Clinical biochemistry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alexander, W. C.; Leach, C. S.; Fischer, C. L.

1975-01-01

The objectives of the biochemical studies conducted for the Apollo program were (1) to provide routine laboratory data for assessment of preflight crew physical status and for postflight comparisons; (2) to detect clinical or pathological abnormalities which might have required remedial action preflight; (3) to discover as early as possible any infectious disease process during the postflight quarantine periods following certain missions; and (4) to obtain fundamental medical knowledge relative to man's adjustment to and return from the space flight environment. The accumulated data presented suggest that these requirements were met by the program described. All changes ascribed to the space flight environment were subtle, whereas clinically significant changes were consistent with infrequent illnesses unrelated to the space flight exposure.

Subtle learning and memory impairment in an idiopathic rat model of Alzheimer's disease utilizing cholinergic depletions and β-amyloid.

PubMed

Deibel, S H; Weishaupt, N; Regis, A M; Hong, N S; Keeley, R J; Balog, R J; Bye, C M; Himmler, S M; Whitehead, S N; McDonald, R J

2016-09-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a disease of complex etiology, involving multiple risk factors. When these risk factors are presented concomitantly, cognition and brain pathology are more severely compromised than if those risk factors were presented in isolation. Reduced cholinergic tone and elevated amyloid-beta (Aβ) load are pathological hallmarks of AD. The present study sought to investigate brain pathology and alterations in learning and memory when these two factors were presented together in rats. Rats received either sham surgeries, cholinergic depletions of the medial septum, intracerebroventricular Aβ25-35 injections, or both cholinergic depletion and Aβ25-35 injections (Aβ+ACh group). The Aβ+ACh rats were unimpaired in a striatal dependent visual discrimination task, but had impaired acquisition in the standard version of the Morris water task. However, these rats displayed normal Morris water task retention and no impairment in acquisition of a novel platform location during a single massed training session. Aβ+ACh rats did not have exacerbated brain pathology as indicated by activated astroglia, activated microglia, or accumulation of Aβ. These data suggest that cholinergic depletions and Aβ injections elicit subtle cognitive deficits when behavioural testing is conducted shortly after the presentation of these factors. These factors might have altered hippocampal synaptic plasticity and thus resemble early AD pathology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neuropathology of alcoholism.

PubMed

Sutherland, Greg T; Sheedy, Donna; Kril, Jillian J

2014-01-01

Chronic alcohol consumption results in structural changes to the brain. In alcoholics without coexisting thiamine deficiency or liver disease this is largely restricted to a loss of white-matter volume. When it occurs, neuronal loss is limited in anatomic distribution and only detected with quantitative techniques. This relative paucity of neurodegeneration is reflected in studies of gene and protein expression in postmortem brain where findings are subtle and discordant between studies. In alcoholics with coexisting pathologies, neuronal loss is more marked and affects a wider range of anatomic regions, especially subcortical nuclei. Although this more widespread damage may reflect a more severe drinking history, there is evidence linking thiamine deficiency and the consequences of liver disease to the pathogenesis of alcohol-related brain damage. Furthermore, a range of other factors, such as cigarette smoking and mood disorders, that are common in alcoholics, have the potential to influence studies of brain pathology and should be considered in further studies of the neuropathology of alcoholism. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Seven tesla MRI improves detection of focal cortical dysplasia in patients with refractory focal epilepsy.

PubMed

Veersema, Tim J; Ferrier, Cyrille H; van Eijsden, Pieter; Gosselaar, Peter H; Aronica, Eleonora; Visser, Fredy; Zwanenburg, Jaco M; de Kort, Gerard A P; Hendrikse, Jeroen; Luijten, Peter R; Braun, Kees P J

2017-06-01

The aim of this study is to determine whether the use of 7 tesla (T) MRI in clinical practice leads to higher detection rates of focal cortical dysplasias in possible candidates for epilepsy surgery. In our center patients are referred for 7 T MRI if lesional focal epilepsy is suspected, but no abnormalities are detected at one or more previous, sufficient-quality lower-field MRI scans, acquired with a dedicated epilepsy protocol, or when concealed pathology is suspected in combination with MR-visible mesiotemporal sclerosis-dual pathology. We assessed 40 epilepsy patients who underwent 7 T MRI for presurgical evaluation and whose scans (both 7 T and lower field) were discussed during multidisciplinary epilepsy surgery meetings that included a dedicated epilepsy neuroradiologist. We compared the conclusions of the multidisciplinary visual assessments of 7 T and lower-field MRI scans. In our series of 40 patients, multidisciplinary evaluation of 7 T MRI identified additional lesions not seen on lower-field MRI in 9 patients (23%). These findings were guiding in surgical planning. So far, 6 patients underwent surgery, with histological confirmation of focal cortical dysplasia or mild malformation of cortical development. Seven T MRI improves detection of subtle focal cortical dysplasia and mild malformations of cortical development in patients with intractable epilepsy and may therefore contribute to identification of surgical candidates and complete resection of the epileptogenic lesion, and thus to postoperative seizure freedom.

Quantitative label-free proteomic analysis of human urine to identify novel candidate protein biomarkers for schistosomiasis.

PubMed

Onile, Olugbenga Samson; Calder, Bridget; Soares, Nelson C; Anumudu, Chiaka I; Blackburn, Jonathan M

2017-11-01

Schistosomiasis is a chronic neglected tropical disease that is characterized by continued inflammatory challenges to the exposed population and it has been established as a possible risk factor in the aetiology of bladder cancer. Improved diagnosis of schistosomiasis and its associated pathology is possible through mass spectrometry to identify biomarkers among the infected population, which will influence early detection of the disease and its subtle morbidity. A high-throughput proteomic approach was used to analyse human urine samples for 49 volunteers from Eggua, a schistosomiasis endemic community in South-West, Nigeria. The individuals were previously screened for Schistosoma haematobium and structural bladder pathologies via microscopy and ultrasonography respectively. Samples were categorised into schistosomiasis, schistosomiasis with bladder pathology, bladder pathology, and a normal healthy control group. These samples were analysed to identify potential protein biomarkers. A total of 1306 proteins and 9701 unique peptides were observed in this study (FDR = 0.01). Fifty-four human proteins were found to be potential biomarkers for schistosomiasis and bladder pathologies due to schistosomiasis by label-free quantitative comparison between groups. Thirty-six (36) parasite-derived potential biomarkers were also identified, which include some existing putative schistosomiasis biomarkers that have been previously reported. Some of these proteins include Elongation factor 1 alpha, phosphopyruvate hydratase, histone H4 and heat shock proteins (HSP 60, HSP 70). These findings provide an in-depth analysis of potential schistosoma and human host protein biomarkers for diagnosis of chronic schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma haematobium and its pathogenesis.

Three-dimensional MRI perfusion maps: a step beyond volumetric analysis in mental disorders

PubMed Central

Fabene, Paolo F; Farace, Paolo; Brambilla, Paolo; Andreone, Nicola; Cerini, Roberto; Pelizza, Luisa; Versace, Amelia; Rambaldelli, Gianluca; Birbaumer, Niels; Tansella, Michele; Sbarbati, Andrea

2007-01-01

A new type of magnetic resonance imaging analysis, based on fusion of three-dimensional reconstructions of time-to-peak parametric maps and high-resolution T1-weighted images, is proposed in order to evaluate the perfusion of selected volumes of interest. Because in recent years a wealth of data have suggested the crucial involvement of vascular alterations in mental diseases, we tested our new method on a restricted sample of schizophrenic patients and matched healthy controls. The perfusion of the whole brain was compared with that of the caudate nucleus by means of intrasubject analysis. As expected, owing to the encephalic vascular pattern, a significantly lower time-to-peak was observed in the caudate nucleus than in the whole brain in all healthy controls, indicating that the suggested method has enough sensitivity to detect subtle perfusion changes even in small volumes of interest. Interestingly, a less uniform pattern was observed in the schizophrenic patients. The latter finding needs to be replicated in an adequate number of subjects. In summary, the three-dimensional analysis method we propose has been shown to be a feasible tool for revealing subtle vascular changes both in normal subjects and in pathological conditions. PMID:17229290

Magnetic resonance imaging of the wrist: bone and cartilage injury.

PubMed

Hayter, Catherine L; Gold, Stephanie L; Potter, Hollis G

2013-05-01

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is particularly useful for imaging the wrist due to its superior soft tissue contrast and ability to detect subtle bone marrow changes and occult fractures. A high field (1.5T or greater) strength, dedicated wrist coil, and high in-plane and through-plane resolution must be utilized to successfully visualize the relatively thin cartilage of the wrist. MRI can be used to detect occult carpal bone fractures, identify complications following scaphoid fractures, and assess for avascular necrosis in the setting in Kienböck's and Preiser's disease. MRI is useful to identify secondary soft tissue and chondral pathology in impaction/impingement syndromes. The use of an intermediate-echo time fast spin echo sequence allows for accurate assessment of articular cartilage, allowing evaluation of chondral wear in the setting of primary osteoarthritis and posttraumatic degenerative arthrosis. MRI is the most sensitive imaging modality for the detection of early inflammatory arthropathies and can detect synovitis, bone marrow edema, and early erosions in the setting of negative radiographs. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Pathologic features of early inflammatory bowel disease.

PubMed

Finkelstein, Sydney D; Sasatomi, Eizaburo; Regueiro, Miguel

2002-03-01

Often the pathologic changes of IBD are subtle and may not be present in a proportion of biopsy specimens. In cases of early disease, the changes may be missed, and additional specimens should be taken after a period of time. Modifying factors, such as prebiopsy treatment and coexisting disease, should be considered. A forum to review cases and allow for communication between gastroenterologists and pathologists is especially useful for clinicopathologic correlation and assignment of a working diagnosis to each case. Careful attention to the pathologic features of early UC and CD would be most useful when evaluating new therapies for IBD.

Physiological and pathological clinical conditions and light scattering in brain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurata, Tsuyoshi; Iwata, Sachiko; Tsuda, Kennosuke; Kinoshita, Masahiro; Saikusa, Mamoru; Hara, Naoko; Oda, Motoki; Ohmae, Etsuko; Araki, Yuko; Sugioka, Takashi; Takashima, Sachio; Iwata, Osuke

2016-08-01

MRI of preterm infants at term commonly reveals subtle brain lesions such as diffuse white matter injury, which are linked with later cognitive impairments. The timing and mechanism of such injury remains unclear. The reduced scattering coefficient of near-infrared light (μs’) has been shown to correlate linearly with gestational age in neonates. To identify clinical variables associated with brain μs’, 60 preterm and full-term infants were studied within 7 days of birth. Dependence of μs’ obtained from the frontal head on clinical variables was assessed. In the univariate analysis, smaller μs’ was associated with antenatal glucocorticoid, emergency Caesarean section, requirement for mechanical ventilation, smaller gestational age, smaller body sizes, low 1- and 5-minute Apgar scores, higher cord blood pH and PO2, and higher blood HCO3- at the time of study. Multivariate analysis revealed that smaller gestational age, requirement for mechanical ventilation, and higher HCO3- at the time of study were correlated with smaller μs’. Brain μs’ depended on variables associated with physiological maturation and pathological conditions of the brain. Further longitudinal studies may help identify pathological events and clinical conditions responsible for subtle brain injury and subsequent cognitive impairments following preterm birth.

Abdominal Pain in the Geriatric Patient.

PubMed

Magidson, Phillip D; Martinez, Joseph P

2016-08-01

With an aging population, emergency department clinicians can expect an increase in geriatric patients presenting with abdominal pain. Compared with younger patients, this patient population is less likely to present with classic symptoms, physical examination findings, and laboratory values of abdominal disease. However, the morbidity and mortality associated with elderly patients presenting with abdominal pathologic conditions are significant. For this reason, the clinician must be familiar with some subtle and not so subtle differences when caring for the geriatric patient with abdominal pain to ensure timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MRI of the lung: state of the art.

PubMed

Wielpütz, Mark; Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich

2012-01-01

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the lung is technically challenging due to the low proton density and fast signal decay of the lung parenchyma itself. Additional challenges consist of tissue loss, hyperinflation, and hypoxic hypoperfusion, e.g., in emphysema, a so-called "minus-pathology". However, pathological changes resulting in an increase of tissue ("plus-pathology"), such as atelectases, nodules, infiltrates, mucus, or pleural effusion, are easily depicted with high diagnostic accuracy. Although MRI is inferior or at best equal to multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) for the detection of subtle morphological features, MRI now offers an increasing spectrum of functional imaging techniques such as perfusion assessment and measurement of ventilation and respiratory mechanics that are superior to what is possible with MDCT. Without putting patients at risk with ionizing radiation, repeated examinations allow for the evaluation of the course of lung disease and monitoring of the therapeutic response through quantitative imaging, providing a level of functional detail that cannot be obtained by any other single imaging modality. As such, MRI will likely be used for clinical applications beyond morphological imaging for many lung diseases. In this article, we review the technical aspects and protocol suggestions for chest MRI and discuss the role of MRI in the evaluation of nodules and masses, airway disease, respiratory mechanics, ventilation, perfusion and hemodynamics, and pulmonary vasculature.

Early Indicators of Pathological Dissociation in Sexually Abused Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McElroy, Linda Provus

1992-01-01

This paper reviews factors in the professional neglect of multiple personality disorder (MPD) and sexual abuse in childhood, as well as recent diagnostic developments in childhood dissociative disorders. The identification of subtle dissociative symptomatology in children is illustrated, and two case examples are presented. (Author)

"Atypical" chronic wasting disease in PRNP genotype 225FF mule deer.

PubMed

Wolfe, Lisa L; Fox, Karen A; Miller, Michael W

2014-07-01

We compared mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) of two different PRNP genotypes (225SS, 225FF) for susceptibility to chronic wasting disease (CWD) in the face of environmental exposure to infectivity. All three 225SS deer had immunohistochemistry (IHC)-positive tonsil biopsies by 710 days postexposure (dpe), developed classic clinical signs by 723-1,200 dpe, and showed gross and microscopic pathology, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) results, and IHC staining typical of prion disease in mule deer. In contrast, although all three 225FF deer also became infected, the two individuals surviving >720 dpe had consistently negative biopsies, developed more-subtle clinical signs of CWD, and died 924 or 1,783 dpe. The 225FF deer were "suspect" by ELISA postmortem but showed negative or equivocal IHC staining of lymphoid tissues; both clinically affected 225FF deer had spongiform encephalopathy in the absence of IHC staining in the brain tissue. The experimental cases resembled three cases encountered among five additional captive 225FF deer that were not part of our experiment but also died from CWD. Aside from differences in clinical disease presentation and detection, 225FF mule deer also showed other, more-subtle, atypical traits that may help to explain the rarity of this genotype in natural populations, even in the presence of enzootic CWD.

Constructing Clinical Judgments about Preschool Pragmatic Language Skills: An Action Research Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boje, Noreen Susan

2009-01-01

The literature suggests that children who struggle with communication during social interactions, called "pragmatic language" in the field of speech language pathology, have fewer opportunities to engage in social practices that promote learning because of inadequate skills in interacting with others. Children with even subtle difficulties in…

Comparison of the Classifier Oriented Gait Score and the Gait Profile Score based on imitated gait impairments.

PubMed

Christian, Josef; Kröll, Josef; Schwameder, Hermann

2017-06-01

Common summary measures of gait quality such as the Gait Profile Score (GPS) are based on the principle of measuring a distance from the mean pattern of a healthy reference group in a gait pattern vector space. The recently introduced Classifier Oriented Gait Score (COGS) is a pathology specific score that measures this distance in a unique direction, which is indicated by a linear classifier. This approach has potentially improved the discriminatory power to detect subtle changes in gait patterns but does not incorporate a profile of interpretable sub-scores like the GPS. The main aims of this study were to extend the COGS by decomposing it into interpretable sub-scores as realized in the GPS and to compare the discriminative power of the GPS and COGS. Two types of gait impairments were imitated to enable a high level of control of the gait patterns. Imitated impairments were realized by restricting knee extension and inducing leg length discrepancy. The results showed increased discriminatory power of the COGS for differentiating diverse levels of impairment. Comparison of the GPS and COGS sub-scores and their ability to indicate changes in specific variables supports the validity of both scores. The COGS is an overall measure of gait quality with increased power to detect subtle changes in gait patterns and might be well suited for tracing the effect of a therapeutic treatment over time. The newly introduced sub-scores improved the interpretability of the COGS, which is helpful for practical applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Application of T2 relaxometry in lateralization and localization of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and corresponding comparison with MR volumetry.

PubMed

Chen, Hui; Yu, Guilian; Wang, Jiangtao; Li, Feng; Li, Guangming

2016-09-01

Magnetic resonance (MR) volumetry is insensitive to subtle mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS), while T2 relaxometry is potential useful in detecting MTS, especially MTS in early course. To explore and compare the feasibility of T2 relaxometry and MR volumetry in evaluation of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) and lateralization of the epileptogenic zone, so as to optimize and enhance lesion depiction. For the 17 unilateral MTLE patients and 14 normal participants, the hippocampus and amygdala were contoured on axial T2-weighted (T2W) images and then co-registered onto T2 relaxation maps. Abnormal is defined as an elevated asymmetric ratio of larger than 2 SD. Visual and quantitative volumetric assessment were combined as outcomes of MR volumetry to distinguish MR-positive and MR-negative lesions. Operative and pathological findings were used as gold standard. T2 values of lesions were significantly elevated. In lateralizing the epileptogenic zones, T2 relaxometry yielded an overall accuracy of 94.1% (sensitivity 92.6%, specificity 100%), and MR volumetry yielded an overall accuracy of 82.4% (sensitivity 88.9%, specificity 57.1%), meaning a better performance of T2 relaxometry (P < 0.001, by chi-square test). For pathologically sclerotic structures, most (25/27) were recognized by T2 relaxometry, while 24 of 27 sclerotic structures were detected via MR volumetry. MR volumetry wrongly discerned three normal regions as MTS, while one MR-negative sclerotic hippocampus was detected by T2 relaxometry. T2 relaxometry is feasible in non-invasive lateralization of epileptogenic zone, and more advantaged than MR volumetry in detecting MR-negative lesions, facilitating prompt diagnosis and longitudinal disease monitoring. © The Foundation Acta Radiologica 2015.

Field-isolated genotypes of Mycobacterium bovis vary in virulence and influence case pathology but do not affect outbreak size.

PubMed

Wright, David M; Allen, Adrian R; Mallon, Thomas R; McDowell, Stanley W J; Bishop, Stephen C; Glass, Elizabeth J; Bermingham, Mairead L; Woolliams, John A; Skuce, Robin A

2013-01-01

Strains of many infectious agents differ in fundamental epidemiological parameters including transmissibility, virulence and pathology. We investigated whether genotypes of Mycobacterium bovis (the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis, bTB) differ significantly in transmissibility and virulence, combining data from a nine-year survey of the genetic structure of the M. bovis population in Northern Ireland with detailed records of the cattle population during the same period. We used the size of herd breakdowns as a proxy measure of transmissibility and the proportion of skin test positive animals (reactors) that were visibly lesioned as a measure of virulence. Average breakdown size increased with herd size and varied depending on the manner of detection (routine herd testing or tracing of infectious contacts) but we found no significant variation among M. bovis genotypes in breakdown size once these factors had been accounted for. However breakdowns due to some genotypes had a greater proportion of lesioned reactors than others, indicating that there may be variation in virulence among genotypes. These findings indicate that the current bTB control programme may be detecting infected herds sufficiently quickly so that differences in virulence are not manifested in terms of outbreak sizes. We also investigated whether pathology of infected cattle varied according to M. bovis genotype, analysing the distribution of lesions recorded at post mortem inspection. We concentrated on the proportion of cases lesioned in the lower respiratory tract, which can indicate the relative importance of the respiratory and alimentary routes of infection. The distribution of lesions varied among genotypes and with cattle age and there were also subtle differences among breeds. Age and breed differences may be related to differences in susceptibility and husbandry, but reasons for variation in lesion distribution among genotypes require further investigation.

Subtle pathological changes in neocortical temporal lobe epilepsy.

PubMed

Ochoa, Juan G; Hentgarden, Diana; Paulzak, Audrey; Ogden, Melissa; Pryson, Richard; Lamle, Markus; Rusyniak, Walter G

2017-06-01

This was a prospective observational study to correlate the clinical symptoms, electrophysiology, imaging, and surgical pathology of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) without hippocampal sclerosis. We selected consecutive patients with TLE and normal MRI undergoing temporal lobe resection between April and September 2015. Clinical features, imaging, and functional data were reviewed. Intracranial monitoring and language mapping were performed when it was required according to our team recommendation. Prior to hippocampal resection, intraoperative electrocorticography was performed using depth electrodes in the amygdala and the hippocampus. The resected hippocampus was sent for pathological analysis. Five patients with diagnosis with non-lesional TLE were included. We did not find distinctive clinical features that could be a characteristic of non-lesional TLE. The mean follow-up was 13.2months (11-15months); 80% of patients achieved Engel Class I outcome. There was no distinctive electrographic findings in these patients. Histopathologic analysis was negative for mesial temporal sclerosis. A second blinded independent neuropathologist with expertise in epilepsy found ILAE type I focal cortical dysplasia in the parahippocampal gyrus in all patients. A third independent neuropathologist reported changes in layer 2 with larger pyramidal neurons in 4 cases but concluded that none of these cases met the diagnostic criteria of FCD. Subtle pathological changes could be associated with a parahippocampal epileptic zone and should be investigated in patients with MRI-negative TLE. This study also highlights the lack of interobserver reliability for the diagnosis of mild cortical dysplasia. Finally, selective amygdalo-hippocampectomy or laser ablation of the hippocampus may not control intractable epilepsy in this specific population. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Blast-Induced Color Change in Photonic Crystals Corresponds with Brain Pathology

PubMed Central

Cullen, D. Kacy; Browne, Kevin D.; Xu, Yongan; Adeeb, Saleena; Wolf, John A.; McCarron, Richard M.; Yang, Shu; Chavko, Mikulas

2011-01-01

Abstract A high incidence of blast exposure is a 21st century reality in counter-insurgency warfare. However, thresholds for closed-head blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI) remain unknown. Moreover, without objective information about relative blast exposure, warfighters with bTBI may not receive appropriate medical care and may remain in harm's way. Accordingly, we have engineered a blast injury dosimeter (BID) using a photonic crystalline material that changes color following blast exposure. The photonic crystals are fabricated using SU-8 via multi-beam interference laser lithography. The final BID is similar in appearance to an array of small colored stickers that may be affixed to uniforms or helmets in multiple locations. Although durable under normal conditions, the photonic crystalline micro- and nano-structure are precisely altered by blast to create a color change. These BIDs were evaluated using a rat model of bTBI, for which blast shockwave exposure was generated via a compressed air-driven shock tube. With prototype BID arrays affixed to the animals, we found that BID color changes corresponded with subtle brain pathologies, including neuronal degeneration and reactive astrocytosis. These subtle changes were most notable in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, and cerebellum. These data demonstrate the feasibility of using a materials-based, power-free colorimetric BID as the first self-contained blast sensor calibrated to correspond with brain pathology. PMID:22082449

Neurological soft signs in individuals with pathological gambling.

PubMed

Elman, Igor; Gurvits, Tamara V; Tschibelu, Evelyne; Spring, Justin D; Lasko, Natasha B; Pitman, Roger K

2013-01-01

Increased neurological soft signs (NSSs) have been found in a number of neuropsychiatric syndromes, including chemical addiction. The present study examined NSSs related to perceptual-motor and visuospatial processing in a behavioral addiction viz., pathological gambling (PG). As compared to mentally healthy individuals, pathological gamblers displayed significantly poorer ability to copy two- and three-dimensional figures, to recognize objects against a background noise, and to orient in space on a road-map test. Results indicated that PG is associated with subtle cerebral cortical abnormalities. Further prospective clinical research is needed to address the NSSs' origin and chronology (e.g., predate or follow the development of PG) as well as their response to therapeutic interventions and/or their ability to predict such a response.

Neuromotor outcomes at school age after extremely low birth weight: early detection of subtle signs.

PubMed

Gidley Larson, Jennifer C; Baron, Ida Sue; Erickson, Kristine; Ahronovich, Margot D; Baker, Robin; Litman, Fern R

2011-01-01

Motor impairments are prevalent in children born at extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1,000 g). Rarely studied are subtle motor deficits that indicate dysfunction or delay in neural systems critical for optimal cognitive, academic, and behavioral function. We aimed to examine quantifiable signs of subtle neuromotor dysfunction in an early school-aged ELBW cohort that coincidentally had age-appropriate cognition and design copying. We studied 97 participants born between 1998 and 2001; 74 ELBW (6.7 years ± 0.75) compared with 23 term-born (6.6 years ± 0.29). Neuromotor outcomes were assessed using the Physical and Neurological Examination of Subtle Signs-Revised, and measures of dexterity/coordination and visual-motor integration. ELBW participants performed worse than term-born on design-copying and dexterity, were age-appropriate compared to normative data, and had slower timed movements and more subtle overflow movements. Those ELBW born <26 weeks performed most poorly compared with those born 26-34 weeks and term-born. Subtle motor dysfunctions are detectable and quantifiable in ELBW children by school age, even in the presence of average cognition. Early age assessment of incoordination, motor speed, and overflow movements should aid initiation of timely therapies to prepare at-risk ELBW children for subsequent school entry and facilitate design of optimal early treatment strategies. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

Diagnostic Algorithm to Reflect Regressive Changes of Human Papilloma Virus in Tissue Biopsies

PubMed Central

Lhee, Min Jin; Cha, Youn Jin; Bae, Jong Man; Kim, Young Tae

2014-01-01

Purpose Landmark indicators have not yet to be developed to detect the regression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). We propose that quantitative viral load and indicative histological criteria can be used to differentiate between atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) and a CIN of grade 1. Materials and Methods We collected 115 tissue biopsies from women who tested positive for the human papilloma virus (HPV). Nine morphological parameters including nuclear size, perinuclear halo, hyperchromasia, typical koilocyte (TK), abortive koilocyte (AK), bi-/multi-nucleation, keratohyaline granules, inflammation, and dyskeratosis were examined for each case. Correlation analyses, cumulative logistic regression, and binary logistic regression were used to determine optimal cut-off values of HPV copy numbers. The parameters TK, perinuclear halo, multi-nucleation, and nuclear size were significantly correlated quantitatively to HPV copy number. Results An HPV loading number of 58.9 and AK number of 20 were optimal to discriminate between negative and subtle findings in biopsies. An HPV loading number of 271.49 and AK of 20 were optimal for discriminating between equivocal changes and obvious koilocytosis. Conclusion We propose that a squamous epithelial lesion with AK of >20 and quantitative HPV copy number between 58.9-271.49 represents a new spectrum of subtle pathological findings, characterized by AK in ASCUS. This can be described as a distinct entity and called "regressing koilocytosis". PMID:24532500

Detection of subtle nocturnal motor activity from 3-D accelerometry recordings in epilepsy patients.

PubMed

Nijsen, Tamara M E; Cluitmans, Pierre J M; Arends, Johan B A M; Griep, Paul A M

2007-11-01

This paper presents a first step towards reliable detection of nocturnal epileptic seizures based on 3-D accelerometry (ACM) recordings. The main goal is to distinguish between data with and without subtle nocturnal motor activity, thus reducing the amount of data that needs further (more complex) analysis for seizure detection. From 15 ACM signals (measured on five positions on the body), two features are computed, the variance and the jerk. In the resulting 2-D feature space, a linear threshold function is used for classification. For training and testing, the algorithm ACM data along with video data is used from nocturnal registrations in seven mentally retarded patients with severe epilepsy. Per patient, the algorithm detected 100% of the periods of motor activity that are marked in video recordings and the ACM signals by experts. From all the detections, 43%-89% was correct (mean =65%). We were able to reduce the amount of data that need to be analyzed considerably. The results show that our approach can be used for detection of subtle nocturnal motor activity. Furthermore, our results indicate that our algorithm is robust for fluctuations across patients. Consequently, there is no need for training the algorithm for each new patient.

Using Neuropsychological Process Scores to Identify Subtle Cognitive Decline and Predict Progression to Mild Cognitive Impairment.

PubMed

Thomas, Kelsey R; Edmonds, Emily C; Eppig, Joel; Salmon, David P; Bondi, Mark W

2018-05-26

We previously operationally-defined subtle cognitive decline (SCD) in preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) using total scores on neuropsychological (NP) tests. NP process scores (i.e., provide information about how a total NP score was achieved) may be a useful tool for identifying early cognitive inefficiencies prior to objective impairment seen in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. We aimed to integrate process scores into the SCD definition to identify stages of SCD and improve early detection of those at risk for decline. Cognitively "normal" participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative were classified as "early" SCD (E-SCD; >1 SD below mean on 2 process scores or on 1 process score plus 1 NP total score), "late" SCD (L-SCD; existing SCD criteria of >1 SD below norm-adjusted mean on 2 NP total scores in different domains), or "no SCD" (NC). Process scores considered in the SCD criteria were word-list intrusion errors, retroactive interference, and learning slope. Cerebrospinal fluid AD biomarkers were used to examine pathologic burden across groups. E-SCD and L-SCD progressed to MCI 2.5-3.4 times faster than the NC group. Survival curves for E-SCD and L-SCD converged at 7-8 years after baseline. The combined (E-SCD+L-SCD) group had improved sensitivity to detect progression to MCI relative to L-SCD only. AD biomarker positivity increased across NC, SCD, and MCI groups. Process scores can be integrated into the SCD criteria to allow for increased sensitivity and earlier identification of cognitively normal older adults at risk for decline prior to frank impairment on NP total scores.

Evidence based review of the impact of image enhanced endoscopy in the diagnosis of gastric disorders

PubMed Central

Hussain, Ikram; Ang, Tiing Leong

2016-01-01

Gastric cancer is the third most common cause of cancer-related death. Advanced stages of gastric cancers generally have grim prognosis. But, good prognosis can be achieved if such cancers are detected, diagnosed and resected at early stages. However, early gastric cancers and its precursors often produce only subtle mucosal changes and therefore quite commonly remain elusive at the conventional examination with white light endoscopy. Image-enhanced endoscopy makes mucosal lesions more conspicuous and can therefore potentially yield earlier and more accurate diagnoses. Recent years have seen growing work of research in support of various types of image enhanced endoscopy (IEE) techniques (e.g., dye-chromoendoscopy; magnification endoscopy; narrow-band imaging; flexible spectral imaging color enhancement; and I-SCAN) for a variety of gastric pathologies. In this review, we will examine the evidence for the utilization of various IEE techniques in the diagnosis of gastric disorders. PMID:28042388

Emerging technologies for studying DNA methylation for the molecular diagnosis of cancer

PubMed Central

Marzese, Diego M.; Hoon, Dave S.B.

2015-01-01

DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism that plays a key role in regulating gene expression and other functions. Although this modification is seen in different sequence contexts, the most frequently detected DNA methylation in mammals involves cytosine-guanine dinucleotides. Pathological alterations in DNA methylation patterns are described in a variety of human diseases, including cancer. Unlike genetic changes, DNA methylation is heavily influenced by subtle modifications in the cellular microenvironment. In all cancers, aberrant DNA methylation is involved in the alteration of a large number of oncological pathways with relevant theranostic utility. Several technologies for DNA methylation mapping were recently developed and successfully applied in cancer studies. The scope of these technologies varies from assessing a single cytosine-guanine locus to genome-wide distribution of DNA methylation. Here, we review the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches in the context of clinical utility for the molecular diagnosis of human cancers. PMID:25797072

Acetabular labral tears with underlying chondromalacia: a possible association with high-level running.

PubMed

Guanche, Carlos A; Sikka, Robby S

2005-05-01

The use of hip arthroscopy has helped delineate intra-articular pathology and has enabled clinicians to further elucidate the factors responsible for injuries, such as running. The subtle development of degenerative changes may be a result of repetitive impact loading associated with this sport. This study presents a population of runners with common pathologic acetabular changes. Case series. Eight high-level runners with an average age of 36 years (range, 19 to 45 years) were seen for complaints of increasing hip pain with running without any history of macrotrauma. All of the patients had either run several marathons (4), were triathletes (1), Olympic middle distance runners (1), or had run more than 10 miles per week for longer than 5 years (2). Plain radiographic analysis revealed no degenerative changes and an average center-edge (CE) angle of 36.7 degrees (range, 28 degrees to 44 degrees). All patients underwent hip arthroscopy with labral debridement. In 6 patients (75%), a chondral injury of the acetabular cartilage underlying the labral tear was noted. In addition, 3 patients had ligamentum teres disruptions. It is possible that the development of these tears is the result of subtle instability, which may be exacerbated by running, eventually leading to labral tearing and possible ligamentum teres disruption. While perhaps concurrently, subtle acetabular dysplasia may play a role. Although this study does not confirm an association between running and the development of labral tears or chondral lesions in the hip, it certainly questions whether there is an injury pattern common to this population, a "runner's hip." Level IV.

Comparison of In Vivo and Ex Vivo MRI for the Detection of Structural Abnormalities in a Mouse Model of Tauopathy

PubMed Central

Holmes, Holly E.; Powell, Nick M.; Ma, Da; Ismail, Ozama; Harrison, Ian F.; Wells, Jack A.; Colgan, Niall; O'Callaghan, James M.; Johnson, Ross A.; Murray, Tracey K.; Ahmed, Zeshan; Heggenes, Morten; Fisher, Alice; Cardoso, M. Jorge; Modat, Marc; O'Neill, Michael J.; Collins, Emily C.; Fisher, Elizabeth M. C.; Ourselin, Sébastien; Lythgoe, Mark F.

2017-01-01

With increasingly large numbers of mouse models of human disease dedicated to MRI studies, compromises between in vivo and ex vivo MRI must be fully understood in order to inform the choice of imaging methodology. We investigate the application of high resolution in vivo and ex vivo MRI, in combination with tensor-based morphometry (TBM), to uncover morphological differences in the rTg4510 mouse model of tauopathy. The rTg4510 mouse also offers a novel paradigm by which the overexpression of mutant tau can be regulated by the administration of doxycycline, providing us with a platform on which to investigate more subtle alterations in morphology with morphometry. Both in vivo and ex vivo MRI allowed the detection of widespread bilateral patterns of atrophy in the rTg4510 mouse brain relative to wild-type controls. Regions of volume loss aligned with neuronal loss and pathological tau accumulation demonstrated by immunohistochemistry. When we sought to investigate more subtle structural alterations in the rTg4510 mice relative to a subset of doxycycline-treated rTg4510 mice, ex vivo imaging enabled the detection of more regions of morphological brain changes. The disadvantages of ex vivo MRI may however mitigate this increase in sensitivity: we observed a 10% global shrinkage in brain volume of the post-mortem tissues due to formalin fixation, which was most notable in the cerebellum and olfactory bulbs. However, many central brain regions were not adversely affected by the fixation protocol, perhaps due to our “in-skull” preparation. The disparity between our TBM findings from in vivo and ex vivo MRI underlines the importance of appropriate study design, given the trade-off between these two imaging approaches. We support the utility of in vivo MRI for morphological phenotyping of mouse models of disease; however, for subtler phenotypes, ex vivo offers enhanced sensitivity to discrete morphological changes. PMID:28408879

Comparison of In Vivo and Ex Vivo MRI for the Detection of Structural Abnormalities in a Mouse Model of Tauopathy.

PubMed

Holmes, Holly E; Powell, Nick M; Ma, Da; Ismail, Ozama; Harrison, Ian F; Wells, Jack A; Colgan, Niall; O'Callaghan, James M; Johnson, Ross A; Murray, Tracey K; Ahmed, Zeshan; Heggenes, Morten; Fisher, Alice; Cardoso, M Jorge; Modat, Marc; O'Neill, Michael J; Collins, Emily C; Fisher, Elizabeth M C; Ourselin, Sébastien; Lythgoe, Mark F

2017-01-01

With increasingly large numbers of mouse models of human disease dedicated to MRI studies, compromises between in vivo and ex vivo MRI must be fully understood in order to inform the choice of imaging methodology. We investigate the application of high resolution in vivo and ex vivo MRI, in combination with tensor-based morphometry (TBM), to uncover morphological differences in the rTg4510 mouse model of tauopathy. The rTg4510 mouse also offers a novel paradigm by which the overexpression of mutant tau can be regulated by the administration of doxycycline, providing us with a platform on which to investigate more subtle alterations in morphology with morphometry. Both in vivo and ex vivo MRI allowed the detection of widespread bilateral patterns of atrophy in the rTg4510 mouse brain relative to wild-type controls. Regions of volume loss aligned with neuronal loss and pathological tau accumulation demonstrated by immunohistochemistry. When we sought to investigate more subtle structural alterations in the rTg4510 mice relative to a subset of doxycycline-treated rTg4510 mice, ex vivo imaging enabled the detection of more regions of morphological brain changes. The disadvantages of ex vivo MRI may however mitigate this increase in sensitivity: we observed a 10% global shrinkage in brain volume of the post-mortem tissues due to formalin fixation, which was most notable in the cerebellum and olfactory bulbs. However, many central brain regions were not adversely affected by the fixation protocol, perhaps due to our "in-skull" preparation. The disparity between our TBM findings from in vivo and ex vivo MRI underlines the importance of appropriate study design, given the trade-off between these two imaging approaches. We support the utility of in vivo MRI for morphological phenotyping of mouse models of disease; however, for subtler phenotypes, ex vivo offers enhanced sensitivity to discrete morphological changes.

Validating the Adolescent Form of the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Risberg, Richard A.; And Others

1995-01-01

Tests validity of the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) in detecting chemical dependency in adolescents (n=107), when compared to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) results. Further validation for the SASSI was obtained. Treatment implications and suggestions for further research are provided. (SNR)

The role of fundus autofluorescence in late-onset retinitis pigmentosa (LORP) diagnosis.

PubMed

Lee, Tamara J; Hwang, John C; Chen, Royce W S; Lima, Luiz H; Wang, Nan-Kai; Tosi, Joaquin; Freund, K Bailey; Yannuzzi, Lawrence A; Tsang, Stephen H

2014-09-01

To demonstrate the utility and characteristics of fundus autofluorescence in late-onset retinitis pigmentosa. Observational case series. Patients diagnosed with late-onset retinitis pigmentosa were identified retrospectively in an institutional setting. Twelve eyes of six patients were identified and medical records were reviewed. All patients presented with slowly progressive peripheral field loss and initial clinical examination revealed only subtle retinal changes. There was a notable lack of intraretinal pigment migration in all patients. Five out of six patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging of the brain to rule out intracranial processes and all were referred from another ophthalmologist for further evaluation. Fundus autofluorescence was ultimately employed in all patients and revealed more extensive retinal pathology than initially appreciated on clinical examination. Fundus autofluorescence directed the workup toward a retinal etiology in all cases and led to the eventual diagnosis of late-onset retinitis pigmentosa through electroretinogram testing. Fundus autofluorescence may be a more sensitive marker for retinal pathology than stereo fundus biomicroscopy alone in late-onset retinitis pigmentosa. Early use of fundus autofluorescence imaging in the evaluation of patients with subtle retinal lesions and complaints of peripheral field loss may be an effective strategy for timely and cost-efficient diagnosis.

An Examination of the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-3 Correctional Scale in a College Student Population

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burck, Andrew M.; Laux, John M.; Ritchie, Martin; Baker, David

2008-01-01

In this study, the authors examined the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-3 Correctional scale's sensitivity and specificity at detecting college students' illegal behaviors. Sensitivity was strong, but specificity was weak. Implications for counseling and suggestions for future research are included. (Contains 3 tables.)

Design of a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) study of 10:1 lossy image compression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collins, Cary A.; Lane, David; Frank, Mark S.; Hardy, Michael E.; Haynor, David R.; Smith, Donald V.; Parker, James E.; Bender, Gregory N.; Kim, Yongmin

1994-04-01

The digital archiving system at Madigan Army Medical Center (MAMC) uses a 10:1 lossy data compression algorithm for most forms of computed radiography. A systematic study on the potential effect of lossy image compression on patient care has been initiated with a series of studies focused on specific diagnostic tasks. The studies are based upon the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) method of analysis for diagnostic systems. The null hypothesis is that observer performance with approximately 10:1 compressed and decompressed images is not different from using original, uncompressed images for detecting subtle pathologic findings seen on computed radiographs of bone, chest, or abdomen, when viewed on a high-resolution monitor. Our design involves collecting cases from eight pathologic categories. Truth is determined by committee using confirmatory studies performed during routine clinical practice whenever possible. Software has been developed to aid in case collection and to allow reading of the cases for the study using stand-alone Siemens Litebox workstations. Data analysis uses two methods, ROC analysis and free-response ROC (FROC) methods. This study will be one of the largest ROC/FROC studies of its kind and could benefit clinical radiology practice using PACS technology. The study design and results from a pilot FROC study are presented.

Changes of statistical structural fluctuations unveils an early compacted degraded stage of PNS myelin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poccia, Nicola; Campi, Gaetano; Ricci, Alessandro; Caporale, Alessandra S.; di Cola, Emanuela; Hawkins, Thomas A.; Bianconi, Antonio

2014-06-01

Degradation of the myelin sheath is a common pathology underlying demyelinating neurological diseases from Multiple Sclerosis to Leukodistrophies. Although large malformations of myelin ultrastructure in the advanced stages of Wallerian degradation is known, its subtle structural variations at early stages of demyelination remains poorly characterized. This is partly due to the lack of suitable and non-invasive experimental probes possessing sufficient resolution to detect the degradation. Here we report the feasibility of the application of an innovative non-invasive local structure experimental approach for imaging the changes of statistical structural fluctuations in the first stage of myelin degeneration. Scanning micro X-ray diffraction, using advances in synchrotron x-ray beam focusing, fast data collection, paired with spatial statistical analysis, has been used to unveil temporal changes in the myelin structure of dissected nerves following extraction of the Xenopus laevis sciatic nerve. The early myelin degeneration is a specific ordered compacted phase preceding the swollen myelin phase of Wallerian degradation. Our demonstration of the feasibility of the statistical analysis of SµXRD measurements using biological tissue paves the way for further structural investigations of degradation and death of neurons and other cells and tissues in diverse pathological states where nanoscale structural changes may be uncovered.

Vital signs in older patients: age-related changes.

PubMed

Chester, Jennifer Gonik; Rudolph, James L

2011-06-01

Vital signs are objective measures of physiological function that are used to monitor acute and chronic disease and thus serve as a basic communication tool about patient status. The purpose of this analysis was to review age-related changes of traditional vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, respiratory rate, and temperature) with a focus on age-related molecular changes, organ system changes, systemic changes, and altered compensation to stressors. The review found that numerous physiological and pathological changes may occur with age and alter vital signs. These changes tend to reduce the ability of organ systems to adapt to physiological stressors, particularly in frail older patients. Because of the diversity of age-related physiological changes and comorbidities in an individual, single-point measurements of vital signs have less sensitivity in detecting disease processes. However, serial vital sign assessments may have increased sensitivity, especially when viewed in the context of individualized reference ranges. Vital sign change with age may be subtle because of reduced physiological ranges. However, change from an individual reference range may indicate important warning signs and thus may require additional evaluation to understand potential underlying pathological processes. As a result, individualized reference ranges may provide improved sensitivity in frail, older patients. Copyright © 2011 American Medical Directors Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The middle ear mass: a rare but important diagnosis.

PubMed

Pankhania, Miran; Rourke, Thomas; Draper, Mark R

2011-12-02

The authors report a rare case of primary intracranial meningioma presenting as a middle ear mass with conductive hearing loss. The authors aim to highlight the importance of diagnosing a middle ear mass, which although rare, may have a substantial impact on ongoing patient management. A discussion of other middle ear pathologies is made in order to demonstrate the subtle differences in presentation.

Computerized detection of lung nodules by means of "virtual dual-energy" radiography.

PubMed

Chen, Sheng; Suzuki, Kenji

2013-02-01

Major challenges in current computer-aided detection (CADe) schemes for nodule detection in chest radiographs (CXRs) are to detect nodules that overlap with ribs and/or clavicles and to reduce the frequent false positives (FPs) caused by ribs. Detection of such nodules by a CADe scheme is very important, because radiologists are likely to miss such subtle nodules. Our purpose in this study was to develop a CADe scheme with improved sensitivity and specificity by use of "virtual dual-energy" (VDE) CXRs where ribs and clavicles are suppressed with massive-training artificial neural networks (MTANNs). To reduce rib-induced FPs and detect nodules overlapping with ribs, we incorporated the VDE technology in our CADe scheme. The VDE technology suppressed rib and clavicle opacities in CXRs while maintaining soft-tissue opacity by use of the MTANN technique that had been trained with real dual-energy imaging. Our scheme detected nodule candidates on VDE images by use of a morphologic filtering technique. Sixty morphologic and gray-level-based features were extracted from each candidate from both original and VDE CXRs. A nonlinear support vector classifier was employed for classification of the nodule candidates. A publicly available database containing 140 nodules in 140 CXRs and 93 normal CXRs was used for testing our CADe scheme. All nodules were confirmed by computed tomography examinations, and the average size of the nodules was 17.8 mm. Thirty percent (42/140) of the nodules were rated "extremely subtle" or "very subtle" by a radiologist. The original scheme without VDE technology achieved a sensitivity of 78.6% (110/140) with 5 (1165/233) FPs per image. By use of the VDE technology, more nodules overlapping with ribs or clavicles were detected and the sensitivity was improved substantially to 85.0% (119/140) at the same FP rate in a leave-one-out cross-validation test, whereas the FP rate was reduced to 2.5 (583/233) per image at the same sensitivity level as the original CADe scheme obtained (Difference between the specificities of the original and the VDE-based CADe schemes was statistically significant). In particular, the sensitivity of our VDE-based CADe scheme for subtle nodules (66.7% = 28/42) was statistically significantly higher than that of the original CADe scheme (57.1% = 24/42). Therefore, by use of VDE technology, the sensitivity and specificity of our CADe scheme for detection of nodules, especially subtle nodules, in CXRs were improved substantially.

Pan endoscopic approach "hysterolaparoscopy" as an initial procedure in selected infertile women.

