Micropatterned composite membrane guides oriented cell growth and vascularization for accelerating wound healing.

Skin defect is common in daily life, but repairing large skin defects remains a challenge. Using biomaterials to deliver biochemical or physical factors to promote skin tissue regeneration is of great significance for accelerating wound healing. Specific surface micropatterns on biomaterials could affect cell behavior and tissue regeneration. However, few studies have focused on the construction of wound healing biomaterials with surface micropatterns and their role in skin tissue regeneration. In the present study, gelatin-polycaprolactone/silk fibroin composite membranes with different micropatterns were fabricated by photolithography, including line, grid and plane micropatterns. In vitro cell experiments demonstrated that the line micropattern on the composite membrane could guide cell-oriented growth, and more importantly, promote the expression of angiogenesis-related markers and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) at both gene level and protein level. In the rat full-thickness skin defect model, the composite membrane with line micropatterns increased α-SMA production and neovascularization in wounds, leading to accelerated wound contraction and healing. The current study not only suggests that composite membranes with specific micropatterns can be promising wound repair materials but also provides new insights into the importance of biomaterial surface topology for tissue regeneration.

Infrared thermal imaging-based skin temperature response during cupping at two different negative pressures.

Cupping therapy can relieve muscle fatigue and pain after exercise by increasing blood flow at the treatment site, which may lead to dynamic changes of the local skin temperature. This study aimed to analyze the effect of cupping on local skin temperature under two different negative pressures using infrared thermography (IRT). Cupping therapy was performed on the forearms of 22 healthy subjects using the negative pressures of - 0.03 and - 0.04 MPa. IRT was used to record the dynamic changes in skin temperature before, during, and after cupping. Both cupping pressures induced a non-linear skin temperature response: temperature decreased first and then increased during cupping, while it first increased and then decreased after cupping. A significant difference was noted between the two negative pressure groups in the maximum temperature increment after cupping (P < 0.001). Compared with the basal temperature before cupping, the maximum increase in skin temperature after cupping in the - 0.03 and - 0.04 MPa groups was 0.92 and 1.42 °C, respectively. The findings of this study can lay the foundation evaluating the curative effect of cupping based on IRT and provide an objective reference for selecting the cupping negative pressure.

Zn/Sr dual ions-collagen co-assembly hydroxyapatite enhances bone regeneration through procedural osteo-immunomodulation and osteogenesis.

The immune microenvironment induced by biomaterials played vital roles in bone regeneration. Hydroxyapatite (HA) and its ion-substituted derivates represent a large class of core inorganic materials for bone tissue engineering. Although ion substitution was proved to be a potent way to grant HA more biological functions, few studies focused on the immunomodulatory properties of ion-doped HA. Herein, to explore the potential osteoimmunomodulatory effects of ion-doped HA, zinc and strontium co-assembled into HA through a collagen template biomimetic way (ZnSr-Col-HA) was successfully achieved. It was found that ZnSr-Col-HA could induce a favorable osteo-immune microenvironment by stimulating macrophages. Furthermore, ZnSr-Col-HA demonstrated a procedural promoting effect on osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in vitro. Specifically, the osteo-immune microenvironment acted as a dominant factor in promoting osteogenic gene expressions at the early stage through OSM signal pathway. Whereas the direct stimulating effects on BMSCs by Zn2+/Sr2+ were more effectively at the later stage with Nfatc1/Maf and Wnt signals activated. In vivo study confirmed strong promoting effects of ZnSr-Col-HA on critical-sized cranial defect repair. The current study indicated that such a combined biomaterial design philosophy of dual ion-doping and biomimetic molecular co-assembly to endow HA applicable osteoimmunomodulatory characteristics might bring up a new cutting-edge concept for bone regeneration study.

Facial Paralysis Detection in Infrared Thermal Images Using Asymmetry Analysis of Temperature and Texture Features.

