Signal Profile Research Articles

Characteristics of motion signal profiles of tonic-clonic, tonic, hyperkinetic, and motor seizures extracted from nocturnal video recordings.

In this study, characteristics of signal profiles formed by motion, oscillation, and sound signals were analyzed to evaluate generalizability and variability in a single patient setting (intra-patient variability) and between patients (inter-patient variability). As a secondary objective, the effect of brivaracetam intervention on signal profiles was explored. Patient data included 13 hyperkinetic seizures, 65 tonic seizures, 13 tonic-clonic seizures, and 138 motor seizures from 11 patients. All patients underwent an 8-week monitoring, and after a 3-week baseline, brivaracetam was initiated. Motion, oscillation, and sound features extracted from the video were used to form signal profiles. Variance of signals was calculated, and combined median and quartile visualizations were used to visualize the results. Similarly, the effect of intervention was visualized. Hyperkinetic motion signals showed a rapid increase in motion and sound signals without oscillations and achieved low intra-patient variance. Tonic component created a recognizable peak in motion signal typical for tonic and tonic-clonic seizures. For tonic seizures, inter-patient variance was low. Motor signal profiles were varying, and they did not form a generalizable signal profile. Visually recognizable changes were observed in the signal profiles of two patients. Video-based motion signal analysis enabled the extraction of motion features characteristic for different motor seizure types which might be useful in further development of this system. Tonic component formed a recognizable seizure signature in the motion signal. Hyperkinetic and motor seizures may have not only significantly different motion signal amplitude but also overlapping signal profile characteristics which might hamper their automatic differentiation. Motion signals might be useful in the assessment of movement intensity changes to evaluate the treatment effect. Further research is needed to test generalizability and to increase reliability of the results.

Newly discovered Early Cretaceous Au mineralization overprinting Late Jurassic Pb-Zn-Ag mineralization in the Qin-Hang metallogenic belt (South China)

Magmatic and mineralizing events in South China were traditionally thought to be limited between 150 Ma and 130 Ma despite the numerous Mesozoic-aged magmatic-hydrothermal deposits in the region. This viewpoint is being reevaluated in light of new age data. Kangjiawan is a representative Pb-Zn-Ag-Au deposit in the Hengyang Basin in the Qin-Hang metallogenic belt of South China that contains 1.96 Mt of Pb-Zn resource with 4.70% Zn, 6.02% Pb; 2280.5 t of Ag resource with 108.23 g/t of Ag; and 58 t of Au resource with 3.25 g/t of Au. Its mineralization can be divided into four stages: (I) pre-ore quartz−pyrite, (II) quartz−pyrite−galena−sphalerite, (III) quartz−galena−sphalerite, and (IV) calcite−pyrite. Multiple generations of pyrite were identified at Kangjiawan. Generation I pyrite (Py1, formed in Stage I) is coarse-grained, texturally homogeneous, and contains abundant silicate inclusions (e.g., K-feldspar and titanite). Generation II pyrite (Py2, formed in Stage II) is generally fine-grained and exhibits a core-rim texture, with the porous, sphalerite−galena inclusion-bearing core (Py2a) having replaced Py1 and the rim (Py2b) being homogeneous. Generation III pyrite (Py3, formed in Stage IV) is subdivided into Py3a and Py3b, with the homogeneous Py3a often replaced by the porous Py3b. The low Co/Ni ratio of Py1, along with the abundant silicate inclusions, is suggestive of intense fluid-rock interaction during Stage I. Py2a is As-Cu-Pb-Ag-Au−rich, Co-depleted, and has elevated Ag/Co (average 3.24) and As/Co (average 10,217.14) ratios, which are suggestive of extensive fluid boiling during the formation of Py2a. This is also supported by the ubiquitous Py2-cemented hydrothermal breccia. In contrast, Py2b is depleted in As-Cu-Pb-Ag-Au but enriched in Co, which is indicative of non-boiling conditions. Subsequent sealing of fractures by veins may have caused the formation of coarse-grained sphalerite and galena in Stage III. The similar 207Pb/206Pb values among Py1 (average 0.849), Stage II galena (average 0.849), Stage III galena (average 0.849), and the nearby Shuikoushan granodiorite stock (corrected average 0.848) suggests that mineralization in stages I−III may represent distal skarn-type Pb-Zn-Ag mineralization genetically related to the Shuikoushan stock. This interpretation is supported by the similar ages of mineralization Stage I (apatite U-Pb: 159.4 ± 1.0 Ma) and Stage II (fuchsite 40Ar-39Ar: 158.1 ± 0.4 Ma) to the age of Shuikoushan stock (zircon U-Pb age: ca. 158 Ma). As the primary Au-hosting mineral at Kangjiawan, the As- and Au-rich Py3a occurs in sharp contact with porous Co-Ni-Se-Bi-Mo-As−poor Py3b, which commonly contains abundant fine-grained galena and sphalerite inclusions. This suggests that Py3b formed via coupled dissolution−re-precipitation of Py3a. This coupled dissolution−re-precipitation reaction favors the remobilization of Au from within the Py3a structure and its re-enrichment as Au inclusions in Py3b; this is supported by the anomalous Au peaks in time-resolved signal profiles from laser ablation−inductively coupled plasma−mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and the abundant outliers for Au concentrations in Py3b. The markedly distinct trace-element geochemistry of Py3 compared to those of Py1 and Py2, and the U-Pb age of Stage IV calcite (ca. 138 Ma), are indicative of an Early Cretaceous Au mineralization event. Published calcite C-O isotope data, coupled with the narrow range of δ34S values (0.6‰−2.2‰) of Py3, suggest that the Kangjiawan Au mineralization may be associated with a concealed Early Cretaceous pluton. We propose that the Kangjiawan deposit formed via the overprinting of Late Jurassic distal skarn Pb-Zn-Ag mineralization by Early Cretaceous magmatic-hydrothermal Au mineralization, which demonstrates that 150−135 Ma may also be an important period for the formation of the magmatic-hydrothermal mineralization belt.