PubMed

Vaid, Keya; Mehra, Sheila; Verma, Mita; Jain, Sandhya; Sharma, Abha; Bhaskaran, Sruti

2014-02-01

Tuboperitoneal pathology is responsible for 40-50% cases of infertility. Hysterosalpingography (HSG) & laparoscopy are the two classic methods available for evaluation of tubal pathology and are complementary to each other. Though pelvic sonography and HSG are good enough to exclude gross intrauterine pathology, but subtle changes in the form of small polyps, adhesions and seedling fibroid are better picked up on magnification with hysteroscopy. Combined hysterolaparoscopy may obviate need for HSG, as complete evaluation and treatment is possible in the same sitting. To assess the utility of Hysterolaparoscopy as one step procedure and compare it with HSG, in the subset of ovulatory infertile women with normal pelvic sonography / seminogram /hormonal assays. In this analytical prospective study, 193 infertile women aged 19 to 42 years underwent HSG and Hysterolaparoscopy over a period of six months. They were confirmed to have ovulatory cycles and normal seminogram. Patient with active genital infection were excluded. Findings were categorized as normal/abnormal and therapeutic intervention done, if required. Statistical evaluation was carried out using Chi- square test. On comparing HSG and Hysteroscopy, uterine findings matched in 66.3% patients. HSG failed to detect uterine pathology in 32.12% patients (62/193) with a sensitivity of 21.3% and specificity of 97.45%. Ninety three percent of intrauterine adhesions/polyps were missed on HSG. Hysteroscopic intervention was required in 23.83% cases, adhesiolysis being the commonest. On comparing tubal patency on HSG and laparoscopy, the sensitivity of HSG in detecting bilateral tubal block was 80.6% and specificity of 81.5%. With regard to unilateral tubal block, sensitivity was 34.6% and specificity 89.8%. The agreement between the two was 74%. Pathology such as adhesions, fimbrial agglutination and endometriosis were dealt surgically in 65.8% patients. As per HSG, 112/193 women had both tubes patent and 177 revealed normal uterine cavity. When these 112 women (58.03%) with normal HSG report were further subjected to hysterolaparoscopy, only 35/193 (18.13%) of them actually had normal tubes and uterus; rest 77 women (39.89%) were benefited by one step procedure of hysterolaparoscopic evaluation and intervention and further treatment done. Hysterolaparoscopy (Pan Endoscopic) approach is better than HSG and should be encouraged as first and final procedure in selected infertile women.

Subtle Alterations in Brain Anatomy May Change an Individual’s Personality in Chronic Pain

PubMed Central

Gustin, Sylvia M.; McKay, Jamie G.; Petersen, Esben T.; Peck, Chris C.; Murray, Greg M.; Henderson, Luke A.

2014-01-01

It is well established that gross prefrontal cortex damage can affect an individual’s personality. It is also possible that subtle prefrontal cortex changes associated with conditions such as chronic pain, and not detectable until recent advances in human brain imaging, may also result in subtle changes in an individual’s personality. In an animal model of chronic neuropathic pain, subtle prefrontal cortex changes including altered basal dendritic length, resulted in altered decision making ability. Using multiple magnetic resonance imaging techniques, we found in humans, although gray matter volume and on-going activity were unaltered, chronic neuropathic pain was associated with reduced free and bound proton movement, indicators of subtle anatomical changes, in the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and mediodorsal thalamus. Furthermore, proton spectroscopy revealed an increase in neural integrity in the medial prefrontal cortex in neuropathic pain patients, the degree of which was significantly correlated to the personality temperament of novelty seeking. These data reveal that even subtle changes in prefrontal cortex anatomy may result in a significant change in an individual’s personality. PMID:25291361

En-face optical coherence tomography in the diagnosis and management of age-related macular degeneration and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy.

PubMed

Lau, Tiffany; Wong, Ian Y; Iu, Lawrence; Chhablani, Jay; Yong, Tao; Hideki, Koizumi; Lee, Jacky; Wong, Raymond

2015-05-01

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive imaging modality providing high-resolution images of the central retina that has completely transformed the field of ophthalmology. While traditional OCT has produced longitudinal cross-sectional images, advancements in data processing have led to the development of en-face OCT, which produces transverse images of retinal and choroidal layers at any specified depth. This offers additional benefit on top of longitudinal cross-sections because it provides an extensive overview of pathological structures in a single image. The aim of this review was to discuss the utility of en-face OCT in the diagnosis and management of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). En-face imaging of the inner segment/outer segment junction of retinal photoreceptors has been shown to be a useful indicator of visual acuity and a predictor of the extent of progression of geographic atrophy. En-face OCT has also enabled high-resolution analysis and quantification of pathological structures such as reticular pseudodrusen (RPD) and choroidal neovascularization, which have the potential to become useful markers for disease monitoring. En-face Doppler OCT enables subtle changes in the choroidal vasculature to be detected in eyes with RPD and AMD, which has significantly advanced our understanding of their pathogenesis. En-face Doppler OCT has also been shown to be useful for detecting the polypoid lesions and branching vascular networks diagnostic of PCV. It may therefore serve as a noninvasive alternative to fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography for the diagnosis of PCV and other forms of the exudative macular disease.

Abnormal origins of the long head of the biceps tendon can lead to rotator cuff pathology: a report of two cases.

PubMed

Zhang, Alan L; Gates, Cameron H; Link, Thomas M; Ma, C Benjamin

2014-11-01

Previous case reports have highlighted various anomalous origins of the long head of the biceps tendon (LHBT) that do not originate from the superior glenoid labrum or supraglenoid tubercle. Yet, these cases were all reported as incidental findings and were not thought to cause any significant shoulder pathology. We present the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and clinical treatment of two cases where aberrant intra-articular origins of the long head of the biceps tendon from the anterior edge of the supraspinatus tendon may have contributed to symptomatic rotator cuff pathology. Arthroscopy confirmed MR findings of partial articular-sided supraspinatus lesions in close proximity to the anomalous origins and treatment with tenodesis of the LHBT successfully relieved symptoms. Although rare occurrences with subtle and potentially misleading imaging findings, it is important to be aware of aberrant origins of the LHBT that may contribute to concomitant rotator cuff pathology.

The Role of Fundus Autofluorescence in Late-Onset Retinitis Pigmentosa (LORP) Diagnosis

PubMed Central

Lee, Tamara J.; Hwang, John C.; Chen, Royce W. S.; Lima, Luiz H.; Wang, Nan-Kai; Tosi, Joaquin; Freund, K. Bailey; Yannuzzi, Lawrence A.; Tsang, Stephen H.

2015-01-01

Purpose To demonstrate the utility and characteristics of fundus autofluorescence in late-onset retinitis pigmentosa. Methods Observational case series. Patients diagnosed with late-onset retinitis pigmentosa were identified retrospectively in an institutional setting. Twelve eyes of six patients were identified and medical records were reviewed. Results All patients presented with slowly progressive peripheral field loss and initial clinical examination revealed only subtle retinal changes. There was a notable lack of intraretinal pigment migration in all patients. Five out of six patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging of the brain to rule out intracranial processes and all were referred from another ophthalmologist for further evaluation. Fundus autofluorescence was ultimately employed in all patients and revealed more extensive retinal pathology than initially appreciated on clinical examination. Fundus autofluorescence directed the workup toward a retinal etiology in all cases and led to the eventual diagnosis of late-onset retinitis pigmentosa through electroretinogram testing. Conclusion Fundus autofluorescence may be a more sensitive marker for retinal pathology than stereo fundus biomicroscopy alone in late-onset retinitis pigmentosa. Early use of fundus autofluorescence imaging in the evaluation of patients with subtle retinal lesions and complaints of peripheral field loss may be an effective strategy for timely and cost-efficient diagnosis. PMID:23899229

Detecting Faking Good and Faking Bad with the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-3 in a College Student Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burck, Andrew M.; Laux, John M.; Harper, Holly; Ritchie, Martin

2010-01-01

Claims that the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-3 (SASSI-3; F. G. Miller & L. E. Lazowski, 1999) defeats defensiveness have not been independently verified. This study investigates the SASSI-3's ability to discriminate faking (faking good, problem denial; faking good, claiming extreme virtue; faking bad) from standard answering.…

Quantitative analysis of cell columns in the cerebral cortex.

PubMed

Buxhoeveden, D P; Switala, A E; Roy, E; Casanova, M F

2000-04-01

We present a quantified imaging method that describes the cell column in mammalian cortex. The minicolumn is an ideal template with which to examine cortical organization because it is a basic unit of function, complete in itself, which interacts with adjacent and distance columns to form more complex levels of organization. The subtle details of columnar anatomy should reflect physiological changes that have occurred in evolution as well as those that might be caused by pathologies in the brain. In this semiautomatic method, images of Nissl-stained tissue are digitized or scanned into a computer imaging system. The software detects the presence of cell columns and describes details of their morphology and of the surrounding space. Columns are detected automatically on the basis of cell-poor and cell-rich areas using a Gaussian distribution. A line is fit to the cell centers by least squares analysis. The line becomes the center of the column from which the precise location of every cell can be measured. On this basis several algorithms describe the distribution of cells from the center line and in relation to the available surrounding space. Other algorithms use cluster analyses to determine the spatial orientation of every column.

Identifying aMCI with Functional Connectivity Network Characteristics based on Subtle AAL Atlas.

PubMed

Zhuo, Zhizheng; Mo, Xiao; Ma, Xiangyu; Han, Ying; Li, Haiyun

2018-05-02

To investigate the subtle functional connectivity alterations of aMCI based on AAL atlas with 1024 regions (AAL_1024 atlas). Functional MRI images of 32 aMCI patients (Male/Female:15/17, Ages:66.8±8.36y) and 35 normal controls (Male/Female:13/22, Ages: 62.4±8.14y) were obtained in this study. Firstly, functional connectivity networks were constructed by Pearson's Correlation based on the subtle AAL_1024 atlas. Then, local and global network parameters were calculated from the thresholding functional connectivity matrices. Finally, multiple-comparison analysis was performed on these parameters to find the functional network alterations of aMCI. And furtherly, a couple of classifiers were adopted to identify the aMCI by using the network parameters. More subtle local brain functional alterations were detected by using AAL_1024 atlas. And the predominate nodes including hippocampus, inferior temporal gyrus, inferior parietal gyrus were identified which was not detected by AAL_90 atlas. The identification of aMCI from normal controls were significantly improved with the highest accuracy (98.51%), sensitivity (100%) and specificity (97.14%) compared to those (88.06%, 84.38% and 91.43% for the highest accuracy, sensitivity and specificity respectively) obtained by using AAL_90 atlas. More subtle functional connectivity alterations of aMCI could be found based on AAL_1024 atlas than those based on AAL_90 atlas. Besides, the identification of aMCI could also be improved. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Technical Note: Display window setting: An important factor for detecting subtle but clinically relevant artifacts in daily CT quality control.

PubMed

Long, Zaiyang; Bruesewitz, Michael R; Sheedy, Emily N; Powell, Michele A; Kramer, Jacqualynn C; Supalla, Randall R; Colvin, Chance M; Bechel, Jessica R; Favazza, Christopher P; Kofler, James M; Leng, Shuai; McCollough, Cynthia H; Yu, Lifeng

2016-12-01

This study aimed to investigate the influence of display window setting on technologist performance detecting subtle but clinically relevant artifacts in daily computed tomography (CT) quality control (dQC) images. Fifty three sets of dQC images were retrospectively selected, including 30 sets without artifacts, and 23 with subtle but clinically relevant artifacts. They were randomized and shown to six CT technologists (two new and four experienced). Each technologist reviewed all images in each of two sessions, one with a display window width (WW) of 100 HU, which is currently recommended by the American College of Radiology, and the other with a narrow WW of 40 HU, both at a window level of 0 HU. For each case, technologists rated the presence of image artifacts based on a five point scale. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the artifact detection performance. At a WW of 100 HU, the AUC (95% confidence interval) was 0.658 (0.576, 0.740), 0.532 (0.429, 0.635), and 0.616 (0.543, 0.619) for the experienced, new, and all technologists, respectively. At a WW of 40 HU, the AUC was 0.768 (0.687, 0.850), 0.546 (0.433, 0.658), and 0.694 (0.619, 0.769), respectively. The performance significantly improved at WW of 40 HU for experienced technologists (p = 0.009) and for all technologists (p = 0.040). Use of a narrow display WW significantly improved technologists' performance in dQC for detecting subtle but clinically relevant artifacts as compared to that using a 100 HU display WW.

Replacement Condition Detection of Railway Point Machines Using an Electric Current Sensor.

PubMed

Sa, Jaewon; Choi, Younchang; Chung, Yongwha; Kim, Hee-Young; Park, Daihee; Yoon, Sukhan

2017-01-29

Detecting replacement conditions of railway point machines is important to simultaneously satisfy the budget-limit and train-safety requirements. In this study, we consider classification of the subtle differences in the aging effect-using electric current shape analysis-for the purpose of replacement condition detection of railway point machines. After analyzing the shapes of after-replacement data and then labeling the shapes of each before-replacement data, we can derive the criteria that can handle the subtle differences between "does-not-need-to-be-replaced" and "needs-to-be-replaced" shapes. On the basis of the experimental results with in-field replacement data, we confirmed that the proposed method could detect the replacement conditions with acceptable accuracy, as well as provide visual interpretability of the criteria used for the time-series classification.

Replacement Condition Detection of Railway Point Machines Using an Electric Current Sensor

PubMed Central

Sa, Jaewon; Choi, Younchang; Chung, Yongwha; Kim, Hee-Young; Park, Daihee; Yoon, Sukhan

2017-01-01

Detecting replacement conditions of railway point machines is important to simultaneously satisfy the budget-limit and train-safety requirements. In this study, we consider classification of the subtle differences in the aging effect—using electric current shape analysis—for the purpose of replacement condition detection of railway point machines. After analyzing the shapes of after-replacement data and then labeling the shapes of each before-replacement data, we can derive the criteria that can handle the subtle differences between “does-not-need-to-be-replaced” and “needs-to-be-replaced” shapes. On the basis of the experimental results with in-field replacement data, we confirmed that the proposed method could detect the replacement conditions with acceptable accuracy, as well as provide visual interpretability of the criteria used for the time-series classification. PMID:28146057

Use of optical coherence tomography in delineating airways microstructure: comparison of OCT images to histopathological sections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Ying; Whiteman, Suzanne; Gey van Pittius, Daniel; He, Yonghong; Wang, Ruikang K.; Spiteri, Monica A.

2004-04-01

An ideal diagnostic system for the human airways should be able to detect and define early development of premalignant pathological lesions, to facilitate optimal curative treatment and prevent irreversible and/or invasive lung disease. There is great need for exploration of safe, repeatable imaging techniques which can run at real-time and with high spatial resolution. In this study, optical coherence tomography (OCT) was utilized to acquire cross-sectional images of upper and lower airways using fresh pig lung resections as a model system. Obtained OCT images were compared with parallel tissue characterization by conventional histological analysis. Our objective was to determine whether OCT differentiates the composite structural layers and inherent anatomical variations along different airway locations. The data show that OCT can clearly display the multilayered structure of the airways. The subtle architectural differences in three separate anatomical locations including trachea, main bronchus and tertiary bronchus were clearly delineated. Images of the appropriate anatomical profiles, with depth of up to 2 mm and 10 µm spatial resolution were obtained by our current OCT system, which was sufficient for recognition of the epithelium, subepithelial tissues and cartilage. In addition, the relative thickness of individual structural components was accurately reflected and comparable to histological sections. These data support OCT as a highly feasible, optical biopsy tool, which merits further exploration for early diagnosis of human airway epithelial pathology.

Diffuse lung uptake (DLU) on Ga-67 scintigraph: Clinical, radiologic and pathologic correlation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sy, W.M.; Seo, I.S.; Vieira, J.

1985-05-01

Review, analysis and correlation (clinical, radiologic and pathologic) of 29 consecutive adults (16 drug addicts and/or homosexuals) with DLU on Ga-67 scintigraph were made. Diffuse increased uptake of at least 75% of both lungs was considered as DLU. WFOF cameras were used to obtain 24 to 96 hr. scintigraphs after IV injection of 3-5 mCi of Ga-67 citrate. In 26, tissue diagnosis established: pneumocystis carinii (PC) 15, miliary tuberculosis (TB) 3, sarcoidosis (SR) 3, drug-induced toxicity 2, and toxoplasmosis (TX), primary hyperparathyroidism and nonspecific lymphocytic pneumonia-one each. In two with breast and one with esophageal carcinomas, no lung tissue diagnosismore » was sought. Concurrent chest x-rays were negative in 16, but in 7/16, lung infiltrate was later documented. An average of 31 days elapsed before x-rays became positive in four with PC, 7 days in two with TB, and 22 days in one with TX. In 13, concurrent x-rays showed lung infiltrate, but in 6, only subtle, localized rather than diffuse infiltrate was noted. Fourteen of 29 had at least two Ga-67 studies. In 12 (7 PC, 2 TB, 3 SR) of 14 whose repeat studies showed significant to total disappearance of DLU, all did well clinically. In two whose initial studies were negative or equivocal, they became clinically worse when the repeat study showed DLU. In three others (2 PC, 1 TX) who died, their single studies recorded intense DLU. DLU on gallium scintigraph indicated a variety of pathology. In 55.2%, gallium scintigraph predated x-ray findings by a few days to weeks. In 20.3%, x-ray findings were only subtle or localized. Scintigraphic changes correlated well with the clinical courses in various diseases.« less

Surrogate markers of subtle renal injury in patients with visceral leishmaniasis.

PubMed

Elnojomi, N A A; Musa, A M; Younis, B M; Elfaki, M E E; El-Hassan, A M; Khalil, E A G

2010-09-01

Sudanese visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a disease of children that is characterized by fever, hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, pancytopenia, and renal injury. Microalbuminuria (MA) and urinary retinol binding protein (urRBP) are useful markers for glomerular and tubular dysfunctions, respectively. We report the prevalence of subtle renal injury in 88 parasitologically confirmed VL patients in a cross-sectional and hospital-based study. Blood and urine were collected before treatment for hematological, biochemical profiles in addition to MA and urRBP measurement using competitive solid phase, sandwich enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA), and immunoturbidometry. All the patients had normal serum urea and creatinine levels and no detectable urRBP. However, 40% of the patients had MA detected by ELISA, and 42% were reactive with turbidometry. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values for MA turbidometric technique were calculated as 100%; 96%; 95% and 100%, respectively. In conclusion; subtle renal injury in VL is mainly glomerular. Turbidometry for MA measurement is a simple, inexpensive, sensitive, and specific technique with high predictive values.

Efficient subtle motion detection from high-speed video for sound recovery and vibration analysis using singular value decomposition-based approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Dashan; Guo, Jie; Jin, Yi; Zhu, Chang'an

2017-09-01

High-speed cameras provide full field measurement of structure motions and have been applied in nondestructive testing and noncontact structure monitoring. Recently, a phase-based method has been proposed to extract sound-induced vibrations from phase variations in videos, and this method provides insights into the study of remote sound surveillance and material analysis. An efficient singular value decomposition (SVD)-based approach is introduced to detect sound-induced subtle motions from pixel intensities in silent high-speed videos. A high-speed camera is initially applied to capture a video of the vibrating objects stimulated by sound fluctuations. Then, subimages collected from a small region on the captured video are reshaped into vectors and reconstructed to form a matrix. Orthonormal image bases (OIBs) are obtained from the SVD of the matrix; available vibration signal can then be obtained by projecting subsequent subimages onto specific OIBs. A simulation test is initiated to validate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method. Two experiments are conducted to demonstrate the potential applications in sound recovery and material analysis. Results show that the proposed method efficiently detects subtle motions from the video.

The impact of radiology expertise upon the localization of subtle pulmonary lesions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, John W.; Brennan, Patrick C.; Mello-Thoms, Claudia; Lewis, Sarah J.

2016-03-01

Rationale and objectives: This study investigates the influence of radiology expertise in the correct localization of lesions when radiologists are requested to complete an observer task. Specifically, the ability to detect pulmonary lesions of different subtleties is explored in relation to radiologists' reported specialty. Materials and Methods: Institutional ethics was granted. Ten radiologists (5 thoracic, 5 non-thoracic) interpreted 40 posterior-anterior (PA) chest x-rays (CXRs) consisting of 21 normal and 19 abnormal cases (solitary pulmonary nodule). The abnormal cases contained a solitary nodule with an established subtlety (subtlety 5 = obvious to subtlety 1 = extremely subtle). Radiologists read the test set and identified any pulmonary nodule using a 1-5 confidence scale (1=no pulmonary nodule to 5=highest confidence case contains a pulmonary lesion). The radiologists interpreted the image bank twice and the cases were randomized for each reader between reads. Results: The Kruskal-Wallis test identified that subtlety of nodules significantly influenced the sensitivity of nonthoracic radiologists (P=<0.0001) and thoracic radiologists (P=<0.0001). A Wilcoxon rank test demonstrated a significant difference in sensitivity for radiologist specialisation (P=0.013), with thoracic radiologists better compared to non-thoracic radiologists (mean sensitivity 0.479 and 0.389 respectively). The sensitivity of nodule detection decreased when comparing subtlety 4 to 3, 3 to 2 and 2 to 1 for non-thoracic and thoracic radiologists'with the subtlety 3 to subtlety 2 being significant (P=0.014) for non thoracic radiologists while thoracic radiologists' demonstrated a decrease but no transitions between subtlety were significant. The most noticeable, and interesting, effect was with the thoracic radiologists' with the average means of subtlety 2 and 1 being almost the same and closely comparable to level 3. Conclusion: Results from this study indicate that expertise in chest radiology does significantly impact upon the sensitivity of radiologists in detecting pulmonary lesions of varying subtlety. Thoracic radiologists had a consistently higher sensitivity with subtle, very subtle and extremely subtle nodules.

Assessing Self-Awareness through Gaze Agency

PubMed Central

Crespi, Sofia Allegra; de’Sperati, Claudio

2016-01-01

We define gaze agency as the awareness of the causal effect of one’s own eye movements in gaze-contingent environments, which might soon become a widespread reality with the diffusion of gaze-operated devices. Here we propose a method for measuring gaze agency based on self-monitoring propensity and sensitivity. In one task, naïf observers watched bouncing balls on a computer monitor with the goal of discovering the cause of concurrently presented beeps, which were generated in real-time by their saccades or by other events (Discovery Task). We manipulated observers’ self-awareness by pre-exposing them to a condition in which beeps depended on gaze direction or by focusing their attention to their own eyes. These manipulations increased propensity to agency discovery. In a second task, which served to monitor agency sensitivity at the sensori-motor level, observers were explicitly asked to detect gaze agency (Detection Task). Both tasks turned out to be well suited to measure both increases and decreases of gaze agency. We did not find evident oculomotor correlates of agency discovery or detection. A strength of our approach is that it probes self-monitoring propensity–difficult to evaluate with traditional tasks based on bodily agency. In addition to putting a lens on this novel cognitive function, measuring gaze agency could reveal subtle self-awareness deficits in pathological conditions and during development. PMID:27812138

Promising developments in neuropsychological approaches for the detection of preclinical Alzheimer's disease: a selective review.

PubMed

Rentz, Dorene M; Parra Rodriguez, Mario A; Amariglio, Rebecca; Stern, Yaakov; Sperling, Reisa; Ferris, Steven

2013-01-01

Recently published guidelines suggest that the most opportune time to treat individuals with Alzheimer's disease is during the preclinical phase of the disease. This is a phase when individuals are defined as clinically normal but exhibit evidence of amyloidosis, neurodegeneration and subtle cognitive/behavioral decline. While our standard cognitive tests are useful for detecting cognitive decline at the stage of mild cognitive impairment, they were not designed for detecting the subtle cognitive variations associated with this biomarker stage of preclinical Alzheimer's disease. However, neuropsychologists are attempting to meet this challenge by designing newer cognitive measures and questionnaires derived from translational efforts in neuroimaging, cognitive neuroscience and clinical/experimental neuropsychology. This review is a selective summary of several novel, potentially promising, approaches that are being explored for detecting early cognitive evidence of preclinical Alzheimer's disease in presymptomatic individuals.

Co-occurrence of Local Anisotropic Gradient Orientations (CoLlAGe): A new radiomics descriptor.

PubMed

Prasanna, Prateek; Tiwari, Pallavi; Madabhushi, Anant

2016-11-22

In this paper, we introduce a new radiomic descriptor, Co-occurrence of Local Anisotropic Gradient Orientations (CoLlAGe) for capturing subtle differences between benign and pathologic phenotypes which may be visually indistinguishable on routine anatomic imaging. CoLlAGe seeks to capture and exploit local anisotropic differences in voxel-level gradient orientations to distinguish similar appearing phenotypes. CoLlAGe involves assigning every image voxel an entropy value associated with the co-occurrence matrix of gradient orientations computed around every voxel. The hypothesis behind CoLlAGe is that benign and pathologic phenotypes even though they may appear similar on anatomic imaging, will differ in their local entropy patterns, in turn reflecting subtle local differences in tissue microarchitecture. We demonstrate CoLlAGe's utility in three clinically challenging classification problems: distinguishing (1) radiation necrosis, a benign yet confounding effect of radiation treatment, from recurrent tumors on T1-w MRI in 42 brain tumor patients, (2) different molecular sub-types of breast cancer on DCE-MRI in 65 studies and (3) non-small cell lung cancer (adenocarcinomas) from benign fungal infection (granulomas) on 120 non-contrast CT studies. For each of these classification problems, CoLlAGE in conjunction with a random forest classifier outperformed state of the art radiomic descriptors (Haralick, Gabor, Histogram of Gradient Orientations).

Comparison of flat-panel digital to conventional film-screen radiography in detection of experimentally created lesions of the equine third metacarpal bone.

PubMed

Moorman, Valerie J; Marshall, John F; Devine, Dustin V; Payton, Mark; Jann, Henry W; Bahr, Robert

2009-01-01

Radiographic diagnosis of equine bone disease using digital radiography is prevalent in veterinary practice. However, the diagnostic quality of digital vs. conventional radiography has not been compared systematically. We hypothesized that digital radiography would be superior to film-screen radiography for detection of subtle lesions of the equine third metacarpal bone. Twenty-four third metacarpal bones were collected from horses euthanized for reasons other than orthopedic disease. Bones were dissected free of soft tissue and computed tomography was performed to ensure that no osseous abnormalities were present. Subtle osseous lesions were produced in the dorsal cortex of the third metacarpal bones, and the bones were radiographed in a soft tissue phantom using indirect digital and conventional radiography at standard exposures. Digital radiographs were printed onto film. Three Diplomates of the American College of Veterinary Radiology evaluated the radiographs for the presence or absence of a lesion. Receiver operator characteristic curves were constructed, and the area under these curves were compared to assess the ability of the digital and film-screen radiographic systems to detect lesions. The area under the ROC curves for film-screen and digital radiography were 0.87 and 0.90, respectively (P = 0.59). We concluded that the digital radiographic system was comparable to the film-screen system for detection of subtle lesions of the equine third metacarpal bone.

Detection of Cardiac Abnormalities from Multilead ECG using Multiscale Phase Alternation Features.

PubMed

Tripathy, R K; Dandapat, S

2016-06-01

The cardiac activities such as the depolarization and the relaxation of atria and ventricles are observed in electrocardiogram (ECG). The changes in the morphological features of ECG are the symptoms of particular heart pathology. It is a cumbersome task for medical experts to visually identify any subtle changes in the morphological features during 24 hours of ECG recording. Therefore, the automated analysis of ECG signal is a need for accurate detection of cardiac abnormalities. In this paper, a novel method for automated detection of cardiac abnormalities from multilead ECG is proposed. The method uses multiscale phase alternation (PA) features of multilead ECG and two classifiers, k-nearest neighbor (KNN) and fuzzy KNN for classification of bundle branch block (BBB), myocardial infarction (MI), heart muscle defect (HMD) and healthy control (HC). The dual tree complex wavelet transform (DTCWT) is used to decompose the ECG signal of each lead into complex wavelet coefficients at different scales. The phase of the complex wavelet coefficients is computed and the PA values at each wavelet scale are used as features for detection and classification of cardiac abnormalities. A publicly available multilead ECG database (PTB database) is used for testing of the proposed method. The experimental results show that, the proposed multiscale PA features and the fuzzy KNN classifier have better performance for detection of cardiac abnormalities with sensitivity values of 78.12 %, 80.90 % and 94.31 % for BBB, HMD and MI classes. The sensitivity value of proposed method for MI class is compared with the state-of-art techniques from multilead ECG.

High throughput image cytometry for detection of suspicious lesions in the oral cavity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacAulay, Calum; Poh, Catherine F.; Guillaud, Martial; Michele Williams, Pamela; Laronde, Denise M.; Zhang, Lewei; Rosin, Miriam P.

2012-08-01

The successful management of oral cancer depends upon early detection, which relies heavily on the clinician's ability to discriminate sometimes subtle alterations of the infrequent premalignant lesions from the more common reactive and inflammatory conditions in the oral mucosa. Even among experienced oral specialists this can be challenging, particularly when using new wide field-of-view direct fluorescence visualization devices clinically introduced for the recognition of at-risk tissue. The objective of this study is to examine if quantitative cytometric analysis of oral brushing samples could facilitate the assessment of the risk of visually ambiguous lesions. About 369 cytological samples were collected and analyzed: (1) 148 samples from pathology-proven sites of SCC, carcinoma in situ or severe dysplasia; (2) 77 samples from sites with inflammation, infection, or trauma, and (3) 144 samples from normal sites. These were randomly separated into training and test sets. The best algorithm correctly recognized 92.5% of the normal samples, 89.4% of the abnormal samples, 86.2% of the confounders in the training set as well as 100% of the normal samples, and 94.4% of the abnormal samples in the test set. These data suggest that quantitative cytology could reduce by more than 85% the number of visually suspect lesions requiring further assessment by biopsy.

Diagnostic tool for early detection of ovarian cancers using Raman spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lieber, Chad A.; Molpus, Kelly; Brader, Kevin; Mahadevan-Jansen, Anita

2000-05-01

With an overall survival rate of about 35 percent, ovarian cancer claims more than 13,000 women in the US each year. It is estimated that roughly 1 in 70 women will develop ovarian cancer. Current screening techniques are challenged due to cost-effectiveness, variable false-positive results, and the asymptomatic nature of the early stages of ovarian cancer. The predominant screening method for ovarian cancers is transvaginal sonography (TVS). TVS is fairly accomplished at ovarian cancer detection, however it is inefficient in distinguishing between benign and malignant masses. Accurate diagnosis of the ovarian tumor relies on exploratory laparotomy, thus increasing the cost and hazard of false- positive screening methods. Raman spectroscopy has been sued successfully as a diagnostic tool in several organ systems in vitro. These studies have shown that Raman spectroscopy can be used to provide diagnosis of subtle changes in tissue pathology with high accuracy. Based on this success, we have developed a Raman spectroscopic system for application in the ovary. Using this system, the Raman signatures of normal and various types of non-normal human ovarian tissues were characterized in vitro. Raman spectra are being analyzed, and empirical as well as multivariate discriminatory algorithms developed. Based on the result of this study, a strategy for in vivo trials will be planned.

A novel treatment for embolising carotid dissection

PubMed Central

Jaipersad, A.S.; Tiivas, C.; Walton, G.; Imray, C.H.E.

2011-01-01

INTRODUCTION A rare but significant cause for stroke is sub-intimal carotid dissection and this mechanism accounts for approximately 2.5% of all strokes.1 Dissection of the carotid artery is often caused by trauma to the face or neck.2 Under 45 years old, it is the second leading cause of stroke.3 Neurological symptoms can be lacking or subtle, therefore the condition may be overlooked but the pathological processed is believed to be attributed to thromboembolism.4 Microemboli in the middle cerebral artery, are known as a risk factor for ischaemic stroke following a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) and can be detected by transcranial Doppler examination (TCD).5 The established treatment regime is antiplatelet therapy, anticoagulation or both along with supportive therapy.6 Current evidence suggests managing microemboli in both crescendo TIA's and post carotid endarterectomy improves outcome.7 We have found the use of Tirofiban, a potent intravenous antiplatelet agent currently licensed for use in acute coronary syndrome, effective in the treatment of microemboli in this manner.7 CASE PRESENTATION We report a case of symptomatic carotid artery dissection post radical neck dissection, causing TCD detected microemboli and successfully treated with Tirofiban. CONCLUSION We believe further study into the use of Tirofiban in the treatment of microemboli after carotid dissection is indicated. PMID:22288033

Synchrotron radiation imaging is a powerful tool to image brain microvasculature

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Mengqi; Sun, Danni; Xie, Yuanyuan

2014-03-15

Synchrotron radiation (SR) imaging is a powerful experimental tool for micrometer-scale imaging of microcirculation in vivo. This review discusses recent methodological advances and findings from morphological investigations of cerebral vascular networks during several neurovascular pathologies. In particular, it describes recent developments in SR microangiography for real-time assessment of the brain microvasculature under various pathological conditions in small animal models. It also covers studies that employed SR-based phase-contrast imaging to acquire 3D brain images and provide detailed maps of brain vasculature. In addition, a brief introduction of SR technology and current limitations of SR sources are described in this review. Inmore » the near future, SR imaging could transform into a common and informative imaging modality to resolve subtle details of cerebrovascular function.« less

Synchrotron radiation imaging is a powerful tool to image brain microvasculature.

PubMed

Zhang, Mengqi; Peng, Guanyun; Sun, Danni; Xie, Yuanyuan; Xia, Jian; Long, Hongyu; Hu, Kai; Xiao, Bo

2014-03-01

Synchrotron radiation (SR) imaging is a powerful experimental tool for micrometer-scale imaging of microcirculation in vivo. This review discusses recent methodological advances and findings from morphological investigations of cerebral vascular networks during several neurovascular pathologies. In particular, it describes recent developments in SR microangiography for real-time assessment of the brain microvasculature under various pathological conditions in small animal models. It also covers studies that employed SR-based phase-contrast imaging to acquire 3D brain images and provide detailed maps of brain vasculature. In addition, a brief introduction of SR technology and current limitations of SR sources are described in this review. In the near future, SR imaging could transform into a common and informative imaging modality to resolve subtle details of cerebrovascular function.

An Overview of Non-pathological Geroneuropsychology: Implications for Nursing Practice and Research

PubMed Central

Graham, Martha A.; Fazeli, Pariya L.; Heaton, Karen; Moneyham, Linda

2011-01-01

One aspect of successful aging is maintaining cognitive functioning; that includes both subjective cognitive functioning and objective cognitive functioning even in lieu of subtle cognitive deficits that occur with normal, non-pathological aging. Age-related cognitive deficits emerge across several domains including attention, memory, language, speed of processing, executive, and psychomotor, just to name a few. A primary theory explaining such cognitive deficits is cognitive reserve theory; it posits that biological factors such as demyelination and oxidative stress interfere with neuronal communication which eventually produces observable deficits in cognitive functioning. Therefore, it is important to maintain or improve cognitive reserve in order to augment cognitive functioning in later life. This article provides a general overview of the principles of geroneuropsychology along with implications for nursing practice and research. PMID:22210304

Quantitative Analysis of Cell Migration Using Optical Flow

PubMed Central

Boric, Katica; Orio, Patricio; Viéville, Thierry; Whitlock, Kathleen

2013-01-01

Neural crest cells exhibit dramatic migration behaviors as they populate their distant targets. Using a line of zebrafish expressing green fluorescent protein (sox10:EGFP) in neural crest cells we developed an assay to analyze and quantify cell migration as a population, and use it here to characterize in detail the subtle defects in cell migration caused by ethanol exposure during early development. The challenge was to quantify changes in the in vivo migration of all Sox10:EGFP expressing cells in the visual field of time-lapse movies. To perform this analysis we used an Optical Flow algorithm for motion detection and combined the analysis with a fit to an affine transformation. Through this analysis we detected and quantified significant differences in the cell migrations of Sox10:EGFP positive cranial neural crest populations in ethanol treated versus untreated embryos. Specifically, treatment affected migration by increasing the left-right asymmetry of the migrating cells and by altering the direction of cell movements. Thus, by applying this novel computational analysis, we were able to quantify the movements of populations of cells, allowing us to detect subtle changes in cell behaviors. Because cranial neural crest cells contribute to the formation of the frontal mass these subtle differences may underlie commonly observed facial asymmetries in normal human populations. PMID:23936049

Oesophageal intraluminal impedance can identify subtle bolus transit abnormalities in patients with mild oesophagitis.

PubMed

Sifrim, Daniel; Tutuian, Radu

2005-03-01

In a subgroup of patients with non-erosive gastroesophageal reflux disease (GORD) or mild oesophagitis, acid clearance is prolonged in spite of favourable gravity and normal or minimally impaired oesophageal peristalsis. Dysphagia is rare in this group but might also be present or develop after anti-reflux surgery. The causal relationship between prolonged clearance or dysphagia and oesophageal body dysmotility in these patients is not completely clear. New techniques are now available to assess oesophageal motility and transit and might help to detect more subtle defects underlying functional impairment in patients with GORD. Combined video-fluoroscopy and intraluminal impedance indicate an excellent correlation between both methods in detecting oesophageal bolus transit. Combined intraluminal impedance and manometry has the capability to evaluate oesophageal contractions and bolus transit without the use of radiation. Subtle bolus transit abnormalities were identified in a small proportion of patients with mild oesophagits and normal oesophageal peristalsis. Outcome data are needed to evaluate the prognostic value of combined manometry-impedance in patients with GORD undergoing anti-reflux surgery.

Overlapping irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease: less to this than meets the eye?

PubMed Central

Quigley, Eamonn M. M.

2016-01-01

Though distinct in terms of pathology, natural history and therapeutic approach, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have some features in common. These include shared symptomatology and largely similar demographics. However, in most instances, clinical presentation, together with laboratory, imaging and endoscopic findings will readily permit the differentiation of active IBD from IBS. More problematic is the situation where a subject with IBD, in apparent remission, continues to complain of symptoms which, in aggregate, satisfy commonly employed criteria for the diagnosis of IBS. Access to methodologies, such the assay for levels of calprotectin in feces, now allows identification of ongoing inflammation in some such individuals and prompts appropriate therapy. More challenging is the IBD patient with persisting symptoms and no detectable evidence of inflammation; is this coincident IBS, IBS triggered by IBD or an even more subtle level of IBD activity unrecognized by available laboratory or imaging methods? Arguments can be advanced for each of these proposals; lacking definitive data, this issue remains unresolved. The occurrence of IBS-type symptoms in the IBD patient, together with some data suggesting a very subtle level of ‘inflammation‘ or ‘immune activation‘ in IBS, raises other questions: is IBS a prodromal form of IBD; and are IBS and IBD part of the spectrum of the same disease? All of the available evidence indicates that the answer to both these questions should be a resounding ‘no’. Indeed, the whole issue of overlap between IBS and IBD should be declared moot given their differing pathophysiologies, contrasting natural histories and divergent treatment paths. The limited symptom repertoire of the gastrointestinal tract may well be fundamental to the apparent confusion that has, of late, bedeviled this area. PMID:26929782

Probing cellular mechanics with Acoustic Force Spectroscopy.

PubMed

Sorkin, Raya; Bergamaschi, Giulia; Kamsma, Douwe; Brand, Guy; Dekel, Elya; Ofir-Birin, Yifat; Rudik, Ariel; Gironella, Marta; Ritort, Felix; Regev-Rudzki, Neta; Roos, Wouter; Wuite, Gijs J L

2018-06-21

A large number of studies demonstrate that cell mechanics and pathology are intimately linked. In particular, Red Blood Cell (RBC) deformability is key to their function, and is dramatically altered in the time course of diseases such as anemia and malaria. Due to the physiological importance of cell mechanics, many methods for cell mechanical probing have been developed. While single cell methods provide very valuable information, they are often technically challenging and lack high data throughput needed to distinguish differences in heterogeneous populations, while fluid flow high throughput methods miss the accuracy to detect subtle differences. Here, we present a new method for multiplexed single-cell mechanical probing using Acoustic Force Spectroscopy (AFS). We demonstrate that mechanical differences induced by chemical treatments of known effect can be measured and quantified. Furthermore, we explore the effect of extracellular-vesicles (EVs) uptake on RBC mechanics and demonstrate that EVs uptake increases RBC deformability. Our findings demonstrate the ability of AFS to manipulate cells with high stability and precision, and pave the way to further new insights into cellular mechanics and mechanobiology in health and disease, as well as potential biomedical applications.

Perfusion in Rat Brain at 7 T with Arterial Spin Labeling Using FAIR-TrueFISP and QUIPSS

PubMed Central

Esparza-Coss, Emilio; Wosik, Jarek; Narayana, Ponnada A.

2010-01-01

Measurement of perfusion in longitudinal studies allows for the assessment of tissue integrity and the detection of subtle pathologies. In this work, the feasibility of measuring brain perfusion in rats with high spatial resolution using arterial spin labeling (ASL) is reported. A flow sensitive alternating recovery (FAIR) sequence, coupled with a balanced gradient fast imaging with steady state precession (TrueFISP) readout section was used to minimize ghosting and geometric distortions, while achieving high SNR. The quantitative imaging of perfusion using a single subtraction (QUIPSS) method was implemented to address the effects of variable transit delays between the labeling of spins and their arrival at the imaging slice. Studies in six rats at 7 T showed good perfusion contrast with minimal geometric distortion. The measured blood flow values of 152.5 ± 6.3 ml/100g/min in gray matter and 72.3 ± 14.0 ml/100g/min in white matter are in good agreement with previously reported values based on autoradiography, considered to be the gold standard. PMID:20299174

Quantitative evaluation of skeletal muscle defects in second harmonic generation images.

PubMed

Liu, Wenhua; Raben, Nina; Ralston, Evelyn

2013-02-01

Skeletal muscle pathologies cause irregularities in the normally periodic organization of the myofibrils. Objective grading of muscle morphology is necessary to assess muscle health, compare biopsies, and evaluate treatments and the evolution of disease. To facilitate such quantitation, we have developed a fast, sensitive, automatic imaging analysis software. It detects major and minor morphological changes by combining texture features and Fourier transform (FT) techniques. We apply this tool to second harmonic generation (SHG) images of muscle fibers which visualize the repeating myosin bands. Texture features are then calculated by using a Haralick gray-level cooccurrence matrix in MATLAB. Two scores are retrieved from the texture correlation plot by using FT and curve-fitting methods. The sensitivity of the technique was tested on SHG images of human adult and infant muscle biopsies and of mouse muscle samples. The scores are strongly correlated to muscle fiber condition. We named the software MARS (muscle assessment and rating scores). It is executed automatically and is highly sensitive even to subtle defects. We propose MARS as a powerful and unbiased tool to assess muscle health.

Ambiguity domain-based identification of altered gait pattern in ALS disorder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugavaneswaran, L.; Umapathy, K.; Krishnan, S.

2012-08-01

The onset of a neurological disorder, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is so subtle that the symptoms are often overlooked, thereby ruling out the option of early detection of the abnormality. In the case of ALS, over 75% of the affected individuals often experience awkwardness when using their limbs, which alters their gait, i.e. stride and swing intervals. The aim of this work is to suitably represent the non-stationary characteristics of gait (fluctuations in stride and swing intervals) in order to facilitate discrimination between normal and ALS subjects. We define a simple-yet-representative feature vector space by exploiting the ambiguity domain (AD) to achieve efficient classification between healthy and pathological gait stride interval. The stride-to-stride fluctuations and the swing intervals of 16 healthy control and 13 ALS-affected subjects were analyzed. Three features that are representative of the gait signal characteristics were extracted from the AD-space and are fed to linear discriminant analysis and neural network classifiers, respectively. Overall, maximum accuracies of 89.2% (LDA) and 100% (NN) were obtained in classifying the ALS gait.

Quantitative evaluation of skeletal muscle defects in second harmonic generation images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wenhua; Raben, Nina; Ralston, Evelyn

2013-02-01

Skeletal muscle pathologies cause irregularities in the normally periodic organization of the myofibrils. Objective grading of muscle morphology is necessary to assess muscle health, compare biopsies, and evaluate treatments and the evolution of disease. To facilitate such quantitation, we have developed a fast, sensitive, automatic imaging analysis software. It detects major and minor morphological changes by combining texture features and Fourier transform (FT) techniques. We apply this tool to second harmonic generation (SHG) images of muscle fibers which visualize the repeating myosin bands. Texture features are then calculated by using a Haralick gray-level cooccurrence matrix in MATLAB. Two scores are retrieved from the texture correlation plot by using FT and curve-fitting methods. The sensitivity of the technique was tested on SHG images of human adult and infant muscle biopsies and of mouse muscle samples. The scores are strongly correlated to muscle fiber condition. We named the software MARS (muscle assessment and rating scores). It is executed automatically and is highly sensitive even to subtle defects. We propose MARS as a powerful and unbiased tool to assess muscle health.

Laser flare photometry: a noninvasive, objective, and quantitative method to measure intraocular inflammation.

PubMed

Tugal-Tutkun, Ilknur; Herbort, Carl P

2010-10-01

Aqueous flare and cells are the two inflammatory parameters of anterior chamber inflammation resulting from disruption of the blood-ocular barriers. When examined with the slit lamp, measurement of intraocular inflammation remains subjective with considerable intra- and interobserver variations. Laser flare cell photometry is an objective quantitative method that enables accurate measurement of these parameters with very high reproducibility. Laser flare photometry allows detection of subclinical alterations in the blood-ocular barriers, identifying subtle pathological changes that could not have been recorded otherwise. With the use of this method, it has been possible to compare the effect of different surgical techniques, surgical adjuncts, and anti-inflammatory medications on intraocular inflammation. Clinical studies of uveitis patients have shown that flare measurements by laser flare photometry allowed precise monitoring of well-defined uveitic entities and prediction of disease relapse. Relationships of laser flare photometry values with complications of uveitis and visual loss further indicate that flare measurement by laser flare photometry should be included in the routine follow-up of patients with uveitis.

Brain Ultrasonography Findings in Neonatal Seizure; a Cross-sectional Study.

