Equivalence testing for identity authentication using pulse waves from photoplethysmograph

Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of StatisticsSuzanne DubnickaChristopher VahlPhotoplethysmograph sensors use a light-based technology to sense the rate of blood flow as controlled by the heart’s pumping action. This allows for a graphical display of a patient’s pulse wave form and the description of its key features. A person’s pulse wave has been proposed as a tool in a wide variety of applications. For example, it could be used to diagnose the cause of coldness felt in the extremities or to measure stress levels while performing certain tasks. It could also be applied to quantify the risk of heart disease in the general population. In the present work, we explore its use for identity authentication. First, we visualize the pulse waves from individual patients using functional boxplots which assess the overall behavior and identify unusual observations. Functional boxplots are also shown to be helpful in preprocessing the data by shifting individual pulse waves to a proper starting point. We then employ functional analysis of variance (FANOVA) and permutation tests to demonstrate that the identities of a group of subjects could be differentiated and compared by their pulse wave forms. One of the primary tasks of the project is to confirm the identity of a person, i.e., we must decide if a given person is whom they claim to be. We used an equivalence test to determine whether the pulse wave of the person under verification and the actual person were close enough to be considered equivalent. A nonparametric bootstrap functional equivalence test was applied to evaluate equivalence by constructing point-wise confidence intervals for the metric of identity assurance. We also proposed new testing procedures, including the way of building the equivalence hypothesis and test statistics, determination of evaluation range and equivalence bands, to authenticate the identity

THE EFFECTS OF INFOGRAPHICS ON ENHANCING LANGUAGE LEARNING OUTCOMES AND MOTIVATION IN A JAPANESE EFL CONTEXT

The existent research details pedagogical benefits of infographics in enhancing communication, comprehension, learning, and motivation, while more research on the potential educational benefits of using infographics is needed regarding their application in second language acquisition. The aim of this study was specifically to investigate the effects of using infographics as a supplemental teaching tool in EFL classes with a focus on learning outcomes and English learning motivation. The study was conducted in two lower-intermediate English classes at a Japanese university. An infographic of the grammar points of simple past/past continuous was designed and applied as a supplement to the textbook-related content. One class was taught in a textbook-infographic order and the other vice versa. Participants’ understanding of the target grammar points and English learning motivation were measured. The findings suggested that students were able to learn effectively using the provided infographics, but it is more effective to use infographics after the textbook teaching. Students showed higher English language learning motivation after the interventions and a high interest in using infographics in their English language course. Teaching advices on using infographics in EFL classes were discussed.  Article visualizations

Observation of the Effect of Gait-induced Functional Electrical Stimulation on Stroke Patients with Foot Drop

Objective: To explore the effects of functional electrical stimulation and functional mid frequency electrical stimulation on lower limb function and balance function in stroke patients. Methods: 20 cases of stroke patients with foot drop after admission were randomly divided into the observation group and the control group, 10 cases in each group. On the basis of the two groups of patients, the observation group used the gait induced functional electrical stimulation to stimulate the peroneal nerve and the pretibial muscle in the observation group. The control group used the computer medium frequency functional electrical stimulation to stimulate the peroneal nerve and the anterior tibial muscle for 2 weeks. Before and after treatment, the lower extremity simple Fugl-Meyer scale (FMA), the Berg balance scale (BBS) and the improved Ashworth scale were evaluated respectively, and the comparative analysis was carried out in the group and between the groups. Results: After 2 weeks of treatment, the scores of FMA and BBS in the two groups were significantly higher than those before the treatment (P < 0.05), and the scores of FMA and BBS in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05), and the flexor muscle tension of the ankle plantar flexor muscle of the observed group was lower than that of the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Exercise therapy combined with gait induced functional electrical stimulation or computer intermediate frequency functional electrical stimulation can significantly improve lower limb function and balance function in patients with ptosis, and the therapeutic effect of functional electrical stimulation combined with gait is better.

Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 2 Promotes Human Breast Cancer Cell Growth by Positively Regulating the MAPK/ERK Pathway

As a member of the p160 steroid receptor coactivator (SRC) family, nuclear receptor coactivator 2 (NCOA2) is known to play essential roles in many physiological and pathological processes, including development, endocrine regulation, and tumorigenesis. However, the biological function of NCOA2 in breast cancer is not fully understood. We found that the copy number of the NCOA2 gene was frequently amplified in four breast cancers datasets, varying from 6 to 10%, and the mRNA levels of NCOA2 were also upregulated in 11% of the sequenced cases/patients (TCGA provisional dataset). Next, we confirmed that NCOA2 silencing significantly suppressed cell proliferation in different breast cancer cell lines, by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Mechanistically, whole-transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis showed that NCOA2 depletion leads to downregulation of the MAPK/ERK signaling cascade, possibly via downregulating NCOA2's downstream target RASEF. In conclusion, our results suggest NCOA2 as a potential target of therapeutics against breast cancer

Rare earth ion-doped Y2.95R0.05MgAl3SiO12 (R = Yb, Y, Dy, Eu, Sm) garnet-type microwave ceramics for 5G application

In this work, Y2.95R0.05MgAl3SiO12 (R=Yb, Y, Dy, Eu, Sm) microwave single-phase dielectric ce-ramics were successfully prepared via conventional ceramic technology by doping a series of rare earth elements with different ionic radius (Yb, Y, Dy, Eu, Sm) for the first time. The effects of A site occupied by rare earth elements on the microwave dielectric properties of Y2.95R0.05MgAl3SiO12 were studied by crystal structure refinement, scanning electron microscope (SEM), bond valence theory, P-V-L theory and infrared reflection spectroscopy. It was found that the ionicity of Y-O bond, the lattice energy, the bond energy and bond valance of Al(Tet)-O bond had important effects on microwave dielectric properties. Particularly, the optimum microwave dielectric properties were obtained for Y2.95Dy0.05MgAl3SiO12 sintered at 1575 °C for 6 h, with εr = 9.68, Q×f = 68,866 GHz, and τf = -35.8 ppm/°C, displaying its potential prospect in the 5G communication

Regulation of Free Fatty Acid Receptor 4 on Inflammatory Gene Induced by LPS in Large Yellow Croaker (Larimichthys crocea)

Free fatty acid receptor 4 (FFAR4) plays a key role in regulating the inflammatory response in mammals. The present study aimed to investigate the function of large yellow croaker FFAR4 on inflammation. In the present study, ffar4 was widely expressed in 10 tissues of large yellow croaker including gill, head kidney and spleen. Further studies showed that treatment of head kidney macrophages with agonists (TUG891 or GSK137647A) or overexpression of ffar4 reduced the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory genes induced by LPS, and increased the expression of pparγ. Treatment of macrophages with antagonist AH7614 increased the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory genes induced by LPS, and decreased the mRNA expression of pparγ. In order to verify the immunomodulatory effect of PPARγ, PPARγ was overexpressed in macrophages which significantly reduced the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory genes il6, il1β, il8, tnfα and cox2. Moreover, results of dual-luciferase assays showed that PPARγ downregulated the transcriptional activity of il6 and il1β promoters. In conclusion, FFAR4 showed anti-inflammatory effects on LPS-induced inflammation in large yellow croaker