Electroencephalography is a medical diagnosis technique. It consists in measuring the biopotentials produced by the upper layers of the brain at various standardized places on the skull.<p><p>Since the biopotentials produced by the upper parts of the brain have an amplitude of about one microvolt, the measurements performed by an EEG are exposed to many risks.<p><p>Moreover, since the present tendency is measure those signals over periods of several hours, or even several days, human analysis of the recording becomes extremely long and difficult. The use of signal analysis techniques for the help of paroxysm detection with clinical interest within the electroencephalogram becomes therefore almost essential. However the performance of many automatic detection algorithms becomes significantly degraded by the presence of interference: the quality of the recordings is therefore fundamental. <p><p>This thesis explores the benefits that electronics and signal processing could bring to electroencephalography, aiming at improving the signal quality and semi-automating the data processing.<p><p>These two aspects are interdependent because the performance of any semi-automation of the data processing depends on the quality of the acquired signal. Special attention is focused on the interaction between these two goals and attaining the optimal hardware/software pair. <p><p>This thesis offers an overview of the medical electroencephalographic acquisition chain and also of its possible improvements.<p> <p>The conclusions of this work may be extended to some other cases of biological signal amplification such as the electrocardiogram (ECG) and the electromyogram (EMG). Moreover, such a generalization would be easier, because their signals have a wider amplitude and are therefore more resistant toward interference.<p> / Doctorat en sciences appliquées / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

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Bakgrund  Venösa bensår är vanligaste typen av bensår och orsakas i de flesta fall av en nedsatt cirkulation i nedre extremitet, venös insufficiens. De venösa bensåren är oftast svårläkta med lång duration och har hög återfallsrisk. En åldrande kropp ger risk för lång läkningsprocess. Då venösa bensår är vanligast hos den äldre befolkningen och i takt med en åldrande befolkning förväntas problemen med venösa bensår öka. Att belysa hur de äldre personerna upplever att leva med venösa bensår, borde även vara av intresse för sjukvårdspersonal som troligtvis kommer möta dessa personer. Detta kan bidra till en helhetssyn där personen och upplevelsen sätts i fokus. Syfte Syftet var att belysa den äldre personens upplevelse av att leva med venösa bensår. Metod För att besvara syftet valdes en icke-systematisk litteraturöversikt som metod. I denna litteraturöversikt har 15 artiklar inhämtats från databaserna CINAHL och PubMed. Artiklarna analyserades med en integrerad analys och kvalitetsgranskades med Sophiahemmets högskolas bedömningsunderlag.  Resultat  De venösa bensåren bidrog till att många äldre drar sig undan från sociala sammanhang på grund av skam, smärta och immobilitet. Självkänslan påverkas då många upplevde en penibel känsla när såren luktande och vätskade igenom. Förbanden doldes i många fall med långa kläder och det var svårt att hitta skor som passade de lindande fötterna. Smärta och rädsla försvårade de äldre personernas möjlighet till fysisk aktivitet.  Slutsats Sammanfattningsvis visar denna litteraturöversikt att många äldre personer med venösa bensår upplever att livet begränsats ur ett socialt, emotionellt och fysiskt perspektiv. Många äldre personer med venösa bensår upplever otillräcklig kommunikation med sjuksköterskan. Många upplevde bristande förtroende för sjuksköterskan på grund av inkonsekventa och utdragna behandlingar som inte gav resultat. Det saknas ny och relevant forskning gällande de äldre personernas upplevelse av att leva med venösa bensår och mer forskning behövs för att optimera upplevelsen och öka välbefinnandet. / Background Venous leg ulcers are the most common type of leg ulcer and are caused in most cases by a reduced circulation in the lower extremity, venous insufficiency. The venous leg ulcers usually have a difficulty to heal with a long duration and have a high risk of recurrence. An aging body carries the risk of a long healing process. As venous leg ulcers are most common in the older population and in step with an aging population, the problems with venous leg ulcers are expected to increase. To highlight how older people experience living with venous leg ulcers, it should also be of interest to healthcare professionals who are likely to meet these people. This can contribute to a holistic view where the person and the experience are put in focus. Aim The aim was to highlight the older persons’ experience living with venous leg ulcers. Method To answer the purpose of this study, a non-systematic literature review was undertaken. This study has included 15 articles collected from the databases CINAHL and PubMed. The articles were analysed with an integrated method and Quality controlled with Sophiahemmet University’s assessment basis. Results Many older persons experienced that venous leg ulcers contributed to withdrawing from social contexts due to shame, pain, and immobility. Self-esteem was affected when many experienced an unpleasant feeling when the ulcers smelled and exuded. The bandages were often hidden with long clothes and there were difficulties to find fitting shoes to fit the wrapped feet. Pain and fear complicated the older persons ability to participate in physical activities. Conclusions In conclusion, this literature review shows that many older persons with venous leg ulcers experience that their life has been limited from a social, emotional, and physical perspective. Many older people with venous leg ulcers experience insufficient communication with the nurse. Many experienced a lack of trust in the nurse due to inconsistent and protracted treatments that did not yield results. There is a lack of new and relevant research regarding the older persons experience of living with venous leg ulcers and more research is needed to optimize the experience and increase well-being.

