The employment of wearable systems for continuous monitoring of vital signs is increasing. However, due to substantial susceptibility of conventional bio-signals recorded by wearable systems to ...motion artifacts, estimation of the respiratory rate (RR) during physical activities is a challenging task. Alternatively, functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) can be used, which has been proven less vulnerable to the subject's movements. This paper proposes a fusion-based method for estimating RR during bicycling from fNIRS signals recorded by a wearable system.
Firstly, five respiratory modulations are extracted, based on amplitude, frequency, and intensity of the oxygenated hemoglobin concentration (O2Hb) signal. Secondly, the dominant frequency of each modulation is computed using the fast Fourier transform. Finally, dominant frequencies of all modulations are fused, based on averaging, to estimate RR. The performance of the proposed method was validated on 22 young healthy subjects, whose respiratory and fNIRS signals were simultaneously recorded during a bicycling task, and compared against a zero delay Fourier domain band-pass filter.
The comparison between results obtained by the proposed method and band-pass filtering indicated the superiority of the former, with a lower mean absolute error (3.66 vs. 11.06 breaths per minute, p<0.05). The proposed fusion strategy also outperformed RR estimations based on the analysis of individual modulation.
This study orients towards the practical limitations of traditional bio-signals for RR estimation during physical activities.
Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) relative concentration signals contain 'noise' from physiological processes such as respiration and heart rate. Simultaneous assessment of NIRS and respiratory rate ...(RR) using a single sensor would facilitate a perfectly time-synced assessment of (cerebral) physiology. Our aim was to extract respiratory rate from cerebral NIRS intensity signals in neonates admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
A novel algorithm, NRR (NIRS RR), is developed for extracting RR from NIRS signals recorded from critically ill neonates. In total, 19 measurements were recorded from ten neonates admitted to the NICU with a gestational age and birth weight of 38 ± 5 weeks and 3092 ± 990 g, respectively. We synchronously recorded NIRS and reference RR signals sampled at 100 Hz and 0.5 Hz, respectively. The performance of the NRR algorithm is assessed in terms of the agreement and linear correlation between the reference and extracted RRs, and it is compared statistically with that of two existing methods.
The NRR algorithm showed a mean error of 1.1 breaths per minute (BPM), a root mean square error of 3.8 BPM, and Bland-Altman limits of agreement of 6.7 BPM averaged over all measurements. In addition, a linear correlation of 84.5% (
< 0.01) was achieved between the reference and extracted RRs. The statistical analyses confirmed the significant (
< 0.05) outperformance of the NRR algorithm with respect to the existing methods.
We showed the possibility of extracting RR from neonatal NIRS in an intensive care environment, which showed high correspondence with the reference RR recorded. Adding the NRR algorithm to a NIRS system provides the opportunity to record synchronously different physiological sources of information about cerebral perfusion and respiration by a single monitoring system. This allows for a concurrent integrated analysis of the impact of breathing (including apnea) on cerebral hemodynamics.
This research was aimed to delay the staling of wheat bread as one of the most used products globally by adding barley pentosanes, which is neglected and not taken into consideration despite their ...unique and multiple functional properties and their optimum storage temperature. Water-soluble pentosanes (WSP) and water-insoluble pentosanes (WIP)was extracted from barley (Hordeum vulgare) and added to wheat flour at different percentages. Five treatments were prepared: (T1) from flour only, (T2 and T3) adding WSP at levels of (1 and 2%), (T4 and T5) adding WIP at the same levels respectively. All treatments were stored at (20, 4 and -18 °C), for 72 h. The results indicated that the addition of pentosans (WSP and WIP) delayed the staling of bread, especially at the level of addition (2%) for both, when was stored at freezing temperature (-18°C). The results of the control treatment (T1) and the treatments that included the highest addition level (2%) ( T3 and T5) and after 72 hours of storage at (-18°C) were as follows: The moisture content of bread crumbs decreased to (39.44, 43.32 and 43.91%) respectively. While the moisture in the bread crust increased to (31.61, 33.98, 34.28%), respectively. The swelling power of the bread crumbs and the sediment volume also decreased to (0.74, 1.18, and 1.03%) and (23, 32 and 33%), respectively, which indicates the potency of pentosans and freezing temperature to delay the staling of wheat bread during the storage period.
