Exercise-induced changes in lower limbs skin temperature against plasma ATP among individuals with various type and level of physical activity.

The objective of the study was to examine the lower limbs skin temperature (TSK) changes in response to exhaustive whole-body exercise in trained individuals in reference to changes in plasma adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Eighteen trained participants from distinct sport type ‒ endurance (25.2 ± 4.9 yr) and speed-power (25.8 ± 3.1 yr), and 9 controls (24,9 ± 4,3 yr) ‒ were examined. Lower limbs TSK and plasma ATP measures were applied in parallel in response to incremental treadmill test and during 30-min recovery period. Plasma ATP kinetics were inversely associated to changes in TSK. The first significant decrease in TSK (76-89% of V˙ O2MAX) occurred shortly before a significant plasma ATP increase (86-97% of V˙ O2MAX). During recovery, TSK increased, reaching pre-exercise values (before exercise vs. after 30-min recovery: 31.6 ± 0.4 °C vs. 32.0 ± 0.8 °C, p = 0.855 in endurance; 32.4 ± 0.5 °C vs. 32.9 ± 0.5 °C, p = 0.061 in speed-power; 31.9 ± 0.7 °C vs. 32.4 ± 0.8 °C, p = 0.222 in controls). Plasma ATP concentration did not returned to pre-exercise values in well trained participants (before exercise vs. after 30-min recovery: 699 ± 57 nmol l-1 vs. 854 ± 31 nmol l-1, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.961 and 812 ± 35 nmol l-1 vs. 975 ± 55 nmol l-1, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.974 in endurance and speed-power, respectively), unlike in controls (651 ± 40 nmol l-1 vs. 687 ± 61 nmol·l-1, p = 0.58, η2 = 0.918). The magnitude of TSK and plasma ATP response differed between the groups (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.410 for TSK; p < 0.001, η2 = 0.833 for plasma ATP). We conclude that lower limbs TSK change indirectly corresponds to the reverse course of plasma ATP during incremental exercise and the magnitude of the response depends on the level of physical activity and the associated to it long-term metabolic adaptation.

The research on infrared radiation affected by smoke or fog in different environmental temperatures.

Infrared thermal imaging camera as a non-contact monitoring of the object to be measured is widely used in fire detection, driving assistance and so on. Although there are many related studies, there is a lack of research on the influence of fog or smoke on infrared imaging under different environmental temperatures. To address this shortcoming, The temperature of both the environment and the target in this experiment is controlled by PID technology. The smoke or fog environment is generated using a smoke cake or an ultrasonic fog machine. The temperature of the target was measured by infrared thermal imaging camera. It was observed that as the temperature of the environment increases, the measured temperature of the target also increases. However, the change in temperature is more pronounced in the fog environment compared to either the smoke environment or the normal environment. It has been found through research that environmental radiation causes temperature changes in fog droplets. Therefore, Infrared radiation is less affected in the smoke environment and more affected in the fog environment. Additionally, when the environmental temperature is close to the target's temperature, the infrared image becomes blurred.

Dataset of breast thermography images for the detection of benign and malignant masses.

Thermographic image analysis is a subfield of diagnostic image processing aimed at detecting breast abnormalities in women at an early stage. It is a developing field of research and its effectiveness and scope require scientific assessment to be determined. An open-access dataset has been created for the scientific community to test and develop techniques for computational detection of normal and abnormal breast conditions from thermograms. This dataset is a valuable resource for researchers due to the scarcity of publicly available datasets of breast thermographic images. It includes thermographic images of the female chest area in three capture positions: anterior, left oblique and right oblique. The data set comes from 119 women ranging from 18 to 81 years of age. A table is attached to the dataset with the diagnosis of breast pathology, showing that 84 patients had benign pathology and 35 patients had malignant pathology. The diagnoses of women with healthy breast pathology are not included.

Evaluation of the efficacy of trigger points combined with extracorporeal shock waves in the treatment of plantar fasciitis: heel temperature and plantar pressure.