PubMed

Nabavi, Seyed Saeed; Partovi, Parinaz

2017-01-01

Screening of newborns with seizure, who have curable pathologic brain findings, might be able to improve their final outcome by accelerating treatment intervention. The present study aimed to evaluate the brain ultrasonography findings of newborns hospitalized with complaint of seizure. The present cross-sectional study designed to evaluate brain ultrasonography findings of hospitalized newborns complaining seizure. Neonatal seizure was defined as presence of tonic, clonic, myoclonic, and subtle attacks in 1 - 28 day old newborns. 100 newborns with the mean age of 5.82 ± 6.29 days were evaluated (58% male). Most newborns were in the < 10 days age range (76%), term (83%) and with normal birth weight (81%). 22 (22%) of the ultrasonography examinations showed a pathologic finding. A correlation was only found between birth age and probability of the presence of a pathologic problem in the brain as the frequency of these problems was significantly higher in pre-term newborns (p = 0.023). Based on the findings of the present study, frequency of pathologic findings in neonatal brain ultrasonography was 22%. Hemorrhage (12%) and hydrocephaly (7%) were the most common findings. The only factor correlating with increased probability of positive findings was the newborns being pre-term.

Automated Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy using Deep Learning.

PubMed

Lam, Carson; Yi, Darvin; Guo, Margaret; Lindsey, Tony

2018-01-01

Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness among working-age adults. Early detection of this condition is critical for good prognosis. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) on color fundus images for the recognition task of diabetic retinopathy staging. Our network models achieved test metric performance comparable to baseline literature results, with validation sensitivity of 95%. We additionally explored multinomial classification models, and demonstrate that errors primarily occur in the misclassification of mild disease as normal due to the CNNs inability to detect subtle disease features. We discovered that preprocessing with contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization and ensuring dataset fidelity by expert verification of class labels improves recognition of subtle features. Transfer learning on pretrained GoogLeNet and AlexNet models from ImageNet improved peak test set accuracies to 74.5%, 68.8%, and 57.2% on 2-ary, 3-ary, and 4-ary classification models, respectively.

Self-adapted and tunable graphene strain sensors for detecting both subtle and large human motions.

PubMed

Tao, Lu-Qi; Wang, Dan-Yang; Tian, He; Ju, Zhen-Yi; Liu, Ying; Pang, Yu; Chen, Yuan-Quan; Yang, Yi; Ren, Tian-Ling

2017-06-22

Conventional strain sensors rarely have both a high gauge factor and a large strain range simultaneously, so they can only be used in specific situations where only a high sensitivity or a large strain range is required. However, for detecting human motions that include both subtle and large motions, these strain sensors can't meet the diverse demands simultaneously. Here, we come up with laser patterned graphene strain sensors with self-adapted and tunable performance for the first time. A series of strain sensors with either an ultrahigh gauge factor or a preferable strain range can be fabricated simultaneously via one-step laser patterning, and are suitable for detecting all human motions. The strain sensors have a GF of up to 457 with a strain range of 35%, or have a strain range of up to 100% with a GF of 268. Most importantly, the performance of the strain sensors can be easily tuned by adjusting the patterns of the graphene, so that the sensors can meet diverse demands in both subtle and large motion situations. The graphene strain sensors show significant potential in applications such as wearable electronics, health monitoring and intelligent robots. Furthermore, the facile, fast and low-cost fabrication method will make them possible and practical to be used for commercial applications in the future.

Lead poisoning due to bullets lodged in the human body.

PubMed

Gerstner Garcés, Juan Bernardo; Manotas Artuz, Rafael Ignacio

2012-07-01

With the increased violence and use of firearms in Colombia, we may see more cases of lead poisoning in our environment, and must be prepared to diagnose and treat them. Subtle signs and symptoms as unexplained anemia, gastro-intestinal discomfort and abdominal cramps, as well as severe signs such as changes in behavior and neurological status, nephropathy, and unexplained death, may be associated with a history of gunshot wounds and bullets in the human body. We must offer the patient knowledge and management strategies of pathology.

Lead poisoning due to bullets lodged in the human body

PubMed Central

Manotas Artuz, Rafael Ignacio

2012-01-01

With the increased violence and use of firearms in Colombia, we may see more cases of lead poisoning in our environment, and must be prepared to diagnose and treat them. Subtle signs and symptoms as unexplained anemia, gastro-intestinal discomfort and abdominal cramps, as well as severe signs such as changes in behavior and neurological status, nephropathy, and unexplained death, may be associated with a history of gunshot wounds and bullets in the human body. We must offer the patient knowledge and management strategies of pathology. PMID:24893198

Hormonal responses in athletes: the use of a two bout exercise protocol to detect subtle differences in (over)training status.

PubMed

Meeusen, R; Piacentini, M F; Busschaert, B; Buyse, L; De Schutter, G; Stray-Gundersen, J

2004-03-01

In overtrained athletes, several signs and symptoms have been associated with the imbalance between training and recovery. However, reliable diagnostic markers for distinguishing between well-trained, overreached (OR) and overtrained (OT) athletes are lacking. A hallmark feature of overtraining syndrome (OTS) is the inability to sustain intense exercise and recover for the next training or competition session. We therefore devised a test protocol utilizing two bouts of maximal work. With this test protocol we tried to establish a difference in hormonal responses between the training status of T and OR athletes. Seven well-trained cyclists participated in this study and were tested before and after a training camp. We also present the data of one OT motocross athlete who was clinically diagnosed as overtrained. All athletes performed two maximal exercise tests separated by 4 h. Blood was analyzed for cortisol, adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), growth hormone and prolactin (PRL). Performance decreased by 6% between the first and the second exercise test in the OR group and by 11% in the OT subject. Moreover, during the second exercise test there were more marked differences between the T and OR athletes; in particular, the OT subject did not show an increase in some of the hormonal responses. PRL increased only by 14% in the OT subject's second test and there was a 7% decrease in ACTH. The two exercise approach enables us to detect subtle performance decrements that will not be identified by one exercise trigger. The hormonal responses to the second exercise test were different between the T and OR athletes (the increase in the T group was higher than in the OR that was higher than in the OT). The results of the case presentation of an overtrained athlete provide evidence of an altered and dysfunctional hypothalamic-pituitary axis response to two bouts of maximal exercise. These findings can be used to develop markers for diagnosis of OTS and to begin to address the pathologic mechanism operative in the syndrome, as well as providing an outcome measure to evaluate possible therapeutic regimes.

Exposure to an organophosphate pesticide, individually or in combination with other Gulf War agents, impairs synaptic integrity and neuronal differentiation, and is accompanied by subtle microvascular injury in a mouse model of Gulf War agent exposure.

PubMed

Ojo, Joseph O; Abdullah, Laila; Evans, James; Reed, Jon Mike; Montague, Hannah; Mullan, Michael J; Crawford, Fiona C

2014-04-01

Gulf War illness (GWI) is a currently untreatable multi-symptom disorder experienced by 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War (GW) veterans. The characteristic hallmarks of GWI include cognitive dysfunction, tremors, migraine, and psychological disturbances such as depression and anxiety. Meta-analyses of epidemiological studies have consistently linked these symptomatic profiles to the combined exposure of GW agents such as organophosphate-based and pyrethroid-based pesticides (e.g. chlorpyrifos (CPF) and permethrin (PER) respectively) and the prophylactic use of pyridostigmine bromide (PB) as a treatment against neurotoxins. Due to the multi-symptomatic presentation of this illness and the lack of available autopsy tissue from GWI patients, very little is currently known about the distinct early pathological profile implicated in GWI (including its influence on synaptic function and aspects of neurogenesis). In this study, we used preclinical models of GW agent exposure to investigate whether 6-month-old mice exposed to CPF alone, or a combined dose of CPF, PB and PER daily for 10 days, demonstrate any notable pathological changes in hippocampal, cortical (motor, piriform) or amygdalar morphometry. We report that at an acute post-exposure time point (after 3 days), both exposures resulted in the impairment of synaptic integrity (reducing synaptophysin levels) in the CA3 hippocampal region and altered neuronal differentiation in the dentate gyrus (DG), demonstrated by a significant reduction in doublecortin positive cells. Both exposures also significantly increased astrocytic GFAP immunoreactivity in the piriform cortex, motor cortex and the basolateral amygdala and this was accompanied by an increase in (basal) brain acetylcholine (ACh) levels. There was no evidence of microglial activation or structural deterioration of principal neurons in these regions following exposure to CPF alone or in combination with PB and PER. Evidence of subtle microvascular injury was demonstrated by the reduction of platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule (PECAM)-1 levels in CPF+PB+PER exposed group compared to control. These data support early (subtle) neurotoxic effects on the brain following exposure to GW agents. © 2013 Japanese Society of Neuropathology.

Digital Breast Tomosynthesis: Observer Performance of Clustered Microcalcification Detection on Breast Phantom Images Acquired with an Experimental System Using Variable Scan Angles, Angular Increments, and Number of Projection Views

PubMed Central

Goodsitt, Mitchell M.; Helvie, Mark A.; Zelakiewicz, Scott; Schmitz, Andrea; Noroozian, Mitra; Paramagul, Chintana; Roubidoux, Marilyn A.; Nees, Alexis V.; Neal, Colleen H.; Carson, Paul; Lu, Yao; Hadjiiski, Lubomir; Wei, Jun

2014-01-01

Purpose To investigate the dependence of microcalcification cluster detectability on tomographic scan angle, angular increment, and number of projection views acquired at digital breast tomosynthesis (DBTdigital breast tomosynthesis). Materials and Methods A prototype DBTdigital breast tomosynthesis system operated in step-and-shoot mode was used to image breast phantoms. Four 5-cm-thick phantoms embedded with 81 simulated microcalcification clusters of three speck sizes (subtle, medium, and obvious) were imaged by using a rhodium target and rhodium filter with 29 kV, 50 mAs, and seven acquisition protocols. Fixed angular increments were used in four protocols (denoted as scan angle, angular increment, and number of projection views, respectively: 16°, 1°, and 17; 24°, 3°, and nine; 30°, 3°, and 11; and 60°, 3°, and 21), and variable increments were used in three (40°, variable, and 13; 40°, variable, and 15; and 60°, variable, and 21). The reconstructed DBTdigital breast tomosynthesis images were interpreted by six radiologists who located the microcalcification clusters and rated their conspicuity. Results The mean sensitivity for detection of subtle clusters ranged from 80% (22.5 of 28) to 96% (26.8 of 28) for the seven DBTdigital breast tomosynthesis protocols; the highest sensitivity was achieved with the 16°, 1°, and 17 protocol (96%), but the difference was significant only for the 60°, 3°, and 21 protocol (80%, P < .002) and did not reach significance for the other five protocols (P = .01–.15). The mean sensitivity for detection of medium and obvious clusters ranged from 97% (28.2 of 29) to 100% (24 of 24), but the differences fell short of significance (P = .08 to >.99). The conspicuity of subtle and medium clusters with the 16°, 1°, and 17 protocol was rated higher than those with other protocols; the differences were significant for subtle clusters with the 24°, 3°, and nine protocol and for medium clusters with 24°, 3°, and nine; 30°, 3°, and 11; 60°, 3° and 21; and 60°, variable, and 21 protocols (P < .002). Conclusion With imaging that did not include x-ray source motion or patient motion during acquisition of the projection views, narrow-angle DBTdigital breast tomosynthesis provided higher sensitivity and conspicuity than wide-angle DBTdigital breast tomosynthesis for subtle microcalcification clusters. © RSNA, 2014 PMID:25007048

The faintest speck of dirt: disgust enhances the detection of impurity.

PubMed

Sherman, Gary D; Haidt, Jonathan; Clore, Gerald L

2012-12-01

Purity is commonly regarded as being physically embodied in the color white, with even trivial deviations from whiteness indicating a loss of purity. In three studies, we explored the implications of this "white = pure" association for disgust, an emotion that motivates the detection and avoidance of impurities that threaten purity and cleanliness. We hypothesized that disgust tunes perception to prioritize the light end of the light-dark spectrum, which results in a relative hypersensitivity to changes in lightness in this range. In studies 1 and 2, greater sensitivity to disgusting stimuli was associated with greater ability to make subtle gray-scale discriminations (e.g., detecting a faint gray stimulus against a white background) at the light end of the spectrum relative to ability to make subtle gray-scale discriminations at the dark end of the spectrum. In study 3, after viewing disgusting images, disgust-sensitive individuals demonstrated a heightened ability to detect deviations from white. These findings suggest that disgust not only motivates people to avoid impurities, but actually makes them better able to see them.

Ultrasonic Inspection to Quantify Failure Pathologies of Crimped Electrical Connections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cramer, K. Elliott; Perey, Daniel F.; Yost, William T.

2014-01-01

Previous work has shown that ultrasonic inspection provides a means of assessing electrical crimp quality that ensures the electrical and mechanical integrity of an initial crimp before the installation process is completed. The amplitude change of a compressional ultrasonic wave propagating at right angles to the wire axis and through the junction of a crimp termination was shown to correlate with the results of destructive pull tests, which is a standard for assessing crimp wire junction quality. Of additional concern are crimps made at high speed assembly lines for wiring harnesses, which are used for critical applications, such as in aircraft. During high-speed assembly it is possible that many faulty crimps go undetected until long after assembly, and fail in service. The position and speed of the crimping jaw become factors as the high-speed crimp is formed. The work presented in this paper is designed to cover the more difficult and more subtle area of high-speed crimps by taking into account the rate change of the measurements. Building on the previous work, we present an analysis methodology, based on transmitted ultrasonic energy and timing of the first received pulse that is shown to correlate to the gauge of the crimp/ferrule combination and the position of the crimping jaw. Results demonstrating the detectability of a number of the crimp failure pathologies, such as missing strands, partially inserted wires and incomplete crimp compression, are presented. The ability of this technique to estimate crimp height, a mechanical measure of crimp quality, is discussed.

Ultrasonic inspection to quantify failure pathologies of crimped electrical connections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cramer, K. Elliott; Perey, Daniel F.; Yost, William T.

2015-03-01

Previous work has shown that ultrasonic inspection provides a means of assessing electrical crimp quality that ensures the electrical and mechanical integrity of an initial crimp before the installation process is completed. The amplitude change of a compressional ultrasonic wave propagating at right angles to the wire axis and through the junction of a crimp termination was shown to correlate with the results of destructive pull tests, which is a standard for assessing crimp wire junction quality. Of additional concern are crimps made at high speed assembly lines for wiring harnesses, which are used for critical applications, such as in aircraft. During high-speed assembly it is possible that many faulty crimps go undetected until long after assembly, and fail in service. The position and speed of the crimping jaw become factors as the high-speed crimp is formed. The work presented in this paper is designed to cover the more difficult and more subtle area of high-speed crimps by taking into account the rate change of the measurements. Building on the previous work, we present an analysis methodology, based on transmitted ultrasonic energy and timing of the first received pulse that is shown to correlate to the gauge of the crimp/ferrule combination and the position of the crimping jaw. Results demonstrating the detectability of a number of the crimp failure pathologies, such as missing strands, partially inserted wires and incomplete crimp compression, are presented. The ability of this technique to estimate crimp height, a mechanical measure of crimp quality, is discussed.

Small vessel disease, but neither amyloid load nor metabolic deficit, is dependent on age at onset in Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Ortner, Marion; Kurz, Alexander; Alexopoulos, Panagiotis; Auer, Florian; Diehl-Schmid, Janine; Drzezga, Alexander; Förster, Stefan; Förstl, Hans; Perneczky, Robert; Sorg, Christian; Yousefi, Behrooz H; Grimmer, Timo

2015-04-15

There is controversy concerning whether Alzheimer's disease (AD) with early onset is distinct from AD with late onset with regard to amyloid pathology and neuronal metabolic deficit. We hypothesized that compared with patients with early-onset AD, patients with late-onset AD have more comorbid small vessel disease (SVD) contributing to clinical severity, whereas there are no differences in amyloid pathology and neuronal metabolic deficit. The study included two groups of patients with probable AD dementia with evidence of the AD pathophysiologic process: 24 patients with age at onset <60 years old and 36 patients with age at onset >70 years old. Amyloid deposition was assessed using carbon-11-labeled Pittsburgh compound B positron emission tomography, comorbid SVD was assessed using magnetic resonance imaging, and neuronal metabolic deficit was assessed using fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Group differences of global and regional distribution of pathology were explored using region of interest and voxel-based analyses, respectively, carefully controlling for the influence of dementia severity, apolipoprotein E genotype, and in particular SVD. The pattern of cognitive impairment was determined using z scores of the subtests of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Neuropsychological Assessment Battery. Patients with late-onset AD showed a significantly greater amount of SVD. No statistically significant differences in global or regional amyloid deposition or neuronal metabolic deficit between the two groups were revealed. However, when not controlling for SVD, subtle differences in fluorodeoxyglucose uptake between early-onset AD and late-onset AD groups were detectable. There were no significant differences regarding cognitive functioning. Age at onset does not influence amyloid deposition or neuronal metabolic deficit in AD. The greater extent of SVD in late-onset AD influences the association between neuronal metabolic deficit and clinical symptoms. Copyright © 2015 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Convolutional neural networks for an automatic classification of prostate tissue slides with high-grade Gleason score

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiménez del Toro, Oscar; Atzori, Manfredo; Otálora, Sebastian; Andersson, Mats; Eurén, Kristian; Hedlund, Martin; Rönnquist, Peter; Müller, Henning

2017-03-01

The Gleason grading system was developed for assessing prostate histopathology slides. It is correlated to the outcome and incidence of relapse in prostate cancer. Although this grading is part of a standard protocol performed by pathologists, visual inspection of whole slide images (WSIs) has an inherent subjectivity when evaluated by different pathologists. Computer aided pathology has been proposed to generate an objective and reproducible assessment that can help pathologists in their evaluation of new tissue samples. Deep convolutional neural networks are a promising approach for the automatic classification of histopathology images and can hierarchically learn subtle visual features from the data. However, a large number of manual annotations from pathologists are commonly required to obtain sufficient statistical generalization when training new models that can evaluate the daily generated large amounts of pathology data. A fully automatic approach that detects prostatectomy WSIs with high-grade Gleason score is proposed. We evaluate the performance of various deep learning architectures training them with patches extracted from automatically generated regions-of-interest rather than from manually segmented ones. Relevant parameters for training the deep learning model such as size and number of patches as well as the inclusion or not of data augmentation are compared between the tested deep learning architectures. 235 prostate tissue WSIs with their pathology report from the publicly available TCGA data set were used. An accuracy of 78% was obtained in a balanced set of 46 unseen test images with different Gleason grades in a 2-class decision: high vs. low Gleason grade. Grades 7-8, which represent the boundary decision of the proposed task, were particularly well classified. The method is scalable to larger data sets with straightforward re-training of the model to include data from multiple sources, scanners and acquisition techniques. Automatically generated heatmaps for theWSIs could be useful for improving the selection of patches when training networks for big data sets and to guide the visual inspection of these images.

Nondiabetic retinal pathology - prevalence in diabetic retinopathy screening.

PubMed

Nielsen, Nathan; Jackson, Claire; Spurling, Geoffrey; Cranstoun, Peter

2011-07-01

To determine the prevalence of photographic signs of nondiabetic retinal pathology in Australian general practice patients with diabetes. Three hundred and seven patients with diabetes underwent retinal photography at two general practices, one of which was an indigenous health centre. The images were assessed for signs of pathology by an ophthalmologist. Signs of nondiabetic retinal pathology were detected in 31% of subjects with adequate photographs. Features suspicious of glaucoma were detected in 7.7% of subjects. Other abnormalities detected included signs of age related macular degeneration (1.9%), epiretinal membranes (2.4%), vascular pathology (9.6%), chorioretinal lesions (2.9%), and congenital disc anomalies (2.9%). Indigenous Australian patients were more likely to have signs of retinal pathology and glaucoma. Signs of nondiabetic retinal pathology were frequently encountered. In high risk groups, general practice based diabetic retinopathy screening may reduce the incidence of preventable visual impairment, beyond the benefits of detection of diabetic retinopathy alone.

The role of imaging in early hip OA.

PubMed

Siebelt, M; Agricola, R; Weinans, H; Kim, Y J

2014-10-01

Hip osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by cartilage degradation, subchondral bone sclerosis and osteophyte formation. Nowadays, OA is thought to develop via different etiologies that all lead to a similar form of end stage joint degradation. One of these subtypes is related to an abnormal shaped hip joint, like acetabular dysplasia and a cam deformity. These bony abnormalities are highly predictive for development of hip OA, but they are likely to already be present from childhood. This suggests that these deformations induce OA changes in the hip, well before extensive hip degradation becomes present three to four decades later. Accurate detection and successful characterization of these early OA events might lead to better treatment options for hip OA besides nowadays available invasive joint replacement surgery. However, current diagnostic imaging techniques like radiographs or plain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are not sensitive enough to detect these subtle early OA changes. Nor are they able to disentangle intertwined and overlapping cascades from different OA subtypes, and neither can they predict OA progression. New and more sensitive imaging techniques might enable us to detect first OA changes on a cellular level, providing us with new opportunities for early intervention. In this respect, shape analysis using radiography, MRI, computed tomography (CT), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/CT, and positron emission tomography (PET) might prove promising techniques and be more suited to detect early pathological changes in the hip joint. A broad application of these techniques might give us more understanding what can be considered physiological adaptation of the hip, or when early OA really starts. With a more clear definition of early OA, more homogenous patient populations can be selected and help with the development of new disease modifying OA interventions. Copyright © 2014 Osteoarthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cat-scratch disease. Subtle vertebral bone marrow abnormalities demonstrated by MR imaging and radionuclide bone scan.

PubMed

Wilson, J D; Castillo, M

1995-01-01

Cat-scratch disease (CSD) is a benign, self-limited cause of lymphadenitis occurring mainly in children and young adults. Its etiology is a delicate, small gram-negative pleomorphic bacillus. Less common manifestations of CSD are seen in 5% of patients and include Parinaud's oculoglandular syndrome (with enlargement of the preauricular nodes), parotid gland enlargement, encephalitis, radiculopathy, pneumonitis, erythema nodosum, thrombocytopenia, and lytic bone lesions. We describe a patient in whom magnetic resonance imaging initially detected subtle vertebral bone marrow abnormalities that correlated with the site of abnormality on a subsequent radionuclide bone scan.

Applications of ICA and fractal dimension in sEMG signal processing for subtle movement analysis: a review.

PubMed

Naik, Ganesh R; Arjunan, Sridhar; Kumar, Dinesh

2011-06-01

The surface electromyography (sEMG) signal separation and decphompositions has always been an interesting research topic in the field of rehabilitation and medical research. Subtle myoelectric control is an advanced technique concerned with the detection, processing, classification, and application of myoelectric signals to control human-assisting robots or rehabilitation devices. This paper reviews recent research and development in independent component analysis and Fractal dimensional analysis for sEMG pattern recognition, and presents state-of-the-art achievements in terms of their type, structure, and potential application. Directions for future research are also briefly outlined.

Airborne spectroradiometry: The application of AIS data to detecting subtle mineral absorption features

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cocks, T. D.; Green, A. A.

1986-01-01

Analysis of Airborne Imaging Spectrometer (AIS) data acquired in Australia has revealed a number of operational problems. Horizontal striping in AIS imagery and spectral distortions due to order overlap were investigated. Horizontal striping, caused by grating position errors can be removed with little or no effect on spectral details. Order overlap remains a problem that seriously compromises identification of subtle mineral absorption features within AIS spectra. A spectrometric model of the AIS was developed to assist in identifying spurious spectral features, and will be used in efforts to restore the spectral integrity of the data.

Detecting trends in forest disturbance and recovery using yearly Landsat time series: 2. TimeSync — Tools for calibration and validation

Treesearch

Warren B. Cohen; Zhiqiang Yang; Robert Kennedy

2010-01-01

Availability of free, high quality Landsat data portends a new era in remote sensing change detection. Using dense (~annual) Landsat time series (LTS), we can now characterize vegetation change over large areas at an annual time step and at the spatial grain of anthropogenic disturbance. Additionally, we expect more accurate detection of subtle disturbances and...

Natural and experimental hepatitis E virus genotype 3-infection in European wild boar is transmissible to domestic pigs.

PubMed

Schlosser, Josephine; Eiden, Martin; Vina-Rodriguez, Ariel; Fast, Christine; Dremsek, Paul; Lange, Elke; Ulrich, Rainer G; Groschup, Martin H

2014-11-26

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the causative agent of acute hepatitis E in humans in developing countries, but sporadic and autochthonous cases do also occur in industrialised countries. In Europe, food-borne zoonotic transmission of genotype 3 (gt3) has been associated with domestic pig and wild boar. However, little is known about the course of HEV infection in European wild boar and their role in HEV transmission to domestic pigs. To investigate the transmissibility and pathogenesis of wild boar-derived HEVgt3, we inoculated four wild boar and four miniature pigs intravenously. Using quantitative real-time RT-PCR viral RNA was detected in serum, faeces and in liver, spleen and lymph nodes. The antibody response evolved after fourteen days post inoculation. Histopathological findings included mild to moderate lymphoplasmacytic hepatitis which was more prominent in wild boar than in miniature pigs. By immunohistochemical methods, viral antigens were detected mainly in Kupffer cells and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, partially associated with hepatic lesions, but also in spleen and lymph nodes. While clinical symptoms were subtle and gross pathology was inconspicuous, increased liver enzyme levels in serum indicated hepatocellular injury. As the faecal-oral route is supposed to be the most likely transmission route, we included four contact animals to prove horizontal transmission. Interestingly, HEVgt3-infection was also detected in wild boar and miniature pigs kept in contact to intravenously inoculated wild boar. Given the high virus loads and long duration of viral shedding, wild boar has to be considered as an important HEV reservoir and transmission host in Europe.

A cutaneous full-thickness liquid sulfur mustard burn model in weanling swine: clinical pathology and urinary excretion of thiodiglycol.

PubMed

Graham, J S; Reid, F M; Smith, J R; Stotts, R R; Tucker, E S; Shumaker, S M; Niemuth, N A; Janny, S J

2000-12-01

Sulfur mustard (bis(2-chloroethyl)sulfide, HD) is a well-known blistering chemical warfare agent. We have developed a cutaneous full-thickness HD burn model in weanling pigs for efficacy testing of candidate treatment regimens. This report addresses clinical pathology findings and the urinary excretion profile of a major HD metabolite (thiodiglycol, TDG) in this model. Six female Yorkshire pigs were exposed to HD liquid on the ventral surface for 2 h, generating six 3-cm diameter full-thickness dermal lesions per pig. Blood samples were collected throughout a 7-day observation period for hematology and serum chemistry examinations. Urine was collected in metabolism cages. Routine urinalysis was performed and the urine analyzed for TDG using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Examination of clinical pathology parameters revealed subtle HD-related changes that are suggestive of a mild hemolytic episode. No other signs of clinically significant systemic toxicities were noted, including bone marrow suppression. Thiodiglycol was detected at the earliest time point tested (6-8 h post-exposure) at levels ranging from 0.66 to 4.98 microg ml(-1) with a mean of 2.14 microg ml(-1). Thiodiglycol concentrations were the highest for half of the animals at this earliest time point and at 24-48 h for the others. By the evening of day 3, the mean level had reached 50 ng ml(-1). Mean levels remained 10-40 ng ml(-1) for the remainder of the 7-day observation period, with the highest individual concentration noted during this period of 132 ng ml(-1). Our results are in general agreement with the TDG excretion profiles previously described for rodent models and humans. Urinary excretion of absorbed HD in our weanling pig wound healing model appears to follow the same pattern as is seen in other laboratory animals models. In general, urinary excretion of TDG appears to peak within the first 1-4 days following exposure, with detectable levels after 1 week. Relatively high urinary TDG levels may thus indicate agent exposure within the previous 96 h. Low levels significantly above natural background levels may indicate either exposure to low levels of agent or exposure that occurred more than 4 days prior to collection of the sample.

Teaching Our Own Racism: Incorporating Personal Narratives of Whiteness into Anti-Racist Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brookfield, Stephen

2014-01-01

Anti-racist pedagogy typically focuses on helping learners identify and counter racist ideas and actions they detect in themselves and others. Sympathetically and skillfully, the leader of this activity is charged with helping people detect subtle racism as evident in racial micro-aggressions and aversive racism. This pedagogic process is crucial…

Using State-Space Model with Regime Switching to Represent the Dynamics of Facial Electromyography (EMG) Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Manshu; Chow, Sy-Miin

2010-01-01

Facial electromyography (EMG) is a useful physiological measure for detecting subtle affective changes in real time. A time series of EMG data contains bursts of electrical activity that increase in magnitude when the pertinent facial muscles are activated. Whereas previous methods for detecting EMG activation are often based on deterministic or…

Digital photo monitoring for tree crown

Treesearch

Neil Clark; Sang-Mook Lee

2007-01-01

Assessing change in the amount of foliage within a tree’s crown is the goal of crown transparency estimation, a component in many forest health assessment programs. Many sources of variability limit analysis and interpretation of crown condition data. Increased precision is needed to detect more subtle changes that are important for detection of health problems....

FDG PET Imaging in Pneumocystis Pneumonia.

PubMed

Kono, Masanori; Yamashita, Hiroyuki; Kubota, Kazuo; Kano, Toshikazu; Mimori, Akio

2015-08-01

A 69-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis and pleuritis presented with dyspnea. On admission, she was afebrile and had an oxygen saturation of 97% on ambient air. Chest radiography and CT revealed only subtle ground-glass opacities. However, FDG PET revealed pathological uptake in both lungs. A diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia was made based on a positive β-D-glucan assay and polymerase chain reaction amplification of Pneumocystis jirovecii from the sputum. Posttreatment FDG PET revealed resolution of the previously noted uptake. This case illustrates that FDG PET can be used to diagnose Pneumocystis pneumonia when the CT findings are equivocal.

Fluorescence confocal endomicroscopy of the cervix: pilot study on the potential and limitations for clinical implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schlosser, Colin; Bodenschatz, Nico; Lam, Sylvia; Lee, Marette; McAlpine, Jessica N.; Miller, Dianne M.; Van Niekerk, Dirk J. T.; Follen, Michele; Guillaud, Martial; MacAulay, Calum E.; Lane, Pierre M.

2016-12-01

Current diagnostic capabilities and limitations of fluorescence endomicroscopy in the cervix are assessed by qualitative and quantitative image analysis. Four cervical tissue types are investigated: normal columnar epithelium, normal and precancerous squamous epithelium, and stromal tissue. This study focuses on the perceived variability within and the subtle differences between the four tissue groups in the context of endomicroscopic in vivo pathology. Conclusions are drawn on the general ability to distinguish and diagnose tissue types, on the need for imaging depth control to enhance differentiation, and on the possible risks for diagnostic misinterpretations.

Comparative analysis of whole mount processing and systematic sampling of radical prostatectomy specimens: pathological outcomes and risk of biochemical recurrence.

PubMed

Salem, Shady; Chang, Sam S; Clark, Peter E; Davis, Rodney; Herrell, S Duke; Kordan, Yakup; Wills, Marcia L; Shappell, Scott B; Baumgartner, Roxelyn; Phillips, Sharon; Smith, Joseph A; Cookson, Michael S; Barocas, Daniel A

2010-10-01

Whole mount processing is more resource intensive than routine systematic sampling of radical retropubic prostatectomy specimens. We compared whole mount and systematic sampling for detecting pathological outcomes, and compared the prognostic value of pathological findings across pathological methods. We included men (608 whole mount and 525 systematic sampling samples) with no prior treatment who underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center between January 2000 and June 2008. We used univariate and multivariate analysis to compare the pathological outcome detection rate between pathological methods. Kaplan-Meier curves and the log rank test were used to compare the prognostic value of pathological findings across pathological methods. There were no significant differences between the whole mount and the systematic sampling groups in detecting extraprostatic extension (25% vs 30%), positive surgical margins (31% vs 31%), pathological Gleason score less than 7 (49% vs 43%), 7 (39% vs 43%) or greater than 7 (12% vs 13%), seminal vesicle invasion (8% vs 10%) or lymph node involvement (3% vs 5%). Tumor volume was higher in the systematic sampling group and whole mount detected more multiple surgical margins (each p <0.01). There were no significant differences in the likelihood of biochemical recurrence between the pathological methods when patients were stratified by pathological outcome. Except for estimated tumor volume and multiple margins whole mount and systematic sampling yield similar pathological information. Each method stratifies patients into comparable risk groups for biochemical recurrence. Thus, while whole mount is more resource intensive, it does not appear to result in improved detection of clinically important pathological outcomes or prognostication. Copyright © 2010 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

IMAGING SPECTROSCOPY FOR DETERMINING RANGELAND STRESSORS TO WESTERN WATERSHEDS

EPA Science Inventory

The Environmental Protection Agency is developing rangeland ecological indicators in twelve western states using advanced remote sensing techniques. Fine spectral resolution (hyperspectral) sensors, or imaging spectrometers, can detect the subtle spectral features that make veget...

IMAGING SPECTROSCOPY FOR DETERMINING RANGELAND STRESSORS TO WESTERN WATERSHEDS

EPA Science Inventory

The Environmental Protection Agency is developing rangeland ecological indicators in eleven western states using advanced remote sensing systems. Fine spectral resolution (hyperspemal) sensors, or imaging spectrometers, can detect the subtle spectral features that makes vegetatio...

Using an alternate light source to detect electrically singed feathers and hair in a forensic setting.

PubMed

Viner, Tabitha C; Kagan, Rebecca A; Johnson, Jennifer L

2014-01-01

Mortality due to electrical injury in wildlife may occur in the form of lightning strike or power line contact. Evidence of electrical contact may be grossly obvious, with extensive singeing, curling, and blackening of feathers, fur, or skin. Occasionally, changes may be subtle, owing to lower current or reduced conductivity, making a definitive diagnosis of electrocution more difficult. We describe the use of an alternate light source in the examination of cases of lightning strike and power line contact in wildlife, and the enhanced detection of changes due to electrical currents in the hair and feathers of affected animals. Subtle changes in the wing feathers of 12 snow geese and 1 wolf that were struck by separate lightning events were made obvious by the use of an alternate light source. Similarly, this technique can be used to strengthen the evidence for power line exposure in birds. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Telephony-based voice pathology assessment using automated speech analysis.

PubMed

Moran, Rosalyn J; Reilly, Richard B; de Chazal, Philip; Lacy, Peter D

2006-03-01

A system for remotely detecting vocal fold pathologies using telephone-quality speech is presented. The system uses a linear classifier, processing measurements of pitch perturbation, amplitude perturbation and harmonic-to-noise ratio derived from digitized speech recordings. Voice recordings from the Disordered Voice Database Model 4337 system were used to develop and validate the system. Results show that while a sustained phonation, recorded in a controlled environment, can be classified as normal or pathologic with accuracy of 89.1%, telephone-quality speech can be classified as normal or pathologic with an accuracy of 74.2%, using the same scheme. Amplitude perturbation features prove most robust for telephone-quality speech. The pathologic recordings were then subcategorized into four groups, comprising normal, neuromuscular pathologic, physical pathologic and mixed (neuromuscular with physical) pathologic. A separate classifier was developed for classifying the normal group from each pathologic subcategory. Results show that neuromuscular disorders could be detected remotely with an accuracy of 87%, physical abnormalities with an accuracy of 78% and mixed pathology voice with an accuracy of 61%. This study highlights the real possibility for remote detection and diagnosis of voice pathology.

Gaining Insight Into Femtosecond-scale CMOS Effects using FPGAs

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-24

paths or detecting gross path delay faults , but for characterizing subtle aging effects, there is a need to isolate very short paths and detect very...data using COTS FPGAs and novel self-test. Hardware experiments using a 28 nm FPGA demonstrate isolation of small sets of transistors, detection of...hold the static configuration data specifying the LUT function. A set of inverters drive the SRAM contents into a pass-gate multiplexor tree; we

Ultra High-Resolution Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography in the Diagnosis and Management of Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia

PubMed Central

Thomas, Benjamin J.; Galor, Anat; Nanji, Afshan A.; Sayyad, Fouad El; Wang, Jianhua; Dubovy, Sander R.; Joag, Madhura G.; Karp, Carol L.

2014-01-01

The development of optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology has helped to usher in a new era of in vivo diagnostic imaging of the eye. The utilization of OCT for imaging of the anterior segment and ocular surface has evolved from time-domain devices to spectral-domain devices with greater penetrance and resolution, providing novel images of anterior segment pathology to assist in diagnosis and management of disease. Ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) is one such pathology that has proven demonstrable by certain anterior segment OCT machines, specifically the newer devices capable of performing ultra high-resolution OCT (UHR-OCT). Distinctive features of OSSN on high resolution OCT allow for diagnosis and differentiation from other ocular surface pathologies. Subtle findings on these images help to characterize the OSSN lesions beyond what is apparent with the clinical examination, providing guidance for clinical management. The purpose of this review is to examine the published literature on the utilization of UHR-OCT for the diagnosis and management of OSSN, as well as to report novel uses of this technology and potential directions for its future development. PMID:24439046

The power of FIA Phase 3 Crown-Indicator variables to detect change

Treesearch

William Bechtold; KaDonna Randolph; Stanley Zarnoch

2009-01-01

The goal of Phase 3 Detection Monitoring as implemented by the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program is to identify forest ecosystems where conditions might be deteriorating in subtle ways over large areas. At the relatively sparse sampling intensity of the Phase 3 plot network, a rough measure of success for the forest health indicators developed for this purpose is...

An Energy-Based Approach for Detection and Characterization of Subtle Entities Within Laser Scanning Point-Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arav, Reuma; Filin, Sagi

2016-06-01

Airborne laser scans present an optimal tool to describe geomorphological features in natural environments. However, a challenge arises in the detection of such phenomena, as they are embedded in the topography, tend to blend into their surroundings and leave only a subtle signature within the data. Most object-recognition studies address mainly urban environments and follow a general pipeline where the data are partitioned into segments with uniform properties. These approaches are restricted to man-made domain and are capable to handle limited features that answer a well-defined geometric form. As natural environments present a more complex set of features, the common interpretation of the data is still manual at large. In this paper, we propose a data-aware detection scheme, unbound to specific domains or shapes. We define the recognition question as an energy optimization problem, solved by variational means. Our approach, based on the level-set method, characterizes geometrically local surfaces within the data, and uses these characteristics as potential field for minimization. The main advantage here is that it allows topological changes of the evolving curves, such as merging and breaking. We demonstrate the proposed methodology on the detection of collapse sinkholes.

Applications of Fault Detection in Vibrating Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eure, Kenneth W.; Hogge, Edward; Quach, Cuong C.; Vazquez, Sixto L.; Russell, Andrew; Hill, Boyd L.

2012-01-01

Structural fault detection and identification remains an area of active research. Solutions to fault detection and identification may be based on subtle changes in the time series history of vibration signals originating from various sensor locations throughout the structure. The purpose of this paper is to document the application of vibration based fault detection methods applied to several structures. Overall, this paper demonstrates the utility of vibration based methods for fault detection in a controlled laboratory setting and limitations of applying the same methods to a similar structure during flight on an experimental subscale aircraft.

Detection of urea-induced internal denaturation of dsDNA using solid-state nanopores.

PubMed

Singer, Alon; Kuhn, Heiko; Frank-Kamenetskii, Maxim; Meller, Amit

2010-11-17

The ability to detect and measure dsDNA thermal fluctuations is of immense importance in understanding the underlying mechanisms responsible for transcription and replication regulation. We describe here the ability of solid-state nanopores to detect sub-nanometer changes in DNA structure as a result of chemically enhanced thermal fluctuations. In this study, we investigate the subtle changes in the mean effective diameter of a dsDNA molecule with 3-5 nm solid-state nanopores as a function of urea concentration and the DNA's AT content. Our studies reveal an increase in the mean effective diameter of a DNA molecule of approximately 0.6 nm at 8.7 M urea. In agreement with the mechanism of DNA local denaturation, we observe a sigmoid dependence of these effects on urea concentration. We find that the translocation times in urea are markedly slower than would be expected if the dynamics were governed primarily by viscous effects. Furthermore, we find that the sensitivity of the nanopore is sufficient to statistically differentiate between DNA molecules of nearly identical lengths differing only in sequence and AT content when placed in 3.5 M urea. Our results demonstrate that nanopores can detect subtle structural changes and are thus a valuable tool for detecting differences in biomolecules' environment.

Subthalamic nucleus detects unnatural android movement.

PubMed

Ikeda, Takashi; Hirata, Masayuki; Kasaki, Masashi; Alimardani, Maryam; Matsushita, Kojiro; Yamamoto, Tomoyuki; Nishio, Shuichi; Ishiguro, Hiroshi

2017-12-19

An android, i.e., a realistic humanoid robot with human-like capabilities, may induce an uncanny feeling in human observers. The uncanny feeling about an android has two main causes: its appearance and movement. The uncanny feeling about an android increases when its appearance is almost human-like but its movement is not fully natural or comparable to human movement. Even if an android has human-like flexible joints, its slightly jerky movements cause a human observer to detect subtle unnaturalness in them. However, the neural mechanism underlying the detection of unnatural movements remains unclear. We conducted an fMRI experiment to compare the observation of an android and the observation of a human on which the android is modelled, and we found differences in the activation pattern of the brain regions that are responsible for the production of smooth and natural movement. More specifically, we found that the visual observation of the android, compared with that of the human model, caused greater activation in the subthalamic nucleus (STN). When the android's slightly jerky movements are visually observed, the STN detects their subtle unnaturalness. This finding suggests that the detection of unnatural movements is attributed to an error signal resulting from a mismatch between a visual input and an internal model for smooth movement.

Cortical myoclonus during IV thrombolysis for ischemic stroke

PubMed Central

Bentes, Carla; Peralta, Rita; Viana, Pedro; Morgado, Carlos; Melo, Teresa P.; Ferro, José M.

2014-01-01

We describe a patient with an acute middle cerebral artery ischemic stroke developing subtle involuntary movements of the paretic upper limb with cortical origin during rt-PA perfusion. Despite the multiple potential pathophysiological mechanisms for the relationship between thrombolysis and epileptic activity, seizures during this procedure are scarcely reported. Our hypothesis is that subtle and transient clinical seizures, like those described in our patient, may not be detected or are misdiagnosed as nonepileptic involuntary movements. We aimed to draw attention to the recognition challenge of this paroxysmal motor behavior, highlighting this clinical and neurophysiological identification using video recording and back-average analysis of the EEG. PMID:25667903

Deletion of Gpr55 Results in Subtle Effects on Energy Metabolism, Motor Activity and Thermal Pain Sensation.

PubMed

Bjursell, Mikael; Ryberg, Erik; Wu, Tingting; Greasley, Peter J; Bohlooly-Y, Mohammad; Hjorth, Stephan

2016-01-01

The G-protein coupled receptor 55 (GPR55) is activated by cannabinoids and non-cannabinoid molecules and has been speculated to play a modulatory role in a large variety of physiological and pathological processes, including in metabolically perturbed states. We therefore generated male mice deficient in the gene coding for the cannabinoid/lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI) receptor Gpr55 and characterized them under normal dietary conditions as well as during high energy dense diet feeding followed by challenge with the CB1 receptor antagonist/GPR55 agonist rimonabant. Gpr55 deficient male mice (Gpr55 KO) were phenotypically indistinguishable from their wild type (WT) siblings for the most part. However, Gpr55 KO animals displayed an intriguing nocturnal pattern of motor activity and energy expenditure (EE). During the initial 6 hours of the night, motor activity was significantly elevated without any significant effect observed in EE. Interestingly, during the last 6 hours of the night motor activity was similar but EE was significantly decreased in the Gpr55 KO mice. No significant difference in motor activity was detected during daytime, but EE was lower in the Gpr55 KO compared to WT mice. The aforementioned patterns were not associated with alterations in energy intake, daytime core body temperature, body weight (BW) or composition, although a non-significant tendency to increased adiposity was seen in Gpr55 KO compared to WT mice. Detailed analyses of daytime activity in the Open Field paradigm unveiled lower horizontal activity and rearing time for the Gpr55 KO mice. Moreover, the Gpr55 KO mice displayed significantly faster reaction time in the tail flick test, indicative of thermal hyperalgesia. The BW-decreasing effect of rimonabant in mice on long-term cafeteria diet did not differ between Gpr55 KO and WT mice. In conclusion, Gpr55 deficiency is associated with subtle effects on diurnal/nocturnal EE and motor activity behaviours but does not appear per se critically required for overall metabolism or behaviours.

Preclinical Evaluation of a Decision Support Medical Monitoring System for Early Detection of Potential Hemodynamic Decompensation During Blood Loss in Humans

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-01

Hemodynamic Decompensation During Blood Loss in Humans PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Michael J. Joyner, M.D. CONTRACTING ORGANIZATION: Mayo Clinic...Medical Monitoring System for Early Detection of Potential Hemodynamic Decompensation During Blood Loss in Humans 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6...loss and hemorrhage in humans. The aim Is to be able to detect subtle changes in hemodynamic variables that provide prodromal clues to Impending

Analysis of subtle auditory dysfunctions in young normal-hearing subjects affected by Williams syndrome.

PubMed

Paglialonga, Alessia; Barozzi, Stefania; Brambilla, Daniele; Soi, Daniela; Cesarani, Antonio; Spreafico, Emanuela; Tognola, Gabriella

2014-11-01

To assess if young subjects affected by Williams syndrome (WS) with normal middle ear functionality and normal hearing thresholds might have subtle auditory dysfunctions that could be detected by using clinically available measurements. Otoscopy, acoustic reflexes, tympanometry, pure-tone audiometry, and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) were measured in a group of 13 WS subjects and in 13 age-matched, typically developing control subjects. Participants were required to have normal otoscopy, A-type tympanogram, normal acoustic reflex thresholds, and pure-tone thresholds≤15 dB HL at 0.5, 1, and 2 kHz bilaterally. To limit the possible influence of middle ear status on DPOAE recordings, we analyzed only data from ears with pure-tone thresholds≤15 dB HL across all octave frequencies in the range 0.25-8 kHz, middle ear pressure (MEP)>-50 daPa, static compliance (SC) in the range 0.3-1.2 cm3, and ear canal volume (ECV) in the range 0.2-2 ml, and we performed analysis of covariance to remove the possible effects of middle ear variables on DPOAEs. No differences in mean hearing thresholds, SC, ECV, and gradient were observed between the two groups, whereas significantly lower MEP values were found in WS subjects as well as significantly decreased DPOAEs up to 3.2 kHz after adjusting for differences in middle ear status. Results revealed that WS subjects with normal hearing thresholds (≤15 dB HL) and normal middle ear functionality (MEP>-50 daPa, SC in the range 0.3-1.2 cm3, ECV in the range 0.2-2 ml) might have subtle auditory dysfunctions that can be detected by using clinically available methods. Overall, this study points out the importance of using otoacoustic emissions as a complement to routine audiological examinations in individuals with WS to detect, before the onset of hearing loss, possible subtle auditory dysfunctions so that patients can be early identified, better monitored, and promptly treated. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

An assessment of the iPad 2 as a CT teleradiology tool using brain CT with subtle intracranial hemorrhage under conventional illumination.

