Corporeal machine interfaces (CMIs) are one of a few available options for restoring communication and environmental control to those with severe motor impairments. Cognitive processes detectable solely with functional imaging technologies such as near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can potentially provide interfaces requiring less user training than conventional electroencephalography-based CMIs. We hypothesized that visually-cued emotional induction tasks can elicit forehead hemodynamic activity that can be harnessed for a CMI. Data were collected from ten able-bodied participants as they performed trials of positively and negatively-emotional induction tasks. A genetic algorithm was employed to select the optimal signal features, classifier, task valence (positive or negative emotional value of the stimulus), recording site, and signal analysis interval length for each participant. We compared the performance of Linear Discriminant Analysis and Support Vector Machine classifiers. The latency of the NIRS hemodynamic response was estimated as the time required for classification accuracy to stabilize. Baseline and activation sequences were classified offline with accuracies upwards of 75.0%. Feature selection identified common time-domain discriminatory features across participants. Classification performance varied with the length of the input signal, and optimal signal length was found to be feature-dependent. Statistically significant increases in classification accuracy from baseline rates were observed as early as 2.5 s from initial stimulus presentation. NIRS signals during affective states were shown to be distinguishable from baseline states with classification accuracies significantly above chance levels. Further research with NIRS for corporeal machine interfaces is warranted.

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Single-trial classification of NIRS signals during emotional induction tasks: towards a corporeal machine interface

The paper describes a mechanistic mathematical model for aroma release in the oropharynx to the nasal cavity during food consumption. The model is based on the physiology of the swallowing process and is validated with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization coupled with mass spectrometry measurements of aroma concentration in the nasal cavity of subjects eating flavored yogurt. The study is conducted on 3 aroma compounds representative for strawberry flavor (ethyl acetate, ethyl butanoate, and ethyl hexanoate) and 3 panelists. The model provides reasonably accurate time predictions of the relative aroma concentration in the nasal cavity and is able to simulate successive swallowing events as well as imperfect velopharyngeal closure. The most influent parameters are found to be the amount of the residual product in the pharynx and its contact area with the air flux, the volume of the nasal cavity, the equilibrium air/product partition coefficient of the volatile compound, the breath airflow rate, as well as the mass transfer coefficient of the aroma compound in the product, and the amount of product in the mouth. This work constitutes a first step toward computer-aided product formulation by allowing calculation of retronasal aroma intensity as a function of transfer and volatility properties of aroma compounds in food matrices and anatomophysiological characteristics of consumers.

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Mechanistic mathematical model for in vivo aroma release during eating of semiliquid foods.

Economic Evaluations in the Diagnosis and Management of Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and Analysis of Quality.

Objective: To estimate the magnitude and relative importance of hospital treatment costs and productivity losses caused by traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).Patients: A total of 155 patients with new TBI diagnoses admitted to Turku University Hospital were systematically sampled.Methods: Hospital costs were determined by collecting detailed data from patient records and applying the actual cost from the hospital administration. For estimating the productivity losses, the age of retirement was adjusted according to the age- and sex-specific retirement probability.Results: Median treatment costs per TBI patient were €5429, surgery €1600 and other costs €3651. Overall treatment costs for severe brain injuries were significantly (p < 0.01) higher than for less severe cases. Median production losses due to early retirement were estimated to be €1.19 million per TBI patient, significantly (p < 0.03) lower among less severe than among the severe cases. Age, sex and severity of TBI could explain only 9% of the vari...

Treatment costs and productivity losses caused by traumatic brain injuries.

Studies in the UK and elsewhere have identified that flooding can result in diverse impacts, ranging from significant financial costs (tangible) to social (intangible) impacts on households At the same time, it is now clear that large-scale flood defence schemes are not the panacea to flood risk, and there is an increasing responsibility on property owners to protect their own properties Hence, there is an emerging expectation for homeowners to take action in the form of investing in property level flood risk adaptation (PLFRA) measures to protect their properties However, hitherto the level of uptake of such measures remains very low The tangible financial benefits of investing in PLFRA measures are generally well understood and have been demonstrated to be cost beneficial for many properties at risk from frequent flooding Importantly, these estimates tend to take little account of the value of the intangible benefits of PLFRA measures and therefore may be under estimating their full benefits There remains a need to develop an improved understanding of these intangible benefits, and this research sets out to bridge this knowledge gap Based on a synthesis of the literature, the contingent valuation method was selected as a means to value intangible impacts of flooding on households A questionnaire survey of homeowners affected in the 2007 flooding was employed to elicit willingness to pay (WTP) values to avoid the intangible impacts of flooding on their households The analysis of the questionnaire survey data revealed that the average WTP per household per year to avoid intangible flood impacts was £653 This therefore represents the value of the intangible benefits of investing in PLFRA measures and is significantly higher than previously estimated This research builds on previous research in suggesting a higher value to the intangible impacts of flooding on households by assessing wider range of intangible impacts and focussing on more experienced individuals Furthermore, the research indicates that factors which influence the WTP values were principally stress of flood, worrying about loss of house values, worrying about future flooding and age of respondents, with income showing a weak correlation The establishment of a new value for the intangible impacts of flooding on households in the UK is helpful in the domain of flood risk management when evaluating the total benefits (tangible and intangible) of investing in flood protection measures, thus providing a robust assessment for decision-making on flood adaptation measures at an individual property level