BACKGROUND: Plantar fasciitis (PF) is the most common cause of heel pain. Among conservative treatments, extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is considered effective for refractory PF. Studies have shown that applying ESWT to the trigger points (TrPs) in the triceps surae may play an important role in pain treatment in patients with PF. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to combine the concept of trigger points and ESWT to explore the effect of this combination on plantar temperature and pressure in patients with PF. METHODS: After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 86 patients with PF were recruited from the pain clinic of Huadong Hospital, Fudan University and randomly divided into experimental (n = 43) and control groups (n = 43). The experimental group was treated with extracorporeal shock waves to treat the medial heel pain point and the gastrocnemius and soleus TrPs. The control group was only treated with extracorporeal shock waves at the medial heel pain point. The two groups were treated twice with an interval of 1 week. Primary measurements included a numerical rating scale (NRS) score (overall, first step, heel pain during daily activities), and secondary measurements included heel temperature, Roles-Maudsley score (RMS), and plantar pressure. All assessments were performed before treatment (i.e., baseline) and 6 and 12 weeks after treatment. RESULTS: During the trial, 3 patients in the experimental group withdrew from the study, 2 due to interruption of the course of treatment by the COVID-19 epidemic and 1 due to personal reasons. In the control group, 3 patients fell and were removed due to swelling of the heel. Therefore, only 80 patients with PF were finally included. After treatment, the two groups showed good results in NRS score (overall, first step, heel pain during daily activities), RMS, and plantar temperature, especially in the experimental group, who showed a significantly better effect than the control group. CONCLUSION: ESWT of the heel combined with the triceps trigger point of the calf can more effectively improve the pain, function and quality of life of refractory PF than ESWT of the heel alone. In addition, ESWT of the heel combined with the triceps trigger point of the calf can effectively reduce the skin temperature of the heel on the symptomatic side, indicating that the heel temperature as measured by infrared thermal imaging may be used as an independent tool to evaluate the therapeutic effect for patients with chronic PF. Although extracorporeal shock waves combined with TrPs treatment can cause changes in the patients' gait structure, plantar pressure is still difficult to use as an independent tool to evaluate the therapeutic effect for PF. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ( www.chictr.org.cn ) on 12/17/2021 with the following code: ChiCTR-INR-2,100,054,439.

The use of thermal imaging for evaluation of peripheral tissue perfusion in surgical patients with septic shock.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the ability of central-to-peripheral temperature gradients using thermal imaging to predict in-hospital mortality in surgical patients with septic shock. METHODS: This prospective observational study included adult patients with septic shock admitted to the intensive care unit postoperatively. Serum lactate (in mmol/L), capillary refill time (CRT) (in seconds), toe (peripheral) and canthal (central) temperature by infrared thermography and the corresponding room temperature in (Celsius [°C]) were assessed at the time of admission, 6- and 12 h after admission. The canthal-toe and room-toe temperature gradients were calculated. According to their final outcomes, patients were divided into survivors and non-survivors. The ability of canthal-toe temperature gradient (primary outcome), room-toe temperature gradient, toe temperature, serum lactate and CRT, measured at the prespecified timepoints to predict in-hospital mortality was analyzed using the area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). RESULTS: Fifty-six patients were included and were available for the final analysis and 41/56 (73%) patients died. The canthal-toe and room-toe temperature gradients did not show significant accuracy in predicting mortality at any timepoint. Only the toe temperature measurement at 12 h showed good ability in predicting in-hospital mortality with AUC (95% confidence interval) of 0.72 (0.58-0.84) and a negative predictive value of 70% at toe temperature of ≤ 25.5 °C. Both serum lactate and CRT showed good ability to predict in-hospital mortality at all timepoints with high positive predictive values (> 90%) at cut-off value of > 2.5-4.3 mmol/L for the serum lactate and > 3-4.2 s for the CRT. CONCLUSION: In post-operative emergency surgical patients with septic shock, high serum lactate and CRT can accurately predict in-hospital mortality and were superior to thermal imaging, especially in the positive predictive values. Toe temperature > 25.5 °C, measured using infrared thermal imaging can exclude in-hospital mortality with a negative predictive value of 70%.

Infrared Thermography for Real-Time Assessment of the Effectiveness of Scoliosis Braces.

This work proposes an innovative method, based on the use of low-cost infrared thermography (IRT) instrumentation, to assess in real time the effectiveness of scoliosis braces. Establishing the effectiveness of scoliosis braces means deciding whether the pressure exerted by the brace on the patient's back is adequate for the intended therapeutic purpose. Traditionally, the evaluation of brace effectiveness relies on empirical, qualitative assessments carried out by orthopedists during routine follow-up examinations. Hence, it heavily depends on the expertise of the orthopedists involved. In the state of the art, the only objective methods used to confirm orthopedists' opinions are based on the evaluation of how scoliosis progresses over time, often exposing people to ionizing radiation. To address these limitations, the method proposed in this work aims to provide a real-time, objective assessment of the effectiveness of scoliosis braces in a non-harmful way. This is achieved by exploiting the thermoelastic effect and correlating temperature changes on the patient's back with the mechanical pressure exerted by the braces. A system based on this method is implemented and then validated through an experimental study on 21 patients conducted at an accredited orthopedic center. The experimental results demonstrate a classification accuracy slightly below 70% in discriminating between adequate and inadequate pressure, which is an encouraging result for further advancement in view of the clinical use of such systems in orthopedic centers.

