Effect of Deep Cryogenic Treatment on Corrosion Behavior of AISI H13 Die Steel.

AISI H13 die steel specimens were subjected to heating at 1020 °C followed by oil quenching and double tempering at 520 °C. Subsequently, these specimens were subjected to deep cryogenic treatment at -185 °C in liquid nitrogen environment for 16 h and then subjected to soft tempering at 100 °C once the specimens attained room temperature. Thereafter, the specimens were subjected to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis.

Simultaneous Determination of Vitamins D3 (Calcitriol, Cholecalciferol) and K2 (Menaquinone-4 and Menaquinone-7) in Dietary Supplements by UHPLC.

The content and composition of dietary supplements is of great interest due to their increasing consumption and variety of available brand offered in the market. Accurate determination of vitamins is important for the improvement of dietary supplement quality and nutrition assessments. In this regard, the simultaneous determination of vitamin D3 (calcitriol-CT and cholecalciferol-CHL) and K2 (menaquinone-4-MK-4 and menaquinone-7-MK-7) in dietary supplements was developed by using ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC).

New evidence from hyperspectral imaging analysis on the effect of photobiomodulation therapy on normal skin oxygenation.

The aim of this study was to assess the changes induced by photobiomodulation therapy in oxygenation of normal skin and underlying tissue using hyperspectral imaging combined with a chemometric regression approach. Eleven healthy adult volunteers were enrolled in this study. The dorsal side of the left hand of each subject was exposed to photobiomodulation therapy, while the correspondent side of the right hand was used as a control (placebo effect).

Automatic detection of basal cell carcinoma by hyperspectral imaging.

The purpose of this study was to test the ability of hyperspectral imaging (HSI) combined with unsupervised anomaly detectors to automatically differentiate basal cell carcinoma (BCC) from normal skin. Hyperspectral images of the face of a female patient with a BCC of the lower lip were acquired using a visible/near-infrared HSI system and two anomaly detection algorithms (Reed-Xiaoli and Reed-Xiaoli/Uniform Target hybrid anomaly detectors) were used to detect pathological tissue from normal skin. The results revealed that the receiver operating characteristic curve of the Reed-Xiaoli/Uniform Target hybrid detector was higher than that of the Reed-Xiaoli detector in the range of false positive rates between 0 and 0.

Object-oriented classification approach for bone metastasis mapping from whole-body bone scintigraphy.

Purpose: Whole-body bone scintigraphy is the most widely used method for detecting bone metastases in advanced cancer. However, its interpretation depends on the experience of the radiologist. Some automatic interpretation systems have been developed in order to improve diagnostic accuracy.

The Application of Electromagnetic Sensors for Determination of Cherenkov Cone Inside and in the Vicinity of the Detector Volume in Any Environment Known.

The neutrinos of cosmic radiation, due to interaction with any known medium in which the Cherenkov detector is used, produce energy radiation phenomena in the form of a Cherenkov cone, in very large frequency spectrum. These neutrinos carry with them the information about the phenomena that produced them and by detecting the electromagnetic energies generated by the Cherenkov cone, we can find information about the phenomena that formed in the universe, at a much greater distance, than possibility of actually detection with current technologies. At present, a very high number of sensors for detection electromagnetic energy is required.

A Strategy for Alleviating Micro Arcing during HiPIMS Deposition of DLC Coatings.

In this work, we investigate the use of high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) for the deposition of micrometer thick diamond like carbon (DLC) coatings on Si and steel substrates. The adhesion on both types of substrates is ensured with a simple Ti interlayer, while the energy of impinging ions is adjusted by using RF (Radio Frequency) biasing on the substrate at -100 V DC self-bias. Addition of acetylene to the working Ar+Ne atmosphere is investigated as an alternative to Ar sputtering, to improve process stability and coatings quality.

Characterization of electron beam deposited NbO coatings for biomedical applications.