This study was aimed to improve the rheological and qualitative properties of the most common bread, wheat bread, by barley pentosanes, which is not optimally utilized although it's many benefits and ...its huge production. Therefore, water-soluble pentosanes (WSP) and water-insoluble pentosanes (WIP) were extracted from barley (Hordeum vulgare) and added to wheat flour at different percentages. Five treatments were prepared: (T1) from flour only, (T2 and T3) adding WSP at levels(1 and 2%), (T4 and T5) adding WIP at the same levels respectively. The results showed significant improvement in rheological and qualitative properties of the dough and bread made from this dough with increasing the level of addition. The water absorption, the mixing time and the stability time of the dough for T3 and T5, increased from (61.9%) to (64.8 and 65.3%) and from (2min) to ( 2.4 and 3 min) and from (11 min) to (17 and 18 min)respectively, as compared with T1 . Additionally, total scores of sensory evaluation increased from (89.1) to (95.7 and 89.3), the specific volume increased from (4.37 cm3/gm) to (4.79 and 4.54 cm3/gm). The chemical composition analysis showed an increase in the percentages of protein and fat for the same treatments ( T3 & T5 ) as the values increased from (9.34%) to (10.55 and 9.98%) and from (0.85%) to (1.03 and 0.94%) respectively. The percentages of fibre and ash were also increased from (1.71%) to (1.89 and 2.10%) and from (0.74%) to (1.68 and 1.65%) respectively. While the total calorie decreased from (2.73.63 cal) to (261.98 and 253.18 cal).
In this work, vertically aligned zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods were successfully grown by a wet chemical bath deposition method on a ZnO seed-layer-coated Teflon substrate at room temperature. The strong ...and sharp (0 0 2) peak in the XRD pattern along with the calculated low compressive strain indicated the vertical growth of high-quality crystalline ZnO nanorods along the
z
-axis on the substrate. The field emission scanning electron microscopy images show the ZnO nanorods to have diameters ranging from 34 to 52 nm. Raman analyses revealed a high E
2
(high) peak at 440.23 nm. A flexible ZnO nanorod-based metal–semiconductor–metal UV detector was fabricated. The device showed a sensitivity of 1466. The responsivity (
R
) of the device is 2.265 A/W, which is 20 times higher than that reported for ZnO-based PDs. Under low power illumination (370 nm, 1.5 mW/cm
2
), the device showed a relatively fast response and baseline recovery for UV detection. The prototype device shows a simple method for nanorod synthesis and demonstrates the possibility of constructing nanoscale photodetectors for nano-optics applications.
Excessive use of mobile phones leading to development of symptoms suggestive of dependence syndrome with teenagers are far more likely to become dependent on mobile phones as compared to adults. ...COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the mental health of several groups in society, especially university students. This study aimed to explore the prevalence of mobile phone dependence among university students and its associated factors.
Between September 2021 and January 2022, a cross-sectional study was conducted at universities in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia utilizing an online and paper-based self-administered questionnaire. We employed a previously developed questionnaire by Aggarwal et al. RESULTS: A total of 5,720 university students were involved in this study (Egypt = 2813, Saudi Arabia = 1509, Jordan = 766, Lebanon = 432, and Bahrain = 200). The mean estimated daily time spent on using mobile phone was 186.4 (94.4) minutes. The highest mobile dependence score was observed for the university students from Egypt and the lowest mobile dependence score was observed for the university students from Lebanon. The most common dependence criteria across the study sample was impaired control (55.6%) and the least common one was harmful use (25.1%). Females and those reported having anxiety problem or using a treatment for anxiety were at higher risk of developing mobile phone dependence by 15% and 75%, respectively.
Mobile phone dependence is common among university students in Arab countries in the Middle East region. Future studies exploring useful interventions to decrease mobile phone dependence are warranted.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Respiration is recognized as a systematic physiological interference in functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). However, it remains unanswered as to whether it is possible to estimate the ...respiratory rate (RR) from such interference. Undoubtedly, RR estimation from fNIRS can provide complementary information that can be used alongside the cerebral activity analysis, e.g., sport studies. Thus, the objective of this paper is to propose a method for RR estimation from fNIRS. Our primary presumption is that changes in the baseline wander of oxygenated hemoglobin concentration (O2Hb) signal are related to RR.
fNIRS and respiratory signals were concurrently collected from subjects during controlled breathing tasks at a constant rate from 0.1 Hz to 0.4 Hz. Firstly, the signal quality index algorithm is employed to select the best O2Hb signal, and then a band-pass filter with cut-off frequencies from 0.05 to 2 Hz is used to remove very low- and high-frequency artifacts. Secondly, troughs of the filtered O2Hb signal are localized for synthesizing the baseline wander (S1) using cubic spline interpolation. Finally, the fast Fourier transform of the S1 signal is computed, and its dominant frequency is considered as RR. In this paper, two different datasets were employed, where the first one was used for the parameter adjustment of the proposed method, and the second one was solely used for testing.