[Effect of bird-induced anus-lifting surgery combined with oral Relinqing Granules on LUTS/CP with damp heat syndrome: Evaluation by infrared thermal imaging].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical effect of bird-induced anus-lifting surgery (BIAL) combined with oral Relinqing Granules (RG) in the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms / chronic prostatitis (LUTS/CP) with damp-heat syndrome using infrared thermal imaging (ITI). METHODS: This study included 165 cases of LUTS/CP with damp-heat syndrome treated in the Departments of Andrology and Urology of our hospital, which were divided into three groups of an equal number and treated by medication of oral tamsulosin hydrochloride at 0.2 mg, qd plus levofloxacin at 0.2 g bid (control), anus-lifting exercise (15 lifts once a day) combined with oral RG at 8 g tid (routine treatment) and BIAL (15 lifts once a day) combined with oral RG at 8 g tid (BIAL+RG), respectively, all for two weeks. We recorded the ITI indicators, NIH-CPSI and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) scores of patients before and after treatment, observed adverse reactions during the treatment, and compared them among the three groups of patients. RESULTS: Compared with the baseline, NIH-CPSI and SAS scores were significantly reduced in all the three groups after treatment (P < 0.05), even more significantly in the BIAL+RG (10.49 ± 2.97 and 49.73 ± 2.79) than in the control (21.15 ± 3.56 and 52.62 ± 5.38) and routine treatment groups (15.55 ± 2.77 and 52.35 ± 3.87) (P < 0.05). The ITI temperature at the related parts of the body was remarkably decreased in the three groups after treatment (P < 0.05), even lower in the BIAL+RG group (30.47 ± 1.61, 32.14 ± 1.25, 31.16 ± 1.58, 31.97 ± 1.19) than in the control (33.39 ± 0.6, 33.64 ± 1.07, 32.78 ± 0.58, 33.18 ± 0.78) and routine treatment groups (31.93 ± 1.14, 33.06 ± 0.8, 33.08 ± 0.82, 33.17 ± 1.05) (P < 0.05), with statistically significant difference from the baseline in the BIAL+RG group after 12 hours and 24 hours of treatment (ï¼»34.26 ± 0.06ï¼½ vs ï¼»32.65 ± 0.05ï¼½ and ï¼»32.72 ± 0.09ï¼½, P < 0.05), but not between the two time points (P > 0.05). The incidence rate of adverse reactions was markedly lower in the BIAL+RG and routine treatment groups than in the control (P < 0.05) but not significantly different between the BIAL+RG and routine treatment groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Bird-induced anus-lifting surgery combined with oral Relinqing Granules can safely and significantly improve infrared thermal imaging indicators and NIH-CPSI scores in LUTS/CP patients with damp-heat syndrome.

Comparing the ocular surface temperature and dry eye condition of keratoconus with normal eyes using infrared thermal imaging.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to compare the ocular surface temperature in keratoconus eyes with that in normal eyes. METHODS: A total of 27 participants were enrolled, with 10 and 17 participants in the keratoconus and control groups, respectively. Participants in the control group underwent an ophthalmic slit lamp examination and ocular thermography, while an additional corneal tomography was performed for those in the keratoconus group. RESULTS: For patients with keratoconus, the mean upper eyelid temperature (UET) was 32.36 ± 1.02 °C, inner canthus temperature (ICT) was 34.25 ± 0.83 °C, outer canthus temperature (OCT) was 33.62 ± 0.96 °C, initial central corneal temperature (initial CCT) was 33.04 ± 1.03 °C, sixth-second CCT (6 s-CCT) was 32.67 ± 1.19 °C, and the mean change in CCT measured within 6 s (change in CCT within 6 s) was 0.36 ± 0.26 °C. For controls, the values for UET, ICT, OCT, initial CCT, 6 s-CCT, and change in CCT within 6 s were 32.35 ± 1.13 °C, 34.14 ± 0.91 °C, 33.51 ± 1.02 °C, 33.22 ± 1.01 °C, 32.99 ± 1.01 °C, and 0.22 ± 0.17 °C, respectively. Except for the change in CCT within 6 s (p = 0.022), no significant differences were observed in UET (p = 0.973), ICT (p = 0.659), OCT (p = 0.697), initial CCT (p = 0.556) or 6 s-CCT (p = 0.310) between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The keratoconus eyes showed faster changes in CCT and evaporation of tear film after opening the eyes. Therefore, the keratoconus eyes had a higher incidence of dry eye conditions.

Nondestructive Detection of Egg Freshness Based on Infrared Thermal Imaging.

