Wireless Communication Textile Based on Passive UHF RFID

We present a prototype system of a user scenario created in ideation workshops organized for experienced speech therapists working with Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). The goal of the workshops was to create concrete user scenarios for people using AAC, by using the possibilities of Radio Frequency Identification Technology (RFID). Out of the created user scenarios, one was selected to be prototyped and wirelessly evaluated. In this user scenario, a young child with Cerebral Palsy (CP) is sitting in a wheelchair. The child is using Wireless Communication Textile (WCT) patches on the wheelchair table tray to communicate with mother during eating. These WTC patches will create spoken words via a mobile phone application. In this study, we prototyped the user scenario by fabricating the patches with passive Ultra-High Frequency (UHF)RFID technology. Through versatile wireless measurements, we concluded that passive UHFRFID technology with a mobile RFID reader can be used to create a mobile AAC solution for wheelchair users.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Time-course of exercise and its association with 12-month bone changes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Exercise has been shown to have positive effects on bone density and strength. However, knowledge of the time-course of exercise and bone changes is scarce due to lack of methods to quantify and qualify daily physical activity in long-term. The aim was to evaluate the association between exercise intensity at 3, 6 and 12 month intervals and 12-month changes in upper femur areal bone mineral density (aBMD) and mid-femur geometry in healthy premenopausal women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Physical activity was continuously assessed with a waist-worn accelerometer in 35 healthy women (35-40 years) participating in progressive high-impact training. To describe exercise intensity, individual average daily numbers of impacts were calculated at five acceleration levels (range 0.3-9.2 <it>g</it>) during time intervals of 0-3, 0-6, and 0-12 months. Proximal femur aBMD was measured with dual x-ray absorptiometry and mid-femur geometry was evaluated with quantitative computed tomography at the baseline and after 12 months. Physical activity data were correlated with yearly changes in bone density and geometry, and adjusted for confounding factors and impacts at later months of the trial using multivariate analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Femoral neck aBMD changes were significantly correlated with 6 and 12 months' impact activity at high intensity levels (> 3.9 <it>g</it>, <it>r </it>being up to 0.42). Trochanteric aBMD changes were associated even with first three months of exercise exceeding 1.1 <it>g </it>(<it>r </it>= 0.39-0.59, <it>p </it>< 0.05). Similarly, mid-femoral cortical bone geometry changes were related to even first three months' activity (<it>r </it>= 0.38-0.52, <it>p </it>< 0.05). In multivariate analysis, 0-3 months' activity did not correlate with bone change at any site after adjusting for impacts at later months. Instead, 0-6 months' impacts were significant correlates of 12-month changes in femoral neck and trochanter aBMD, mid-femur bone circumference and cortical bone attenuation even after adjustment. No significant correlations were found at the proximal or distal tibia.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The number of high acceleration impacts during 6 months of training was positively associated with 12-month bone changes at the femoral neck, trochanter and mid-femur. These results can be utilized when designing feasible training programs to prevent bone loss in premenopausal women.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Clinical trials.gov NCT00697957</p

Beyond ‘geo-economics’: advanced unevenness and the anatomy of German austerity

This article aims to shed new light on Germany’s domineering role in the eurocrisis. I argue that the realist-inspired depiction of Germany as a ‘geo-economic power’, locked into zero-sum competition with its European partners, is built around an empty core: unable to theorise how anarchy shapes the calculus of states where security competition has receded, it cannot explain why German state managers have insisted on an austerity response to the crisis despite its significant risks and costs even for Germany itself. To unlock this puzzle, this article outlines a version of uneven and combined development (UCD) that is better able to capture the international pressures and opportunities faced by policy elites in advanced capitalist states that no longer encounter one another as direct security rivals. Applied to Germany, this lens reveals a twofold unevenness in the historical structures and growth cycles of capitalist economies that shape its contradictory choice for austerity. In the long run, the reorientation of the export-dependent German economy from Europe towards Asian and Latin American late industrialisers renders the structural adjustment of the eurozone an opportunity—from the cost-saving view of German manufacturers producing in the European home market for export abroad, as well as for German state officials keen to sustain a crumbling class compromise centred on Germany’s world market success. In the short term, however, its exposed position between the divergent post-crisis trajectories of the US and Europe accelerates pressures for austerity beyond what German state and corporate elites would otherwise consider feasible

