The influence of digital filter type,amplitude normalisation method,and co-contraction algorithm on clinically relevant surface electromyography data during clinical movement assessments

There is a large and growing body of surface electromyography (sEMG) research using laboratory-specific signal processing procedures (i.e., digital filter type and amplitude normalisation protocols) and data analyses methods (i.e., co-contraction algorithms) to acquire practically meaningful information from these data. As a result, the ability to compare sEMG results between studies is, and continues to be challenging. The aim of this study was to determine if digital filter type, amplitude normalisation method, and co-contraction algorithm could influence the practical or clinical interpretation of processed sEMG data. Sixteen elite female athletes were recruited. During data collection, sEMG data was recorded from nine lower limb muscles while completing a series of calibration and clinical movement assessment trials (running and sidestepping). Three analyses were conducted: (1) signal processing with two different digital filter types (Butterworth or critically damped), (2) three amplitude normalisation methods, and (3) three co-contraction ratio algorithms. Results showed the choice of digital filter did not influence the clinical interpretation of sEMG; however, choice of amplitude normalisation method and co-contraction algorithm did influence the clinical interpretation of the running and sidestepping task. Care is recommended when choosing amplitude normalisation method and co-contraction algorithms if researchers/clinicians are interested in comparing sEMG data between studies.     

Application of pseudo amino acid composition for predicting protein subcellular location: stochastic signal processing approach

The function of a protein is closely correlated with its subcellular location. With the success of human genome project and the rapid increase in the number of newly found protein sequences entering into data banks, it is highly desirable to develop an automated method for predicting the subcellular location of proteins. The establishment of such a predictor will no doubt expedite the functionality determination of newly found proteins and the process of prioritizing genes and proteins identified by genomics efforts as potential molecular targets for drug design. Based on the concept of pseudo amino acid composition originally proposed by K. C. Chou (Proteins: Struct. Funct. Genet. 43: 246–255, 2001), the digital signal processing approach has been introduced to partially incorporate the sequence order effect. One of the remarkable merits by doing so is that many existing tools in mathematics and engineering can be straightforwardly used in predicting protein subcellular location. The results thus obtained are quite encouraging. It is anticipated that the digital signal processing may serve as a useful vehicle for many other protein science areas as well.