Processing of capacitive sensor signal profile for enhancing gestures detection

Processing of capacitive sensor signal profile for enhancing gestures detection

Unveiling photon–photon coupling induced transparency and absorption

Abstract This study presents the theoretical foundations of an analogous electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and absorption (EIA) which we are referring as coupling induced transparency (CIT) and absorption (CIA) respectively, along with an exploration of the transition between these phenomena. We provide a concise phenomenological description with analytical expressions for transmission spectra and dispersion elucidating how the interplay of coherent and dissipative interactions in a coupled system results in the emergence of level repulsion and attraction, corresponding to CIT and CIA, respectively. This theory comprehensively captures both the phenomena while modelling the microstripline loaded resonators and their couplings systematically. The model is validated through numerical simulations using a hybrid system comprising a split ring resonator (SRR) and electric inductive-capacitive (ELC) resonator in planar geometry. We analyse two cases while keeping ELC parameters constant; one involving a dynamic adjustment of the SRR size with a fixed split gap, and the other entailing a varying gap while maintaining a constant SRR size. Notably, in the first case, the dispersion profile of the transmission signal demonstrates level repulsion, while the second case results in level attraction, effectively showcasing CIT and CIA, respectively. These simulated findings not only align with the theoretical model but also underscore the versatility of our approach. Subsequently, we expand our model to a more general case, demonstrating that a controlled transition from CIT to CIA is achievable by manipulating the dissipation rate of individual modes within the hybrid system, leading to either coherent or dissipative interactions between the modes. The results provide a pathway for designing hybrid systems that can control the group velocity of light, offering potential applications in the fields of optical switching and quantum information technology.

First determination of the angular dependence of rise and decay times of solar radio bursts using multi-spacecraft observations

A large arsenal of space-based and ground-based instruments is dedicated to the observation of radio emissions, whether they originate within our solar system or not. Radio photons interact with anisotropic density fluctuations in the heliosphere which can alter their trajectory and influence the properties that are deduced from observations. This is particularly evident in solar radio observations, where anisotropic scattering leads to highly directional radio emissions. Consequently, observers at varying locations will measure different properties, including different source sizes, source positions, and intensities. However, it is not known whether the measurements of the decay time of solar radio bursts are also affected by the observer’s position. Decay times are dominated by scattering effects, and so are frequently used as proxies of the level of density fluctuations in the heliosphere, making the identification of any location-related dependence crucial. We combine multi-vantage observations of interplanetary Type III bursts from four non-collinear, angularly separated spacecraft with simulations to investigate the dependence of the decay- and rise-time measurements on the separation of the observer from the source. We propose a function to characterise the entire time profile of radio signals, allowing for the simultaneous estimation of the peak flux, decay time, and rise time, while demonstrating that the rise phase of radio bursts is non-exponential, having a non-constant growth rate. We determine that the decay and rise times are independent of the observer’s position, identifying them as the only properties that remain unaffected and thus do not require corrections for the observer’s location. Moreover, we examine the ratio between the rise and decay times and find that it does not depend on the frequency. Therefore, we provide the first evidence that the rise phase is also significantly impacted by scattering effects, adding to our understanding of the plasma emission process.

