In conclusion, these optical techniques proved to be effective in the diagnosis of skin cancer, but further studies are needed in finding the appropriate method or combination of methods that can have wide clinical applications.

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Buildings materials contain natural primordial radionuclides of

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This paper presents the results of radiometric measurements and the main physical-chemical parameters obtained on samples of natural mineral water commercially available. The water samples originate from the Bucovina region, which is located in the northern part of Romania. Gross alpha and beta activities were measured for screening purposes and for guidance to the competent authorities in determining whether the water can be used for human consumption. Activity concentrations of 40 K, 238 U, 232 Th and 226 Ra were also determined, as well as the associated effective dose. The mean effective doses for an adult member of the public in Romania derived from the intake of naturally occurring alpha or beta radionuclides ( 40 K, 238 U, 232 Th and 226 Ra) in natural water varies between: 0.66 and 2.17 (lSv/year) for 40 K; 1.12 and 1.71 (lSv/year) for 238 U; 1.79 and 3.95 (lSv/year) for 232 Th and 5.75 and 20.61 (lSv/year) for 226 Ra. This assessment on natural mineral water springs from the Bucovina region updates data on the activity concentrations and effective doses due to intake of natural radionuclides for Romania.

Skin texture has become an important issue in recent research with applications in the cosmetic industry and medicine. In this paper, we analyzed the dependence of skin texture features on wavelength as well as on different parameters (age and gender) of human participants using grey-level co-occurrence matrix and hyperspectral imaging technique for a more accurate quantitative assessment of the aging process. A total of 42 healthy participants (men and women; age range, 20-70 years) was enrolled in this study. A region of interest was selected from the hyperspectral images. The results were analyzed in terms of texture using the gray-level co-occurrence matrix which generated four features (homogeneity, contrast, entropy, and correlation). The results showed that most of these features displayed variations with wavelength (the exception was entropy), with higher variations in women. Only correlation in both sexes and contrast in men proved to vary statistically significant with age, making them the targeted variables in future attempts to characterize aging skin using the complex method of hyperspectral imaging. In conclusion, by using hyperspectral imaging some measure of the degree of damage or the aging process of the hand skin can be obtained, mainly in terms of correlation values. At the present time, reasonable explanations that can link the process of skin aging and the above mentioned features could not be found, but deeper investigations are on the way.