Extraction Method of Driver’s Mental Component Based on Empirical Mode Decomposition and Approximate Entropy Statistic Characteristic in Vehicle Running State

In the driver fatigue monitoring technology, the essence is to capture and analyze the driver behavior information, such as eyes, face, heart, and EEG activity during driving. However, ECG and EEG monitoring are limited by the installation electrodes and are not commercially available. The most common fatigue detection method is the analysis of driver behavior, that is, to determine whether the driver is tired by recording and analyzing the behavior characteristics of steering wheel and brake. The driver usually adjusts his or her actions based on the observed road conditions. Obviously the road path information is directly contained in the vehicle driving state; if you want to judge the driver’s driving behavior by vehicle driving status information, the first task is to remove the road information from the vehicle driving state data. Therefore, this paper proposes an effective intrinsic mode function selection method for the approximate entropy of empirical mode decomposition considering the characteristics of the frequency distribution of road and vehicle information and the unsteady and nonlinear characteristics of the driver closed-loop driving system in vehicle driving state data. The objective is to extract the effective component of the driving behavior information and to weaken the road information component. Finally the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by simulating driving experiments

Clinical features of COVID-19-related optic neuritis: a retrospective study

ObjectiveThis retrospective study aimed to investigate the clinical features of optic neuritis associated with COVID-19 (COVID-19 ON), comparing them with neuromyelitis optica-associated optic neuritis (NMO-ON), myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-associated optic neuritis (MOG-ON), and antibody-negative optic neuritis (antibody-negative ON).MethodsData from 117 patients (145 eyes) with optic neuritis at the Shantou International Eye Center (March 2020–June 2023) were categorized into four groups based on etiology: Group 1 (neuromyelitis optica-related optic neuritis, NMO-ON), Group 2 (myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein optic neuritis, MOG-ON), Group 3 (antibody-negative optic neuritis, antibody-negative ON), and Group 4 (optic neuritis associated with COVID-19, COVID-19 ON). Characteristics of T2 and enhancement in orbital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were assessed. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was compared before treatment, at a short-term follow-up (14 days), and at the last follow-up after treatment.ResultsThe COVID-19-associated optic neuritis (COVID-19 ON) group exhibited 100% bilateral involvement, significantly surpassing other groups (P < 0.001). Optic disk edema was observed in 100% of COVID-19 ON cases, markedly differing from neuromyelitis optica-related optic neuritis (NMO-ON) (P = 0.023). Orbital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed distinctive long-segment lesions without intracranial involvement in T1-enhanced sequences for the COVID-19 ON group compared to the other three groups (P < 0.001). Discrepancies in optic nerve sheath involvement were noted between the COVID-19 ON group and both NMO-ON and antibody-negative optic neuritis (antibody-negative ON) groups (P = 0.028). Before treatment, no significant difference in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) existed between the COVID-19 ON group and other groups. At the 14-day follow-up, BCVA in the COVID-19 ON group outperformed the NMO-ON (P < 0.001) and antibody-negative ON (P = 0.028) groups, with no significant difference observed compared to the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein optic neuritis (MOG-ON) group. At the last follow-up after treatment, BCVA in the COVID-19 ON group significantly differed from the NMO-ON group (P < 0.001).ConclusionOptic neuritis associated with COVID-19 (COVID-19 ON) predominantly presents with bilateral onset and optic disk edema. Orbital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrates that COVID-19 ON presents as long-segment enhancement without the involvement of the intracranial segment of the optic nerve in T1-enhanced images. Glucocorticoid therapy showed positive outcomes

Construction of a Global Pain Systems Network Highlights Phospholipid Signaling as a Regulator of Heat Nociception

The ability to perceive noxious stimuli is critical for an animal's survival in the face of environmental danger, and thus pain perception is likely to be under stringent evolutionary pressure. Using a neuronal-specific RNAi knock-down strategy in adult Drosophila, we recently completed a genome-wide functional annotation of heat nociception that allowed us to identify α2δ3 as a novel pain gene. Here we report construction of an evolutionary-conserved, system-level, global molecular pain network map. Our systems map is markedly enriched for multiple genes associated with human pain and predicts a plethora of novel candidate pain pathways. One central node of this pain network is phospholipid signaling, which has been implicated before in pain processing. To further investigate the role of phospholipid signaling in mammalian heat pain perception, we analysed the phenotype of PIP5Kα and PI3Kγ mutant mice. Intriguingly, both of these mice exhibit pronounced hypersensitivity to noxious heat and capsaicin-induced pain, which directly mapped through PI3Kγ kinase-dead knock-in mice to PI3Kγ lipid kinase activity. Using single primary sensory neuron recording, PI3Kγ function was mechanistically linked to a negative regulation of TRPV1 channel transduction. Our data provide a systems map for heat nociception and reinforces the extraordinary conservation of molecular mechanisms of nociception across different species. © 2012 Neely et al

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Implementation of a high order lattice spring model for elasticity

AbstractIn a lattice spring model (LSM), the material is discretised into particles linked by springs. However, LSMs always adopt linear springs, which results in a stiff approximation of the corresponding elastic solution. In this work, a high order LSM is proposed to overcome this limitation by introducing additional degrees of freedoms (DOFs) to the particles. Based on the energy minimisation principle and the local strain technique, equations for the stiffness matrices of high order LSM are derived. Relationships between micro spring parameters and macro material constants are derived from the Cauchy-born rules and the hyperelastic theory. Numerical examples show that the high order LSM can provide a better solution than that of the linear LSM and that the LSM is more suitable for modelling singularity and fracture problems

