The electrical activity of skeletal muscle¡ªthe electromyogram (EMG)¡ªis of value to many different application areas, including ergonomics, clinical biomechanics and prosthesis control. For many applications the EMG is related to muscular tension, joint torque and/or applied forces. In these cases, a goal is for an EMG-torque model to emulate the natural relationship between the central nervous system and peripheral joints and muscles. This thesis mainly describes an experimental study which relates the simultaneous biceps/triceps surface EMG of 12 subjects to elbow torque at seven joint angles (ranging from 45¡ÃƒÂ£to 135¡ÃƒÂ£) during constant-posture, quasi-constant-torque contractions. The contractions ranged between 50% maximum voluntary contractions (MVC) extension and 50% MVC flexion. Advanced EMG amplitude (EMG¦Ãƒâ€™) estimation processors were investigated, and three nonlinear EMG¦Ãƒâ€™-torque models were evaluated. Results show that advanced (i.e., whitened, multiple-channel) EMG¦Ãƒâ€™ processors lead to improved joint torque estimation, compared to unwhitened, single-channel EMG¦Ãƒâ€™ processors. Depending on the joint angle, use of the multiple-channel whitened EMG¦Ãƒâ€™ processor with higher polynomial degrees produced a median error that was 50%-66% that found when using the single-channel, unwhitened EMG¦Ãƒâ€™ processor with a polynomial degree of 1. The best angle-specific model achieved a minimum error of 3.39% MVCF90 (i.e., error referenced to MVC at 90¢X flexion), yet it does not allow interpolation across angles. The best model which parameterizes the angle dependence achieved an error of 3.55% MVCF90. This thesis also summarizes other collaborative research contributions performed as part of this thesis. (1) Decomposition of needle EMG data was performed as part of a study to characterize motor unit behavior in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) [with Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston, MA]. (2) EMG-force modeling of force produced at the finger tips was studied with the purpose of assessing the ability to determine two or more independent, continuous degrees of freedom of control from the muscles of the forearm [with WPI and Sherbrooke University]. (3) Identification of a nonlinear, dynamic EMG-torque relationship about the elbow was studied [WPI]. (4) Signal whitening preprocessing for improved classification accuracies in myoelectric control of a prosthesis was studied [with WPI and the University of New Brunswick].

A modelagem farmacocinética permite prever a concentração de medicamentos em diferentes tecidos do organismo humano. O desenvolvimento de modelos matemáticos é importante para verificar a adequação de certos procedimentos realizados na administração de medicamentos. O objetivo deste trabalho é o desenvolvimento de um modelo farmacocinético capaz de prever a concentração plasmática de drogas no organismo para diversas formas de infusão. Foram utilizados dois tipos de abordagem. Inicialmente, na abordagem monocompartimental, considerou-se que a droga adentra ao organismo diretamente no compartimento sanguíneo, que representa todo o corpo humano. Já na abordagem bicompartimental foram considerados os seguintes compartimentos: um representando o meio pelo qual a droga é infundida no organismo (podendo ser via gastrointestinal, transdermal ou pulmonar) e outro representando o plasma sanguíneo. Em ambos os casos, foi considerada a hipótese de concentração homogênea da droga nos compartimentos em questão. O modelo foi estruturado na forma de diagramas de blocos e a solução foi feita com a utilização da Transformada de Laplace. Foi feita a validação dos modelos e verificou-se que os resultado gerados foram muito próximos dos resultados presentes na literatura. A utilização do modelo monocompartimental permitiu comparar os resultados da administração da mesma quantidade de droga por infusão constante e por infusão periódica. A análise dos resultados gerados pelo modelo mostrou que as concentrações atingidas pelos dois métodos não são as mesmas. O modelo bicompartimental permitiu simular administrações orais e transdermais, e inalação. Foi possível prever a concentração sanguínea após a interrupção da terapia com anti-concepcionais e anti-depressivos e foi verificado o tempo necessário para que esta concentração seja atingida novamente. Foram propostos métodos para que esta concentração fosse atingida em um menor período de tempo. Outra aplicação foi na comparação entre o tratamento com comprimidos inteiros e tomados pela metade em um intervalo menor de tempo. Verificou-se que a concentração atingida é diferente mesmo que a massa ingerida seja a mesma. O modelo também foi utilizado para calcular a concentração de nicotina após o consumo de cigarros e verificou-se que, o indivíduo que fuma a cada três horas não consegue eliminar totalmente a nicotina de seu organismo. Além disso, foi possível simular a sobredosagem de um anti-inflamatório e verificar o tempo em que a concentração fica acima do nível terapêutico. Foi proposto um método para obtenção do parâmetro farmacocinético relacionado à absorção, que pode ser obtido facilmente a partir de dados presentes nas bulas dos medicamentos. Este método é muito mais simples e preciso do que e proposto na literatura, que utiliza análise gráfica e dados clínicos que não são obtidos com tanta facilidade. / The pharmacokinetic modeling can predict the concentration of drug in different tissues of the human body. The development of mathematical models is an important tool to verify the appropriateness of certain procedures performed in medication administration. The objective of this work is to develop a pharmacokinetic model able to predict the plasma concentration of drug in the body after various forms of infusion. Two approaches were used. Initially, in the one-compartment approach it was considered that the drug enters the body directly into the blood compartment, which represents the entire human body. In the two-compartment approach it was considered the following compartments: one representing the means by which the drug is infused into the body (either via the gastrointestinal tract, lung, or transdermal) and one representing the blood plasma. In both cases, it was considered homogeneous concentration of the drug in the compartments. The model was built by using block diagrams and the solution was obtained using the Laplace Transform. The model was validated by comparing its results to literature data, with very good agreement. The model allowed comparing the one-compartment constant infusion of drug in the body with the periodic infusion. The analysis of the results generated by the model showed that the concentrations achieved by these methods are not the same. The two-compartment model allowed simulating oral and transdermal administration, and inhalation. It was possible to predict blood concentration after interruption of therapy with anti-depressants and anti-conceptional drugs. The model was able to verify the time it takes to reach the former level. Methods have been proposed to achieve the same concentration in a shorter period of time. Another application was the comparison of the treatment with whole tablets and taken by half in a smaller interval of time. It was found that the concentration achieved is different even though the same mass is ingested in both cases. The model was also used to calculate the concentration of nicotine after cigarette smoking and it was found that the individual who smokes every three hours, nicotine is not entirely eliminated from body. Furthermore, it was possible to simulate overdose of an anti-inflammatory and the period of time when the concentration is above the therapeutic level. It has been proposed a method to obtain pharmacokinetic parameter related to absorption, which can be easily obtained based on data present in the drug bull. This method is much simpler and more accurate than the method proposed in the, which uses graphical analysis and clinical data that are not so easy to be obtained.

