Automatic Segmentation Framework for Primary Tumors From Brain MRIs Using Morphological Filtering Techniques

This paper describes a novel framework for automatic segmentation of primary tumors and its boundary from brain MRIs using morphological filtering techniques. This method uses T2 weighted and T1 FLAIR images. This approach is very simple, more accurate and less time consuming than existing methods. This method is tested by fifty patients of different tumor types, shapes, image intensities, sizes and produced better results. The results were validated with ground truth images by the radiologist. Segmentation of the tumor and boundary detection is important because it can be used for surgical planning, treatment planning, textural analysis, 3-Dimensional modeling and volumetric analysis

A semi-automatic method for segmentation and 3D modeling of glioma tumors from brain MRI

This work presents an efficient method for volume rendering of glioma tumors from segmented 2D MRI Datasets with user interactive control, by replacing manual segmentation required in the state of art methods. The most common primary brain tumors are gliomas, evolving from the cerebral supportive cells. For clinical follow-up, the evaluation of the pre- operative tumor volume is essential. Tumor portions were automatically segmented from 2D MR images using morphological filtering techniques. These seg- mented tumor slices were propagated and modeled with the software package. The 3D modeled tumor consists of gray level values of the original image with exact tumor boundary. Axial slices of FLAIR and T2 weighted images were used for extracting tumors. Volumetric assessment of tumor volume with manual segmentation of its outlines is a time-consuming proc- ess and is prone to error. These defects are overcome in this method. Authors verified the performance of our method on several sets of MRI scans. The 3D modeling was also done using segmented 2D slices with the help of a medical software package called 3D DOCTOR for verification purposes. The results were validated with the ground truth models by the Radi- ologist.

Classification of recycled sands and their applications as fine aggregates for concrete and bituminous mixtures

As a result of the drive towards waste-poor world and reserving the non-renewable materials, recycling the construction and demolition materials become very essential. Now reuse of the recycled concrete aggregate more than 4 mm in producing new concrete is allowed but with natural sand a fine aggregate while. While the sand portion that represent about 30\% to 60\% of the crushed demolition materials is disposed off. To perform this research, recycled concrete sand was produced in the laboratory while nine recycled sands produced from construction and demolitions materials and two sands from natural crushed limestone were delivered from three plants. Ten concrete mix designs representing the concrete exposition classes XC1, XC2, XF3 and XF4 according to European standard EN 206 were produced with partial and full replacement of natural sand by the different recycled sands. Bituminous mixtures achieving the requirements of base courses according to Germany standards and both base and binder courses according to Egyptian standards were produced with the recycled sands as a substitution to the natural sands. The mechanical properties and durability of concrete produced with the different recycled sands were investigated and analyzed. Also the volumetric analysis and Marshall test were performed hot bituminous mixtures produced with the recycled sands. According to the effect of replacement the natural sand by the different recycled sands on the concrete compressive strength and durability, the recycled sands were classified into three groups. The maximum allowable recycled sand that can be used in the different concrete exposition class was determined for each group. For the asphalt concrete mixes all the investigated recycled sands can be used in mixes for base and binder courses up to 21\% of the total aggregate mass.

Drainage, salt leaching and physico-chemical properties of irrigated man-made terrace soils in a mountain oasis of northern Oman

Little is known about the sustainability of irrigated oasis agriculture in northern Oman. The objective of this study therefore was to examine which factors allowed agricultural productivity to be apparently maintained during the two millenia of a mountain oasis’ existence. Soil moisture and physico-chemical properties were measured in a typical flood-irrigated field sown to alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). Particle size, organic (C_org) and inorganic carbon content, pH and electrical conductivity (EC)of the soil profile were analyzed at 0.15, 0.45 and 1.00 m. Saturated hydraulic conductivity and the soil’s apparent bulk density and water potential were determined from undisturbed samples at 0.05, 0.25 and 0.60 m. During irrigation cycles of 6–9 days, volumetric water contents ranged from 30% to 13%. A tracer experiment with potassium bromide revealed that 52–56% of the irrigation water was stored in the upper 0.4 m of the soil. The rest of the water moved further down the profile, thus providing the necessary drainage to avoid the build-up of toxic salt concentrations. Due to differences in pore size, plant-available water in the topsoil amounted to 18.7% compared to 13% and 13.5% at 0.25- and 0.60-m depth, respectively. The aggregate structure in the upper 1.0 m of the profile is likely preserved by concentrations of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) from 379 to 434 mg kg^-1 and C_org from 157 to 368 mg kg^-1 soil. The data indicate that the sustainability of this irrigated landuse system is due to high water quality with low sodium but high CaCO3 concentration, the elaborate terrace structure and water management which allows adequate drainage.

