Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Guido Ehrmann, Tomasz Blachowicz, Sarah Vanessa Homburg, Andrea Ehrmann
Summary: This review provides an overview of recent studies on the measurement of biosignals using single circuit boards, highlighting the new possibilities offered by devices like Arduino and Raspberry Pi in the mobile long-term acquisition of biosignals. The focus of the review is on the electronics, rather than textile electrodes.
BIOENGINEERING-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Annemijn H. Jonkman, Ricardo Juffermans, Jonne Doorduin, Leo M. A. Heunks, Jaap Harlaar
Summary: The accuracy of EMGdi parameters in critically ill ICU patients can be compromised by ECG interference in the signal. A new Estimated ECG Subtraction (EES) method was designed to address this issue and was found to be more effective than using a wavelet-based adaptive filter alone, potentially improving diaphragm activity monitoring and control in clinical practice.
BIOMEDICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING AND CONTROL
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Arijit Ukil, Leandro Marin, Subhas Chandra Mukhopadhyay, Antonio J. Jara
Summary: This paper proposes AFSense-ECG, an intelligence-embedded single lead ECG sensor that accurately detects Atrial Fibrillation (AF) condition. AFSense-ECG acts as an early-warning sensor and demonstrates superior performance in terms of F1-measure compared to state-of-the-art methods. The proposed model is lean and affordable, making it an effective solution for intelligent sensing systems.
IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Xieqi Chen, Shubin Zheng, Lele Peng, Qianwen Zhong, Liu He
Summary: Electrocardiogram (ECG) signal is essential for human health monitoring, while electromyogram (EMG) artifacts make the diagnosis difficult due to noise distortion. ECG signals exhibit periodicity, while EMG artifacts are random, but they overlap in the frequency domain. This study proposes a new ECG extraction method based on shifted rank-1 reconstruction to remove EMG artifacts and reconstruct clean ECG signals without requiring specific traversal segment lengths. The validation of the proposed method demonstrates its effectiveness in retaining QRS complexes and ST segments in reconstructed ECG signals through quantitative and qualitative analysis.
BIOMEDICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING AND CONTROL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Guoqiang Xu, Xingcan Huang, Rui Shi, Yawen Yang, Pengchen Wu, Jingkun Zhou, Xinxin He, Jialin Li, Yuyang Zen, Yanli Jiao, Binbin Zhang, Jiyu Li, Guangyao Zhao, Yiming Liu, Ya Huang, Mengge Wu, Qiang Zhang, Zhihui Yang, Xinge Yu
Summary: This article introduces a passive sweat extraction strategy and self-powered monitoring system (SEMS) for sedentary individuals, particularly elders. The system extracts sweat from the body using a wearable triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and utilizes a sweat-activated battery (SAB) as the power source. With iontophoresis electrodes loaded with carbachol and microfluidics with biosensors, physiological information in sweat can be detected. The system offers real-time and non-invasive detection of sweat analytes in a wearable format, providing a new strategy for sweat collection and analysis for the elderly group.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Juthamard Surapongchai, Vitoon Saengsirisuwan, Ian Rollo, Rebecca K. Randell, Kanpiraya Nithitsuttibuta, Patarawadee Sainiyom, Clarence Hong Wei Leow, Jason Kai Wei Lee
Summary: The study found that male recreational tropical native runners had lower relative fluid intake, greater relative fluid balance deficit, higher whole-body sweat rates, and sweated more sodium compared to females. The sweat profile and composition of these runners were similar to existing literature, and current fluid replacement guidelines are applicable to this population.
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Pui W. Kong, Tommy Y. W. Kan, Roslan Abdul Ghani Bin Mohamed Jamil, Wei P. Teo, Jing W. Pan, Noor Hafiz Abd Halim, Hasan Kuddoos Abu Bakar Maricar, David Hostler
Summary: This study found that approximately 50% of the firefighters experienced low back pain in the past year, but most of them were still able to work. Biomechanically, there were no differences in back muscle characteristics between firefighters with and without back pain history. Back disabilities were not related to any biomechanical or demographic measures. Overall, these frontline firefighters are highly functional and did not show diminished physical or neuromuscular responses despite experiencing some back pain.
Article
Psychology, Mathematical
Dominique Makowski, Tam Pham, Zen J. Lau, Jan C. Brammer, Francois Lespinasse, Hung Pham, Christopher Schoelzel, S. H. Annabel Chen
Summary: NeuroKit2 is an open-source Python package designed for neurophysiological signal processing, offering a comprehensive suite of processing routines for various bodily signals. It combines high-level functions with validated pipelines for efficient data processing, focusing on transparency, reproducibility, innovation, and accessibility for users of all levels.
