There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

Fast and robust fuzzy c-means clustering algorithms incorporating local information for image segmentation

This paper presents a variation of fuzzy c-means (FCM) algorithm that provides image clustering. The proposed algorithm incorporates the local spatial information and gray level information in a novel fuzzy way. The new algorithm is called fuzzy local information C-Means (FLICM). FLICM can overcome the disadvantages of the known fuzzy c-means algorithms and at the same time enhances the clustering performance. The major characteristic of FLICM is the use of a fuzzy local (both spatial and gray level) similarity measure, aiming to guarantee noise insensitiveness and image detail preservation. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm is fully free of the empirically adjusted parameters (a, ?g, ?s, etc.) incorporated into all other fuzzy c-means algorithms proposed in the literature. Experiments performed on synthetic and real-world images show that FLICM algorithm is effective and efficient, providing robustness to noisy images.

A Robust Fuzzy Local Information C-Means Clustering Algorithm

Epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) are a key requirement for cancer cells to metastasize and colonize in a new environment. Epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity is mediated by master transcription factors and is also subject to complex epigenetic regulation. This Review outlines our current understanding of the interactions between EMT-inducing transcription factors and epigenetic modulators during cancer progression and the therapeutic implications of exploiting this intricate regulatory process. During the course of malignant cancer progression, neoplastic cells undergo dynamic and reversible transitions between multiple phenotypic states, the extremes of which are defined by the expression of epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes. This plasticity is enabled by underlying shifts in epigenetic regulation. A small cohort of pleiotropically acting transcription factors is widely recognized to effect these shifts by controlling the expression of a constituency of key target genes. These master regulators depend on complex epigenetic regulatory mechanisms, notably the induction of changes in the modifications of chromatin-associated histones, in order to achieve the widespread changes in gene expression observed during epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMTs). These associations indicate that an understanding of the functional interactions between such EMT-inducing transcription factors and the modulators of chromatin configuration will provide crucial insights into the fundamental mechanisms underlying cancer progression and may, in the longer term, generate new diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for treating high-grade malignancies.

The epigenetics of epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity in cancer

Objective To observe the effect of intensive insulin therapy on the critically ill patients with stress hyperglycemia in ICU.Methods One hundred and ten critically ill patients in ICU were randomly divided into two groups,the intensive insulin therapy group(n=55) and control group(n=55).The blood glucose in the intensive insulin therapy group was controlled at 4.4 to 6.1 mmol/L,and the blood glucose in control group was controlled at 10.0 to 11.1 mmol/L.The two groups were observed and compared the days in the ICU,the numbers of patients requiring mechanical ventilation,the days of mechanical ventilation,the incidences of infection in hospital,the days of using antibiotics,Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Ⅱ score of the last day in ICU,the morbidity of multiple organ failure,the morbidity of hypoglycemia and mortality.Results All the above indices except morbidity of hypoglycemia were significantly lower in the intensive insulin therapy group than those in control group(P0.05 or P0.01).Conclusion Intensive insulin therapy and keeping blood glucose at 4.4 to 6.1 mmol/L can improve the clinical curative effect and reduce the mortality for the critically ill patients with stress hyperglycemia,

Intensive insulin therapy for the critically ill patients with stress hyperglycemia

This paper presents a new algorithm for fuzzy segmentation of MR brain images. Starting from the standard FCM and its bias-corrected version BCFCM algorithm, by splitting up the two major steps of the latter, and by introducing a new factor, the amount of required calculations is considerably reduced. The algorithm provides good-quality segmented brain images a very quick way, which makes it an excellent tool to support virtual brain endoscopy.

MR brain image segmentation using an enhanced fuzzy C-means algorithm

The monitoring of breathing dynamics is an essential diagnostic tool in various clinical environments, such as sleep diagnostics, intensive care and neonatal monitoring. This paper introduces an innovative signal classification method that is capable of on-line detection of the presence or absence of normal breathing. Four different artificial neural networks are presented for the recognition of three different patterns in the respiration signals (normal breathing, hypopnea, and apnea). Two networks process the normalized respiration signals directly, while another two use sophisticatedly preprocessed signals. The development of the networks was based on training sets from the polysomnographic records of nine different patients. The detection performance of the networks was tested and compared by using up to 8000 untrained breathing patterns from 16 different patients. The networks which classified the preprocessed respiration signals produced an average detection performance of over 90%. In the light of the moderate computational power used, the presented method is not only viable in clinical polysomnographs and respiration monitors, but also in portable devices.

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A novel method for the detection of apnea and hypopnea events in respiration signals

The origins of telemedicine date back to the early 1970s, and combined with the concept of minimally invasive surgery, the idea of surgical robotics was born in the late 1980s based on the principle of providing active telepresence to surgeons. Many research projects were initiated, creating a set of instruments for endoscopic telesurgery, while visionary surgeons built networks for telesurgical patient care, demonstrated transcontinental surgery, and performed procedures in weightlessness. Long-distance telesurgery became the testbed for new medical support concepts of space missions. This article provides a complete review of the milestone experiments in the field, and describes a feasible concept to extend telemedicine beyond Earth orbit. With a possible foundation of an extraplanetary human outpost either on the Moon or on Mars, space agencies are carefully looking for effective and affordable solutions for life-support and medical care. The major challenges of surgery in weightlessness are also discussed. Teleoperated surgical robots have the potential to shape the future of extreme health care both in space and on Earth. Besides the apparent advantages, there are some serious challenges, primarily the difficulty of latency with teleoperation over long distances. Advanced virtualization and augmented-reality techniques should help human operators to adapt better to the special conditions. To meet safety standards and requirements in space, a three-layered architecture is recommended to provide the highest quality of telepresence technically achievable for provisional exploration missions. Surgical robotic technology is an emerging interdisciplinary field, with a great potential impact on many areas of health care, including telemedicine. With the proposed three-layered concept—relying only on currently available technology—effective support of long-distance telesurgery and human space missions are both feasible.

Surgery in space: the future of robotic telesurgery.

An advanced method in fetal phonocardiography

Computer-aided bedside patient monitoring is applied in areas where real-time vital function analysis takes place. Modern bedside monitoring requires not only the networking of bedside monitors with a central monitor but also other standard communication interfaces. In the paper, an approach to patient monitoring is introduced. A patient monitoring system was developed and implemented based on an existing industry standard communication network, using standard hardware components and software technologies. The open architecture system design offers scalability, standard interfaces, and flexible signal interpretation possibilities.

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Zoltán Benyó

Papers

MR brain image segmentation using an enhanced fuzzy C-means algorithm

A novel method for the detection of apnea and hypopnea events in respiration signals

Surgery in space: the future of robotic telesurgery.

An advanced method in fetal phonocardiography

An open architecture patient monitoring system using standard technologies