Plant genetic diversity, irrigation and nutrient cycling in traditional mountain oases of northern Oman

Little is known about plant biodiversity, irrigation management and nutrient fluxes as criteria to assess the sustainability of traditional irrigation agriculture in eastern Arabia. Therefore interdisciplinary studies were conducted over 4 yrs on flood-irrigated fields dominated by wheat (Triticum spp.), alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) in two mountain oases of northern Oman. In both oases wheat landraces consisted of varietal mixtures comprising T. aestivum and T. durum of which at least two botanical varieties were new to science. During irrigation cycles of 6-9 days on an alfalfa-planted soil, volumetric water contents ranged from 30-13%. For cropland, partial oasis balances (comprising inputs of manure, mineral fertilizers, N2-fixation and irrigation water, and outputs of harvested products) were similar for both oases, with per hectare annual surpluses of 131 kg N, 37 kg P and 84 kg K at Balad Seet and of 136 kg N, 16 kg P and 66 kg K at Maqta. Respective palm grove surpluses, in contrast were with 303 kg N, 38 kg P, and 173 kg K ha^-1 yr^-1 much higher at Balad Seet than with 84 kg N, 14 kg P and 91 kg K ha^-1 yr^-1 at Maqta. The results show that the sustainability of these irrigated landuse systems depends on a high quality of the irrigation water with low Na but high CaCO3, intensive recycling of manure and an elaborate terrace structure with a well tailored water management system that allows adequate drainage.

Carbon and nitrogen emissions from stored manure and cropped fields in irrigated mountain oases of Oman

Little is known about gaseous carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) emissions from traditional terrace agriculture in irrigated high mountain agroecosystems of the subtropics. In an effort towards filling this knowledge gap measurements of carbon dioxide (CO_2), methane (CH_4), ammonia (NH_3) and dinitrous oxide (N_2O) were taken with a mobile photoacoustic infrared multi-gas monitor on manure-filled PE-fibre storage bags and on flood-irrigated untilled and tilled fields in three mountain oases of the northen Omani Al Jabal al Akhdar mountains. During typical 9-11 day irrigation cycles of March, August and September 2006 soil volumetric moisture contents of fields dominated by fodder wheat, barley, oats and pomegranate ranged from 46-23%. While manure incorporation after application effectively reduced gaseous N losses, prolonged storage of manure in heaps or in PE-fibre bags caused large losses of C and N. Given the large irrigation-related turnover of organic C, sustainable agricultural productivity of oasis agriculture in Oman seems to require the integration of livestock which allows for several applications of manure per year at individual rates of 20 t dry matter ha^−1.

2D-3D Rigid-Body Registration of X-Ray Fluoroscopy and CT Images

The registration of pre-operative volumetric datasets to intra- operative two-dimensional images provides an improved way of verifying patient position and medical instrument loca- tion. In applications from orthopedics to neurosurgery, it has a great value in maintaining up-to-date information about changes due to intervention. We propose a mutual information- based registration algorithm to establish the proper align- ment. For optimization purposes, we compare the perfor- mance of the non-gradient Powell method and two slightly di erent versions of a stochastic gradient ascent strategy: one using a sparsely sampled histogramming approach and the other Parzen windowing to carry out probability density approximation. Our main contribution lies in adopting the stochastic ap- proximation scheme successfully applied in 3D-3D registra- tion problems to the 2D-3D scenario, which obviates the need for the generation of full DRRs at each iteration of pose op- timization. This facilitates a considerable savings in compu- tation expense. We also introduce a new probability density estimator for image intensities via sparse histogramming, de- rive gradient estimates for the density measures required by the maximization procedure and introduce the framework for a multiresolution strategy to the problem. Registration results are presented on uoroscopy and CT datasets of a plastic pelvis and a real skull, and on a high-resolution CT- derived simulated dataset of a real skull, a plastic skull, a plastic pelvis and a plastic lumbar spine segment.

Revisión sistemática : uso de imágenes por difusión en RMN, para predecir sobrevida en pacientes adultos con diagnostico de glioblastoma multiforme

El Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), es el tumor cerebral más frecuente, con pronóstico grave y baja sensibilidad al tratamiento inicial. El propósito de este estudio fue evaluar si la Difusión en RM (IDRM), es un biomarcador temprano de respuesta tumoral, útil para tomar decisiones tempranas de tratamiento y para obtener información pronostica. Metodología La búsqueda se realizo en las bases de datos EMBASE, CENTRAL, MEDLINE; las bibliografías también fueron revisadas. Los artículos seleccionados fueron estudios observacionales (casos y controles, cohortes, corte transversal), no se encontró ningún ensayo clínico; todos los participante tenían diagnostico histopatológico de GBM, sometidos a resección quirúrgica y/o radio-quimioterapia y seguimiento de respuesta al tratamiento con IDRM por al menos 6 meses. Los datos extraídos de forma independiente fueron tipo de estudio, participantes, intervenciones, seguimiento, desenlaces (sobrevida, progresión/estabilización de la enfermedad, muerte) Resultados Quince estudios cumplieron los criterios de inclusión. Entre las técnicas empleadas de IDRM para evaluar respuesta radiológica al tratamiento, fueron histogramas del coeficiente aparente de difusion ADC (compararon valores inferiores a la media y el percentil 10 de ADC, con los valores superiores); encontrando en términos generales que un ADC bajo es un fuerte predictor de sobrevida y/o progresión del tumor. (Esto fue significativo en 5 estudios); mapas funcionales de difusion (FDM) (midieron el porcentaje de cambio de ADC basal vs pos tratamiento) que mostro ser un fuerte predictor de sobrevida en pacientes con progresión tumoral. DISCUSION Desafortunadamente la calidad de los estudios fue intermedia-baja lo que hace que la aplicabilidad de los estudios sea limitada.

Revisión sistemática de la literatura: efecto de los rellenos inyectables en la región periorbitaria

Introducción: El conocimiento actual de la fisiopatología del envejecimiento periorbitario justifica la aplicación de materiales de relleno inyectables, dado que se enfocan en la restauración del volumen perdido en esta zona, convirtiéndose en una excelente alternativa a procedimientos quirúrgicos que remueven el tejido excedente. Sin embargo los efectos y la seguridad de esta naciente tendencia terapéutica aún no se sustentan en una sólida base científica. El objetivo de esta revisión es identificar el material de relleno inyectable más adecuado para el manejo de los defectos volumétricos estéticos de la región periorbitaria. Metodología: Se realizó una búsqueda exhaustiva de los artículos indexados publicados del 1º de enero de 2.000 al 30 de septiembre de 2.013, en diversas bases de datos electrónicas, se seleccionaron catorce publicaciones, se extrajo la información referente a datos demográficos, la intervención, el seguimiento y los desenlaces y se realizó un análisis de 14 estudios que cumplieron los criterios. Resultados: Todos los artículos incluidos poseían un bajo nivel de evidencia y del grado de recomendación. Todos los materiales de relleno se asociaron a altos niveles de satisfacción para el paciente, adecuada mejoría de la apariencia estética y similares efectos colaterales, el ácido hialurónico fue el material de relleno inyectable más utilizado en la región periorbitaria. Discusión: Los materiales de relleno inyectable mejoran los defectos volumétricos estéticos de la región periorbitaria pero es necesaria mayor evidencia para determinar el tipo relleno más apropiado para esta condición.

Resonancia magnética cardiaca: medidas lineales y volumétricas en adultos sanos

Introducción: La gran mayoría de las medidas de normalidad utilizadas para la interpretación de resonancia cardiaca son extrapoladas de las medidas de ecocardiografía. Los limitados registros de medidas de normalidad se encuentran ajustados en poblaciones extranjeras, no hay registros en latinoamericanos. Objetivo: Determinar las dimensiones cardiacas utilizando resonancia magnética en una población de personas sin antecedente médicos con repercusión cardiaca para lograr una muestra de valores que permitan ajustar las medidas de normalidad utilizadas por nuestro servicio. Materiales y métodos: se analizaron 45 sujetos sanos con edad comprendida entre los 21 y 45 años, las adquisiciones se realizaron utilizando un equipo de RM de 1,5 teslas, el análisis de las imágenes se realizó mediante el programa Cardiac Volume Vx. Se evaluaron múltiples parámetros morfofuncionales a través de análisis estadístico por medio del sistema SPSS versión 23. Resultados: Mediciones obtenidas de ventrículo izquierdo principales fueron volumen diastólico en mujeres de 62 ml +/- 7.1 y en hombres de 65 ml +/- 11.2 y fracción de eyección de 60 % +/- 5 en mujeres y de 62 % +/- 9 en hombres. En ventrículo derecho el volumen diastólico final se encontró 81.8 ml +/- 14.6 en mujeres y 100 ml +/- 24.8 en hombres y fracción de eyección de 53 % +/- 17 en mujeres y de 45 % +/- 12 en hombres. Volumen de fin de diástole de 50 +/- 12.7 ml en mujeres y de 49 ml +/- 19 ml en hombres y fracción de eyección de aurícula izquierda de 55 % +/- 0.08 en mujeres y de 50 % +/- 0.07 en hombres. Volumen de fin de diástole de 44.1 ml +/- 18.5 en mujeres y de 49.2 ml +/- 22.9 en hombres y fracción de eyección de aurícula derecha de 50 % +/- 11 en mujeres y de 45 % +/- 8 en hombres. Se obtuvieron otras medidas lineales y volumétricas adicionales de cavidades cardiacas y de grandes vasos supracardiacos. Conclusiones: se describen los valores de referencia de los parámetros morfofuncionales de las cavidades cardiacas y de vasos supracardiacos. El sexo fue tenido en cuenta como covariable relacionada con la modificación de los parámetros evaluados. Se sugieren variaciones en las medidas de cavidades cardiacas para la población estudiada relacionada con aclimatación crónica a la altitud de la ciudad de Bogotá.

Imagem por ressonância magnética da vasculatura da pele humana : viabilidade no contexto clínico

Imagiologia por Ressonância Magnética (IRM) é uma modalidade de imagem médica que está a recuperar o interesse como uma técnica não invasiva no estudo da pele. Tipicamente campos magnéticos de elevada densidade e quipamentos específicos são usados. Este facto limita o usos da técnica a laboratórios e centros de investigação especializados. Neste trabalho estudou-se a viabilidade do uso da IRM no estudo da pele e da sua vasculatura usando equipamento convencional disponível em contexto clínico. Sequências IRM para imagem estrutural e veascular foram optimizadas e testadas para obtenção de imagens da pele do punho de 6 voluntários saudáveis. As sequências observáveis dos vasos, razão sinal-ruído, e razão contraste-ruído. Foi observado que duas sequências volumétricas baseadas em eco de gradiente e com ponderações T1 e T2 forneciam informação complementar em respeito à vasculatura da pele com resoluções espaciais da ordem dos micrómetros, podendo ainda esta informação ser fundida com imagens estruturais das cadamas da pele. Foi igualmente observado que estas sequências fornecem informação útil usando equipamento convencional e perspectiva-se a sua utilização no estudo das vasculatura de tumores cutâneos e na doença vascular periférica.

Dental training system using haptic technology

In the U.K., dental students require to perform training and practice on real human tissues at the very early stage of their courses. Currently, the human tissues, such as decayed teeth, are mounted in a human head like physical model. The problems with these models in teaching are; (1) every student operates on tooth, which are always unique; (2) the process cannot be recorded for examination purposes and (3) same training are not repeatable. The aim of the PHATOM Project is to develop a dental training system using Haptic technology. This paper documents the project background, specification, research and development of the first prototype system. It also discusses the research in the visual display, haptic devices and haptic rendering. This includes stereo vision, motion parallax, volumetric modelling, surface remapping algorithms as well as analysis design of the system. A new volumetric to surface model transformation algorithm is also introduced. This paper includes the future work on the system development and research.

Exploring the spatial relations between soil physical properties and apparent electrical conductivity

Relations between the apparent electrical conductivity of the soil (ECa) and top- and sub-soil physical properties were examined for two arable fields in southern England (Crowmarsh Battle Farms and the Yattendon Estate). The spatial variation of ECa and the soil properties was explored geostatistically. The variogram ranges showed that ECa varied on a similar spatial scale to many of the soil physical properties in both fields. Several features in the map of kriged predictions of ECa were also evident in maps of the soil properties. In addition, the correlation coefficients showed a strong relation between ECa and several soil properties. A moving correlation analysis enabled differences in the relations between ECa and the soil properties to be examined within the fields. The results indicated that relations were inconsistent; they were stronger in some areas than others. A regression of ECa on the principal component scores of the leading components for both fields showed that the first two components accounted for a large proportion of the variance in ECa, whereas the others accounted for little or none. For Crowmarsh topsoil sand and clay, loss on ignition and volumetric water measured in the autumn had large correlations on the first component, and for Yattendon they were large for topsoil sand and clay, and autumn and spring volumetric water. The cross-variograms suggested strong coregionalization between ECa and several soil physical properties; in particular subsoil sand and silt at Crowmarsh, and subsoil sand and clay at Yattendon. The structural correlations from the linear model of coregionalization confirmed the strength of the relations between ECa and the subsoil properties. Nevertheless, no one property was consistently important for both fields. Although a map of ECa can indicate the general patterns of spatial variation in the soil, it is not a substitute for information on soil properties obtained by sampling and analysing the soil. Nevertheless, it could be used to guide further sampling. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Problems with determining the particle size distribution of chalk soil and some of their implications

Particle size distribution (psd) is one of the most important features of the soil because it affects many of its other properties, and it determines how soil should be managed. To understand the properties of chalk soil, psd analyses should be based on the original material (including carbonates), and not just the acid-resistant fraction. Laser-based methods rather than traditional sedimentation methods are being used increasingly to determine particle size to reduce the cost of analysis. We give an overview of both approaches and the problems associated with them for analyzing the psd of chalk soil. In particular, we show that it is not appropriate to use the widely adopted 8 pm boundary between the clay and silt size fractions for samples determined by laser to estimate proportions of these size fractions that are equivalent to those based on sedimentation. We present data from field and national-scale surveys of soil derived from chalk in England. Results from both types of survey showed that laser methods tend to over-estimate the clay-size fraction compared to sedimentation for the 8 mu m clay/silt boundary, and we suggest reasons for this. For soil derived from chalk, either the sedimentation methods need to be modified or it would be more appropriate to use a 4 pm threshold as an interim solution for laser methods. Correlations between the proportions of sand- and clay-sized fractions, and other properties such as organic matter and volumetric water content, were the opposite of what one would expect for soil dominated by silicate minerals. For water content, this appeared to be due to the predominance of porous, chalk fragments in the sand-sized fraction rather than quartz grains, and the abundance of fine (<2 mu m) calcite crystals rather than phyllosilicates in the clay-sized fraction. This was confirmed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses. "Of all the rocks with which 1 am acquainted, there is none whose formation seems to tax the ingenuity of theorists so severely, as the chalk, in whatever respect we may think fit to consider it". Thomas Allan, FRS Edinburgh 1823, Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. (C) 2009 Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lava production at Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat: 1995-2009

[1] We estimate that about 1 km3 of andesitic lava has been produced at Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat from 1995 to 2009. There were three major episodes of extrusion, each lasting about 2 to 3.5 years and producing about 280 to 340 M m3 of lava, and one minor episode. Our estimates account for the dense rock equivalent volumetric contributions from the core and talus components of the lava dome, pyroclastic flow deposits and air-fall deposits. By 2005 at least two thirds of the erupted mass has already entered the sea. The average lava flux across the major extrusion episodes has been 3–5 m3s−1, with short-period (10–15 days) pulses up to 10–20 m3s−1. The first and third episodes of extrusion show similar flux histories suggesting similar behaviour of the system ten years apart. Waning flux towards the end of each episode may be caused by declining overpressure in the magma reservoir.