Disruption of sleep causes adverse health outcomes and poor quality of life. People with sleep disruption have higher levels than people without disrupted sleep of depression and anxiety and increased rates of cardiovascular diseases. Women have a higher incidence than men of insomnia and depression related to poor sleep. The types of complaints differ significantly between the sexes. Women are more likely than men to complain of insomnia, headache, irritability, and fatigue than the "typical" symptoms of loud snoring and breathing cessation during sleep. Hormones play an important role in sleep in women. Reproductive hormones were found to have a protective effect on sleep apnea in women of premenopausal age. Pregnancy is another period when the prevalence of sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome increases from hormonal effect. Cardiovascular mortality is high in women with obstructive sleep apnea. Continuous positive airway pressure therapy improves outcomes in most cases of obstructive sleep apnea. The epidemiology, risk factors, diagnostic criteria, and therapies for the three most common sleep disorders (insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome), along with effects of menopause, pregnancy, and social factors on sleep in women, are key considerations for clinicians caring for female patients across the adult life span.

Disruption of sleep causes adverse health outcomes and poor quality of life. People with sleep disruption have higher levels than people without disrupted sleep of depression and anxiety and increased rates of cardiovascular diseases. Women have a higher incidence than men of insomnia and depression related to poor sleep. The types of complaints differ significantly between the sexes. Women are more likely than men to complain of insomnia, headache, irritability, and fatigue than the "typical" symptoms of loud snoring and breathing cessation during sleep. Hormones play an important role in sleep in women. Reproductive hormones were found to have a protective effect on sleep apnea in women of premenopausal age. Pregnancy is another period when the prevalence of sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome increases from hormonal effect. Cardiovascular mortality is high in women with obstructive sleep apnea. Continuous positive airway pressure therapy improves outcomes in most cases of obstructive sleep apnea. The epidemiology, risk factors, diagnostic criteria, and therapies for the three most common sleep disorders (insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome), along with effects of menopause, pregnancy, and social factors on sleep in women, are key considerations for clinicians caring for female patients across the adult life span.

