An Innovative Running Wheel-based Mechanism for Improved Rat Training Performance

This study presents an animal mobility system, equipped with a positioning running wheel (PRW), as a way to quantify the efficacy of an exercise activity ...

National Cheng Kung University

This paper reports a series of self-paced reading time experiments designed to probe how the reference of pronominal expressions is resolved on-line in (Mandarin) Chinese. It is assumed that pronoun resolution is achieved by narrowing the candidate set of potential antecedents for a pronoun. The experimental evidence reported here indicates that two factors--syntactic prominence and the matching of lexical features (e.g. gender)--play a significant role in filtering this candidate set. It is shown that syntactic prominence and feature matching work in conjunction with each other rather than in a competitive, winner-take-all manner. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that syntactic prominence is sensitive to structural relations rather than exclusively to grammatical functions (such as subject and direct object) or semantic roles (such as agent and patient) as has been assumed in the psycholinguistic literature.

Constraining the comprehension of pronominal expressions in Chinese.

An event-related potentials (ERPs) study examined word-to-text integration processes across sentence boundaries. In a two-sentence passage, the accessibility of a referent for the first content word of the second sentence (the target word) was varied by the wording of the first sentence in one of the following ways: lexically (explicitly using a form of the target word); conceptually (using a paraphrase of the target word), and situationally (encouraging an inference concerning the referent of the target word). A baseline condition had no coreference between the two sentences. ERP results on the target word indicated multiple effects related to word identification and word-to-referent mapping processes. Both the explicit and paraphrase conditions, but not the inference condition, showed a reduced N400 relative to the baseline condition, consistent with immediate integration by lexico-semantic processes. A 300-ms effect (P300) was found in the paraphrase condition. The results were consistent with an immediate integration hypothesis and furthermore differentiated a lexical (N200), a conceptual (P300), and a situational (N400) component for this integration. The conceptual basis appears not to extend to predictive inferences.

Event-related potential indicators of text integration across sentence boundaries.

In an event-related potentials (ERPs) study, we examined the comprehension of different types of Chinese (Mandarin) relative clauses (object vs. subject-extracted) to test the universality and language specificity of sentence comprehension processes. Because Chinese lacks morphosyntactic cues to sentence constituent relations, it allows a test of the possibility that semantic-contextual processes dominate the extraction of clausal relations, in contrast to the structure-dependent processing in English and many other languages. ERP results at the RC embedded verbs showed a P600 effect for the subject-extraction type, reflecting a processing of phrasal reconfiguration, and an N400 effect for the object-extraction type, reflecting a processing of meaning reinterpretation. A central-frontal sustained negativity was produced by the RC head noun of object-extraction, suggesting a combined effect of meaning derivation and referents establishment. LORETA (Low Resolution Electrical Tomography) source localization showed activation of posterior dominance (e.g., BA 22/39/19/41/42) supporting the integration of structure mapping (P600) and meaning derivation (N400) in a developing sentential representation, consistent with the memory unification and control model (Hagoort, 2005). More left-lateralized anterior regions of a frontal-temporal network (e.g., BA 47/38) became active later in the sentence (a sustained central-frontal negativity), when the thematic-role specification for multiple referents may have required additional cognitive and memory resources. Our findings suggest that Chinese sentence reading recruits a neural network that is sensitive to the sequential/hierarchical organization of linguistic inputs in a manner that resembles to the structure-dependent cognitive processes in other languages, reflecting a universal property of language processing. The ERP data shows that early lexical processes are important in the integration process, but also challenges the view that Chinese text reading depends primarily on semantic-contextual processing in the derivation of meaning representation.

Sentence integration processes: an ERP study of Chinese sentence comprehension with relative clauses.

Controversy remains as to the scope of advanced planning in language production. Smith and Wheeldon (1999) found significantly longer onset latencies when subjects described moving-picture displays by producing sentences beginning with a complex noun phrase than for matched sentences beginning with a simple noun phrase. While these findings are consistent with a phrasal scope of planning, they might also be explained on the basis of: (1) greater retrieval fluency for the second content word in the simple initial noun phrase sentences and (2) visual grouping factors. In Experiments 1 and 2, retrieval fluency for the second content word was equated for the complex and simple initial noun phrase conditions. Experiments 3 and 4 addressed the visual grouping hypothesis by using stationary displays and by comparing onset latencies for the same display for sentence and list productions. Longer onset latencies for the sentences beginning with a complex noun phrase were obtained in all experiments, supporting the phrasal scope of planning hypothesis. The results indicate that in speech, as in other motor production domains, planning occurs beyond the minimal production unit.

