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1. Factors correlated with intracranial interictal epileptiform discharges in refractory epilepsy

   https://doi.org/10.1111/epi.16792  

   Quon, Robert_J; Meisenhelter, Stephen; Adamovich‐Zeitlin, Richard_H; Song, Yinchen; Steimel, Sarah_A; Camp, Edward_J; Testorf, Markus_E; MacKenzie, Todd_A; Gross, Robert_E; Lega, Bradley_C; et al (December 2020, Epilepsia)

   Abstract ObjectiveThis study was undertaken to evaluate the influence that subject‐specific factors have on intracranial interictal epileptiform discharge (IED) rates in persons with refractory epilepsy. MethodsOne hundred fifty subjects with intracranial electrodes performed multiple sessions of a free recall memory task; this standardized task controlled for subject attention levels. We utilized a dominance analysis to rank the importance of subject‐specific factors based on their relative influence on IED rates. Linear mixed‐effects models were employed to comprehensively examine factors with highly ranked importance. ResultsAntiseizure medication (ASM) status, time of testing, and seizure onset zone (SOZ) location were the highest‐ranking factors in terms of their impact on IED rates. The average IED rate of electrodes in SOZs was 34% higher than the average IED rate of electrodes outside of SOZs (non‐SOZ;p < .001). However, non‐SOZ electrodes had similar IED rates regardless of the subject's SOZ location (p = .99). Subjects on older generation (p < .001) and combined generation (p < .001) ASM regimens had significantly lower IED rates relative to the group taking no ASMs; newer generation ASM regimens demonstrated a nonsignificant association with IED rates (p = .13). Of the ASMs included in this study, the following ASMs were associated with significant reductions in IED rates: levetiracetam (p < .001), carbamazepine (p < .001), lacosamide (p = .03), zonisamide (p = .01), lamotrigine (p = .03), phenytoin (p = .03), and topiramate (p = .01). We observed a nonsignificant association between time of testing and IED rates (morning–afternoonp = .15, morning–eveningp = .85, afternoon–eveningp = .26). SignificanceThe current study ranks the relative influence that subject‐specific factors have on IED rates and highlights the importance of considering certain factors, such as SOZ location and ASM status, when analyzing IEDs for clinical or research purposes. 

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2. Deploying the NASA Valkyrie Humanoid for IED Response: An Initial Approach and Evaluation Summary

   Steven Jorgensen, Michael Lanighan (January 2019, IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots)

   As part of a feasibility study, this paper shows the NASA Valkyrie humanoid robot performing an end- to-end improvised explosive device (IED) response task. To demonstrate and evaluate robot capabilities, sub-tasks highlight different locomotion, manipulation, and perception requirements: traversing uneven terrain, passing through a narrow passageway, opening a car door, retrieving a suspected IED, and securing the IED in a total containment vessel (TCV). For each sub-task, a description of the technical approach and the hidden challenges that were overcome during development are presented. The discussion of results, which explicitly includes existing limitations, is aimed at motivating continued research and development to enable practical deployment of humanoid robots for IED response. 

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3. Towards Embodied Wearable Intelligent Tutoring Systems

   Rasul, I. (April 2023, Lecture notes in computer science)

   Frasson, C. (Ed.)

   Embodied cognition posits that human-environment interac- tion positively impacts thinking and learning, making it a valuable ped- agogical tool. Technology in teaching and learning has seen tremendous maturation, such as the development of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS). However, most ITS provide static learning experiences that do not incorporate embodiment, movement, and interaction with the space around the learner. This paper examines the results of using an embod- ied tutoring system across three case studies with different dimensions of embodiment. In all cases, we found trends highlighting how embodied tutoring systems can support learning. We also discuss different ways to incorporate embodiment into future research on ITS. 

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4. Recording Critical Epilepsy Indicators using a Fully-Passive Wireless System

   https://doi.org/10.1109/APUSNCURSINRSM.2019.8888852  

   Moncion, Carolina; Bojja-Venkatakrishnan, Satheesh; Diaz, Jorge Riera; Volakis, John L. (July 2019, 2019 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNC-URSI Radio Science Meeting)

   Implantable sensors for recording neural activity are often used for a variety of applications, including epilepsy studies. Current versions of these recorders are highly-invasive impractical implants and undesirable in daily life. To address this, for the first time we present a novel fully- implantable and passive system for recording characteristic epileptic activity. In this paper, we focus on recording interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs), known indicators of clinical significance. IEDs can serve to identify the location of seizure onset zones. Notably, in the case of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Here, we present IED signals recorded using neural probes previously tested with our system and demonstrated to be capable of sensing signals as low as 15 μVpp in amplitude. These recordings refer to actual animal experiments and are indicative of the broad spectrum of neural signals that can be recorded. 

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5. Enabling Large-scale Fine-grained Simulation of IED Vapor Concentration in Open-air Environments

   https://doi.org/10.1109/MWSCAS48704.2020.9184431  

   Agambayev, Agamyrat; Sang, Christopher Lue; Blain Christen, Jennifer; Ozev, Sule (August 2020, 2020 IEEE 63rd International Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems (MWSCAS))

   Ammonium nitrate and nitromethane are two of the most prevalent ingredients in improvised explosive devices (IED). Developing a detection system for IEDs in open public events where no specific check points are available requires many large scale, fine-grained simulations to estimate the explosive vapors. However, such large scale molecular simulations at the required granularity is very time consuming and in most cases not feasible. In this paper, we propose region-specific meshing to alleviate the computational cost. The proposed simulation methodology provides accurate results as compared with a baseline simulation of fine grained mesh (in a small area) while providing significant reduction in simulation time. Thus, large scale simulations at feasible computational burden can be achieved. 

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