/pdf/assessing-the-value-of-intangible-benefits-of-property-level-ndng68og1j.pdf

Assessing the value of intangible benefits of property level flood risk adaptation (PLFRA) measures

Although anteroposterior projections in videofluoroscopic examination of swallowing (VF) provide clinically important information, the laterality of swallowing in healthy subjects has not been examined fully to date. One hundred sixty-seven healthy volunteers were prospectively studied. The subjects were asked to swallow 5 ml of barium solution three times while X-ray images were taken that showed the pathway of the solution from the pharynx into the esophagus to assess the laterality of swallowing. We classified patterns of swallowing into three types according to passage in the pharyngoesophageal segment as indicated by width: RD (right-side-dominant flow), LD (left-side-dominant flow), and NL (no laterality in flow). Fifty-eight percent of the subjects were classified as NL, 35% as LD, and 7% as RD. The ratio of types in women was NL:LD:RD = 7:2:1. There were no significant differences among the groups according to age. Although classifications in young men (age = 20–30 years) tended to be the same as in women regardless of age, ratios of LD tended to increase with age; 71% of elderly adults (age = 51–75 years) were classified as LD. These results demonstrate laterality in normal swallowing and will be helpful in determining treatment strategies for the patients with dysphagia.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs00455-006-9021-z.pdf

Laterality of swallowing in healthy subjects by AP projection using videofluoroscopy.

The purpose of this study was to reveal the activation of the frontal lobe in piano performance by the use of near-infrared spectroscopy. Participants wereseven healthy volunteer music college students. The results of the examination showed a tendency towards an increase in total hemoglobin volume over a wider area in the frontal part of the brain during an appropriate piano task compared with an easy piano task or the Keio version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. The results suggest that piano performance is recognized as a frontal lobe-activating task and that performance of an appropriate piano task can be expected to elicit wider activation of the frontal lobe than an easy one.

Examination by near-infrared spectroscopy for evaluation of piano performance as a frontal lobe activation task.

Objective: To evaluate the burden on families with a family member suffering traumatic brain injury sequelae in Japan. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Family members’ burden from the sequelae of traumatic brain injury was estimated by use of willingnessto-pay models and the contingent valuation method. A national survey among 1707 members of the Japan Traumatic Brain Injury Association was conducted by postal questionnaire with open-ended questions. A total of 509 (29.8%) of the family members responded (405 men and 104 women). Mean age of patients with traumatic brain injury was 33.4 (SD 14.3) years and of responding family members 53.3 (SD 14.5) years. Results: Willingness-to-pay for the family member’s recovery from sequelae of traumatic brain injury (8,694,502 Japanese yen; 79,134 US dollars/year) was similar to that reported for a family member’s survival from incurable terminal disease (8,342,953 Japanese yen; 75,934 US dollars/year). Conclusion: The data indicate that family members perceive the burden of a family member with traumatic brain injury sequelae as similar to what would have been caused by an incurable terminal disease.

http://dse.univr.it/mosaico/documents/Biblio/hashimoto_et_al_jrm_2006.pdf

Hiroshi Seta

Papers

Laterality of swallowing in healthy subjects by AP projection using videofluoroscopy.

Examination by near-infrared spectroscopy for evaluation of piano performance as a frontal lobe activation task.

How great is willingness to pay for recovery from sequelae after severe traumatic brain injury in Japan

Classification of Healthy Subjects' Upper Esophageal Imaging Patterns by Videofluoroscopic Examination in the Anterior-posterior Planes

Actual State and Issues in Prehabilitation for Thoracotomy