Niobium oxide coatings deposited on TiAlV substrates by electron beam deposition and annealed in air at 600 °C and 800 °C were evaluated for their suitability towards dental, maxillofacial or orthopaedic implant applications. A detailed physico-chemical properties investigation was carried out in order to determine their elemental and phase composition, surface morphology and roughness, mechanical properties, wettability, and corrosion resistance in simulated body fluid solution (pH = 7.4) at room temperature.

The effect of hybrid coatings based on hydrogel, biopolymer and inorganic components on the corrosion behavior of titanium bone implants.

Modification of titanium (Ti) bone implant materials with hybrid organic-inorganic coatings is a novel promising approach to improve the osteoconductivity and osteointegration of implants and prevent their failure after implantation. However, in these coatings, which are mostly hydrophilic, chemically active moieties capable of releasing oxidizing ions can have a significant influence on the corrosion resistance of Ti, which is critical for the Ti implant osteointegration behavior. In this research, in order to study the dependence of the change of the corrosion behavior of Ti on the composition of the coating, Ti surfaces were modified with various coatings: organic (alginate hydrogel crosslinked with Ca ions (Alg), and dextran sulfate (DS)), inorganic (porous calcium carbonate CaCO), and composite organic-inorganic (Alg-CaCO, DS-CaCO).

Nitrogen-Doped CuO Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications.

Cuprous oxide (CuO) is a p-type semiconductor with high optical absorption and a direct bandgap of about 2.1 eV, making it an attractive material for photovoltaic applications. For a high-performance photovoltaic device, the formation of low-resistivity contacts on CuO thin films is a prerequisite, which can be achieved by, for instance, nitrogen doping of CuO in order to increase the carrier concentration.

Computer-aided detection of bone metastasis in bone scintigraphy images using parallelepiped classification method.

Objective: Accurate diagnosis of metastatic tissue on bone scintigraphy images is of paramount importance in making treatment decisions. Although several automated systems have developed, more and better interpretation methods are still being sought. In the present study, a new modality for bone metastasis detection from bone scintigraphy images using parallelepiped classification (PC) as method for mapping the radionuclide distribution is presented.

Fractionated Irradiation in Photobiomodulation Therapy of Ankle Sprain.

Objective: The aim of this study was to test whether fractionated irradiation in photobiomodulation therapy enhances short-term recovery in patients with moderate severity ankle sprain.

Design: Nineteen patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: one group receiving photobiomodulation therapy combined with the standard rest, icing, compression, and elevation treatment, or a group receiving only standard treatment. Group 1 patients were irradiated using a laser system (635 nm, 15 mW) according to a double-fractionated irradiation scheme consisting of two sessions (4.

Metal Oxide Thin-Film Heterojunctions for Photovoltaic Applications.

Silicon-based tandem solar cells incorporating low-cost, abundant, and non-toxic metal oxide materials can increase the conversion efficiency of silicon solar cells beyond their conventional limitations with obvious economic and environmental benefits. In this work, the electrical characteristics of a metal oxide thin-film heterojunction solar cell based on a cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) absorber layer were investigated. Highly Al-doped n-type ZnO (AZO) and undoped p-type Cu₂O thin films were prepared on quartz substrates by magnetron sputter deposition.

Hyperspectral index-based metric for burn depth assessment.

Burn depth objective classification is of paramount importance for decision making and treatment. Despite the wide variety of burn depth assessment methods tested so far, none of them have gained wide clinical application. Here, we introduce a new approach for burn depth assessment based on hyperspectral imaging combined with a spectral index-based technique that exploits specific spectral bands to map skin areas with different burn degrees.

Simulated altitude exposure assessment by hyperspectral imaging.

Testing the human body’s reaction to hypoxia (including the one generated by high altitude) is important in aeronautic medicine. This paper presents a method of monitoring blood oxygenation during experimental hypoxia using hyperspectral imaging (HSI) and a spectral unmixing model based on a modified Beer–Lambert law. A total of 20 healthy volunteers (males) aged 25 to 60 years were included in this study.

Diagnosing clean margins through Raman spectroscopy in human and animal mammary tumour surgery: a short review.