In this paper, we proposed a nondestructive detection method for egg freshness based on infrared thermal imaging technology. We studied the relationship between egg thermal infrared images (different shell colors and cleanliness levels) and egg freshness under heating conditions. Firstly, we established a finite element model of egg heat conduction to study the optimal heat excitation temperature and time. The relationship between the thermal infrared images of eggs after thermal excitation and egg freshness was further studied. Eight values of the center coordinates and radius of the egg circular edge as well as the long axis, short axis, and eccentric angle of the egg air cell were used as the characteristic parameters for egg freshness detection. After that, four egg freshness detection models, including decision tree, naive Bayes, k-nearest neighbors, and random forest, were constructed, with detection accuracies of 81.82%, 86.03%, 87.16%, and 92.32%, respectively. Finally, we introduced SegNet neural network image segmentation technology to segment the egg thermal infrared images. The SVM egg freshness detection model was established based on the eigenvalues extracted after segmentation. The test results showed that the accuracy of SegNet image segmentation was 98.87%, and the accuracy of egg freshness detection was 94.52%. The results also showed that infrared thermography combined with deep learning algorithms could detect egg freshness with an accuracy of over 94%, providing a new method and technical basis for online detection of egg freshness on industrial assembly lines.

[Different operation sequences between acupuncture and cupping therapy for lumbar muscle strain with cold and dampness: a randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficacy on lumbar muscle strain with cold and dampness between the different operation sequences of acupuncture and cupping therapy. METHODS: Seventy-six patients with lumbar muscle strain with cold and dampness were randomly divided into an acupuncture + cupping group (A + C group, 38 cases) and a cupping + acupuncture group (C + A group, 38 cases, 1 case dropped off). In the A + C group, cupping therapy was delivered 10 min after the end of treatment with acupuncture, while in the C + A group, acupuncture therapy was exerted 10 min after the end of treatment with cupping. Acupuncture was applied to Mingmen (GV 4), Yaoyangguan (GV 3), ashi point and bilateral Shenshu (BL 23), Dachangshu (BL 25), Weizhong (BL 40) and Yanglingquan (GB 34), and the needles were retained for 30 min in each intervention. Flash cupping was operated along the bilateral sides of the lumbar spine for 3 min, and the cups were retained for 10 min at bilateral Shenshu (BL 23), Dachangshu (BL 25) and ashi points. The intervention was delivered once every two days, 3 times weekly, for 3 weeks totally in each group. The scores of visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI), TCM syndrome score and the mean temperature of the lumbar region before and after treatment were compared between the two groups. The safety and the clinical efficacy were assessed for the interventions of the two groups. RESULTS: Compared with the values before treatment, except for the sleep score of ODI, the VAS scores, ODI scores and TCM syndrome scores were decreased after treatment (P<0.01, P<0.05); while the mean temperature of the lumbar region was increased (P<0.01) in both groups. After treatment, the VAS score and the pain score of ODI in the C + A group were lower than those in the A + C group (P<0.05). The incidence rate of adverse reactions of the C + A group was lower than that of the A + C group (P<0.01). The effective rate in the A+C group was 92.1% (35/38), that in the C+A group was 94.6%(35/37), there was no statistical difference between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Different operation sequences between acupuncture and cupping therapy obtain the similar efficacy on lumbar muscle strain with cold and dampness, but cupping therapy delivered prior to acupuncture has certain advantages in relieving pain and improving safety.

Multiscale Deblurred Feature Extraction Network for Automatic Four-Rod Target Detection in MRTD Measuring Process of Thermal Imagers.

The minimum resolvable temperature difference (MRTD) at which a four-rod target can be resolved is a critical parameter used to assess the comprehensive performance of thermal imaging systems, which is important for technological innovation in military and other fields. Recently, there have been some attempts to use an automatic objective approach based on deep learning to take the place of the classical manual subjective MRTD measurement approach, which is strongly affected by the psychological subjective factors of the experimenter and is limited in accuracy and speed. However, the scale variability of four-rod targets and the low pixels of infrared thermal cameras have turned out to be a challenging problem for automatic MRTD measurement. We propose a multiscale deblurred feature extraction network (MDF-Net), a backbone based on a yolov5 neural network, in an attempt to solve the aforementioned problem. We first present a global attention mechanism (GAM) attention module to represent strong images of the four-rod targets. Next, a Rep VGG module is introduced to decrease the blur. Our experiments show that the proposed method achieves the desired effect and state-of-the-art detection results, which innovatively improve the accuracy of four-rod target detection to 82.3% and thus make it possible for the thermal imagers to see further and to respond faster and more accurately.

[The specificity of body surface temperature of relevant back-shu points in patients with chronic persistent asthma based on infrared thermal imaging technology].

