ABSTRACT
Worldwide, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer that mainly affects women. Several diagnosis techniques based on optical instrumentation and image analysis have been developed, and these are commonly used in conjunction with conventional diagnostic devices such as mammographs, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging of the breast. The cost of using these instruments is increasing, and developing countries, whose deaths indices due to breast cancer are high, cannot access conventional diagnostic methods and have even less access to newer techniques. Other studies, based on the analysis of images acquired by traditional methods, require high resolutions and knowledge of the origin of the captures in order to avoid errors. For this reason, the design of a low-cost diffuse optical mammography system for biomedical image processing in breast cancer diagnosis is presented. The system combines the acquisition of breast tissue photographs, diffuse optical reflectance (as a biophotonics technique), and the processing of digital images for the study and diagnosis of breast cancer. The system was developed in the form of a medical examination table with a 638 nm red-light source, using light-emitted diode technology (LED) and a low-cost web camera for the acquisition of breast tissue images. The system is automatic, and its control, through a graphical user interface (GUI), saves costs and allows for the subsequent analysis of images using a digital image-processing algorithm. The results obtained allow for the possibility of planning in vivo measurements. In addition, the acquisition of images every 30° around the breast tissue could be used in future research in order to perform a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and an analysis of the captures through deep learning techniques. These could be combined with virtual, augmented, or mixed reality environments to predict the position of tumors, increase the likelihood of a correct medical diagnosis, and develop a training system for specialists. Furthermore, the system allows for the possibility to develop analysis of optical characterization for new phantom studies in breast cancer diagnosis through bioimaging techniques.
Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms , Female , Humans , Breast Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Mammography/methods , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods , Breast , Phantoms, ImagingABSTRACT
Vegetation structure and floristics have a strong influence on the relative abundance of spider guilds and functional diversity of terrestrial arthropods. Human activities have transformed much of the temperate woodlands. The aim of this study was to test five predictions related to the guild distribution and functional diversity of the ground spider communities of Eucalyptus plantations and native pine woodlands in western Mexico. Spiders were collected every fortnight from September to November from 15 pitfalls positioned in each of the eight sites. We also assessed the cover of grasses, herbs, shrubs, and leaf litter in each site. We found that the abundances of ground hunters and sheet weavers between plantations and pine woodlands were different. Nevertheless, there was not a consistent difference between sites of each of the vegetation types. Most species of ground hunters, sheet web weavers, and many other hunters were associated with litter and the grass cover. Nonetheless, in some cases, species of different families belonging to the same guild responded to different variables. Wolf spiders were related to the grass Aristida stricta Micheaux, 1803, while the species of the other families of ground hunters were associated with leaf litter. One Eucalyptus plantation and one pine woodland had the highest functional diversity of all sites. These sites have a well developed litter and grass cover. Our study suggests that the abundance of litter and a high cover of grasses explain the occurrence of species with different traits, and these habitat components results in a high functional diversity.
Subject(s)
Biodiversity , Forests , Spiders/physiology , Animals , Eucalyptus/growth & development , Introduced Species , Mexico , Pinus/growth & developmentABSTRACT
La diabetes tipo I es una enfermedad autoinmune, poligénica con una contribución del 48 por ciento de los genes MHC Case II. El objeto de este trabajo es proveer una explicación para las asociaciones moleculares de dichos genes, mediante el análisis de la inmunogenética de 3 poblaciones mestizas de Latinoamérica. Se estudiaron un total de 606 individuos, 349 pacientes con DMDI y 257 sujetos sanos de tres localidades México DF, Caracas, Venezuela, Medellín, Colombia. Los resultados indican que en los grupos mestizos, los haplotipos diabetogénicos son de contribución mediterránea y que la mayoría de los hoplatipos de protección son de origen indígena. Se demostró que las secuencias relevantes en la expresión de la enfermedad están en los loci DRB1 y DQB1, con un aporte mínimo de DQA1 y que las secuencias relevantes en el reconocimiento del péptido y en la inducción de las células Th1 mediadoras de la activación de la respuesta celular, están localizadas en DRB1-57 y 74 (la presencia de ac. aspártico y ac. glutámico confieren resistencia), moduladas por la presencia de D-57 en DQp del antígeno DQ. Estos datos demuestran la participación de DRB1-DQB1 en la enfermedad y abren caminos para un nuevo manejo de la DMDI