PubMed

Park, Joon Bum; Choi, Hyuk Joong; Lee, Jeong Hun; Kang, Bo Seung

2013-08-01

We examined the potential of the iPad 2 as a teleradiologic tool for evaluating brain computed tomography (CT) with subtle hemorrhage in the conventional lighting conditions which are common situations in the remote CT reading. The comparison of the clinician's performance was undertaken through detecting hemorrhage by the iPad 2 and the clinical liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor. We selected 100 brain CT exams performed for head trauma or headache. Fifty had subtle radiological signs of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), while the other 50 showed no significant abnormality. Five emergency medicine physicians reviewed these brain CT scans using the iPad 2 and the LCD monitor, scoring the probability of ICH on each exam on a five-point scale. Result showed high sensitivities and specificities in both devices. We generated receiver operating characteristic curves and calculated the average area under the curve of the iPad 2 and the LCD (0.935 and 0.900). Using the iPad 2 and reliable internet connectivity, clinicians can provide remote evaluation of brain CT with subtle hemorrhage under suboptimal viewing condition. Considering the distinct advantages of the iPad 2, the popular out-of-hospital use of mobile CT teleradiology would be anticipated soon.

Apparatus and method for spectroscopic analysis of scattering media

DOEpatents

Strobl, Karlheinz; Bigio, Irving J.; Loree, Thomas R.

1994-01-01

Apparatus and method for spectroscopic analysis of scattering media. Subtle differences in materials have been found to be detectable from plots of intensity as a function of wavelength of collected emitted and scattered light versus wavelength of excitation light.

Method for detecting and diagnosing disease caused by pathological protein aggregation

DOEpatents

Stevens, Fred J.; Myatt, Elizabeth A.; Solomon, Alan

2000-01-01

A method is provided for detecting pathological macromolecules in a patient, comprising obtaining body fluid from the patient, pretreating the body fluid, subjecting the pretreated body fluid to size-exclusion chromatography to create an excluded fluid, and analyzing the excluded fluid to detect macromolecules having a predetermined molecular weight. The method also allows for comparing elution spectra with reference spectra of suspect pathologic proteins.

Mitochondrial Disease: Clinical Aspects, Molecular Mechanisms, Translational Science, and Clinical Frontiers

PubMed Central

Thornton, Ben; Cohen, Bruce; Copeland, William; Maria, Bernard L.

2015-01-01

Mitochondrial medicine provides a metabolic perspective on the pathology of conditions linked with inadequate oxidative phosphorylation. Dysfunction in the mitochondrial machinery can result in improper energy production, leading to cellular injury or even apoptosis. Clinical presentations are often subtle, so clinicians must have a high index of suspicion to make early diagnoses. Symptoms could include muscle weakness and pain, seizures, loss of motor control, decreased visual and auditory functions, metabolic acidosis, acute developmental regression, and immune system dysfunction. The 2013 Neurobiology of Disease in Children Symposium, held in conjunction with the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Child Neurology Society, aimed to (1) describe accepted clinical phenotypes of mitochondrial disease produced from various mitochondrial mutations, (2) discuss contemporary understanding of molecular mechanisms that contribute to disease pathology, (3) highlight the systemic effects produced by dysfunction within the mitochondrial machinery, and (4) introduce current strategies that are being translated from bench to bedside as potential therapeutics. PMID:24916430

An analysis-by-synthesis approach to the estimation of vocal cord polyp features.

PubMed

Koizumi, T; Taniguchi, S; Itakura, F

1993-09-01

This paper deals with a new noninvasive method of estimating vocal cord polyp features through hoarse-voice analysis. A noteworthy feature of this method is that it enables us not only to discriminate hoarse voices caused by pathological vocal cords with a single golf-ball-like polyp from normal voices, but also to estimate polyp features such as the mass and dimension of polyp through the use of a novel model of pathological vocal cords which has been devised to simulate the subtle movement of the vocal cords. A synthetic hoarse voice produced with a hoarse-voice synthesizer is compared with a natural hoarse voice caused by the vocal cord polyp in terms of a distance measure and the polyp features are estimated by minimizing the distance measure. Some estimates of polyp dimension that have been obtained by applying this procedure to hoarse voices are found to compare favorably with actual polyp dimensions, demonstrating that the procedure is effective for estimating the features of golf-ball-like vocal cord polyps.

Corneal polarimetry after LASIK refractive surgery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bueno, Juan M.; Berrio, Esther; Artal, Pablo

2006-01-01

Imaging polarimetry provides spatially resolved information on the polarization properties of a system. In the case of the living human eye, polarization could be related to the corneal biomechanical properties, which vary from the normal state as a result of surgery or pathologies. We have used an aberro-polariscope, which we recently developed, to determine and to compare the spatially resolved maps of polarization parameters across the pupil between normal healthy and post-LASIK eyes. The depolarization distribution is not uniform across the pupil, with post-surgery eyes presenting larger levels of depolarization. While retardation increases along the radius in normal eyes, this pattern becomes irregular after LASIK refractive surgery. The maps of slow axis also differ in normal and post-surgery eyes, with a larger disorder in post-LASIK eyes. Since these changes in polarization indicate subtle structural modifications of the cornea, this approach can be useful in a clinical environment to follow the biomechanical and optical changes of the cornea after refractive surgery or for the early diagnosis of different corneal pathologies.

Thyrotropinoma and multinodular goiter: A diagnostic challenge for hyperthyroidism.

PubMed

Aksoy, Duygu Yazgan; Gedik, Arzu; Cinar, Nese; Soylemezoglu, Figen; Berker, Mustafa; Gurlek, Omer Alper

2013-11-01

Thyroid disorders are frequently encountered. The diagnosis is straightforward unless clinical or laboratory findings are inconclusive and/or perplexing. Hyperthyroidism due to a thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma rarely occurs and symptoms due to thyroid hormone excess are subtle. The presentation of the disease becomes unusual when co-secretion of other hormones with thyrotropin or concomitant thyroid parenchymal pathology exist. We present the case of a 63-year-old female patient with thyrotropinoma co-secreting growth hormone and multinodular goiter. She developed hyperthyroidism first due to thyrotropinoma and later due to a toxic nodule. Herein, we discuss the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges of hyperthyroidism with atypical presentation.

Return to Play After Shoulder Surgery in Throwers.

PubMed

Thorsness, Robert; Alland, Jeremy A; McCulloch, Colin B; Romeo, Anthony

2016-10-01

The throwing athlete's shoulder is a unique, complex entity with challenges in diagnosis and management. The shoulders in these athletes possess unique biomechanics and pathologic conditions. Unfortunately, return to play outcomes are often poor when specifically evaluating overhead athletes, especially with regard to SLAP repair. It is imperative for the surgeon to be cautious when indicating these athletes for surgery, because although they may demonstrate improvements in pain and general function, subtle changes in accuracy or velocity as a result of surgery can significantly affect the success of an overhead throwing athlete at the competitive level. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developing Disease-Modifying Treatments in Alzheimer's Disease - A Perspective from Roche and Genentech.

PubMed

Doody, R

2017-01-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease for which no preventative or disease-modifying treatments currently exist. Pathological hallmarks include amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles composed of hyper-phosphorylated tau protein. Evidence suggests that both pathologies are self-propagating once established. However, the lag time between neuropathological changes in the brain and the onset of even subtle clinical symptomatology means that patients are often diagnosed late when pathology, and neurodegeneration secondary to these changes, may have been established for several years. Complex pathological pathways associated with susceptibility to AD and changes that occur downstream of the neuropathologic process further contribute to the challenging endeavour of developing novel disease-modifying therapy. Recognising this complexity, effective management of AD must include reliable screening and early diagnosis in combination with effective therapeutic management of the pathological processes. Roche and Genentech are committed to addressing these unmet needs through developing a comprehensive portfolio of diagnostics and novel therapies. Beginning with the most scientifically supported targets, this approach includes two targeted amyloid-β monoclonal antibody therapies, crenezumab and gantenerumab, and an anti-tau monoclonal antibody, RO7105705, as well as a robust biomarker platform to aid in the early identification of people at risk or in the early stages of AD. Identification and implementation of diagnostic tools will support the enrolment of patients into clinical trials; furthermore, these tools should also support evaluation of the clinical efficacy and safety profile of the novel therapeutic agents tested in these trials. This review discusses the therapeutic agents currently under clinical development.

Second Harmonic Generation Reveals Subtle Fibrosis Differences in Adult and Pediatric Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

PubMed

Liu, Feng; Zhao, Jing-Min; Rao, Hui-Ying; Yu, Wei-Miao; Zhang, Wei; Theise, Neil D; Wee, Aileen; Wei, Lai

2017-11-20

Investigate subtle fibrosis similarities and differences in adult and pediatric nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) using second harmonic generation (SHG). SHG/two-photon excitation fluorescence imaging quantified 100 collagen parameters and determined qFibrosis values by using the nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) Clinical Research Network (CRN) scoring system in 62 adult and 36 pediatric NAFLD liver specimens. Six distinct parameters identified differences among the NASH CRN stages with high accuracy (area under the curve, 0835-0.982 vs 0.885-0.981, adult and pediatric). All portal region parameters showed similar changes across early stages 0, 1C, and 2, in both groups. Parameter values decreased in adults with progression from stage 1A/B to 2 in the central vein region. In children, aggregated collagen parameters decreased, but nearly all distributed collagen parameters increased from stage 1A/B to 2. SHG analysis accurately reproduces NASH CRN staging in NAFLD, as well as reveals differences and similarities between adult and pediatric collagen deposition not captured by currently available quantitative methods. © American Society for Clinical Pathology, 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Recent publications from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative: Reviewing progress toward improved AD clinical trials.

PubMed

Weiner, Michael W; Veitch, Dallas P; Aisen, Paul S; Beckett, Laurel A; Cairns, Nigel J; Green, Robert C; Harvey, Danielle; Jack, Clifford R; Jagust, William; Morris, John C; Petersen, Ronald C; Saykin, Andrew J; Shaw, Leslie M; Toga, Arthur W; Trojanowski, John Q

2017-04-01

The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) has continued development and standardization of methodologies for biomarkers and has provided an increased depth and breadth of data available to qualified researchers. This review summarizes the over 400 publications using ADNI data during 2014 and 2015. We used standard searches to find publications using ADNI data. (1) Structural and functional changes, including subtle changes to hippocampal shape and texture, atrophy in areas outside of hippocampus, and disruption to functional networks, are detectable in presymptomatic subjects before hippocampal atrophy; (2) In subjects with abnormal β-amyloid deposition (Aβ+), biomarkers become abnormal in the order predicted by the amyloid cascade hypothesis; (3) Cognitive decline is more closely linked to tau than Aβ deposition; (4) Cerebrovascular risk factors may interact with Aβ to increase white-matter (WM) abnormalities which may accelerate Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression in conjunction with tau abnormalities; (5) Different patterns of atrophy are associated with impairment of memory and executive function and may underlie psychiatric symptoms; (6) Structural, functional, and metabolic network connectivities are disrupted as AD progresses. Models of prion-like spreading of Aβ pathology along WM tracts predict known patterns of cortical Aβ deposition and declines in glucose metabolism; (7) New AD risk and protective gene loci have been identified using biologically informed approaches; (8) Cognitively normal and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects are heterogeneous and include groups typified not only by "classic" AD pathology but also by normal biomarkers, accelerated decline, and suspected non-Alzheimer's pathology; (9) Selection of subjects at risk of imminent decline on the basis of one or more pathologies improves the power of clinical trials; (10) Sensitivity of cognitive outcome measures to early changes in cognition has been improved and surrogate outcome measures using longitudinal structural magnetic resonance imaging may further reduce clinical trial cost and duration; (11) Advances in machine learning techniques such as neural networks have improved diagnostic and prognostic accuracy especially in challenges involving MCI subjects; and (12) Network connectivity measures and genetic variants show promise in multimodal classification and some classifiers using single modalities are rivaling multimodal classifiers. Taken together, these studies fundamentally deepen our understanding of AD progression and its underlying genetic basis, which in turn informs and improves clinical trial design. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Spinal cord normalization in multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Oh, Jiwon; Seigo, Michaela; Saidha, Shiv; Sotirchos, Elias; Zackowski, Kathy; Chen, Min; Prince, Jerry; Diener-West, Marie; Calabresi, Peter A; Reich, Daniel S

2014-01-01

Spinal cord (SC) pathology is common in multiple sclerosis (MS), and measures of SC-atrophy are increasingly utilized. Normalization reduces biological variation of structural measurements unrelated to disease, but optimal parameters for SC volume (SCV)-normalization remain unclear. Using a variety of normalization factors and clinical measures, we assessed the effect of SCV normalization on detecting group differences and clarifying clinical-radiological correlations in MS. 3T cervical SC-MRI was performed in 133 MS cases and 11 healthy controls (HC). Clinical assessment included expanded disability status scale (EDSS), MS functional composite (MSFC), quantitative hip-flexion strength ("strength"), and vibration sensation threshold ("vibration"). SCV between C3 and C4 was measured and normalized individually by subject height, SC-length, and intracranial volume (ICV). There were group differences in raw-SCV and after normalization by height and length (MS vs. HC; progressive vs. relapsing MS-subtypes, P < .05). There were correlations between clinical measures and raw-SCV (EDSS:r = -.20; MSFC:r = .16; strength:r = .35; vibration:r = -.19). Correlations consistently strengthened with normalization by length (EDSS:r = -.43; MSFC:r = .33; strength:r = .38; vibration:r = -.40), and height (EDSS:r = -.26; MSFC:r = .28; strength:r = .22; vibration:r = -.29), but diminished with normalization by ICV (EDSS:r = -.23; MSFC:r = -.10; strength:r = .23; vibration:r = -.35). In relapsing MS, normalization by length allowed statistical detection of correlations that were not apparent with raw-SCV. SCV-normalization by length improves the ability to detect group differences, strengthens clinical-radiological correlations, and is particularly relevant in settings of subtle disease-related SC-atrophy in MS. SCV-normalization by length may enhance the clinical utility of measures of SC-atrophy. Copyright © 2014 by the American Society of Neuroimaging.

Dead Star Warps Light of Red Star Artist Animation

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-04-04

This artist concept depicts an ultra-dense dead star, called a white dwarf, passing in front of a small red star. NASA planet-hunting Kepler was able to detect gravitational lensing by measuring a strangely subtle dip in the star brightness.

Infrared imaging: a potential powerful tool for neuroimaging and neurodiagnostics

PubMed Central

Khoshakhlagh, Arezou; Gunapala, Sarath D.

2017-01-01

Abstract. Infrared (IR) imaging is used to detect the subtle changes in temperature needed to accurately detect and monitor disease. Technological advances have made IR a highly sensitive and reliable detection tool with strong potential in medical and neurophotonics applications. An overview of IR imaging specifically investigating quantum well IR detectors developed at Jet Propulsion Laboratory for a noninvasive, nonradiating imaging tool is provided, which could be applied for neuroscience and neurosurgery where it involves sensitive cellular temperature change. PMID:28382311

[The application of wavelet analysis of remote detection of pollution clouds].

PubMed

Zhang, J; Jiang, F

2001-08-01

The discrete wavelet transform (DWT) is used to analyse the spectra of pollution clouds in complicated environment and extract the small-features. The DWT is a time-frequency analysis technology, which detects the subtle small changes in the target spectrum. The results show that the DWT is a quite effective method to extract features of target-cloud and improve the reliability of monitoring alarm system.

Using Electroencephalography to Measure Cognitive Load

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antonenko, Pavlo; Paas, Fred; Grabner, Roland; van Gog, Tamara

2010-01-01

Application of physiological methods, in particular electroencephalography (EEG), offers new and promising approaches to educational psychology research. EEG is identified as a physiological index that can serve as an online, continuous measure of cognitive load detecting subtle fluctuations in instantaneous load, which can help explain effects of…

Current Opportunities for Clinical Monitoring of Axonal Pathology in Traumatic Brain Injury

PubMed Central

Tsitsopoulos, Parmenion P.; Abu Hamdeh, Sami; Marklund, Niklas

2017-01-01

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a multidimensional and highly complex disease commonly resulting in widespread injury to axons, due to rapid inertial acceleration/deceleration forces transmitted to the brain during impact. Axonal injury leads to brain network dysfunction, significantly contributing to cognitive and functional impairments frequently observed in TBI survivors. Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is a clinical entity suggested by impaired level of consciousness and coma on clinical examination and characterized by widespread injury to the hemispheric white matter tracts, the corpus callosum and the brain stem. The clinical course of DAI is commonly unpredictable and it remains a challenging entity with limited therapeutic options, to date. Although axonal integrity may be disrupted at impact, the majority of axonal pathology evolves over time, resulting from delayed activation of complex intracellular biochemical cascades. Activation of these secondary biochemical pathways may lead to axonal transection, named secondary axotomy, and be responsible for the clinical decline of DAI patients. Advances in the neurocritical care of TBI patients have been achieved by refinements in multimodality monitoring for prevention and early detection of secondary injury factors, which can be applied also to DAI. There is an emerging role for biomarkers in blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and interstitial fluid using microdialysis in the evaluation of axonal injury in TBI. These biomarker studies have assessed various axonal and neuroglial markers as well as inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines and chemokines. Moreover, modern neuroimaging can detect subtle or overt DAI/white matter changes in diffuse TBI patients across all injury severities using magnetic resonance spectroscopy, diffusion tensor imaging, and positron emission tomography. Importantly, serial neuroimaging studies provide evidence for evolving axonal injury. Since axonal injury may be a key risk factor for neurodegeneration and dementias at long-term following TBI, the secondary injury processes may require prolonged monitoring. The aim of the present review is to summarize the clinical short- and long-term monitoring possibilities of axonal injury in TBI. Increased knowledge of the underlying pathophysiology achieved by advanced clinical monitoring raises hope for the development of novel treatment strategies for axonal injury in TBI. PMID:29209266

Potential of FTIR spectroscopy for analysis of tears for diagnosis purposes.

PubMed

Travo, Adrian; Paya, Clément; Déléris, Gérard; Colin, Joseph; Mortemousque, Bruno; Forfar, Isabelle

2014-04-01

It has been widely reported that the tear film, which is crucially important as a protective barrier of the eye, undergoes biochemical changes as a result of a wide range of ocular pathology. This tends to suggest the possibility of early detection of ocular diseases on the basis of biochemical analysis of tears. However, studies of tears by conventional methods of biomolecular and biochemical analysis are often limited by methodological difficulties. Moreover, such analysis could not be applied in the clinic, where structural and morphological analyses by, mainly, slit-lamp biomicroscopy remains the recommended method. In this study, we assessed, for the first time, the potential of FTIR spectroscopy combined with advanced chemometric processing of spectral data for analysis of raw tears for diagnosis purposes. We first optimized sampling and spectral acquisition (tears collection method, tear sample volume, and preservation of the samples) for accurate spectral measurement. On the basis of the results, we focused our study on the possibility of discriminating tears from normal individuals from those of patients with different ocular pathologies, and showed that the most discriminating spectral range is that corresponding to variations of CH2 and CH3 of lipid aliphatic chains. We also report more subtle discrimination of tears from patients with keratoconus and those from patients with non-specific inflammatory ocular diseases, on the basis of variations in spectral ranges attributed notably to lipid and carbohydrate vibrations. Finally, we also succeeded in distinguishing tears from patients with early-stage and late-stage keratoconus on the basis of spectral features attributed to protein structure. Therefore, this study strongly suggests that FTIR spectral analysis of tears could be developed as a valuable and cost-saving tool for biochemical-based detection of ocular diseases, potentially before the appearance of the first morphological signs of diseases. Combined with supervised modelling methods and with use of a spectral data base acquired for representative patients, such a spectral approach could be a useful addition to current methods of clinical analysis for improvement of patient care.

Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale variants in mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease: change over time and the effect of enrichment strategies.

PubMed

Podhorna, Jana; Krahnke, Tillmann; Shear, Michael; Harrison, John E

2016-02-12

Development of new treatments for Alzheimer's disease (AD) has broadened into early interventions in individuals with modest cognitive impairment and a slow decline. The 11-item version of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog) was originally developed to measure cognition in patients with mild to moderate AD. Attempts to improve its properties for early AD by removing items prone to ceiling and/or by adding cognitive measures known to be impaired early have yielded a number of ADAS-Cog variants. Using Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative data, we compared the performance of the 3-, 5-, 11- and 13-item ADAS-Cog variants in subjects with early AD. Given the interest in enrichment strategies, we also examined this aspect with a focus on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers. Subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild AD with available ADAS-Cog 13 and CSF data were analysed. The decline over time was defined by change from baseline. Direct cross-comparison of the ADAS-Cog variants was performed using the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), with higher values reflecting increased sensitivity to detect change over time. The decline over time on any of the ADAS-Cog variants was minimal in subjects with MCI. Approximately half of subjects with MCI fulfilled enrichment criteria for positive AD pathology. The impact of enrichment was detectable but subtle in MCI. The annual decline in mild AD was more pronounced but still modest. More than 90 % of subjects with mild AD had positive AD pathology. SNRs were low in MCI but greater in mild AD. The numerically largest SNRs were seen for the ADAS-Cog 5 in MCI and for both the 5- and 13-item ADAS-Cog variants in mild AD, although associated confidence intervals were large. The possible value of ADAS-Cog expansion or reduction is less than compelling, particularly in MCI. In mild AD, adding items known to be impaired at early stages seems to provide more benefit than removing items on which subjects score close to ceiling.

Fundamentals of translational neuroscience in toxicologic pathology: optimizing the value of animal data for human risk assessment.

PubMed

Morrison, James P; Sharma, Alok K; Rao, Deepa; Pardo, Ingrid D; Garman, Robert H; Kaufmann, Wolfgang; Bolon, Brad

2015-01-01

A half-day Society of Toxicologic Pathology continuing education course on "Fundamentals of Translational Neuroscience in Toxicologic Pathology" presented some current major issues faced when extrapolating animal data regarding potential neurological consequences to assess potential human outcomes. Two talks reviewed functional-structural correlates in rodent and nonrodent mammalian brains needed to predict behavioral consequences of morphologic changes in discrete neural cell populations. The third lecture described practical steps for ensuring that specimens from rodent developmental neurotoxicity tests will be processed correctly to produce highly homologous sections. The fourth talk detailed demographic factors (e.g., species, strain, sex, and age); physiological traits (body composition, brain circulation, pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic patterns, etc.); and husbandry influences (e.g., group housing) known to alter the effects of neuroactive agents. The last presentation discussed the appearance, unknown functional effects, and potential relevance to humans of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-associated vacuoles within the choroid plexus epithelium of animals. Speakers provided real-world examples of challenges with data extrapolation among species or with study design considerations that may impact the interpretability of results. Translational neuroscience will be bolstered in the future as less invasive and/or more quantitative techniques are devised for linking overt functional deficits to subtle anatomic and chemical lesions. © 2014 by The Author(s).

Utilizing Whole Slide Images for Pathology Peer Review and Working Groups.

PubMed

Malarkey, David E; Willson, Gabrielle A; Willson, Cynthia J; Adams, E Terence; Olson, Greg R; Witt, William M; Elmore, Susan A; Hardisty, Jerry F; Boyle, Michael C; Crabbs, Torrie A; Miller, Rodney A

2015-12-01

This article describes the results of comparisons of digitally scanned whole slide images (WSIs) and glass microscope slides for diagnosis of tissues under peer review by the National Toxicology Program. Findings in this article were developed as a result of the data collected from 6 pathology working groups (PWGs), 1 pathology peer review, and survey comments from over 25 participating pathologists. For each PWG, 6-14 pathologists examined 10-143 tissues per study from 6- and 9-month perinatal studies and 2-year carcinogenicity studies. Overall it was found that evaluation of WSIs is generally equivalent to using glass slides. Concordance of PWG consensus diagnoses based upon review of WSIs versus glass slides ranged from 74% to 100% (median 86%). The intra- and interobserver diagnostic variation did not appear to influence the conclusions of any study. Based upon user opinions collected from surveys, WSIs may be less optimal than glass slides for evaluation of subtle lesions, large complex lesions, small lesions in a large section of tissue, and foci of altered hepatocytes. These results indicate that, although there may be some limitations, the use of WSIs can effectively accomplish the objectives of a conventional glass slide review and definitely serves as a useful adjunct to the conduct of PWGs. © 2015 by The Author(s).

Applications of wavelets in morphometric analysis of medical images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davatzikos, Christos; Tao, Xiaodong; Shen, Dinggang

2003-11-01

Morphometric analysis of medical images is playing an increasingly important role in understanding brain structure and function, as well as in understanding the way in which these change during development, aging and pathology. This paper presents three wavelet-based methods with related applications in morphometric analysis of magnetic resonance (MR) brain images. The first method handles cases where very limited datasets are available for the training of statistical shape models in the deformable segmentation. The method is capable of capturing a larger range of shape variability than the standard active shape models (ASMs) can, by using the elegant spatial-frequency decomposition of the shape contours provided by wavelet transforms. The second method addresses the difficulty of finding correspondences in anatomical images, which is a key step in shape analysis and deformable registration. The detection of anatomical correspondences is completed by using wavelet-based attribute vectors as morphological signatures of voxels. The third method uses wavelets to characterize the morphological measurements obtained from all voxels in a brain image, and the entire set of wavelet coefficients is further used to build a brain classifier. Since the classification scheme operates in a very-high-dimensional space, it can determine subtle population differences with complex spatial patterns. Experimental results are provided to demonstrate the performance of the proposed methods.

Progressive Functional Impairments of Hippocampal Neurons in a Tauopathy Mouse Model

PubMed Central

Ciupek, Sarah M.; Cheng, Jingheng; Ali, Yousuf O.; Lu, Hui-Chen

2015-01-01

The age-dependent progression of tau pathology is a major characteristic of tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), and plays an important role in the behavioral phenotypes of AD, including memory deficits. Despite extensive molecular and cellular studies on tau pathology, it remains to be determined how it alters the neural circuit functions underlying learning and memory in vivo. In rTg4510 mice, a Tau-P301L tauopathy model, hippocampal place fields that support spatial memories are abnormal at old age (7–9 months) when tau tangles and neurodegeneration are extensive. However, it is unclear how the abnormality in the hippocampal circuit function arises and progresses with the age-dependent progression of tau pathology. Here we show that in young (2–4 months of age) rTg4510 mice, place fields of hippocampal CA1 cells are largely normal, with only subtle differences from those of age-matched wild-type control mice. Second, high-frequency ripple oscillations of local field potentials in the hippocampal CA1 area are significantly reduced in young rTg4510 mice, and even further deteriorated in old rTg4510 mice. The ripple reduction is associated with less bursty firing and altered synchrony of CA1 cells. Together, the data indicate that deficits in ripples and neuronal synchronization occur before overt deficits in place fields in these mice. The results reveal a tau-pathology-induced progression of hippocampal functional changes in vivo. PMID:26019329

Artificial-epitope mapping for CK-MB assay.

PubMed

Tai, Dar-Fu; Ho, Yi-Fang; Wu, Cheng-Hsin; Lin, Tzu-Chieh; Lu, Kuo-Hao; Lin, Kun-Shian

2011-06-07

A quantitative method using artificial antibody to detect creatine kinases was developed. Linear epitope sequences were selected based on an artificial-epitope mapping strategy. Nine different MIPs corresponding to the selected peptides were then fabricated on QCM chips. The subtle conformational changes were also recognized by these chips.

Medical Surveillance Programs for Aircraft Maintenance Personnel Performing Nondestructive Inspection and Testing

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-11-01

visible and fl uorescent inspection techniques, while radiography relies on the individual’s ability to detect subtle differences in contrast either...binocular measurement of visual acuity may better predict a person’s functional capability in the workplace . However, measurement of monocular acuities

Computerized Detection of Lung Nodules by Means of “Virtual Dual-Energy” Radiography

PubMed Central

Chen, Sheng; Suzuki, Kenji

2014-01-01

Major challenges in current computer-aided detection (CADe) schemes for nodule detection in chest radiographs (CXRs) are to detect nodules that overlap with ribs and/or clavicles and to reduce the frequent false positives (FPs) caused by ribs. Detection of such nodules by a CADe scheme is very important, because radiologists are likely to miss such subtle nodules. Our purpose in this study was to develop a CADe scheme with improved sensitivity and specificity by use of “virtual dual-energy” (VDE) CXRs where ribs and clavicles are suppressed with massive-training artificial neural networks (MTANNs). To reduce rib-induced FPs and detect nodules overlapping with ribs, we incorporated the VDE technology in our CADe scheme. The VDE technology suppressed rib and clavicle opacities in CXRs while maintaining soft-tissue opacity by use of the MTANN technique that had been trained with real dual-energy imaging. Our scheme detected nodule candidates on VDE images by use of a morphologic filtering technique. Sixty morphologic and gray-level-based features were extracted from each candidate from both original and VDE CXRs. A nonlinear support vector classifier was employed for classification of the nodule candidates. A publicly available database containing 140 nodules in 140 CXRs and 93 normal CXRs was used for testing our CADe scheme. All nodules were confirmed by computed tomography examinations, and the average size of the nodules was 17.8 mm. Thirty percent (42/140) of the nodules were rated “extremely subtle” or “very subtle” by a radiologist. The original scheme without VDE technology achieved a sensitivity of 78.6% (110/140) with 5 (1165/233) FPs per image. By use of the VDE technology, more nodules overlapping with ribs or clavicles were detected and the sensitivity was improved substantially to 85.0% (119/140) at the same FP rate in a leave-one-out cross-validation test, whereas the FP rate was reduced to 2.5 (583/233) per image at the same sensitivity level as the original CADe scheme obtained (Difference between the specificities of the original and the VDE-based CADe schemes was statistically significant). In particular, the sensitivity of our VDE-based CADe scheme for subtle nodules (66.7% = 28/42) was statistically significantly higher than that of the original CADe scheme (57.1% = 24/42). Therefore, by use of VDE technology, the sensitivity and specificity of our CADe scheme for detection of nodules, especially subtle nodules, in CXRs were improved substantially. PMID:23193306

Nintendo Wii Balance Board is sensitive to effects of visual tasks on standing sway in healthy elderly adults.

PubMed

Koslucher, Frank; Wade, Michael G; Nelson, Brent; Lim, Kelvin; Chen, Fu-Chen; Stoffregen, Thomas A

2012-07-01

Research has shown that the Nintendo Wii Balance Board (WBB) can reliably detect the quantitative kinematics of the center of pressure in stance. Previous studies used relatively coarse manipulations (1- vs. 2-leg stance, and eyes open vs. closed). We sought to determine whether the WBB could reliably detect postural changes associated with subtle variations in visual tasks. Healthy elderly adults stood on a WBB while performing one of two visual tasks. In the Inspection task, they maintained their gaze within the boundaries of a featureless target. In the Search task, they counted the occurrence of designated target letters within a block of text. Consistent with previous studies using traditional force plates, the positional variability of the center of pressure was reduced during performance of the Search task, relative to movement during performance of the Inspection task. Using detrended fluctuation analysis, a measure of movement dynamics, we found that COP trajectories were more predictable during performance of the Search task than during performance of the Inspection task. The results indicate that the WBB is sensitive to subtle variations in both the magnitude and dynamics of body sway that are related to variations in visual tasks engaged in during stance. The WBB is an inexpensive, reliable technology that can be used to evaluate subtle characteristics of body sway in large or widely dispersed samples. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spectral mineral mapping for characterization of subtle geothermal prospects using ASTER data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abubakar, A. J.; Hashim, M.; Pour, A. B.

2017-05-01

In this study, the performance of ASTER data is evaluated for mapping subtle geothermal prospects in an unexplored tropical region having a number of thermal springs. The study employed a simple Decorrelation stretch with specific absorptions to highlight possible alteration zones of interest related to Geothermal (GT) systems. Hydrothermal alteration minerals are subsequently mapped using Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) and Linear Spectral Unmixing (LSU) algorithms to target representative minerals such as clays, carbonates and AL-OH minerals as indicators of GT activity. The results were validated through field GPS survey, rock sampling and laboratory analysis using latest smart lab X-Ray Diffractometer technology. The study indicates that ASTER broadband satellite data could be used to map subtle GT prospects with the aid of an in-situ verification. However, it also shows that ASTER could not discriminate within specie minerals especially for clays using SWIR bands. Subsequent studies are aimed at looking at both ASTER and Hyperion hyperspectral data in the same area as this could have significant implications for GT resource detection in unmapped aseismic and inaccessible tropical regions using available spaceborne data.

Modeling Seasonal Thermal Radiance Cycles for Change Detection at Volcanic / Geothermal Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaughan, R.; Beuttel, B. S.

2013-12-01

Remote sensing observations of thermal features associated with (and often preceding) volcanic activity have been used for decades to detect and monitor volcanism. However, anomalous thermal precursors to volcanic eruptions are usually only recognized retrospectively. One of the reasons for this is that precursor thermal activity is often too subtle in magnitude (spatially, temporally, or in absolute temperature) to be unambiguously detected in time to issue warnings or forecasts. Part of the reason for this is the trade-off between high spatial and high temporal resolution associated with satellite imaging systems. Thus, the goal of this work has been to develop some techniques for using high-temporal-resolution, coarse-spatial-resolution imagery to try to detect subtle thermal anomalies. To identify anomalies, background thermal activity must first be characterized. Every active, or potentially active, volcano has a unique thermal history that provides information about normal background thermal activity due to seasonal or diurnal variations. Understanding these normal variations allows recognition of anomalous activity that may be due to volcanic / hydrothermal processes - ultimately with a lead time that may be sufficient to issue eruption warnings or forecasts. Archived MODIS data, acquired ~daily from 2000 to 2012, were used to investigate seasonal thermal cycles at three volcanic areas with different types of thermal features: Mount St. Helens, which had a dacite dome-building eruption from 2004-2008; Mount Ruapehu, which has a 500-m diameter active summit crater lake; and Yellowstone, which is a large active geothermal system that has hundreds of hot springs and fumarole fields spread out over a very large area. The focus has been on using MODIS 1-km sensor radiance data in the MIR and TIR wavelength regions that are sensitive to thermal emission from features that range in temperature from hundreds of °C, down to tens of °C (below the boiling temperature of water). To detect such features it is best to use data acquired at night, as this maximizes the delta T between the thermal target and non-thermal background and minimizes the effects of the Sun. Decadal time-series plots of nighttime MODIS sensor radiance data over the target areas show that seasonal thermal cycles due to varying solar incidence angle can be modeled with a sine function and removed to reveal subtle changes in TIR radiance. The seasonal sine function is unique to each volcanic / geothermal area and can be modeled iteratively using a least squares fit to the cloud of radiance data. The sine function model can also be used to generate a first-order cloud cover approximation for the nighttime TIR data. This work helps establish a framework for improved thermal alarm algorithms, automated thermal detection methods, and operational monitoring techniques for active, or potentially active, volcanoes throughout the world. This type of background study is a step toward establishing a global volcanic eruption forecasting system using satellite-based remote sensing data that are sensitive to subtle precursor thermal anomalies.

Maternal 27-hydroxycholesterol concentrations during the course of pregnancy and in pregnancy pathologies.

PubMed

Winkler, Brigitte Sophia; Pecks, Ulrich; Najjari, Laila; Kleine-Eggebrecht, Nicola; Maass, Nicolai; Mohaupt, Markus; Escher, Geneviève

2017-04-04

The oxysterol 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-OHC) plays an important role in the regulation of cholesterol homeostasis. Pregnancy pathologies like preeclampsia (PE), HELLP-syndrome (HELLP), intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and intrahepatic cholestasis in pregnancy (ICP) are linked to disturbances in lipid metabolism. In the present study, we hypothesized a specific gestational regulation of 27-OHC and compromised 27-OHC levels due to placental and hepatic diseases in pregnancy resulting in a dysregulation of lipid metabolism. The 27-OHC was measured by gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and related to cholesterol concentrations. In the longitudinal cohort, a complete set of samples of healthy patients (n = 33) obtained at three different time points throughout gestation and once post-partum was analyzed. In the cross sectional cohort, patients with pregnancy pathologies (IUGR n = 14, PE n = 14, HELLP n = 7, ICP n = 7) were matched to a control group (CTRL) of equal gestational ages. The 27-OHC levels already increased in the first trimester despite lower TC concentrations (p < 0.05). During the course of pregnancy, a subtle rise in 27-OHC concentrations results in an overall decrease of 27-OHC/TC ratio in between the first (p < 0.05) and second trimester. The ratio remains stable thereafter including the post-partum period. No significant differences have been observed in pregnancy pathologies as compared to the CTRL group. In conclusion, 27-OHC may have a compensatory role in cholesterol metabolism early in pregnancy. The conserved 27-OHC/TC ratio in pregnancy pathologies suggest that neither the placenta nor the liver is majorly involved in the regulation of 27-OHC metabolism.

Complex radial folds versus subtle signs of intracapsular rupture of breast implants: MR findings with surgical correlation.

PubMed

Soo, M S; Kornguth, P J; Walsh, R; Elenberger, C D; Georgiade, G S

1996-06-01

Detection of intracapsular rupture of silicone breast prostheses using MR imaging is often performed by identifying the "linguine sign" [1]. The linguine sign is easily differentiated from simple radial folds that are seen in intact implants. However, more subtle signs of intracapsular rupture, including undulating subcapsular lines and the "teardrop sign," are less often recognized [2-5] and may prove difficult for the less experienced radiologist to differentiate from complex radial folds of intact implants. In this essay, we illustrate the MR imaging findings of complex radial folds in intact implants and compare them with findings of incomplete shell collapse in ruptured implants in a surgically confirmed series of explanted silicone breast prostheses.

Recognition of adjustment disorder in college athletes: a case study.

PubMed

Shell, D; Ferrante, A P

1996-01-01

The occurrence of a sports-related adjustment disorder can inhibit optimum athletic performance and scholastic achievement and impair the overall functioning of athletes. Physicians and trainers caring for athletic teams must maintain an acute awareness of the athlete's mental and physical well-being to detect subtle signs of a mood or psychological disturbance. The case of the collegiate basketball player discussed here exemplifies the subtle presentation and stages of an adjustment disorder with the predominant manifestation of depression mixed with anxiety and disordered conduct. This player's lack of participation in practice and game play led to a distorted view of his self-worth, which slowly eroded his ability to play basketball, attend classes, and enjoy previously pleasurable activities.

Viral infection and antiviral therapy in the neonatal intensive care unit.

PubMed

Barford, Galina; Rentz, Alison C; Faix, Roger G

2004-01-01

Viral diseases are leading causes of mortality and morbidity among infants requiring care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), with ongoing discoveries of new viral pathology likely to add to the burdens posed. Many viral diseases in NICU infants are undiagnosed or appreciated only late in the course because of subtle or asymptomatic presentation, confusion with bacterial disease, and failure to consider viral disease. We present an overview of viral disease in NICU infants, with emphasis on pharmacologic agents currently employed for prophylaxis and treatment of such diseases. Advances in molecular biology and popular demand to develop antiviral agents for viral diseases (eg, human immunodeficiency virus) offer great promise for the future.

[Programmed mouse genome modifications].

PubMed

Babinet, C

1998-02-01

The availability, in the mouse, of embryonic stem cells (ES cells) which have the ability to colonize the germ line of a developing embryo, has opened entirely new avenues to the genetic approach of embryonic development, physiology and pathology of this animal. Indeed, it is now possible, using homologous recombination in ES cells, to introduce mutations in any gene as long as it has been cloned. Thus, null as well as more subtle mutations can be created. Furthermore, scenarios are currently being derived which will allow one to generate conditional mutations. Taken together, these methods offer a tremendous tool to study gene function in vivo; they also open the way to creating murine models of human genetic diseases.

Policy, Preparation, and Prevention: Proactive Minimization of Student Plagiarism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Devlin, Marcia

2006-01-01

Countless cases of plagiarism are detected across the Australian higher education sector each year. Generally speaking, policy and other responses to the issue focus on punitive, rather than on educative, measures. Recently, a subtle shift is discernable. As well as ensuring appropriate consequences for plagiarists, several universities are…

Crystallographic structure refinement with quadrupolar nuclei: a combined solid-state NMR and GIPAW DFT example using MgBr(2).

PubMed

Widdifield, Cory M; Bryce, David L

2009-09-07

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy and GIPAW DFT calculations reveal the pronounced sensitivity of (79/81)Br and (25)Mg quadrupolar coupling constants to subtle aspects of solid state structure which were not previously detected by pXRD methods.

Measuring Executive Function Deficits Following Head Injury: An Application of SMS Simulation Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Satish, Usha; Streufert, Siegfried; Eslinger, Paul J.

2006-01-01

Neuropsychological tests have limited sensitivity in identifying subtle residual cognitive impairments in patients with good medical recovery from head injury and post-concussive syndrome. Detecting and characterizing residual "real life" cognitive difficulties can be problematic for treatment purposes. This study investigated the usefulness of a…

Toxicity of Anacostia River, Washington, DC, USA, sediment fed to mute swans (Cygnus olor)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Beyer, W.N.; Day, D.; Melancon, M.J.; Sileo, L.

2000-01-01

Sediment ingestion is sometimes the principal route by which waterfowl are exposed to environmental contaminants, and at severely contaminated sites waterfowl have been killed by ingesting sediment. Mute swans (Cygnus olor) were fed a diet for six weeks with a high but environmentally realistic concentration (24%) of sediment from the moderately polluted Anacostia River in the District of Columbia, to estimate the sediment?s toxicity. Control swans were fed the same diet without the sediment. Five organochlorine compounds were detected in the treated diets but none of 22 organochlorine compounds included in the analyses were detected in livers of the treated swans. The concentrations of 24 polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons measured in the treated diet were as high as 0.80 mg/kg and they were thought to have been responsible for the observed induction of hepatic microsomal monooxygenase activity in livers. A concentration of 85 mg/kg of lead in the diet was enough to decrease red blood cell ALAD activity but was not high enough to cause more serious effects of lead poisoning. The dietary concentrations of Al, Fe, V, and Ba were high compared to the concentrations of these elements known to be toxic in laboratory feeding studies, but these elements did not accumulate in the livers of the treated swans and probably were not readily available in the sediment. Although ingestion of the Anacostia River sediment caused subtle toxicological effects in swans, we concluded from pathological examinations and weight data that the treated swans remained basically healthy.

An Investigation of Multidimensional Voice Program Parameters in Three Different Databases for Voice Pathology Detection and Classification.

PubMed

Al-Nasheri, Ahmed; Muhammad, Ghulam; Alsulaiman, Mansour; Ali, Zulfiqar; Mesallam, Tamer A; Farahat, Mohamed; Malki, Khalid H; Bencherif, Mohamed A

2017-01-01

Automatic voice-pathology detection and classification systems may help clinicians to detect the existence of any voice pathologies and the type of pathology from which patients suffer in the early stages. The main aim of this paper is to investigate Multidimensional Voice Program (MDVP) parameters to automatically detect and classify the voice pathologies in multiple databases, and then to find out which parameters performed well in these two processes. Samples of the sustained vowel /a/ of normal and pathological voices were extracted from three different databases, which have three voice pathologies in common. The selected databases in this study represent three distinct languages: (1) the Arabic voice pathology database; (2) the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary database (English database); and (3) the Saarbruecken Voice Database (German database). A computerized speech lab program was used to extract MDVP parameters as features, and an acoustical analysis was performed. The Fisher discrimination ratio was applied to rank the parameters. A t test was performed to highlight any significant differences in the means of the normal and pathological samples. The experimental results demonstrate a clear difference in the performance of the MDVP parameters using these databases. The highly ranked parameters also differed from one database to another. The best accuracies were obtained by using the three highest ranked MDVP parameters arranged according to the Fisher discrimination ratio: these accuracies were 99.68%, 88.21%, and 72.53% for the Saarbruecken Voice Database, the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary database, and the Arabic voice pathology database, respectively. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dual-focus Magnification, High-Definition Endoscopy Improves Pathology Detection in Direct-to-Test Diagnostic Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

PubMed

Bond, Ashley; Burkitt, Michael D; Cox, Trevor; Smart, Howard L; Probert, Chris; Haslam, Neil; Sarkar, Sanchoy

2017-03-01

In the UK, the majority of diagnostic upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopies are a result of direct-to-test referral from the primary care physician. The diagnostic yield of these tests is relatively low, and the burden high on endoscopy services. Dual-focus magnification, high-definition endoscopy is expected to improve detection and classification of UGI mucosal lesions and also help minimize biopsies by allowing better targeting. This is a retrospective study of patients attending for direct-to-test UGI endoscopy from January 2015 to June 2015. The primary outcome of interest was the identification of significant pathology. Detection of significant pathology was modelled using logistic regression. 500 procedures were included. The mean age of patients was 61.5 (±15.6) years; 60.8% of patients were female. Ninety-four gastroscopies were performed using dual-focus magnification high-definition endoscopy. Increasing age, male gender, type of endoscope, and type of operator were all identified as significant factors influencing the odds of detecting significant mucosal pathology. Use of dual-focus magnification, high-definition endoscopy was associated with an odds ratio of 1.87 (95%CI 1.11-3.12) favouring the detection of significant pathology. Subsequent analysis suggested that the increased detection of pathology during dual-focus magnification, high-definition endoscopy also influenced patient follow-up and led to a 3.0 fold (p=0.04) increase in the proportion of patients entered into an UGI endoscopic surveillance program. Dual-focus magnification, high-definition endoscopy improved the diagnostic yield for significant mucosal pathology in patients referred for direct-to-test endoscopy. If this finding is recapitulated elsewhere it will have substantial impact on the provision of UGI endoscopic services.

