Pattern analysis of dermoscopic images based on Markov random fields

In this paper a method for detecting different patterns in dermoscopic images is presented. In order to diagnose a possible skin cancer, physicians assess the lesion based on different rules. While the most famous one is the ABCD rule (asymmetry, border, colour, diameter), the new tendency in dermatology is to classify the lesion performing a pattern analysis. Due to the colour textured appearance of these patterns, this paper presents a novel method based on Markov random field (MRF) extended for colour images that classifies images representing different dermatologic patterns. First, each image plane in L^*a^*b^* colour space is modelled as a MRF following a finite symmetric conditional model (FSCM). Coupling of colour components is taken into account by supposing that features of the MRF in the three colour planes follow a multivariate Normal distribution. Performance is analysed in different colour spaces. The best classification rate is 86% on average.     

Positive N-periodic descriptor control systems

A small-gain theorem is presented for almost global stability of monotone control systems which are open-loop almost globally stable, when constant inputs are applied. The theorem assumes “negative feedback” interconnections. This typically destroys the monotonicity of the original flow and potentially destabilizes the resulting closed-loop system.     

Super‐resolution of the undersampled and subpixel shifted image sequence by a neural network

Numerous approaches to super‐resolution (SR) of sequentially observed images (image sequence) of low resolution (LR) have been presented in the past two decades. However, neural network methods are almost ignored for solving SR problems. This is because the SR problem traditionally has been regarded as the optimization of an ill‐posed large set of linear equations. A designed neural network based on this has a large number of neurons, thereby requiring a long learning time. Also, the deduced cost function is overly complex. These defects limit applications of a neural network to an SR problem. We think that the underlying meaning of the SR problem should refer to super‐resolving an imaging system by image sequence observation, instead of merely improving the image sequence itself. SR can be regarded as a pattern mapping from LR to SR images. The parameters of the pattern mapping can be learned from the imaging process of the image sequence. This article presents a neural network for SR based on learning from the imaging process of the image sequence. In order to speed up the convergence, we employ vector mapping to train the neural network. A mapping vector is composed of some neighbor subpixels. Such a well‐trained neural network has powerful generalization ability so that it can be used directly to estimate the SR image of the other image sequences without learning again. Our simulations show the effectiveness of the proposed neural network. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol 14, 8–15, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ima.20001     

Neurotrophic control of ovarian development

Substantial evidence now exists indicating that the neurotrophins, a family of growth factors required for the survival, development, and differentiation of various neuronal populations of the nervous system, are also important for the development of nonneuronal tissues. Such a function was first suggested by studies showing the presence of high-affinity neurotrophin receptors in a variety of nonneuronal tissues including those of the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune, and reproductive systems. Within the latter, the gonads appear to be a preferential site of neurotrophin action as suggested by the presence in the mammalian ovary of at least four of the five known neurotrophins and all of the neurotrophin receptors thus far identified. While the various functions that the neurotrophins may have in the ovary are still being elucidated, it is now clear that in addition to recruiting the ovarian innervation, they play a direct role in the regulation of two different maturational periods that are critical for the acquisition of female reproductive function: early follicular development and ovulation. Neurotrophins facilitate the development of newly formed follicles by promoting the initial differentiation and the subsequent growth of primordial follicles. These actions appear to be related to the ability of neurotrophins to sustain the proliferation of both mesenchymal and granulosa cells, and to induce the synthesis of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) receptors. At the time of the first ovulation, neurotrophins contribute to the ovulatory cascade by increasing prostaglandin E(2) release, reducing gap junction communication, and inducing cell proliferation within the thecal compartment of preovulatory follicles.     

Nanotribological characterization of human hair and skin using atomic force microscopy

Healthy hair and skin is highly desired. Characterization of their morphological, frictional, and adhesive properties (tribological properties) is essential to enhance understanding of hair and skin and to advance the science. Literature on the tribological characterization of hair and skin is scarce to date. The paper presents nanotribological data and analysis on hair (Caucasian, Asian, and African hair at virgin, chemo-mechanically damaged, and treated conditions) and synthetic hair and skin, as well as roughness data of human skin replica. Roughness statistics are presented to characterize the vertical and spatial surface parameters. Average coefficient of friction values were determined for each ethnicity and hair type, and are discussed. The directionality dependence of friction is also discussed. Magnitude and spatial distribution of adhesive force are used to estimate thickness and distribution of the conditioner film.     