Planning in sentence production: evidence for the phrase as a default planning scope.

Point-of-care diagnostics (POCD) for blood coagulation benefit patients on-site, but available POCD devices are too expensive to be affordable in many countries. Optically based methodologies are cheap and reliable, and have been exploited in bench-top coagulometers to monitor coagulation with plasma, but not whole blood, which contains cellular components that cause massive interference. However, the POCD testing of whole blood gives a more accurate picture of physiological conditions than does testing plasma. In this study, a portable device for performing the prothrombin time (PT) test was designed, comprising an optical sensor, an electrical processing and control circuit to monitor the optical changes that occurred during the coagulation process in whole blood. The PT was when the slope of the first-order derivative of the coagulation curve, recorded from real-time light transmittance signals, was maximal. The POCD PT testing of 167 samples revealed that 153 (91.6%) were successfully detected and the results were highly consistent with the results of whole blood international normalized ratio (INR) (r=0.985, p<0.001) by the conventional manual method and those of plasma INR (r=0.948, p<0.001) with the ACL TOP 700 bench-top coagulometer (Beckman Colter). Hematological parameters were further analyzed, revealing that fibrinogen titers (p=0.036), red blood cell numbers (p=0.017) and distribution of red cell width (p=0.015) affected the effectiveness of the current POCD PT determination. Furthermore, a highly positive correlation was revealed between fibrinogen titers and the maximum speed of change in transmittance (v/t) (r=0.805, p<0.001), suggesting that fibrinogen might be evaluated simultaneously in this POCD testing. In conclusion, the proposed portable optical-based device performs the highly sensitive and accurate determination of whole blood PT and has commercial potential because of its small volume and low fabrication cost.

Design and evaluation of a portable optical-based biosensor for testing whole blood prothrombin time.

This paper presents a cost-effective sensor system for mattresses that can classify the sleeping posture of an individual and prevent pressure ulcers. This system applies projected capacitive sensing to the field of health care. The charge time (CT) method was used to sensitively and accurately measure the capacitance of the projected electrodes. The required characteristics of the projected capacitor were identified to develop large-area applications for sensory mattresses. The area of the electrodes, the use of shielding, and the increased length of the transmission line were calibrated to more accurately measure the capacitance of the electrodes in large-size applications. To offer the users comfort in the prone position, a flexible substrate was selected and covered with 16 × 20 electrodes. Compared with the static charge sensitive bed (SCSB), our proposed system-flexible projected capacitive-sensing mattress (FPCSM) comes with more electrodes to increase the resolution of posture identification. As for the body pressure system (BPS), the FPCSM has advantages such as lower cost, higher aging-resistance capability, and the ability to sense the capacitance of the covered regions without physical contact. The proposed guard ring design effectively absorbs the noise and interrupts leakage paths. The projected capacitive electrode is suitable for proximity-sensing applications and succeeds at quickly recognizing the sleeping pattern of the user.

An enhanced sensing application based on a flexible projected capacitive-sensing mattress.

The classifier system categorizes nouns on a semantic basis. By inserting an object-gap relative clause (RC) between a classifier and its associate noun, we examined how temporary classifier-noun semantic incongruity and long-distance classifier-noun dependency are processed. Instead of a typical N400 effect, a midline anterior negativity was elicited by the temporary semantic incongruity, suggesting that the anticipation of coming words influences semantic processing and that metacognitive processes are involved in resolving the conflict. The lack of reduced P600 effects at the RC marker suggests that classifier-noun mismatch may not be effective in RC prediction. The N400 observed at the head noun suggests that the parser retains the temporary incongruity in the memory and computes the classifier-noun semantic agreement over a long distance. In addition, both successful and unsuccessful long-distance integration elicited P600 effects, supporting the view that P600 indexes more than just syntactic processing. Detailed discussion and implications are provided.

Processing classifier-noun agreement in a long distance: an ERP study on Mandarin Chinese.

