Search Results (25)

Reliable seed accession identification underpins germplasm conservation, traceability and breeding; however, conventional assays remain destructive, labour-intensive and difficult to scale. Here, visible–near-infrared–shortwave infrared (VIS–NIR–SWIR) hyperspectral imaging (HSI; 449.54–2399.17 nm; 563 bands) was used to classify 32 grain–legume accessions (n = 3200 seeds; 100 seeds per accession), comprising 30 common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) landraces plus two outgroup legumes (Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi & Ohashi and Cajanus cajan (L.) Huth). Each seed was represented by one ROI-averaged spectrum obtained from mean representative pixels within a standardised 10 × 10 pixel window at the centre of each seed. A fixed stratified 70:30 seed-level training:test partition was used, with 70 seeds per accession (n = 2240) reserved for fully independent training and 30 seeds per accession (n = 960) reserved as a fully independent test set. Principal component analysis (PCA) captured 97.42% of the spectral variance in the first three components (PC1 = 63.34%, PC2 = 23.78%, and PC3 = 10.31%). One-versus-rest wavelength association mapping revealed a maximum R² of 0.775 at 461.37 nm, and ReliefF concentrated the strongest reduced-band signal within 449.54–456.30 nm and 577.02–597.54 nm. In the original ReliefF-selected 16-band benchmark, the subspace discriminant reached 68.25% macro-F1 and 68.54% balanced accuracy; after edge-band trimming, the alternative 16-band configuration decreased to 60.67% and 60.94%, respectively. With respect to the full-spectrum sensitivity benchmark, linear discriminant analysis achieved 96.35% balanced accuracy, followed by linear SVM (94.17%). Deep learning trained directly on the full 563-band spectra reached 84.90% test accuracy, 84.47% macro-F1, 86.27% precision and 84.90% recall, with MLP_Wide outperforming the convolutional, recurrent and attention-based alternatives. Overall, under controlled laboratory conditions, this benchmark shows that accession discrimination is driven mainly by visible-domain contrasts in the most compact representations, whereas the full spectral context remains important for the most confusable accessions and for cautious future sensor design. The reduced-band findings should therefore be interpreted as exploratory guidance for sensor design rather than as a validated deployment-ready specification. Full article

Accurate displacement field measurement by holographic interferometry requires robust analysis of high-density fringe patterns, which is hindered by speckle noise inherent in any interferogram, no matter how perfect. Conventional skeletonization methods, such as edge detection algorithms and active contour models, often fail under these conditions, producing fragmented and unreliable fringe contours. This paper presents a novel skeletonization procedure that simultaneously addresses three fundamental challenges: (1) topology preservation—by representing the fringe family within a physics-informed, finite-dimensional parametric subspace (e.g., Fourier-based contours), ensuring global smoothness, connectivity, and correct nesting of each fringe; (2) extreme noise robustness—through a robust strip integration functional that replaces noisy point sampling with Gaussian-weighted intensity averaging across a narrow strip, effectively suppressing speckle while yielding a smooth objective function suitable for gradient-based optimization; and (3) sub-pixel accuracy without phase extraction—leveraging continuous bicubic interpolation within a recursive quasi-optimization framework that exploits fringe similarity for precise and stable contour localization. The method’s performance is quantitatively validated on synthetic interferograms with controlled noise, demonstrating significantly lower error compared to baseline techniques. Practical utility is confirmed by successful processing of a real interferogram of a bent plate containing over 100 fringes, enabling precise displacement field reconstruction that closely matches independent theoretical modeling. The proposed procedure provides a reliable tool for processing challenging interferograms where traditional methods fail to deliver satisfactory results. Full article

Objective: This study aimed to explore the acute neurophysiological effects of a single oral dose of Astragaloside IV (AS-IV) on EEG-measured brain oscillations and cognitive-relevant spectral markers in healthy young adults. Methods: Twenty healthy adults (8 females, 12 males; mean age: $23.4\pm 2.1$) underwent eyes-closed resting-state EEG recordings before and approximately 90 min after oral intake of 150 mg AS-IV. EEG data were collected using a 21-channel 10–20 system and cleaned via Artifact Subspace Reconstruction and Independent Component Analysis. Data quality was confirmed using a signal-to-noise ratio and 1/f spectral slope. Absolute and relative power values, band ratios, and frontal alpha asymmetry were computed. Statistical comparisons were made using paired t-tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Results: Absolute power decreased in delta, theta, beta, and gamma bands (p < 0.05) but remained stable for alpha. Relative alpha power increased significantly (p = 0.002), with rises in relative beta, theta, and delta and a drop in relative gamma (p = 0.003). Alpha/beta and theta/beta ratios increased, while delta/alpha decreased. Frontal alpha asymmetry was unchanged. Sex differences were examined in all measures that showed significant changes; however, no sex-dependent effects were found. Conclusions: A single AS-IV dose may acutely modulate brain oscillations, supporting its potential neuroactive properties. Larger placebo-controlled trials, including concurrent psychometric assessments, are needed to verify and contextualize these findings. A single AS-IV dose may acutely modulate brain oscillations, supporting its potential neuroactive properties. Full article