OBJECTIVE: To detect the body surface temperature of the relevant back-shu points in patients with chronic persistent asthma by infrared thermal imaging technology, and observe the specific changes of the body surface temperature of the relevant back-shu points under the condition of lung disease. METHODS: Forty-five patients with chronic persistent asthma (observation group) and 45 healthy subjects (control group) were selected. The body surface temperature of bilateral Feishu (BL 13), Geshu (BL 17), Pishu (BL 20) and Shenshu (BL 23) were measured by BK-MT02A medical infrared thermography. RESULTS: The body surface temperature of bilateral Feishu (BL 13), Geshu (BL 17), Pishu (BL 20) and Shenshu (BL 23) in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.01, P<0.05). The body surface temperature of bilateral Feishu (BL 13) and Geshu (BL 17) was higher than that of ipsilateral Pishu (BL 20) and Shenshu (BL 23) in the two groups (P<0.01, P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in body surface temperature between ipsilateral Feishu (BL 13) and Geshu (BL 17), between ipsilateral Pishu (BL 20) and Shenshu (BL 23) (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The pathological increase of body surface temperature of Feishu (BL 13), Geshu (BL 17), Pishu (BL 20) and Shenshu (BL 23) in patients with chronic persistent asthma indicates that above acupoints have specificity in reflecting lung diseases. The Feishu (BL 13) and Geshu (BL 17), which have significantly increased body surface temperature, not only provide objective basis for the pathological pathogenesis of "deficiency in origin and excess in symptom" in patients with chronic persistent asthma, but also reflect the different expressions of different acupoints on the same meridian for the lung diseases.

Inspection of Enamel Removal Using Infrared Thermal Imaging and Machine Learning Techniques.

Within aerospace and automotive manufacturing, the majority of quality assurance is through inspection or tests at various steps during manufacturing and assembly. Such tests do not tend to capture or make use of process data for in-process inspection and certification at the point of manufacture. Inspection of the product during manufacturing can potentially detect defects, thus allowing consistent product quality and reducing scrappage. However, a review of the literature has revealed a lack of any significant research in the area of inspection during the manufacturing of terminations. This work utilises infrared thermal imaging and machine learning techniques for inspection of the enamel removal process on Litz wire, typically used for aerospace and automotive applications. Infrared thermal imaging was utilised to inspect bundles of Litz wire containing those with and without enamel. The temperature profiles of the wires with or without enamel were recorded and then machine learning techniques were utilised for automated inspection of enamel removal. The feasibility of various classifier models for identifying the remaining enamel on a set of enamelled copper wires was evaluated. A comparison of the performance of classifier models in terms of classification accuracy is presented. The best model for enamel classification accuracy was the Gaussian Mixture Model with expectation maximisation; it achieved a training accuracy of 85% and enamel classification accuracy of 100% with the fastest evaluation time of 1.05 s. The support vector classification model achieved both the training and enamel classification accuracy of more than 82%; however, it suffered the drawback of a higher evaluation time of 134 s.

["Houxi (SI 3) communicating the governor vessel" verified with the infrared thermal imaging technology].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect on facial acupoint temperature between acupuncture at Houxi (SI 3) and Dazhui (GV 14) so as to verify "Houxi (SI 3) communicating the governor vessel" based on the infrared thermal imaging technology. METHODS: Thirty-five healthy subjects (5 cases dropped off) were collected and before-after study in the same subject was adopted. The subjects were successively assigned into a sham-acupuncture group, a Houxi group, a Wangu group and a Dazhui group. Sham-acupuncture at Houxi (SI 3) on the left, acupuncture at Houxi (SI 3) on the left, Wangu (SI 4) on the left and Dazhui (GV 14) were given respectively. One intervention was given and the needles were retained for 30 min in each group. 30 min before and after acupuncture, the infrared thermal images of the face were collected, and the facial temperature was compared among the following 5 acupoints, i.e. Yintang (GV 24+), Suliao (GV 25), Shuigou (GV 26), Duiduan (GV 27) and Chengjiang (CV 24). RESULTS: After acupuncture, the facial temperature at Yintang (GV 24+) and Chengjiang (CV 24) was increased compared before acupuncture in the sham-acupuncture group (P<0.01, P<0.05). The facial temperature at Suliao (GV 25) in the Houxi group was reduced after acupuncture (P<0.05). In the Wangu group, the temperature at Yintang (GV 24+) was increased compared before acupuncture (P<0.01). The facial temperature was increased at Duiduan (GV 27) and Chengjiang (CV 24) compared before acupuncture in the Dazhui group (P<0.01, P<0.05). The differences of facial temperature at Chengjiang (CV 24) and Suliao (GV 25) after acupuncture were larger than before acupuncture in the Houxi group and the Dazhui group (P<0.01). In comparison with the temperature at Suliao (GV 25) of the same group, the differences of facial temperature before and after acupuncture at Yintang (GV 24+), Shuigou (GV 26), Duiduan (GV 27) and Chengjiang (CV 24) were increased in the Houxi group (P<0.01, P<0.05); while, the increase was also obtained at Yintang (GV 24+), Shuigou (GV 26), Duiduan (GV 27) and Chengjiang (CV 24) in the Dazhui group (P<0.05, P<0.01). The difference of facial temperature at Yintang (GV 24+) before and after acupuncture was increased compared with Suliao (GV 25) in the Wangu group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture at Houxi (SI 3) generates a similar thermal effect as Dazhui (GV 14). It regulates and dissipates the core temperature to "govern the yang qi of the whole body".

