyst was connected to cerium-rich areas. On the other hand, the severities of the ageing effects were more pronounced in the natural gas catalyst, with heavy structural changes in the washcoat and high concentrations of poisons, mainly zinc, phosphorus and silicon, on the surface of the inlet part