[Neuro-cognitive condition of 8 year old children with congenital hypothyroidism treated early].

PubMed

Alvarez, M; Güell, R; Daniel, L; Berazaín, A R; Machado, C; Pascual, A

Congenital hypothyroidism is the most important cause of preventable mental retardation. Since the use of programmes for early detection, mental retardation due to cretinism has been abolished and current investigations seek to detect subtle damage due to foetal hypothyroidism and strategies to minimize such deficits. This study presents the results of neurocognitive assessment of a group of 19 children aged 8 in the Cuban Programme for the early detection of Congenital Hypothyroidism. The programme is based on the use of umbilical cord serum levels of thyrotropin (TSH), using the Elisa ultramicro method (SUMA) and substitutive treatment with sodium levothyroxine and a programme of neuropsychiatric stimulation until 5 years old. The results showed that the intelligence quotients of children with hypothyroidism were not statistically different from paired controls, and thus demonstrate the efficacy of the programme. On evaluation using computerized techniques for the detection of subtle disorders of the maintenance of attention, deficiencies were found. Analysis of the conventional EEG showed that in 13 cases recordings were normal, 4 had generalized cortical damage, 1 had cortico-subcortical damage and the remainder had signs of focal irritation. On the quantitative EEG, correlation between the attention variables and absolute values (MV2/Hz) were calculated for each derivation and associations found mainly in the right parietal and left frontal regions. The effect of stimulating development in these patients is discussed.

The Internet's effect on personality traits: An important casualty of the "Internet addiction" paradigm.

PubMed

Aboujaoude, Elias

2017-03-01

Background and aims The "Internet addiction" paradigm has been criticized for several shortcomings, including inattention to specific online behaviors, not distinguishing the Internet from other media, insufficient focus on comorbidities, and definitions that do not take into account the constant access now possible. The paradigm's biggest casualty, however, may be that it has diverted attention away from subtle personality changes that seem to occur online, including in users who cannot be considered "addicted" under any definition. Methods A narrative assessment of the literature was conducted, focusing on the Internet's effects on personality traits as revealed in studies of Internet users. Results Impulsivity, narcissism, and aggression are some of the personality traits that seem to be nurtured by the Internet, with possible negative offline consequences. Discussion Ignoring the Internet's subtle effects on personality as we embrace an addiction model that implies severe pathology makes the majority of Internet users feel deceptively immune to the psychological effects of new technologies. It also limits our understanding of the big cultural shifts that are happening as a result. Conclusion The Internet's potentially negative effect on personality, and by extension on society at large, is a fundamental part of online psychology, one well worthy of further investigation.

Sensitivity to differences in the motor origin of drawings: from human to robot.

PubMed

De Preester, Helena; Tsakiris, Manos

2014-01-01

This study explores the idea that an observer is sensitive to differences in the static traces of drawings that are due to differences in motor origin. In particular, our aim was to test if an observer is able to discriminate between drawings made by a robot and by a human in the case where the drawings contain salient kinematic cues for discrimination and in the case where the drawings only contain more subtle kinematic cues. We hypothesized that participants would be able to correctly attribute the drawing to a human or a robot origin when salient kinematic cues are present. In addition, our study shows that observers are also able to detect the producer behind the drawings in the absence of these salient kinematic cues. The design was such that in the absence of salient kinematic cues, the drawings are visually very similar, i.e. only differing in subtle kinematic differences. Observers thus had to rely on these subtle kinematic differences in the line trajectories between drawings. However, not only motor origin (human versus robot) but also motor style (natural versus mechanic) plays a role in attributing a drawing to the correct producer, because participants scored less high when the human hand draws in a relatively mechanical way. Overall, this study suggests that observers are sensitive to subtle kinematic differences between visually similar marks in drawings that have a different motor origin. We offer some possible interpretations inspired by the idea of "motor resonance".

Sensitivity to Differences in the Motor Origin of Drawings: From Human to Robot

PubMed Central

De Preester, Helena; Tsakiris, Manos

2014-01-01

This study explores the idea that an observer is sensitive to differences in the static traces of drawings that are due to differences in motor origin. In particular, our aim was to test if an observer is able to discriminate between drawings made by a robot and by a human in the case where the drawings contain salient kinematic cues for discrimination and in the case where the drawings only contain more subtle kinematic cues. We hypothesized that participants would be able to correctly attribute the drawing to a human or a robot origin when salient kinematic cues are present. In addition, our study shows that observers are also able to detect the producer behind the drawings in the absence of these salient kinematic cues. The design was such that in the absence of salient kinematic cues, the drawings are visually very similar, i.e. only differing in subtle kinematic differences. Observers thus had to rely on these subtle kinematic differences in the line trajectories between drawings. However, not only motor origin (human versus robot) but also motor style (natural versus mechanic) plays a role in attributing a drawing to the correct producer, because participants scored less high when the human hand draws in a relatively mechanical way. Overall, this study suggests that observers are sensitive to subtle kinematic differences between visually similar marks in drawings that have a different motor origin. We offer some possible interpretations inspired by the idea of “motor resonance”. PMID:25014198

Deficits in hippocampal-dependent transfer generalization learning accompany synaptic dysfunction in a mouse model of amyloidosis.

PubMed

Montgomery, Karienn S; Edwards, George; Levites, Yona; Kumar, Ashok; Myers, Catherine E; Gluck, Mark A; Setlow, Barry; Bizon, Jennifer L

2016-04-01

Elevated β-amyloid and impaired synaptic function in hippocampus are among the earliest manifestations of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Most cognitive assessments employed in both humans and animal models, however, are insensitive to this early disease pathology. One critical aspect of hippocampal function is its role in episodic memory, which involves the binding of temporally coincident sensory information (e.g., sights, smells, and sounds) to create a representation of a specific learning epoch. Flexible associations can be formed among these distinct sensory stimuli that enable the "transfer" of new learning across a wide variety of contexts. The current studies employed a mouse analog of an associative "transfer learning" task that has previously been used to identify risk for prodromal AD in humans. The rodent version of the task assesses the transfer of learning about stimulus features relevant to a food reward across a series of compound discrimination problems. The relevant feature that predicts the food reward is unchanged across problems, but an irrelevant feature (i.e., the context) is altered. Experiment 1 demonstrated that C57BL6/J mice with bilateral ibotenic acid lesions of hippocampus were able to discriminate between two stimuli on par with control mice; however, lesioned mice were unable to transfer or apply this learning to new problem configurations. Experiment 2 used the APPswe PS1 mouse model of amyloidosis to show that robust impairments in transfer learning are evident in mice with subtle β-amyloid-induced synaptic deficits in the hippocampus. Finally, Experiment 3 confirmed that the same transfer learning impairments observed in APPswePS1 mice were also evident in the Tg-SwDI mouse, a second model of amyloidosis. Together, these data show that the ability to generalize learned associations to new contexts is disrupted even in the presence of subtle hippocampal dysfunction and suggest that, across species, this aspect of hippocampal-dependent learning may be useful for early identification of AD-like pathology. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Deficits in hippocampal-dependent transfer generalization learning accompany synaptic dysfunction in a mouse model of amyloidosis

PubMed Central

Montgomery, Karienn S.; Edwards, George; Levites, Yona; Kumar, Ashok; Myers, Catherine E.; Gluck, Mark A.; Setlow, Barry; Bizon, Jennifer L.

2015-01-01

Elevated β-amyloid and impaired synaptic function in hippocampus are among the earliest manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Most cognitive assessments employed in both humans and animal models, however, are insensitive to this early disease pathology. One critical aspect of hippocampal function is its role in episodic memory, which involves the binding of temporally coincident sensory information (e.g., sights, smells, and sounds) to create a representation of a specific learning epoch. Flexible associations can be formed among these distinct sensory stimuli that enable the “transfer” of new learning across a wide variety of contexts. The current studies employed a mouse analog of an associative “transfer learning” task that has previously been used to identify risk for prodromal AD in humans. The rodent version of the task assesses the transfer of learning about stimulus features relevant to a food reward across a series of compound discrimination problems. The relevant feature that predicts the food reward is unchanged across problems, but an irrelevant feature (i.e., the context) is altered. Experiment 1 demonstrated that C57BL6/J mice with bilateral ibotenic acid lesions of hippocampus were able to discriminate between two stimuli on par with control mice; however, lesioned mice were unable to transfer or apply this learning to new problem configurations. Experiment 2 used the APPswePS1 mouse model of amyloidosis to show that robust impairments in transfer learning are evident in mice with subtle β amyloid-induced synaptic deficits in the hippocampus. Finally, Experiment 3 confirmed that the same transfer learning impairments observed in APPswePS1 mice were also evident in the Tg-SwDI mouse, a second model of amyloidosis. Together, these data show that the ability to generalize learned associations to new contexts is disrupted even in the presence of subtle hippocampal dysfunction and suggest that, across species, this aspect of hippocampal-dependent learning may be useful for early identification of AD-like pathology. PMID:26418152

Engine-Vibration Analyzer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tolmei, V. R.

1982-01-01

Proposed circuit would monitor vibration spectrum of engines under test or in service. It could detect subtle out-of-specification conditions and could be programed to shut down engine if an out-of-limits condition develops. Possible uses of monitor are in bench testing automobiles and outboard motors and as a safety device in very critical engine applications.

A Psychophysical Test for Retinitis Pigmentosa.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corwin, Thomas R; Mancini, Michael

A new test designed to detect an hereditary eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is described. This condition is revealed by pigmentation in the retina, but early diagnosis is difficult because the symptoms are subtle, and since it is genetically recessive it frequently occurs in families with no history of early blindness. In many cases…

Early Detection of Heterotopic Ossification for Effective Prevention and Treatment

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-01

selectively induced in rat model of myocardial infarction . Inflammation. 2001;25(5):293-300. 20. Tögel F, Isaac J, Hu Z, Weiss K, Westenfelder C. Renal SDF...the development of HO, subtle muscle injuries could trigger SDF-1 build-up locally and MSC recruitment. This project is based on a hypothesis that

Early Detection of Cognitive-Linguistic Change Associated with Mild Cognitive Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleming, Valarie B.

2014-01-01

Individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may present with subtle declines in linguistic ability that go undetected by tasks not challenging enough to tax a relatively intact cognitive-linguistic system. This study was designed to replicate and extend a previous study of cognitive-linguistic ability in MCI using a complex discourse…

Enhancement factor in low-coherence enhanced backscattering and its applications for characterizing experimental skin carcinogenesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jingjing; Xu, Zhengbin; Song, Qinghai; Konger, Raymond L.; Kim, Young L.

2010-05-01

We experimentally study potential mechanisms by which the enhancement factor in low-coherence enhanced backscattering (LEBS) can probe subtle variations in radial intensity distribution in weakly scattering media. We use enhanced backscattering of light by implementing either (1) low spatial coherence illumination or (2) multiple spatially independent detections using a microlens array under spatially coherent illumination. We show that the enhancement factor in these configurations is a measure of the integrated intensity within the localized coherence or detection area, which can exhibit strong dependence on small perturbations in scattering properties. To further evaluate the utility of the LEBS enhancement factor, we use a well-established animal model of cutaneous two-stage chemical carcinogenesis. In this pilot study, we demonstrate that the LEBS enhancement factor can be substantially altered at a stage of preneoplasia. Our animal result supports the idea that early carcinogenesis can cause subtle alterations in the scattering properties that can be captured by the LEBS enhancement factor. Thus, the LEBS enhancement factor has the potential as an easily measurable biomarker in skin carcinogenesis.

Enhanced Visualization of Subtle Outer Retinal Pathology by En Face Optical Coherence Tomography and Correlation with Multi-Modal Imaging

PubMed Central

Chew, Avenell L.; Lamey, Tina; McLaren, Terri; De Roach, John

2016-01-01

Purpose To present en face optical coherence tomography (OCT) images generated by graph-search theory algorithm-based custom software and examine correlation with other imaging modalities. Methods En face OCT images derived from high density OCT volumetric scans of 3 healthy subjects and 4 patients using a custom algorithm (graph-search theory) and commercial software (Heidelberg Eye Explorer software (Heidelberg Engineering)) were compared and correlated with near infrared reflectance, fundus autofluorescence, adaptive optics flood-illumination ophthalmoscopy (AO-FIO) and microperimetry. Results Commercial software was unable to generate accurate en face OCT images in eyes with retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) pathology due to segmentation error at the level of Bruch’s membrane (BM). Accurate segmentation of the basal RPE and BM was achieved using custom software. The en face OCT images from eyes with isolated interdigitation or ellipsoid zone pathology were of similar quality between custom software and Heidelberg Eye Explorer software in the absence of any other significant outer retinal pathology. En face OCT images demonstrated angioid streaks, lesions of acute macular neuroretinopathy, hydroxychloroquine toxicity and Bietti crystalline deposits that correlated with other imaging modalities. Conclusions Graph-search theory algorithm helps to overcome the limitations of outer retinal segmentation inaccuracies in commercial software. En face OCT images can provide detailed topography of the reflectivity within a specific layer of the retina which correlates with other forms of fundus imaging. Our results highlight the need for standardization of image reflectivity to facilitate quantification of en face OCT images and longitudinal analysis. PMID:27959968

Challenges in Pathologic Staging of Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Study of Interobserver Variability Among Urologic Pathologists.

PubMed

Williamson, Sean R; Rao, Priya; Hes, Ondrej; Epstein, Jonathan I; Smith, Steven C; Picken, Maria M; Zhou, Ming; Tretiakova, Maria S; Tickoo, Satish K; Chen, Ying-Bei; Reuter, Victor E; Fleming, Stewart; Maclean, Fiona M; Gupta, Nilesh S; Kuroda, Naoto; Delahunt, Brett; Mehra, Rohit; Przybycin, Christopher G; Cheng, Liang; Eble, John N; Grignon, David J; Moch, Holger; Lopez, Jose I; Kunju, Lakshmi P; Tamboli, Pheroze; Srigley, John R; Amin, Mahul B; Martignoni, Guido; Hirsch, Michelle S; Bonsib, Stephen M; Trpkov, Kiril

2018-06-06

Staging criteria for renal cell carcinoma differ from many other cancers, in that renal tumors are often spherical with subtle, finger-like extensions into veins, renal sinus, or perinephric tissue. We sought to study interobserver agreement in pathologic stage categories for challenging cases. An online survey was circulated to urologic pathologists interested in kidney tumors, yielding 89% response (31/35). Most questions included 1 to 4 images, focusing on: vascular and renal sinus invasion (n=24), perinephric invasion (n=9), and gross pathology/specimen handling (n=17). Responses were collapsed for analysis into positive and negative/equivocal for upstaging. Consensus was regarded as an agreement of 67% (2/3) of participants, which was reached in 20/33 (61%) evaluable scenarios regarding renal sinus, perinephric, or vein invasion, of which 13/33 (39%) had ≥80% consensus. Lack of agreement was especially encountered regarding small tumor protrusions into a possible vascular lumen, close to the tumor leading edge. For gross photographs, most were interpreted as suspicious but requiring histologic confirmation. Most participants (61%) rarely used special stains to evaluate vascular invasion, usually endothelial markers (81%). Most agreed that a spherical mass bulging well beyond the kidney parenchyma into the renal sinus (71%) or perinephric fat (90%) did not necessarily indicate invasion. Interobserver agreement in pathologic staging of renal cancer is relatively good among urologic pathologists interested in kidney tumors, even when selecting cases that test the earliest and borderline thresholds for extrarenal extension. Disagreements remain, however, particularly for tumors with small, finger-like protrusions, closely juxtaposed to the main mass.

COMPARISON OF RETINAL PATHOLOGY VISUALIZATION IN MULTISPECTRAL SCANNING LASER IMAGING.

PubMed

Meshi, Amit; Lin, Tiezhu; Dans, Kunny; Chen, Kevin C; Amador, Manuel; Hasenstab, Kyle; Muftuoglu, Ilkay Kilic; Nudleman, Eric; Chao, Daniel; Bartsch, Dirk-Uwe; Freeman, William R

2018-03-16

To compare retinal pathology visualization in multispectral scanning laser ophthalmoscope imaging between the Spectralis and Optos devices. This retrospective cross-sectional study included 42 eyes from 30 patients with age-related macular degeneration (19 eyes), diabetic retinopathy (10 eyes), and epiretinal membrane (13 eyes). All patients underwent retinal imaging with a color fundus camera (broad-spectrum white light), the Spectralis HRA-2 system (3-color monochromatic lasers), and the Optos P200 system (2-color monochromatic lasers). The Optos image was cropped to a similar size as the Spectralis image. Seven masked graders marked retinal pathologies in each image within a 5 × 5 grid that included the macula. The average area with detected retinal pathology in all eyes was larger in the Spectralis images compared with Optos images (32.4% larger, P < 0.0001), mainly because of better visualization of epiretinal membrane and retinal hemorrhage. The average detection rate of age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy pathologies was similar across the three modalities, whereas epiretinal membrane detection rate was significantly higher in the Spectralis images. Spectralis tricolor multispectral scanning laser ophthalmoscope imaging had higher rate of pathology detection primarily because of better epiretinal membrane and retinal hemorrhage visualization compared with Optos bicolor multispectral scanning laser ophthalmoscope imaging.

Label-free electrical detection of DNA hybridization using carbon nanotubes and graphene

PubMed Central

Fu, Dongliang; Li, Lain-Jong

2010-01-01

The interface between biosystems and nanomaterials is emerging for detection of various biomolecules and subtle cellular activities. In particular, the development of cost-effective and sequence-selective DNA detection is urgent for the diagnosis of genetic or pathogenic diseases. Graphene-based nanocarbon materials, such as carbon nanotubes and thin graphene layers, have been employed as biosensors because they are biocompatible, extraordinarily sensitive, and promising for large-area detection. Electrical and label-free detection of DNA can be achieved by monitoring the conductance change of devices fabricated from these carbon materials. Here, the recent advances in this research area are briefly reviewed. The key issues and perspectives of future development are also discussed. PMID:22110861

Intraoperative imaging for patient safety and QA: detection of intracranial hemorrhage using C-arm cone-beam CT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schafer, Sebastian; Wang, Adam; Otake, Yoshito; Stayman, J. W.; Zbijewski, Wojciech; Kleinszig, Gerhard; Xia, Xuewei; Gallia, Gary L.; Siewerdsen, Jeffrey H.

2013-03-01

Intraoperative imaging could improve patient safety and quality assurance (QA) via the detection of subtle complications that might otherwise only be found hours after surgery. Such capability could therefore reduce morbidity and the need for additional intervention. Among the severe adverse events that could be more quickly detected by high-quality intraoperative imaging is acute intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), conventionally assessed using post-operative CT. A mobile C-arm capable of high-quality cone-beam CT (CBCT) in combination with advanced image reconstruction techniques is reported as a means of detecting ICH in the operating room. The system employs an isocentric C-arm with a flat-panel detector in dual gain mode, correction of x-ray scatter and beam-hardening, and a penalized likelihood (PL) iterative reconstruction method. Performance in ICH detection was investigated using a quantitative phantom focusing on (non-contrast-enhanced) blood-brain contrast, an anthropomorphic head phantom, and a porcine model with injection of fresh blood bolus. The visibility of ICH was characterized in terms of contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and qualitative evaluation of images by a neurosurgeon. Across a range of size and contrast of the ICH as well as radiation dose from the CBCT scan, the CNR was found to increase from ~2.2-3.7 for conventional filtered backprojection (FBP) to ~3.9-5.4 for PL at equivalent spatial resolution. The porcine model demonstrated superior ICH detectability for PL. The results support the role of high-quality mobile C-arm CBCT employing advanced reconstruction algorithms for detecting subtle complications in the operating room at lower radiation dose and lower cost than intraoperative CT scanners and/or fixedroom C-arms. Such capability could present a potentially valuable aid to patient safety and QA.

Discrepancy between fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography in detection of macular disease.

PubMed

Kozak, Igor; Morrison, Victoria L; Clark, Thomas M; Bartsch, Dirk-Uwe; Lee, Byung Ro; Falkenstein, Iryna; Tammewar, Ajay M; Mojana, Francesca; Freeman, William R

2008-04-01

To compare high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fluorescein angiography (FA) in detection of macular edema (ME) of various etiologies. In a retrospective study over a 12-month period at one retina center, data for consecutive eyes that had undergone simultaneous conventional FA (HRA; Heidelberg Engineering, Vista, CA) and StratusOCT (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA) to rule out ME were reviewed. A subset of patients underwent additional examination with extremely high-resolution (6-microm)/ultrahigh-speed spectral OCT/scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (OTI, Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada). Of 1,272 eyes, 1,208 (94.97%) had the finding of ME or subretinal fluid confirmed by both techniques. There were 49 eyes (3.86%) for which FA showed dye leakage in the macular area and OCT showed normal foveal contour. Of 10 eyes in this group that underwent imaging with ultrahigh-speed spectral OCT/scanning laser ophthalmoscopy, 8 had subtle diffuse lucencies in the retina. For 15 eyes (1.17%), OCT showed intraretinal and subretinal fluid, which was missed by FA. Both FA and high-resolution OCT are highly sensitive techniques and correlate well in detection of ME. However, there is a small chance that when performed alone they might miss existing subtle ME.

Wearable Wide-Range Strain Sensors Based on Ionic Liquids and Monitoring of Human Activities

PubMed Central

Zhang, Shao-Hui; Wang, Feng-Xia; Li, Jia-Jia; Peng, Hong-Dan; Yan, Jing-Hui; Pan, Ge-Bo

2017-01-01

Wearable sensors for detection of human activities have encouraged the development of highly elastic sensors. In particular, to capture subtle and large-scale body motion, stretchable and wide-range strain sensors are highly desired, but still a challenge. Herein, a highly stretchable and transparent stain sensor based on ionic liquids and elastic polymer has been developed. The as-obtained sensor exhibits impressive stretchability with wide-range strain (from 0.1% to 400%), good bending properties and high sensitivity, whose gauge factor can reach 7.9. Importantly, the sensors show excellent biological compatibility and succeed in monitoring the diverse human activities ranging from the complex large-scale multidimensional motions to subtle signals, including wrist, finger and elbow joint bending, finger touch, breath, speech, swallow behavior and pulse wave. PMID:29135928

Mega-geomorphology and neotectonics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lattman, L. H.

1985-01-01

For several decades, subtle neotectonic effects involving several square kilometers have been studied in detail using remote sensing, primarily various types of stereo-aerial photographs at scales of 1:10,000 to 1:80,000. These subtle effects, especially local uplifts associated with growing structures of differential compaction, have been detected by the effect on drainage patterns, changes in hydraulic geometry of individuals channels or groups of channels, tonal halos (soil) and fracture patterns. The studies were extended with the advent of thermal IR imagery particularly in tonal analysis, and SLAR primarily in fracture pattern studies. Lately, quantitative efforts have begun attempting to link measured uplift over known structures with measured changes in hydraulic geometry and alluvial deposition. Thus, efforts are now underway attempting to quantify the relationship between neo- (micro-) tectonic changes and geomorphic parameters of drainage systems.

Geologic interpretation of Seasat SAR imagery near the Rio Lacantum, Mexico

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rebillard, PH.; Dixon, T.

1984-01-01

A mosaic of the Seasat Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) optically processed images over Central America is presented. A SAR image of the Rio Lacantum area (southeastern Mexico) has been digitally processed and its interpretation is presented. The region is characterized by low relief and a dense vegetation canopy. Surface is believed to be indicative of subsurface structural features. The Seasat-SAR system had a steep imaging geometry (incidence angle 23 + or - 3 deg off-nadir) which is favorable for detection of subtle topographic variations. Subtle textural features in the image corresponding to surface topography were enhanced by image processing techniques. A structural and lithologic interpretation of the processed images is presented. Lineaments oriented NE-SW dominate and intersect broad folds trending NW-SE. Distinctive karst topography characterizes one high relief area

Intraoperative Consultation and Macroscopic Handling: The International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) Testicular Cancer Consultation Conference Recommendations.

PubMed

Verrill, Clare; Perry-Keene, Joanna; Srigley, John R; Zhou, Ming; Humphrey, Peter A; Lopez-Beltran, Antonio; Egevad, Lars; Ulbright, Thomas M; Tickoo, Satish K; Epstein, Jonathan I; Compérat, Eva; Berney, Daniel M

2018-06-01

The International Society of Urological Pathology held a conference on issues in testicular and penile pathology in Boston in March 2015, which included a presentation by the testis macroscopic features working group. The presentation focused on current published guidance for macroscopic handling of testicular tumors and retroperitoneal lymph node dissections with a summary of results from an online survey of members preceding the conference. The survey results were used to initiate discussions, but decisions on practice were made by expert consensus rather than voting. The importance of comprehensive assessment at the time of gross dissection with confirmation of findings by microscopic assessment was underscored. For example, the anatomic landmarks denoting the distinction of hilar soft tissue invasion (pT2) from spermatic cord invasion (pT3 category) can only be determined by careful macroscopic assessment in many cases. Other recommendations were to routinely sample epididymis, rete testis, hilar soft tissue, and tunica vaginalis in order to confirm macroscopic invasion of these structures or if not macroscopically evident, to exclude subtle microscopic invasion. Tumors 2 cm or less in greatest dimension should be completely embedded. If the tumor is >2 cm in greatest dimension, 10 blocks or a minimum of 1 to 2 additional blocks per centimeter should be taken (whichever is greater).

Potential of airborne LiDAR data analysis to detect subtle landforms of slope failure: Portainé, Central Pyrenees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortuño, María; Guinau, Marta; Calvet, Jaume; Furdada, Glòria; Bordonau, Jaume; Ruiz, Antonio; Camafort, Miquel

2017-10-01

Slope failures have been traditionally detected by field inspection and aerial-photo interpretation. These approaches are generally insufficient to identify subtle landforms, especially those generated during the early stages of failures, and particularly where the site is located in forested and remote terrains. We present the identification and characterization of several large and medium size slope failures previously undetected within the Orri massif, Central Pyrenees. Around 130 scarps were interpreted as being part of Rock Slope Failures (RSFs), while other smaller and more superficial failures were interpreted as complex movements combining colluvium slow flow/slope creep and RSFs. Except for one of them, these slope failures had not been previously detected, albeit they extend across a 15% of the studied region. The failures were identified through the analysis of a high-resolution (1 m) LIDAR-derived bare earth Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Most of the scarps are undetectable either by fieldwork, photo interpretation or 5 m resolution topography analysis owing to their small heights (0.5 to 2 m) and their location within forest areas. In many cases, these landforms are not evident in the field due to the presence of other minor irregularities in the slope and the lack of open views due to the forest. 2D and 3D visualization of hillshade maps with different sun azimuths provided an overall picture of the scarp assemblage and permitted a more complete analysis of the geometry of the scarps with respect to the slope and the structural fabric. The sharpness of some of the landforms suggests ongoing activity, which should be explored in future detailed studies in order to assess potential hazards affecting the Portainé ski resort. Our results reveal that close analysis of the 1 m LIDAR-derived DEM can significantly help to detect early-stage slope deformations in high mountain regions, and that expert judgment of the DEM is essential when dealing with subtle landforms. The incorporation of this approach in regional mapping represents a great advance in completing the catalogue of slope failures and will eventually contribute to a better understanding of the spatial factors controlling them.

Deletion of Gpr55 Results in Subtle Effects on Energy Metabolism, Motor Activity and Thermal Pain Sensation

PubMed Central

Ryberg, Erik; Wu, Tingting; Greasley, Peter J.; Bohlooly-Y, Mohammad; Hjorth, Stephan

2016-01-01

The G-protein coupled receptor 55 (GPR55) is activated by cannabinoids and non-cannabinoid molecules and has been speculated to play a modulatory role in a large variety of physiological and pathological processes, including in metabolically perturbed states. We therefore generated male mice deficient in the gene coding for the cannabinoid/lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI) receptor Gpr55 and characterized them under normal dietary conditions as well as during high energy dense diet feeding followed by challenge with the CB1 receptor antagonist/GPR55 agonist rimonabant. Gpr55 deficient male mice (Gpr55 KO) were phenotypically indistinguishable from their wild type (WT) siblings for the most part. However, Gpr55 KO animals displayed an intriguing nocturnal pattern of motor activity and energy expenditure (EE). During the initial 6 hours of the night, motor activity was significantly elevated without any significant effect observed in EE. Interestingly, during the last 6 hours of the night motor activity was similar but EE was significantly decreased in the Gpr55 KO mice. No significant difference in motor activity was detected during daytime, but EE was lower in the Gpr55 KO compared to WT mice. The aforementioned patterns were not associated with alterations in energy intake, daytime core body temperature, body weight (BW) or composition, although a non-significant tendency to increased adiposity was seen in Gpr55 KO compared to WT mice. Detailed analyses of daytime activity in the Open Field paradigm unveiled lower horizontal activity and rearing time for the Gpr55 KO mice. Moreover, the Gpr55 KO mice displayed significantly faster reaction time in the tail flick test, indicative of thermal hyperalgesia. The BW-decreasing effect of rimonabant in mice on long-term cafeteria diet did not differ between Gpr55 KO and WT mice. In conclusion, Gpr55 deficiency is associated with subtle effects on diurnal/nocturnal EE and motor activity behaviours but does not appear per se critically required for overall metabolism or behaviours. PMID:27941994

Detecting brain tumor in pathological slides using hyperspectral imaging

PubMed Central

Ortega, Samuel; Fabelo, Himar; Camacho, Rafael; de la Luz Plaza, María; Callicó, Gustavo M.; Sarmiento, Roberto

2018-01-01

Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is an emerging technology for medical diagnosis. This research work presents a proof-of-concept on the use of HSI data to automatically detect human brain tumor tissue in pathological slides. The samples, consisting of hyperspectral cubes collected from 400 nm to 1000 nm, were acquired from ten different patients diagnosed with high-grade glioma. Based on the diagnosis provided by pathologists, a spectral library of normal and tumor tissues was created and processed using three different supervised classification algorithms. Results prove that HSI is a suitable technique to automatically detect high-grade tumors from pathological slides. PMID:29552415

Detecting brain tumor in pathological slides using hyperspectral imaging.

PubMed

Ortega, Samuel; Fabelo, Himar; Camacho, Rafael; de la Luz Plaza, María; Callicó, Gustavo M; Sarmiento, Roberto

2018-02-01

Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is an emerging technology for medical diagnosis. This research work presents a proof-of-concept on the use of HSI data to automatically detect human brain tumor tissue in pathological slides. The samples, consisting of hyperspectral cubes collected from 400 nm to 1000 nm, were acquired from ten different patients diagnosed with high-grade glioma. Based on the diagnosis provided by pathologists, a spectral library of normal and tumor tissues was created and processed using three different supervised classification algorithms. Results prove that HSI is a suitable technique to automatically detect high-grade tumors from pathological slides.

Studying non-mammalian models? Not a fool's ERRand!

PubMed Central

Bardet, Pierre-Luc; Laudet, Vincent; Vanacker, Jean-Marc

2006-01-01

Through studies in mammalian model systems, the orphan nuclear receptor Estrogen- Receptor Related (ERR) α has been shown to interfere with estrogen signaling and may therefore be an interesting pharmaceutical target in estrogen-related pathologies. ERRα is also involved in energy storage and consumption and its modulation may be of relevance in the treatment of obesity and diabetes. Recent data have also been published studying the effects of this receptor, as well as other members of the ERR family, in non-mammalian animal model systems. Besides indications concerning their mechanisms of action, this analysis demonstrated a role for ERRα in controlling cellular movements and suggested that ERR receptors may be implicated in a more subtle range of processes than originally envisioned. PMID:16580224

Teleradiology Via The Naval Remote Medical Diagnosis System (RMDS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rasmussen, Will; Stevens, Ilya; Gerber, F. H.; Kuhlman, Jayne A.

1982-01-01

Testing was conducted to obtain qualitative and quantitative (statistical) data on radiology performance using the Remote Medical Diagnosis System (RMDS) Advanced Development Models (ADMs)1. Based upon data collected during testing with professional radiologists, this analysis addresses the clinical utility of radiographic images transferred through six possible RMDS transmission modes. These radiographs were also viewed under closed-circuit television (CCTV) and lightbox conditions to provide a basis for comparison. The analysis indicates that the RMDS ADM terminals (with a system video resolution of 525 x 256 x 6) would provide satisfactory radiographic images for radiology consultations in emergency cases with gross pathological disorders. However, in cases involving more subtle findings, a system video resolution of 525 x 512 x 8 would be preferable.

Boomerang sign on MRI.

PubMed

Hirsch, Karen G; Hoesch, Robert E

2012-06-01

Altered mental status and more subtle cognitive and personality changes after traumatic brain injury (TBI) are pervasive problems in patients who survive initial injury. MRI is not necessarily part of the diagnostic evaluation of these patients. Case report with relevant image and review of the literature. Injury to the corpus callosum is commonly described in traumatic brain injury; however, extensive lesions in the splenium are not well described. This image shows an important pattern of brain injury and demonstrates a common clinical syndrome seen in patients with corpus callosum pathology. Injury to the splenium of the corpus callosum due to trauma may be extensive and can cause significant neurologic deficits. MRI is important in the diagnostic evaluation of patients with cognitive changes after TBI.

Automatic detection of referral patients due to retinal pathologies through data mining.

PubMed

Quellec, Gwenolé; Lamard, Mathieu; Erginay, Ali; Chabouis, Agnès; Massin, Pascale; Cochener, Béatrice; Cazuguel, Guy

2016-04-01

With the increased prevalence of retinal pathologies, automating the detection of these pathologies is becoming more and more relevant. In the past few years, many algorithms have been developed for the automated detection of a specific pathology, typically diabetic retinopathy, using eye fundus photography. No matter how good these algorithms are, we believe many clinicians would not use automatic detection tools focusing on a single pathology and ignoring any other pathology present in the patient's retinas. To solve this issue, an algorithm for characterizing the appearance of abnormal retinas, as well as the appearance of the normal ones, is presented. This algorithm does not focus on individual images: it considers examination records consisting of multiple photographs of each retina, together with contextual information about the patient. Specifically, it relies on data mining in order to learn diagnosis rules from characterizations of fundus examination records. The main novelty is that the content of examination records (images and context) is characterized at multiple levels of spatial and lexical granularity: 1) spatial flexibility is ensured by an adaptive decomposition of composite retinal images into a cascade of regions, 2) lexical granularity is ensured by an adaptive decomposition of the feature space into a cascade of visual words. This multigranular representation allows for great flexibility in automatically characterizing normality and abnormality: it is possible to generate diagnosis rules whose precision and generalization ability can be traded off depending on data availability. A variation on usual data mining algorithms, originally designed to mine static data, is proposed so that contextual and visual data at adaptive granularity levels can be mined. This framework was evaluated in e-ophtha, a dataset of 25,702 examination records from the OPHDIAT screening network, as well as in the publicly-available Messidor dataset. It was successfully applied to the detection of patients that should be referred to an ophthalmologist and also to the specific detection of several pathologies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of pathological data of renal biopsy at one single center in China from 1987 to 2012.

PubMed

Zhang, Xueguang; Liu, Shuwen; Tang, Li; Wu, Jie; Chen, Pu; Yin, Zhong; Li, Minxia; Xie, Yuansheng; Cai, Guangyan; Wei, Ribao; Qiu, Qiang; Wang, Yuanda; Shi, Suozhu; Chen, Xiangmei

2014-01-01

In China, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease has increased significantly. Many studies shows that the spectrum of kidney disease had changed in recent years. We retrospectively analyzed the pathological types of renal biopsy and its spectrum change at the General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army from December 1987 to December 2012, in order to offer new supporting evidences for further specifying the distribution of renal pathological types in China. According to the "Revised Protocol for the Histological Typing of Glomerulopathy" (WHO, 1995), pathological diagnosis of renal biopsy was classified, detection rate of each pathological type was summarized (i.e., percentage of total renal biopsy cases), study period was divided at an interval of 5 years, and age-stratified distribution change of main pathological types was analyzed. The proportion of pathological types in 11 618 cases of renal biopsy was as follows: primary glomerulonephritis (PGN, 70.7%), secondary glomerulonephritis (SGN, 20.7%), tubular-interstitial nephropathy (4.0%), hereditary/rare nephropathy (0.3%), end-stage renal disease (0.9%), and unclassified renal disease (3.3%). Among PGN, there was IgA nephropathy (IgAN, 37.0%), membranous nephropathy (MN, 11.8%), mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (MsPGN, 8.9%), minimal change disease (MCD, 6.6%), and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (3.9%). Among SGN there was lupus nephritis (LN, 5.5%), Henoch-Schönlein purpura glomerulonephritis (5.3%), hepatitis B virus-associated nephritis (HBVAN, 3.03%), diabetic nephropathy (2.2%), and hypertension/malignant hypertension-associated renal damage (1.9%). Pathological data were analyzed from 1987-1992 to 2008-2012 (after age adjustment). Detection rate of IgAN tended to rise (P < 0.001). Detection rates of MN and MCD rose significantly (P < 0.001), but detection rate of MsPGN dropped significantly (P < 0.001). Among SGN, detection rate of HBVAN tended to drop (P < 0.001). In China, PGN was the most common glomerulopathy (mostly IgAN), LN was the most common SGN, and detection rate of MN and MCD rose significantly.

The Application of MRI for Depiction of Subtle Blood Brain Barrier Disruption in Stroke

PubMed Central

Israeli, David; Tanne, David; Daniels, Dianne; Last, David; Shneor, Ran; Guez, David; Landau, Efrat; Roth, Yiftach; Ocherashvilli, Aharon; Bakon, Mati; Hoffman, Chen; Weinberg, Amit; Volk, Talila; Mardor, Yael

2011-01-01

The development of imaging methodologies for detecting blood-brain-barrier (BBB) disruption may help predict stroke patient's propensity to develop hemorrhagic complications following reperfusion. We have developed a delayed contrast extravasation MRI-based methodology enabling real-time depiction of subtle BBB abnormalities in humans with high sensitivity to BBB disruption and high spatial resolution. The increased sensitivity to subtle BBB disruption is obtained by acquiring T1-weighted MRI at relatively long delays (~15 minutes) after contrast injection and subtracting from them images acquired immediately after contrast administration. In addition, the relatively long delays allow for acquisition of high resolution images resulting in high resolution BBB disruption maps. The sensitivity is further increased by image preprocessing with corrections for intensity variations and with whole body (rigid+elastic) registration. Since only two separate time points are required, the time between the two acquisitions can be used for acquiring routine clinical data, keeping the total imaging time to a minimum. A proof of concept study was performed in 34 patients with ischemic stroke and 2 patients with brain metastases undergoing high resolution T1-weighted MRI acquired at 3 time points after contrast injection. The MR images were pre-processed and subtracted to produce BBB disruption maps. BBB maps of patients with brain metastases and ischemic stroke presented different patterns of BBB opening. The significant advantage of the long extravasation time was demonstrated by a dynamic-contrast-enhancement study performed continuously for 18 min. The high sensitivity of our methodology enabled depiction of clear BBB disruption in 27% of the stroke patients who did not have abnormalities on conventional contrast-enhanced MRI. In 36% of the patients, who had abnormalities detectable by conventional MRI, the BBB disruption volumes were significantly larger in the maps than in conventional MRI. These results demonstrate the advantages of delayed contrast extravasation in increasing the sensitivity to subtle BBB disruption in ischemic stroke patients. The calculated disruption maps provide clear depiction of significant volumes of BBB disruption unattainable by conventional contrast-enhanced MRI. PMID:21209786

The application of MRI for depiction of subtle blood brain barrier disruption in stroke.

PubMed

Israeli, David; Tanne, David; Daniels, Dianne; Last, David; Shneor, Ran; Guez, David; Landau, Efrat; Roth, Yiftach; Ocherashvilli, Aharon; Bakon, Mati; Hoffman, Chen; Weinberg, Amit; Volk, Talila; Mardor, Yael

2010-12-26

The development of imaging methodologies for detecting blood-brain-barrier (BBB) disruption may help predict stroke patient's propensity to develop hemorrhagic complications following reperfusion. We have developed a delayed contrast extravasation MRI-based methodology enabling real-time depiction of subtle BBB abnormalities in humans with high sensitivity to BBB disruption and high spatial resolution. The increased sensitivity to subtle BBB disruption is obtained by acquiring T1-weighted MRI at relatively long delays (~15 minutes) after contrast injection and subtracting from them images acquired immediately after contrast administration. In addition, the relatively long delays allow for acquisition of high resolution images resulting in high resolution BBB disruption maps. The sensitivity is further increased by image preprocessing with corrections for intensity variations and with whole body (rigid+elastic) registration. Since only two separate time points are required, the time between the two acquisitions can be used for acquiring routine clinical data, keeping the total imaging time to a minimum. A proof of concept study was performed in 34 patients with ischemic stroke and 2 patients with brain metastases undergoing high resolution T1-weighted MRI acquired at 3 time points after contrast injection. The MR images were pre-processed and subtracted to produce BBB disruption maps. BBB maps of patients with brain metastases and ischemic stroke presented different patterns of BBB opening. The significant advantage of the long extravasation time was demonstrated by a dynamic-contrast-enhancement study performed continuously for 18 min. The high sensitivity of our methodology enabled depiction of clear BBB disruption in 27% of the stroke patients who did not have abnormalities on conventional contrast-enhanced MRI. In 36% of the patients, who had abnormalities detectable by conventional MRI, the BBB disruption volumes were significantly larger in the maps than in conventional MRI. These results demonstrate the advantages of delayed contrast extravasation in increasing the sensitivity to subtle BBB disruption in ischemic stroke patients. The calculated disruption maps provide clear depiction of significant volumes of BBB disruption unattainable by conventional contrast-enhanced MRI.

Oxygen availability and spreading depolarizations provide complementary prognostic information in neuromonitoring of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patients.

PubMed

Winkler, Maren Kl; Dengler, Nora; Hecht, Nils; Hartings, Jed A; Kang, Eun J; Major, Sebastian; Martus, Peter; Vajkoczy, Peter; Woitzik, Johannes; Dreier, Jens P

2017-05-01

Multimodal neuromonitoring in neurocritical care increasingly includes electrocorticography to measure epileptic events and spreading depolarizations. Spreading depolarization causes spreading depression of activity (=isoelectricity) in electrically active tissue. If the depression is long-lasting, further spreading depolarizations occur in still isoelectric tissue where no activity can be suppressed. Such spreading depolarizations are termed isoelectric and are assumed to indicate energy compromise. However, experimental and clinical recordings suggest that long-lasting spreading depolarization-induced depression and isoelectric spreading depolarizations are often recorded outside of the actual ischemic zones, allowing the remote diagnosis of delayed cerebral ischemia after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Here, we analyzed simultaneous electrocorticography and tissue partial pressure of oxygen recording in 33 aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patients. Multiple regression showed that both peak total depression duration per recording day and mean baseline tissue partial pressure of oxygen were independent predictors of outcome. Moreover, tissue partial pressure of oxygen preceding spreading depolarization was similar and differences in tissue partial pressure of oxygen responses to spreading depolarization were only subtle between isoelectric spreading depolarizations and spreading depressions. This further supports that, similar to clustering of spreading depolarizations, long spreading depolarization-induced periods of isoelectricity are useful to detect energy compromise remotely, which is valuable because the exact location of future developing pathology is unknown at the time when the neurosurgeon implants recording devices.

Patterns of brain activity during a semantic task differentiate normal aging from early Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

McGeown, William Jonathan; Shanks, Michael Fraser; Forbes-McKay, Katrina Elaine; Venneri, Annalena

2009-09-30

In a study of the effects of normal and pathological aging on semantic-related brain activity, 29 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 19 controls subjects (10 young and 9 older controls) performed a version of the Pyramids and Palm Trees Test that had been adapted for use during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Young and older controls activated the left inferior and middle frontal gyri, precuneus and superior parietal lobule. Right frontal and left temporal cortices were activated only in the young. The AD group activated only the left prefrontal and cingulate cortex. Separate analyses of high- and low-performing AD subgroups showed a similar pattern of activation in the left frontal lobe, although activiation was more widespread in low performers. High performers significantly deactivated anterior midline frontal structures, however, while low performers did not. When the older adult and AD groups were combined, there was a significant positive correlation between left frontal and parietal activation and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score (covarying for age), suggesting a disease effect. A significant negative correlation between activation in the left temporal cortex and age (covarying for MMSE score) reflected a possible age effect. These differential effects suggest that semantic activation paradigms might aid diagnosis in those cases for whom conventional assessments lack the necessary sensitivity to detect subtle changes.

The Subjective and Objective Interface of Bias Detection on Language Tests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ross, Steven J.; Okabe, Junko

2006-01-01

Test validity is predicated on there being a lack of bias in tasks, items, or test content. It is well-known that factors such as test candidates' mother tongue, life experiences, and socialization practices of the wider community may serve to inject subtle interactions between individuals' background and the test content. When the gender of the…

Accent Detection and Social Cognition: Evidence of Protracted Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Creel, Sarah C.

2018-01-01

How and when do children become aware that speakers have different accents? While adults readily make a variety of subtle social inferences based on speakers' accents, findings from children are more mixed: while one line of research suggests that even infants may be acutely sensitive to accent unfamiliarity, other studies suggest that 5-year-olds…

P301L tau expression affects glutamate release and clearance in the hippocampal trisynaptic pathway.