[Role of brown adipose tissue in phlegm-dampness metabolic syndrome based on infrared thermal imaging].

This study aimed to explore the infrared manifestation and role of brown adipose tissue(BAT) in phlegm-dampness me-tabolic syndrome(MS), and to provide objective basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment of phlegm-dampness MS. Subjects were selected from the department of endocrinology and ward in the South District of Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences from August 2021 to April 2022, including 20 in healthy control group, 40 in non phlegm-dampness MS group and 40 in phlegm-dampness MS group. General information, height and weight of the subjects were collected and body mass index(BMI) was calculated. Waist circumference(WC), systolic blood pressure(SBP) and diastolic blood pressure(DBP) was measured. Triglyceride(TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C), fasting blood glucose(FBG), fasting insulin(FINS), leptin(LP), adiponectin(ADP) and fibroblast growth factor-21(FGF-21) were detected. The infrared thermal image of the supraclavicular region(SCR) of the subjects before and after cold stimulation test was collected by infrared thermal imager and the changes of infrared thermal image in the three groups were observed. In addition, the differences in the average body surface temperature of SCR among the three groups were compared, and the changes of BAT in SCR were analyzed. The results showed compared with the conditions in healthy control group, the levels of WC, SBP, DBP, TG and FPG in MS groups were increased(P<0.01), and the HDL-C level was decreased(P<0.01). Compared with non phlegm-dampness MS group, phlegm-dampness MS group had higher conversion score of phlegm dampness physique(P<0.01). According to the infrared heat map, there was no difference in the average body surface temperature of SCR among the three groups before cold stimulation. while after cold stimulation, the average body surface temperature of SCR in MS groups was lower than that in healthy control group(P<0.05). After cold stimulation, the maximum temperature of SCR and its arrival time in the three groups were as follows: healthy control group(3 min)>non phlegm-dampness MS group(4 min)>phlegm-dampness MS group(5 min). The thermal deviation of SCR was increased and the average body surface temperature of left and right sides were higher(P<0.01) in healthy control group and non phlegm-dampness MS group, while the thermal deviation of SCR did not change significantly in the phlegm-dampness MS group. Compared with that in healthy control group, the elevated temperature between left and right sides was lower(P<0.01, P<0.05), and compared with that in non phlegm-dampness MS group, the elevated temperature of left side was lower(P<0.05). The changes of the average body surface temperature of SCR in the three groups were in the order of healthy control group>non phlegm-dampness MS group>phlegm-dampness MS group. Compared with the conditions in healthy control group and non phlegm-dampness MS group, FINS, BMI and FGF-21 levels were increased(P<0.01,P<0.05), while ADP level was decreased(P<0.01, P<0.05) in phlegm-dampness MS group. Moreover, the LP level in phlegm-dampness MS group was higher than that in non phlegm-dampness MS group(P<0.01). It was observed in clinical trials that after cold stimulation, the average body surface temperature of SCR in MS patients was lower than that of the healthy people; the thermal deviation of SCR did not change significantly in the phlegm-dampness MS patients, and the difference in their elevated temperature was lower than that in the other two groups. These characteristics provided objective basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment of phlegm-dampness MS. With abnormal BAT related indicators, it was inferred that the content or activity of BAT in SCR of phlegm-dampness MS patients were reduced. There was a high correlation between BAT and phlegm-dampness MS, and thus BAT might become an important potential target for the intervention in phlegm-dampness MS.

Experimental Study of Thermally Damaged Concrete under a Hygrothermal Environment by Using a Combined Infrared Thermal Imaging and Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Method.

This paper proposes a combined inspection method for thermally damaged concrete under a hygrothermal environment. Experiments were conducted to verify the feasibility of the proposed method. Concrete samples with different water-cement ratios (W/C = 0.3, 0.5, 0.7) and moisture contents (dried, 50% saturated, fully saturated) were exposed to elevated temperatures of 200 °C, 400 °C, 600 °C, and 800 °C for 4 h. After cooling to room temperature, infrared thermal imaging (IRT), ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) measurements, and mechanical tests were carried out for the damaged concrete samples. The mechanical behavior of thermally damaged concrete with different degrees of water saturation was examined based on mechanical testing. The results show that water can affect the compressive strength and UPV of concrete under certain circumstances, and the residual strength and the heating temperature of the thermally damaged concrete can be evaluated by IRT and UPV measurements. When 50% saturated concrete specimens with a W/C ratio of 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 are exposed to 200 °C, 12.6%, 27.4%, and 34.6% increases in normalized compressive strength were observed before dropping to approximately 40% at 800 °C. With various moisture contents, the normalized compressive strength variation can be up to 40% at 400 °C in cases with W/C = 0.5 and 0.7. As for UPV, it generally decreases with the increase in moisture content when the peak temperature is 800 °C. On the contrary, whether concrete is saturated or not, there is little difference in temperature change in IRT detection. To obtain a more precise evaluation of concrete structures, IRT can be used to scan a large area to determine the damaged concrete area and areas suspected to be damaged, while UPV could be used to detect concrete members in suspected areas after the completion of IRT scanning.

