Non-invasive monitoring of cardiac function through Ballistocardiogram: an algorithm integrating short-time Fourier transform and ensemble empirical mode decomposition

The Ballistocardiogram (BCG) is a vibration signal that is generated by the displacement of the entire body due to the injection of blood during each heartbeat. It has been extensively utilized to monitor heart rate. The morphological features of the BCG signal serve as effective indicators for the identification of atrial fibrillation and heart failure, holding great significance for BCG signal analysis. The IJK-complex identification allows for the estimation of inter-beat intervals (IBI) and enables a more detailed analysis of BCG amplitude and interval waves. This study presents a novel algorithm for identifying the IJK-complex in BCG signals, which is an improvement over most existing algorithms that only perform IBI estimation. The proposed algorithm employs a short-time Fourier transform and summation across frequencies to initially estimate the occurrence of the J wave using peak finding, followed by Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition and a regional search to precisely identify the J wave. The algorithm’s ability to detect the morphological features of BCG signals and estimate heart rates was validated through experiments conducted on 10 healthy subjects and 2 patients with coronary heart disease. In comparison to commonly used methods, the presented scheme ensures accurate heart rate estimation and exhibits superior capability in detecting BCG morphological features. This advancement holds significant value for future applications involving BCG signals

MORTGAGE LENDING REGULATORY ARBITRAGE: LESSONS FROM LENDER CONCENTRATION AND LENDER FAILURES IN THE U.S.

Bachelor'sBACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION WITH HONOUR

The influence of spatial ability and experience on performance during spaceship rendezvous and docking

Manual rendezvous and docking (manual RVD) is a challenging space task for astronauts. Previous research showed a correlation between spatial ability and manual RVD skills among participants at early stages of training, but paid less attention to experts. Therefore, this study tried to explore the role of spatial ability in manual RVD skills in two groups of trainees, one relatively inexperienced and the other experienced operators. Additionally, mental rotation has been proven essential in RVD and was tested in this study among 27 male participants, 15 novices, and 12 experts. The participants performed manual RVD tasks in a high fidelity simulator. Results showed that experience moderated the relation between mental rotation ability and manual RVD performance. On one hand, novices with high mental rotation ability tended to perform that RVD task more successfully; on the other hand, experts with high mental rotation ability showed not only no performance advantage in the final stage of the RVD task, but had certain disadvantages in their earlier processes. Both theoretical and practical implications were discussed

Research on the influence of the filtrating electrode on the structure and optical properties of TiO2 thin films prepared by the energy filtering magnetron sputtering technique

TiO2 thin films were deposited by the energy filtrating magnetron sputtering (EFMS) technique and the traditional direct current magnetron sputtering (DMS) technique. The influence of the filtering electrode mesh number on the structure and optical properties of TiO2 thin films was investigated. The structure, surface morphology and optical properties were characterized by XRD, SEM and ellipsometric spectroscopy, respectively. Results show that the TiO2 thin films deposited by the DMS and EFMS techniques at the same deposition parameters are composed of the anatase phase exclusively. TiO2 thin films deposited at lower deposition rate by the EFMS technique have lower crystallinity, smaller particle size and smoother surface. With increasing the mesh number, the refractive index, extinction coefficient and optical band gap are larger

Modulation of biological motion perception in humans by gravity

The human visual perceptual system is highly sensitive to biological motion (BM) but less sensitive to its inverted counterpart. This perceptual inversion effect may stem from our selective sensitivity to gravity-constrained life motion signals and confer an adaptive advantage to creatures living on Earth. However, to what extent and how such selective sensitivity is shaped by the Earth&#39;s gravitational field is heretofore unexplored. Taking advantage of a spaceflight experiment and its ground-based analog via 6&deg; head-down tilt bed rest (HDTBR), we show that prolonged microgravity/HDTBR reduces the inversion effect in BM perception. No such change occurs for face perception, highlighting the particular role of gravity in regulating kinematic motion analysis. Moreover, the reduced BM inversion effect is associated with attenuated orientation-dependent neural responses to BM rather than general motion cues and correlated with strengthened functional connectivity between cortical regions dedicated to visual BM processing (i.e., pSTS) and vestibular gravity estimation (i.e., insula). These findings suggest that the neural computation of gravity may act as an embodied constraint, presumably implemented through visuo-vestibular interaction, to sustain the human brain&#39;s selective tuning to life motion signals.</p

Correction: Saccharomyces Boulardii and Bacillus Subtilis B10 modulate TLRs and cytokines expression patterns in jejunum and ileum of broilers.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0173917.]

Saccharomyces boulardii and Bacillus subtilis B10 modulate TLRs and cytokines expression patterns in jejunum and ileum of broilers.

The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of Saccharomyces boulardii (Sb) and Bacillus subtilis B10 (Bs) on intestinal epithelial Toll like receptors (TLR), and Cytokine expression response to understand the intestinal epithelial innate immune mechanism in broilers. A total of 300 birds (Sanhuang broilers) were allotted into three groups (n = 100) and each divided into five replications (n = 20). Control group (Ctr) birds were fed basal diet, broilers in experimental groups received (1×108cfu/kg feed) Sb and Bs respectively in addition to basal diet for 72 days. The result showed significant increase in mRNA expression level of TLR2, TLR4 and TLR15. Down streaming MyD88, TRAF6, TAB2 and NF-κB mRNA level noted higher, in the jejunum and ileum as compared to control group. Meanwhile, IL-6, TNFα, IL-10, TGF-β expression levels showed high expression in the jejunum of Sb and Bs groups. IL-10 expression level increased in the ileum and IL-6, TNFα, IL-10 and TGF-β expression levels increased in the jejunum of Sb group. Levels of IL-1 β, IL-17, and IL-4, increased merely in Sb group. Ileal cytokines IL-1β, IL-17 and IL-4concentration were noted higher in Sb group, and IL-1β, and IL-4 levels were up-regulated in Bs group. The results indicated that the INF-γ and IL-8 level decreased in Sb and BS groups. Serum IgA and sIgA level increased in both treatment groups. Our findings illustrated that S. boulardii and B. subtilis B10 may have a role to induce mucosal immunity by activating the TLRs and cytokines expressions in broilers