Ocular artifacts, including blinks and saccades, pose significant challenges in the analysis of electroencephalographic (EEG) data, often obscuring crucial neural signals. This tutorial provides a comprehensive guide to the most effective methods for correcting these artifacts, with a focus on algorithms designed for both laboratory and real-world settings. We review traditional approaches, such as regression-based techniques and Independent Component Analysis (ICA), alongside more advanced methods like Artifact Subspace Reconstruction (ASR) and deep learning-based algorithms. Through detailed step-by-step instructions and comparative analysis, this tutorial equips researchers with the tools necessary to maintain the integrity of EEG data, ensuring accurate and reliable results in neurophysiological studies. The strategies discussed are particularly relevant for wearable EEG systems and real-time applications, reflecting the growing demand for robust and adaptable solutions in applied neuroscience. Full article

Joint blind source separation (JBSS) has wide applications in modeling latent structures across multiple related datasets. However, JBSS is computationally prohibitive with high-dimensional data, limiting the number of datasets that can be included in a tractable analysis. Furthermore, JBSS may not be effective if the data’s true latent dimensionality is not adequately modeled, where severe overparameterization may lead to poor separation and time performance. In this paper, we propose a scalable JBSS method by modeling and separating the “shared” subspace from the data. The shared subspace is defined as the subset of latent sources that exists across all datasets, represented by groups of sources that collectively form a low-rank structure. Our method first provides the efficient initialization of the independent vector analysis (IVA) with a multivariate Gaussian source prior (IVA-G) specifically designed to estimate the shared sources. Estimated sources are then evaluated regarding whether they are shared, upon which further JBSS is applied separately to the shared and non-shared sources. This provides an effective means to reduce the dimensionality of the problem, improving analyses with larger numbers of datasets. We apply our method to resting-state fMRI datasets, demonstrating that our method can achieve an excellent estimation performance with significantly reduced computational costs. Full article

Recently, there has been a growing research interest in utilizing the electroencephalogram (EEG) as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for neurodegenerative diseases. This article provides a detailed description of a resting-state EEG dataset of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia, and healthy controls. The dataset was collected using a clinical EEG system with 19 scalp electrodes while participants were in a resting state with their eyes closed. The data collection process included rigorous quality control measures to ensure data accuracy and consistency. The dataset contains recordings of 36 Alzheimer’s patients, 23 frontotemporal dementia patients, and 29 healthy age-matched subjects. For each subject, the Mini-Mental State Examination score is reported. A monopolar montage was used to collect the signals. A raw and preprocessed EEG is included in the standard BIDS format. For the preprocessed signals, established methods such as artifact subspace reconstruction and an independent component analysis have been employed for denoising. The dataset has significant reuse potential since Alzheimer’s EEG Machine Learning studies are increasing in popularity and there is a lack of publicly available EEG datasets. The resting-state EEG data can be used to explore alterations in brain activity and connectivity in these conditions, and to develop new diagnostic and treatment approaches. Additionally, the dataset can be used to compare EEG characteristics between different types of dementia, which could provide insights into the underlying mechanisms of these conditions. Full article

Most of the existing estimation methods of spreading code sequence are not suitable for the QPSK-DSSS. We propose a spreading code sequence estimation method based on fast independent component analysis (Fast-ICA). It mainly includes signal preprocessing, calculations of separation matrix, and spreading code sequence. Firstly, the received signal is segmented according to the period of the spreading code sequence, and the covariance matrix can be calculated. Then, the signal subspace and corresponding eigenvalues are obtained by eigenvalue decomposition of the covariance matrix. Subsequently, the received signal matrix needs to be whitened. Finally, the Fast-ICA algorithm is used to find the separation matrix to estimate the in-phase and orthogonal spreading code sequence. The experiment result shows that the estimation of the spreading code sequence can be carried out based on Fast-ICA under a low SNR of −12 dB. Compared with the constant modulus algorithm (CMA) and the decomposition method for the real part of the self-covariance matrix (EVD-R), this method has a better performance. Full article