Study on the Specific Expression of Infrared Radiation Temperature on the Body Surface of Acupoint in Rats with Chronic Myocardial Ischemic Injury.

BACKGROUND: Infrared thermal imaging technology was used to observe the changes in infrared radiation temperature at acupoints in rats caused by chronic myocardial ischemia injury. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to compare the difference of body surface infrared radiation temperature information of three groups of acupoints: bilateral Neiguan (PC6), bilateral Yanglingquan (GB33), and bilateral Sham Acupoints (SA) in the pathological state of myocardial ischemia injury, and to explore the relationship between acupoints and viscera state. METHODS: SPF adult Wistar male rats (n = 20) were randomly divided into a control (CTL; n = 10) and an isoproterenol group (ISO; n = 10). Chronic myocardial injury was induced in rats by subcutaneous injection of isoproterenol hydrochloride for 14 d. On the second day after the establishment of the model, the serum levels of cardiac troponin (cTnI) and creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The morphological changes of the myocardial tissue in the two groups were observed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and their pathological scores were evaluated, which was then used to determine the myocardial ischemic injury. Two days before and after the establishment of the model, the electrocardiograms (ECG) of the two groups of rats were recorded by the (ECG) data acquisition system, and the infrared thermal imaging platform was used to detect the temperature of the six acupoints. RESULTS: 1. After subcutaneous injection of isoproterenol hydrochloride for 14 days, the ST segment of the ECG decreased in the ISO group compared with that of the CTL group; 2. Myocardial tissue injury was serious in the ISO group compared to the CTL group; 3. Serum cTn-I and CK-MB were significantly increased (P <0 01) in the ISO group, compared to that in the CTL group; 4. The infrared radiation temperature on the body surface of bilateral Neiguan (PC6) acupoints decreased significantly in the ISO group, compared to that of the CTL group. CONCLUSION: Infrared thermal imaging technology can be used to detect the changes in the energy state of acupoints. Chronic myocardial ischemic injury can cause a decrease in IR temperature on the body surface of bilateral Neiguan (PC6) acupoints, suggesting that visceral diseases can lead to changes in the energy metabolism of acupoints.

Clinical Effect of Chaishao Longmu Decoction on Insomnia in Patients with Liver Depression and Spleen Deficiency Based on Infrared Thermal Images / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo observe the therapeutic effect of Chaishao Longmu decoction on insomnia in the patients with the syndrome of live depression and spleen deficiency and explore the correlation between infrared thermal imaging and insomnia with liver depression and spleen deficiency. MethodA total of 72 insomnia patients treated in the outpatient department of Shenzhen Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine （Futian） from May to December in 2022 were selected and randomized into a treatment group and a control group， with 36 patients in each group. The patients in the treatment group were treated with Chaishao Longmu decoction and those in the control group with eszopiclone for 4 weeks. The clinical efficacy， Pittsburgh sleep quality index （PSQI） score， TCM syndrome score and infrared thermal imaging characteristics ［temperature and temperature changes of frontal sleep line， frontal region， anterior trunk， Zhongwan （CV12）， conception vessel （CV）， left hypochondrium， right hypochondrium， dorsal trunk， and governor vessel （GV）］ of two groups were determined before and after treatment. ResultAfter treatment， the clinical response rate in treatment group was 91.67% （33/36）， which was higher than that （66.67%， 24/36） in the control group （Z=-2.617， P<0.01）. The treatment in both groups decreased the PSQI score and TCM syndrome score （P<0.01）， and the decreases were more significant in treatment group than in the control group （P<0.01）. After treatment， the total response rate of sleep line improvement in the treatment group was 86.11% （31/36）， which was higher than that （66.67%， 24/36） in the control group （Z=-2.591， P<0.05）. The frontal temperature of the two groups decreased （P<0.01） after treatment. Compared with those before treatment， the temperatures of anterior trunk， CV12， CV， left hypochondrium， right hypochondrium， dorsal trunk， and GV rose after treatment （P<0.01）. After treatment， the treatment group had lower frontal temperature and higher temperatures of anterior trunk， CV12， CV， left hypochondrium， right hypochondrium， dorsal trunk， and GV than the control group （P<0.01）. The treatment in the treatment group reduced the ∆T values of GV （P<0.01） and increased that of the CV12， CV， left hypochondrium， and right hypochondrium （P<0.05，P<0.01）. The treatment in the control group increased the ∆T value of CV12 （P<0.01）. After treatment， the treatment group had lower ∆T values of GV （P<0.01） and higher ∆T value of CV12， CV， left hypochondrium， and right hypochondrium （P<0.05， P<0.01） than the control group. Compared with that before treatment， the temperature difference between GV and CV in the two groups increased after treatment （P<0.01）. According to the infrared thermal image characteristics， the normal temperature difference between GV and CV was within the range of 0.5-1. The median value after treatment in the treatment group was 0.69 （0.52， 0.88）， which was within the normal range， indicating that the treatment group outperformed the control group. ConclusionChaishao Longmu decoction can alleviate short-term insomnia by soothing liver， invigorating spleen， harmonizing the middle energizer， and regulating GV and CV. With definite clinical effect， this decoction deserves promotion. Furthermore， the frontal temperature， sleep line， CV12， CV ∆T， and temperature difference between GV and CV revealed by the infrared thermal images could be used for the diagnosis and of insomnia with liver depression and spleen deficiency.