Facial temperature distribution in healthy people shows contralateral symmetry, which is generally disrupted by facial paralysis. This study aims to develop a quantitative thermal asymmetry analysis method for early diagnosis of facial paralysis in infrared thermal images. First, to improve the reliability of thermal image analysis, the facial regions of interest (ROIs) were segmented using corner and edge detection. A new temperature feature was then defined using the maximum and minimum temperature, and it was combined with the texture feature to represent temperature distribution of facial ROIs. Finally, Minkowski distance was used to measure feature symmetry of bilateral ROIs. The feature symmetry vectors were input into support vector machine to evaluate the degree of facial thermal symmetry. The results showed that there were significant differences in thermal symmetry between patients with facial paralysis and healthy people. The accuracy of the proposed method for early diagnosis of facial paralysis was 0.933, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.947. In conclusion, temperature and texture features can effectively quantify thermal asymmetry caused by facial paralysis, and the application of machine learning in early detection of facial paralysis in thermal images is feasible.

Quantitative assessment of Bell's palsy-related facial thermal asymmetry using infrared thermography: A preliminary study.

The temperature distribution of normal human skin is symmetrical. Facial paralysis generally changes this thermal symmetry. The aim of this study is to analyze facial thermal asymmetry during the early onset of Bell's palsy, and to assess the feasibility of the diagnosis of early-onset Bell's palsy using infrared thermography (IRT). Fifteen subjects with Bell's palsy and 15 healthy volunteers were considered in this study. The infrared thermal images of the front, left, and right sides of all the subjects were collected and analyzed. Each group of facial thermograms was divided into 16 symmetrical regions of interest (ROIs) with respect to the left and right sides. Three different temperature difference calculation methods were used to express the degree of thermal symmetry between the left- and right-side ROIs, namely, the mean temperature difference (ΔTroi), maximum temperature difference (ΔTmax), and minimum temperature difference (ΔTmin). Among the facial ROIs, there were significant differences in the thermal symmetries of the frontal region, medial canthus region, and infraorbital region between subjects with and without Bell's palsy (p < 0.05). Based on the results, ΔTroi was more effective than the other two methods for the diagnosis of early-onset Bell's palsy. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of ΔTroi in the infraorbital region was 0.818; and the sensitivity and specificity were 0.867 and 0.800, respectively. Subjects with early-onset Bell's palsy exhibited thermal asymmetry on the left and right sides of their faces. The diagnosis of early-onset Bell's palsy using IRT is therefore necessary. Nevertheless, more effective thermal symmetry analysis methods will be investigated further in future research.

Intra- and Interrater Reliability of Infrared Image Analysis of Facial Acupoints in Individuals with Facial Paralysis.

Infrared thermography (IRT), as a noncontact tool for temperature measurement, is widely applied in the study of acupuncture modernization. The aim of this study was to assess the intra- and interrater reliability of infrared image analysis of facial acupoints of subjects with facial paralysis and determine the factors influencing the variability of the measured values. A total of 26 patients with facial paralysis on one side, aged 26 to 53 years, participated voluntarily in the study. Facial infrared thermal images of all participants were analyzed by two trained raters at two different time points at a one-week interval. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to determine the intra- and interrater reliability of IRT measurements. The ICC values varied depending on the analyzed acupoints. The reliability of temperature measurement ranged from moderate to excellent (intrarater, ICC ranged from 0.669 to 0.990; interrater, ICC ranged from 0.661 to 0.987). The reliability of temperature difference measurement ranged from low to excellent (intrarater, ICC ranged from 0.412 to 0.882; interrater, ICC ranged from 0.334 to 0.828). The main influencing factor of reliability is the incomplete consistency in selecting acupoint positions when repeatedly positioning the same acupoint manually. Despite low reliability of temperature difference measurement at some acupoints, some auxiliary measures can be used to reduce the error of manual positioning. Thus, infrared thermal imaging still has the potential to assist in objective and quantitative research on acupuncture.

Measuring spatio-temporal dynamics of impervious surface in Guangzhou, China, from 1988 to 2015, using time-series Landsat imagery.