Bakgrund: Venös insufficiens är en kronisk sjukdom som kan orsaka venösa bensår. Livssituationen för patienter med venösa bensår förändras när de tvingas förhålla sig till symtom från såret såsom smärta, klåda, sårvätska och odör, samt till en långvarig läkeprocess med besvärande kompressionsbehandling. Av kliniska riktlinjer framgår att sjuksköterskan skall omhänderta patienten ur ett helhetsperspektiv, men sjuksköterskor har i tidigare studier uppgivit att de saknar nödvändiga kunskaper för att möta personen bakom såret. Syfte: Att beskriva patienters upplevelser av att leva med venösa bensår. Metod: Studien utformades som en kvalitativ litteraturstudie. Resultat: Patienter med venösa bensår kan uppleva skam för rinnande sårvätska, skrymmande bandage och odör. Sårrelaterad smärta leder till fysiska begränsningar, som i kombination med skam, oro och osäkerhet ger patienterna en begränsad tillvaro. Den långa och osäkra läkeprocessen leder till känslor av hopplöshet, sorg och maktlöshet. Slutsats: Begränsningarna som patienterna upplever kan leda till social isolering och nedsatt fysisk aktivitet. Maktlöshet, sorg och hopplöshet kan leda till en sämre hälsa. Ovanstående konsekvenser av den förändrade livssituationen kan i sin tur påverka sårläkningen negativt. Sjuksköterskan kan ge stöd till patienten genom att använda humor, skapa mötesplatser och tillämpa empowermentstrategier. Klinisk betydelse: Patienter kan uppleva ett bättre bemötande när sjuksköterskan har en god förståelse för de besvär som såren orsakar. Förståelsen kan även vara till hjälp när sjuksköterskor planerar stödåtgärder till patientgruppen. / Background: Venous insufficiency is a chronic disease that can cause venous leg ulcers. Living conditions of patients with venous leg ulcers are changed when they need to adapt to wound symptoms such as pain, itching, exudate and odour, as well as a prolonged healing process with disturbing compression therapy. Clinical guidelines show that nurses should have a holistic approach to patient care, but in previous studies nurses have indicated lack of necessary skills to meet the person behind the wound. Purpose: To describe patients' experiences of living with venous leg ulcers. Method: The study was designed as a qualitative literature study. Results: Patients with venous leg ulcers may experience shame for running exudate, bulky bandages and odour. Wound pain leads to physical limitations, which in combination with shame, anxiety and uncertainty gives patients a restricted life. The long and uncertain healing process results in feelings of hopelessness, sadness and powerlessness. Conclusion: Limitations that patients experience may lead to social isolation and reduced physical activity. Powerlessness, sadness and hopelessness may lead to poor health. The above consequences of the changed life conditions may in turn influence wound healing. Nurses can provide patients support by using humour, creating meeting places and applying empowerment strategies. Clinical significance: Patients may experience better treatment when nurses show a good understanding of the problems that wounds cause. Understanding can also be helpful when nurses plan measures to support the patient group.

Bakgrund: Vid omvårdnad av personer med bensår är det lätt att lägga fokus på bensåret med risk för att den subjektiva upplevelsen kan komma i skymundan. Därför kan det vara viktigt att belysa patienters upplevelser ur ett holistiskt perspektiv. I tidigare forskning har det framkommit att livskvaliteten påverkas negativt där smärta visat sig vara en betydelsefull faktor. Syfte: Att ur ett livskvalitetsperspektiv belysa personers upplevelse av att leva med svårläkt bensår. Metod: En litteraturöversikt baserad på 10 vetenskapliga artiklar med kvalitativ ansats. En deduktiv analys av materialet gjordes utifrån World Health Organisations definition av livskvalitet och dess sex domäner. Dessa domäner är: Fysisk domän, Psykologisk domän, Grad av oberoende, Sociala relationer, Omgivning och miljö samt Andlighet, religion och personlig tro. Resultat: Svårläkta bensår påverkade personers livskvalitet inom samtliga domänerna utom Andlighet, religion och personlig tro. Slutsats: Personer hade liknande upplevelser av att leva med svårläkta bensår. De upplevde en försämrad livskvalitet där smärtan var en framträdande upplevelse som påverkade de flesta domänerna. Klinisk betydelse: Resultatet i denna studie visade på vikten av att använda ett holistiskt perspektiv vid omvårdnadssituationer. / Background: When caring for people with chronic leg ulcer there is a risk that the attention of the caregiver is laid towards the leg ulcer and the subjective feelings of this person are in the background. Therefore it is of importance to illuminate peoples experience with a holistic perspective. Previous research in the field has shown that the quality of life is affected in a negative way and the pain has proven to be a significant factor. Purpose: To illuminate person‟s experience of living with a chronic leg ulcer from a quality of life perspective. Method: A review based on 10 articles with qualitative approach. The material was analyzed with a deductive method from the World Health Organization. These domains are: physical domain, psychological domain, level of independence, social relationships, environment and spirituality/religion/personal beliefs. Results: Study findings showed that chronic leg ulcers affected quality of life in all domains except within the domain Spirituality, religion and personal beliefs Conclusion: People had similar experience when living with a chronic leg ulcer. They experience a loss in quality of life due to the chronic leg ulcer and pain was a notable finding that affected almost every domain. Clinical importance: The finding in this study shows the importance of using a holistic perspective in caring-situation.

