Estimation of muscular forces from SSA smoothed sEMG signals calibrated by inverse dynamics-based physiological static optimization

The estimation of muscular forces is useful in several areas such as biomedical or rehabilitation engineering. As muscular forces cannot be measured in vivo non-invasively they must be estimated by using indirect measurements such as surface electromyography (sEMG) signals or by means of inverse dynamic (ID) analyses. This paper proposes an approach to estimate muscular forces based on both of them. The main idea is to tune a gain matrix so as to compute muscular forces from sEMG signals. To do so, a curve fitting process based on least-squares is carried out. The input is the sEMG signal filtered using singular spectrum analysis technique. The output corresponds to the muscular force estimated by the ID analysis of the recorded task, a dumbbell weightlifting. Once the model parameters are tuned, it is possible to obtain an estimation of muscular forces based on sEMG signal. This procedure might be used to predict muscular forces in vivo outside the space limitations of the gait analysis laboratory.Postprint (published version

Efecto de la impregnación al vacío sobre los cambios físicos durante la elaboración de aceitunas de mesa

Among the benefits which vacuum impregnation (VI) may provide to fruits and vegetables, this study focused on weight and texture changes during the processing of table olives. VI applied to Manzanilla olives led to around 10% weight gain, which was maintained after their packing as black olives. However, this weight gain was only around 4 % for Hojiblanca olives. Likewise, the use of calcium chloride was recommended to maintain the firmness of the olives, in particular those of the softer Manzanilla cultivar. With regard to the Spanish-style, the Hojiblanca cultivar achieved around 4% weight gain during processing but the use of VI for Manzanilla olives was ruled out due to softening of the fruit. In addition. the black and green color of olives and their flavor were not modified by the application of VI. This technology could be very useful to reduce weight loss during table olive processing.Entre los beneficios que la aplicación de la impregnación al vacío puede originar en frutas y verduras, este estudio se ha centrado sobre los cambios en la textura y el peso de las aceitunas de mesa durante su procesamiento. La impregnación al vacío de aceitunas Manzanilla dio lugar a un aumento cercano al 10 % de peso y ello se mantuvo después de su envasado como aceitunas negras, mientras que esta ganancia fue de sólo el 4& para aceitunas Hojiblanca. Asimismo, se vio necesario el empleo de cloruro cálcico para el mantenimiento de la textura de los frutos, en particular para aquellos de la variedad Manzanilla. Con respecto al procesamiento como verdes estilo español, la variedad Hojiblanca consiguió un aumento del 4% en peso debido al empleo de impregnación al vacío y este tratamiento se descartó para la Manzanilla debido al ablandamiento de la aceituna. Además, se debe indicar que el color verde y negro de las aceitunas no se vio afectado por el hecho de emplear impregnación al vacío. Esta tecnología podría ser muy útil para reducir las pérdidas de peso que se producen durante la elaboración de aceitunas de mesa

On the limits of Brans-Dicke spacetimes: a coordinate-free approach

We investigate the limit of Brans-Dicke spacetimes as the scalar field coupling constant omega tends to infinity applying a coordinate-free technique. We obtain the limits of some known exact solutions. It is shown that these limits may not correspond to similar solutions in the general relativity theory.Comment: LaTeX, 16 pp, report DF/UFPB/02-9

On the structure of the sets of mutually unbiased bases for N qubits

For a system of N qubits, spanning a Hilbert space of dimension d=2^N, it is known that there exists d+1 mutually unbiased bases. Different construction algorithms exist, and it is remarkable that different methods lead to sets of bases with different properties as far as separability is concerned. Here we derive the four sets of nine bases for three qubits, and show how they are unitarily related. We also briefly discuss the four-qubit case, give the entanglement structure of sixteen sets of bases,and show some of them, and their interrelations, as examples. The extension of the method to the general case of N qubits is outlined.Comment: 16 pages, 10 tables, 1 figur

More productive in vitro culture of Cryptosporidium parvum for better study of the intra- and extracellular phases

The great difficulties in treating people and animals suffering from cryptosporidiosis have prompted the development of in vitro experimental models. Due to the models of in vitro culture, new extracellular stages of Cryptosporidium have been demonstrated. The development of these extracellular phases depends on the technique of in vitro culture and on the species and genotype of Cryptosporidium used. Here, we undertake the molecular characterization by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment lenght polymorphism of different Cryptosporidium isolates from calves, concluding that all are C. parvum of cattle genotype, although differing in the nucleotide at positions 472 and 498. Using these parasites, modified the in vitro culture technique for HCT-8 cells achieving greater multiplication of parasites. The HCT-8 cell cultures, for which the culture had not been renewed in seven days, were infected with C. parvum sporozoites in RPMI-1640 medium with 10% IFBS, CaCl2 and MgCl2 1 mM at pH 7.2. Percentages of cell parasitism were increased with respect to control cultures (71% at 48 h vs 14.5%), even after two weeks (47% vs 1.9%). Also, the percentage of extracellular stages augmented (25.3% vs 1.1% at 96 h). This new model of in vitro culture of C. parvum will enable easier study of the developmental phases of C. parvum in performing new chemotherapeutic assays