This study evaluated the spatio-temporal change characteristics of urban development at different scales with time-series impervious surface fractions. Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) images were used to extract impervious surface fractions using a modified linear spectral mixture analysis method in Guangzhou from 1988 to 2015. The results indicated that the impervious surface area has substantially increased, from 70.3 km2 in 1988 to 580.5 km2 in 2015. In 2015, the impervious surfaces were distributed almost throughout the whole region of the study area, except in the forest region. Next, impervious surface weighted mean centre (ISWMC) and the standard deviational ellipse (SDE) methods were used to systematically analyse the principle orientation, direction, spatio-temporal expansion trends, and the distribution differences of impervious surfaces at the whole and local region scales from 1988 to 2015. The spatio-temporal dynamics of ISWMC exhibited different expansion directions and intensities of impervious surfaces at the whole and local region scales. On a whole region scale, the principle expansion direction of impervious surfaces was northward. However, the expansion trend of impervious surfaces in the different districts was significantly different from other trends at the local region scale. The parameters of SDE were used to investigate the orientation and the clustering or dispersion degree of impervious surface at different scales. The results from SDE analysis indicated that the impervious surfaces exhibited uncertainty in the expansion direction at the whole region scale; in contrast, they had a distinct preferred orientation and expansion direction at the local region scale. The analysis revealed that urban expansion exhibited different change characteristics in various directions at the local region scale. In summary, the results at the local region scale can better reflect the change trajectory of spatio-temporal dynamics of urban development and its fine spatial structure than at the whole region scale.

[Automatic Assessment of Facial Nerve Function Based on Infrared Thermal Imaging].

Facial paralysis which is mainly caused by facial nerve dysfunction is a common clinical entity. It seriously devastates a patient's daily life and interpersonal relationships. A method of automatic assessment of facial nerve function is of critical importance for the diagnosis and treatment of facial paralysis. The contralateral asymmetry of facial temperature distribution is one of the newly symptoms of facial paralysis patients which can be captured by infrared thermography. This paper presents a novel framework for objective measurement of facial paralysis based on the automatic analysis of infrared thermal image. Facial infrared thermal image is automatically divided into eight regional areas based on facial temperature distribution specificity and edge detection, the facial temperature distribution features are extracted automatically, including the asymmetry degree of facial temperature distribution, effective thermal area ratio and temperature difference. The automatic classifier is used to assess facial nerve function based on radial basis function neural network (RBFNN). This method comprehensively utilizes the correlation and specificity of the facial temperature distribution，extracts efficiently the facial temperature contralateral asymmetry of facial paralysis in the infrared thermal imaging. In our experiments, 390 infrared thermal images were collected from subjects with unilateral facial paralysis. The results show: the average classification accuracy rate of our proposed method was 94.10%. It has achieved a better classification rate which is above 9.31% than K nearest neighbor (kNN) classifier and 4.87% above Support vector machine (SVM). This experiment results is superior to traditional House-Brackmann facial neural function assessment method. The classification accuracy of facial nerve function with the method is full compliance with the clinical application standard. A complete set of automated techniques for the computerized assessment of thermal images has been developed to assess thermal dysfunction caused by facial paralysis, and the clinical diagnosis and treatment of facial paralysis also will benefit by this method.

[Objective assessment of facial paralysis using infrared thermography and formal concept analysis].

This paper presented a novel approach to objective assessment of facial nerve paralysis based on infrared thermography and formal concept analysis. Sixty five patients with facial nerve paralysis on one side were included in the study. The facial temperature distribution images of these 65 patients were captured by infrared thermography every five days during one-month period. First, the facial thermal images were pre-processed to identify six potential regions of bilateral symmetry by using image segmentation techniques. Then, the temperature differences on the left and right sides of the facial regions were extracted and analyzed. Finally, the authors explored the relationships between the statistical averages of those temperature differences and the House-Brackmann score for objective assessment degree of nerve damage in a facial nerve paralysis by using formal concept analysis. The results showed that the facial temperature distribution of patients with facial nerve paralysis exhibited a contralateral asymmetry, and the bilateral temperature differences of the facial regions were greater than 0.2 degrees C, whereas in normal healthy individuals these temperature differences were less than 0.2 degrees C. Spearman correlation coefficient between the bilateral temperature differences of the facial regions and the degree of facial nerve damage was an average of 0.508, which was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Furthermore, if one of the temperature differences of bilateral symmetry on facial regions was greater than 0.2 degrees C, and all were less than 0.5 degrees C, facial nerve paralysis could be determined as for the mild to moderate; if one of the temperature differences of bilateral symmetry was greater than 0.5 degrees C, facial nerve paralysis could be determined as for serious. In conclusion, this paper presents an automated technique for the computerized analysis of thermal images to objectively assess facial nerve related thermal dysfunction by using formal concept analysis theory, which may benefit the clinical diagnosis and treatment of facial nerve paralysis.