A modelagem farmacocinética permite prever a concentração de medicamentos em diferentes tecidos do organismo humano. O desenvolvimento de modelos matemáticos é importante para verificar a adequação de certos procedimentos realizados na administração de medicamentos. O objetivo deste trabalho é o desenvolvimento de um modelo farmacocinético capaz de prever a concentração plasmática de drogas no organismo para diversas formas de infusão. Foram utilizados dois tipos de abordagem. Inicialmente, na abordagem monocompartimental, considerou-se que a droga adentra ao organismo diretamente no compartimento sanguíneo, que representa todo o corpo humano. Já na abordagem bicompartimental foram considerados os seguintes compartimentos: um representando o meio pelo qual a droga é infundida no organismo (podendo ser via gastrointestinal, transdermal ou pulmonar) e outro representando o plasma sanguíneo. Em ambos os casos, foi considerada a hipótese de concentração homogênea da droga nos compartimentos em questão. O modelo foi estruturado na forma de diagramas de blocos e a solução foi feita com a utilização da Transformada de Laplace. Foi feita a validação dos modelos e verificou-se que os resultado gerados foram muito próximos dos resultados presentes na literatura. A utilização do modelo monocompartimental permitiu comparar os resultados da administração da mesma quantidade de droga por infusão constante e por infusão periódica. A análise dos resultados gerados pelo modelo mostrou que as concentrações atingidas pelos dois métodos não são as mesmas. O modelo bicompartimental permitiu simular administrações orais e transdermais, e inalação. Foi possível prever a concentração sanguínea após a interrupção da terapia com anti-concepcionais e anti-depressivos e foi verificado o tempo necessário para que esta concentração seja atingida novamente. Foram propostos métodos para que esta concentração fosse atingida em um menor período de tempo. Outra aplicação foi na comparação entre o tratamento com comprimidos inteiros e tomados pela metade em um intervalo menor de tempo. Verificou-se que a concentração atingida é diferente mesmo que a massa ingerida seja a mesma. O modelo também foi utilizado para calcular a concentração de nicotina após o consumo de cigarros e verificou-se que, o indivíduo que fuma a cada três horas não consegue eliminar totalmente a nicotina de seu organismo. Além disso, foi possível simular a sobredosagem de um anti-inflamatório e verificar o tempo em que a concentração fica acima do nível terapêutico. Foi proposto um método para obtenção do parâmetro farmacocinético relacionado à absorção, que pode ser obtido facilmente a partir de dados presentes nas bulas dos medicamentos. Este método é muito mais simples e preciso do que e proposto na literatura, que utiliza análise gráfica e dados clínicos que não são obtidos com tanta facilidade. / The pharmacokinetic modeling can predict the concentration of drug in different tissues of the human body. The development of mathematical models is an important tool to verify the appropriateness of certain procedures performed in medication administration. The objective of this work is to develop a pharmacokinetic model able to predict the plasma concentration of drug in the body after various forms of infusion. Two approaches were used. Initially, in the one-compartment approach it was considered that the drug enters the body directly into the blood compartment, which represents the entire human body. In the two-compartment approach it was considered the following compartments: one representing the means by which the drug is infused into the body (either via the gastrointestinal tract, lung, or transdermal) and one representing the blood plasma. In both cases, it was considered homogeneous concentration of the drug in the compartments. The model was built by using block diagrams and the solution was obtained using the Laplace Transform. The model was validated by comparing its results to literature data, with very good agreement. The model allowed comparing the one-compartment constant infusion of drug in the body with the periodic infusion. The analysis of the results generated by the model showed that the concentrations achieved by these methods are not the same. The two-compartment model allowed simulating oral and transdermal administration, and inhalation. It was possible to predict blood concentration after interruption of therapy with anti-depressants and anti-conceptional drugs. The model was able to verify the time it takes to reach the former level. Methods have been proposed to achieve the same concentration in a shorter period of time. Another application was the comparison of the treatment with whole tablets and taken by half in a smaller interval of time. It was found that the concentration achieved is different even though the same mass is ingested in both cases. The model was also used to calculate the concentration of nicotine after cigarette smoking and it was found that the individual who smokes every three hours, nicotine is not entirely eliminated from body. Furthermore, it was possible to simulate overdose of an anti-inflammatory and the period of time when the concentration is above the therapeutic level. It has been proposed a method to obtain pharmacokinetic parameter related to absorption, which can be easily obtained based on data present in the drug bull. This method is much simpler and more accurate than the method proposed in the, which uses graphical analysis and clinical data that are not so easy to be obtained.

