Integrated assessment of personal monitor applications for evaluating exposure to urban stressors: A scoping review.

Urban stressors pose a health risk, and individual-level assessments provide necessary and fine-grained insight into exposure. An ever-increasing amount of research literature on individual-level exposure to urban stressors using data collected with personal monitors, has called for an integrated assessment approach to identify trends, gaps and needs, and provide recommendations for future research. To this end, a scoping review of the respective literature was performed, as part of the H2020 URBANOME project. Moreover, three specific aims were identified: (i) determine current state of research, (ii) analyse literature according with a waterfall methodological framework and identify gaps and needs, and (iii) provide recommendations for more integrated, inclusive and robust approaches. Knowledge and gaps were extracted based on a systematic approach, e.g., data extraction questionnaires, as well as through the expertise of the researchers performing the review. The findings were assessed through a waterfall methodology of delineating projects into four phases. Studies described in the papers vary in their scope, with most assessing exposure in a single macro domain, though a trend of moving towards multi-domain assessment is evident. Simultaneous measurements of multiple stressors are not common, and papers predominantly assess exposure to air pollution. As urban environments become more diverse, stakeholders from different groups are included in the study designs. Most frequently (per the quadruple helix model), civil society/NGO groups are involved, followed by government and policymakers, while business or private sector stakeholders are less frequently represented. Participants in general function as data collectors and are rarely involved in other phases of the research. While more active involvement is not necessary, more collaborative approaches show higher engagement and motivation of participants to alter their lifestyles based on the research results. The identified trends, gaps and needs can aid future exposure research and provide recommendations on addressing different urban communities and stakeholders.

Human blood adenosine biomarkers and non-rapid eye movement sleep stage 3 (NREM3) cortical functional connectivity associations during a 30-day head-down-tilt bed rest analogue: Potential effectiveness of a reactive sledge jump as a countermeasure.

We investigated the alterations of sleep regulation and promotion biomarkers as adenosine through its enzymes total adenosine deaminase (tADA)/adenosine deaminase (ADA2) in a microgravity analogue environment of head-down-tilt bed rest and their association with brain connectivity networks during non-rapid eye movement sleep stage 3 (NREM3), as well as the effectiveness of the reactive sledge (RSL) jump countermeasure to promote sleep. A total of 23 healthy male volunteers were maintained in 6° head-down-tilt position for 30 days and assigned either to a control or to a RSL group. Blood collection and polysomnographic recordings were performed on data acquisition day 1, 14, 30 and -14, 21, respectively. Immunochemical techniques and network-based statistics were employed for adenosine enzymes and cortical connectivity estimation. Our findings indicate that human blood adenosine biomarkers as well as NREM3 cortical functional connectivity are impaired in simulated microgravity. RSL physical activity intervened in sleep quality via tADA/ADA2 fluctuations lack, minor cortical connectivity increases, and limited degree of node and resting-state networks. Statistically significant decreases in adenosine biomarkers and NREM3 functional connectivity involving regions (left superior temporal gyrus, right postcentral gyrus, precuneus, left middle frontal gyrus, left postcentral gyrus, left angular gyrus and precuneus) of the auditory, sensorimotor default-mode and executive networks highlight the sleep disturbances due to simulated microgravity and the sleep-promoting role of RSL countermeasure. The head-down-tilt environment led to sleep deterioration projected through NREM3 cortical brain connectivity or/and adenosine biomarkers shift. This decline was more pronounced in the absence of the RSL countermeasure, thereby highlighting its likely exploitation during space missions.

Reading comprehension differences between children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and low cognitive abilities and children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and intact cognitive skills: the roles of decoding, fluency and morphosyntax.

