Bone Modeling Patterns and Morphometric Craniofacial Variation in Individuals From Two Prehistoric Human Populations From Argentina

Native human populations from South America display high levels of craniofacial variation encompassing gracile and robust skulls. Nevertheless, the processes of bone modeling by which morphological variation among populations were attained, remain poorly understood. Here we analyze the relationship between patterns of bone formation and resorption and morphometric variation in the upper face of adults belonging to farmers and hunter‐gatherers from northwestern and south Argentina. Our analyses reveal a common pattern of bone modeling of the malar bone characterized by the presence of formation areas. Thus, the larger size and greater development of malar bone exhibited by hunter‐gatherers would be linked to a greater magnitude of bone formation activity. Conversely, the glabella and the superciliary arch presented both formation and resorption areas with a variable distribution among individuals. In the extreme corresponding to more robust morphologies, the great development of the glabella is related to the presence of large formation fields, both in the upper region and toward the frontonasal suture. The less robust morphologies show resorption fields at the upper margin of the glabella, which would contribute to the weaker development of this region. The superciliary arch showed a complex relationship between its morphometric and histological variation; the individuals located at both extremes of the shape space presented large resorption areas located on its upper margin. Overall, our results show the existence of intraspecific variation in the patterns of bone modeling in the human upper face. Anat Rec, 297:1829–1838, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Collagen concentration on the facial skin of postmenopausal women after topical treatment with estradiol and genistein: a randomized double-blind controlled trial

Objective: The objective of this study is to compare the effects of topical estrogen and genistein (a soy isoflavone) on the facial skin collagen of postmenopausal women not undergoing systemic hormonal therapy.

Methods: This is a prospective, double blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial. Volunteer women (N?=?30) 45–55?year old from the Endocrine Gynecology sector of the Gynecology Department of the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP). The Ethical Committee of the Federal University of São Paulo approved the study (report no. 386/2004; registration on ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01553773), were assigned to topical treatment with either estrogen or genistein for 24?weeks. We quantified and compared facial collagen concentration before and after each treatment by performing pre-auricular skin biopsies.

Results: Our data showed an increase in the amount of both type I and type III facial collagen by the end of both treatments. However, the outcomes of the estrogen GI (ER) group were superior to the genistein GII (GEN) group, with statistical significance p?Conclusion: Treatment with topical estrogen is superior to genistein, but both have positive impacts on facial skin collagen. Nevertheless, it is still unclear whether prolonged use of genistein and other topical phytoestrogens could produce systemic effects and further research is needed to clarify this question.     

Event-related brain potentials reveal anomalies in temporal processing of faces in autism spectrum disorder

BACKGROUND: Individuals with autism exhibit impairments in face recognition, and neuroimaging studies have shown that individuals with autism exhibit abnormal patterns of brain activity during face processing. The current study examined the temporal characteristics of face processing in autism and their relation to behavior. METHOD: High-density event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded to images of faces, inverted faces, and objects from 9 individuals with autism spectrum disorder (15-42 years old) and 14 typical individuals (16-37 years old). RESULTS: With respect to a face-sensitive ERP component (N170), individuals with autism exhibited longer N170 latencies to faces than typical individuals but comparable latencies to objects. Typical individuals exhibited longer N170 latencies to inverted as compared to upright faces, whereas individuals with autism did not show differences in N170 latency to upright versus inverted faces. Neural speed of face processing, as reflected in N170 latency, correlated with performance on a face recognition task for individuals with autism. CONCLUSIONS: These data provide evidence for slowed neural speed of face processing in autism and highlight the role of speed of processing in face processing impairments in autism.     

仿真假体视觉下的人脸识别研究进展

目的：综述基于仿真假体视觉的人脸识别研究的主要进展。方法：回顾了近年来各研究小组基于仿真假体视觉的人脸识别研究进展,讨论假体视觉下人脸识别的可能性,分析了假体视觉下人脸识别的影响因素。结果：在仿真假体视觉下,分辨率和缺失率是影响人脸识别的主要因素,分辨率增加或是缺失率减小,对人脸的识别率有显著提高;其它光幻视参数中,一定程度内的灰度提高对假体下的人脸识别率有显著提高,而点大小、点间隙、对比度对其影响稍小,正方形的光幻视阵列排布的识别率高于六边形和极坐标排布。另外,图像处理策略如基于感兴趣区域的放大和对比度增强等,能帮助被试进行人脸识别。结论：由心理物理学方法得出,在假体视觉下,仍能完成基本的人脸识别任务;改变光幻视的参数或图像处理策略,会影响识别率。这些结果将帮助研究者们优化视觉假体中的信息处理和图像处理策略,并为术后康复训练提供了实验理论依据。     

Facial asymmetry in young healthy subjects evaluated by statistical shape analysis

Statistical shape analysis, a relatively a new method for biological research, compares body forms by using specific landmarks determined by anatomical prominences. In this study, we aimed to identify normal facial asymmetry between the right and the left sides of the face. Facial landmark data were collected from two‐dimensional digital images of 321 young healthy subjects (150 males and 171 females). These data were analysed using Euclidean distance matrix analysis. The number of significantly asymmetric linear distances between the two halves of the face was greater in females than in males. We found that the left side of the face was most commonly dominant in both males and females. Such data may be useful in establishing a database for future similar studies.     

