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Wearable EEG has gained popularity in recent years driven by promising uses outside of clinics and research. The ubiquitous application of continuous EEG requires unobtrusive form-factors that are easily acceptable by the end-users. In this progression, wearable EEG systems have been moving from full scalp to forehead and recently to the ear. The aim of this study is to demonstrate that emerging ear-EEG provides similar impedance and signal properties as established forehead EEG. EEG data using eyes-open and closed alpha paradigm were acquired from ten healthy subjects using generic earpieces fitted with three custom-made electrodes and a forehead electrode (at Fpx) after impedance analysis. Inter-subject variability in in-ear electrode impedance ranged from 20 kΩ to 25 kΩ at 10 Hz. Signal quality was comparable with an SNR of 6 for in-ear and 8 for forehead electrodes. Alpha attenuation was significant during the eyes-open condition in all in-ear electrodes, and it followed the structure of power spectral density plots of forehead electrodes, with the Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.92 between in-ear locations ELE (Left Ear Superior) and ERE (Right Ear Superior) and forehead locations, Fp1 and Fp2, respectively. The results indicate that in-ear EEG is an unobtrusive alternative in terms of impedance, signal properties and information content to established forehead EEG.
The necessity of e-books as a primary of learning, its opportunities for realization of competence during training biologist and biotechnologist specialists are determined. Definitions and requirements to the e-books, its advantages in comparison with traditional textbooks, and the ways of creation of e-books in the SunRav BookEditor program are considered.
Exercise training effectively mitigates aging-induced health and fitness impairments. Traditional training recommendations for the elderly focus separately on relevant physiological fitness domains, such as balance, flexibility, strength and endurance. Thus, a more holistic and functional training framework is needed. The proposed agility training concept integratively tackles spatial orientation, stop and go, balance and strength. The presented protocol aims at introducing a two-armed, one-year randomized controlled trial, evaluating the effects of this concept on neuromuscular, cardiovascular, cognitive and psychosocial health outcomes in healthy older adults. Eighty-five participants were enrolled in this ongoing trial. Seventy-nine participants completed baseline testing and were block-randomized to the agility training group or the inactive control group. All participants undergo pre- and post-testing with interim assessment after six months. The intervention group currently receives supervised, group-based agility training twice a week over one year, with progressively demanding perceptual, cognitive and physical exercises. Knee extension strength, reactive balance, dual task gait speed and the Agility Challenge for the Elderly (ACE) serve as primary endpoints and neuromuscular, cognitive, cardiovascular, and psychosocial meassures serve as surrogate secondary outcomes. Our protocol promotes a comprehensive exercise training concept for older adults, that might facilitate stakeholders in health and exercise to stimulate relevant health outcomes without relying on excessively time-consuming physical activity recommendations.
Air-pulse corneal applanation signal curve parameters for the characterisation of keratoconus
(2011)
Altered gastrocnemius contractile behavior in former achilles tendon rupture patients during walking
(2022)
Achilles tendon rupture (ATR) remains associated with functional limitations years after injury. Architectural remodeling of the gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle is typically observed in the affected leg and may compensate force deficits caused by a longer tendon. Yet patients seem to retain functional limitations during—low-force—walking gait. To explore the potential limits imposed by the remodeled GM muscle-tendon unit (MTU) on walking gait, we examined the contractile behavior of muscle fascicles during the stance phase. In a cross-sectional design, we studied nine former patients (males; age: 45 ± 9 years; height: 180 ± 7 cm; weight: 83 ± 6 kg) with a history of complete unilateral ATR, approximately 4 years post-surgery. Using ultrasonography, GM tendon morphology, muscle architecture at rest, and fascicular behavior were assessed during walking at 1.5 m⋅s–1 on a treadmill. Walking patterns were recorded with a motion capture system. The unaffected leg served as control. Lower limbs kinematics were largely similar between legs during walking. Typical features of ATR-related MTU remodeling were observed during the stance sub-phases corresponding to series elastic element (SEE) lengthening (energy storage) and SEE shortening (energy release), with shorter GM fascicles (36 and 36%, respectively) and greater pennation angles (8° and 12°, respectively). However, relative to the optimal fascicle length for force production, fascicles operated at comparable length in both legs. Similarly, when expressed relative to optimal fascicle length, fascicle contraction velocity was not different between sides, except at the time-point of peak series elastic element (SEE) length, where it was 39 ± 49% lower in the affected leg. Concomitantly, fascicles rotation during contraction was greater in the affected leg during the whole stance-phase, and architectural gear ratios (AGR) was larger during SEE lengthening. Under the present testing conditions, former ATR patients had recovered a relatively symmetrical walking gait pattern. Differences in seen AGR seem to accommodate the profound changes in MTU architecture, limiting the required fascicle shortening velocity. Overall, the contractile behavior of the GM fascicles does not restrict length- or velocity-dependent force potentials during this locomotor task.