Breast cancer frequency in human and other mammal female populations has worryingly increased lately. The acute necessity for taxonomy of the aetiological factors along with seeking for new diagnostic tools and therapy procedures aimed at reducing mortality have yielded in an intense research effort worldwide. Surgery is a regular method to counteract extensive development of breast cancer and prevent metastases provided that negative surgical margins are achieved.

An Analysis of Human Dorsal Hand Skin Texture Using Hyperspectral Imaging Technique for Assessing the Skin Aging Process.

Skin texture has become an important issue in recent research with applications in the cosmetic industry and medicine. In this paper, we analyzed the dependence of skin texture features on wavelength as well as on different parameters (age and gender) of human participants using grey-level co-occurrence matrix and hyperspectral imaging technique for a more accurate quantitative assessment of the aging process. A total of 42 healthy participants (men and women; age range, 20-70 years) was enrolled in this study.

Algorithm for mapping cutaneous tissue oxygen concentration using hyperspectral imaging.

The measurement of tissue oxygenation plays an important role in the diagnosis and therapeutic assessment of a large variety of diseases. Many different methods have been developed and are currently applied in clinical practice for the measurement of tissue oxygenation. Unfortunately, each of these methods has its own limitations.

Hyperspectral imaging-based wound analysis using mixture-tuned matched filtering classification method.

Hyperspectral imaging is a technology that is beginning to occupy an important place in medical research with good prospects in future clinical applications. We evaluated the role of hyperspectral imaging in association with a mixture-tuned matched filtering method in the characterization of open wounds. The methodology and the processing steps of the hyperspectral image that have been performed in order to obtain the most useful information about the wound are described in detail.

Characterization of burns using hyperspectral imaging technique - a preliminary study.

Surgical burn treatment depends on accurate estimation of burn depth. Many methods have been used to asses burns, but none has gained wide acceptance. Hyperspectral imaging technique has recently entered the medical research field with encouraging results.

Increased number of fractionated irradiation sessions does not improve the cellular response to methyl aminolevulinate-mediated photodynamic therapy.

Background: In the search to improve the efficacy of photodynamic therapy different approaches have been investigated until now. One of these approaches is the use of double fractionated irradiation schemes. This study aims to investigate the effect of increasing the numbers of fractionated irradiation sessions in methyl aminolevulinate-mediated photodynamic therapy on dysplastic oral keratinocytes by monitoring the changes in optical properties of cell culture.

Optical techniques for the noninvasive diagnosis of skin cancer.

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the most investigated optical diagnostic techniques: optical coherence tomography, fluorescence spectrometry, reflectance spectrometry, Raman spectroscopy, and confocal microscopy.

Methods: A search of three databases was conducted using specific keywords and explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria for the analysis of the performances of these techniques in the pre- and postoperative diagnosis of skin cancers.

Results: Optical coherence tomography has shown promising results in the assessment of deep margins of skin tumors and inflammatory skin diseases, but differentiating premalignant from malignant lesions proved to be less effective.

In vivo study of age-related changes in the optical properties of the skin.

The optical properties of the skin (absorption coefficient, scattering coefficient, refractive index) may serve to characterize the skin and are important for correct light dosimetry in many optical diagnostic procedures and laser treatments especially photodynamic therapy and laser therapy. We determined in vivo the optical properties of tissues near the wrist, elbow and knee in subjects of different ages using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, having in view the establishment of laser system types for the laser treatment of posttraumatic lesions in subjects of different ages. Diffuse reflection of light from biological tissue is due to the variation in refractive index of tissular and cellular components and the surrounding medium and depends on the wavelength of the incident optical radiation.

Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) efficacy in post-operative wounds.

Objective: The aim of this paper was to investigate the efficacy of low-level laser radiation (LLLR) with wavelength of 904 nm on the stimulation of the healing process of postoperative aseptic wounds (early scar).

Background Data: Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has been increasingly used to treat many disorders, including wounds. However, despite such increased clinical usage, there is still controversy regarding the efficacy of this wound treatment in curent clinical practice.