Introduction: Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills learned in school and it has an important contribution to the academic success of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Though previous studies have investigated reading comprehension difficulties in ASD and highlighted factors that contribute to these difficulties, this evidence has mainly stemmed from children with ASD and intact cognitive skills. Also, much emphasis has been placed on the relation between reading comprehension and word recognition skills, while the role of other skills, including fluency and morphosyntax, remains underexplored. This study addresses these gaps by investigating reading comprehension in two groups of school-aged children with ASD, one with intact and one with low cognitive abilities, also exploring the roles of word decoding, fluency and morphosyntax in each group's reading comprehension performance. Methods: The study recruited 16 children with ASD and low cognitive abilities, and 22 age-matched children with ASD and intact cognitive skills. The children were assessed on four reading subdomains, namely, decoding, fluency, morphosyntax, and reading comprehension. Results: The children with ASD and low cognitive abilities scored significantly lower than their peers with intact cognitive abilities in all reading subdomains, except for decoding, verb production and compound word formation. Regression analyses showed that reading comprehension in the group with ASD and intact cognitive abilities was independently driven by their decoding and fluency skills, and to a lesser extent, by morphosyntax. On the other hand, the children with ASD and low cognitive abilities mainly drew on their decoding, and to a lesser extent, their morphosyntactic skills to perform in reading comprehension. Discussion: The results suggest that reading comprehension was more strongly affected in the children with ASD and low cognitive abilities as compared to those with intact cognitive skills. About half of the children with ASD and intact cognitive skills also exhibited mild-to-moderate reading comprehension difficulties, further implying that ASD may influence reading comprehension regardless of cognitive functioning. Finally, strengths in decoding seemed to predominantly drive cognitively-impaired children's reading performance, while the group with ASD and intact cognitive skills mainly recruited fluency and metalinguistic lexical skills to cope with reading comprehension demands, further suggesting that metalinguistic awareness may be a viable way to enhance reading comprehension in ASD.

Investigation of Sleep Quality and Mental Health of Greek Physicians During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The global outbreak of COVID-19 has had an impact on physicians, not only as a time of great concern and responsibility, but also as a human performance factor influencing their sleep quality and mental health. However, studies have not yet defined the frequency and the interplay of sleep and mental issues. The purpose of this study was to explore the anxiety and sleep disturbances prevalence in Greek physicians, as well as their relationship with sociodemographic and profession-related traits, aiming to raise awareness for changes in healthcare management and policy making.

Towards a hybrid approach to unveil the Chimaira of neurosciences: philosophy, aperiodic activity and the neural correlates of consciousness.

Contemporary theories of consciousness, although very efficient in postulating testable hypotheses, seem to either neglect its relational aspect or to have a profound difficulty in operationalizing this aspect in a measurable manner. We further argue that the analysis of periodic brain activity is inadequate to reveal consciousness's subjective facet. This creates an important epistemic gap in the quest for the neural correlates of consciousness. We suggest a possible solution to bridge this gap, by analysing aperiodic brain activity. We further argue for the imperative need to inform neuroscientific theories of consciousness with relevant philosophical endeavours, in an effort to define, and therefore operationalise, consciousness thoroughly.

Exploring the use of virtual reality in surgical education.

Virtual reality (VR) technologies have rapidly developed in the past few years. The most common application of the technology, apart from gaming, is for educational purposes. In the field of healthcare, VR technologies have been applied in several areas. Among them is surgical education. With the use of VR, surgical pathways along with the training of surgical skills can be explored safely, in a cost-effective manner. The aim of this mini-review was to explore the use of VR in surgical education and in the 3D reconstruction of internal organs and viable surgical pathways. Finally, based on the outcomes of the included studies, an ecosystem for the implementation of surgical training was proposed.

Animacy Processing in Autism: Event-Related Potentials Reflect Social Functioning Skills.

Though previous studies with autistic individuals have provided behavioral evidence of animacy perception difficulties, the spatio-temporal dynamics of animacy processing in autism remain underexplored. This study investigated how animacy is neurally encoded in autistic adults, and whether potential deficits in animacy processing have cascading deleterious effects on their social functioning skills. We employed a picture naming paradigm that recorded accuracy and response latencies to animate and inanimate pictures in young autistic adults and age- and IQ-matched healthy individuals, while also employing high-density EEG analysis to map the spatio-temporal dynamics of animacy processing. Participants' social skills were also assessed through a social comprehension task. The autistic adults exhibited lower accuracy than controls on the animate pictures of the task and also exhibited altered brain responses, including larger and smaller N100 amplitudes than controls on inanimate and animate stimuli, respectively. At late stages of processing, there were shorter slow negative wave latencies for the autistic group as compared to controls for the animate trials only. The autistic individuals' altered brain responses negatively correlated with their social difficulties. The results suggest deficits in brain responses to animacy in the autistic group, which were related to the individuals' social functioning skills.

The Pre-Interictal Network State in Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsies.