To investigate accumulated mental stress according to the concept of the meridians of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). This stress was quantified by using pulse spectrum analysis of finger-tip photoplethysmography (PPG). Stress accumulation is one of the main causes of cardiovascular disease and depression in humans, resulting in chronic physiologic malfunctions; however, few studies have thoroughly assessed the quantitative evaluation of accumulative stress using the concept of TCM.

Accumulated mental stress study using the meridians of traditional Chinese medicine with photoplethysmography.

In this paper, an algorithm to extract respiration signals using a flexible projected capacitive sensing mattress (FPCSM) designed for personal health assessment is proposed. Unlike the interfaces of conventional measurement systems for poly-somnography (PSG) and other alternative contemporary systems, the proposed FPCSM uses projected capacitive sensing capability that is not worn or attached to the body. The FPCSM is composed of a multi-electrode sensor array that can not only observe gestures and motion behaviors, but also enables the FPCSM to function as a respiration monitor during sleep using the proposed approach. To improve long-term monitoring when body movement is possible, the FPCSM enables the selection of data from the sensing array, and the FPCSM methodology selects the electrodes with the optimal signals after the application of a channel reduction algorithm that counts the reversals in the capacitive sensing signals as a quality indicator. The simple algorithm is implemented in the time domain. The FPCSM system is used in experimental tests and is simultaneously compared with a commercial PSG system for verification. Multiple synchronous measurements are performed from different locations of body contact, and parallel data sets are collected. The experimental comparison yields a correlation coefficient of 0.88 between FPCSM and PSG, demonstrating the feasibility of the system design.

Design of a novel flexible capacitive sensing mattress for monitoring sleeping respiratory.

This paper describes an infrared-sensing running wheel (ISRW) system for the quantitative measurement of effective exercise activity in rats. The ISRW system provides superior exercise training compared with commercially available traditional animal running platforms. Four infrared (IR) light-emitting diode/detector pairs embedded around the rim of the wheel detect the rat's real-time position; the acrylic wheel has a diameter of 55 cm and a thickness of 15 cm, that is, it is larger and thicker than traditional exercise wheels, and it is equipped with a rubber track. The acrylic wheel hangs virtually frictionless, and a DC motor with an axially mounted rubber wheel, which has a diameter of 10 cm, drives the acrylic wheel from the outer edge. The system can automatically train rats to run persistently. The proposed system can determine effective exercise activity (EEA), with the IR sensors (which are connected to a conventional PC) recording the rat exercise behavior. A prototype of the system was verified by a hospital research group performing ischemic stroke experiments on rats by considering middle cerebral artery occlusion. The experimental data demonstrated that the proposed system provides greater neuroprotection in an animal stroke model compared with a conventional treadmill and a motorized running wheel for a given exercise intensity. The quantitative exercise effectiveness indicator showed a 92% correlation between an increase in the EEA and a decrease in the infarct volume. This indicator can be used as a noninvasive and objective reference in clinical animal exercise experiments.

Improved infrared-sensing running wheel systems with an effective exercise activity indicator.

This study proposes using wireless low power thermal sensors for basal-body-temperature detection using frequency modulated telemetry devices. A long-term monitoring sensor requires low-power circuits including a sampling circuit and oscillator. Moreover, temperature compensated technologies are necessary because the modulated frequency might have additional frequency deviations caused by the varying temperature. The temperature compensated oscillator is composed of a ring oscillator and a controlled-steering current source with temperature compensation, so the output frequency of the oscillator does not drift with temperature variations. The chip is fabricated in a standard Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) 0.18-μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process, and the chip area is 0.9 mm². The power consumption of the sampling amplifier is 128 µW. The power consumption of the voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) core is less than 40 µW, and the output is -3.04 dBm with a buffer stage. The output voltage of the bandgap reference circuit is 1 V. For temperature measurements, the maximum error is 0.18 °C with a standard deviation of ±0.061 °C, which is superior to the required specification of 0.1 °C.

Chin-Lung Yang

Department of Electrical Engineering

National Cheng Kung University

An Innovative Running Wheel-based Mechanism for Improved Rat Training Performance

Chin-Lung Yang

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Department of Electrical Engineering

National Cheng Kung University

An Innovative Running Wheel-based Mechanism for Improved Rat Training Performance

Department of Electrical Engineering