基于重建图像信噪比特征的脸部位置检测方法

目的 通过研究找到一种基于重建图像信噪比（signal-to-noise,SNR）的人脸检测方法,从而提高在图片中找到人脸所在位置的准确率.方法 首先通过图像向特征脸空间投影得到重建图像,然后利用重建图像的SNR进行人脸检测.经实验发现,在对一幅图像进行扫描的过程中,人脸的位置既是信噪比值横向的极大值点,又是纵向的极大值点,且在单幅人脸图像中,人脸处的SNR为全局极大值,因此可以利用该动态规律准确地找到人脸位置.结果 利用上述方法对耶鲁人脸库100张人脸和自拍的50张人脸进行实验,结果表明,通过搜索全局最大值确定出人脸的位置,准确率为98%.进一步,利用上述方法对已经得到的人脸进行第二次搜索,找到不包含头发等周围图像的中心脸部区域.最后,通过图像锐化和模板匹配相结合的方法找到眼睛位置,旋转图像使双眼在同一水平位置上,并根据比例关系可重新精确地划出中心人脸区域,眼睛定位准确率达96%.结论 基于重建图像SNR的人脸检测方法可以提高寻找人脸的准确率,因此该方法是一种简单而有效的脸部位置检测方法.     

Peripheral facial nerve communications and their clinical implications

The facial nerve (CN VII) nerve follows a torturous and complex path from its emergence at the pontomedullary junction to its various destinations. It exhibits a highly variable and complicated branching pattern and forms communications with several other cranial nerves. The facial nerve forms most of these neural intercommunications with branches of all three divisions of the trigeminal nerve (CN V), including branches of the auriculotemporal, buccal, mental, lingual, infraorbital, zygomatic, and ophthalmic nerves. Furthermore, CN VII also communicates with branches of the vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII), glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX), and vagus nerve (CN X) as well as with branches of the cervical plexus such as the great auricular, greater, and lesser occipital, and transverse cervical nerves. This review intends to explore the many communications between the facial nerve and other nerves along its course from the brainstem to its peripheral branches on the human face. Such connections may have importance during clinical examination and surgical procedures of the facial nerve. Knowledge of the anatomy of these neural connections may be particularly important in facial reconstructive surgery, neck dissection, and various nerve transfer procedures as well as for understanding the pathophysiology of various cranial, skull base, and neck disorders.     

The relative locations of the supraorbital,infraorbital, and mental foramina: A cadaveric study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the applicability of the current surgical guideline stating that the main facial foramina that transmit cutaneous nerves to the face (supraorbital notch/foramen, infraorbital foramen, and mental foramen) are equidistant from the midline in European and Hispanic populations. Previous studies suggest this surgical guideline is not applicable for all ethnicities; however, to our knowledge, no data have been published regarding the accuracy of this guideline pertaining to the Hispanic population. An experimental study was performed on 67 cadavers donated to the Human Anatomy Program at UT Health San Antonio. The supraorbital, infraorbital, and mental foramina were dissected and midline structures including the crista galli, internasal suture, anterior nasal spine, and mandibular symphysis were identified. The distance from each foramen to midline was recorded using a digital caliper. For all cadavers/ethnicities studied, the supraorbital, infraorbital, and mental foramina were 25.32 mm, 29.57 mm, and 25.55 mm to the midline, respectively. Thus, the infraorbital foramen is located significantly more lateral compared to the supraorbital (p < 0.0001) and mental foramina (p < 0.0001). After dividing the sample based on ethnicity, this relationship was also true for the European sample and tended to be true for the Hispanic sample. Significant anatomical variations exist in the current surgical guideline stating that the supraorbital foramen, infraorbital foramen, and mental foramen are equidistant from the midline. Clinicians may need to adjust their methodology during surgical procedures of the face in order to optimize patient care.     

Epigenetic integration of the developing brain and face

The integration of the brain and face and to what extent this relationship constrains or enables evolutionary change in the craniofacial complex is an issue of long-standing interest in vertebrate evolution. To investigate brain-face integration, we studied the covariation between the forebrain and midface at gestational days 10-10.5 in four strains of laboratory mice. We found that phenotypic variation in the forebrain is highly correlated with that of the face during face formation such that variation in the size of the forebrain correlates with the degree of prognathism and orientation of the facial prominences. This suggests strongly that the integration of the brain and face is relevant to the etiology of midfacial malformations such as orofacial clefts. This axis of integration also has important implications for the evolutionary developmental biology of the mammalian craniofacial complex.     

自制水袋在全麻下俯卧位脊柱手术中对头面部保护的应用研究

目的探讨自制水袋在全麻下俯卧位脊柱手术中对头面部的保护作用。方法选择我院施行的全麻下俯卧位脊柱手术160例,随机分成实验组和对照组各80例,实验组用自制水袋固定于马蹄形支架的上方,对照组用传统的马蹄形软垫固定于马蹄形支架上,以并发症发生率为观察对象进行统计分析。结果实验组的并发症发生率为6.25%,低于对照组的17.50%,两组间比较差异有显著意义(P0.05)。结论自制水袋在全麻下俯卧位脊柱手术中对头面部的保护作用优于传统的马蹄形软垫,值得临床推广应用。