Gender Disparities in Electronic Health Record Usage and Inbasket Burden for Internal Medicine Residents.

Studies have demonstrated patients hold different expectations for female physicians compared to male physicians, including higher expectations for patient-centered communication and addressing socioeconomic or emotional needs. Recent evidence indicates this gender disparity extends to the electronic health record (EHR). Similar studies have not been conducted with resident physicians. This study seeks to characterize differences in EHR workload for female resident physicians compared to male resident physicians. This study evaluated 12months of 156 Mayo Clinic internal medicine residents' inbasket data from July 2020 to June 2021 using Epic's Signal and Physician Efficiency Profile (PEP) data. Excel, BlueSky Statistics, and SAS analytical software were used for analysis. Paired t-tests and analysis of variance were used to compare PEP data by gender and postgraduate year (PGY). "Male" and "female" were used in substitute for "gender" as is precedent in the literature. Mayo Clinic internal medicine residents. Total time spent in EHR per day; time in inbasket and notes per day; time in notes per appointment; number of patient advice requests made through the portal; message turnaround time. Female residents received more patient advice requests per year (p = 0.004) with an average of 86.7 compared to 68, resulting in 34% more patient advice requests per day worked(p < 0.001). Female residents spent more time in inbasket per day (p = 0.002), in notes per day (p < 0.001), and in notes per appointment (p = 0.001). Resident panel comparisons revealed equivocal sizes with significantly more female patients on female (n = 55) vs male (n = 34) resident panels (p < 0.001).There was no difference in message turnaround time, total messages, or number of results received. Female resident physicians experience significantly more patient-initiated messages and EHR workload despite equivalent number of results and panel size. Gender differences in inbasket burden may disproportionally impact the resident educational experience.

Development of a pressure acquisition system for detecting mandibular movements in ruminants

Livestock farming is responsible for producing much of the animal protein that humans consume. Estimates of significant growth in the world population over the years highlight a demand not only for the expansion of animal production but also for an increase in livestock efficiency. To achieve this, one of the essential factors is improving the nutrition process, with the analysis of the ingestive behavior of ruminants being essential. Therefore, this work presents the development of a system for acquiring, storing, and transmitting signals from a pressure sensor for monitoring and evaluating masticatory movements in ruminants. This system employs a pressure sensor to obtain signals relating to chewing movement. A microcontroller acquires these signals at a sampling frequency of 100 Hz, and the resulting data are transmitted to a smartphone via Bluetooth and stored in a memory card for later analysis. Preliminary bench tests were carried out with the system installed on a full-size prototyped bovine head. Compression movements were applied to a silicone tube, causing pressure variations in the sensor. By transmitting the data to a smartphone via Bluetooth, it was possible to check the signal, adjust the gain of the instrumentation amplifier, and achieve the best positioning of the silicone tube in the mouthpiece. By reading the data recorded on a memory card, it was possible to obtain the signal profile, graphically demonstrating that the signal corresponds to the typical profile for this type of sensor.

Probe Beam Deflection study of Au Nanoparticles Supported into TiO2 Mesoporous Films

Mesoporous thin films modified with nanoparticles of metal (Au) have been used for the fabrication of an ultra‐microelectrode array (UMEA). For the first time, UMEAs were studied using probe beam deflection (PBD) and cyclic voltammetry. The study was carried out using the [Fe(CN)6]3‐/ [Fe(CN)6]4‐ couple as a redox probe. The electrochemical response is that of an array of nanoelectrodes. The effects of scan rate on the current and PBD signal profiles are discussed in the context of mass transport within the pores and at the solution‐electrode interface. The study suggests that the combination of PBD and CV allows a better understanding on the mass transport phenomena in this type of UMEAs of complex architecture.

Do attenuation coefficients based on luminescence bleaching fronts reflect true light attenuation in rocks?