BEHAVIOR RESEARCH METHODS
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Md-Billal Hossain, Syed Khairul Bashar, Jesus Lazaro, Natasa Reljin, Yeonsik Noh, Ki H. Chon
Summary: This study introduces a novel ECG denoising technique using the variable frequency complex demodulation algorithm, which demonstrates superior performance in accurate QRS complex detection and signal to noise ratio improvement compared to existing methods. By employing adaptive masking and dynamic reconstruction rule, the proposed method effectively removes noise components while preserving QRS complexes and reconstructing high-quality ECG signals.
COMPUTER METHODS AND PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Zhiling Qiao, Dong-ni Pan, Delhii Hoid, Ruud van Winkel, Xuebing Li
Summary: The current study reveals distinct changes in defensive motivation, attention, and autonomic nervous system activity in individuals with high-trait anxiety as uncertain threats approach, compared to individuals with low-trait anxiety.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Bowen Zhong, Kai Jiang, Lili Wang, Guozhen Shen
Summary: Wearable sweat sensors have attracted significant research interest for monitoring physiological and psychological states. Wearable sweat loss measuring devices (SLMDs) have been proposed to overcome the challenges of biomarker tracking and offer potential for monitoring human body homeostasis.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Chieh-Ming Wu, Sarah H. Warren, David M. DeMarini, Chi (Chuck) Song, Olorunfemi Adetona
Summary: Wildland firefighters in the Midwestern USA who work at prescribed burns are exposed to wildland fire smoke, leading to elevated urinary mutagenicity and systemic oxidative changes compared to firefighters in other regions.
OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhengyun Wang, Jihoon Shin, Jin-Ho Park, Hakho Lee, Dong-Hwan Kim, Hongfang Liu
Summary: Sweat sensors have great potential for on-body health monitoring, but they are hindered by challenges such as high materials costs and complex technology.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Fabio Garcia-Heras, Jorge Gutierrez-Arroyo, Patxi Leon-Guereno, Belen Carballo-Leyenda, Jose A. Rodriguez-Marroyo
Summary: The study aimed to describe chronic pain (CP) in Spanish helitack crews. Approximately 60% of wildland firefighters reported suffering from CP, with 45.5% experiencing pain in multiple body regions simultaneously. Age, length of service, gender, stature, weight of protective equipment, and job position were found to be associated with the prevalence and location of CP.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Review
Cell Biology
Yao Lin, Liyun Chen, Mingjun Zhang, Sitian Xie, Lijie Du, Xiang Zhang, Haihong Li
Summary: Eccrine sweat glands are important for temperature regulation through sweat secretion, but their ability to repair and regenerate is limited, posing a challenge for dermatologists and burn surgeons. Current strategies for repairing and regenerating ESGs are based on stem cells, scaffolds, and possible signaling pathways.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Al Mamun, Lilia Sabantina, Michaela Kloecker, Alexander Heide, Tomasz Blachowicz, Andrea Ehrmann
Summary: This paper presents a method for producing nanofiber mats containing different nanoparticles using electrospinning technique. Poly (acrylonitrile) (PAN) composite nanofiber mats with 50 wt% magnetite nanoparticles were electrospun and analyzed using SEM, AFM, EDS, and DMA. The results show that as the number of nanoparticles increases, the morphology and mechanical properties of the nanofiber mats decrease.
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Al Mamun, Michaela Kloecker, Tomasz Blachowicz, Lilia Sabantina
Summary: Electrospun magnetic nanofibers show great potential in various fields such as biomedicine, energy storage, filtration, and spintronics. This study presents a simple method for producing magnetic nanofiber mats by adding magnetic nanoparticles to an electrospun polymer solution. The distribution of nanoparticles in the fiber matrix and the chemical and morphological properties of the resulting magnetic nanofibers were investigated.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
A. Ehrmann, T. Blachowicz
Summary: Asymmetric hysteresis loops can be observed in exchange-bias systems and in purely ferromagnetic samples due to minor loops or thermal effects. Micromagnetic simulations of a nanoparticle structure reveal distinctly asymmetric and horizontally shifted hysteresis loops.