Generalized spike wave discharges (GSWDs) are the typical electroencephalographic findings of Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsies (IGEs). These discharges are either interictal or ictal and recent evidence suggests differences in their pathogenesis. The aim of this study is to investigate, through functional connectivity analysis, the pre-interictal network state in IGEs, which precedes the formation of the interictal GSWDs. A high-density electroencephalogram (HD-EEG) was recorded in twenty-one patients with IGEs, and cortical connectivity was analyzed based on lagged coherence and individual anatomy. Graph theory analysis was used to estimate network features, assessed using the characteristic path length and clustering coefficient. The functional connectivity analysis identified two distinct networks during the pre-interictal state. These networks exhibited reversed connectivity attributes, reflecting synchronized activity at 3-4 Hz (delta2), and desynchronized activity at 8-10.5 Hz (alpha1). The delta2 network exhibited a statistically significant (p < 0.001) decrease in characteristic path length and an increase in the mean clustering coefficient. In contrast, the alpha1 network showed opposite trends in these features. The nodes influencing this state were primarily localized in the default mode network (DMN), dorsal attention network (DAN), visual network (VIS), and thalami. In conclusion, the coupling of two networks defined the pre-interictal state in IGEs. This state might be considered as a favorable condition for the generation of interictal GSWDs.

EEG Network Analysis in Epilepsy with Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures Alone.

Many contradictory theories regarding epileptogenesis in idiopathic generalized epilepsy have been proposed. This study aims to define the network that takes part in the formation of the spike-wave discharges in patients with generalized tonic-clonic seizures alone (GTCSa) and elucidate the network characteristics. Furthermore, we intend to define the most influential brain areas and clarify the connectivity pattern among them. The data were collected from 23 patients with GTCSa utilizing low-density electroencephalogram (EEG). The source localization of generalized spike-wave discharges (GSWDs) was conducted using the Standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) methodology. Cortical connectivity was calculated utilizing the imaginary part of coherence. The network characteristics were investigated through small-world propensity and the integrated value of influence (IVI). Source localization analysis estimated that most sources of GSWDs were in the superior frontal gyrus and anterior cingulate. Graph theory analysis revealed that epileptic sources created a network that tended to be regularized during generalized spike-wave activity. The IVI analysis concluded that the most influential nodes were the left insular gyrus and the left inferior parietal gyrus at 3 and 4 Hz, respectively. In conclusion, some nodes acted mainly as generators of GSWDs and others as influential ones across the whole network.

Arterial Stiffness Alterations in Simulated Microgravity and Reactive Sledge as a Countermeasure.

INTRODUCTION: Experiments during spaceflight and simulated microgravity as head-down tilt bedrest, demonstrated the role of arterial stiffness among others, in microgravity induced cardiovascular pathologies and emphasized the need for a robust countermeasure. AIM: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the use of a new countermeasure, consisting of a high intensity Reactive Sledge (RSL) jumps training protocol, to counteract changes in arterial stiffness during long term head down tilt bedrest (LTBR). METHODS: The participants enrolled in the study were 23 male, healthy volunteers, aged between 20 and 45 years, subjected to LTBR for 60 days and randomly assigned either to a control (11) or to a training sledge (12) group using RSL 3-4 times per week, as a countermeasure. Recorded values were systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate and the user's arterial stiffness index. RESULTS: Compared to baseline measurements, there was a deterioration in the values of arterial stiffness, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate, in both groups until day 35 of LTBR, interpreted as adaptation to the microgravity environment. From this day until the end of the experiment, arterial stiffness of the control group was constantly fluctuating, while constantly improving for the training group. During the recovery period, arterial stiffness values returned to the pre-experimental levels in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, arterial stiffness increased the longer the time spent in LTBR and the countermeasure was partially effective in preventing the observed phenomenon. German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS), DRKS00012946, September 18, 2017, retrospectively registered.

Rehabilitation assisted by Space technology-A SAHC approach in immobilized patients-A case of stroke.