The emerging technique of rock surface luminescence dating employs a double-exponential fitting dating model based on the Bouguer-Lambert law. The accuracy of exposure age determination is sensitive to the light attenuation coefficient, μ, which is usually derived from fitting the luminescence profile as a function of depth into the rock. Alternatively, μ might be determined by direct measurement using a spectrophotometer. However, their directly measured values of μ were significantly larger than those estimated from field luminescence bleaching data. Here, we aim to confirm these previous results by measuring the luminescence-depth profiles of both IRSL and IRPL signals from granite rock exposed to different light sources, including sunlight, SOL2 and IR LEDs under controlled conditions. We also measured monochromatic light (blue LED: (470 ± 30) nm, green LED: (520 ± 30) nm, and infrared LED: (850 ± 30) nm) attenuation in granite rock slices of varying thickness (0.62–2.60 mm) using a high-sensitivity photodiode. Finally, we use a camera-based measurement system and a Risø Luminescence Imager to investigate spatial variation in transmitted light as a function of slice thickness. The spatial correlation between direct light transmission and luminescence emission is then investigated, to investigate the underlying reasons for the difference between direct measurement and luminescence-based estimates of μ. We find that light attenuation through a granite rock slice is very heterogeneous; most light penetrates through localized low attenuation light paths corresponding to transmission through the most transparent grains, presumably quartz. The light penetration and escape into the surrounding matrix are assumed to be influenced by the surface area of quartz grains. As a result, transmissive light paths result in a significant area of feldspar grains at depth in the slice being exposed to more light than might be expected from average attenuation measurement. When the incident light predominantly travels through feldspar minerals, simultaneously stimulating luminescence from within any potassium feldspar (K-feldspar), the attenuation coefficients derived from the luminescence-depth profiles tend to be smaller than the average of 1.18 ± 0.07 (n = 79) irrespective of the kinetic model used for fitting. Thus, luminescence-based attenuation coefficient estimates appear to be affected by the distribution of light attenuation across and within the rock slice, making such estimates preferable to directly measured (average) estimates of light attenuation coefficients. These insights are important for our understanding of the significance of light attenuation coefficients in rock samples; they contribute to the reassessment of parameters and measurement methods in dating models and so to improvements in accuracy of rock surface luminescence dating techniques.

Linewidth characterization of a self-traceable grating by SEM

To achieve high-precision nanometrology, a self-traceable grating reference material has been reported and prepared using atom lithography and soft x-ray interference techniques (Liu et al 2021 Nanotechnology 32 175 301). In this work, we employ a Monte Carlo simulation method to investigate the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image contrast and linewidth characterization of the grating linewidth. The 3D structure of mushroom-shaped grating lines made of multilayers (Pt, SiO2 and Si) is modeled according to transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images, enabling the SEM linescan profiles of secondary electron signals to be obtained for different values of structural linewidth parameters from Monte Carlo simulations. Using the principle of the model-based library method, a model database of Monte Carlo-simulated SEM linescan profiles is thus constructed by varying the incident electron beam conditions and the grating linewidths; then, the grating linewidth is successfully characterized using experimental SEM images. The comparison with the TEM measurement reveals that the measurement accuracy is verified to within 0.3% for the linewidth of ∼25 nm.

Dynamic estimation method for pulsar periods based on photon energy distribution folding and image template matching

The accuracy of the pulsar period estimation directly affects the restoration effect of the signal profile. A more accurate pulsar profile will help improve the accuracy of pulsar delay estimation and thereby improve the performance of X-ray pulsar navigation. This paper proposes a pulsar period estimation method based on photon energy distribution folding and image template matching (PETM). This method uses the probability distribution information of photon energy for weighted epoch folding. The one-dimensional (1D) profile information was converted into two-dimensional (2D) image information through reverse space-filling curve (SFC) encoding. Then, a feature matching was performed between the target structure and the template structure. At the same time, the criterion of Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) was used to quantitatively evaluate the matching effect to estimate the optimal period. The simulation results show that the period estimation accuracy of the PETM method is significantly improved, as compared with the traditional \( method. This work also analyzes the folding effect based on the photon energy distribution model and conducts simulation experiments and comparisons on influencing factors, such as noise interference and data quality. At the same time, we also specifically demonstrated the effectiveness of the PETM method for the glitch phenomenon (i.e., a sudden change in period) of pulsar periods. Finally, we also used China's XPNAV-1 satellite to conduct experiments and analysis of the actual observation data of PSR B0531+21 pulsar within a fixed period of time. The results show that the period estimation accuracy of this method is 4.8190$ns$, which is 50.23&lt;!PCT!&gt; higher than the traditional \( method. The method proposed in this article has the advantages of high estimation accuracy, stable estimation performance, strong anti-interference ability, and excellent dynamic period estimation performance. Therefore, it can further improve the navigation performance of X-ray pulsars.

