2,637 research outputs found
Feature extraction using extrema sampling of discrete derivatives for spike sorting in implantable upper-limb neural prostheses
Next generation neural interfaces for upper-limb (and other) prostheses aim to develop implantable interfaces for one or more nerves, each interface having many neural signal channels that work reliably in the stump without harming the nerves. To achieve real-time multi-channel processing it is important to integrate spike sorting on-chip to overcome limitations in transmission bandwidth. This requires computationally efficient algorithms for feature extraction and clustering suitable for low-power hardware implementation. This paper describes a new feature extraction method for real-time spike sorting based on extrema analysis (namely positive peaks and negative peaks) of spike shapes and their discrete derivatives at different frequency bands. Employing simulation across different datasets, the accuracy and computational complexity of the proposed method are assessed and compared with other methods. The average classification accuracy of the proposed method in conjunction with online sorting (O-Sort) is 91.6%, outperforming all the other methods tested with the O-Sort clustering algorithm. The proposed method offers a better tradeoff between classification error and computational complexity, making it a particularly strong choice for on-chip spike sorting
Nonlinear Attitude Filtering: A Comparison Study
This paper contains a concise comparison of a number of nonlinear attitude
filtering methods that have attracted attention in the robotics and aviation
literature. With the help of previously published surveys and comparison
studies, the vast literature on the subject is narrowed down to a small pool of
competitive attitude filters. Amongst these filters is a second-order optimal
minimum-energy filter recently proposed by the authors. Easily comparable
discretized unit quaternion implementations of the selected filters are
provided. We conduct a simulation study and compare the transient behaviour and
asymptotic convergence of these filters in two scenarios with different
initialization and measurement errors inspired by applications in unmanned
aerial robotics and space flight. The second-order optimal minimum-energy
filter is shown to have the best performance of all filters, including the
industry standard multiplicative extended Kalman filter (MEKF)
Analytic height correlation function of rough surfaces derived from light scattering
We derive an analytic expression for the height correlation function of a
rough surface based on the inverse wave scattering method of Kirchhoff theory.
The expression directly relates the height correlation function to diffuse
scattered intensity along a linear path at fixed polar angle. We test the
solution by measuring the angular distribution of light scattered from rough
silicon surfaces, and comparing extracted height correlation functions to those
derived from atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results agree closely with AFM
over a wider range of roughness parameters than previous formulations of the
inverse scattering problem, while relying less on large-angle scatter data. Our
expression thus provides an accurate analytical equation for the height
correlation function of a wide range of surfaces based on measurements using a
simple, fast experimental procedure.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl
A novel diblock copolymer of (monomethoxy poly [ethylene glycol]-oleate) with a small hydrophobic fraction to make stable micelles/polymersomes for curcumin delivery to cancer cells
Curcumin is a potent natural anticancer agent, but its effectiveness is limited by properties such as very low solubility, high rate of degradation, and low rate of absorption of its hydrophobic molecules in vivo. To date, various nanocarriers have been used to improve the bioavailability of this hydrophobic biomaterial. This study investigates the encapsulation of curcumin in a novel nanostructure of monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-oleate (mPEG-OA) and its anticancer effect. Tests were done to determine the critical micelle concentration (CMC), encapsulation efficiency, drug-loading efficiency, and cytotoxicity (against U87MG brain carcinoma cells and HFSF-PI3 cells as normal human fibroblasts) of some nanodevice preparations. The results of fluorescence microscopy and cell-cycle analyses indicated that the in vitro bioavailability of the encapsulated curcumin was significantly greater than that of free curcumin. Cytotoxicity evaluations showed that half maximal inhibitory concentrations of free curcumin and curcumin-loaded mPEG-OA for the U87MG cancer cell line were 48 μM and 24 μM, respectively. The Annexin-V-FLUOS assay was used to quantify the apoptotic effect of the prepared nanostructures. Apoptosis induction was observed in a dose-dependent manner after curcumin-loaded mPEG-OA treatments. Two common self-assembling structures, micelles and polymersomes, were observed by atomic force microscopy and dynamic light scattering, and the abundance of each structure was dependent on the concentration of the diblock copolymer. The mPEG-OA micelles had a very low CMC (13.24 μM or 0.03 g/L). Moreover, atomic force microscopy and dynamic light scattering showed that the curcumin-loaded mPEG-OA polymersomes had very stable structures, and at concentrations 1,000 times less than the CMC, at which the micelles disappear, polymersomes were the dominant structures in the dispersion with a reduced size distribution below 150 nm. Overall, the results from these tests revealed that this nanocarrier can be considered as an appropriate drug delivery system for delivering curcumin to cancer cells. © 2014 Erfani-Moghadam et al
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