A New Regularized Matrix Discriminant Analysis (R-MDA) Enabled Human-Centered EEG Monitoring Systems

The wider use of wearable devices for electroencephalogram (EEG) data capturing providesa very useful way for the monitoring and self-management of human health. However, the large volumesof data with high dimensions cause computational complexity in EEG data processing and pose a greatchallenge to the use of wearable EEG devices in healthcare. This paper proposes a new approach to extract thestructural information of EEG data and tackle the curse of dimensionality of the EEG data. A set of methodsfor dimensionality reduction (DR)-like linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and their improved methodshave been developed for EEG processing in the literature. However, the existing LDA-related methodssuffer from the singularity problem or expensive computational cost, and none of existing methods takeinto consideration the structure of the projection matrix, which is crucial for the extraction of the structuralinformation of the EEG data. In this paper, a new method called a regularized matrix discriminant analysis(R-MDA) is proposed for EEG feature representation and DR. In the R-MDA, the EEG data are representedas a data matrix, and projection vectors are reshaped to be a set of projection matrices stacking together. Byreformulating the LDA as a least-square formulation and imposing specified constraint on each projectionmatrix, the new R-MDA has been constructed to effectively reduce EEG dimensions and capturing thestructural information of the EEG data. Experimental results demonstrate that this new R-MDA outperformsthe existing LDA-related methods, including achieving improved accuracy with significant DR of the EEGdata. This offers an effective way to enable wearable EEG devices be applicable in human-centered healthmonitorin

A novel myocardium segmentation approach based on neutrosophic active contour model

Automatic delineation of the myocardium in echocardiography can assist ra- diologists to diagnosis heart problems. However, it is still challenging to distinguish myocardium from other tissue due to a low signal-to-noise ratio, low contrast, vague boundary, and speckle noise

Optimal Codon Identities in Bacteria: Implications from the Conflicting Results of Two Different Methods

A correlation method was recently adopted to identify selection-favored ‘optimal’ codons from 675 bacterial genomes. Surprisingly, the identities of these optimal codons were found to track the bacterial GC content, leading to a conclusion that selection would generally shape the codon usages to the same direction as the overall mutation does. Raising several concerns, here we report a thorough comparative study on 203 well-selected bacterial species, which strongly suggest that the previous conclusion is likely an illusion. Firstly, the previous study did not preclude species that are suffering weak or no selection pressures on their codon usages. For these species, as showed in this study, the optimal codon identities are prone to be incorrect and follow GC content. Secondly, the previous study only adopted the correlation method, without considering another method to test the reliability of inferred optimal codons. Actually by definition, optimal codons can also be identified by simply comparing codon usages between high- and low-expression genes. After using both methods to identify optimal codons for the selected species, we obtained highly conflicting results, suggesting at least one method is misleading. Further we found a critical problem of correlation method at the step of calculating gene bias level. Due to a failure of accurately defining the background mutation, the problem would result in wrong optimal codon identities. In other words, partial mutational effects on codon choices were mistakenly regarded as selective influences, leading to incorrect and biased optimal codon identities. Finally, considering the translational dynamics, optimal codons identified by comparison method can be well-explained by tRNA compositions, whereas optimal codons identified by correlation method can not be. For all above reasons, we conclude that real optimal codons actually do not track the genomic GC content, and correlation method is misleading in identifying optimal codons and better be avoided

Chronic Lung Function Decline in Cotton Textile Workers: Roles of Historical and Recent Exposures to Endotoxin