In an attempt to improve aerobic and anaerobic performance, athletes and fitness enthusiasts consume a variety of supplements. Because of this, energy drinks are quickly becoming more and more popular every day. Despite its highly addictive nature, caffeine, which is the main active ingredient in energy drinks, is gaining recognition as an ergogenic aid. However, due to the many factors that affects the action of caffeine, and because the research on caffeine and anaerobic performance is limited, the potential for studying energy drinks and anaerobic performance is quite large. PURPOSE: To determine if a commercially available energy drink has any ergogenic effects on lower body and upper body resistance exercise performance. METHODS: In a block randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study thirteen recreationally trained male and female volunteers (mean ± SD age = 22.5 ± 3.4 years) performed 4 sets of the leg press and 4 sets of the bench press exercises (at 80% of 1 RM with all sets separated by 2 minutes). Acting as their own controls, participants were tested on each dependent variable (i.e., bench press total volume, leg press total volume and total workout volume) twice, after ingesting a Venom® Energy Drink and after ingesting a placebo drink. RESULTS: Data were tested via a dependent samples t-test with p value set at < 0.05. No significant differences were found for any of the three dependent variables. DISCUSSION: The major finding of this study is that consumption of a Venom® Energy Drink does not produce an ergogenic effect by improving anaerobic exercise performance when the exercises are performed forty-five minutes following ingestion. Future studies should focus more on examining the factors behind the actions of caffeine. More specifically, the exercise performed, the training status of the participants, individual differences of the participants, and the dose of caffeine.

Problem Statement: Stepping is a common strategy after a perturbation. Stroke survivors display a predilection for stepping with non-paretic leg. Insight into induced stepping between stroke survivors and age-matched control may guide our understanding for reactive postural control training post stroke. Purpose: To investigate the difference in perturbation-induced stepping between chronic stroke survivors and age-matched controls at three phases of the stepping response: preparation, execution, and landing and association with clinical outcome measures. Procedure: Twenty-one community-dwelling chronic stroke survivors (mean age 59y/o ±13yrs) and 17 age- and gender-matched controls (mean age 54.4y/o ±17yrs) completed this study. Clinical measures of gait, balance, range, sensation, and motor control were assessed. A mechanical weight drop of 10% body weight (BW) was used to create the anterior waist pull perturbation during three stance symmetry positions: equal stance (EQ) and two asymmetrical stance (70% BW on dominant leg and 70% BW on nondominant leg). Ten perturbation trials plus two catch trials at 2% BW were given in a standard randomly order at the three stance positions. Kinematic and kinetic data was collected for perturbation steps. Results: The asymmetrical trials resulted in two types of stepping response, steps with the leg bearing 70% BW (loaded steps – LS) and steps with the leg that had 30% BW (unloaded steps – ULS). All subjects initiated steps more often with their unloaded leg (ULS) in the asymmetrical stance trials. In the stroke group the ULS increased paretic leg stepping compared to EQ (p=0.001) and LS (p=0.001). The stroke group had significantly earlier APA onset with both non-paretic leg (p=0.003) and paretic leg (p=0.028), took significantly more steps with paretic (p=0.01) and non-paretic (p=0.07), shorter step length (paretic, p=0.025 and non-paretic p=0.003), and less change in momentum at landing with paretic leg (p=0.01) compared to controls. Conclusion: Reacting to a perturbation is more challenging for chronic stroke survivors than age- and gender-matched control subjects in the preparation, execution, and landing phase of the stepping response regardless of the leg used. Perturbation training should include stepping with both non-paretic and paretic leg.

1 ABSTRACT Title: Comparing physiotherapist's functional test assessments with OpenPose kinematic data Objectives: Assess wether is OpenPose (OP) system able to detect parameters of poor performance in the Single Leg Squat Test and Step Down Test. Presence of these parameters was indicated by consensus process among 3 physiotherapists. Methods: 48 healthy volunteers participated on the research. Each volunteer demonstrated 3 repetitions of Single Leg Squat Test and Step Down Test on each leg. Repetitions were recorded on video and at the same time evaluated by 3 physiotherapists (PT) using 15 binary parameters. Consensus process indicating presence of a parameter involved agreement of at least 2 of the raters while the inter-rater reliability coeficient for all 3 raters had to be κ ≥ 0,41. Changes in angles and relative distances of observed body segments were calculated using OpenPose keypoint detection model. Therefore each execution of the functional test was described by OP data and PT data. Statistical analysis was performed to assess wether was OpenPose able to detect significant differences between poor and good execution of a functional test in the 15 rated parameters. Results: OP was able to reliably assess following parameters: Loss of balance, Excessive upper extremity movement and Lateral...