Fractal feature of sEMG from Flexor digitorum superficialis muscle correlated with levels of contraction during low-level finger flexions.

This research paper reports an experimental study on identification of the changes in fractal properties of surface Electromyogram (sEMG) with the changes in the force levels during low-level finger flexions. In the previous study, the authors have identified a novel fractal feature, Maximum fractal length (MFL) as a measure of strength of low-level contractions and has used this feature to identify various wrist and finger movements. This study has tested the relationship between the MFL and force of contraction.

Hybrid independent component analysis and twin support vector machine learning scheme for subtle gesture recognition.

Myoelectric signal classification is one of the most difficult pattern recognition problems because large variations in surface electromyogram features usually exist. In the literature, attempts have been made to apply various pattern recognition methods to classify surface electromyography into components corresponding to the activities of different muscles, but this has not been very successful, as some muscles are bigger and more active than others. This results in dataset discrepancy during classification.

Identification of hand and finger movements using multi run ICA of surface electromyogram.

Surface electromyogram (sEMG) based control of prosthesis and computer assisted devices can provide the user with near natural control. Unfortunately there is no suitable technique to classify sEMG when the there are multiple active muscles such as during finger and wrist flexion due to cross-talk. Independent Component Analysis (ICA) to decompose the signal into individual muscle activity has been demonstrated to be useful.

A highly thermostable alkaline cellulase-free xylanase from thermoalkalophilic Bacillus sp. JB 99 suitable for paper and pulp industry: purification and characterization.

A highly thermostable alkaline xylanase was purified to homogeneity from culture supernatant of Bacillus sp. JB 99 using DEAE-Sepharose and Sephadex G-100 gel filtration with 25.7-fold increase in activity and 43.

Inter-experimental discrepancy in facial muscle activity during vowel utterance.

This paper analyses the inter-experimental similarities in the muscle activation during vowel sound production by an individual. Surface electromyography has been used as an indicator of muscle activity and independent component analysis has been used to separate the electrical activity from different muscles. The results indicate that there is a 'reasonable' relationship between muscle activities of the corresponding muscles when the experiments are repeated.

Twin SVM for gesture classification using the surface electromyogram.

Surface electromyogram (sEMG) is a measure of the muscle activity from the skin surface, and is an excellent indicator of the strength of muscle contraction. It is an obvious choice for control of prostheses and identification of body gestures. Using sEMG to identify posture and actions that are a result of overlapping multiple active muscles is rendered difficult by interference between different muscle activities.

Use of sEMG in identification of low level muscle activities: features based on ICA and fractal dimension.

This paper has experimentally verified and compared features of sEMG (Surface Electromyogram) such as ICA (Independent Component Analysis) and Fractal Dimension (FD) for identification of low level forearm muscle activities. The fractal dimension was used as a feature as reported in the literature. The normalized feature values were used as training and testing vectors for an Artificial neural network (ANN), in order to reduce inter-experimental variations.

Testing of motor unit synchronization model for localized muscle fatigue.

Spectral compression of surface electromyogram (sEMG) is associated with onset of localized muscle fatigue. The spectral compression has been explained based on motor unit synchronization theory. According to this theory, motor units are pseudo randomly excited during muscle contraction, and with the onset of muscle fatigue the recruitment pattern changes such that motor unit firings become more synchronized.

Addressing source separation and identification issues in surface EMG using blind source separation.

Source separation and identification is one of the challenging areas in the bio signal processing. The processing of Electromyographic (EMG) signals can be viewed as the identification and separation of a series of overlapping sources of muscle activity with slowly varying source distribution and/or levels of activity. Blind source separation (BSS) techniques such as independent component analysis (ICA) lend themselves well to the analysis of such problems.

Identification of independent biological sensors-electromyogram example.

To ensure that no biological event that may be important is missed, redundancy of sensors is provided. While this is useful, there are shortcomings when there is need to separate the signals from different sources using blind source separation techniques. An example of such a situation is over-complete surface electromyogram (sEMG) recording.

Surface EMG based hand gesture identification using semi blind ICA: validation of ICA matrix analysis.

Surface electromyogram (sEMG) has numerous applications. It has been widely used in various biosignal and neuro rehabilitation applications. There is an urgent need for establishing a simple yet robust system that can be used to identify subtle complex hand actions and gestures for control of prosthesis and other computer assisted devices.

Clinical effectiveness of low-dose chlorthalidone (6.25 mg) + atenolol combination in stage I hypertensive patients: a multicenter, randomized, controlled study.

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of low-dose chlorthalidone + atenolol combination with atenolol and atenolol + amlodipine combination in stage I hypertensive patients uncontrolled on active run-in monotherapy.

Methods: Newly diagnosed stage I hypertensive patients were randomized to active run-in monotherapy either with atenolol 25 mg (98/300) or chlorthalidone 6.25 mg (100/300) or amlodipine 2.

Comparative study of efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in polymorphic light eruption: a randomized, double-blind, multicentric study.

Background: Polymorphic light eruption is the most common photodermatosis characterized by nonscarring, pruritic, erythematous papules and plaques.