[Objective assessment of facial paralysis using local binary pattern in infrared thermography].

Facial paralysis is a frequently-occurring disease, which causes the loss of the voluntary muscles on one side of the face due to the damages the facial nerve and results in an inability to close the eye and leads to dropping of the angle of the mouth. There have been few objective methods to quantitatively diagnose it and assess this disease for clinically treating the patients so far. The skin temperature distribution of a healthy human body exhibits a contralateral symmetry. Facial paralysis usually causes an alteration of the temperature distribution of body with the disease. This paper presents the use of the histogram distance of bilateral local binary pattern (LBP) in the facial infrared thermography to measure the asymmetry degree of facial temperature distribution for objective assessing the severity of facial paralysis. Using this new method, we performed a controlled trial to assess the facial nerve function of the healthy subjects and the patients with Bell's palsy respectively. The results showed that the mean sensitivity and specificity of this method are 0.86 and 0.89 respectively. The correlation coefficient between the asymmetry degree of facial temperature distribution and the severity of facial paralysis is an average of 0.657. Therefore, the histogram distance of local binary pattern in the facial infrared thermography is an efficient clinical indicator with respect to the diagnosis and assessment of facial paralysis.

[Using infrared thermal asymmetry analysis for objective assessment of the lesion of facial nerve function].

The skin temperature distribution of a healthy human body exhibits a contralateral symmetry. Some lesions of facial nerve function are associated with an alteration of the thermal distribution of the human body. Since the dissipation of heat through the skin occurs for the most part in the form of infrared radiation, infrared thermography is the method of choice to capture the alteration of the infrared thermal distribution. This paper presents a new method of analysis of the thermal asymmetry named effective thermal area ratio, which is a product of two variables. The first variable is mean temperature difference between the specific facial region and its contralateral region. The second variable is a ratio, which is equal to the area of the abnormal region divided by the total area. Using this new method, we performed a controlled trial to assess the facial nerve function of the healthy subjects and the patients with Bell's palsy respectively. The results show: that the mean specificity and sensitivity of this method are 0.90 and 0.87 respectively, improved by 7% and 26% compared with conventional methods. Spearman correlation coefficient between effective thermal area ratio and the degree of facial nerve function is an average of 0.664. Hence, concerning the diagnosis and assessment of facial nerve function, infrared thermography is a powerful tool; while the effective ther mal area ratio is an efficient clinical indicator.

[Anomaly of infrared thermal radiation intensity on unilateral mild to moderate Bell's palsy].

Bell's palsy is a kind of facial nerve diseases with a high incidence, and the patients who get the disease the first time predominate in the patients who suffer mildly or moderately. The aim of the present study is to explore a novel assessment for Bell's palsy objectively and noninvasively based on infrared thermal image. As the acupoints on the face are approximately bilateral symmetric, the acupoints on the affected side were chosen as the experimental group, while the same ones on the other side as the control group. Their infrared thermal radiations were researched separately and the results were as follows: on acute stage, the differences of infrared thermal radiation intensity of the same points were significant between the healthy and affected sides, indicating significant temperature difference (over 0.3 degrees C). The acupoints on the affected side with its surrounding tissue formed an irregular abnormal region on the infrared thermal image. Its pseudocolor was obviously different from that of the healthy side. At the same time, the more serious the Bell's palsy, the more evident the temperature differences of the same acupoints on bilateral sides. It was positive correlation (r=0.676, r=0.498, r=0.506, r=0.545, r=0.518, all P<0.05) between the bilateral temperature differences of acupoints (Quanliao, Dicang, Jiache, Yuyao, Yangbai) and the lesions degree of Bell' palsy, which was statistically significant. Thus, infrared thermal image could be used to objectively assess the severity of Bell' palsy.

