An electrocardiogram (ECG) records the electrical signal from the heart to check for different heart conditions, but it is susceptible to noises. ECG signal denoising is a major pre-processing step which attenuates the noises and accentuates the typical waves in ECG signals. Researchers over time have proposed numerous methods to correctly detect morphological anomalies. This study discusses the workflow, and design principles followed by these methods, and classify the state-of-the-art methods into different categories for mutual comparison, and development of modern methods to denoise ECG. The performance of these methods is analysed on some benchmark metrics, viz., root-mean-square error, percentage-root-mean-square difference, and signal-to-noise ratio improvement, thus comparing various ECG denoising techniques on MIT-BIH databases, PTB, QT, and other databases. It is observed that Wavelet-VBE, EMD-MAF, GAN2, GSSSA, new MP-EKF, DLSR, and AKF are most suitable for additive white Gaussian noise removal. For muscle artefacts removal, GAN1, new MP-EKF, DLSR, and AKF perform comparatively well. For base-line wander, and electrode motion artefacts removal, GAN1 is the best denoising option. For power-line interference removal, DLSR and EWT perform well. Finally, FCN-based DAE, DWT (Sym6) soft, MABWT (soft), CPSD sparsity, and UWT are promising ECG denoising methods for composite noise removal.

Electroactive polymer (EAP) is a kind of smart material, which can change its shape under the stimulation of electric field. Dielectric elastomer (DE) is an important member of the EAP. DE has the characteristics of excellent performance, such as light weight, low noise, low cost, and so on, which guarantee its wide applications in the fields of actuators, generators, sensors. In this review, the principles of energy conversion, the research status and latest development of new technologies for DEs, and the performance characteristics of DEs are summarised. Simultaneously, it points out the development problems and feasible countermeasures. At last, the application prospects of DE are discussed, combined with the research direction of the international frontier.

In integrated optics, optical waveguides are fundamental elements for the development of integrated devices, including light sources, modulators, detectors, optical pathways, receivers and switches. For the fabrication of optical integrated waveguide components, grating couplers or other complex integrated structures realized on planar optical waveguides, materials with high photorefractivity are surely of great interest since they allow applying photorefractive direct-laser-writing techniques which are of lower cost and less time-consuming than conventional photolithography and etching processes. This chapter provides an overview of classes of photorefractive materials such as photorefractive glasses, glass-ceramics, crystals and polymers, which are promising candidates for integrated optics. Different aspects, including material preparation, photorefractivity investigation and the fabrication of photorefractive direct-laser-written micro/nano-optical structures such as channel waveguides and gratings in each type of photorefractive materials, are also discussed.

Edited by two recognised experts, this book in two volumes provides a comprehensive overview of integrated optics, from modelling to fabrication, materials to integration platforms, and characterization techniques to applications. The technology is explored in detail, and set in a broad context that addresses a range of current and potential future research and development trends. Volume 1 begins with introductory chapters on the history of integrated optics technology, design tools, and modelling techniques. The next section of the book goes on to discuss the range of materials used for integrated optics, their deposition techniques, and their specific applications, including glasses, plasmonic nanostructures, SOI and SOS, and III-V and II-VI semiconductors. Volume 2 addresses characterization techniques, integrated optical waveguides and devices. A range of applications are also discussed, including devices for sensing, telecommunications, optical amplifiers and lasers, and quantum computing. The introductory chapters are intended to be of use to newcomers to the field, but its depth and breadth of coverage means that this book is also appropriate reading for early-career and senior researchers wishing to refresh their knowledge or keep up to date with recent developments in integrated optics.

This chapter provides an introduction on the benefits of artificial intelligence (Al) techniques for the field of affective computing, through a case study about emotion recognition via brain (electroencephalography EEG) signals. Readers are first pro-vided with a general description of the field, followed by the main models of human affect, with special emphasis to Russell's circumplex model and the pleasur-arousal-dominance (PAD) model. Finally, an AI-based method for the detection of affect elicited via multimedia stimuli is presented. The method combines both connectivity-and channel-based EEG features with a selection method that considerably reduces the dimensionality of the data and allows for efficient classification. In particular, the relative energy (RE) and its logarithm in the spatial domain, as well as the spectral power (SP) in the frequency domain are computed for the four typically used EEG frequency bands (a, 0, y and 0) and complemented with the mutual information measured over all EEG channel pairs. The resulting features are then reduced by using a hybrid method that combines supervised and unsupervised feature selection. Detection results are compared to state-of-the-art methods on the DEAP benchmark-ing data set for emotion analysis, which is composed of labelled EEG recordings from 32 individuals, acquired while watching 40 music videos. The acquired results demonstrate the potential of AI-based methods for emotion recognition, an applica-tion that can significantly benefit the fields of human-computer interaction (HCI) and of quality-of-experience (QoE).

