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Animal hair examination may provide valuable information on forensic investigations. However, there are limited data on the hair histology of Indonesian mammals for serving as a database for identification. The present study provides histological analyses of the dorsal guard hairs of the Indonesian Suidae species Sus scrofa, S. barbatus, S. verrucosus and S. celebensis, which were examined from the collections of Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, National Research and Innovation Agency. Comparative analysis was performed by light and scanning electron microscope. Different features of each animal species' hair were identified based on the morphology, cuticle scale pattern, type of medulla, pigmentation and cross-section characteristics. The results show that the cuticle scale pattern is an irregular wave in all species. The cuticle scale margin is rippled, and the distance between scales is close. The hair medulla is amorphous in all species. The hair pigmentation is yellowish-reddish in all species, but no pigmentation of hair is found in S. verrucosus. The cross-section shape of the hair shaft is different in all Indonesian Suidae species, which can be used for identifying the species of Indonesian Suidae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing interest in hairstyles and hair color, bleaching, dyeing, straightening, and curling hair is being widely used worldwide, and the chemical and physical treatment of hair is also increasing. As a result, hair has suffered a lot of damage, and the degree of damage to hair has been measured only by the naked eye or touch. This has led to serious consequences, such as hair damage and scalp diseases. However, although these problems are serious, there is little research on hair damage. With the advancement of technology, people began to be interested in preventing and reversing hair damage. Manual observation methods cannot accurately and quickly identify hair damage areas. In recent years, with the rise of artificial intelligence technology, a large number of applications in various scenarios have given researchers new methods. In the project, we created a new hair damage data set based on SEM (scanning electron microscope) images. Through various physical and chemical analyses, we observe the changes in the hair surface according to the degree of hair damage, found the relationship between them, used a convolutional neural network to recognize and confirm the degree of hair damage, and categorized the degree of damage into weak damage, moderate damage and high damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological studies always seek for understanding history and draw right pictures about the life in the past in the different civilizations. Consequently, varieties of sciences are applied in these studies to extract the historical information. Hence this study investigated hair samples that were taken from four royal mummies with the aim of obtaining reliable information about the materials used in embalming, health status of these mummies, their age, and hair color that affects its composition. A variety of analytical techniques were applied in this study; digital microscope, polarizing optical microscope, environmental scanning electron microscope coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray unit, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography, and Raman spectroscopy analysis. The results showed the significance of hair in biomonitoring health status and determining age. Besides, it was proved that mastic resin has been used in embalming as early as the Second Intermediate Period especially for royal mummies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drugs incorporated into hair are exposed to the environment, and cosmetic and chemical treatments, with possible decreases in their content. Knowledge concerning the effect of sunlight on drug content in hair can be helpful to forensic toxicologists, in particular, when investigating drug concentrations above or below pre-determined cut-offs. Twenty-eight authentic positive hair samples were selected which had previously tested positive for ethyl glucuronide (EtG). Washed hair were divided into two identical tufts, with the former exposed at 13,219 J/cm2 (300–800 nm spectrum of irradiance) for 48 h in a solar simulator, and the latter kept in the dark. Hair samples were extracted and analyzed by ultra performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The percentage of photodegradation was calculated for EtG. In parallel, photodegradation processes of standard molecule dissolved in aqueous and organic solutions were studied. In 28 hair samples, positive for the targeted analyte, exposure to artificial sunlight induced an appreciable increase in EtG concentrations. The concentration range in the non-irradiated hair samples was 6.0–772.0 pg/mg, and 64.3% of samples exhibited an increase in post-irradiation samples, ranging from 7% to 255%. In seven cases, a decrease was observed ranging from −5.0% to −36.0%. Thus, either a decrease or an increase of EtG may be observed post-irradiation, depending on hair color and/or hair thickness. Because the denaturation status of hair fibers and the thickness of hair before irradiation could play a role, a scanning electron microscope study should be envisaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature is an amazing source of inspiration for the design of thermal insulation strategies, which are key for saving energy. In nature, thermal insulation structures, such as penguin feather and polar bear hair, are well developed; enabling the animals' survival in frigid waters. The detailed microscopy investigations conducted in this study, allowed us to perform microstructural analysis of these thermally insulating materials, including statistical measurements of keratin fiber and pore dimensions directly from high resolution Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images. The microscopy study revealed many similarities in both materials, and showed the importance of their hierarchically-organized porous structure. Finally, we propose the schematic configuration of a thermally-insulating structure, based on the penguin feather and polar bear hair. These optimized thermal-insulator systems indicate the road maps for future development, and new approaches in the design of material properties. We present the first detailed comparison of microstructures of penguin feather and polar bear hair for designing optimum thermal insulation properties. This unique study involves the measurement of the sizes of pores and fibers of these two keratin-based materials, including the investigation of their 3D arrangements. We revealed porosity interconnection, especially in polar bear hair, which is one of the key designs exhibited by thermal insulation materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A postmortem root band (PMRB) is a distinct microscopic feature that is postulated to occur in hair remaining in the follicle during the postmortem interval [1] (Petraco et al., 1998). The scientific validity of this premise has been highlighted in two recent high-profile criminal cases involving PMRBs [2,3] (State of Florida v. Casey Marie Anthony, 2008; People v. Kogut, 2005). To better understand the fundamental aspects of postmortem root banding, the microscopical properties of known PMRBs1 were characterized by light microscopy, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging of microtomed sections of hairs showing root banding. The results from this study show that the appearance of the PMRB may be due to the degradation of the chemically labile, non-keratin intermacrofibrillar matrix (IMM) in the pre-keratin/keratogenous region of anagen hairs. In addition, this degradation is confined to the cortex of the hair, with no apparent damage to the layers of the cuticle. These results could provide valuable information for determining the mechanism of band formation, as well as identify a set of microscopic features that