Morphological and chemical studies of pathological human and mice brain at the subcellular level: correlation between light, electron, and nanosims microscopies

Neurodegenerative diseases induce morphological and chemical alterations in well-characterized regions of the brain. Understanding their pathological processes requires the use of methods that assess both morphological and chemical alterations in the tissues. In the past, microprobe approaches such as scanning electron microscopy combined with an X-ray spectrometer, Proton induced X-ray emission, secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and laser microprobe mass analysis have been used for the study of pathological human brain with limited success. At the present, new SIMS instruments have been developed, such as the NanoSIMS-50 ion microprobe, that allow the simultaneous identification of five elements with high sensitivity, at subcellular spatial resolution (about 50-100 nm with the Cs(+) source and about 150-200 nm with O(-) source). Working in scanning mode, 2D distribution of five elements (elemental maps) can be obtained, thus providing their exact colocalization. The analysis can be performed on semithin or ultrathin embedded sections. The possibility of using transmission electron microscopy and SIMS on the same ultrathin sections allows the correlation between structural and analytical observations at subcellular and ultrastructural level to be established. Our observations on pathological brain areas allow us to establish that the NanoSIMS-50 ion microprobe is a highly useful instrument for the imaging of the morphological and chemical alterations that take place in these brain areas. In the human brain our results put forward the subcellular distribution of iron-ferritin-hemosiderin in the hippocampus of Alzheimer disease patients. In the thalamus of transgenic mice, our results have shown the presence of Ca-Fe mineralized amyloid deposits.     

Optimization of Green Multiple Emulsions Processing to Improve Their Physical Stability

The effect of processing protocol on physical stability and the microstructure of water‐in‐oil‐in‐water multiple emulsions containing a mixture of two amphiphilic copolymers with opposed hydrophilic‐lipophilic balance as emulsifiers and a green solvent, 2‐ethylhexyl lactate, as the dispersed phase, has been assessed. Emulsions were obtained in at least two steps: a homogenization step by using a rotor‐stator device, followed by one or two homogenization steps carried out in a high‐pressure device that used microfluidizer technology. To study the microstructure and physical stability of these emulsions, a combination of different techniques, such as transmitted‐light optical microscopy, globule size distribution, viscous flow tests, and multiple light scattering measurements, were performed.     

Thiophene‐ and silarylene‐containing polyesters. Resonance effect on conductivity after polarization in an external electric field

Polyesters were synthesized by direct polycondensation of thiophene‐2,5‐dicarboxylic acid and five different silarylene‐containing diphenols using a tosyl chloride/pyridine/N,N‐dimethylformamide system as a condensing agent. Polymers were obtained in good yields and were characterized using Fourier transform infrared and NMR (¹H, ¹³C, 135‐DEPT and ²⁹Si) spectroscopy and elemental analysis. All polymers were completely soluble in aprotic organic polar solvents such as dimethylformamide, dimethylsulfoxide and N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone. The range of effective mass of the polymers (m/z) was 1 × 10⁵–2 × 10⁵, determined using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Asymmetry and steric hindrance prevented dense packing of the polymeric chains, showing glass transition temperatures between ? 78 and ? 51 °C and loss of thermal stability at 177–199 °C (10% weight loss). Additionally, the melting points of the polyesters were found to be in the range 62–67 °C. Because of this, the samples were semi‐solid at room temperature. The optical band gaps of the polymers were observed between 4.54 and 4.48 eV, corresponding in all cases to insulator behavior. The molecular structure of the samples was studied using X‐ray diffraction, showing a degree of order that was associated with two monoclinic lattices. Additionally, the conductivity was studied using a two‐point method with contacts on top of polymer films. Prior to the electrical measurement, the samples were polarized in an external electric field of 0.8 to 6.4 V cm^?1, and the alignment of the dipoles increased the electrical conductivity. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry