Volume 62, Issue 1

Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) is a non-invasive technique used to examine the interiors of digestive tracts. Generally, the digestive tract can be divided into four segments: the entrance; stomach; small intestine; and large intestine. The stomach and the small intestine have a higher risk of infections than the other segments. In order to locate the diseased organ, an appropriate classification of the WCE images is necessary. In this article, a novel method is proposed for automatically locating the pylorus in WCE. The location of the pylorus is determined on two levels: rough-level and refined-level. In the rough-level, a short-term color change at the boundary between stomach and intestine can help us to find approximately 70–150 positions. In the refined-level, an improved Weber local descriptor (WLD) feature extraction method is designed for gray-scale images. Compared to the original WLD calculation method, the method for calculating the differential excitation is improved to give a higher level of robustness. A K-nearest neighbor (KNN) classifier is incorporated to segment these images around the approximate position into different regions. The proposed algorithm locates three most probable positions of the pylorus that were marked by the clinician. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method is effective.

This paper represents a comparative study on electromagnetic (EM) absorption in the human head between a printed monopole antenna and a planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA). The specific absorption rate (SAR) values and total absorbed power in the human head phantom are used to evaluate EM absorption for both antennae. Moreover, antenna performances in terms of return loss, radiation efficiency, and gain are also investigated in this study. The finite integration technique (FIT) based on CST Microwave studio and SAM head phantom are used in this study. The antenna performances are measured in an anechoic chamber and the SAR is tested using COMOSAR measurement system. The obtained results indicate that the printed monopole antenna lead to higher EM absorption in the human head as compared to PIFA for both GSM frequencies.

Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) is the bleeding induced by parenchyma vascular rupture. In this paper, four novel coils (a contralateral hemisphere cancellation coil, a coaxial coil, a double-end exciting coil, and a Helmholtz coil) were developed to detect the volume change of ICH with the magnetic induction phase shift (MIPS) technique. Both numerical studies on an ICH model and animal experiments on rabbits’ hemorrhage model were performed with four coils. Twenty rabbits were measured for each coil. The animal results were consistent with the simulation and the theoretical analysis for each coil. The MIPS first declined and then increased with increasing injection volume, indicating the existence of a turning point. The MRI images showed that the average CSF decreased in the heads of five rabbits after blood injection was approximately equal to the average injection volume corresponding to the turning point of all animals. Thus, we concluded that when the MIPS turning point occurs, the CSF is already exhausted and the compensatory stage has ended. The results show that the MIPS technique has the potential to detect ICH growth and MIPS changes with increasing blood in a regular way. The turning point is expected to provide an early warning for ICH growth.

The ability to selectively stimulate Aα, Aβ-fibers and Aδ-fibers in an isolated rat sciatic nerve (SNR) was assessed. The stimulus used was a current, biphasic pulse with a quasitrapezoidal cathodic phase and rectangular anodic phase where parameters were systematically varied: intensity of the cathodic phase (i c ); width of the cathodic phase (t c ); width of the cathodic exponential decay (t exp ) and time constant of the exponential decay (τ exp ). A SNR was stimulated using a pair of hook electrodes while conduction velocity (CV) and compound action potentials (CAP) were measured at two sites along the SNR using another two pairs of electrodes. Results showed that the highest CAP1 (8.5–9 mV), shall be expected when parameters of the stimulus were within the following range: i c =3.8–4 mA, t c =350–400 μs and t exp =330–440 μs. Results also showed that with ascending t c and t exp , CV of the corresponding superficial region of the SNR was reduced in both, conduction velocity of CAP1 and conduction velocity of CAP2. It was concluded that action potentials (APs) were activated in the Aβ-fibers and Aδ-fibers along with a slight AP inhibition in the Aβ-fibers. The obtained results, could serve as a tool for developing multi-electrode systems that potentially enable fiber-type selective stimulation of nerve fibers.

While considering the importance of the interface between amputees and prosthesis sockets, we study an anthropomorphic prosthesis socket whose size can be dynamically changed according to the requirements of the residual limb. First, we introduce the structure and function of the anthropomorphic prosthesis socket. Second, we study the dynamic model of the prosthesis system and analyze the dynamic characteristics of the prosthesis socket system, the inputs of an oscillometric pump, and the control mechanism of force-sensitive resistor (FSR) pressure signals. Experiments on 10 healthy subjects using the designed system yield an average detection result between 102 and 112 kPa for the FSR pressure sensor and 39 and 41 kPa for the oscillometric pump. Results show the function of the FSR pressure signal in maintaining the contact pressure between the sockets and the residual limb. The potential development of an auto-adjusted socket that uses an oscillometric pump system will provide prosthetic sockets with controllable contact pressure at the residual limb. Moreover, this development is an attractive research area for researchers involved in rehabilitation engineering, prosthetics, and orthotics.

In this study, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) were modified by coating with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and chitosan. The influences of PVA and chitosan amount on PVDF membrane mechanical and separation performance were investigated. The results showed that the modified PVDF membranes had better mechanical and separation performance when the amount of PVA and chitosan was 20 mg/m 2 . At the same time, the biocompatibility of PVDF membranes was also investigated. Compared with virgin PVDF membranes, the modified PVDF membranes showed better anticoagulation, hydrophilicity, less bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption, and lower hemolytic ratio. The anticoagulation behavior of modified PVDF membranes coating with PVA had been obviously improved. Prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) of the modified PVDF membrane are 44.8 s and 72.5 s while the PT and APTT of virgin PVDF membrane are 15.6 s and 37.3 s. The advancing water contact angle (WCA) and BSA adsorption of the modified PVDF membrane coating with PVA are 24° and 23 mg/m 2 while virgin PVDF membrane is 52° and 49 mg/m 2 . However, further biocompatibility evaluation is needed to obtain a more comprehensive conclusion.

Novel tumor-targeting zirconium phosphate (ZP) nanoparticles modified with hyaluronic acid (HA) were developed (HA-ZP), with the aim of combining the drug-loading property of ZP and the tumor-targeting ability of HA to construct a tumor-targeting paclitaxel (PTX) delivery system for potential lung cancer therapy. The experimental results indicated that PTX loading into the HA-ZP nanoparticles was as high as 20.36%±4.37%, which is favorable for cancer therapy. PTX-loaded HA-ZP nanoparticles increased the accumulation of PTX in A549 lung cancer cells via HA-mediated endocytosis and exhibited superior anticancer activity in vitro . In vivo anticancer efficacy assay revealed that HA-ZP nanoparticles possessed preferable anticancer abilities, which exhibited minimized toxic side effects of PTX and strong tumor-suppression potential in clinical application.

Titanium dental implants with sandblasted and/or acid-etched surfaces have shown clinical superiority in comparison to their smooth, machined counterparts, and are now state of the art. Sandblasting of finished, sintered zirconia implants, however, will damage the surface structure and affect the mechanical properties. To improve osseointegration of zirconia dental implants without impairing the original mechanical strength by crack initiation and partial phase transformation from tetragonal to monoclinic, roughening of the zirconia surface by sandblasting before the final sintering step was employed. Impact of the treatments on cellular reactions of SAOS-2 human osteoblast-like cells was investigated. Sandblasting of Yttrium-stabilized zirconia (Y-TZP) with 120 μm and 250 μm Al 2 O 3 enhanced average roughness (Sa) from 0.28 μm to 4.1 μm and 5.72 μm, respectively. Cell adhesion of SAOS-2 osteoblasts was enhanced up to 175% on sandblasted surfaces, compared to the machined zirconia reference (100%). Metabolic activity and proliferation in the logarithmic growth phase (24–48 h) were not significantly affected. Sample surface coverage by the cells after prolonged incubation (72 h) was markedly decreased on the roughened samples, indicating a shift towards increased differentiation on these surfaces. The approach investigated here to roughen zirconia implants by sandblasting before sintering shows potential to improve the clinical performance of ceramic dental implants.

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) is an established therapy for fracture healing where bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) migration is crucial to bone regeneration. This work focused on different performances of C-X-C-receptor 4 (CXCR4), integrin-1β and chemokine-chemokine receptor2 (CCR-2) in BMSCs migration by LIPUS stimulation. Single 20-min LIPUS treatment was applied to BMSCs during wound healing assay with or without the inhibitor AMD3100. The migration rate of BMSCs with LIPUS stimulation exhibited a higher closure rate than that of BMSCs without LIPUS stimulation, which was 1.89 μm/h and 1.38 μm/h, respectively. After LIPUS stimulation, significant elevation of the expression of CXCR4, integrin-1β and CCR-2 was observed. When AMD3100 was added, the migration rate of the BMSCs was obviously declined with or without LIPUS treatment. Furthermore, the expression of CXCR4 was significantly down-regulated by AMD3100, while integrin-1β and CCR-2 were less affected. It suggested that the enhancement of the migration of the BMSCs by LIPUS was inhibited by AMD3100. The results confirmed that LIPUS stimulation was able to activate and improve migration of BMSCs. Nevertheless, CXCR4 and both integrin-1β and CCR-2 had different roles in BMSCs migration after LIPUS treatment.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the elemental composition, the microstructure, and the selected mechanical properties of high gold orthodontic brackets after intraoral aging. Thirty Incognito™ (3M Unitek, Bad Essen, Germany) lingual brackets were studied, 15 brackets as received (control group) and 15 brackets retrieved from different patients after orthodontic treatment. The surface of the wing area was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Backscattered electron imaging (BEI) was performed, and the elemental composition was determined by X-ray EDS analysis (EDX). After appropriate metallographic preparation, the mechanical properties tested were Martens hardness (HM), indentation modulus (E IT ), elastic index (η IT ), and Vickers hardness (HV). These properties were determined employing instrumented indentation testing (IIT) with a Vickers indenter. The results were statistically analyzed by unpaired t-test (α=0.05). There were no statistically significant differences evidenced in surface morphology and elemental content between the control and the experimental group. These two groups of brackets showed no statistically significant difference in surface morphology. Moreover, the mean values of HM, E IT, η IT, and HV did not reach statistical significance between the groups (p>0.05). Under the limitations of this study, it may be concluded that the surface elemental content and microstructure as well as the evaluated mechanical properties of the Incognito™ lingual brackets remain unaffected by intraoral aging.

Small diameter (mini) dental implants have become more popular in recent years as alternatives to classical implant treatment in clinical cases with critical bony situations. However, an in-depth scientific analysis of the mechanical and biomechanical effects of small diameter implants has not yet been published. The aim of the present study was to investigate experimentally different commercial mini implants by measuring their displacements under immediate loading. Twelve commercially available mini implants were measured. Implants were inserted into porcine mandibular segments and loaded by means of a predefined displacement of 0.5 mm of the loading system. The implants were loaded at an angle of 30° to the implant long axis using the self-developed biomechanical hexapod measurement system. Implant displacements were registered. The experimental results were compared to the numerical ones from a previous study. Measured implant displacements were within the range of 39–194 μm. A large variation in the displacements was obtained among the different implant systems due to the different designs and thread profiles. Comparing experimental and numerical results, the displacements that were obtained numerically were within the range of 79–347 μm. The different commercial mini implants showed acceptable primary stability and could be loaded immediately after their insertion.