JOURNAL OF MAGNETISM AND MAGNETIC MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
T. Blachowicz, P. Steblinski, J. Grzybowski, A. Ehrmann
Summary: Magnetic nanofibers can be used for data transport and storage, and their domain walls can be utilized for semi-deterministic logic operations in bent nanofibers. The bending radius has an influence on the nucleation and propagation of the domain walls.
JOURNAL OF MAGNETISM AND MAGNETIC MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Fabian Schoden, Joscha Detzmeier, Anna Katharina Schnatmann, Tomasz Blachowicz, Eva Schwenzfeier-Hellkamp
Summary: This article discusses the urgent situation of resource crisis and the importance of renewable energy technologies. It mentions dye-sensitized solar cells as an emerging technology that can serve as an environmentally friendly and renewable energy solution. The research found that by remanufacturing old DSSCs, their lifespan can be extended and they can be rebuilt multiple times.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tomasz Blachowicz, Pawel Steblinski, Andrea Ehrmann
Summary: Magnetic nanofibers with varying lengths, cross-sections, and bending radii have unique magnetic properties and are intensively studied in simulations and experiments. They have potential applications in data storage, data transport, and spintronics devices. This study focuses on the influence of a constricted area with a rotating magnetic field on the magnetization dynamics of bent or straight magnetic nanofibers, revealing the strong impact of the area, nanofiber curvature, and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction.
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Tomasz Blachowicz, Guido Ehrmann, Andrea Ehrmann
Summary: Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is a versatile technology that enables the creation of objects using various polymers, metals, and other materials in diverse shapes and sizes. By using corresponding feedstock, special physical or chemical properties can be achieved. Polymer composites with conductive properties are of particular interest in 3D printing, and this article provides an overview of recent developments in this area. It discusses the conductivity ranges, potential applications, additive manufacturing methods, and measurement techniques for these composites. The article also summarizes the latest reports on 3D printing of polymer composites with different conductive fillers and highlights the applications found in the literature.
MACROMOLECULAR MATERIALS AND ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Niclas Richter, Khorolsuren Tuvshinbayar, Guido Ehrmann, Andrea Ehrmann
Summary: The possibility of measuring biosignals by smart textiles with embedded electronics has increased due to the availability of low-cost sensors and single circuit boards such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi. One challenge with e-textiles is their washability, but this study demonstrates that optical pulse sensors and microcontrollers can endure 10 washing cycles at 30-60 degrees Celsius without defects, even without encapsulation. The use of an ESP8266 with integrated Wi-Fi functionality is suggested for easier garment integration, along with a new program code for measuring beats per minute (BMP) with optimized accuracy.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tomasz Blachowicz, Andrea Ehrmann
Summary: Electrospun nanofiber mats are commonly used in biotechnology or filtration due to their high specific surface area and small pore sizes. While they are typically white, their optical properties can be modified and become highly important in various applications such as sensing devices or solar cells.
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Tomasz Blachowicz, Dariusz Wojcik, Maciej Surma, Miroslaw Magnuski, Guido Ehrmann, Andrea Ehrmann
Summary: Shielding of instruments and humans from electromagnetic interference (EMI) has become increasingly important. Textile fabrics with bendable, drapable, and stretchable EMI shielding properties are ideal for this purpose. However, conductivity and magnetic properties need to be added through conductive yarn, coatings, or fibers. Recent research has focused on MXenes due to their high conductivity and EMI shielding effectiveness, while other conductive and magnetic coatings and fibers are still promising for EMI shielding textile fabrics.
Article
Polymer Science
Al Mamun, Francisco Jose Garcia-Mateos, Lilia Sabantina, Michaela Kloecker, Elise Diestelhorst, Ramiro Ruiz-Rosas, Juana Maria Rosas, Jose Rodriguez-Mirasol, Tomasz Blachowicz, Tomas Cordero
Summary: In this study, electrospun carbon fiber electrodes were prepared for use as catalysts in the oxygen reduction reaction. The results showed that these catalysts exhibited good activity and selectivity.
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Tomasz Blachowicz, Andreas Huetten, Andrea Ehrmann
Summary: This paper reviews recent advances in nanofiber mats for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, focusing on their production, physical properties, and typical characterization techniques.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Guido Ehrmann, Tomasz Blachowicz, Sarah Vanessa Homburg, Andrea Ehrmann
Summary: This review provides an overview of recent studies on the measurement of biosignals using single circuit boards, highlighting the new possibilities offered by devices like Arduino and Raspberry Pi in the mobile long-term acquisition of biosignals. The focus of the review is on the electronics, rather than textile electrodes.
BIOENGINEERING-BASEL
(2022)