Introduction: The idea behind the presentation of this case relates to utilizing space technology in earth applications with mutual benefit for both patients confined to bed and astronauts. Deconditioning and the progressiveness of skeletal muscle loss in the absence of adequate gravity stimulus have been of physiological concern. A robust countermeasure to muscle disuse is still a challenge for both immobilized patients and astronauts in long duration space missions. Researchers in the space medicine field concluded that artificial gravity (AG) produced by short-radius centrifugation on a passive movement therapy device, combined with exercise, has been a robust multi-system countermeasure as it re-introduces an acceleration field and gravity load. Methods: A short-arm human centrifuge (SAHC) alone or combined with exercise was evaluated as a novel, artificial gravity device for an effective rehabilitation strategy in the case of a stroke patient with disability. The results reveal valuable information on an individualized rehabilitation strategy against physiological deconditioning. A 73-year-old woman was suddenly unable to speak, follow directions or move her left arm and leg. She could not walk, and self-care tasks required maximal assistance. Her condition was getting worse over the years, also she was receiving conventional rehabilitation treatment. Intermittent short-arm human centrifuge individualized protocols were applied for 5 months, three times a week, 60 treatments in total. Results: It resulted in significant improvement in her gait, decreased atrophy with less spasticity on the left body side, and ability to walk at least 100 m with a cane. Balance and muscle strength were improved significantly. Cardiovascular parameters improved responding to adaptations to aerobic exercise. Electroencephalography (EEG) showed brain reorganization/plasticity evidenced through functional connectivity alterations and activation in the cortical regions, especially of the precentral and postcentral gyrus. Stroke immobility-related disability was also improved. Discussion: These alterations were attributed to the short-arm human centrifuge intervention. This case study provides novel evidence supporting the use of the short-arm human centrifuge as a promising therapeutic strategy in patients with restricted mobility, with application to astronauts with long-term muscle disuse in space.

Rehabilitation Supported by Technology: Protocol for an International Cocreation and User Experience Study.

BACKGROUND: Living labs in the health and well-being domain have become increasingly common over the past decade but vary in available infrastructure, implemented study designs, and outcome measures. The Horizon 2020 Project Virtual Health and Wellbeing Living Lab Infrastructure aims to harmonize living lab procedures and open living lab infrastructures to facilitate and promote research activities in the health and well-being domain in Europe and beyond. This protocol will describe the design of a joint research activity, focusing on the use of innovative technology for both rehabilitation interventions and data collection in a rehabilitation context. OBJECTIVE: With this joint research activity, this study primarily aims to gain insight into each living lab's infrastructure and procedures to harmonize health and well-being living lab procedures and infrastructures in Europe and beyond, particularly in the context of rehabilitation. Secondarily, this study aims to investigate the potential of innovative technologies for rehabilitation through living lab methodologies. METHODS: This study has a mixed methods design comprising multiple phases. There are two main phases of data collection: cocreation (phase 1) and small-scale pilot studies (phase 2), which are preceded by a preliminary harmonization of procedures among the different international living labs. An intermediate phase further allows the implementation of minor adjustments to the intervention or protocol depending on the input that was obtained in the cocreation phase. A total of 6 small-scale pilot studies using innovative technologies for intervention or data collection will be performed across 4 countries. The target study sample comprises patients with stroke and older adults with mild cognitive impairment. The third and final phases involve Delphi procedures to reach a consensus on harmonized procedures and protocols. RESULTS: Phase 1 data collection will begin in March 2022, and phase 2 data collection will begin in June 2022. Results will include the output of the cocreation sessions, small-scale pilot studies, and advice on harmonizing procedures and protocols for health and well-being living labs focusing on rehabilitation. CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge gained by the execution of this research will lead to harmonized procedures and protocols in a rehabilitation context for health and well-being living labs in Europe and beyond. In addition to the harmonized procedures and protocols in rehabilitation, we will also be able to provide new insights for improving the implementation of innovative technologies in rehabilitation. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/34537.

Applications of Convolutional Neural Networks in neurodegeneration and physiological aging.

The process of aging is linked with significant changes in a human's physiological organization and structure. This is more evident in the case of the brain whose functions generally vary between young and old individuals. Detecting such patterns can be of significant importance especially during the Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) stage which is a transition state before the clinical onset of dementia. Intervening in that stage may delay or eventually prevent dementia onset. In this paper we propose a new methodology based in electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings, aiming to classify individuals into healthy, pathological (patients diagnosed with MCI or Mild Dementia) and young, old groups (healthy individuals over and under 50 years of age) through functional connectivity and macro-architecture features. These features are calculated on the estimated brain region activations through the inverse problem solution, enabling us to transform the sensor level EEG recordings through an appropriate transformation matrix. Afterwards, Synchronization Likelihood and Relative Wavelet Entropy values were calculated along with the graph metrics corresponding to the functional connectivity values, as well as the relative energy contributions of five EEG bands (delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma). These features were organized in Red, Green, Blue (RGB) image-like data structures. Therefore, it was possible to classify each individual into one of the two groups per experiment employing Convolutional Neural Networks. From the maximum classification accuracy achieved on the test set, 90.48% for the pathological aging group and 91.19% for the physiological aging, it is evident that the proposed approach is capable of providing adequate health and age group classification.