Background: Long-term occupational exposure to cotton dust that contains endotoxin is associated with chronic respiratory symptoms and excessive decline in forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1), but the mechanisms of endotoxin-related chronic airflow obstruction remain unclear. Objective: In the current study, we examined temporal aspects of the exposure–response relationship between airborne endotoxin exposure, longitudinal change in FEV1, and respiratory symptoms in a cohort of Chinese cotton textile workers. Methods: This prospective cohort study followed 447 cotton textile workers from 1981 to 2006.at approximately 5-year intervals. We used a generalized estimating equations approach to model FEV1 level and respiratory symptoms as a function of past exposure (cumulative exposure up to the start of the most recent 5-year survey interval) and cumulative exposure (within the most recent interval) to endotoxins, after adjusting for other covariates. Models were stratified by active versus retired work status and by years employed before the baseline survey (< 5 and ≥ 5 years). Results and conclusions: Past exposure to endotoxin was associated with reduced FEV1 level among retired cotton workers. Among all cotton workers, past exposure was more strongly associated with reduced FEV1 for those hired < 5 years before baseline than for those who were hired ≥ 5 years after baseline. Recent endotoxin exposure was significantly associated with byssinosis, chronic bronchitis, and chronic cough

LSDP5 Enhances Triglyceride Storage in Hepatocytes by Influencing Lipolysis and Fatty Acid β-Oxidation of Lipid Droplets

Lipid storage droplet protein 5 (LSDP5) is a lipid droplet-associated protein of the PAT (perilipin, adipophilin, and TIP47) family that is expressed in the liver in a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα)-dependent manner; however, its exact function has not been elucidated. We noticed that LSDP5 was localized to the surface of lipid droplets in hepatocytes. Overexpression of LSDP5 enhanced lipid accumulation in the hepatic cell line AML12 and in primary hepatocytes. Knock-down of LSDP5 significantly decreased the triglyceride content of lipid droplets, stimulated lipolysis, and modestly increased the mitochondrial content and level of fatty-acid β-oxidation in the mitochondria. The expression of PPARα was increased in LSDP5-deficient cells and required for the increase in the level of fatty acid β-oxidation in LSDP5-deficient cells. Using serial deletions of LSDP5, we determined that the lipid droplet-targeting domain and the domain directing lipid droplet clustering overlapped and were localized to the 188 amino acid residues at the N-terminus of LSDP5. Our findings suggest that LSDP5, a novel lipid droplet protein, may contribute to triglyceride accumulation by negatively regulating lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation in hepatocytes

Chronic Lung Function Decline in Cotton Textile Workers: Roles of Historical and Recent Exposures to Endotoxin

BackgroundLong-term occupational exposure to cotton dust that contains endotoxin is associated with chronic respiratory symptoms and excessive decline in forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1), but the mechanisms of endotoxin-related chronic airflow obstruction remain unclear.ObjectiveIn the current study, we examined temporal aspects of the exposure-response relationship between airborne endotoxin exposure, longitudinal change in FEV1, and respiratory symptoms in a cohort of Chinese cotton textile workers.MethodsThis prospective cohort study followed 447 cotton textile workers from 1981 to 2006. at approximately 5-year intervals. We used a generalized estimating equations approach to model FEV1 level and respiratory symptoms as a function of past exposure (cumulative exposure up to the start of the most recent 5-year survey interval) and cumulative exposure (within the most recent interval) to endotoxins, after adjusting for other covariates. Models were stratified by active versus retired work status and by years employed before the baseline survey (&lt; 5 and &gt; or = 5 years).Results and conclusionsPast exposure to endotoxin was associated with reduced FEV1 level among retired cotton workers. Among all cotton workers, past exposure was more strongly associated with reduced FEV1 for those hired &lt; 5 years before baseline than for those who were hired &gt; or = 5 years after baseline. Recent endotoxin exposure was significantly associated with byssinosis, chronic bronchitis, and chronic cough

Demonstration of coherent terahertz transition radiation from relativistic laser-solid interactions

Coherent transition radiation in the terahertz (THz) region with energies of sub-mJ/pulse has been demonstrated by relativistic laser-driven electron beams crossing the solid-vacuum boundary. Targets including mass-limited foils and layered metal-plastic targets are used to verify the radiation mechanism and characterize the radiation properties. Observations of THz emissions as a function of target parameters agree well with the formation-zone and diffraction model of transition radiation. Particle-in-cell simulations also well reproduce the observed characteristics of THz emissions. The present THz transition radiation enables not only a potential tabletop brilliant THz source, but also a novel noninvasive diagnostic for fast electron generation and transport in laser-plasma interactions