Optical cavity spectroscopy using heterodyne detection with optical feedback laser frequency locking.

We demonstrate an accurate high sensitivity method for cavity spectroscopy. We measure the frequency intervals of transverse electromagnetic modes relative to a fundamental mode in a high finesse optical resonator, and attribute their mode numbers unambiguously. A laser is frequency locked to a fundamental T E M 00 cavity mode by optical feedback, and phase modulation is used to obtain frequency side bands, which may come to resonance with other transverse cavity modes as the radio-frequency of the modulation is tuned. At these resonances, transmission of the side bands is sensitively detected by heterodyning with the carrier. We also analyze the transverse spatial profile of the heterodyne signal for identification of mode numbers. The adjustment of the Gaussian cavity model to the measured frequency intervals yields values of cavity length, mirror radius of curvature, and mirror ellipticity, with high precision to the ppm level.

High-resolution Si3N4 spectrometer: architecture & virtual channel synthesis and experimental demonstration.

Up-to-date network telemetry is the key enabler for resource optimization by capacity scaling, fault recovery, and network reconfiguration among other means. Reliable optical performance monitoring in general and, specifically, the monitoring of the spectral profile of WDM signals in fixed- and flex- grid architectures across the entire C-band, remains challenging. This article describes a two-stage spectrometer architecture amenable to integration on a single chip that can measure quantitatively the spectrum across the entire C-band with a resolution of ∼ 1.4 GHz. The first stage consists of a ring resonator with intra-ring phase shifter to provide a tuneable fine filter. The second stage makes use of an AWG subsystem and a novel processing algorithm to synthesize a tuneable coarse filter with a flat passband which isolates individual resonances of a multiplicity of ring resonances. The spectrometer is capable of scanning the entire C-band with high resolution using only one dynamic control. Due to its maturity and low loss, CMOS compatible Si3N4 is chosen for fabrication of the ring resonator and two cyclic AWGs. Complete spectrometer operation is demonstrated experimentally over a selected portion of the C-band. A novel virtual channel synthesis algorithm based on the weighted summation of the AWG output port powers relaxes the conventional AWG design requirement of a flat passband and sharp transition to stopband. The operation of the circuit is invariant to the optical path length between individual components and the algorithm corrects to some extent fabrication process variation impairments of the AWG channel spectra substantially improving robustness.

Ignition characteristics of single coal particles under ammonia co-firing conditions

To meet the goal of an international carbon-neutral framework, the promotion of clean coal utilization occupies a vital position in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Ammonia co-firing is considered as a potential strategy for future power generation to reduce fossil energy consumptions, soot, CO2 emissions, and hydrocarbon pollutants. In the present work, the ignition characteristics of single coal particles under ammonia (NH3) co-firing conditions were investigated. Particles were injected with NH3 or N2 into a hot flue gas environment at 1550 K generated by a CH4-fired Hencken burner. Temporally resolved images of CH* chemiluminescence and char thermal radiation were captured. Combining the signal profiles, ignition modes and characteristic times of single burning particles were studied with different coal types, carrying atmospheres, and O2 contents. When the carrier gas was replaced by NH3 atmosphere, the ignition delay time of all coal particles was greatly shortened, and the time interval from ignition to peak, as well as the combustible component burnout time, were both lengthened due to the promoted devolatilization and combustion reaction rates of coal particles caused by the NH3 flame. Concerning the ignition mode in the NH3-blended cases, the homogeneous ignition behaviors of the lignite particles were further enhanced, while the bituminous particles transitioned to the homogeneous-heterogeneous united ignition mode. As the O2 content in the flue gas increased, the ignition of all coal particles was advanced monotonously, and the chemiluminescence became more intense in both N2 and NH3 atmospheres.