An experimental study of the photoplethysmography waveform analysis on different vessel wall thickness

Abstract Photoplethysmography (PPG) waveform is primary formed by absorbance and scattering of light caused by blood volume changes in the microvascular bed of tissue. The volume of blood is constantly changing due to cardiac activity and various low frequency physiological components, such as, respiration and sympathetic nervous system. Importantly, elastic property of blood vessels and blood pressure also greatly affects the volume of blood and thus PPG waveform inversely contains information on vessel elasticity and pressure that has been studied using e.g., pulse decomposition analysis (PDA) models. We emulated PPG waveform by using a simplified mock circulatory loop mimicking human circulatory system to study how changing elasticity of 3D printed vessels and blood pressure affects the PPG waveform, aiming to validate presented pulse decomposition analysis model for estimating vessel stiffness and blood pressure. The circulatory system built for the study is controlled via custom-made LabView software. Pumping frequency, pressure and flow of blood mimicking liquid can be controlled and accurately measured for a reference. The main analysis relied on the PDA that extracted five log-normal pulses for further analysis. In particular, we focused on the centre parameter of each log-normal pulse and observed it changes depending on the emulated parameters

MEMS technology sensors as a more advantageous technique for measuring foot plantar pressure and balance in humans

Abstract Locomotor activities are part and parcel of daily human life. During walking or running, feet are subjected to high plantar pressure, leading sometimes to limb problems, pain, or foot ulceration. A current objective in foot plantar pressure measurements is developing sensors that are small in size, lightweight, and energy efficient, while enabling high mobility, particularly for wearable applications. Moreover, improvements in spatial resolution, accuracy, and sensitivity are of interest. Sensors with improved sensing techniques can be applied to a variety of research problems: diagnosing limb problems, footwear design, or injury prevention. This paper reviews commercially available sensors used in foot plantar pressure measurements and proposes the utilization of pressure sensors based on the MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) technique. Pressure sensors based on this technique have the capacity to measure pressure with high accuracy and linearity up to high pressure levels. Moreover, being small in size, they are highly suitable for this type of measurement. We present two MEMS sensor models and study their suitability for the intended purpose by performing several experiments. Preliminary results indicate that the sensors are indeed suitable for measuring foot plantar pressure. Importantly, by measuring pressure continuously, they can also be utilized for body balance measurements

Continuous blood pressure recordings simultaneously with functional brain imaging:studies of the glymphatic system

Abstract The lymph system is responsible for cleaning the tissues of metabolic waste products, soluble proteins and other harmful fluids etc. Lymph flow in the body is driven by body movements and muscle contractions. Moreover, it is indirectly dependent on the cardiovascular system, where the heart beat and blood pressure maintain force of pressure in lymphatic channels. Over the last few years, studies revealed that the brain contains the so-called glymphatic system, which is the counterpart of the systemic lymphatic system in the brain. Similarly, the flow in the glymphatic system is assumed to be mostly driven by physiological pulsations such as cardiovascular pulses. Thus, continuous measurement of blood pressure and heart function simultaneously with functional brain imaging is of great interest, particularly in studies of the glymphatic system. We present our MRI compatible optics based sensing system for continuous blood pressure measurement and show our current results on the effects of blood pressure variations on cerebral brain dynamics, with a focus on the glymphatic system. Blood pressure was measured simultaneously with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) combined with an ultrafast functional brain imaging (fMRI) sequence magnetic resonance encephalography (MREG, 3D brain 10 Hz sampling rate)

Cardiovascular effects of mannitol infusion:a comparison study performed on mouse and human

