Conventional methods for determining the reproductive performance of sheep bred either after estrus synchronization during the breeding season or after induction of estrus/ovulation during the non-breeding season take a long time and may give misleading results due to the effect of environmental factors. Laparoscopic observations allow real-time monitoring of ovarian activity around estrus or ovulation. This study was aimed at assessing the superovulatory effects of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) treatments by laparoscopy during breeding (September-November, n=12) and non-breeding (April-June, n=12) seasons in Akkaraman sheep. In both seasons, after CIDR withdrawal, the ewes were injected either with 600 IU eCG or 300 μl (20 mg/ml) FSH twice at 12 hour intervals. Plasma P4, E2 and LH concentrations were determined at the time of intra-vaginal CIDR insertion (day 0) and then at its withdrawal (day 12), followed by 3 and 6 days of eCG or FSH injections. After 3 (first observation) and 6 (second observation) days of hormone injections, laparoscopy was performed to record ovarian activity in both seasons. The eCG increased (p<0.05) the numbers of large follicles (first observation) and CL (first and second observations) in the breeding season compared to FSH treatment. CL, small-moderate and large follicle numbers of eCG treated ewes were higher (p<0.05) than those of FSH at both observations in the non-breeding season. In the breeding season, eCG treated ewes had higher (p<0.05) plasma P4 (3 and 6 days after hormones injections) and E2 (3 days after hormones injections) concentrations than those of FSH. In conclusion, the results of the present study indicate that treatment with eCG during the non-breeding season can support ovarian activity, and thus increase ovulation rate and plasma hormone concentrations around induced estrus/ovulation in Akkaraman ewes.
Two-dimensional (2D) positive systems are 2D state-space models whose state, input and output variables take only nonnegative values. In the paper we explore how linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) can be used to address the stability problem for 2D positive systems. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the stability of positive systems have been provided. The results have been obtained for most popular models of 2D positive systems, that is: Roesser model, both Fornasini-Marchesini models (FF-MM and SF-MM) and for the general model.
Extraction of the foetal electrocardiogram from single-channel maternal abdominal signals without disturbing its morphology is difficult. We propose to solve the problem by application of projective filtering of time-aligned ECG beats. The method performs synchronization of the beats and then employs the rules of principal component analysis to the desired ECG reconstruction. In the first stage, the method is applied to the composite abdominal signals, containing maternal ECG, foetal ECG, and various types of noise. The operation leads to maternal ECG enhancement and to suppression of the other components. In the next stage, the enhanced maternal ECG is subtracted from the composite signal, and this way the foetal ECG is extracted. Finally, the extracted signal is also enhanced by application of projective filtering. The influence of the developed method parameters on its operation is presented.
One of the prime tool in non-invasive cardiac electrophysiology is the recording of an electrocardiographic signal (ECG) which analysis is greatly useful in the screening and diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. However, one of the greatest problems is that usually recording an electrical activity of the heart is performed in the presence of noise. The paper presents Bayesian and empirical Bayesian approach to problem of weighted signal averaging in time domain which is commonly used to extract a useful signal distorted by a noise. The averaging is especially useful for biomedical signal such as ECG signal, where the spectra of the signal and noise significantly overlap. Using the methods of weighted averaging are motivated by variability of noise power from cycle to cycle, often observed in reality. It is demonstrated that exploiting a probabilistic Bayesian learning framework leads to accurate prediction models. Additionally, even in the presence of nuisance parameters the empirical Bayesian approach offers the method of theirs automatic estimation which reduces number of preset parameters. Performance of the new method is experimentally compared to the traditional averaging by using arithmetic mean and weighted averaging method based on criterion function minimization.
The aim of this paper is to compare the efficiency of various outlier correction methods for ECG signal processing in biometric applications. The main idea is to correct anomalies in various segments of ECG waveform rather than skipping a corrupted ECG heartbeat in order to achieve better statistics. Experiments were performed using a self-collected Lviv Biometric Dataset. This database contains over 1400 records for 95 unique persons. The baseline identification accuracy without any correction is around 86%. After applying the outlier correction the results were improved up to 98% for autoencoder based algorithms and up to 97.1% for sliding Euclidean window. Adding outlier correction stage in the biometric identification process results in increased processing time (up to 20%), however, it is not critical in the most use-cases.
High resolution body surface potential maps and an equivalent current dipole model of the cardiac generator were used to assess the heart state in two abnormal conditions: WPW syndrome with single accessory pathway and local ventricular ischemia. Results of a simulation study and experimental verification of the method for both cardiologic abnormalities are presented. Single accessory pathway in WPW syndrome was simulated as initial ventricular activation at the atrio-ventricular ring. Using a current dipole model of the cardiac generator, the locus of arrhythmogenic tissue was assessed with a mean error of 11 mm. Experimental localization of the accessory pathway in a WPW patient was in good agreement with the invasively obtained site. Local repolarization changes were simulated as shortening of the myocytes action potentials in three regions typical for stenosis of main coronary arteries. Using surface QRST integral maps and dipolar source model, small subendocardial and subepicardial lesions of myocardium were inversely located with a mean error of 9 mm and larger transmural lesions with a considerable mean error of 17 mm. Extent and prevalence of subepicardial or subendocardial type of the lesion were reflected in the dipole moment and orientation. In experimental verification of the method, in 7 of 8 patients that underwent PCI of a single vessel, estimated equivalent current dipole position matched well the treated vessel. The results suggest that diagnostic interpretation of body surface potential maps based on dipolar source model could be a useful tool to assess local pathological changes in the heart.