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We present a combination of fractional order calculus and Savitzky-Golay filter for extraction of both electrogastrogram and pulse rate signal from a mixed signal recorded with high sampling frequency (1 kHz). In order to evaluate the proposed method, we generated semi-synthetic biosignal mixture. In order to assess proposed methods, signal-to-noise ratio was calculated for the resulting extracted signals. Obtained results suggest that there are benefits from the combination of Savitzky-Golay filter and fractional order calculus, compared to the application of separate individual application of those methods. Further examination will be performed on in vivo recorded signals.

Surface electrogastrography (EGG) is a non-invasive technique that is used to record myoelectrical activity of the stomach using cutaneous electrodes placed on the abdomen. Gastric motility assessment by EGG is a candidate for standard clinical procedure based on the quantification of parameters characteristic of gastric motility disorders. Despite its noticeable benefits, EGG is not widely implemented in clinical practice. The main reasons are: (1) lack of standardization of electrode placement, (2) time-consuming diagnostic procedures and (3) a complex multi-channel recording setup. We proposed a methodology in which an easy-to-use single-channel EGG, with a less time-consuming protocol (−6). We showed that a less time-consuming recording session with light meal intake could be used for the assessment of gastric myoelectrical activity (GMA).

In the era of technological advances and innovations in transportation technologies, application of driving simulators for the investigation and assessment of the driving process provides a safe and suitable testing environment. Although driving simulators are crucial for further improvements in transportation, it is important to resolve one of their main disadvantages&ndash, simulator sickness. Therefore, suitable methods for the assessment of simulator sickness are required. The main aim of this paper was to present a non-invasive method for assessing simulator sickness by recording gastric myoelectrical activity&ndash, electrogastrography. Open-source hardware for electrogastrography together with recordings obtained in 13 healthy volunteers is presented, and the main aspects of signal processing for artifact cancellation and feature extraction were discussed. Based on the obtained results, it was concluded that slow-wave electrical gastric activity can be recorded during driving simulation by following adequate recommendations and that proposed features could be beneficial in describing non-ordinary electrogastrography signals.

The comparison of two methods used to separate electrocardiography and electromyography signals: Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) and Fractional Order Calculus (FC) is presented. For quantitative evaluation, crest factor (CF) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) values were calculated, where higher CF and SNR values were preferable. Results suggest that FC and EMD performance can be partially assessed by CF indicating better artifact cancellation with EMD approach by 9.72%. For FC and EMD, automatic fractional order application and intrinsic mode function selection were suggested and discussed, respectively. In summary, the results suggested that proposed filtering assessment should be enhanced for more appropriate FC and EMD method's assessment.

The paper investigates how a pragmatics-based approach may influence Concurrent Engineering (CE) implementation projects. Pragmatics, a field of semiotics, is used as a perspective for analyzing, as an instrument for constructing manufacturing systems and, in this particular research, as an instrument for CE implementation projects. In particular, as a part of the CE implementation methodology, modeling and the effects of different interpretations (as pragmatics aspects) of the assessment of processes’ simultaneity in a manufacturing organization are studied. The underlying thesis is that different interpretations significantly influence the perception of the organization’s reality, which has an impact on the project’s success. As a representation class, the so-called Simultaneity (Concurrency) Matrix (SCM) was used for simultaneity process assessment. The thesis is validated in two manufacturing companies. The results suggest that further improvements of the CE implementation methodologies, when using the pragmatics-based approach, lead to better quality of decisions and provide some assurance for the success of short-time and low-cost CE implementation projects.