Extraction Method of Driver’s Mental Component Based on Empirical Mode Decomposition and Approximate Entropy Statistic Characteristic in Vehicle Running State

In the driver fatigue monitoring technology, the essence is to capture and analyze the driver behavior information, such as eyes, face, heart, and EEG activity during driving. However, ECG and EEG monitoring are limited by the installation electrodes and are not commercially available. The most common fatigue detection method is the analysis of driver behavior, that is, to determine whether the driver is tired by recording and analyzing the behavior characteristics of steering wheel and brake. The driver usually adjusts his or her actions based on the observed road conditions. Obviously the road path information is directly contained in the vehicle driving state; if you want to judge the driver’s driving behavior by vehicle driving status information, the first task is to remove the road information from the vehicle driving state data. Therefore, this paper proposes an effective intrinsic mode function selection method for the approximate entropy of empirical mode decomposition considering the characteristics of the frequency distribution of road and vehicle information and the unsteady and nonlinear characteristics of the driver closed-loop driving system in vehicle driving state data. The objective is to extract the effective component of the driving behavior information and to weaken the road information component. Finally the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by simulating driving experiments

Scavenge flow analysis of opposed-piston two-stroke engine based on dynamic characteristics

Opposed-piston two-stroke engine has been proposed by Beijing Institute of Technology to improve power density and complete machine balance relative to conventional engines. In order to study opposed-piston two-stroke engine scavenging flow, a scavenging system was configured using a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model effectively coupled to experiments. The boundary conditions are obtained through one-dimensional working process simulation results and experiments. As the opposed-piston relative dynamic characteristics of opposed-piston two-stroke engine depend on different design and operating parameters including the opposed-piston motion phase difference and crank-connecting rod ratio, a numerical simulation program was built using MATLAB/Simulink to define opposed-piston motion profiles based on equivalent crank angle of opposed crank-connecting rod mechanism. The opposed-piston motion phase difference only affects scavenging timing while crank-connecting rod ratio affects scavenging timing and duration. Scavenging timing and duration are the main factors which affect scavenging performance. The results indicate that a match of opposed-piston motion phase difference and crank-connecting rod ratio has the potential to achieve high scavenging and trapping efficiency with a right flow in cylinder

Application of Model Deviation Control in Active Power Factor Correction

The model deviation control method was applied in active power factor correction(APFC) to reduce buffeting of APFC system in practical application, the duty cycle of PWM was gotten according to the state equation of APFC,and single-phase Boost-APFC was taken as example to make Matlab simulation. The simulation results showed that the APFC control system with model deviation control method has good correction effect,small overshoot,and short response time

The Effects of Brassinosteroids on Nitrogen Utilization in Rice

Nitrogen and brassinosteroids (BRs) play a vital role in modulating the growth, development, and yield of rice. However, the influences of BRs on nitrogen assimilation and metabolism in rice are not fully understood. In this study, we analyzed the impact of BRs on nitrogen utilization in rice using the indica variety ‘Zhongjiazao 17’ and the japonica variety ‘Nipponbare’ in hydroponic conditions. The results showed that BR treatment could efficiently elevate nitrate and ammonium nitrogen accumulation in both shoots and roots. Furthermore, some genes involved in the uptake of nitrate and ammonium in roots were stimulated by BRs, though we noted subtle variances between the two rice cultivars. Moreover, BRs augmented the activity of nitrate reductase (NR) and glutamine synthetase (GS) in roots, along with NR in shoots. Interestingly, BRs also spiked the total free amino acid content in both the shoots and roots. Gene expression analysis uncovered a robust induction by BRs of NR genes and GS-related genes in the roots of both ‘Nipponbare’ and ‘Zhongjiazao 17’. Collectively, our data suggest that BRs significantly enhance the accumulation of both nitrate and ammonium in rice and trigger a series of reactions related to nitrogen utilization

Combined glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor therapy with ticagrelor for patients with acute coronary syndrome.

This study was to compare the efficacy and safety of combined glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor (GPI) and ticagrelor versus ticagrelor in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). An observational study was conducted using the Improving Care for Cardiovascular Disease in China-ACS project. Totally, 13,264 patients with ACS and received combination therapy or ticagrelor therapy were analyzed. The primary outcome was the composite of major cardiovascular events (MACE: all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction [MI], stent thrombosis, cardiogenic shock, and ischemic stroke), and secondary outcomes included all-cause mortality, MI, stent thrombosis, cardiogenic shock, and ischemic stroke. The multivariable adjusted analysis indicated that combination therapy was associated with an increased risk of major cardiovascular events (MACE) (P = 0.001), any bleeding (P<0.001), and major bleeding (P = 0.005). Moreover, the multivariable adjusted for propensity score-matched (PSM) analysis suggested that combination therapy produced additional risk of MACE (P = 0.014), any bleeding (P<0.001), and major bleeding (P = 0.005). Moreover, PSM analysis suggested that combination therapy was associated with greater risk of stent thrombosis (P = 0.012) and intracranial bleeding (P = 0.020). Combined GPI and ticagrelor therapies did not have any beneficial effects on MACE, stent thrombosis, intracranial bleeding, any bleeding, or major bleeding