This book covers the use of SAR for maritime surveillance applications. It provides a comprehensive source of material on the subject, divided into two parts. The first part deals with models and techniques, while the second part is devoted to maritime surveillance applications. Each chapter covers the basic principles, a critical review of the current technology, techniques and applications, and the latest developments in the field. The book begins with an introduction to the topic written by the editors. The following topics are then addressed by an international team of expert authors: scattering models; acquisition modes; SAR polarimetry; ambiguity problems and their mitigation; ship detection; monitoring of intertidal areas and coastal habitats; sea ice and icebergs; oil spill imaging; joint use of SAR and collaborative signals; and finally sea state and wind speed. This book, with its comprehensive coverage of SAR for maritime surveillance applications, will be a valuable resource for SAR system engineers, private and public corporations, oceanographers, and remote-sensing researchers and end-users.

Internet of Things (IoT) enabled technology is evolving healthcare from conventional hubbased systems to more personalized eHealth systems, enabling faster and safer preventive care, lower overall cost, improved patient-centric practice and enhanced sustainability. Efficient IoT-enabled eHealth systems can be realized by providing highly customized access to rich medical information and efficient clinical decisions to each individual with unobtrusive monitoring. Wireless medical sensor networks (WMSNs) are at the heart of this concept, and their development is a key issue if such a concept is to achieve its potential. This book addresses the major challenges in realizing WMSNs in forthcoming IoT-based eHealth systems. Challenges vary from cost and energy efficiency to security and service quality, and to tackle such challenges WMSNs must meet certain expectations and requirements such as size constraints, manufacturing costs and resistance to environmental factors existing at deployment locations. Reflecting this the book focuses on both design and implementation aspects Topics covered include the impact of medical sensor networks in smart-cities; an evaluation of mobile patient monitoring technologies; overview of wireless sensor devices in medical applications; cyber security issues in WMSNs and eHealth; smart hospital rooms and automated systems; medical sensor capabilities in smart cloud networks; swarm intelligence based medical diagnosis systems; and smart systems and device for the blind.

Polycrystalline thin-film solar cells have reached a levelized cost of energy that is competitive with all other sources of electricity. The technology has significantly improved in recent years, with laboratory cell efficiencies for cadmium telluride (CdTe), perovskites, and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) each exceeding 22 percent. Both CdTe and CIGS solar panels are now produced at the gigawatt scale. However, there are ongoing challenges, including the continued need to improve performance and stability while reducing cost. Advancing polycrystalline solar cell technology demands an in-depth understanding of efficiency, scaling, and degradation mechanisms, which requires sophisticated characterization methods. These methods will enable reseachers and manufacturers to improve future solar modules and systems. This work provides researchers with a concise overview of the status of thin-film solar cell technology and characterization. Chapters describe material systems and their properties and then provide an in-depth look at relevant characterization methods and the learning facilitated by each of these. Following an introductory chapter, the book provides systematic and thorough coverage of the following topics: trends to improve CdTe solar cell performance; Cu(In,Ga)Se2 and related materials; perovskite solar cells; photovoltaic device modelling; luminescence and thermal imaging of thin-film photovoltaic materials, devices, and modules; application of spatially resolved spectroscopy characterization techniques on Cu2ZnSnSe4 solar cells; time-resolved photoluminescence characterization of polycrystalline thin-film solar cells; fundamentals of electrical material and device spectroscopies applied to thin-film polycrystalline chalcogenide solar cells; nanometer-scale characterization of thin-film solar cells by atomic force microscopy-based electrical probes; scanning transmission electron microscopy characterization of solar cells; photoelectron spectroscopy methods in solar cell research; time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry and atom probe tomography; and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance characterization for photovoltaic applications. The final chapter provides an overview and describes future prospects.

As the field of subwavelength optics continues to boom and novel nanophotonic device designs emerge (as other chapters in this book highlight), existing nanofabrication methods will continue to evolve and new technologies will surface to keep pace with the increasingly sophisticated demands. We foresee that the crossroads of ingenious nanophotonic designs and nanofabrication techniques will thrive as a leading source of inspiration for researchers aspiring to explore the field. In this spirit, it is the authors' hope that this chapter can serve as a convenient solution guide to both theorists and experimentalists who are exploring unconventional subwavelength structures. Finally, we hope that the discussions here can further inspire design and process innovations in the dynamic field of subwavelength optics, where 'there is plenty of room at the bottom' for both dancing angels and optical engineers alike.

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Despite the great advancement in understanding the pharmacology and biology of cancer, it still signifies one of the most serious human-health related problems. The current treatments for cancer may include surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, but these procedures have several limitations. Current studies have shown that nanoparticles (NPs) can be used as a novel strategy for cancer treatment. Developing nanosystems that allow lower doses of therapeutic agents, as well as their selective release in tumour cells, may resolve the challenges of targeted cancer therapy. In this review, the authors discuss the role of the size, shape, and surface modifications of NPs in cancer treatment. They also address the challenges associated with cancer therapies based on NPs. The overall purpose of this review is to summarise the recent developments in designing different hybrid NPs with promising therapeutic properties for different types of cancer.