Altered neurovascular coupling as measured by optical imaging: a biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease
(2017)
Retinal vessels are similar to cerebral vessels in their structure and function. Moderately low oscillation frequencies of around 0.1 Hz have been reported as the driving force for paravascular drainage in gray matter in mice and are known as the frequencies of lymphatic vessels in humans. We aimed to elucidate whether retinal vessel oscillations are altered in Alzheimer's disease (AD) at the stage of dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Seventeen patients with mild-to-moderate dementia due to AD (ADD); 23 patients with MCI due to AD, and 18 cognitively healthy controls (HC) were examined using Dynamic Retinal Vessel Analyzer. Oscillatory temporal changes of retinal vessel diameters were evaluated using mathematical signal analysis. Especially at moderately low frequencies around 0.1 Hz, arterial oscillations in ADD and MCI significantly prevailed over HC oscillations and correlated with disease severity. The pronounced retinal arterial vasomotion at moderately low frequencies in the ADD and MCI groups would be compatible with the view of a compensatory upregulation of paravascular drainage in AD and strengthen the amyloid clearance hypothesis.
Edge-based and face-based smoothed finite element methods (ES-FEM and FS-FEM, respectively) are modified versions of the finite element method allowing to achieve more accurate results and to reduce sensitivity to mesh distortion, at least for linear elements. These properties make the two methods very attractive. However, their implementation in a standard finite element code is nontrivial because it requires heavy and extensive modifications to the code architecture. In this article, we present an element-based formulation of ES-FEM and FS-FEM methods allowing to implement the two methods in a standard finite element code with no modifications to its architecture. Moreover, the element-based formulation permits to easily manage any type of element, especially in 3D models where, to the best of the authors' knowledge, only tetrahedral elements are used in FS-FEM applications found in the literature. Shape functions for non-simplex 3D elements are proposed in order to apply FS-FEM to any standard finite element.
Replacement tissues, designed to fill in articular cartilage defects, should exhibit the same properties as the native material. The aim of this study is to foster the understanding of, firstly, the mechanical behavior of the material itself and, secondly, the influence of cultivation parameters on cell seeded implants as well as on cell migration into acellular implants. In this study, acellular cartilage replacement material is theoretically, numerically and experimentally investigated regarding its viscoelastic properties, where a phenomenological model for practical applications is developed. Furthermore, remodeling and cell migration are investigated.
Three-dimensional (3D) full-field measurements provide a comprehensive and accurate validation of finite element (FE) models. For the validation, the result of the model and measurements are compared based on two respective point-sets and this requires the point-sets to be registered in one coordinate system. Point-set registration is a non-convex optimization problem that has widely been solved by the ordinary iterative closest point algorithm. However, this approach necessitates a good initialization without which it easily returns a local optimum, i.e. an erroneous registration. The globally optimal iterative closest point (Go-ICP) algorithm has overcome this drawback and forms the basis for the presented open-source tool that can be used for the validation of FE models using 3D full-field measurements. The capability of the tool is demonstrated using an application example from the field of biomechanics. Methodological problems that arise in real-world data and the respective implemented solution approaches are discussed.