The low mean absolute error between the reference and estimated RRs for the first and second datasets (2.6 and 1.3 breaths per minute, respectively) indicates the feasibility of the proposed method for RR estimation from fNIRS.
This paper provides a novel view on the respiration interference as a source of complementary information in fNIRS.
Vital wheat gluten was extracted from broken wheat flour (Triticum aestivum), which is an accidental product during the technical milling process and used to improve the sensory and qualitative ...properties of bread made using flour from two varieties of Iraqi barley (IPA 99, IPA 265) which were obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture / Agricultural Research Center. The chemical composition analysis revealed that the percentage of β-glucan in barley flour (72% extraction) (BFE) of IPA 99 and IPA 265 were (3.9, 4.5%), respectively, while for whole barley flour (100% extraction) (WBF) those values were (3, 3.9%), respectively. The percentage of pentosanes in (WBF) of the experimental of varieties were (7.8, 12.6%). However, in the (BFE) these values drooped to (6.0 - 8.7%). This study, two experiments with seven treatments were carried out. The first experiment include using broken wheat wet gluten (BWWG) at different percentage in bread mix as follows, barley flour (type A) with 14% (BWWG) (T1), 16%( BWWG) (T2), 18 %( BWWG) (T3), 20% (BWWG) (T4), and 22 %( BWWG) (T5) of the experimental gluten, T6 was barley flour and 20% commercial gluten (CG) (for comprised) while T7 was barley flour with no added gluten. The second experiment was with barley flour from type (B) with a similar ratio of add gluten. The results have shown that the specific volume of the bread for IPA 99 & IPA 265 was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that of control. The highest value of specific volume were in the treatments AT5 &BT5 (3.3 & 3.34 cm3/gm) compared with the control where it was (1.43 & 1.5 cm3/gm). Sensory evaluation test showed an improvement in the sensory and qualitative characteristics of gluten contenting bread. Chemical analysis of the loaf prepared from superior treatments showed that percentage of protein increased from 10.7-113% to 25-26.6%, fiber to 1.3 - 1.8%, and carbohydrates to 57.5- 60.4% as compared with control treatment which was 74.5%.
Background Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is a common complication after cardiac surgery. Data are lacking on the long-term prognostic implications of POAF. We hypothesized that POAF, which ...reflects underlying cardiovascular pathophysiologic substrate, is a predictive marker of late AF and long-term mortality. Methods We identified 603 Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents without prior documented history of AF who underwent coronary artery bypass graft and/or valve surgery from 2000 to 2005. Patients were monitored for first documentation of late AF or death at >30 days postoperatively. Multivariate Cox regression models were used to assess the independent association of POAF with late AF and long-term mortality. Results After a mean follow-up of 8.3 ± 4.2 years, freedom from late AF was less with POAF than no POAF (57.4% vs 88.9%, P < .001). The risk of late AF was highest within the first year at 18%. Univariate analysis demonstrated that POAF was associated with significantly increased risk of late AF hazard ratio (HR), 5.09; 95% CI, 3.65-7.22 and long-term mortality (HR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.38-2.22). After adjustment for age, sex, and clinical and surgical risk factors, POAF remained independently associated with development of late AF (HR, 3.52; 95% CI, 2.42-5.13) but not long-term mortality (HR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.87-1.55). Conversely, late AF was independently predictive of long-term mortality (HR, 3.25; 95% CI, 2.42-4.35). Diastolic dysfunction independently influenced the risk of late AF and long-term mortality. Conclusions Postoperative atrial fibrillation was an independent predictive marker of late AF, whereas late AF, but not POAF, was independently associated with long-term mortality. Patients who develop new-onset POAF should be considered for continuous anticoagulation at least during the first year following cardiac surgery.
Weight gain is a frequent problem in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Cimicifuga racemosa (CR) is a popular treatment option for menopausal symptoms. The aim of this review was to investigate ...whether there is scientific evidence that CR causes weight gain. We searched our database for medically confirmed, spontaneous adverse events regarding weight gain, literature for case reports and randomized controlled trials. Thirty cases in total were spontaneously reported in 15 years. The causality was not considered certain/likely in any of the cases. A nurse (consumer) assessed the causality as possible. Only one case was published in the literature. However, no change in body fat composition was reported, and the causality seems unlikely. Of the 31 identified studies, 17 were double-blind placebo-controlled, five were double-blind reference-controlled and nine were open reference-controlled. In total, 1839 women were treated with CR for up to 12 months. Two studies reported weight gain as an adverse event; however, no significant differences in weight changes were observed between the groups. One case of weight gain (about 2 kg) was reported, but the authors did not specify in which treatment group. In conclusion, this study provides no scientific evidence that the use of Cimicifuga racemosa causes weight gain in menopausal women.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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