PubMed

Hunsberger, Holly C; Rudy, Carolyn C; Batten, Seth R; Gerhardt, Greg A; Reed, Miranda N

2015-01-01

Individuals at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) often exhibit hippocampal hyperexcitability. A growing body of evidence suggests that perturbations in the glutamatergic tripartite synapse may underlie this hyperexcitability. Here, we used a tau mouse model of AD (rTg(TauP301L)4510) to examine the effects of tau pathology on hippocampal glutamate regulation. We found a 40% increase in hippocampal vesicular glutamate transporter, which packages glutamate into vesicles, and has previously been shown to influence glutamate release, and a 40% decrease in hippocampal glutamate transporter 1, the major glutamate transporter responsible for removing glutamate from the extracellular space. To determine whether these alterations affected glutamate regulation in vivo, we measured tonic glutamate levels, potassium-evoked glutamate release, and glutamate uptake/clearance in the dentate gyrus, cornu ammonis 3(CA3), and cornu ammonis 1(CA1) regions of the hippocampus. P301L tau expression resulted in a 4- and 7-fold increase in potassium-evoked glutamate release in the dentate gyrus and CA3, respectively, and significantly decreased glutamate clearance in all three regions. Both release and clearance correlated with memory performance in the hippocampal-dependent Barnes maze task. Alterations in mice expressing P301L were observed at a time when tau pathology was subtle and before readily detectable neuron loss. These data suggest novel mechanisms by which tau may mediate hyperexcitability. Pre-synaptic vesicular glutamate transporters (vGLUTs) package glutamate into vesicles before exocytosis into the synaptic cleft. Once in the extracellular space, glutamate acts on glutamate receptors. Glutamate is removed from the extracellular space by excitatory amino acid transporters, including GLT-1, predominantly localized to glia. P301L tau expression increases vGLUT expression and glutamate release, while also decreasing GLT-1 expression and glutamate clearance. © 2014 International Society for Neurochemistry.

Use of whole body CT to detect patterns of CPR-related injuries after sudden cardiac arrest.

PubMed

Dunham, Gregor M; Perez-Girbes, Alexandre; Bolster, Ferdia; Sheehan, Kellie; Linnau, Ken F

2017-11-09

We have recently implemented a dedicated sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) - whole-body computed tomography (WBCT) protocol to evaluate SCA patients with return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) following cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The aim of this study is to evaluate the number and pattern of CPR-related injuries in ROSC patients with SCA-WBCT. Single-centre retrospective review of 39 patients (13 female; 20 male, mean age 51.8 years) with non-traumatic, out-of-hospital SCA and ROSC and evaluation with dedicated SCA-WBCT over a 10-month period. In-hospital mortality was 54%. CPR-related injuries were detected in 85% (33/39). Chest injuries were most common on WBCT: 85% (33) subjects had rib fractures (mean of 8.5 fractures/subject); 31% (12) sternal fractures; 13% (5) mediastinal haematoma; 10% (4) pneumothorax; 8% (3) pneumomediastinum and 3% (1) haemothorax. Three subjects (8%) had abdominal injuries on WBCT, including one hepatic haematoma with active haemorrhage. CPR-related injuries on WBCT after ROSC are common, with serial rib fractures detected most commonly. An unexpectedly high rate of abdominal injuries was detected on SCA-WBCT. Radiologists need to be attuned to the spectrum of CPR-related injuries in WBCT, including abdominal injuries and subtle rib fractures. • CPR frequently causes injuries. • Radiologists should be aware of the spectrum of CPR related injuries. • Rib fractures are frequent and radiologic findings often subtle. • Clinically unexpected abdominal injuries may be present.

Optimization of Ultrasound Transducer Positioning for Endotracheal Tube Placement Confirmation in Cadaveric Model.

PubMed

Lonchena, Tiffany; So, Sokpoleak; Ibinson, James; Roolf, Peter; Orebaugh, Steven L

2017-02-01

Sonography has been suggested as a possible means of endotracheal tube (ETT) placement confirmation. However, optimum ultrasound transducer placement has not been established. Using a cadaveric model, ETT placement by the sonographic appearance at the thyroid cartilage, cricoid cartilage, and suprasternal notch in the upper airway was assessed to determine which ultrasound transducer placement offered the most optimal images for ETT confirmation in the airway. One provider intubated 5 cadavers, with the ultrasound transducer at each of the 3 levels, for a total of 30 intubations per specimen, while 2 providers assigned a visual score of 1 (subtle), 2 (clear), or 3 (pronounced) to each sonogram of the ETT in the airway. At the level of the thyroid cartilage, tracheal intubation was detected at a rate of 40%, with a median visualization scale of 1 (subtle movement). At the level of the cricoid cartilage, the visualization scale improved to a median of 2 (clear movement), with a 70% intubation detection rate. At the level of the suprasternal notch, 100% of the tracheal intubations were visualized on sonography, with a median score of 3 (pronounced movement). In comparing sonographic detection of ETT placement at 3 levels of the upper airway in a cadaveric model, our results clearly indicate that visualization was superior at the level of the suprasternal notch, with 100% of intubations detected with the best visualization scores. © 2017 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.

SPECT/CT imaging in general orthopedic practice.

PubMed

Scharf, Stephen

2009-09-01

The availability of hybrid devices that combine the latest single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging technology with multislice computed tomography (CT) scanning has allowed us to detect subtle, nonspecific abnormalities on bone scans and interpret them as specific focal areas of pathology. Abnormalities in the spine can be separated into those caused by pars fractures, facet joint arthritis, or osteophyte formation on vertebral bodies. Compression fractures can be distinguished from severe degenerative disease, both of which can cause intense activity across the spine on either planar or SPECT imaging. Localizing activity in patients who have had spinal fusion can provide tremendous insight into the causes of therapeutic failures. Infections of the spine now can be diagnosed with gallium SPECT/CT, despite the fact that gallium has long been abandoned because of its failure to detect spine infection on either planar or SPECT imaging. Small focal abnormalities in the feet and ankles can be localized well enough to make specific orthopedic diagnoses on the basis of their location. Moreover, when radiographic imaging provides equivocal or inadequate information, SPECT/CT can provide a road map for further diagnostic studies and has been invaluable in planning surgery. Our ability to localize activity within a bone or at an articular surface has allowed us to distinguish between fractures and joint disease. Increased activity associated with congenital anomalies, such as tarsal coalition and Bertolotti's syndrome have allowed us to understand the pathophysiology of these conditions, to confirm them as the cause of the patient's symptoms, and to provide information that is useful in determining appropriate clinical management. As our experience broadens, SPECT/CT will undoubtedly become an important tool in the evaluation and management of a wider variety of orthopedic patients.

Novel Bioimaging Techniques of Metals by Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry for Diagnosis Of Fibrotic and Cirrhotic Liver Disorders

PubMed Central

Gassler, Nikolaus; Bosserhoff, Anja K.; Becker, J. Sabine

2013-01-01

Background and Aims Hereditary disorders associated with metal overload or unwanted toxic accumulation of heavy metals can lead to morbidity and mortality. Patients with hereditary hemochromatosis or Wilson disease for example may develop severe hepatic pathology including fibrosis, cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. While relevant disease genes are identified and genetic testing is applicable, liver biopsy in combination with metal detecting techniques such as energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) is still applied for accurate diagnosis of metals. Vice versa, several metals are needed in trace amounts for carrying out vital functions and their deficiency due to rapid growth, pregnancy, excessive blood loss, and insufficient nutritional or digestive uptake results in organic and systemic shortcomings. Established in situ techniques, such as EDX-ray spectroscopy, are not sensitive enough to analyze trace metal distribution and the quantification of metal images is difficult. Methods In this study, we developed a quantitative biometal imaging technique of human liver tissue by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) in order to compare the distribution of selected metals in cryo-sections of healthy and fibrotic/cirrhotic livers. Results Most of the metals are homogeneous distributed within the normal tissue, while they are redirected within fibrotic livers resulting in significant metal deposits. Moreover, total iron and copper concentrations in diseased liver were found about 3-5 times higher than in normal liver samples. Conclusions Biometal imaging via LA-ICP-MS is a sensitive innovative diagnostic tool that will impact clinical practice in identification and evaluation of hepatic metal disorders and to detect subtle metal variations during ongoing hepatic fibrogenesis. PMID:23505552

MRI as a tool to study brain structure from mouse models for mental retardation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verhoye, Marleen; Sijbers, Jan; Kooy, R. F.; Reyniers, E.; Fransen, E.; Oostra, B. A.; Willems, Peter; Van der Linden, Anne-Marie

1998-07-01

Nowadays, transgenic mice are a common tool to study brain abnormalities in neurological disorders. These studies usually rely on neuropathological examinations, which have a number of drawbacks, including the risk of artefacts introduced by fixation and dehydration procedures. Here we present 3D Fast Spin Echo Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in combination with 2D and 3D segmentation techniques as a powerful tool to study brain anatomy. We set up MRI of the brain in mouse models for the fragile X syndrome (FMR1 knockout) and Corpus callosum hypoplasia, mental Retardation, Adducted thumbs, Spastic paraplegia and Hydrocephalus (CRASH) syndrome (L1CAM knockout). Our major goal was to determine qualitative and quantitative differences in specific brain structures. MRI of the brain of fragile X and CRASH patients has revealed alterations in the size of specific brain structures, including the cerebellar vermis and the ventricular system. In the present MRI study of the brain from fragile X knockout mice, we have measured the size of the brain, cerebellum and 4th ventricle, which were reported as abnormal in human fragile X patients, but found no evidence for altered brain regions in the mouse model. In CRASH syndrome, the most specific brain abnormalities are vermis hypoplasia and abnormalities of the ventricular system with some degree of hydrocephalus. With the MRI study of L1CAM knockout mice we found vermis hypoplasia, abnormalities of the ventricular system including dilatation of the lateral and the 4th ventricles. These subtle abnormalities were not detected upon standard neuropathological examination. Here we proved that this sensitive MRI technique allows to measure small differences which can not always be detected by means of pathology.

Temporal variation in spectral detection thresholds of substrate and vegetation in AVIRIS images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sabol, Donald E., Jr.; Roberts, Dar A.; Smith, Milton O.; Adams, John B.

1992-01-01

The ability to map changes over large surface areas over time is one of the advantages in using remote sensing as a monitoring tool. Temporal changes in the surface may be gradual, making them difficult to detect in the short-term, and because they commonly occur at the subpixel scale, they may be difficult to detect in the long-term as well. Also, subtle changes may be real or merely an artifact of image noise. It is, therefore, necessary to understand the factors that limit the detection of surface materials in evaluating temporal data. The spectral detectability of vegetation and soil in the 1990 July and October Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data of Jasper Ridge, CA was evaluated and compared.

Information transmission using non-poisson regular firing.

PubMed

Koyama, Shinsuke; Omi, Takahiro; Kass, Robert E; Shinomoto, Shigeru

2013-04-01

In many cortical areas, neural spike trains do not follow a Poisson process. In this study, we investigate a possible benefit of non-Poisson spiking for information transmission by studying the minimal rate fluctuation that can be detected by a Bayesian estimator. The idea is that an inhomogeneous Poisson process may make it difficult for downstream decoders to resolve subtle changes in rate fluctuation, but by using a more regular non-Poisson process, the nervous system can make rate fluctuations easier to detect. We evaluate the degree to which regular firing reduces the rate fluctuation detection threshold. We find that the threshold for detection is reduced in proportion to the coefficient of variation of interspike intervals.

ERP-based detection of brain pathology in rat models for preclinical Alzheimer's disease

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nouriziabari, Seyed Berdia

Early pathological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) include the accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau protein (HP-tau) in the entorhinal cortex and progressive loss of basal forebrain (BF) cholinergic neurons. These pathologies are known to remain asymptomatic for many years before AD is clinically diagnosed; however, they may induce aberrant brain processing which can be captured as an abnormality in event-related potentials (ERPs). Here, we examined cortical ERPs while a differential associative learning paradigm was applied to adult male rats with entorhinal HP-tau, pharmacological blockade of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, or both conditions. Despite no impairment in differential associative and reversal learning, each pathological feature induced distinct abnormality in cortical ERPs to an extent that was sufficient for machine classifiers to accurately detect a specific type of pathology based on these ERP features. These results highlight a potential use of ERPs during differential associative learning as a biomarker for asymptomatic AD pathology.

Awareness of subtle emotional feelings: a comparison of long-term meditators and nonmeditators.

PubMed

Nielsen, Lisbeth; Kaszniak, Alfred W

2006-08-01

The authors explored whether meditation training to enhance emotional awareness improves discrimination of subtle emotional feelings hypothesized to guide decision-making. Long-term meditators and nonmeditators were compared on measures of self-reported valence and arousal, skin conductance response (SCR), and facial electromyography (EMG) to masked and nonmasked emotional pictures, and on measures of heartbeat detection and self-reported emotional awareness. Groups responded similarly to nonmasked pictures. In the masked condition, only controls showed discrimination in valence self-reports. However, meditators reported greater emotional clarity than controls, and meditators with higher clarity had reduced arousal and improved valence discrimination in the masked condition. These findings provide qualified support for the somatic marker hypothesis and suggest that meditation may influence how emotionally ambiguous information is processed, regulated, and represented in conscious awareness. (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved

[Diagnostic significance of pathologic synkinesis for detection of pyramidal pathology].

PubMed

Baliasnyĭ, M M

1991-01-01

Five types of pathological synkinesis (++blepharo-ocular, ++blepharo-facial, ++bucco-manual, ++digito-digital on the hands, ++pedo-digital) are described. They are of definite importance for revealing pyramidal pathology including its early stages as well as for objective evaluation and observation of the time-course of changes in the illness.

Kinetic and kinematic evaluation of compensatory movements of the head, pelvis and thoracolumbar spine associated with asymmetric weight bearing of the pelvic limbs in trotting dogs.

PubMed

Hicks, D A; Millis, D L

2014-01-01

To determine ground reaction forces, head and pelvis vertical motion (HVM and PVM, respectively), and thoraco-lumbar lateral angular motion (LAM) of the spine using kinematic gait analysis in dogs with mild asymmetric weight-bearing of the pelvic limbs while trotting. Twenty-seven hound-type dogs were fitted with reflective markers placed on the sagittal crest of the skull, the ischiatic tuberosity, and thoracolumbar spine of dogs to track motion while trotting. Kinetic and kinematic data were used to characterize asymmetry between the left and right pelvic limbs, and to describe HVM, PVM and thoraco-lumbar LAM. Maximum and minimum position and total motion values were determined for each measured variable. Dogs with asymmetric weight bearing of the pelvic limbs had greater PVM on the side with a greater peak vertical force (PVF), and greater thoraco-lumbar LAM toward the side with a lower PVF while trotting. No differences in mean HVM were detected, and there were no significant correlations between the magnitude of HVM, PVM and thoraco-lumbar LAM and the degree of asymmetric weight bearing. Dogs with subtle asymmetric weight bearing of a pelvic limb had patterns of body motion that may be useful in identifying subtle lameness in dogs; greater PVM on the side with greater weight bearing and greater thoraco-lumbar LAM toward the side with less weight bearing while trotting. Description of these compensatory movements is valuable when evaluating dogs with subtle weight bearing asymmetry in the pelvic limbs and may improve the sensitivity of lameness detection during subjective clinical lameness examination.

Multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging in the acute and sub-acute phase of mild traumatic brain injury: can we see the difference?

PubMed

Toth, Arnold; Kovacs, Noemi; Perlaki, Gabor; Orsi, Gergely; Aradi, Mihaly; Komaromy, Hedvig; Ezer, Erzsebet; Bukovics, Peter; Farkas, Orsolya; Janszky, Jozsef; Doczi, Tamas; Buki, Andras; Schwarcz, Attila

2013-01-01

Advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods were shown to be able to detect the subtle structural consequences of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The objective of this study was to investigate the acute structural alterations and recovery after mTBI, using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to reveal axonal pathology, volumetric analysis, and susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) to detect microhemorrhage. Fourteen patients with mTBI who had computed tomography with negative results underwent MRI within 3 days and 1 month after injury. High resolution T1-weighted imaging, DTI, and SWI, were performed at both time points. A control group of 14 matched volunteers were also examined following the same imaging protocol and time interval. Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) were performed on DTI data to reveal group differences. T1-weighted images were fed into Freesurfer volumetric analysis. TBSS showed fractional anisotropy (FA) to be significantly (corrected p<0.05) lower, and mean diffusivity (MD) to be higher in the mTBI group in several white matter tracts (FA=40,737; MD=39,078 voxels) compared with controls at 72 hours after injury and still 1month later for FA. Longitudinal analysis revealed significant change (i.e., normalization) of FA and MD over 1 month dominantly in the left hemisphere (FA=3408; MD=7450 voxels). A significant (p<0.05) decrease in cortical volumes (mean 1%) and increase in ventricular volumes (mean 3.4%) appeared at 1 month after injury in the mTBI group. SWI did not reveal microhemorrhage in our patients. Our findings present dynamic micro- and macrostructural changes occurring in the acute to sub-acute phase in mTBI, in very mildly injured patients lacking microhemorrhage detectable by SWI. These results underscore the importance of strictly defined image acquisition time points when performing MRI studies on patients with mTBI.

A Personal Storm Warning Service

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

Although lightning detection systems operated by government agencies, utilities and other businesses provide storm warnings, this information often does not reach the public until some time after the observations have been made. A low-cost personal lightning detector offers a significant safety advantage to private flyers, boaters, golfers and others. Developed by Airborne Research Associates, the detectors originated in Space Shuttle tests of an optical lightning detection technique. The commercial device is pointed toward a cloud to detect invisible intracloud lightning by sensing subtle changes in light presence. The majority of the sales have been to golf courses. Additional products and more advanced applications are in progress.

On the possibility of detecting weak magnetic fields in variable white dwarfs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Philip W.; Hansen, Carl J.; Pesnell, W. Dean; Kawaler, Steven D.

1989-01-01

It is suggested that 'weak' magnetic fields of strengths less than 10 to the 6th G may be detectable in some variable white dwarfs. Weak fields can cause subtle changes in the Fourier power spectra of these stars in the form of 'splitting' in frequency of otherwise degenerate signals. Present-day observational and analysis techniques are capable of detecting these changes. It is suggested suggested, by listing some well-studied candidate stars, that perhaps the magnetic signature of splitting has already been observed in at least one object and that the difficult task of intensive measurements of weak fields should now be undertaken of those candidates.

Probing Structural Changes among Analogous Inhibitor-Bound Forms of HIV-1 Protease and a Drug-Resistant Mutant in Solution by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.

PubMed

Khan, Shahid N; Persons, John D; Paulsen, Janet L; Guerrero, Michel; Schiffer, Celia A; Kurt-Yilmaz, Nese; Ishima, Rieko

2018-03-13

In the era of state-of-the-art inhibitor design and high-resolution structural studies, detection of significant but small protein structural differences in the inhibitor-bound forms is critical to further developing the inhibitor. Here, we probed differences in HIV-1 protease (PR) conformation among darunavir and four analogous inhibitor-bound forms and compared them with a drug-resistant mutant using nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shifts. Changes in amide chemical shifts of wild-type (WT) PR among these inhibitor-bound forms, ΔCSP, were subtle but detectable and extended >10 Å from the inhibitor-binding site, asymmetrically between the two subunits of PR. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed differential local hydrogen bonding as the molecular basis of this remote asymmetric change. Inhibitor-bound forms of the drug-resistant mutant also showed a similar long-range ΔCSP pattern. Differences in ΔCSP values of the WT and the mutant (ΔΔCSPs) were observed at the inhibitor-binding site and in the surrounding region. Comparing chemical shift changes among highly analogous inhibitors and ΔΔCSPs effectively eliminated local environmental effects stemming from different chemical groups and enabled exploitation of these sensitive parameters to detect subtle protein conformational changes and to elucidate asymmetric and remote conformational effects upon inhibitor interaction.

State-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging of pancreatic cancer.

PubMed

Schima, Wolfgang; Ba-Ssalamah, Ahmed; Goetzinger, Peter; Scharitzer, Martina; Koelblinger, Claus

2007-12-01

Technical advances of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including ultrahigh-field magnetic resonance at 3.0 T, parallel imaging techniques, and multichannel receive coils of the abdomen, have promoted MRI of the pancreas. For adenocarcinoma, which is the most common malignant pancreatic tumor, helical CT has been most often used for detection and staging, but it has limitations in the detection of small cancers 2 cm in diameter or less (sensitivity, 63%). Moreover, it is not very accurate in determining nonresectability, because small liver metastases, peritoneal carcinomatosis, and subtle signs of vascular infiltration may be missed. At ultrahigh field at 3.0 T, gadolinium-enhanced MRI using volume-interpolated 3-dimensional gradient-recalled echo pulse sequences with near-isotropic voxels are very useful for detection of subtle abnormalities. Mangafodipir-enhanced MRI reveals a very high tumor-pancreas contrast, which helps to diagnose small cancers. Contrast-enhanced MRI is a problem-solving tool in case of equivocal CT: it helps to differentiate between cancer and focal pancreatitis. Neuroendocrine carcinoma may present with a spectrum of appearances at MRI, but the primary tumor and liver metastases are hypervascular in approximately 70%. In this article, pancreas imaging protocols for 1.5 and 3.0 T are explained. We present the imaging features of pancreatic cancer and the important questions in staging, which should be addressed by the radiologist.

Rapid multislice T1 mapping of mouse myocardium: Application to quantification of manganese uptake in α-Dystrobrevin knockout mice.

PubMed

Jiang, Kai; Li, Wen; Li, Wei; Jiao, Sen; Castel, Laurie; Van Wagoner, David R; Yu, Xin

2015-11-01

The aim of this study was to develop a rapid, multislice cardiac T1 mapping method in mice and to apply the method to quantify manganese (Mn(2+)) uptake in a mouse model with altered Ca(2+) channel activity. An electrocardiography-triggered multislice saturation-recovery Look-Locker method was developed and validated both in vitro and in vivo. A two-dose study was performed to investigate the kinetics of T1 shortening, Mn(2+) relaxivity in myocardium, and the impact of Mn(2+) on cardiac function. The sensitivity of Mn(2+)-enhanced MRI in detecting subtle changes in altered Ca(2+) channel activity was evaluated in a mouse model with α-dystrobrevin knockout. Validation studies showed strong agreement between the current method and an established method. High Mn(2+) dose led to significantly accelerated T1 shortening. Heart rate decreased during Mn(2+) infusion, while ejection ratio increased slightly at the end of imaging protocol. No statistical difference in cardiac function was detected between the two dose groups. Mice with α-dystrobrevin knockout showed enhanced Mn(2+) uptake in vivo. In vitro patch-clamp study showed increased Ca(2+) channel activity. The saturation recovery method provides rapid T1 mapping in mouse hearts, which allowed sensitive detection of subtle changes in Mn(2+) uptake in α-dystrobrevin knockout mice. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Improving label-free detection of circulating melanoma cells by photoacoustic flow cytometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Huan; Wang, Qiyan; Pang, Kai; Zhou, Quanyu; Yang, Ping; He, Hao; Wei, Xunbin

2018-02-01

Melanoma is a kind of a malignant tumor of melanocytes with the properties of high mortality and high metastasis rate. The circulating melanoma cells with the high content of melanin can be detected by light absorption to diagnose and treat cancer at an early stage. Compared with conventional detection methods such as in vivo flow cytometry (IVFC) based on fluorescence, the in vivo photoacoustic flow cytometry (PAFC) utilizes melanin cells as biomarkers to collect the photoacoustic (PA) signals without toxic fluorescent dyes labeling in a non-invasive way. The information of target tumor cells is helpful for data analysis and cell counting. However, the raw signals in PAFC system contain numerous noises such as environmental noise, device noise and in vivo motion noise. Conventional denoising algorithms such as wavelet denoising (WD) method and means filter (MF) method are based on the local information to extract the data of clinical interest, which remove the subtle feature and leave many noises. To address the above questions, the nonlocal means (NLM) method based on nonlocal data has been proposed to suppress the noise in PA signals. Extensive experiments on in vivo PA signals from the mice with the injection of B16F10 cells in caudal vein have been conducted. All the results indicate that the NLM method has superior noise reduction performance and subtle information reservation.

Detecting Subtle Plasma Membrane Perturbation in Living Cells Using Second Harmonic Generation Imaging

PubMed Central

Moen, Erick K.; Ibey, Bennett L.; Beier, Hope T.

2014-01-01

The requirement of center asymmetry for the creation of second harmonic generation (SHG) signals makes it an attractive technique for visualizing changes in interfacial layers such as the plasma membrane of biological cells. In this article, we explore the use of lipophilic SHG probes to detect minute perturbations in the plasma membrane. Three candidate probes, Di-4-ANEPPDHQ (Di-4), FM4-64, and all-trans-retinol, were evaluated for SHG effectiveness in Jurkat cells. Di-4 proved superior with both strong SHG signal and limited bleaching artifacts. To test whether rapid changes in membrane symmetry could be detected using SHG, we exposed cells to nanosecond-pulsed electric fields, which are believed to cause formation of nanopores in the plasma membrane. Upon nanosecond-pulsed electric fields exposure, we observed an instantaneous drop of ∼50% in SHG signal from the anodic pole of the cell. When compared to the simultaneously acquired fluorescence signals, it appears that the signal change was not due to the probe diffusing out of the membrane or changes in membrane potential or fluidity. We hypothesize that this loss in SHG signal is due to disruption in the interfacial nature of the membrane. The results show that SHG imaging has great potential as a tool for measuring rapid and subtle plasma membrane disturbance in living cells. PMID:24853757

Detecting subtle plasma membrane perturbation in living cells using second harmonic generation imaging.

PubMed

Moen, Erick K; Ibey, Bennett L; Beier, Hope T

2014-05-20

The requirement of center asymmetry for the creation of second harmonic generation (SHG) signals makes it an attractive technique for visualizing changes in interfacial layers such as the plasma membrane of biological cells. In this article, we explore the use of lipophilic SHG probes to detect minute perturbations in the plasma membrane. Three candidate probes, Di-4-ANEPPDHQ (Di-4), FM4-64, and all-trans-retinol, were evaluated for SHG effectiveness in Jurkat cells. Di-4 proved superior with both strong SHG signal and limited bleaching artifacts. To test whether rapid changes in membrane symmetry could be detected using SHG, we exposed cells to nanosecond-pulsed electric fields, which are believed to cause formation of nanopores in the plasma membrane. Upon nanosecond-pulsed electric fields exposure, we observed an instantaneous drop of ~50% in SHG signal from the anodic pole of the cell. When compared to the simultaneously acquired fluorescence signals, it appears that the signal change was not due to the probe diffusing out of the membrane or changes in membrane potential or fluidity. We hypothesize that this loss in SHG signal is due to disruption in the interfacial nature of the membrane. The results show that SHG imaging has great potential as a tool for measuring rapid and subtle plasma membrane disturbance in living cells. Copyright © 2014 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Correlation analysis of tree growth, climate, and acid deposition in the Lake States.

Treesearch

Margaret R. Holdaway

1990-01-01

Describes research designed to detect subtle regional tree growth trends related to sulfate (SO4) deposition in the Lake States. Correlation methods were used to analyze climatic and SO4 deposition. Effects of SO4 deposition are greater on climatically stressed trees, especially pine species on dry sites, than on unstressed trees. Jack pine growth shows the...

Metabonomics and medicine: the Biochemical Oracle.

PubMed

Mitchell, Steve; Holmes, Elaine; Carmichael, Paul

2002-10-01

Occasionally, a new idea emerges that has the potential to revolutionize an entire field of scientific endeavour. It is now within our grasp to be able to detect subtle perturbations within the phenomenally complex biochemical matrix of living organisms. The discipline of metabonomics promises an all-encompassing approach to understanding total, yet fundamental, changes occurring in disease processes, drug toxicity and cell function.

Does the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change Help Moving Forward in Measuring Change in Early Autism Intervention Studies?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pijl, Mirjam K. J.; Rommelse, Nanda N. J.; Hendriks, Monica; De Korte, Manon W. P.; Buitelaar, Jan K.; Oosterling, Iris J.

2018-01-01

The field of early autism research is in dire need of outcome measures that adequately reflect subtle changes in core autistic behaviors. This article compares the ability of a newly developed measure, the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change (BOSCC), and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) to detect changes in core…

Detection of CN emission from (2060) Chiron

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowell, Edward

1991-01-01

Spectrophotometric observations of (2060) Chiron were obtained. Their primary goal was to look for the subtle differences in color between Chiron and its surrounding coma, and to search for possible absorption or emission features in Chiron's spectrum. The presence of the CN(0-0) emission band was identified. It proves Chiron's cometary nature and breaks the record heliocentric distance for cometary gaseous emission.

Signatures of positive selection: from selective sweeps at individual loci to subtle allele frequency changes in polygenic adaptation.

PubMed

Stephan, Wolfgang

2016-01-01

In the past 15 years, numerous methods have been developed to detect selective sweeps underlying adaptations. These methods are based on relatively simple population genetic models, including one or two loci at which positive directional selection occurs, and one or two marker loci at which the impact of selection on linked neutral variation is quantified. Information about the phenotype under selection is not included in these models (except for fitness). In contrast, in the quantitative genetic models of adaptation, selection acts on one or more phenotypic traits, such that a genotype-phenotype map is required to bridge the gap to population genetics theory. Here I describe the range of population genetic models from selective sweeps in a panmictic population of constant size to evolutionary traffic when simultaneous sweeps at multiple loci interfere, and I also consider the case of polygenic selection characterized by subtle allele frequency shifts at many loci. Furthermore, I present an overview of the statistical tests that have been proposed based on these population genetics models to detect evidence for positive selection in the genome. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Diagnosis and classification of pancreatic and duodenal injuries in emergency radiology.

PubMed

Linsenmaier, Ulrich; Wirth, Stefan; Reiser, Maximilian; Körner, Markus

2008-10-01

Pancreatic and duodenal injuries after blunt abdominal trauma are rare; however, delays in diagnosis and treatment can significantly increase morbidity and mortality. Multidetector computed tomography (CT) has a major role in early diagnosis of pancreatic and duodenal injuries. Detecting the often subtle signs of injury with whole-body CT can be difficult because this technique usually does not include a dedicated protocol for scanning the pancreas. Specific injury patterns in the pancreas and duodenum often have variable expression at early posttraumatic multidetector CT: They may be hardly visible, or there may be considerable exudate, hematomas, organ ruptures, or active bleeding. An accurate multidetector CT technique allows optimized detection of subtle abnormalities. In duodenal injuries, differentiation between a contusion of the duodenal wall or mural hematoma and a duodenal perforation is vital. In pancreatic injuries, determination of involvement of the pancreatic duct is essential. The latter conditions require immediate surgical intervention. Use of organ injury scales and a surgical classification adapted for multidetector CT enables classification of organ injuries for trauma scoring, treatment planning, and outcome control. In addition, multidetector CT reliably demonstrates potential complications of duodenal and pancreatic injuries, such as posttraumatic pancreatitis, pseudocysts, fistulas, exudates, and abscesses. (c) RSNA, 2008.

Breast cancers missed by screening radiologists can be detected by reading mammograms at a distance.

PubMed

Schreutelkamp, Ineke L; Kwee, Robert M; Veekmans, Peter; Adriaensen, Miraude E A P M

2018-05-03

During locally organized quality assurance evaluation sessions for screening radiologists, we noticed that individual screening radiologists did miss tumours which in our opinion could be detected at a distance. To determine whether tumours missed by individual screening radiologists can be detected at a distance. Twenty-eight screening mammograms of 28 females (mean age 63 years, range 49-73) with a pathologically proven malignant tumour missed by individual screening radiologists were mixed with 56 normal screening mammograms of 56 females (mean age 63 years, range 53-74). This test set was independently assessed by a senior screening radiologist and by a radiology resident without prior training in screening mammography at 1.5 m distance from the screen display. Readers were unaware of the prevalence of pathologically proven malignant tumours in the test set. Primary outcome was whether the reader would recall the woman. The senior screening radiologist recalled 28 of 28 women with a pathologically proven malignant tumour (sensitivity of 100%) and 16 of 56 women without pathology (specificity of 71%). The radiology resident recalled 25 of 28 women with a pathologically proven malignant tumour (sensitivity of 89%) and 10 of 56 women without pathology (specificity of 82%). Some malignant tumours missed by an individual screening radiologist can be detected from 1.5 m distance. Therefore, we recommend that screening radiologists consciously take a distant view before closely evaluating the mammogram in detail.

Developing the Quantitative Histopathology Image Ontology (QHIO): A case study using the hot spot detection problem.

PubMed

Gurcan, Metin N; Tomaszewski, John; Overton, James A; Doyle, Scott; Ruttenberg, Alan; Smith, Barry

2017-02-01

Interoperability across data sets is a key challenge for quantitative histopathological imaging. There is a need for an ontology that can support effective merging of pathological image data with associated clinical and demographic data. To foster organized, cross-disciplinary, information-driven collaborations in the pathological imaging field, we propose to develop an ontology to represent imaging data and methods used in pathological imaging and analysis, and call it Quantitative Histopathological Imaging Ontology - QHIO. We apply QHIO to breast cancer hot-spot detection with the goal of enhancing reliability of detection by promoting the sharing of data between image analysts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Imaging review of lipomatous musculoskeletal lesions

PubMed Central

Burt, Ashley M.; Huang, Brady K.

2017-01-01

Lipomatous lesions are common musculoskeletal lesions that can arise within the soft tissues, bone, neurovascular structures, and synovium. The majority of these lesions are benign, and many of the benign lesions can be diagnosed by radiologic evaluation. However, radiologic differences between benign and malignant lipomatous lesions may be subtle and pathologic correlation is often needed. The use of sonography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is useful not only in portraying fat within the lesion, but also for evaluating the presence and extent of soft tissue components. Lipomas make up most soft tissue lipomatous lesions, but careful evaluation must be performed to distinguish these lesions from a low-grade liposarcoma. In addition to the imaging appearance, the location of the lesion and the patient demographics can be utilized to help diagnose other soft tissue lipomatous lesions, such as elastofibroma dorsi, angiolipoma, lipoblastoma, and hibernoma. Osseous lipomatous lesions such as a parosteal lipoma and intraosseous lipoma occur less commonly as their soft tissue counterpart, but are also benign. Neurovascular and synovial lipomatous lesions are much rarer lesions but demonstrate more classic radiologic findings, particularly on MRI. A review of the clinical, radiologic, and pathologic characteristics of these lesions is presented. PMID:28474576

Indicators of complicated mild TBI predict MMPI-2 scores after 23 years.

PubMed

Hessen, Erik; Nestvold, Knut

2009-03-01

Research suggests that post-concussive syndrome may become persistent after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The aim of this study was to investigate determinants of subjective complaints, characteristic for post-concussive syndrome, 23 years after mTBI. The study was a follow-up after a prospective head injury study at a general hospital in Norway. Ninety-seven patients were assessed with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) 23 years after sustaining primarily mTBI. A good overall outcome was found with scores close to the normative mean, average length of education and normal employment rate. However, the patients that sustained complicated mTBI showed somewhat more pathological scores, well-matched with mild post-concussive syndrome. The most important predictors of poor outcome were a combination of post-traumatic amnesia >30 minutes and EEG pathology within 24 hours after TBI. No influence of pre- and post-injury risk factors on current MMPI-2 profiles was found. The results are in line with previous research findings and support the notion of potentially differential impact of uncomplicated vs. complicated mTBI. The findings suggest that complicated mTBI may cause subtle chronic symptoms typical of post-concussive syndrome.

Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Surgery Failures: A Review

PubMed Central

Harroud, Adil; Bouthillier, Alain; Weil, Alexander G.; Nguyen, Dang Khoa

2012-01-01

Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) are refractory to antiepileptic drugs in about 30% of cases. Surgical treatment has been shown to be beneficial for the selected patients but fails to provide a seizure-free outcome in 20–30% of TLE patients. Several reasons have been identified to explain these surgical failures. This paper will address the five most common causes of TLE surgery failure (a) insufficient resection of epileptogenic mesial temporal structures, (b) relapse on the contralateral mesial temporal lobe, (c) lateral temporal neocortical epilepsy, (d) coexistence of mesial temporal sclerosis and a neocortical lesion (dual pathology); and (e) extratemporal lobe epilepsy mimicking TLE or temporal plus epilepsy. Persistence of epileptogenic mesial structures in the posterior temporal region and failure to distinguish mesial and lateral temporal epilepsy are possible causes of seizure persistence after TLE surgery. In cases of dual pathology, failure to identify a subtle mesial temporal sclerosis or regions of cortical microdysgenesis is a likely explanation for some surgical failures. Extratemporal epilepsy syndromes masquerading as or coexistent with TLE result in incomplete resection of the epileptogenic zone and seizure relapse after surgery. In particular, the insula may be an important cause of surgical failure in patients with TLE. PMID:22934162

Schizophrenia.

PubMed

Kahn, René S; Sommer, Iris E; Murray, Robin M; Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas; Weinberger, Daniel R; Cannon, Tyrone D; O'Donovan, Michael; Correll, Christoph U; Kane, John M; van Os, Jim; Insel, Thomas R

2015-11-12

Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder with a heterogeneous genetic and neurobiological background that influences early brain development, and is expressed as a combination of psychotic symptoms - such as hallucinations, delusions and disorganization - and motivational and cognitive dysfunctions. The mean lifetime prevalence of the disorder is just below 1%, but large regional differences in prevalence rates are evident owing to disparities in urbanicity and patterns of immigration. Although gross brain pathology is not a characteristic of schizophrenia, the disorder involves subtle pathological changes in specific neural cell populations and in cell-cell communication. Schizophrenia, as a cognitive and behavioural disorder, is ultimately about how the brain processes information. Indeed, neuroimaging studies have shown that information processing is functionally abnormal in patients with first-episode and chronic schizophrenia. Although pharmacological treatments for schizophrenia can relieve psychotic symptoms, such drugs generally do not lead to substantial improvements in social, cognitive and occupational functioning. Psychosocial interventions such as cognitive-behavioural therapy, cognitive remediation and supported education and employment have added treatment value, but are inconsistently applied. Given that schizophrenia starts many years before a diagnosis is typically made, the identification of individuals at risk and those in the early phases of the disorder, and the exploration of preventive approaches are crucial.

The use of magnetic resonance mammography in women at increased risk for developing breast cancer

PubMed Central

Popiela, Tadeusz J.; Herman-Sucharska, Izabela; Urbanik, Andrzej

2012-01-01

Introduction The use of conventional imaging techniques, namely mammography (MMG) and ultrasound (US), for breast cancer (BC) detection in women at high risk for the disease does not bring optimal results in many cases. Aim The present study evaluated the effectiveness of magnetic resonance (MR) mammography (MRM) in cases where US and MMG failed to detect suspected breast lesions. Material and methods The study group consisted of 379 women who had had no breast pathologies detected by US and MMG. This group was then divided into 4 groups according to the relative risk of breast cancer development. All the women underwent MRM, and any breast pathology detected by MRM was then verified by open surgical biopsy (OSB). Results Based on the MRM findings, 37 women with breast pathologies were identified. All detected pathologies were then classified into one of the BIRADS (Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System) categories. Of these, 33 patients underwent open surgical biopsy. There were a total of 17 benign and 16 malignant breast pathologies that were not visualized by US and MMG. The types of malignancies found, in order of their frequency, were as follows: invasive ductal carcinoma (11 cases), ductal carcinoma in situ (2 cases), invasive lobular carcinoma (2 cases), and lobular carcinoma in situ (1 case). An analysis of MRM effectiveness in detecting BC showed 93.7% sensitivity and 64.71% specificity. Conclusions All women with a 20% or greater lifetime risk of developing BC should undergo annual MRM as a diagnostic adjunct to US and MMG. PMID:23630555

Clinical utility of wavelet compression for resolution-enhanced chest radiography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andriole, Katherine P.; Hovanes, Michael E.; Rowberg, Alan H.

2000-05-01

This study evaluates the usefulness of wavelet compression for resolution-enhanced storage phosphor chest radiographs in the detection of subtle interstitial disease, pneumothorax and other abnormalities. A wavelet compression technique, MrSIDTM (LizardTech, Inc., Seattle, WA), is implemented which compresses the images from their original 2,000 by 2,000 (2K) matrix size, and then decompresses the image data for display at optimal resolution by matching the spatial frequency characteristics of image objects using a 4,000- square matrix. The 2K-matrix computed radiography (CR) chest images are magnified to a 4K-matrix using wavelet series expansion. The magnified images are compared with the original uncompressed 2K radiographs and with two-times magnification of the original images. Preliminary results show radiologist preference for MrSIDTM wavelet-based magnification over magnification of original data, and suggest that the compressed/decompressed images may provide an enhancement to the original. Data collection for clinical trials of 100 chest radiographs including subtle interstitial abnormalities and/or subtle pneumothoraces and normal cases, are in progress. Three experienced thoracic radiologists will view images side-by- side on calibrated softcopy workstations under controlled viewing conditions, and rank order preference tests will be performed. This technique combines image compression with image enhancement, and suggests that compressed/decompressed images can actually improve the originals.

An intramolecular charge transfer process based fluorescent probe for monitoring subtle pH fluctuation in living cells.

PubMed

Sun, Mingtai; Du, Libo; Yu, Huan; Zhang, Kui; Liu, Yang; Wang, Suhua

2017-01-01

It is crucial to monitor intracellular pH values and their fluctuation since the organelles of cells have different pH distribution. Herein we construct a new small molecule fluorescent probe HBT-O for monitoring the subtle pH values within the scope of neutral to acid in living cells. The probe exhibited good water solubility, a marked turquoise to olivine emission color change in response to pH, and tremendous fluorescence hypochromatic shift of ∼50nm (1718cm -1 ) as well as the increased fluorescence intensity when the pH value changed from neutral to acid. Thus, the probe HBT-O can distinguish the subtle changes in the range of normal pH values from neutral to acid with significant fluorescence changes. These properties can be attributed to the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) process of the probe upon protonation in buffer solutions at varied pH values. Moreover, the probe was reversible and nearly non-toxic for living cells. Then the probe was successfully used to detect pH fluctuation in living cells by exhibiting different fluorescence colors and intensity. These findings demonstrate that the probe will find useful applications in biology and biomedical research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A proof of concept study to assess the potential of PCR testing to detect natural Mycobacterium bovis infection in South American camelids.

PubMed

Crawshaw, Timothy R; Chanter, Jeremy I; McGoldrick, Adrian; Line, Kirsty

2014-02-07

Cases of Mycobacterium bovis infection South American camelids have been increasing in Great Britain. Current antemortem immunological tests have some limitations. Cases at post mortem examination frequently show extensive pathology. The feasibility of detecting Mycobacterium bovis DNA in clinical samples was investigated. A sensitive extraction methodology was developed and used on nasal swabs and faeces taken post-mortem to assess the potential for a PCR test to detect Mycobacterium bovis in clinical samples. The gross pathology of the studied South American camelids was scored and a significantly greater proportion of South American camelids with more severe pathology were positive in both the nasal swab and faecal PCR tests. A combination of the nasal swab and faecal PCR tests detected 63.9% of all the South American camelids with pathology that were tested. The results suggest that antemortem diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis in South American camelids may be possible using a PCR test on clinical samples, however more work is required to determine sensitivity and specificity, and the practicalities of applying the test in the field.

Amyloid-beta peptide oligomers disrupt axonal transport through an NMDA receptor-dependent mechanism that is mediated by glycogen synthase kinase 3beta in primary cultured hippocampal neurons.

PubMed

Decker, Helena; Lo, Karen Y; Unger, Sandra M; Ferreira, Sergio T; Silverman, Michael A

2010-07-07

Disruption of axonal transport is a hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Even though defective transport is considered an early pathologic event, the mechanisms by which neurodegenerative insults impact transport are poorly understood. We show that soluble oligomers of the amyloid-beta peptide (AbetaOs), increasingly recognized as the proximal neurotoxins in AD pathology, induce disruption of organelle transport in primary hippocampal neurons in culture. Live imaging of fluorescent protein-tagged organelles revealed a marked decrease in axonal trafficking of dense-core vesicles and mitochondria in the presence of 0.5 microm AbetaOs. NMDA receptor (NMDAR) antagonists, including d-AP5, MK-801, and memantine, prevented the disruption of trafficking, thereby identifying signals for AbetaO action at the cell membrane. Significantly, both pharmacological inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3beta) and transfection of neurons with a kinase-dead form of GSK-3beta prevented the transport defect. Finally, we demonstrate by biochemical and immunocytochemical means that AbetaOs do not affect microtubule stability, indicating that disruption of transport involves a more subtle mechanism than microtubule destabilization, likely the dysregulation of intracellular signaling cascades. Results demonstrate that AbetaOs negatively impact axonal transport by a mechanism that is initiated by NMDARs and mediated by GSK-3beta and establish a new connection between toxic Abeta oligomers and AD pathology.

Pathology effects at radiation doses below those causing increased mortality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carnes, Bruce A.; Gavrilova, Natalia; Grahn, Douglas

2002-01-01

Mortality data from experiments conducted at the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) on the long-term effects of external whole-body irradiation on B6CF(1) mice were used to investigate radiation-induced effects at intermediate doses of (60)Co gamma rays or fission-spectrum neutrons either delivered as a single exposure or protracted over 60 once-weekly exposures. Kaplan-Meier analyses were used to identify the lowest dose in the ANL data (within radiation quality, pattern of exposure, and sex) at which radiation-induced mortality caused by primary tumors could be detected (approximately 1-2 Gy for gamma rays and 10-15 cGy for neutrons). Doses at and below these levels were then examined for radiation-induced shifts in the spectrum of pathology detected at death. To do this, specific pathology events were pooled into larger assemblages based on whether they were cancer, cardiovascular disease or non-neoplastic diseases detected within the lungs and pleura, liver and biliary tract, reproductive organs, or urinary tract. Cancer and cardiovascular disease were further subdivided into categories based on whether they caused death, contributed to death, or were simply observed at death. Counts of how often events falling within each of these combined pathology categories occurred within a mouse were then used as predictor variables in logistic regression to determine whether irradiated mice could be distinguished from control mice. Increased pathology burdens were detected in irradiated mice at doses lower than those causing detectable shifts in mortality-22 cGy for gamma rays and 2 cGy for neutrons. These findings suggest that (1) models based on mortality data alone may underestimate radiation effects, (2) radiation may have adverse health consequences (i.e. elevated health risks) even when mortality risks are not detected, and (3) radiation-induced pathologies other than cancer do occur, and they involve multiple organ systems.

Detection of Subtle Context-Dependent Model Inaccuracies in High-Dimensional Robot Domains.