[Research on the correlation between the temperature asymmetry at acupoints of healthy and affected side and the severity index of facial paralysis].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the change trend of the temperature asymmetry coefficient at acupoints between healthy side and affected side in patients with facial paralysis, to study the correlation between the temperature asymmetry and Facial Disability Index (FDI), to provide scientific guidance for the application of infrared thermography in the examination of severity of facial paralysis. METHODS: Using the infrared thermography to observe the temperature asymmetry at acupoints, the temperature asymmetry coefficient at acupoints between healthy side and affected side was calculated; the correlation between the temperature asymmetry and FDI was analyzed. RESULTS: The correlation between the temperature asymmetry coefficient and FDI was statistically significant at acupoints of Yang-bai (GB 14), Cuanzhu (BL 2), Dicang (ST 4), Yuyao (EX-HN 4), Quanliao (SI 18), Jiache (ST 6) (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The temperature asymmetry coefficient at acupoints between healthy side and affected side could be a scientific measure to evaluate the severity of facial paralysis.

[Comparing of different methods on habitat adaptive division of Chinese material medica].

OBJECTIVE: To comparing two kinds habitat adaptive division of Chinese material medica with different models. METHOD: The habitat adaptive divisions of A. lancea according essential oil accumulation with two kinds pattern, model pattern and template pattern were carrid and compared. RESULT: Two habitat adaptive divisions of A. lancea maps according essential oil accumulation were gotten. CONCLUSION: Both model pattern and template pattern were efficient on habitat adaptive division of Chinese material medica, but they shoud bu used with different processesd and based different background [corrected]

[Key influencing factors on essential oil components of Atractylodes lancea and study on its division of climate adaptability].

OBJECTIVE: To find the key factors that influence the content of the essential oil components of Atractylodes lancea and classify the habitat of A. lancea based the essential oil components, as well as explore a new method to conduct division of Chinese natural medicin through geographic information system (GIS) ultimately. METHOD: The key factors were obtained by canonical correlation and stepwise regressive analysis. Then the interpolation of climatic data for 30 years (1971-2000) was done by Sufer 7.0, and the habitat division was done by ARCGIS 9. 0. RESULT: There were 6 correlation models between climate factors and 6 main essential oil componets were obtained, and a division map about essential oil components content of A. lancea base on clamate adaptability were drawn. It was found that the climate condition in Octobers played a key role on forming the essential oil components and the interaction of tempreture and precipitation was the most important factor on forming the essential oil components of A. lancea. CONCLUSION: The adaptive habitat for forming the essential oil components of A. lancea was different from growing A. lancea ones. And GIS can be used perspective for division of Chinese natural medicine.

[Measurement of terrestrial ecosystem service value in China].

With the measurement of net primary productivity and vegetation coverage fraction based on remote sensing data,the terrestrial ecosystem service value of China in 2000 was quantitatively estimated as 9.17 x 10(12) yuan (RMB). The spatial distribution of the ecological service value showed a decreasing trend from southeast China to northwest China, which was consistent with the regional distribution of vegetation types. The service value varied with different vegetations, e. g., forests had the highest service value of 18 789 yuan x hm(-2), accounting for 40.80% of the total terrestrial ecosystem service value, and bushes and farmlands had a higher service value of 13 789 yuan x hm(-2) and 13054 yuan x hm(-2), which was 10.79% and 24.23% of total value, respectively. The service value was also varied with different ecosystem functions, i.e., gas regulation contributed the highest value of 45.16% to the total service value, and the contribution of soil conservation and water conservation was 28.83% and 14.44%, respectively. The integrated approach coupling ecology and remote sensing data provided a new method to measure the ecological service value, which could estimate the value objectively and spatial-explicitly. However, some uncertainties still existed in this approach, which should be improved in the future studies.