could be used to distinguish hairs with known PMRBs from similarly looking environmentally degraded hairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The western honey bee (Apis mellifera) is an important ecological pollinator that commercially and economically contributes billions of dollars of free services to our ecosystem. Having the basic knowledge to provide an effective and standardized measure of the trait and check the pollination effectiveness is very important. However, we are still lacking efficient methods that can significantly measure traits. In this study, we checked the morphological structure of hairs on all of the body parts of the western honey bee by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM); furthermore, we also described the slide preparation method to measure hair length, which could also be used for distinct invertebrates. We found two forms of long and short hairs along with five different types of branches. These branches are worthwhile in pollination effectiveness during holding and transporting pollen. The thoracic region is filled with long hairs with maximum branches, which suggests that the thorax in honey bees probably plays a significant role in pollination effectiveness. Bees play a very important role in pollination, especially western honey bees, which contribute upwards of billions of dollars concerning crop pollination. Hairiness plays an important role in pollination success by transporting pollen, and pollen intake, but there is a lack of detailed studies on the morphological mechanisms. The hairiness trait is barely discussed in pollinator trait analysis because of the lack of systematic techniques used to measure hairiness. This paper reports a novel method that is used to measure the hair length of different body parts of a western honey bee through a stereomicroscope equipped with live measurement module software. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to update the knowledge regarding the hair structure of a western honey bee. We explained different types of hairs, hair branches, and their distributions on different body parts, which are discussed in detail. A positive correlation was found between hair length and the number of branches on all body parts. Five types of branches were observed, and these branches vary with different body parts. Our study provides sufficient details about the hair morphology of the western honey bee and a new methodology for measuring hair length. This methodology will improve the knowledge about understanding the pollination efficiency of the western honey bee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the gradual development of medicine and deep learning, many technologies have been developed. In the field of beauty services or medicine, it is particularly important to judge the degree of hair damage. Because people in modern society pay more attention to their own dressing and makeup, changes in the shape of their hair have become more frequent, e.g., owing to a perm or dyeing. Thus, the hair is severely damaged through this process. Because hair is relatively thin, a quick determination of the degree of damage has also become a major problem. Currently, there are three specific methods for this purpose. In the first method, professionals engaged in the beauty service industry make a direct judgement with the naked eye. The second way is to observe the damaged cuticle layers of the hair using a microscope, and then make a judgment. The third approach is to conduct experimental tests using physical and chemical methods. However, all of these methods entail certain limitations, inconveniences, and a high complexity and time consumption. Therefore, our proposed method is to use scanning electron microscope to collect various hair sample images, combined with deep learning to identify and judge the degree of hair damage. This method will be used for hair quality diagnosis. Experiment on the data set we made, compared with the experimental results of other lightweight networks, our method showed the highest accuracy rate of 94.8%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cutting behaviour of beard hair has been investigated quantitatively and qualitatively. High speed cutting tests were conducted on beard hair samples using a purpose built cutting rig (provided by Gillette, UK) to determine the cutting forces. High speed digital video photography was used to record the cutting process. In parallel with these tests, low speed cutting tests were undertaken within a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to gain a better understanding of the cutting process. Results from the high speed cutting tests showed that the peak cutting stresses are influenced strongly by moisture (the cutting stress for ‘wet’ samples is reduced by about 30% as compared to dry samples) while the effects on the cutting stress of other variables (subject age, blade approach angle and sample ageing due to prolonged storage) appeared to be less noticeable. The angle of cut was affected by the distance of the initial contact point (between the hair and the blade) from the base of the hair with the line of cut shifting towards the hair axis with increasing distance from the base. Qualitative observations from video-recordings and still images taken during the cutting tests, conducted in-situ within the SEM as well as the high speed cutting rig, showed four main cutting mechanisms of hair, which are documented in this paper. The distance from the initial contact point to the base of the hair and the moisture level were the parameters which controlled the mechanism of failure. Qualitative observations of the sort reported here are a necessary pre-cursor to the development of finite element models to simulate a cutting operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was based on the records of baculum features, hair scale form, and karyotype of Taphozous nudiventris magnus. The baculum is a distinctive feature in separating this subspecies from T. n. kachhensis. The structure of the hair scale type examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) was divaricate, dentate coronal at the tip, and varied from the tip of the hair to the base; it had a divergent, dentate coronal at the shaft and an appressed, repand coronal at the base. The diploid number (2n) and the number of autosomal arms (NFa) of T. n. magnuswere 42 and 64, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have used the scanning electron microscope to investigate the changes that occur in scalp hair during infection with Trichophyton violaceum. We provide information on the morphology of these dermatophytes and present evidence that their hyphae dig tunnel-like burrows into the hair shaft, dissociating hair into keratin fibrils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hair identification is a complex and important problem in view of forensic investigation. It entails many tests and uncertainties still exist in drawing final conclusions to determine whether a single hair is identifiable from a certain individual. The Scanning Electron Microscope alone may not be able to cause final conclusions to be drawn, however, with further tests and comparative studies, this type of study certainly will eventually lead to a more positive identification of hairs, since it definitely shows improvement over the optical means of identification regarding structural, surface morphology, coupled with other scientific data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following positive identification by the usual cytogenetic means of a newborn girl with a triploid chromosome complement (69.XXX), a sample of hair was analyzed with the scanning electron microscope. The results of the observation on triploid human hair were compared to data gathered from the hair of normal newborn boys and girls. Significant differences were found between triploid and diploid hairs in mean width, mean width between the free edges of the cuticular scales, and average number of cuticular scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]