A review on current trends in automatic sleep staging through bio-signal recordings and future challenges.

Sleep staging is a vital process conducted in order to analyze polysomnographic data. To facilitate prompt interpretation of these recordings, many automatic sleep staging methods have been proposed. These methods rely on bio-signal recordings, which include electroencephalography, electrocardiography, electromyography, electrooculography, respiratory, pulse oximetry and others. However, advanced, uncomplicated and swift sleep-staging-evaluation is still needed in order to improve the existing polysomnographic data interpretation. The present review focuses on automatic sleep staging methods through bio-signal recording including current and future challenges.

Varenicline administration for smoking cessation may reduce apnea hypopnea index in sleep apnea patients.

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: Varenicline (VAR) is used for smoking cessation as it inhibits nicotine for binding on its receptors reducing nicotine dependence. VAR administration has been reported to affect sleep. The aim of this study was to evaluate possible changes in polysomnography (PSG) during VAR treatment (SmokeFreeBrain) in healthy smokers and smokers with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). PATIENTS/METHODS: Thirty smokers (21 men) with 15.3 ± 10.2 PY, aged 32.8 ± 4.5 years, with BMI 28.6 ± 4 kg/m2, 16 without and 14 with OSA (92% males) were studied with PSG (Embletta MPR-Master) before treatment with VAR while smoking and 20-30 days during VAR administration and smoking cessation for at least 5 days. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed in sleep macro architecture (N1, N2, N3, REM, Sleep Efficiency, Total Sleep Time) during VAR treatment apart from prolongation of sleep latency, N2 and N3 latency in both smokers with and without OSA. Apnea hypopnea index (AHI) was reduced in OSA smokers and especially during REM with a borderline increase of arousal index (ArI) and reduction of sleep efficiency (SE). CONCLUSION: VAR treatment worsened sleep quality as a prolongation of sleep latency, N2 and N3 latency was observed. A marginal reduction of AHI was found in OSA patients, more significantly during REM. Due to the small sample size, further studies are needed to distinguish between the adverse reactions of VAR treatment and smoking cessation effects and to evaluate whether VAR may play a role in OSA treatment.

Therapeutic Benefits of Short-Arm Human Centrifugation in Multiple Sclerosis-A New Approach.

Short-arm human centrifugation (SAHC) is proposed as a robust countermeasure to treat deconditioning and prevent progressive disability in a case of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. Based on long-term physiological knowledge derived from space medicine and missions, artificial gravity training seems to be a promising physical rehabilitation approach toward the prevention of musculoskeletal decrement due to confinement and inactivity. So, the present study proposes a novel infrastructure based on SAHC to investigate the hypothesis that artificial gravity ameliorates the degree of disability. The patient was submitted to a 4-week training programme including three weekly sessions of 30 min of intermittent centrifugation at 1.5-2 g. During sessions, cardiovascular, muscle oxygen saturation (SmO2) and electroencephalographic (EEG) responses were monitored, whereas neurological and physical performance tests were carried out before and after the intervention. Cardiovascular parameters improved in a way reminiscent of adaptations to aerobic exercise. SmO2 decreased during sessions concomitant with increased g load, and, as training progressed, SmO2 of the suffering limb dropped, both effects suggesting increased oxygen use, similar to that seen during hard exercise. EEG showed increased slow and decreased fast brain waves, with brain reorganization/plasticity evidenced through functional connectivity alterations. Multiple-sclerosis-related disability and balance capacity also improved. Overall, this study provides novel evidence supporting SAHC as a promising therapeutic strategy in multiple sclerosis, based on mechanical loading, thereby setting the basis for future randomized controlled trials.

Gravity Threshold and Dose Response Relationships: Health Benefits Using a Short Arm Human Centrifuge.