After detection, identifying which intracranial aneurysms (IAs) will rupture is imperative. We hypothesized that RNA expression in circulating blood reflects IA growth rate as a surrogate of instability and rupture risk. To this end, we performed RNA sequencing on 66 blood samples from IA patients, for which we also calculated the predicted aneurysm trajectory (PAT), a metric quantifying an IA’s future growth rate. We dichotomized dataset using the median PAT score into IAs that were either more stable and more likely to grow quickly. The dataset was then randomly divided into training (n = 46) and testing cohorts (n = 20). In training, differentially expressed protein-coding genes were identified as those with expression (TPM > 0.5) in at least 50% of the samples, a q-value < 0.05 (based on modified F-statistics with Benjamini-Hochberg correction), and an absolute fold-change ≥ 1.5. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis was used to construct networks of gene associations and to perform ontology term enrichment analysis. The MATLAB Classification Learner was then employed to assess modeling capability of the differentially expressed genes, using a 5-fold cross validation in training. Finally, the model was applied to the withheld, independent testing cohort (n = 20) to assess its predictive ability. In all, we examined transcriptomes of 66 IA patients, of which 33 IAs were “growing” (PAT ≥ 4.6) and 33 were more “stable”. After dividing dataset into training and testing, we identified 39 genes in training as differentially expressed (11 with decreased expression in “growing” and 28 with increased expression). Model genes largely reflected organismal injury and abnormalities and cell to cell signaling and interaction. Preliminary modeling using a subspace discriminant ensemble model achieved a training AUC of 0.85 and a testing AUC of 0.86. In conclusion, transcriptomic expression in circulating blood indeed can distinguish “growing” and “stable” IA cases. The predictive model constructed from these differentially expressed genes could be used to assess IA stability and rupture potential. Full article

EEG signals may be affected by physiological and non-physiological artifacts hindering the analysis of brain activity. Blind source separation methods such as independent component analysis (ICA) are effective ways of improving signal quality by removing components representing non-brain activity. However, most ICA-based artifact removal strategies have limitations, such as individual differences in visual assessment of components. These limitations might be reduced by introducing automatic selection methods for ICA components. On the other hand, new fully automatic artifact removal methods are developed. One of such method is artifact subspace reconstruction (ASR). ASR is a component-based approach, which can be used automatically and with small calculation requirements. The ASR was originally designed to be run not instead of, but in addition to ICA. We compared two automatic signal quality correction approaches: the approach based only on ICA method and the approach where ASR was applied additionally to ICA and run before the ICA. The case study was based on the analysis of data collected from 10 subjects performing four popular experimental paradigms, including resting-state, visual stimulation and oddball task. Statistical analysis of the signal-to-noise ratio showed a significant difference, but not between ICA and ASR followed by ICA. The results show that both methods provided a signal of similar quality, but they were characterised by different usabilities. Full article

Background and Objective: Mental workload (MWL) is a relevant construct involved in all cognitively demanding activities, and its assessment is an important goal in many research fields. This paper aims at evaluating the reproducibility and sensitivity of MWL assessment from EEG signals considering the effects of different electrode configurations and pre-processing pipelines (PPPs). Methods: Thirteen young healthy adults were enrolled and were asked to perform 45 min of Simon’s task to elicit a cognitive demand. EEG data were collected using a 32-channel system with different electrode configurations (fronto-parietal; Fz and Pz; Cz) and analyzed using different PPPs, from the simplest bandpass filtering to the combination of filtering, Artifact Subspace Reconstruction (ASR) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA). The reproducibility of MWL indexes estimation and the sensitivity of their changes were assessed using Intraclass Correlation Coefficient and statistical analysis. Results: MWL assessed with different PPPs showed reliability ranging from good to very good in most of the electrode configurations (average consistency > 0.87 and average absolute agreement > 0.92). Larger fronto-parietal electrode configurations, albeit being more affected by the choice of PPPs, provide better sensitivity in the detection of MWL changes if compared to a single-electrode configuration (18 vs. 10 statistically significant differences detected, respectively). Conclusions: The most complex PPPs have been proven to ensure good reliability (>0.90) and sensitivity in all experimental conditions. In conclusion, we propose to use at least a two-electrode configuration (Fz and Pz) and complex PPPs including at least the ICA algorithm (even better including ASR) to mitigate artifacts and obtain reliable and sensitive MWL assessment during cognitive tasks. Full article

Motion artifacts hinder source-level analysis of mobile electroencephalography (EEG) data using independent component analysis (ICA). iCanClean is a novel cleaning algorithm that uses reference noise recordings to remove noisy EEG subspaces, but it has not been formally tested in a parameter sweep. The goal of this study was to test iCanClean’s ability to improve the ICA decomposition of EEG data corrupted by walking motion artifacts. Our primary objective was to determine optimal settings and performance in a parameter sweep (varying the window length and r² cleaning aggressiveness). High-density EEG was recorded with 120 + 120 (dual-layer) EEG electrodes in young adults, high-functioning older adults, and low-functioning older adults. EEG data were decomposed by ICA after basic preprocessing and iCanClean. Components well-localized as dipoles (residual variance < 15%) and with high brain probability (ICLabel > 50%) were marked as ‘good’. We determined iCanClean’s optimal window length and cleaning aggressiveness to be 4-s and r² = 0.65 for our data. At these settings, iCanClean improved the average number of good components from 8.4 to 13.2 (+57%). Good performance could be maintained with reduced sets of noise channels (12.7, 12.2, and 12.0 good components for 64, 32, and 16 noise channels, respectively). Overall, iCanClean shows promise as an effective method to clean mobile EEG data. Full article

Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals are sensitive to the level of Mental Workload (MW). However, the random non-stationarity of EEG signals will lead to low accuracy and a poor generalization ability for cross-session MW classification. To solve this problem of the different marginal distribution of EEG signals in different time periods, an MW classification method based on EEG Cross-Session Subspace Alignment (CSSA) is presented to identify the level of MW induced in visual manipulation tasks. The Independent Component Analysis (ICA) method is used to obtain the Independent Components (ICs) of labeled and unlabeled EEG signals. The energy features of ICs are extracted as source domains and target domains, respectively. The marginal distributions of source subspace base vectors are aligned with the target subspace base vectors based on the linear mapping. The Kullback–Leibler (KL) divergences between the two domains are calculated to select approximately similar transformed base vectors of source subspace. The energy features in all selected vectors are trained to build a new classifier using the Support Vector Machine (SVM). Then it can realize MW classification using the cross-session EEG signals, and has good classification accuracy. Full article

A hesitant fuzzy set (HFS) and a cubic set (CS) are two independent approaches to deal with hesitancy and vagueness simultaneously. An HFS assigns an essential hesitant grade to each object in the universe, whereas a CS deals with uncertain information in terms of fuzzy sets as well as interval-valued fuzzy sets. A cubic hesitant fuzzy set (CHFS) is a new computational intelligence approach that combines CS and HFS. The primary objective of this paper is to define topological structure of CHFSs under P(R)-order as well as to develop a new topological data analysis technique. For these objectives, we propose the concept of “cubic hesitant fuzzy topology (CHF topology)”, which is based on CHFSs with both P(R)-order. The idea of CHF points gives rise to the study of several properties of CHF topology, such as CHF closure, CHF exterior, CHF interior, CHF frontier, etc. We also define the notion of CHF subspace and CHF base in CHF topology and related results. We proposed two algorithms for extended cubic hesitant fuzzy TOPSIS and CHF topology method, respectively. The symmetry of optimal decision is analyzed by computations with both algorithms. A numerical analysis is illustrated to discuss similar medical diagnoses. We also discuss a case study of heart failure diagnosis based on CHF information and the modified TOPSIS approach. Full article

In statistical inference, the information-theoretic performance limits can often be expressed in terms of a statistical divergence between the underlying statistical models (e.g., in binary hypothesis testing, the error probability is related to the total variation distance between the statistical models). As the data dimension grows, computing the statistics involved in decision-making and the attendant performance limits (divergence measures) face complexity and stability challenges. Dimensionality reduction addresses these challenges at the expense of compromising the performance (the divergence reduces by the data-processing inequality). This paper considers linear dimensionality reduction such that the divergence between the models is maximally preserved. Specifically, this paper focuses on Gaussian models where we investigate discriminant analysis under five f-divergence measures (Kullback–Leibler, symmetrized Kullback–Leibler, Hellinger, total variation, and ${\chi }^2$). We characterize the optimal design of the linear transformation of the data onto a lower-dimensional subspace for zero-mean Gaussian models and employ numerical algorithms to find the design for general Gaussian models with non-zero means. There are two key observations for zero-mean Gaussian models. First, projections are not necessarily along the largest modes of the covariance matrix of the data, and, in some situations, they can even be along the smallest modes. Secondly, under specific regimes, the optimal design of subspace projection is identical under all the f-divergence measures considered, rendering a degree of universality to the design, independent of the inference problem of interest. Full article

In recent years, the problem of underdetermined blind source separation (UBSS) has become a research hotspot due to its practical potential. This paper presents a novel method to solve the problem of UBSS, which mainly includes the following three steps: Single source points (SSPs) are first screened out using the principal component analysis (PCA) approach, which is based on the statistical features of signal time-frequency (TF) points. Second, a mixing matrix estimation method is proposed that combines Ordering Points To Identify the Clustering Structure (OPTICS) with an improved potential function to directly detect the number of source signals, remove noise points, and accurately calculate the mixing matrix vector; it is independent of the input parameters and offers great accuracy and robustness. Finally, an improved subspace projection method is used for source signal recovery, and the upper limit for the number of active sources at each mixed signal is increased from $m-1$ to m. The unmixing process of the proposed algorithm is symmetrical to the actual signal mixing process, allowing it to accurately estimate the mixing matrix and perform well in noisy environments. When compared to previous methods, the source signal recovery accuracy is improved. The method’s effectiveness is demonstrated by both theoretical and experimental results. Full article