PubMed

Mendoza, Juan Pablo; Simmons, Reid; Veloso, Manuela

2016-12-01

Autonomous robots often rely on models of their sensing and actions for intelligent decision making. However, when operating in unconstrained environments, the complexity of the world makes it infeasible to create models that are accurate in every situation. This article addresses the problem of using potentially large and high-dimensional sets of robot execution data to detect situations in which a robot model is inaccurate-that is, detecting context-dependent model inaccuracies in a high-dimensional context space. To find inaccuracies tractably, the robot conducts an informed search through low-dimensional projections of execution data to find parametric Regions of Inaccurate Modeling (RIMs). Empirical evidence from two robot domains shows that this approach significantly enhances the detection power of existing RIM-detection algorithms in high-dimensional spaces.

Renal cell carcinoma: incidental detection and pathological staging.

PubMed

Siow, W Y; Yip, S K; Ng, L G; Tan, P H; Cheng, W S; Foo, K T

2000-10-01

In developed countries, there has been increased incidental detection of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The incidence, pathological stage and survival of incidentally detected carcinoma in a developing country in Asia where, from 1990 to 1998, 165 renal cell carcinomas were identified. The clinical presentation, diagnostic-imaging modality employed, pathological staging and patient survival was reviewed. Incidental renal cancers included those that were diagnosed through health screening or detected incidentally through imaging studies for other conditions. The survival between these incidentally detected lesions and their symptomatic counterparts (suspected group) was compared. Sixty-four patients (39%) had their tumours detected incidentally, including 39 who were entirely asymptomatic and 25 who presented with non-specific symptoms, not initially suggestive of RCC. For the entire group, computed tomography provided the definitive diagnosis in 81% of cases. The incidental detection group had significantly smaller size of tumour (5.9 cm c.f. 7.6 cm), lower stage and lower histological grading. In particular, 78% of patients with incidental RCC had stage I or II diseases (TNM stage classification), compared with 57% of patients with suspected tumour (p < 0.05; Chi-square test). The disease free survival was significantly better for those with incidental detection (86% c.f. 66% at last follow up; p < 0.05; log-rank test) over a mean follow up period of 33 months (range 1-91). Regression analysis showed that stage of disease was the only independent variable predictive of clinical outcome. In conclusion, that significant numbers of RCC were detected incidentally. These tumours were of a lower clinical pathological stage and had a better prognosis.

Fgfr3 regulates development of the caudal telencephalon.

PubMed

Moldrich, Randal X; Mezzera, Cecilia; Holmes, William M; Goda, Sailaja; Brookfield, Sam J; Rankin, Alastair J; Barr, Emily; Kurniawan, Nyoman; Dewar, Deborah; Richards, Linda J; López-Bendito, Guillermina; Iwata, Tomoko

2011-06-01

The fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (Fgfr3) is expressed in a rostral(low) to caudal(high) gradient in the developing cerebral cortex. Therefore, we hypothesized that Fgfr3 contributes to the correct morphology and connectivity of the caudal cortex. Overall, the forebrain structures appeared normal in Fgfr3(-/-) mice. However, cortical and hippocampal volumes were reduced by 26.7% and 16.3%, respectively. Hypoplasia was particularly evident in the caudo-ventral region of the telencephalon where proliferation was mildly decreased at embryonic day 18.5. Dysplasia of GABAergic neurons in the amygdala and piriform cortex was seen following GAD67 immunohistochemistry. Dye-tracing studies and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging and tractography detected a subtle thalamocortical tract deficit, and significant decreases in the stria terminalis and lateral arms of the anterior commissure. These results indicate the subtle role of Fgfr3 in formation of caudal regions of the telencephalon affecting some brain projections. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Does the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change help moving forward in measuring change in early autism intervention studies?

PubMed

Pijl, Mirjam Kj; Rommelse, Nanda Nj; Hendriks, Monica; De Korte, Manon Wp; Buitelaar, Jan K; Oosterling, Iris J

2018-02-01

The field of early autism research is in dire need of outcome measures that adequately reflect subtle changes in core autistic behaviors. This article compares the ability of a newly developed measure, the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change (BOSCC), and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) to detect changes in core symptoms of autism in 44 toddlers. The results provide encouraging evidence for the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change as a candidate outcome measure, as reflected in sufficient inter- and intra-rater reliability, independency from other child characteristics, and sensitivity to capture change. Although the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change did not evidently outperform the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule on any of these quality criteria, the instrument may be better able to capture subtle, individual changes in core autistic symptoms. The promising findings warrant further study of this new instrument.

A successful development of subtle traps: Chihuido de la Sierra Negra, Neuquen Basin

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Comeron, R.; Valenzuela, M.W.

1996-08-01

Using new traps search concepts in the Chihuido de la Sierra Negra oil field, it was possible to substantially increase production from 4400 bbl/day in 1984 to 125,000 bbl/day in 1995. Oil reserves are located within an 8000 ha area situated on the Chihuido de la Sierra Negra anticlinal flank. Success was achieved by using different techniques for subtle traps detection, namely seismic amplitude mapping, individualization of different production facies and its predictive mapping. This reduced the search and development toward low structural areas which had not been considered before. The production layers are formed by two lower Cretaceous eolianmore » sandstones called the Avile Member and the Troncoso Lower Member, with thicknesses ranging from 5 to 30 meters. 2D seismic made it possible to individualize the thickest sand areas, some of which turned out to be productive. Using 3D seismic, by means of azimuth and dip maps, fractured areas were detected where fault throws range from 5 to 10 meters. In many of these fractured zones, thin igneous intrusives are emplaced forming seals. Such determinations make it possible for different oil-water contacts and static pressures to be delimited. Due to the small fault throws, the different blocks could not be detected by conventional mapping methods. The delineation of the field compartmentalization becomes important in the waterflooding stage as well as for the detection of new traps in surrounding areas. The combination of seismic and stratigraphic methods made it possible to discover and develop Argentina`s main oil field.« less

Pneumocystis PCR: It Is Time to Make PCR the Test of Choice.

PubMed

Doyle, Laura; Vogel, Sherilynn; Procop, Gary W

2017-01-01

The testing strategy for Pneumocystis at the Cleveland Clinic changed from toluidine blue staining to polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We studied the differences in positivity rates for these assays and compared each with the detection of Pneumocystis in companion specimens by cytology and surgical pathology. We reviewed the results of all Pneumocystis test orders 1 year before and 1 year after the implementation of a Pneumocystis -specific PCR. We also reviewed the corresponding cytology and surgical pathology results, if performed. Finally, we reviewed the medical records of patients with rare Pneumocystis detected by PCR in an effort to differentiate colonization vs true disease. Toluidine blue staining and surgical pathology had similar sensitivities and negative predictive values, both of which were superior to cytology. There was a >4-fold increase in the annual detection of Pneumocystis by PCR compared with toluidine blue staining (toluidine blue staining: 11/1583 [0.69%] vs PCR: 44/1457 [3.0%]; chi-square P < .001). PCR detected 1 more case than surgical pathology and was far more sensitive than cytology. Chart review demonstrated that the vast majority of patients with rare Pneumocystis detected were immunosuppressed, had radiologic findings supportive of this infection, had no other pathogens detected, and were treated for pneumocystosis by the clinical team. PCR was the most sensitive method for the detection of Pneumocystis and should be considered the diagnostic test of choice. Correlation with clinical and radiologic findings affords discrimination of early true disease from the far rarer instances of colonization.

The effect of timber harvest on the Fool Creek watershed, 30 years later

Treesearch

C. A. Troendle; R. M. King

1985-01-01

The Fool Creek watershed at the Fraser Experimental Forest, Colorado was harvested using a pattern of alternating clearcut and forested strips in 1956. Today, with almost 30 years of postharvest record, subtle impacts on the hydrology of the watershed can be detected that were not significant in the past. In addition to the depositional increases in the snowpack in the...

Scaling and universality in heart rate variability distributions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenblum, M. G.; Peng, C. K.; Mietus, J. E.; Havlin, S.; Stanley, H. E.; Goldberger, A. L.

1998-01-01

We find that a universal homogeneous scaling form describes the distribution of cardiac variations for a group of healthy subjects, which is stable over a wide range of time scales. However, a similar scaling function does not exist for a group with a common cardiopulmonary instability associated with sleep apnea. Subtle differences in the distributions for the day- and night-phase dynamics for healthy subjects are detected.

Scaling and universality in heart rate variability distributions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanov, P. Ch; Rosenblum, M. G.; Peng, C.-K.; Mietus, J. E.; Havlin, S.; Stanley, H. E.; Goldberger, A. L.

We find that a universal homogeneous scaling form describes the distributions of cardiac variations for a group of healthy subjects, which is stable over a wide range of time scales. However, a similar scaling function does not exist for a group with a common cardiopulmonary instability associated with sleep apnea. Subtle differences in the distributions for the day- and night-phase dynamics for healthy subjects are detected.

Bilateral trampoline fracture of the proximal tibia in a child.

PubMed

Arkink, Enrico B; van der Plas, Annelies; Sneep, Ruth W; Reijnierse, Monique

2017-12-01

Trampoline fractures are transversely oriented impaction fractures of the proximal tibia sustained by young children jumping on a trampoline. Unaware of the mechanism of this specific nontraumatic fracture, physicians may fail to detect these fractures on plain radiographs, as radiological findings may be very subtle. In this case report, we present a rare case of bilateral trampoline fractures with an explanation of the trauma mechanism.

A new feature constituting approach to detection of vocal fold pathology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hariharan, M.; Polat, Kemal; Yaacob, Sazali

2014-08-01

In the last two decades, non-invasive methods through acoustic analysis of voice signal have been proved to be excellent and reliable tool to diagnose vocal fold pathologies. This paper proposes a new feature vector based on the wavelet packet transform and singular value decomposition for the detection of vocal fold pathology. k-means clustering based feature weighting is proposed to increase the distinguishing performance of the proposed features. In this work, two databases Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) voice disorders database and MAPACI speech pathology database are used. Four different supervised classifiers such as k-nearest neighbour (k-NN), least-square support vector machine, probabilistic neural network and general regression neural network are employed for testing the proposed features. The experimental results uncover that the proposed features give very promising classification accuracy of 100% for both MEEI database and MAPACI speech pathology database.

Automatic classification of pathological myopia in retinal fundus images using PAMELA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jiang; Wong, Damon W. K.; Tan, Ngan Meng; Zhang, Zhuo; Lu, Shijian; Lim, Joo Hwee; Li, Huiqi; Saw, Seang Mei; Tong, Louis; Wong, Tien Yin

2010-03-01

Pathological myopia is the seventh leading cause of blindness. We introduce a framework based on PAMELA (PAthological Myopia dEtection through peripapilLary Atrophy) for the detection of pathological myopia from fundus images. The framework consists of a pre-processing stage which extracts a region of interest centered on the optic disc. Subsequently, three analysis modules focus on detecting specific visual indicators. The optic disc tilt ratio module gives a measure of the axial elongation of the eye through inference from the deformation of the optic disc. In the texturebased ROI assessment module, contextual knowledge is used to demarcate the ROI into four distinct, clinically-relevant zones in which information from an entropy transform of the ROI is analyzed and metrics generated. In particular, the preferential appearance of peripapillary atrophy (PPA) in the temporal zone compared to the nasal zone is utilized by calculating ratios of the metrics. The PPA detection module obtains an outer boundary through a level-set method, and subtracts this region against the optic disc boundary. Temporal and nasal zones are obtained from the remnants to generate associated hue and color values. The outputs of the three modules are used as in a SVM model to determine the presence of pathological myopia in a retinal fundus image. Using images from the Singapore Eye Research Institute, the proposed framework reported an optimized accuracy of 90% and a sensitivity and specificity of 0.85 and 0.95 respectively, indicating promise for the use of the proposed system as a screening tool for pathological myopia.

Multi-Sensor Radiometric Study to Detect Pathologies in Historical Buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Del Pozo, S.; Herrero-Pascual, J.; Felipe-García, B.; Hernández-López, D.; Rodríguez-Gonzálvez, P.; González-Aguilera, D.

2015-02-01

This paper presents a comparative study with different remote sensing technologies to recognize pathologies in façades of historical buildings. Building materials deteriorate over the years due to different extrinsic and intrinsic agents, so assessing these diseases in a non-invasive way is crucial to help preserve them. Most of these buildings are extremely valuable and some of them have been declared monuments of cultural interest. In this way through close range remote sensing techniques, it is possible to study material pathologies in a rigorous way and in a short duration field campaign. For the investigation two different acquisition systems were applied, active and passive methods. The terrestrial laser scanner FARO Focus 3D was used as active sensor, working at the wavelength of 905 nm. For the case of passive sensors, a Nikon D-5000 and a 6- bands Mini-MCA multispectral camera (530-801 nm) were applied covering visible and near infrared spectral range. This analysis allows assessing the sensor, or sensors combination, suitability for pathologies detection, addressing the limitations according to the spatial and spectral resolution. Moreover, the pathology detection by unsupervised classification methods is addressed in order to evaluate the automation capability of this process.

Microvessel prediction in H&E Stained Pathology Images using fully convolutional neural networks.

PubMed

Yi, Faliu; Yang, Lin; Wang, Shidan; Guo, Lei; Huang, Chenglong; Xie, Yang; Xiao, Guanghua

2018-02-27

Pathological angiogenesis has been identified in many malignancies as a potential prognostic factor and target for therapy. In most cases, angiogenic analysis is based on the measurement of microvessel density (MVD) detected by immunostaining of CD31 or CD34. However, most retrievable public data is generally composed of Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E)-stained pathology images, for which is difficult to get the corresponding immunohistochemistry images. The role of microvessels in H&E stained images has not been widely studied due to their complexity and heterogeneity. Furthermore, identifying microvessels manually for study is a labor-intensive task for pathologists, with high inter- and intra-observer variation. Therefore, it is important to develop automated microvessel-detection algorithms in H&E stained pathology images for clinical association analysis. In this paper, we propose a microvessel prediction method using fully convolutional neural networks. The feasibility of our proposed algorithm is demonstrated through experimental results on H&E stained images. Furthermore, the identified microvessel features were significantly associated with the patient clinical outcomes. This is the first study to develop an algorithm for automated microvessel detection in H&E stained pathology images.

Bone scanning in the detection of occult fractures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Batillas, J.; Vasilas, A.; Pizzi, W.F.

1981-07-01

The potential role of bone scanning in the early detection of occult fractures following acute trauma was investigated. Technetium 99m pyrophosphate bone scans were obtained in patients with major clinical findings and negative or equivocal roentgenograms following trauma. Bone scanning facilitated the prompt diagnosis of occult fractures in the hip, knee, wrist, ribs and costochondral junctions, sternum, vertebrae, sacrum, and coccyx. Several illustrative cases are presented. Roentgenographic confirmation occurred following a delay of days to weeks and, in some instances, the roentgenographic findings were subtle and could be easily overlooked. This study demonstrates bone scanning to be invaluable and definitivemore » in the prompt detection of occult fractures.« less

Feasibility of intraoperative imaging during Mohs surgery with reflectance confocal microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flores, Eileen S.; Cordova, Miguel; Kose, Kivanc; Phillips, William; Nehal, Kishwer; Rajadhyaksha, Milind

2014-03-01

Mohs surgery for the removal of non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) is performed in stages, while being guided by the examination for residual tumor with frozen pathology. However, preparation of frozen pathology at each stage is timeconsuming and labor-intensive. Real-time intraoperative reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) may enable rapid detection of residual tumor directly in surgical wounds on patients. We report initial feasibility on twenty-one patients, using 35% AlCl3 for nuclear contrast. Imaging was performed in quadrants in the wound, to simulate the Mohs surgeon's examination of pathology. Images and videos of the epidermal and dermal margins were found to be of clinically acceptable quality. Bright nuclear morphology was identified at the epidermal margin. The presence of residual BCC/SCC tumor and normal skin features could be detected in the peripheral and deep dermal margins. Nuclear morphology was detectable in residual BCC/SCC tumors. Intraoperative RCM imaging may enable detection of residual tumor, directly on Mohs patients, and may serve as an adjunct for frozen pathology. However, a stronger source of contrast will be necessary, and also a smaller device with an automated approach for imaging in the entire wound in a rapid and controlled manner for clinical utility.

A proof of concept study to assess the potential of PCR testing to detect natural Mycobacterium bovis infection in South American camelids

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Cases of Mycobacterium bovis infection South American camelids have been increasing in Great Britain. Current antemortem immunological tests have some limitations. Cases at post mortem examination frequently show extensive pathology. The feasibility of detecting Mycobacterium bovis DNA in clinical samples was investigated. Findings A sensitive extraction methodology was developed and used on nasal swabs and faeces taken post-mortem to assess the potential for a PCR test to detect Mycobacterium bovis in clinical samples. The gross pathology of the studied South American camelids was scored and a significantly greater proportion of South American camelids with more severe pathology were positive in both the nasal swab and faecal PCR tests. A combination of the nasal swab and faecal PCR tests detected 63.9% of all the South American camelids with pathology that were tested. Conclusions The results suggest that antemortem diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis in South American camelids may be possible using a PCR test on clinical samples, however more work is required to determine sensitivity and specificity, and the practicalities of applying the test in the field. PMID:24507471

Advanced imaging of tau pathology in Alzheimer Disease: New perspectives from super resolution microscopy and label-free nanoscopy.

PubMed

Schierle, Gabriele S Kaminski; Michel, Claire H; Gasparini, Laura

2016-08-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the main cause of dementia in the elderly population. Over 30 million people worldwide are living with dementia and AD prevalence is projected to increase dramatically in the next two decades. In terms of neuropathology, AD is characterized by two major cerebral hallmarks: extracellular β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques and intracellular Tau inclusions, which start accumulating in the brain 15-20 years before the onset of symptoms. Within this context, the scientific community worldwide is undertaking a wide research effort to detect AD pathology at its earliest, before symptoms appear. Neuroimaging of Aβ by positron emission tomography (PET) is clinically available and is a promising modality for early detection of Aβ pathology and AD diagnosis. Substantive efforts are ongoing to develop advanced imaging techniques for early detection of Tau pathology. Here, we will briefly describe the key features of Tau pathology and its heterogeneity across various neurodegenerative diseases bearing cerebral Tau inclusions (i.e., tauopathies). We will outline the current status of research on Tau-specific PET tracers and their clinical development. Finally, we will discuss the potential application of novel super-resolution and label-free techniques for investigating Tau pathology at the experimental level and their potential application for AD diagnosis. Microsc. Res. Tech. 79:677-683, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Visual and Quantitative Analysis of Cisternography for the Detection of Cerebrospinal Fluid Leakage.

PubMed

Choi, Eun Kyoung; Oh, Jin Kyoung; Park, Sonya Youngju; Yoo, Ikdong; Kim, Dong-Hyun; Chung, Yong-An

2017-06-01

We herein present a case of a 29-year-old man with clear rhinorrhea, which persisted for 8 years following a myringotomy. After cotton pledgets were placed in several different regions of the nasal cavity, cisternography using Tc-99m DTPA was performed to measure the radioactivity of each pledget. Cisternography showed subtle uptake in the nasal cavity. However, intense uptake was detected in the pledget placed in the right eustachian tube orifice, where the pledget:serum count ratio was 10.3:1. The patient underwent duroplasty and cranioplasty, and the rhinorrhea resolved.

Clinical usefulness of the visibility of the transcerebral veins at 3T on T2*-weighted sequence in acute stroke patients.

PubMed

Rosso, Charlotte; Belleville, Martin; Pires, Christine; Dormont, Didier; Crozier, Sophie; Chiras, Jacques; Samson, Yves; Bonneville, Fabrice

2012-06-01

The objective of this work was to investigate the clinical usefulness of the visibility of the transcerebral veins (VTV) in acute ischemic stroke patients at 3T. Sixty consecutive carotid artery territory stroke patients were included retrospectively. Two readers categorized the VTV on T2*-weighted sequence at 3T for each hemisphere, and asymmetry of this sign was assessed between each hemisphere by an asymmetry index (AI) using a three-item scale. The VTV and AI were correlated with clinical and radiological covariates. Particular interest was focused on patients for whom initial diffusion-weighted imaging alone was inconclusive. VTV were detected in the stroke hemisphere in 58.3% (n = 35) and in the contralateral side in 10% (n = 6, p<0.0001). Asymmetry of the VTV between ischemic and contralateral hemispheres was present in 53.3% (n = 32). Intracranial artery occlusion, final infarct volume and symptomatic hemorrhagic transformation were correlated with a higher AI at baseline (ρ = 0.563, ρ = 0.291, and ρ = 0.285, p<0.05, respectively). Three hyperacute stroke patients with subtle DWI high signal intensity at admission demonstrated VTV. The pathological value of the VTV seems to reside in its asymmetry between hemispheres, as it was correlated with important clinical parameters. This study also suggests that the VTV could be a supportive finding in stroke diagnosis, especially when DWI is unreliable. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Detection and quantification of subtle changes in red blood cell density using a cell phone.

PubMed

Felton, Edward J; Velasquez, Anthony; Lu, Shulin; Murphy, Ryann O; ElKhal, Abdala; Mazor, Ofer; Gorelik, Pavel; Sharda, Anish; Ghiran, Ionita C

2016-08-16

Magnetic levitation has emerged as a technique that offers the ability to differentiate between cells with different densities. We have developed a magnetic levitation system for this purpose that distinguishes not only different cell types but also density differences in cells of the same type. This small-scale system suspends cells in a paramagnetic medium in a capillary placed between two rare earth magnets, and cells levitate to an equilibrium position determined solely by their density. Uniform reference beads of known density are used in conjunction with the cells as a means to quantify their levitation positions. In one implementation images of the levitating cells are acquired with a microscope, but here we also introduce a cell phone-based device that integrates the magnets, capillary, and a lens into a compact and portable unit that acquires images with the phone's camera. To demonstrate the effectiveness of magnetic levitation in cell density analysis we carried out levitation experiments using red blood cells with artificially altered densities, and also levitated those from donors. We observed that we can distinguish red blood cells of an anemic donor from those that are healthy. Since a plethora of disease states are characterized by changes in cell density magnetic cell levitation promises to be an effective tool in identifying and analyzing pathologic states. Furthermore, the low cost, portability, and ease of use of the cell phone-based system may potentially lead to its deployment in low-resource environments.

Changes in gene expression associated with response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer.

PubMed

Hannemann, Juliane; Oosterkamp, Hendrika M; Bosch, Cathy A J; Velds, Arno; Wessels, Lodewyk F A; Loo, Claudette; Rutgers, Emiel J; Rodenhuis, Sjoerd; van de Vijver, Marc J

2005-05-20

At present, clinically useful markers predicting response of primary breast carcinomas to either doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide (AC) or doxorubicin-docetaxel (AD) are lacking. We investigated whether gene expression profiles of the primary tumor could be used to predict treatment response to either of those chemotherapy regimens. Within a single-institution, randomized, phase II trial, patients with locally advanced breast cancer received six courses of either AC (n = 24) or AD (n = 24) neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Gene expression profiles were generated from core-needle biopsies obtained before treatment and correlated with the response of the primary tumor to the chemotherapy administered. Additionally, pretreatment gene expression profiles were compared with those in tumors remaining after chemotherapy. Ten (20%) of 48 patients showed a (near) pathologic complete remission of the primary tumor after treatment. No gene expression pattern correlating with response could be identified for all patients or for the AC or AD groups separately. The comparison of the pretreatment biopsy and the tumor excised after chemotherapy revealed differences in gene expression in tumors that showed a partial remission but not in tumors that did not respond to chemotherapy. No gene expression profile predicting the response of primary breast carcinomas to AC- or AD-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy could be detected in this interim analysis. More subtle differences in gene expression are likely to be present but can only be reliably identified by studying a larger group of patients. Response of a breast tumor to neoadjuvant chemotherapy results in alterations in gene expression.

Scattering and absorption measurements of cervical tissues measures using low cost multi-spectral imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernat, Amir S.; Bar-Am, Kfir; Cataldo, Leigh; Bolton, Frank J.; Kahn, Bruce S.; Levitz, David

2018-02-01

Cervical cancer is a leading cause of death for women in low resource settings. In order to better detect cervical dysplasia, a low cost multi-spectral colposcope was developed utilizing low costs LEDs and an area scan camera. The device is capable of both traditional colposcopic imaging and multi-spectral image capture. Following initial bench testing, the device was deployed to a gynecology clinic where it was used to image patients in a colposcopy setting. Both traditional colposcopic images and spectral data from patients were uploaded to a cloud server for remote analysis. Multi-spectral imaging ( 30 second capture) took place before any clinical procedure; the standard of care was followed thereafter. If acetic acid was used in the standard of care, a post-acetowhitening colposcopic image was also captured. In analyzing the data, normal and abnormal regions were identified in the colposcopic images by an expert clinician. Spectral data were fit to a theoretical model based on diffusion theory, yielding information on scattering and absorption parameters. Data were grouped according to clinician labeling of the tissue, as well as any additional clinical test results available (Pap, HPV, biopsy). Altogether, N=20 patients were imaged in this study, with 9 of them abnormal. In comparing normal and abnormal regions of interest from patients, substantial differences were measured in blood content, while differences in oxygen saturation parameters were more subtle. These results suggest that optical measurements made using low cost spectral imaging systems can distinguish between normal and pathological tissues.

Deconstructing autofluorescence: non-invasive detection and monitoring of biochemistry in cells and tissues (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldys, Ewa M.; Gosnell, Martin E.; Anwer, Ayad G.; Cassano, Juan C.; Sue, Carolyn M.; Mahbub, Saabah B.; Pernichery, Sandeep M.; Inglis, David W.; Adhikary, Partho P.; Jazayeri, Jalal A.; Cahill, Michael A.; Saad, Sonia; Pollock, Carol; Sutton-Mcdowall, Melanie L.; Thompson, Jeremy G.

2016-03-01

Automated and unbiased methods of non-invasive cell monitoring able to deal with complex biological heterogeneity are fundamentally important for biology and medicine. Label-free cell imaging provides information about endogenous fluorescent metabolites, enzymes and cofactors in cells. However extracting high content information from imaging of native fluorescence has been hitherto impossible. Here, we quantitatively characterise cell populations in different tissue types, live or fixed, by using novel image processing and a simple multispectral upgrade of a wide-field fluorescence microscope. Multispectral intrinsic fluorescence imaging was applied to patient olfactory neurosphere-derived cells, cell model of a human metabolic disease MELAS (mitochondrial myopathy, encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, stroke-like syndrome). By using an endogenous source of contrast, subtle metabolic variations have been detected between living cells in their full morphological context which made it possible to distinguish healthy from diseased cells before and after therapy. Cellular maps of native fluorophores, flavins, bound and free NADH and retinoids unveiled subtle metabolic signatures and helped uncover significant cell subpopulations, in particular a subpopulation with compromised mitochondrial function. The versatility of our method is further illustrated by detecting genetic mutations in cancer, non-invasive monitoring of CD90 expression, label-free tracking of stem cell differentiation, identifying stem cell subpopulations with varying functional characteristics, tissue diagnostics in diabetes, and assessing the condition of preimplantation embryos. Our optimal discrimination approach enables statistical hypothesis testing and intuitive visualisations where previously undetectable differences become clearly apparent.

Automatic detection of a hand-held needle in ultrasound via phased-based analysis of the tremor motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beigi, Parmida; Salcudean, Septimiu E.; Rohling, Robert; Ng, Gary C.

2016-03-01

This paper presents an automatic localization method for a standard hand-held needle in ultrasound based on temporal motion analysis of spatially decomposed data. Subtle displacement arising from tremor motion has a periodic pattern which is usually imperceptible in the intensity image but may convey information in the phase image. Our method aims to detect such periodic motion of a hand-held needle and distinguish it from intrinsic tissue motion, using a technique inspired by video magnification. Complex steerable pyramids allow specific design of the wavelets' orientations according to the insertion angle as well as the measurement of the local phase. We therefore use steerable pairs of even and odd Gabor wavelets to decompose the ultrasound B-mode sequence into various spatial frequency bands. Variations of the local phase measurements in the spatially decomposed input data is then temporally analyzed using a finite impulse response bandpass filter to detect regions with a tremor motion pattern. Results obtained from different pyramid levels are then combined and thresholded to generate the binary mask input for the Hough transform, which determines an estimate of the direction angle and discards some of the outliers. Polynomial fitting is used at the final stage to remove any remaining outliers and improve the trajectory detection. The detected needle is finally added back to the input sequence as an overlay of a cloud of points. We demonstrate the efficiency of our approach to detect the needle using subtle tremor motion in an agar phantom and in-vivo porcine cases where intrinsic motion is also present. The localization accuracy was calculated by comparing to expert manual segmentation, and presented in (mean, standard deviation and root-mean-square error) of (0.93°, 1.26° and 0.87°) and (1.53 mm, 1.02 mm and 1.82 mm) for the trajectory and the tip, respectively.

Digital mammography: comparative performance of color LCD and monochrome CRT displays.

PubMed

Samei, Ehsan; Poolla, Ananth; Ulissey, Michael J; Lewin, John M

2007-05-01

To evaluate the comparative performance of high-fidelity liquid crystal display (LCD) and cathode ray tube (CRT) devices for mammography applications, and to assess the impact of LCD viewing angle on detection accuracy. Ninety 1 k x 1 k images were selected from a database of digital mammograms: 30 without any abnormality present, 30 with subtle masses, and 30 with subtle microcalcifications. The images were used with waived informed consent, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance, and Institutional Review Board approval. With postprocessing presentation identical to those of the commercial mammography system used, 1 k x 1 k sections of images were viewed on a monochrome CRT and a color LCD in native grayscale, and with a grayscale representative of images viewed from a 30 degrees or 50 degrees off-normal viewing angle. Randomized images were independently scored by four experienced breast radiologists for the presence of lesions using a 0-100 grading scale. To compare diagnostic performance of the display modes, observer scores were analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and analysis of variance. For masses and microcalcifications, the detection rate in terms of the area under the ROC curve (A(z)) showed a 2% increase and a 4% decrease from CRT to LCD, respectively. However, differences were not statistically significant (P > .05). The viewing angle data showed better microcalcification detection but lower mass detection at 30 degrees viewing orientation. The overall results varied notably from observer to observer yielding no statistically discernible trends across all observers, suggesting that within the 0-50 degrees viewing angle range and in a controlled observer experiment, the variation in the contrast response of the LCD has little or no impact on the detection of mammographic lesions. Although CRTs and LCDs differ in terms of angular response, resolution, noise, and color, these characteristics seem to have little influence on the detection of mammographic lesions. The results suggest comparable performance in clinical applications of the two devices.

Subtle trisomy 12q24.3 and subtle monosomy 22q13.3: three new cases and review.

PubMed

Rodríguez, Laura; Martínez Guardia, Nieves; Herens, Christian; Jamar, Mauricette; Verloes, Alain; López, Fermina; Santos Muñoz, José; Martínez-Frías, María Luisa

2003-10-01

The high resolution G-bands (850 bands) karyotype have made it possible to identify small chromosome anomalies (5 megabases) which are now microscopically visible. New techniques have been improved, such as the Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with subtelomeric probes, which can be employed to detect cryptic chromosome alterations not visible microscopically. We present three cases which had been remitted for a high resolution karyotype. The high resolution G-band karyotype and the FISH techniques led us to conclude that the three cases were carriers of a similar subtle chromosomal alteration. Case I is a new born female with developmental and psychomotor delay, hypotonia, and long limbs with arachnodactily. A high resolution G-band karyotype showed an abnormal chromosome 22. FISH techniques confirmed a der(22)t(12;22)(q24.31;q13.3). Case II is a 12-year-old girl, with growth retardation, long shaped face with thick eyebrows, smooth philtrum, and thin upper lip with severe mental retardation (still no language), with a phenotype very similar to that of his sister: long shaped face, thick eyebrows, smooth philtrum, and thin upper lip. A high resolution G-band karyotype also showed in Case II and III an abnormal chromosome 22, studied by FISH techniques which confirmed a der(22)t(12;22)(q24.3;q13.3) in both cases. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Automated data processing of { 1H-decoupled} 13C MR spectra acquired from human brain in vivo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shic, Frederick; Ross, Brian

2003-06-01

In clinical 13C infusion studies, broadband excitation of 200 ppm of the human brain yields 13C MR spectra with a time resolution of 2-5 min and generates up to 2000 metabolite peaks over 2 h. We describe a fast, automated, observer-independent technique for processing { 1H-decoupled} 13C spectra. Quantified 13C spectroscopic signals, before and after the administration of [1- 13C]glucose and/or [1- 13C]acetate in human subjects are determined. Stepwise improvements of data processing are illustrated by examples of normal and pathological results. Variation in analysis of individual 13C resonances ranged between 2 and 14%. Using this method it is possible to reliably identify subtle metabolic effects of brain disease including Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy.

[Qi as a materialist concept on the level of medical philosophy].

PubMed

Su, Zhan-Qing

2005-03-01

This paper has made a distinction between the materialist concept of qi on the medical philosophical level and its substantial existence, and illustrated the materiality and multiplicity of qi. Materiality refers to the objective reality, a summation of various things or phenomena related to human beings; while multiplicity refers to diversity of specific substances, each holding its individual essence. Based on two essential conceptions "xiang" and "xiangji", and combining the theories of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, this paper has also made a preliminary study on the substantial existence of qi at macro- and micro-levels, and on physiological (normal) and pathological (abnormal) aspects. It is the author's argument that studies of the substantial existence of qi from different aspects, micro-dimension in particular, will push the syndrome differentiation of traditional Chinese medicine to a more subtle sphere.

Sleep electroencephalography and heart rate variability interdependence amongst healthy subjects and insomnia/schizophrenia patients.

PubMed

Chaparro-Vargas, Ramiro; Schilling, Claudia; Schredl, Michael; Cvetkovic, Dean

2016-01-01

The quantification of interdependencies within autonomic nervous system has gained increasing importance to characterise healthy and psychiatric disordered subjects. The present work introduces a biosignal processing approach, suggesting a computational resource to estimate coherent or synchronised interactions as an eventual supportive aid in the diagnosis of primary insomnia and schizophrenia pathologies. By deploying linear, nonlinear and statistical methods upon 25 electroencephalographic and electrocardiographic overnight sleep recordings, the assessment of cross-correlation, wavelet coherence and [Formula: see text]:[Formula: see text] phase synchronisation is focused on tracking discerning features amongst the clinical cohorts. Our results indicate that certain neuronal oscillations interact with cardiac power bands in distinctive ways responding to standardised sleep stages and patient groups, which promotes the hypothesis of subtle functional dynamics between neuronal assembles and (para)sympathetic activity subject to pathophysiological conditions.

Use of Advanced Machine-Learning Techniques for Non-Invasive Monitoring of Hemorrhage

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-01

that state-of-the-art machine learning techniques when integrated with novel non-invasive monitoring technologies could detect subtle, physiological...decompensation. Continuous, non-invasively measured hemodynamic signals (e.g., ECG, blood pressures, stroke volume) were used for the development of machine ... learning algorithms. Accuracy estimates were obtained by building models using 27 subjects and testing on the 28th. This process was repeated 28 times

Multi-energy spectral CT: adding value in emergency body imaging.

PubMed

Punjabi, Gopal V

2018-04-01

Most vendors offer scanners capable of dual- or multi-energy computed tomography (CT) imaging. Advantages of multi-energy CT scanning include superior tissue characterization, detection of subtle iodine uptake differences, and opportunities to reduce contrast dose. However, utilization of this technology in the emergency department (ED) remains low. The purpose of this pictorial essay is to illustrate the value of multi-energy CT scanning in emergency body imaging.

The Utility of the SASSI-3 in Early Detection of Substance Use Disorders in Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity Acquittees: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Ervin E., II; Piazza, Nick J.; Laux, John M.

2008-01-01

Previous studies have shown the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-3 (G. Miller, 1999) to be valid in classifying substance use disorders in forensic and mentally ill populations. The authors found that it also correctly classified substance use disorders in the understudied not guilty by reason of insanity population. (Contains 3 tables.)

High-Throughput Biophysical Analysis and Data Visualization of Conformational Stability of an IgG1 Monoclonal Antibody (mAb) After Deglycosylation

PubMed Central

Alsenaidy, Mohammad A.; Kim, Jae Hyun; Majumdar, Ranajoy; Weis, David D.; Joshi, Sangeeta B.; Tolbert, Thomas J.; Middaugh, C. Russell; Volkin, David B.

2013-01-01

The structural integrity and conformational stability of an IgG1 monoclonal antibody (mAb), after partial and complete enzymatic removal of the N-linked Fc glycan, was compared to the untreated mAb over a wide range of temperature (10° to 90°C) and solution pH (3 to 8) using circular dichroism, fluorescence spectroscopy, and static light scattering combined with data visualization employing empirical phase diagrams (EPDs). Subtle to larger stability differences between the different glycoforms were observed. Improved detection of physical stability differences was then demonstrated over narrower pH range (4.0-6.0) using smaller temperature increments, especially when combined with an alternative data visualization method (radar plots). Differential scanning calorimetry and differential scanning fluorimetry were then utilized and also showed an improved ability to detect differences in mAb glycoform physical stability. Based on these results, a two-step methodology was used in which mAb glycoform conformational stability is first screened with a wide variety of instruments and environmental stresses, followed by a second evaluation with optimally sensitive experimental conditions, analytical techniques and data visualization methods. With this approach, high-throughput biophysical analysis to assess relatively subtle conformational stability differences in protein glycoforms is demonstrated. PMID:24114789

Pneumocystis PCR: It Is Time to Make PCR the Test of Choice

PubMed Central

Doyle, Laura; Vogel, Sherilynn

2017-01-01

Abstract Background The testing strategy for Pneumocystis at the Cleveland Clinic changed from toluidine blue staining to polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We studied the differences in positivity rates for these assays and compared each with the detection of Pneumocystis in companion specimens by cytology and surgical pathology. Methods We reviewed the results of all Pneumocystis test orders 1 year before and 1 year after the implementation of a Pneumocystis-specific PCR. We also reviewed the corresponding cytology and surgical pathology results, if performed. Finally, we reviewed the medical records of patients with rare Pneumocystis detected by PCR in an effort to differentiate colonization vs true disease. Results Toluidine blue staining and surgical pathology had similar sensitivities and negative predictive values, both of which were superior to cytology. There was a >4-fold increase in the annual detection of Pneumocystis by PCR compared with toluidine blue staining (toluidine blue staining: 11/1583 [0.69%] vs PCR: 44/1457 [3.0%]; chi-square P < .001). PCR detected 1 more case than surgical pathology and was far more sensitive than cytology. Chart review demonstrated that the vast majority of patients with rare Pneumocystis detected were immunosuppressed, had radiologic findings supportive of this infection, had no other pathogens detected, and were treated for pneumocystosis by the clinical team. Conclusion PCR was the most sensitive method for the detection of Pneumocystis and should be considered the diagnostic test of choice. Correlation with clinical and radiologic findings affords discrimination of early true disease from the far rarer instances of colonization. PMID:29062861

Neuropathologic Associations of Learning and Memory in Primary Progressive Aphasia.

PubMed

Kielb, Stephanie; Cook, Amanda; Wieneke, Christina; Rademaker, Alfred; Bigio, Eileen H; Mesulam, Marek-Marsel; Rogalski, Emily; Weintraub, Sandra

2016-07-01

The dementia syndrome of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) can be caused by 1 of several neuropathologic entities, including forms of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) or Alzheimer disease (AD). Although episodic memory is initially spared in this syndrome, the subtle learning and memory features of PPA and their neuropathologic associations have not been characterized. To detect subtle memory differences on the basis of autopsy-confirmed neuropathologic diagnoses in PPA. Retrospective analysis was conducted at the Northwestern Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center in August 2015 using clinical and postmortem autopsy data that had been collected between August 1983 and June 2012. Thirteen patients who had the primary clinical diagnosis of PPA and an autopsy-confirmed diagnosis of either AD (PPA-AD) or a tau variant of FTLD (PPA-FTLD) and 6 patients who had the clinical diagnosis of amnestic dementia and autopsy-confirmed AD (AMN-AD) were included. Scores on the effortless learning, delayed retrieval, and retention conditions of the Three Words Three Shapes test, a specialized measure of verbal and nonverbal episodic memory. The PPA-FTLD (n = 6), PPA-AD (n = 7), and AMN-AD (n = 6) groups did not differ by demographic composition (all P > .05). The sample mean (SD) age was 64.1 (10.3) years at symptom onset and 67.9 (9.9) years at Three Words Three Shapes test administration. The PPA-FTLD group had normal (ie, near-ceiling) scores on all verbal and nonverbal test conditions. Both the PPA-AD and AMN-AD groups had deficits in verbal effortless learning (mean [SD] number of errors, 9.9 [4.6] and 14.2 [2.0], respectively) and verbal delayed retrieval (mean [SD] number of errors, 6.1 [5.9] and 12.0 [4.4], respectively). The AMN-AD group had additional deficits in nonverbal effortless learning (mean [SD] number of errors, 10.3 [4.0]) and verbal retention (mean [SD] number of errors, 8.33 [5.2]), which were not observed in the PPA-FTLD or PPA-AD groups (all P < .005). This study identified neuropathologic associations of learning and memory in autopsy-confirmed cases of PPA. Among patients with clinical PPA syndrome, AD neuropathology appeared to interfere with effortless learning and delayed retrieval of verbal information, whereas FTLD-tau pathology did not. The results provide directions for future research on the interactions between limbic and language networks.

Influence of Lewy Pathology on Alzheimer's Disease Phenotype: A Retrospective Clinico-Pathological Study.

PubMed

Roudil, Jennifer; Deramecourt, Vincent; Dufournet, Boris; Dubois, Bruno; Ceccaldi, Mathieu; Duyckaerts, Charles; Pasquier, Florence; Lebouvier, Thibaud

2018-01-01

Studies have shown the frequent coexistence of Lewy pathology (LP) in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The aim of this study was to determine the influence of LP on the clinical and cognitive phenotype in a cohort of patients with a neuropathological diagnosis of AD. We reviewed neuropathologically proven AD cases, reaching Braak stages V and VI in the brain banks of Lille and Paris between 1993 and 2016, and classified them according to LP extension (amygdala, brainstem, limbic, or neocortical). We then searched patient files for all available clinical and neuropsychiatric features and neuropsychological data. Thirty-three subjects were selected for this study, among which 16 were devoid of LP and 17 presented AD with concomitant LP. The latter were stratified into two subgroups according to LP distribution: 7 were AD with amygdala LP and 10 were AD with 'classical' (brainstem, limbic or neocortical) LP. When analyzing the incidence of each clinical feature at any point during the disease course, we found no significant difference in symptom frequency between the three groups. However, fluctuations appeared significantly earlier in patients with classical LP (2±3.5 years) than in patients without LP (7±1.7 years) or with amygdala LP (8±2.8 years; p < 0.01). There was no significant difference in cognitive profiles. Our findings suggest that the influence of LP on the clinical phenotype of AD is subtle. Core features of dementia with Lewy bodies do not allow clinical diagnosis of a concomitant LP on a patient-to-patient basis.

A new approach to the characterization of subtle errors in everyday action: implications for mild cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Seligman, Sarah C; Giovannetti, Tania; Sestito, John; Libon, David J

2014-01-01

Mild functional difficulties have been associated with early cognitive decline in older adults and increased risk for conversion to dementia in mild cognitive impairment, but our understanding of this decline has been limited by a dearth of objective methods. This study evaluated the reliability and validity of a new system to code subtle errors on an established performance-based measure of everyday action and described preliminary findings within the context of a theoretical model of action disruption. Here 45 older adults completed the Naturalistic Action Test (NAT) and neuropsychological measures. NAT performance was coded for overt errors, and subtle action difficulties were scored using a novel coding system. An inter-rater reliability coefficient was calculated. Validity of the coding system was assessed using a repeated-measures ANOVA with NAT task (simple versus complex) and error type (overt versus subtle) as within-group factors. Correlation/regression analyses were conducted among overt NAT errors, subtle NAT errors, and neuropsychological variables. The coding of subtle action errors was reliable and valid, and episodic memory breakdown predicted subtle action disruption. Results suggest that the NAT can be useful in objectively assessing subtle functional decline. Treatments targeting episodic memory may be most effective in addressing early functional impairment in older age.

MMPI-2 profiles 23 years after paediatric mild traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Hessen, Erik; Anderson, Vicki; Nestvold, Knut

2008-01-01

Research suggest that post-concussive syndrome after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is more common than chronic cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to investigate very long-term outcome of subjective complaints after paediatric mTBI. The study was a follow-up 23 years after a prospective head injury study at a general hospital in Norway. Forty-one patients were assessed with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) 23 years after sustaining mTBI as children. A good overall outcome was found with scores close to the normative mean, average length of education and normal employment rate. However, the children that sustained complicated mTBI showed slightly more pathological scores, typical for mild post-concussive syndrome. The most important predictors of poor outcome were skull fracture and a combination of post-traumatic amnesia > 30 minutes and EEG pathology within 24 hours after TBI. No influence of pre- and post-injury risk factors on current MMPI-2 profiles was evident. The results give support for the notion of potentially differential impact of uncomplicated vs complicated mTBI. The findings suggest that children and adolescents sustaining complicated mTBI may be at risk of developing subtle chronic symptoms typical of post-concussive syndrome.

MPHASYS: a mouse phenotype analysis system

PubMed Central

Calder, R Brent; Beems, Rudolf B; van Steeg, Harry; Mian, I Saira; Lohman, Paul HM; Vijg, Jan

2007-01-01

Background Systematic, high-throughput studies of mouse phenotypes have been hampered by the inability to analyze individual animal data from a multitude of sources in an integrated manner. Studies generally make comparisons at the level of genotype or treatment thereby excluding associations that may be subtle or involve compound phenotypes. Additionally, the lack of integrated, standardized ontologies and methodologies for data exchange has inhibited scientific collaboration and discovery. Results Here we introduce a Mouse Phenotype Analysis System (MPHASYS), a platform for integrating data generated by studies of mouse models of human biology and disease such as aging and cancer. This computational platform is designed to provide a standardized methodology for working with animal data; a framework for data entry, analysis and sharing; and ontologies and methodologies for ensuring accurate data capture. We describe the tools that currently comprise MPHASYS, primarily ones related to mouse pathology, and outline its use in a study of individual animal-specific patterns of multiple pathology in mice harboring a specific germline mutation in the DNA repair and transcription-specific gene Xpd. Conclusion MPHASYS is a system for analyzing multiple data types from individual animals. It provides a framework for developing data analysis applications, and tools for collecting and distributing high-quality data. The software is platform independent and freely available under an open-source license [1]. PMID:17553167

The role of glia in late-life depression.