PURPOSE: Increasing the level of gravity passively on a centrifuge, should be equal to or even more beneficial not only to astronauts living in a microgravity environment but also to patients confined to bed. Gravity therapy (GT) may have beneficial effects on numerous conditions, such as immobility due to neuromuscular disorders, balance disorders, stroke, sports injuries. However, the appropriate configuration for administering the Gz load remains to be determined. METHODS: To address these issues, we studied graded G-loads from 0.5 to 2.0g in 24 young healthy, male and female participants, trained on a short arm human centrifuge (SAHC) combined with mild activity exercise within 40-59% MHR, provided by an onboard bicycle ergometer. Hemodynamic parameters, as cardiac output (CO), stroke volume (SV), mean arterial pressure (MAP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) were analyzed, as well as blood gas analysis. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA and pairwise comparisons were conducted with a level of significance p < 0.05. RESULTS: Significant changes in heart rate variability (HRV) and its spectral components (Class, Fmax, and VHF) were found in all g loads when compared to standing (p < 0.001), except in 1.7 and 2.0g. There were significant changes in CO, cardiac index (CI), and cardiac power (CP) (p < 0.001), and in MAP (p = 0.003) at different artificial gravity (AG) levels. Dose-response curves were determined based on statistically significant changes in cardiovascular parameters, as well as in identifying the optimal G level for training, as well as the optimal G level for training. There were statistically significant gender differences in Cardiac Output/CO (p = 0.002) and Cardiac Power/CP (p = 0.016) during the AG training as compared to standing. More specifically, these cardiovascular parameters were significantly higher for male than female participants. Also, there was a statistically significant (p = 0.022) gender by experimental condition interaction, since the high-frequency parameter of the heart rate variability was attenuated during AG training as compared to standing but only for the female participants (p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: The comprehensive cardiovascular evaluation of the response to a range of graded AG loads, as compared to standing, in male and female subjects provides the dose-response framework that enables us to explore and validate the usefulness of the centrifuge as a medical device. It further allows its use in precisely selecting personalized gravity therapy (GT) as needed for treatment or rehabilitation of individuals confined to bed.

Automatic Sleep Staging Employing Convolutional Neural Networks and Cortical Connectivity Images.

Understanding of the neuroscientific sleep mechanisms is associated with mental/cognitive and physical well-being and pathological conditions. A prerequisite for further analysis is the identification of the sleep macroarchitecture through manual sleep staging. Several computer-based approaches have been proposed to extract time and/or frequency-domain features with accuracy ranging from 80% to 95% compared with the golden standard of manual staging. However, their acceptability by the medical community is still suboptimal. Recently, utilizing deep learning methodologies increased the research interest in computer-assisted recognition of sleep stages. Aiming to enhance the arsenal of automatic sleep staging, we propose a novel classification framework based on convolutional neural networks. These receive as input synchronizations features derived from cortical interactions within various electroencephalographic rhythms (delta, theta, alpha, and beta) for specific cortical regions which are critical for the sleep deepening. These functional connectivity metrics are then processed as multidimensional images. We also propose to augment the small portion of sleep onset (N1 stage) through the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique in order to deal with the great difference in its duration when compared with the remaining sleep stages. Our results (99.85%) indicate the flexibility of deep learning techniques to learn sleep-related neurophysiological patterns.

An automated system for processing electrodermal activity.

A new approach is presented in this paper for the display and processing of electrodermal activity. It offers a fully automated interface for the pre-processing and scoring individual skin conductance responses (SCRs). The application supports parallel processing by means of multiple threads. Batch processing is also available. The XML format is used to describe the derived features. The system is employed to analyze emotion-related data.

Towards a semantic framework for an integrative description of neuroscience patterns and studies: a case for emotion-related data.

The continuously increasing number of neuroscience studies and the difficulties associated with searching for related information and properly tracking neuroscience findings makes it imperative that one may be lead to isolated theories and findings which may be incompatible to each other or partially occluded. Semantically describing several aspects of studies in this field, such as, research groups attributes, aims of studies, experimental procedures followed, hardware and software tools utilised, acquisition systems used, as well as, the emerging neuro-physiological patterns found, may facilitate an integrative view of neuroscience theories. To this end, the current piece of work aims to provide a global theoretical framework using ontologies and semantic rules to describe neuroscience studies. Implementation details and applicability of the proof of concept are illustrated by means of an example targeting the semantic description of an emotion related study. The importance of the proposed framework in facilitating the envisaged personalised healthcare of the information society is discussed.