We report on the development of an automated detector of acute stress based on physiological signals. Our detector discriminates between high and low levels of acute stress accumulated by students when performing cognitive tasks on a computer. The proposed detector builds on well-known physiological signal processing principles combined with the state-of-art support vector machine (SVM) classifier. The novelty aspects here come from the design and implementation of the signal pre-processing and the feature extraction stages, which were purposely designed and fine-tuned for the specific needs of acute stress detection and from applying existing algorithms to a new problem. The proposed acute stress detector was evaluated in person-specific and person-independent experimental setups using the publicly available CLAS dataset. Each setup involved three cognitive tasks with a dissimilar crux of the matter and different complexity. The experimental results indicated a very high detection accuracy when discriminating between acute stress conditions due to significant cognitive load and conditions elicited by two typical emotion elicitation tasks. Such a functionality would also contribute towards obtaining a multi-faceted analysis on the dependence of work efficiency from personal treats, cognitive load and acute stress level.
Purpose
To assess the symptoms, quality of life and sexual well-being in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia LUTS/BPH treated with pumpkin seed soft extract (PSE) in routine practice.
Methods
This noninterventional study included 130 men treated for up to 24 months. The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and related quality of life, Aging Males’ Symptoms Scale (AMS), and International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) were recorded. Descriptive statistical methods were applied. The mean with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated for the primary end point (change in IPSS after 12-month treatment).
Results
Analysis at 12 months included 83 patients [mean (SD) age 65.2 (8.7) years and IPSS (15.6 (3.4), IPSS-QoL 3.4 (0.9)]. AMS and IIEF-5 indicated mild or mild to moderate disorder regarding sexual well-being and erectile dysfunction, respectively. After 12 months, the mean IPSS change from baseline was − 4.7 (95% CI − 5.4 to − 3.9), with 83% (95% CI 65.3 to 84.1) and 53% (95% CI 42.3 to 63.7) of the patients achieving reductions by at least 3 and 5 points, respectively. The proportion of patients with IPSS-QoL below 3 points (mostly satisfied) was 11% (9/83) at baseline and rose to 62% (51/83) and 73% (40/55) at 12 and 24 months, respectively. AMS and IIEF-5 scores did not indicate a negative impact on sexual function during treatment.
Conclusion
In men with a moderate LUTS suggestive of BPH, a low progression risk and an active sex life, treatment with pumpkin seed soft extract provided symptomatic relief, improved IPSS-QoL, and maintained sexual well-being.
Trial registration
DRKS00010729, June 22, 2016.
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