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine in comparison with chloroquine in patients suffering from polymorphic light eruption.

Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, comparative, multicentric study conducted at two centers.

Limitations and applications of ICA for surface electromyogram.

This paper reports research conducted to evaluate the use of sparse ICA for the separation of muscle activity from SEMG. It discusses some of the conditions that could affect the reliability of the separation and evaluates issues related to the properties of the signals and number of sources. The paper reports tests using Zibulevsky's method of temporal plotting to identify number of independent sources in SEMG recordings.

Aliskiren, a novel renin inhibitor, is renoprotective in a model of advanced diabetic nephropathy in rats.

Aims/hypothesis: Blockade of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) with either ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blocker is a key therapeutic strategy in slowing progression of diabetic nephropathy. Interruption of the RAS may also be achieved by blocking the activity of renin, the rate-limiting step in angiotensin II biosynthesis. However, it is not known whether drugs in this class also reduce the structural and functional manifestations of diabetic nephropathy.

Use of a solid-phase extraction with radioimmunoassay to identify the proportional bias of clinical B-type natriuretic peptide immunoassay: the impact of plasma matrix and antibody multispecificity.

Background: Circulating immunoreactive B-type natriuretic peptide-32 (ir-BNP-32) has diagnostic and prognostic values in heart failure. We compared, in parallel, a point-of-care (POC) test (Triage((R)) BNP Test) of whole plasma and radioimmunoassay (RIA) of solid-phase extracted (SPE) plasma (SPE/RIA) utilizing a novel copolymer column, in the measurement of patient ir-BNP-32 concentrations.

Methods: Approximately 0.

Semi-automated imaging system to quantitate estrogen and progesterone receptor immunoreactivity in human breast cancer.

A semi-automated imaging system is described to quantitate estrogen and progesterone receptor immunoreactivity in human breast cancer. The system works for any conventional method of image acquisition using microscopic slides that have been processed for immunohistochemical analysis of the estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor. Estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor immunohistochemical staining produce colorimetric differences in nuclear staining that conventionally have been interpreted manually by pathologists and expressed as percentage of positive tumoral nuclei.

Role of cancer antigen-125 from pleural & ascitic fluid samples in non malignant conditions.

Background & Objective: CA-125, an ovarian tumor marker is known to increase in non malignant conditions such as tubercular and non tubercular pleuritis and ascites. We undertook this study to evaluate non-specific rise in CA-125 levels in conditions associated with pleural effusion and ascites and also to understand the mechanism of its secretion.

Methods: CA-125 levels in 38 pleural and 46 ascitic fluid samples from non malignant cases and 10 blood samples from pulmonary tuberculosis cases were estimated by ELISA.

Limitations and applications of ICA for surface electromyogram.

Surface electromyogram (SEMG) has numerous applications, but the presence of artefacts and noise, especially at low level of muscle activity make the recordings unreliable. Spectral and temporal overlap can make the removal of artefacts and noise, or separation of relevant signals from other bioelectric signals extremely difficult. Individual muscles may be considered as independent at the local level and this makes an argument for separating the signals using independent component analysis (ICA).

One electron oxidation induced dimerization of 5-hydroxytryptophol: role of 5-hydroxy substitution.

Reaction of one-electron oxidant (Br(2)(*-)) with tryptophol (TP) and 5-hydroxytryptophol (HTP) have been studied in aqueous solution in the pH range from 3 to 10, employing nanosecond pulse radiolysis technique and the transients detected by kinetic spectrophotometry. One-electron oxidation of TP has produced an indolyl radical that absorbs in the 300-600 nm region with radical pK(a) = 4.9 +/- 0.

In vitro antioxidant studies and free radical reactions of triphala, an ayurvedic formulation and its constituents.

The aqueous extract of the fruits of Emblica officinalis (T1), Terminalia chebula (T2) and Terminalia belerica (T3) and their equiproportional mixture triphala were evaluated for their in vitro antioxidant activity. gamma-Radiation induced strand break formation in plasmid DNA (pBR322) was effectively inhibited by triphala and its constituents in the concentration range 25-200 microg/mL with a percentage inhibition of T1 (30%-83%), T2 (21%-71%), T3 (8%-58%) and triphala (17%-63%). They also inhibited radiation induced lipid peroxidation in rat liver microsomes effectively with IC(50) values less than 15 microg/mL.

Studies on the aqueous extract of Terminalia chebula as a potent antioxidant and a probable radioprotector.

Aqueous extract of a natural herb, Terminalia chebula was tested for potential antioxidant activity by examining its ability to inhibit gamma-radiation-induced lipid peroxidation in rat liver microsomes and damage to superoxide dismutase enzyme in rat liver mitochondria. The antimutagenic activity of the extract has been examined by following the inhibition of gamma-radiation-induced strand breaks formation in plasmid pBR322 DNA. In order to understand the phytochemicals responsible for this, HPLC analysis of the extract was carried out, which showed the presence of compounds such as ascorbate, gallic acid and ellagic acid.