Role of brown adipose tissue in phlegm-dampness metabolic syndrome based on infrared thermal imaging / 中国中药杂志

This study aimed to explore the infrared manifestation and role of brown adipose tissue(BAT) in phlegm-dampness me-tabolic syndrome(MS), and to provide objective basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment of phlegm-dampness MS. Subjects were selected from the department of endocrinology and ward in the South District of Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences from August 2021 to April 2022, including 20 in healthy control group, 40 in non phlegm-dampness MS group and 40 in phlegm-dampness MS group. General information, height and weight of the subjects were collected and body mass index(BMI) was calculated. Waist circumference(WC), systolic blood pressure(SBP) and diastolic blood pressure(DBP) was measured. Triglyceride(TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C), fasting blood glucose(FBG), fasting insulin(FINS), leptin(LP), adiponectin(ADP) and fibroblast growth factor-21(FGF-21) were detected. The infrared thermal image of the supraclavicular region(SCR) of the subjects before and after cold stimulation test was collected by infrared thermal imager and the changes of infrared thermal image in the three groups were observed. In addition, the differences in the average body surface temperature of SCR among the three groups were compared, and the changes of BAT in SCR were analyzed. The results showed compared with the conditions in healthy control group, the levels of WC, SBP, DBP, TG and FPG in MS groups were increased(P<0.01), and the HDL-C level was decreased(P<0.01). Compared with non phlegm-dampness MS group, phlegm-dampness MS group had higher conversion score of phlegm dampness physique(P<0.01). According to the infrared heat map, there was no difference in the average body surface temperature of SCR among the three groups before cold stimulation. while after cold stimulation, the average body surface temperature of SCR in MS groups was lower than that in healthy control group(P<0.05). After cold stimulation, the maximum temperature of SCR and its arrival time in the three groups were as follows: healthy control group(3 min)>non phlegm-dampness MS group(4 min)>phlegm-dampness MS group(5 min). The thermal deviation of SCR was increased and the average body surface temperature of left and right sides were higher(P<0.01) in healthy control group and non phlegm-dampness MS group, while the thermal deviation of SCR did not change significantly in the phlegm-dampness MS group. Compared with that in healthy control group, the elevated temperature between left and right sides was lower(P<0.01, P<0.05), and compared with that in non phlegm-dampness MS group, the elevated temperature of left side was lower(P<0.05). The changes of the average body surface temperature of SCR in the three groups were in the order of healthy control group>non phlegm-dampness MS group>phlegm-dampness MS group. Compared with the conditions in healthy control group and non phlegm-dampness MS group, FINS, BMI and FGF-21 levels were increased(P<0.01,P<0.05), while ADP level was decreased(P<0.01, P<0.05) in phlegm-dampness MS group. Moreover, the LP level in phlegm-dampness MS group was higher than that in non phlegm-dampness MS group(P<0.01). It was observed in clinical trials that after cold stimulation, the average body surface temperature of SCR in MS patients was lower than that of the healthy people; the thermal deviation of SCR did not change significantly in the phlegm-dampness MS patients, and the difference in their elevated temperature was lower than that in the other two groups. These characteristics provided objective basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment of phlegm-dampness MS. With abnormal BAT related indicators, it was inferred that the content or activity of BAT in SCR of phlegm-dampness MS patients were reduced. There was a high correlation between BAT and phlegm-dampness MS, and thus BAT might become an important potential target for the intervention in phlegm-dampness MS.