In-silico testing of new pharmacology for restoring inhibition and human cortical function in depression

Reduced inhibition by somatostatin-expressing interneurons is associated with depression. Administration of positive allosteric modulators of α5 subunit-containing GABAA receptor (α5-PAM) that selectively target this lost inhibition exhibit antidepressant and pro-cognitive effects in rodent models of chronic stress. However, the functional effects of α5-PAM on the human brain in vivo are unknown, and currently cannot be assessed experimentally. We modeled the effects of α5-PAM on tonic inhibition as measured in human neurons, and tested in silico α5-PAM effects on detailed models of human cortical microcircuits in health and depression. We found that α5-PAM effectively recovered impaired cortical processing as quantified by stimulus detection metrics, and also recovered the power spectral density profile of the microcircuit EEG signals. We performed an α5-PAM dose-response and identified simulated EEG biomarker candidates. Our results serve to de-risk and facilitate α5-PAM translation and provide biomarkers in non-invasive brain signals for monitoring target engagement and drug efficacy.

Mid-Infrared Generated Laser-Induced Grating Signals in Methane-Containing Gas Mixtures as Indicators of Composition, Pressure, and Temperature.

The present work is aimed at studying how spatially periodic modulations of the refractive index of the medium, i.e., laser-induced gratings (LIGs), generated in a gas mixture containing methane (CH4) by nanosecond pulses of resonant mid-infrared laser radiation, can be used to measure various gas parameters. It is investigated to what extent the temporal profiles of the LIG signals, recorded as the power of the diffracted by LIGs continuous wave probe radiation, are specific to the composition, pressure, and temperature of a selected buffer gas. This specificity is illustrated by the LIG signal profiles recorded in the experiments in different gas mixtures under various conditions. Experimental data show that large LIG signals can be obtained even in mixtures with CH4 concentrations as low as ∼100 parts per million due to the strong absorption of the excitation light and subsequent rapid, highly exothermic, and partner-dependent collisional energy exchange of the laser-excited molecules with the environment. These two factors ensure high LIG generation efficiency by a small number of CH4 molecules and high sensitivity of signal strength and profile to variations of gas parameters.

Hard-Target Reflection Laser Spectroscopy of Carbon Monoxide Gas Concentration for the Early Detection of Spontaneous Combustion of Coal.

We report on the hard-target reflection spectroscopy of carbon monoxide (CO) gas based on the technique of infrared tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy aiming at developing a low-cost yet sensitive sensor for the early detection of spontaneous coal combustion. A narrow-band distributed feedback laser emitting around 2333.7 nm is used to monitor CO gas molecules contained in a 5 cm gas cell. The light diffusely backscattered from the surface of a lump of coal placed at the end of a 50 cm light path is detected with a photodiode in the coaxial transmitter/receiver setup. From the variation of the detected signal profile with the CO partial pressure in the cell, the detection limit of the current system is estimated to be about 30 parts per million per meter (ppm·m), which meets the sensitivity required for monitoring the self-heating of coal in mines, silos, or stockpiles.

Measurements of particle extinction coefficients at 1064 nm with lidar: temperature dependence of rotational Raman channels.

Aerosol intensive optical properties, including lidar ratio and particle depolarization ratio, are of vital importance for aerosol typing. However, aerosol intensive optical properties at near-infrared wavelength are less exploited by atmospheric lidar measurements, because of the comparably small backscatter cross section of Raman-scattering and a low efficiency of signal detection compared to what is commonly available at 355 nm and 532 nm. To obtain accurate optical properties of aerosols at near-infrared wavelength, we considered three factors: Raman-spectra selection, detector selection, and interference-filter optimization. Rotational Raman scattering has been chosen for Raman signal detection, because of the higher cross-section compared to vibrational Raman scattering. The optimization of the properties of the interference filter are based on a comprehensive consideration of both signal-to-noise ratio and temperature dependence of the simulated lidar signals. The interference filter that has eventually been chosen uses the central wavelength at 1056 nm and a filter bandwidth (full-width-at-half-maximum) of 6 nm. We built a 3-channel 1064-nm rotational Raman lidar. In this paper two methods are proposed to test the temperature dependence of the signal-detection unit and to evaluate the quality of the Raman signals. We performed two measurements to test the quality of the detection channel: cirrus clouds in the free troposphere and aerosols in the planetary boundary layer. Our analysis of the measured Raman signals shows a negligible temperature dependence of the Raman signals in our system. For cirrus measurements, the Raman signal profile did not show crosstalk even for the case of strong elastic backscatter from clouds, which was about 100 times larger than Rayleigh scattering in the case considered here. The cirrus-mean extinction-to-backscatter ratio (lidar ratio) was 27.8 ± 10.0 sr (1064 nm) at a height of 10.5-11.5 km above ground. For the aerosols in the planetary boundary layer, we found the mean lidar ratio of 38.9 ± 7.0 sr at a height of 1.0-3.0 km above ground.