Immunohistochemical expression of podoplanin (D2-40), lymphangiogenesis, and neoangiogenesis in tooth germ, ameloblastomas, and ameloblastic carcinomas

BACKGROUND: Ameloblastoma is a benign but locally aggressive odontogenic tumor, while ameloblastic carcinoma is its malignant counterpart. Angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis in malignancies have been correlated with higher aggressiveness and poor prognosis, as well as greater expression of podoplanin by tumoral cells. METHODS: Immunohistochemical expression of podoplanin, CD34, and CD105 (endoglin) was evaluated in 53 ameloblastomas and three ameloblastic carcinomas; additionally, immunohistochemistry for podoplanin was also performed in 10 tooth germs. Microvessel density of blood and lymphatic vessels was calculated and compared between ameloblastomas and ameloblastic carcinomas. Immunoexpression of podoplanin by ameloblastic cells was evaluated in tooth germs, ameloblastomas, and ameloblastic carcinomas. RESULTS: Podoplanin was similarly expressed by odontogenic epithelial cells of tooth germs and ameloblastomas, while its expression was lower in ameloblastic carcinomas. There was no difference in microvessel density assessed by CD34 between ameloblastomas and ameloblastic carcinomas; nevertheless, the latter presented higher amounts of lymphatic and new formed blood vessels. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that podoplanin does not seem to be involved in invasion mechanisms of ameloblastic carcinomas, as its expression was decreased in the malignant tumoral cells. On the other hand, the increased lymphatic microvessel density and neoangiogenesis found in ameloblastic carcinomas could be related to its aggressiveness and potential for metastasis

Formation of asymmetric arms in barred galaxies

ABSTRACTWe establish a dynamical mechanism to explain the origin of the asymmetry between the arms observed in some barred disc galaxies, where one of the two arms emanating from the bar ends is very well defined, while the second one displays a ragged structure, extending between its ridge and the bar. To this purpose, we study the invariant manifolds associated with the Lyapunov periodic orbits around the unstable equilibrium points at the ends of the bar. Matter from the galaxy centre is transported along these manifolds to the periphery, forming this way the spiral arms that emanate from the bar ends. If the mass distribution in the galaxy centre is not homogeneous, because of an asymmetric bar with one side stronger than the other, or because of a non-centred bulge, the dynamics about the two unstable Lagrange points at the ends of the bar will not be symmetric as well. One of their invariant manifolds becomes more extended than the other, enclosing a smaller section and the escaping orbits on it are fewer and dispersed in a wider region. The result is a weaker arm and more ragged than the one at the other end of the bar

Dataset related to "A multicentric, single arm, prospective, stratified clinical investigation to evaluate MammoWave’s ability in breast lesions detection"

Microwave imaging is a safe and promising new technology in breast radiology, avoiding discomfort of breast compression and usage of ionizing radiation. This dataset relates to a paper which presents the first prospective microwave breast imaging study during which both symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects were recruited. Specifically, a prospective multicentre international clinical trial was performed in 2020-2021, to investigate the capability of a microwave imaging device (MammoWave) in allowing distinction between breasts with no radiological finding (NF) and breasts with radiological findings (WF), i.e., with benign or malignant lesions. Each breast scan was performed with the volunteers lying on a dedicated examination table in a comfortable prone position. MammoWave output was compared to reference standard (i.e., radiologic study obtained within the last month and integrated with histological one if available and deemed necessary by responsible investigator) to classify breasts into NF/WF categories. MammoWave output consists of a selection of microwave images’ features (determined prior to trials’ start), which allow distinction between NF and WF breasts (using statistical significance p<0.05). 353 women were enrolled in the study (mean age 51 years ± 12 [SD], minimum age 19, maximum age 78); MammoWave data from the first 15 women of each site, all with NF breasts, were used for calibration. Following central assessor evaluation, 111 NF (48 dense) and 272 WF (136 dense) breasts were used for comparison with MammoWave output. 272 WF comprised 182 benign findings and 90 malignant histology-confirmed cancer. A sensitivity of 82.3% was achieved (95%CI: 0.78-0.87); sensitivity is maintained when limiting the investigation to histology-confirmed breasts cancer only (90 histology-confirmed breasts cancer have been included in this analysis, having sizes ranging from 3 mm to 60 mm). Specificity value of approximately 50% was achieved as expected, since thresholds were calculated (for each feature) using median value obtained after recruiting the first 15 women (of each site), all NF. This prospective trial may represent another step for introducing microwave imaging into clinical practice, for helping in breast lesion identification in asymptomatic women