Abstract Monitoring blood-brain barrier (BBB) opening is of great interest in terms of brain drug delivery in the treatment of brain lymphoma and maybe in the future in other diseases like dementia. A method involving BBB disruption (BBBD) by mannitol infusion has been developed in University of Portland, USA, and then exploited in Oulu University Hospital in treatment of primary CSN lymphoma. Proper opening of the BBB is crucial for the treatment, yet there are no methods available for its real-time clinical monitoring. Recently, we presented a combined method using direct-current electroencephalography (DC-EEG) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for monitoring BBBD in human. Carotid artery mannitol infusion generated a strongly lateralized DC-EEG response and in NIRS a prolonged increase in the oxy/deoxyhemoglobin ratio. This study explores further BBBD, by focusing on monitoring its cardiovascular effects, when measured in human and mouse. For this, we used photoplethysmography (PPG) and opto-electro-mechanical sensors to gather the signals in human and mouse. Mannitol infusion in human causes strong fluctuations in blood pressure, heart rate and PPG signals, and here we discuss how the acquired signals in mouse model compares to human data. In addition, we present our scale-free monitoring concept that enables monitoring physiological signals similarly when performing experiments in mouse and human neuroimaging setups. By combining microscopic and macroscopic imaging in mouse setup enables us to study correlations between mechanistic cellular data and clinical functional data. Further, this allows us to validate and optimize macroscopic sensing and imaging techniques aimed to be used in human imaging

Functional NIRS study of blood brain barrier disruption when induced by focused ultrasound and intra-arterial mannitol infusion

Abstract Enhancing brain fluid movement across blood brain barrier (BBB) has been recognized as a potential treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, BBB opening is of high interest also in brain drug delivery in the treatment of brain tumors/cancers. However, efficient therapies which are based on BBB opening are still limited because of insufficient understanding of mechanisms and safety issues. Currently, there are few promising methodologically diverse BBB opening approaches. In this paper, we use functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) for the first time for monitoring cerebral hemoglobin and water concentration changes during BBB opening in mouse brain by using two different techniques: intra-arterial mannitol infusion (IAM) and focused ultrasound (FUS). Both of these BBB opening techniques are already in clinical use but their hemo- and hydrodynamic implications have not been investigated from comparative aspect. Two fibre detectors were attached on both sides of the mouse brain and the source fibre was attached on middle of forehead. Further, by using a combination of three wavelengths 690nm, 830nm and 980nm, that have sufficient light penetration in the mouse brain, we can show average dynamics of hemoglobin and water in the whole brain, synchronized with BBB opening. To validate the level of BBB opening we used Evans blue dye and show its accumulation in the brain parenchyma tissue with the corresponding fNIRS responses

Bank Relationships and Small-Business Closures During the Finnish Recession of the 1990s

The paper examines the role of bank relationships in business closures during the Finnish economic crisis of the early 1990s.We utilise a unique panel data set of 474 small and medium-sized firms, for which we have standard accounting information and for which we can in addition identify whether the firm had a lending relationship with the most troubled part of the banking system, namely the Savings Bank of Finland and Skopbank.By estimating a logit model we find that, even accounting for the effects of liquidity, profitability, indebtedness, age and size, firms that had a lending relationship with the savings banks concerned were more likely to close in 1992 than other firms that year or the same firms in other years.Thus being a loan customer of these banks entailed greater risk for firms than having a lending relationship with other intermediaries only in 1992, which was the year the banking sector came to a head.The result lends support to the hypothesis that financial factors affect real outcomes not only through firm and household balance sheets but also through bank behaviour

Evaluation of waveforms for mobile radio communications above 6 GHz

This paper provides a high level comparison of several multi-carrier and single- carrier waveforms based on the evaluations performed in mmMAGIC project. The waveforms are assessed for the performance indicators that are relevant to mobile radio communication above 6 GHz, especially the millimeter wave frequencies. The evaluations are performed in mmMAGIC waveform simulators under common assumptions on carrier frequencies, waveform parameters, channel and impairment models. The evaluation results reveal that OFDM is suitable for above 6 GHz communication. For above similar to 30 GHz communication, OFDM with PAPR reduction and DFTS-OFDM are both promising options. Moreover, some potential enhancements to OFDM (use of window/pulse shape, subband filters, unique word, zero tailing), parametrization of FBMC, and constrained envelop continuous phase modulation for above 6 GHz communication have been discussed