Enhancing antidepressant safety surveillance: comparative analysis of adverse drug reaction signals in spontaneous reporting and healthcare claims databases.

Background/Objective: Spontaneous reporting systems (SRS) such as the Korea Adverse Event Reporting System (KAERS) are limited in their ability to detect adverse drug reaction (ADR) signals due to their limited data on drug use. Conversely, the national health insurance claim (NHIC) data include drug use information for all qualifying residents. This study aimed to compare ADR signal profiles for antidepressants between KAERS and NHIC, evaluating the extent to which detected signals belong to common ADRs and labeling information. Materials and Methods: ADR signal detection in KAERS and NHIC databases, spanning January to December 2017, employed disproportionality analysis. Signal classes were determined based on System Organ Class (SOC) of the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA). Also, Common ADR Coverage (CAC), the proportion of detected signals deemed common ADRs, and labeling information coverage (LIC) represented by mean average precision (mAP) were calculated. Additionally, protopathic bias and relative risk (RR) evaluation were performed to check for signal robustness. Results: Signal detection revealed 51 and 62 signals in KAERS and NHIC databases, respectively. Both systems predominantly captured signals related to nervous system disorders, comprising 33.3% (N = 17) in KAERS and 50.8% (N = 31) in NHIC. Regarding the type of antidepressants, KAERS predominantly reported signals associated with tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) (N = 21, 41.2%), while NHIC produced most signals linked to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (N = 22, 35.5%). KAERS exhibited higher CAC (68.63% vs. 29.03%) than NHIC. LIC was also higher in KAERS than in NHIC (mAP for EB05: 1.00 vs. 0.983); i.e., NHIC identified 5 signals not documented in drug labeling information, while KAERS found none. Among the unlabeled signals, one (Duloxetine-Myelopathy) was from protopathic bias, and two (duloxetine-myelopathy and tianeptine-osteomalacia) were statistically significant in RR. Conclusion: NHIC exhibited greater capability in detecting ADR signals associated with antidepressant use, encompassing unlabeled ADR signals, compared to KAERS. NHIC also demonstrated greater potential for identifying less common ADRs. Further investigation is needed for signals detected exclusively in NHIC but not covered by labeling information. This study underscores the value of integrating different sources of data, offering substantial regulatory insights and enriching the scope of pharmacovigilance.

Assessment of global detection capability of oceanographic lidar

The profiling of marine bio-optical properties by oceanographic lidar is of great significance to the monitoring of the marine environment and the study of the global carbon cycle. In this study, the global detection capability of oceanographic lidar is analyzed with different specifications. To evaluate the detection performance, a simulator on multi-platform is developed. Based on the quasi-single elastic scattering approximation lidar equation and the bio-optical models, the simulator can generate different kinds of outputs, such as lidar signal profiles, signal-to-noise ratio profiles, maximum detectable depth distributions. The optical properties profiles of the global ocean could be derived from the global chlorophyll-a concentration profile data set, which is used as the input to the simulator. The simulation results are compared with the measurements from airborne lidar in the South China Sea, which verifies the reliability of the simulator. The global detection capability of spaceborne lidar with different power aperture products is simulated, and the influence of laser wavelength is analyzed. The results show that, for the simulated spaceborne lidar with typical specifications at 486 nm, there are probabilities ranging from 0.66 to 0.85 that the upper boundary of the thermocline can be detected on a global scale. In the cleanest open ocean, the lidar has a good capability to penetrate the upper boundary of the thermocline, while it cannot penetrate the subsurface chlorophyll maximum layers, in which the global penetration ratio is 0.93 under the simulation specifications at 486 nm. Finally, the influence of repetition frequency is analyzed, and the results show that reducing the pulse repetition frequency at the same average power can effectively reduce the background light of cumulative profiles and improve the signal-to-noise ratio.