No description available.

Over the years, data management has diversified and moved into multiple directions, mainly caused by a significant growth in the application space with different usage patterns, a massive change in the underlying hardware characteristics, and-last but not least-growing data volumes to be processed. A solution matching these constraints has to cope with a multidimensional problem space including techniques dealing with a large number of domain-specific data types, data and consistency models, deployment scenarios, and processing, storage, and communication infrastructures on a hardware level. Specialized database engines are available and are positioned in the market optimizing a particular dimension on the one hand while relaxing other aspects (e.g. web-scale deployment with relaxed consistency). Today it is common sense, that there is no single engine which can handle all the different dimensions equally well and therefore we have very good reasons to tackle this problem and optimize the dimensions with specialized approaches in a first step. However, we argue for a second step (reflecting in our opinion on the even harder problem) of a deep integration of individual engines into a single coherent and consistent data management ecosystem providing not only shared components but also a common understanding of the overall business semantics. More specifically, a data management ecosystem provides common “infrastructure” for software and data life cycle management, backup/recovery, replication and high availability, accounting and monitoring, and many other operational topics, where administrators and users expect a harmonized experience. More importantly from an application perspective however, customer experience teaches us to provide a consistent business view across all different components and the ability to seamlessly combine different capabilities. For example, within recent customer-based Internet of Things scenarios, a huge potential exists in combining graph-processing functionality with temporal and geospatial information and keywords extracted from high-throughput twitter streams. Using SAP HANA as the running example, we want to demonstrate what moving a set of individual engines and infra-structural components towards a holistic but also flexible data management ecosystem could look like. Although there are some solutions for some problems already visible on the horizon, we encourage the database research community in general to focus more on the Big Picture providing a holistic/integrated approach to efficiently deal with different types of data, with different access methods, and different consistency requirements-research in this field would push the envelope far beyond the traditional notion of data management.

In this PhD thesis, the utilisation of interactive simulation in a higher education e-learning classroom environment was explored and its effectiveness was experimentally evaluated by engaging university students in a classroom setting. Two case studies were carried out for the experimental evaluation of the proposed novel interactive simulation e-learning tool. In the first case study, the use of interactive agent-based simulation was demonstrated in teaching complex adaptive system concepts in the area of ecology to university students and its effectiveness was measured in a classroom environment. In a lab intervention using a novel interactive agent-based simulation (built in NetLogo). For the purpose of teaching complex adaptive systems such as the concept of spatially-explicit predator prey interaction to undergraduate and postgraduate students in the University of Stirling. The effectiveness of using the interactive simulation was investigated by using the NetLogo software and compared with non-interactive simulation built using R programming language. The experimental evaluation was carried out using a total of 38 students. Results of this case study demonstrates that the students found interactive agent-based simulation to be more engaging, effective and user friendly as compare to the non-interactive simulation. In the second case study, a novel interactive simulation game was developed (in NetLogo) and its effectiveness in teaching and learning of complex concepts in the field of marine ecology was demonstrated. This case study makes a twofold contribution. Firstly, the presentation of a novel interactive simulation game, developed specifically for use in undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the area of marine ecology. This novel interactive simulation game is designed to help learners to explore a mathematical model of fishery population growth and understand the principles for sustainable fisheries. Secondly, the comparison of two different methods of using the interactive simulation game within the classroom was investigated: learning from active exploration of the interactive simulation game compared with learning from an expert demonstration of the interactive simulation game. The case study demonstrated the effectiveness of learning from passive viewing of an expert demonstration of the interactive simulation game over learning from active exploration of the interactive simulation game without expert guidance, for teaching complex concepts sustainable fishery management. A mixed methods study design was used, using both quantitative and qualitative methods to compare the learning effectiveness of the two approaches, and the students’ preferences. The investigation was carried out by running interventions with a mixture of undergraduate and postgraduate students from the University of Stirling in a classroom environment. A total of 74 participants were recruited from undergraduate and postgraduate level for both case studies. This thesis demonstrated through two case studies effectiveness of the proposed novel interactive simulation in university e-learning classroom environment.