PubMed

Paradise, Matt Bennett; Naismith, Sharon Linda; Norrie, Louisa Margaret; Graeber, Manuel Benedikt; Hickie, Ian Bernard

2012-12-01

Late-life depression (LLD) has a complex and multifactoral etiology. There is growing interest in elucidating how glia, acting alone or as part of a glial-neuronal network, may contribute to the pathophysiology of depression. In this paper, we explore results from neuroimaging studies showing gray-matter volume loss in key frontal and subcortical structures implicated in LLD, and present the few histological studies that have examined neuronal and glial densities in these regions. Compared to results in younger people with depression, there appear to be age-dependent differences in neuronal pathology but the changes in glial pathology may be more subtle, perhaps reflecting a longer-term compensatory gliosis to earlier damage. We then consider the mechanisms by which both astrocytes and microglia may mediate and modulate neuronal dysfunction and possible degeneration in depression. These include a critical role in the response to peripheral inflammation and central microglial activation, as well as a key role in glutamate metabolism. Advances in our understanding of glia are highlighted, including the role of microglia as "electricians" of the brain and astrocytes as key communicating cells, an integral part of the tripartite synapse. Finally, implications for clinicians are discussed, including the consideration of glia as biomarkers for LLD and incorporation of glia into future therapeutic strategies.

Positron emission tomography with α-[11C]methyl-L-tryptophan in tuberous sclerosis complex-related epilepsy.

PubMed

Rubí, Sebastià; Costes, Nicolas; Heckemann, Rolf A; Bouvard, Sandrine; Hammers, Alexander; Martí Fuster, Berta; Ostrowsky, Karine; Montavont, Alexandra; Jung, Julien; Setoain, Xavier; Catenoix, Hélène; Hino, Keiko; Liger, François; Le Bars, Didier; Ryvlin, Philippe

2013-12-01

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is often associated with cerebral tubers and medically intractable epilepsy. We reevaluated whether increased uptake of α-[(11) C]methyl-l-tryptophan (AMT) in cerebral tubers is associated with tuber epileptogenicity. We included 12 patients (six male, 4-53 years old) with TSC and refractory seizures who were evaluated for epilepsy surgery in our center, including video-electroencephalographic (EEG) monitoring, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery magnetic resonance imaging (FLAIR MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET) with α-[(11) C]methyl-l-tryptophan (AMT-PET). Nine of these 12 patients also underwent intracerebral EEG recording. AMT uptake in each tuber was visually evaluated on PET coregistered with MRI. An AMT uptake index based on lesional/healthy cortex ratio was also calculated. Sensitivity and specificity values of AMT-PET in the detection of epileptogenic lesions were obtained, using the available electroclinical and neuroimaging evidence as the gold standard for epileptogenicity. A total of 126 tubers were identified. Two of 12 patients demonstrated a tuber with clearly increased AMT uptake, one of whom also showed a subtle increased AMT uptake in another contralateral tuber. Four other patients showed only subtle increased AMT uptake. The only two tubers with clearly increased AMT uptake proved to be epileptogenic based on intracerebral EEG data, whereas none of the tubers associated with subtle increased AMT uptake were involved at ictal onset. In a per-patient approach, this yielded a sensitivity of clearly increased AMT uptake in detecting tuber epileptogenicity of 17% (2/12 patients), whereas the per-lesion sensitivity and specificity were 12% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3-34%) and 100% (95% CI: 97-100%), respectively. AMT-PET is a specific neuroimaging technique in the identification of epileptogenic tubers in TSC. Despite its low sensitivity, the clinical usefulness of AMT-PET still deserves to be considered according to the challenging complexity of epilepsy surgery in tuberous sclerosis. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2013 International League Against Epilepsy.

Fluorescence ratiometric classifier for the detection of skin pathologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anand, Suresh; Cicchi, Riccardo; Cosci, Alessandro; Rossari, Susanna; Kapsokalyvas, Dimitrios; Baria, Enrico; Maio, Vincenza; Massi, Daniela; De Giorgi, Vincenzo; Pimpinelli, Nicola; Pavone, Francesco S.

2015-07-01

Detection of pre-malignant lesions in skin could help in reducing the 5 year patient mortality rates and greatly advancing the quality of life. Current gold standard for the detection of skin pathologies is a tissue biopsy and followed by a series of steps before it is examined under a light microscope by a pathologist. The disadvantage with this method is its invasiveness. Light based biomedical point spectroscopic techniques offers an adjunct technique to invasive tissue pathology. In this context, we have implemented a simple multiplexed ratiometric approach (F470/F560 and F510/F580) based on fluorescence at two excitation wavelengths 378 nm and 445 nm respectively. The emission profile at these excitation wavelengths showed a shift towards the longer wavelengths for melanoma when compared with normal and nevus. At both excitation wavelengths, we observed an increased intensity ratios for normal, followed by nevus and melanoma. This intensity ratios provide a good diagnostic capability in differentiating normal, nevus and melanocytic skin lesions. This method could be applied in vivo because of the simplicity involved in discriminating normal and pathological skin tissues.

Automated scoring of regional lung perfusion in children from contrast enhanced 3D MRI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heimann, Tobias; Eichinger, Monika; Bauman, Grzegorz; Bischoff, Arved; Puderbach, Michael; Meinzer, Hans-Peter

2012-03-01

MRI perfusion images give information about regional lung function and can be used to detect pulmonary pathologies in cystic fibrosis (CF) children. However, manual assessment of the percentage of pathologic tissue in defined lung subvolumes features large inter- and intra-observer variation, making it difficult to determine disease progression consistently. We present an automated method to calculate a regional score for this purpose. First, lungs are located based on thresholding and morphological operations. Second, statistical shape models of left and right children's lungs are initialized at the determined locations and used to precisely segment morphological images. Segmentation results are transferred to perfusion maps and employed as masks to calculate perfusion statistics. An automated threshold to determine pathologic tissue is calculated and used to determine accurate regional scores. We evaluated the method on 10 MRI images and achieved an average surface distance of less than 1.5 mm compared to manual reference segmentations. Pathologic tissue was detected correctly in 9 cases. The approach seems suitable for detecting early signs of CF and monitoring response to therapy.

Intraoperative imaging during Mohs surgery with reflectance confocal microscopy: initial clinical experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flores, Eileen S.; Cordova, Miguel; Kose, Kivanc; Phillips, William; Rossi, Anthony; Nehal, Kishwer; Rajadhyaksha, Milind

2015-06-01

Mohs surgery for the removal of nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) is performed in stages, while being guided by the examination for residual tumor with frozen pathology. However, preparation of frozen pathology at each stage is time consuming and labor intensive. Real-time intraoperative reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM), combined with video mosaicking, may enable rapid detection of residual tumor directly in the surgical wounds on patients. We report our initial experience on 25 patients, using aluminum chloride for nuclear contrast. Imaging was performed in quadrants in the wound to simulate the Mohs surgeon's examination of pathology. Images and videos of the epidermal and dermal margins were found to be of clinically acceptable quality. Bright nuclear morphology was identified at the epidermal margin and detectable in residual NMSC tumors. The presence of residual tumor and normal skin features could be detected in the peripheral and deep dermal margins. Intraoperative RCM imaging may enable detection of residual tumor directly on patients during Mohs surgery, and may serve as an adjunct for frozen pathology. Ultimately, for routine clinical utility, a stronger tumor-to-dermis contrast may be necessary, and also a smaller microscope with an automated approach for imaging in the entire wound in a rapid and controlled manner.

Detection of tuberculosis patterns in digital photographs of chest X-ray images using Deep Learning: feasibility study.

PubMed

Becker, A S; Blüthgen, C; Phi van, V D; Sekaggya-Wiltshire, C; Castelnuovo, B; Kambugu, A; Fehr, J; Frauenfelder, T

2018-03-01

To evaluate the feasibility of Deep Learning-based detection and classification of pathological patterns in a set of digital photographs of chest X-ray (CXR) images of tuberculosis (TB) patients. In this prospective, observational study, patients with previously diagnosed TB were enrolled. Photographs of their CXRs were taken using a consumer-grade digital still camera. The images were stratified by pathological patterns into classes: cavity, consolidation, effusion, interstitial changes, miliary pattern or normal examination. Image analysis was performed with commercially available Deep Learning software in two steps. Pathological areas were first localised; detected areas were then classified. Detection was assessed using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis, and classification using a confusion matrix. The study cohort was 138 patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and TB co-infection (median age 34 years, IQR 28-40); 54 patients were female. Localisation of pathological areas was excellent (area under the ROC curve 0.82). The software could perfectly distinguish pleural effusions from intraparenchymal changes. The most frequent misclassifications were consolidations as cavitations, and miliary patterns as interstitial patterns (and vice versa). Deep Learning analysis of CXR photographs is a promising tool. Further efforts are needed to build larger, high-quality data sets to achieve better diagnostic performance.

Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer Local Recurrence After Radiation Therapy Occurs at the Site of Primary Tumor: Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Step-Section Pathology Evidence

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pucar, Darko; Hricak, Hedvig; Shukla-Dave, Amita

2007-09-01

Purpose: To determine whether prostate cancer local recurrence after radiation therapy (RT) occurs at the site of primary tumor by retrospectively comparing the tumor location on pre-RT and post-RT magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and using step-section pathology after salvage radical prostatectomy (SRP) as the reference standard. Methods and Materials: Nine patients with localized prostate cancer were treated with intensity modulated RT (69-86.4 Gy), and had pre-RT and post-RT prostate MRI, biopsy-proven local recurrence, and SRP. The location and volume of lesions on pre-RT and post-RT MRI were correlated with step-section pathology findings. Tumor foci >0.2 cm{sup 3} and/or resulting inmore » extraprostatic disease on pathology were considered clinically significant. Results: All nine significant tumor foci (one in each patient; volume range, 0.22-8.63 cm{sup 3}) were detected both on pre-RT and post-RT MRI and displayed strikingly similar appearances on pre-RT and post-RT MRI and step-section pathology. Two clinically insignificant tumor foci ({<=}0.06 cm{sup 3}) were not detected on imaging. The ratios between tumor volumes on pathology and on post-RT MRI ranged from 0.52 to 2.80. Conclusions: Our study provides a direct visual confirmation that clinically significant post-RT local recurrence occurs at the site of primary tumor. Our results are in agreement with reported clinical and pathologic results and support the current practice of boosting the radiation dose within the primary tumor using imaging guidance. They also suggest that monitoring of primary tumor with pre-RT and post-RT MRI could lead to early detection of local recurrence amenable to salvage treatment.« less

The posterolateral corner of the knee.

PubMed

Vinson, Emily N; Major, Nancy M; Helms, Clyde A

2008-02-01

The purpose of this article is to review the clinical importance and MRI appearances of injuries to the posterolateral corner of the knee. Injuries to the posterolateral corner structures of the knee can cause significant disability due to instability, cartilage degeneration, and cruciate graft failure. Becoming familiar with the anatomy of this region can improve one's ability to detect subtle abnormalities and can perhaps lead to improvements in diagnosing and understanding injuries to this area.

PARTICLE PHYSICS: CERN Collider Glimpses Supersymmetry--Maybe.

PubMed

Seife, C

2000-07-14

Last week, particle physicists at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland announced that by smashing together matter and antimatter in four experiments, they detected an unexpected effect in the sprays of particles that ensued. The anomaly is subtle, and physicists caution that it might still be a statistical fluke. If confirmed, however, it could mark the long-sought discovery of a whole zoo of new particles--and the end of a long-standing model of particle physics.

Detecting subtle hydrochemical anomalies with multivariate statistics: an example from homogeneous groundwaters in the Great Artesian Basin, Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Shea, Bethany; Jankowski, Jerzy

2006-12-01

The major ion composition of Great Artesian Basin groundwater in the lower Namoi River valley is relatively homogeneous in chemical composition. Traditional graphical techniques have been combined with multivariate statistical methods to determine whether subtle differences in the chemical composition of these waters can be delineated. Hierarchical cluster analysis and principal components analysis were successful in delineating minor variations within the groundwaters of the study area that were not visually identified in the graphical techniques applied. Hydrochemical interpretation allowed geochemical processes to be identified in each statistically defined water type and illustrated how these groundwaters differ from one another. Three main geochemical processes were identified in the groundwaters: ion exchange, precipitation, and mixing between waters from different sources. Both statistical methods delineated an anomalous sample suspected of being influenced by magmatic CO2 input. The use of statistical methods to complement traditional graphical techniques for waters appearing homogeneous is emphasized for all investigations of this type. Copyright

[3D FSPGR (fast spoiled gradient echo) magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of focal cortical dysplasia in children].

PubMed

Alikhanov, A A; Sinitsyn, V E; Perepelova, E M; Mukhin, K Iu; Demushkina, A A; Omarova, M O; Piliia, S V

2001-01-01

Small dysplastic lesions of the cerebral cortex are often missed by conventional MRI methods. The identification of subtle structural abnormalities by traditional multiplanar rectilinear slices is often limited by the complex convolutional pattern of the brain. We used a method of FSPGR (fast spoiled gradient-echo) of three-dimensional MRI data that improves the anatomical display of the sulcal structure of the hemispheric convexities. It also reduces the asymmetric sampling of gray-white matter that may lead to false-positive results. We present 5 from 12 patients with dysplastic cortical lesions in whom conventional two-dimensional and three-dimensional MRI with multiplanar reformatting was initially considered normal. Subsequent studies using 3D FSPGR identified various types of focal cortical dysplasia in all. These results indicate that an increase in the detection of subtle focal dysplastic lesions may be accomplished when one improves the anatomical display of the brain sulcal structure by performing 3D FSPGR.

State-of-the-Art Diagnosis and Treatment of Melanoma: Optimal Multidetector Computed Tomographic Practice to Identify Metastatic Disease and Review of Innovative Therapeutic Agents.

PubMed

Jones, Blake C; Lipson, Evan J; Childers, Brandon; Fishman, Elliot K; Johnson, Pamela T

The incidence of melanoma has risen dramatically over the past several decades. Oncologists rely on the ability of radiologists to identify subtle radiographic changes representing metastatic and recurrent melanoma in uncommon locations on multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) as the front-line imaging surveillance tool. To accomplish this goal, MDCT acquisition and display must be optimized and radiologist interpretation and search patterns must be tailored to identify the unique and often subtle metastatic lesions of melanoma. This article describes MDCT acquisition and display techniques that optimize the visibility of melanoma lesions, such as high-contrast display windows and multiplanar reconstructions. In addition, innovative therapies for melanoma, such as immunotherapy and small-molecule therapy, have altered clinical management and outcomes and have also changed the spectrum of therapeutic complications that can be detected on MDCT. Recent advances in melanoma therapy and potential complications that the radiologist can identify on MDCT are reviewed.

Intracerebral Injections and Ultrastructural Analysis of High-Pressure Frozen Brain Tissue.

PubMed

Weil, Marie-Theres; Ruhwedel, Torben; Möbius, Wiebke; Simons, Mikael

2017-01-03

Intracerebral injections are an invasive method to bypass the blood brain barrier and are widely used to study molecular and cellular mechanisms of the central nervous system. The administered substances are injected directly at the site of interest, executing their effect locally. By combining injections in the rat brain with state-of-the-art electron microscopy, subtle changes in ultrastructure of the nervous tissue can be detected prior to overt damage or disease. The protocol presented here involves stereotactic injection into the corpus callosum of Lewis rats and the cryopreparation of freshly dissected tissue for electron microscopy. The localization of the injection site in tissue sections during the sample preparation for transmission electron microscopy is explained and possible artifacts of the method are indicated. With the help of this powerful combination of injections and electron microscopy, subtle effects of the applied substances on the biology of neural cells can be identified and monitored over time. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Hepatic Encephalopathy: Early Diagnosis in Pediatric Patients With Cirrhosis

PubMed Central

DARA, Naghi; SAYYARI, Ali-Akbar; IMANZADEH, Farid

2014-01-01

Objective As acute liver failure (ALF) and chronic liver disease (cirrhosis) continue to increase in prevalence, we will see more cases of hepatic encephalopathy. Primary care physician are often the first to suspect it, since they are familiar with the patient’s usual physical and mental status. This serious complication typically occurs in patients with severe comorbidities and needs multidisciplinary evaluation and care. Hepatic encephalopathy should be considered in any patient with acute liver failure and cirrhosis who presents with neuropsychiatric manifestations, decrease level of consciousness (coma), change of personality, intellectual and behavioral deterioration, speech and motor dysfunction. Every cirrhotic patient may be at risk; potential precipitating factors should be addressed in regular clinic visits. The encephalopathy of liver disease may be prominent, or can be present in subtle forms, such as decline of school performance, emotional outbursts, or depression. “Subtle form” of hepatic encephalopathy may not be obvious on clinical examination, but can be detected by neurophysiologic and neuropsychiatric testing. PMID:24665321

Quantitative facial asymmetry: using three-dimensional photogrammetry to measure baseline facial surface symmetry.

PubMed

Taylor, Helena O; Morrison, Clinton S; Linden, Olivia; Phillips, Benjamin; Chang, Johnny; Byrne, Margaret E; Sullivan, Stephen R; Forrest, Christopher R

2014-01-01

Although symmetry is hailed as a fundamental goal of aesthetic and reconstructive surgery, our tools for measuring this outcome have been limited and subjective. With the advent of three-dimensional photogrammetry, surface geometry can be captured, manipulated, and measured quantitatively. Until now, few normative data existed with regard to facial surface symmetry. Here, we present a method for reproducibly calculating overall facial symmetry and present normative data on 100 subjects. We enrolled 100 volunteers who underwent three-dimensional photogrammetry of their faces in repose. We collected demographic data on age, sex, and race and subjectively scored facial symmetry. We calculated the root mean square deviation (RMSD) between the native and reflected faces, reflecting about a plane of maximum symmetry. We analyzed the interobserver reliability of the subjective assessment of facial asymmetry and the quantitative measurements and compared the subjective and objective values. We also classified areas of greatest asymmetry as localized to the upper, middle, or lower facial thirds. This cluster of normative data was compared with a group of patients with subtle but increasing amounts of facial asymmetry. We imaged 100 subjects by three-dimensional photogrammetry. There was a poor interobserver correlation between subjective assessments of asymmetry (r = 0.56). There was a high interobserver reliability for quantitative measurements of facial symmetry RMSD calculations (r = 0.91-0.95). The mean RMSD for this normative population was found to be 0.80 ± 0.24 mm. Areas of greatest asymmetry were distributed as follows: 10% upper facial third, 49% central facial third, and 41% lower facial third. Precise measurement permitted discrimination of subtle facial asymmetry within this normative group and distinguished norms from patients with subtle facial asymmetry, with placement of RMSDs along an asymmetry ruler. Facial surface symmetry, which is poorly assessed subjectively, can be easily and reproducibly measured using three-dimensional photogrammetry. The RMSD for facial asymmetry of healthy volunteers clusters at approximately 0.80 ± 0.24 mm. Patients with facial asymmetry due to a pathologic process can be differentiated from normative facial asymmetry based on their RMSDs.

Spectral distortion of the CMB by the cumulative CO emission from galaxies throughout cosmic history

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mashian, Natalie; Loeb, Abraham; Sternberg, Amiel

2016-05-01

We show that the cumulative CO emission from galaxies throughout cosmic history distorts the spectrum of the cosmic microwave background at a level that is well above the detection limit of future instruments, such as the Primordial Inflation Explorer. The modelled CO signal has a prominent bump in the frequency interval 100-200 GHz, with a characteristic peak intensity of ˜2 × 10-23 W m-2 Hz-1 sr-1. Most of the CO foreground originates from modest redshifts, z ˜ 2-5, and needs to be efficiently removed for more subtle distortions from the earlier Universe to be detected.

Acute Tears of the Tibialis Posterior Tendon Following Ankle Sprain.

PubMed

Jackson, Lyle T; Dunaway, Linda J; Lundeen, Gregory A

2017-07-01

Traumatic tears of the tibialis posterior (TP) tendon following an ankle sprain are rare. The purpose of this study was to report our case series of TP tendon tears following an ankle sprain. Patients with persistent TP tendon pain after an ankle sprain were retrospectively identified over a 4-year period and reviewed. A comparison of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) interpretations by a radiologist and surgeon was made. Patients failing conservative management underwent operative repair of the TP tendon tear and concomitant pathology. Failure of the index surgery was defined as TP tendinosis, which was treated with excision and flexor digitorum longus tendon transfer. Outcomes were measured with the Foot Function Index (FFI) and American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) hindfoot scores. Thirteen patients were found to have a TP tendon tear following an ankle sprain. The incidence for TP tears with sprains presented to our clinic was 1.04%. MRI identified TP tendon pathology in 4 patients by a radiologist review and in 11 patients by a surgeon review. The most common concomitant pathology was a talar osteochondral defect in 13 of 13 patients and ligament instability in 12 of 13 patients (5/13 lateral, 3/13 medial, 4/13 multidirectional instability). Four of 13 patients failed the index surgery. Of the 9 remaining patients, 4 had clinical follow-up at an average of 4.6 years postoperatively. The average FFI subscale scores were the following: pain, 40.4; disability, 28.9; and activity, 23.6. The average AOFAS hindfoot score was 68.8. Despite being rare, a TP tendon tear should be included in the differential diagnosis for persistent medial-sided pain following an ankle sprain. MRI findings can be subtle. Associated pathology was very common and likely confounded the diagnosis and outcomes. Patients should be counseled on the possibility of poor outcomes and long-term pain. Level IV, case series.

Virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis after Acquisition of Isoniazid Resistance: Individual Nature of katG Mutants and the Possible Role of AhpC.

PubMed

Nieto R, Luisa Maria; Mehaffy, Carolina; Creissen, Elizabeth; Troudt, JoLynn; Troy, Amber; Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle; Burgos, Marcos; Izzo, Angelo; Dobos, Karen M

2016-01-01

In the last decade, there were 10 million new tuberculosis cases per year globally. Around 9.5% of these cases were caused by isoniazid resistant (INHr) Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strains. Although isoniazid resistance in Mtb is multigenic, mutations in the catalase-peroxidase (katG) gene predominate among the INHr strains. The effect of these drug-resistance-conferring mutations on Mtb fitness and virulence is variable. Here, we assessed differences in bacterial growth, immune response and pathology induced by Mtb strains harboring mutations at the N-terminus of the katG gene. We studied one laboratory and one clinically isolated Mtb clonal pair from different genetic lineages. The INHr strain in each pair had one and two katG mutations with significantly reduced levels of the enzyme and peroxidase activity. Both strains share the V1A mutation, while the double mutant clinical INHr had also the novel E3V katG mutation. Four groups of C57BL/6 mice were infected with one of the Mtb strains previously described. We observed a strong reduction in virulence (reduced bacterial growth), lower induction of proinflammatory cytokines and significantly reduced pathology scores in mice infected with the clinical INHr strain compared to the infection caused by its INHs progenitor strain. On the other hand, there was a subtle reduction of bacteria growth without differences in the pathology scores in mice infected with the laboratory INHr strain. Our results also showed distinct alkyl-hydroperoxidase C (AhpC) levels in the katG mutant strains, which could explain the difference in the virulence profile observed. The difference in the AhpC levels between clonal strains was not related to a genetic defect in the gene or its promoter. Cumulatively, our results indicate that the virulence, pathology and fitness of INHr strains could be negatively affected by multiple mutations in katG, lack of the peroxidase activity and reduced AhpC levels.

Study of Retinal Nerve Fibre Layer Thickness and Visual Contrast Sensitivity in HIV Positive Individuals.

PubMed

Paul, Rudrajit; Ghosh, Asim K; Nag, Adwaita; Biswas, Shyamapada; Naiya, Britisundar; Mondal, Jayati

2017-06-01

Measurement of Retinal Nerve Fibre Layer Thickness (RNFLT) by Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a sensitive, non invasive and cheap method of detecting early retinal changes in a variety of diseases. In HIV infection, RNFLT is altered and this may have effect on other visual functions like Contrast Sensitivity (CS) and visual acuity. Such ocular pathology can affect the daily life and profession (especially driving) of HIV infected individuals. However, studies on this topic in HIV infected population are rare from India. To study RNFLT, CS and their correlation in a sample of HIV positive Indian population. The present cross-sectional study was done in a tertiary care medical college hospital of Eastern India between May 2016 and September 2016. We did this study on HIV positive subjects with no clinically apparent ocular infection or other pathology. In this study, we have measured the RNFLT using the HRA-OCT Spectralis machine. The CS was tested using a smartphone version of the Pellie-Robson chart. CD4 count, visual acuity and colour vision were also tested. The data was analysed using SPSS version 20.0 for any correlation between these parameters. Pearson coefficient was used for continuous data and Spearman rank correlation was used for categorical data. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant. We had 17 patients, that is 34 eyes. RNFLT loss was found in 21% of the eyes and borderline thinning was found in a further 26%. Predominantly, the temporal quadrant was involved. The mean of log CS was 1.33±0.38. Taking 1.5 as the cut-off value for normalcy, 47% of the eyes tested showed decreased CS. Log CS showed significant correlation with RNFLT of the temporal quadrant only (r=0.37; 95% C.I. 0.041 to 0.631; p=0.02). Temporal RNFLT also showed statistical correlation with the CD4 count. The low CS was also significantly correlated with low visual acuity (r=0.5). In HIV infected persons, subtle ocular changes may occur and this may affect visual functions quite early. Hence, a comprehensive eye check-up should include parameters like CS and OCT.

Automated detection of retinal nerve fiber layer defects on fundus images: false positive reduction based on vessel likelihood

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muramatsu, Chisako; Ishida, Kyoko; Sawada, Akira; Hatanaka, Yuji; Yamamoto, Tetsuya; Fujita, Hiroshi

2016-03-01

Early detection of glaucoma is important to slow down or cease progression of the disease and for preventing total blindness. We have previously proposed an automated scheme for detection of retinal nerve fiber layer defect (NFLD), which is one of the early signs of glaucoma observed on retinal fundus images. In this study, a new multi-step detection scheme was included to improve detection of subtle and narrow NFLDs. In addition, new features were added to distinguish between NFLDs and blood vessels, which are frequent sites of false positives (FPs). The result was evaluated with a new test dataset consisted of 261 cases, including 130 cases with NFLDs. Using the proposed method, the initial detection rate was improved from 82% to 98%. At the sensitivity of 80%, the number of FPs per image was reduced from 4.25 to 1.36. The result indicates the potential usefulness of the proposed method for early detection of glaucoma.

Detection of Pathological Voice Using Cepstrum Vectors: A Deep Learning Approach.

PubMed

Fang, Shih-Hau; Tsao, Yu; Hsiao, Min-Jing; Chen, Ji-Ying; Lai, Ying-Hui; Lin, Feng-Chuan; Wang, Chi-Te

2018-03-19

Computerized detection of voice disorders has attracted considerable academic and clinical interest in the hope of providing an effective screening method for voice diseases before endoscopic confirmation. This study proposes a deep-learning-based approach to detect pathological voice and examines its performance and utility compared with other automatic classification algorithms. This study retrospectively collected 60 normal voice samples and 402 pathological voice samples of 8 common clinical voice disorders in a voice clinic of a tertiary teaching hospital. We extracted Mel frequency cepstral coefficients from 3-second samples of a sustained vowel. The performances of three machine learning algorithms, namely, deep neural network (DNN), support vector machine, and Gaussian mixture model, were evaluated based on a fivefold cross-validation. Collective cases from the voice disorder database of MEEI (Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary) were used to verify the performance of the classification mechanisms. The experimental results demonstrated that DNN outperforms Gaussian mixture model and support vector machine. Its accuracy in detecting voice pathologies reached 94.26% and 90.52% in male and female subjects, based on three representative Mel frequency cepstral coefficient features. When applied to the MEEI database for validation, the DNN also achieved a higher accuracy (99.32%) than the other two classification algorithms. By stacking several layers of neurons with optimized weights, the proposed DNN algorithm can fully utilize the acoustic features and efficiently differentiate between normal and pathological voice samples. Based on this pilot study, future research may proceed to explore more application of DNN from laboratory and clinical perspectives. Copyright © 2018 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Contrast Enhancement of the Right Ventricle during Coronary CT Angiography--Is It Necessary?

PubMed

Kok, Madeleine; Kietselaer, Bas L J H; Mihl, Casper; Altintas, Sibel; Nijssen, Estelle C; Wildberger, Joachim E; Das, Marco

2015-01-01

It is unclear if prolonged contrast media injection, to improve right ventricular visualization during coronary CT angiography, leads to increased detection of right ventricle pathology. The purpose of this study was to evaluate right ventricle enhancement and subsequent detection of right ventricle disease during coronary CT angiography. 472 consecutive patients referred for screening coronary CT angiography were retrospectively evaluated. Every patient underwent multidetector-row CT of the coronary arteries: 128x 0.6mm coll., 100-120kV, rot. time 0.28s, ref. mAs 350 and received an individualized (P3T) contrast bolus injection of iodinated contrast medium (300 mgI/ml). Patient data were analyzed to assess right ventricle enhancement (HU) and right ventricle pathology. Image quality was defined good when right ventricle enhancement >200HU, moderate when 140-200HU and poor when <140HU. Good image quality was found in 372 patients, moderate in 80 patients and poor in 20 patients. Mean enhancement of the right ventricle cavity was 268HU±102. Patients received an average bolus of 108±24 ml at an average peak flow rate of 6.1±2.2 ml/s. In only three out of 472 patients (0.63%) pathology of the right ventricle was found (dilatation) No other right ventricle pathology was detected. Right ventricle pathology was detected in three out of 472 patients; the dilatation observed in these three cases may have been picked up even without dedicated enhancement of the right ventricle. Based on our findings, right ventricle enhancement can be omitted during screening coronary CT angiography.

Laboratory practice guidelines for detecting and reporting JAK2 and MPL mutations in myeloproliferative neoplasms: a report of the Association for Molecular Pathology.

PubMed

Gong, Jerald Z; Cook, James R; Greiner, Timothy C; Hedvat, Cyrus; Hill, Charles E; Lim, Megan S; Longtine, Janina A; Sabath, Daniel; Wang, Y Lynn

2013-11-01

Recurrent mutations in JAK2 and MPL genes are genetic hallmarks of BCR-ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms. Detection of JAK2 and MPL mutations has been incorporated into routine diagnostic algorithms for these diseases. This Special Article summarizes results from a nationwide laboratory survey of JAK2 and MPL mutation analysis. Based on the current practice pattern and the literature, this Special Article provides recommendations and guidelines for laboratory practice for detection of mutations in the JAK2 and MPL genes, including clinical manifestations for prompting the mutation analysis, current and recommended methodologies for testing the mutations, and standardization for reporting the test results. This Special Article also points to future directions for genomic testing in BCR-ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms. Copyright © 2013 American Society for Investigative Pathology and the Association for Molecular Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sea-surface temperature gradients across blue whale and sea turtle foraging trajectories off the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Etnoyer, Peter; Canny, David; Mate, Bruce R.; Morgan, Lance E.; Ortega-Ortiz, Joel G.; Nichols, Wallace J.

2006-02-01

Sea-surface temperature (SST) fronts are integral to pelagic ecology in the North Pacific Ocean, so it is necessary to understand their character and distribution, and the way these features influence the behavior of endangered and highly migratory species. Here, telemetry data from sixteen satellite-tagged blue whales ( Balaenoptera musculus) and sea turtles ( Caretta caretta, Chelonia mydas, and Lepidochelys olivacea) are employed to characterize 'biologically relevant' SST fronts off Baja California Sur. High residence times are used to identify presumed foraging areas, and SST gradients are calculated across advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) images of these regions. The resulting values are compared to classic definitions of SST fronts in the oceanographic literature. We find subtle changes in surface temperature (between 0.01 and 0.10 °C/km) across the foraging trajectories, near the lowest end of the oceanographic scale (between 0.03 and 0.3 °C/km), suggesting that edge-detection algorithms using gradient thresholds >0.10 °C/km may overlook pelagic habitats in tropical waters. We use this information to sensitize our edge-detection algorithm, and to identify persistent concentrations of subtle SST fronts in the Northeast Pacific Ocean between 2002 and 2004. The lower-gradient threshold increases the number of fronts detected, revealing more potential habitats in different places than we find with a higher-gradient threshold. This is the expected result, but it confirms that pelagic habitat can be overlooked, and that the temperature gradient parameter is an important one.

A new method for precise determination of endograft position and apposition in the aortic neck after endovascular aortic aneurysm repair.

PubMed

VAN Noort, Kim; Schuurmann, Richte C; Slump, Cornelis H; Vos, Jan A; Devries, Jean P

2016-10-01

Follow-up imaging after endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) focuses on detection of gross abnormalities: endoleaks and significant (>10 mm) migration. Precise determination of endograft position and wall apposition may predict late complications. We present a new measurement method to determine precise position and apposition of endografts in the aortic neck. Four patients were selected from our EVAR database. These patients had late (>1 year) type IA endoleak or >1 cm endograft migration. Twenty patients with uneventful follow-up were measured as controls. The new software adds six parameters to define endograft position and neck apposition: fabric distance to renal arteries, tilt, endograft expansion (% of the maximum original diameter), neck surface, apposition surface, and shortest apposition length. These parameters were determined on preoperative and all available postoperative CT-scans, to detect subtle changes during follow-up. All patients with endoleak or migration had increases in fabric distance, tilt, or endograft expansion or decrease of apposition surface. Changes occurred at least one CT scan before the endoleak or migration was noted in the CT reports. The patient without complications showed no changes in position or apposition during follow-up. The new measurement method detected subtle changes in endograft position and apposition during CT follow-up, not recognized initially. It can potentially determine endograft movements and decrease of apposition surface before they lead to complications like type IA endoleaks or uncorrectable migration. A larger follow-up study comparing complicated and non-complicated EVAR patients is needed to corroborate these results.

Varicella zoster virus in the temporal artery of a patient with giant cell arteritis.

PubMed

Nagel, Maria A; Khmeleva, Nelly; Boyer, Philip J; Choe, Alexander; Bert, Robert; Gilden, Don

2013-12-15

We recently detected varicella zoster virus (VZV) in the temporal arteries (TA) of 5/24 patients with clinically suspect giant cell arteritis (GCA) whose TAs were GCA-negative pathologically; in those GCA-negative, VZV+TAs, virus antigen predominated in the arterial adventitia, but without medial necrosis and multinucleated giant cells. During our continuing search for VZV antigen in GCA-negative TAs, in the TA of one subject, we found abundant VZV antigen, as well as VZV DNA, in multiple regions (skip areas) of the TA spanning 350 μm, as well as in skeletal muscle adjacent to the infected TA. Additional pathological analysis of sections adjacent to those containing viral antigen revealed inflammation involving the arterial media and abundant multinucleated giant cells characteristic of GCA. Detection of VZV in areas of the TA with pathological features of GCA warrants further correlative pathological-virological analysis of VZV in GCA. © 2013.

American Cancer Society, American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, and American Society for Clinical Pathology Screening Guidelines for the Prevention and Early Detection of Cervical Cancer

PubMed Central

Saslow, Debbie; Solomon, Diane; Lawson, Herschel W.; Killackey, Maureen; Kulasingam, Shalini; Cain, Joanna; Garcia, Francisco A. R.; Moriarty, Ann; Waxman, Alan; Wilbur, David; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Downs, Levi; Spitzer, Mark; Moscicki, Anna-Barbara; Saraiya, Mona; Franco, Eduardo L.; Stoler, Mark H.; Schiffman, Mark; Castle, Philip E.; Myers, Evan R.

2013-01-01

An update to the American Cancer Society (ACS) guideline regarding screening for the early detection of cervical precancerous lesions and cancer is presented. The guidelines are based on a systematic evidence review, contributions from six working groups, and a recent symposium co-sponsored by the ACS, American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP), and American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), which was attended by 25 organizations. The new screening recommendations address age-appropriate screening strategies, including the use of cytology and high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) testing, follow-up (e.g., management of screen positives and screening interval for screen negatives) of women after screening, age at which to exit screening, future considerations regarding HPV testing alone as a primary screening approach, and screening strategies for women vaccinated against HPV16 and HPV18 infections. PMID:22418039

American Cancer Society, American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, and American Society for Clinical Pathology Screening Guidelines for the Prevention and Early Detection of Cervical Cancer

PubMed Central

Saslow, Debbie; Solomon, Diane; Lawson, Herschel W.; Killackey, Maureen; Kulasingam, Shalini; Cain, Joanna; Garcia, Francisco A. R.; Moriarty, Ann; Waxman, Alan; Wilbur, David; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Downs, Levi; Spitzer, Mark; Moscicki, Anna-Barbara; Franco, Eduardo L.; Stoler, Mark H.; Schiffman, Mark; Castle, Philip E.; Myers, Evan R.

2013-01-01

An update to the American Cancer Society (ACS) guideline regarding screening for the early detection of cervical precancerous lesions and cancer is presented. The guidelines are based on a systematic evidence review, contributions from six working groups, and a recent symposium cosponsored by the ACS, American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP), and American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), which was attended by 25 organizations. The new screening recommendations address age-appropriate screening strategies, including the use of cytology and high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) testing, follow-up (e.g., management of screen positives and screening interval for screen negatives) of women after screening, age at which to exit screening, future considerations regarding HPV testing alone as a primary screening approach, and screening strategies for women vaccinated against HPV16 and HPV18 infections. PMID:22422631

Identifying balance impairments in people with Parkinson's disease using video and wearable sensors.

PubMed

Stack, Emma; Agarwal, Veena; King, Rachel; Burnett, Malcolm; Tahavori, Fatemeh; Janko, Balazs; Harwin, William; Ashburn, Ann; Kunkel, Dorit

2018-05-01

Falls and near falls are common among people with Parkinson's (PwP). To date, most wearable sensor research focussed on fall detection, few studies explored if wearable sensors can detect instability. Can instability (caution or near-falls) be detected using wearable sensors in comparison to video analysis? Twenty-four people (aged 60-86) with and without Parkinson's were recruited from community groups. Movements (e.g. walking, turning, transfers and reaching) were observed in the gait laboratory and/or at home; recorded using clinical measures, video and five wearable sensors (attached on the waist, ankles and wrists). After defining 'caution' and 'instability', two researchers evaluated video data and a third the raw wearable sensor data; blinded to each other's evaluations. Agreement between video and sensor data was calculated on stability, timing, step count and strategy. Data was available for 117 performances: 82 (70%) appeared stable on video. Ratings agreed in 86/117 cases (74%). Highest agreement was noted for chair transfer, timed up and go test and 3 m walks. Video analysts noted caution (slow, contained movements, safety-enhancing postures and concentration) and/or instability (saving reactions, stopping after stumbling or veering) in 40/134 performances (30%): raw wearable sensor data identified 16/35 performances rated cautious or unstable (sensitivity 46%) and 70/82 rated stable (specificity 85%). There was a 54% chance that a performance identified from wearable sensors as cautious/unstable was so; rising to 80% for stable movements. Agreement between wearable sensor and video data suggested that wearable sensors can detect subtle instability and near-falls. Caution and instability were observed in nearly a third of performances, suggesting that simple, mildly challenging actions, with clearly defined start- and end-points, may be most amenable to monitoring during free-living at home. Using the genuine near-falls recorded, work continues to automatically detect subtle instability using algorithms. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Anatomic viral detection is automated: the application of a robotic molecular pathology system for the detection of DNA viruses in anatomic pathology substrates, using immunocytochemical and nucleic acid hybridization techniques.

PubMed Central

Montone, K. T.; Brigati, D. J.; Budgeon, L. R.

1989-01-01

This paper presents the first automated system for simultaneously detecting human papilloma, herpes simplex, adenovirus, or cytomegalovirus viral antigens and gene sequences in standard formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue substrates and tissue culture. These viruses can be detected by colorimetric in situ nucleic acid hybridization, using biotinylated DNA probes, or by indirect immunoperoxidase techniques, using polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies, in a 2.0-hour assay performed at a single automated robotic workstation. Images FIG. 1 FIG. 4 FIG. 5 FIG. 6 FIG. 7 FIG. 8 FIG. 9 FIG. 10 FIG. 11 PMID:2773514

The accuracy of matrix population model projections for coniferous trees in the Sierra Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

van Mantgem, P.J.; Stephenson, N.L.

2005-01-01

No. 2 fuel oil was fed to mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) ducklings in concentrations of 0.5 and 5.0% of the diet from hatching to 18 wk of age to assess the effects of chronic oil ingestion during early development. Five growth parameters (body weight, wing length, ninth primary length, tarsal length, and bill length) were depressed in birds receiving a diet containing 5% fuel oil. There was no oil-related mortality. The 5% fuel oil diet impaired avoidance behavior of 9-d-old mallard ducklings compared with controls or ducklings fed 0.5% oil. Open-field activity was greatly increased in 16-wk-old ducklings fed 5.0% oil. Liver hypertrophy and splenic atrophy were gross evidences of pathological effects in birds on the 5.0% oil diet. More subtle effects included biochemical lesions that resulted in the elevation of plasma alanine aminotransferase and ornithine carbamoyltransferase activity.

Spontaneous C. septicum gas gangrene: A literature review.

PubMed

Srivastava, Ira; Aldape, Michael J; Bryant, Amy E; Stevens, Dennis L

2017-12-01

As the infectious disease paradigm undergoes a subtle shift, unusual infections associated with malignancy and immunosuppression are being increasingly reported. Spontaneous or non-traumatic Clostridium septicum infection is one such unusual infection which has gained prominence. This article aims to understand the pathophysiology, clinical manifestations and current trends in diagnosing and treating this rare but deadly infection. To understand the multifactorial causation of this infection a review of published cases of spontaneous C. septicum gas gangrene was performed and a total of 94 such cases were identified. Several factors were analyzed for each case: age, infection location and underlying illness, presenting signs and symptoms, neutropenia, gross pathology of the colon, antibiotic use, surgical intervention, and survival. A known or occult malignancy was present in 71% patients and an overall mortality of 67% was observed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nonhuman primate models of polycystic ovary syndrome

PubMed Central

Abbott, David H; Nicol, Lindsey E; Levine, Jon E; Xu, Ning; Goodarzi, Mark O; Dumesic, Daniel A

2013-01-01

With close genomic and phenotypic similarity to humans, nonhuman primate models provide comprehensive epigenetic mimics of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), suggesting early life targeting for prevention. Fetal exposure to testosterone (T), of all nonhuman primate emulations, provides the closest PCOS-like phenotypes, with early-to-mid gestation T-exposed female rhesus monkeys exhibiting adult reproductive, endocrinological and metabolic dysfunctional traits that are co-pathologies of PCOS. Late gestational T exposure, while inducing adult ovarian hyperandrogenism and menstrual abnormalities, has less dysfunctional metabolic accompaniment. Fetal exposures to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or diethylstilbestrol (DES) suggest androgenic and estrogenic aspects of fetal programming. Neonatal exposure to T produces no PCOS-like outcome, while continuous T treatment of juvenile females causes precocious weight gain and early menarche (high T), or high LH and weight gain (moderate T). Acute T exposure of adult females generates polyfollicular ovaries, while chronic T exposure induces subtle menstrual irregularities without metabolic dysfunction. PMID:23370180

Rare cause of neck pain: tumours of the posterior elements of the cervical spine.

PubMed

Katsuura, Yoshihiro; Cason, Garrick; Osborn, James

2016-12-15

Here we present two cases of primary bone tumours of the cervical spine in patients who had persistent neck pain-in one case, lasting 8 years. In each case, there was a delay in diagnosis and referral to a spine specialist was prolonged. Primary bone tumours of the spine are rare, which is in contrast to the wide prevalence of cervical neck pain. Many primary care providers may go an entire career without encountering a symptomatic primary cervical spine tumour. In this paper, we discuss the clinical course and treatment of each patient and review the current literature on primary bone tumours of the spine. Owing to the subtle roentgenographic findings of primary cervical tumours, we highlight the importance of advanced imaging in the clinical work-up of simple axial neck pain lasting >6 weeks to avoid misdiagnosis of serious pathology. 2016 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

Diagnosis of blunt traumatic aortic injury 2007: still a nemesis.

PubMed

Mirvis, Stuart E; Shanmuganathan, K

2007-10-01

In recent years, the use of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) for the diagnosis of acute thoracic injury in blunt trauma has expanded. MDCT has shown high accuracy for the diagnosis or exclusion of injury to the aorta and its primary branches, decreasing the need for thoracic angiography and allowing earlier treatment of this often rapidly fatal lesion. With increasing use of MDCT, more subtle injuries and variants of vascular anatomy are being recognized that create pitfalls in the diagnosis. Of perhaps more concern is the recognition that aortic injury can occur with little or no associated mediastinal hematoma, the principle chest radiographic finding indicating a need for further imaging. The importance of recognizing unusual sites of aortic injury, congenital variants of mediastinal anatomy, the precise extent of injury, and the anatomic pathology present as key factors in deciding among treatment options is emphasized.

Effects of chronic ingestion of No. 2 fuel oil on mallard ducklings

USGS Publications Warehouse

Szaro, Robert C.; Hensler, G.L.; Heinz, G.H.

1981-01-01

No. 2 fuel oil was fed to mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) ducklings in concentrations of 0.5 and 5.0% of the diet from hatching to 18 wk of age to assess the effects of chronic oil ingestion during early development. Five growth parameters (body weight, wing length, ninth primary length, tarsal length, and bill length) were depressed in birds receiving a diet containing 5% fuel oil. There was no oil-related mortality. The 5% fuel oil diet impaired avoidance behavior of 9-d-old mallard ducklings compared with controls or ducklings fed 0.5% oil. Open-field activity was greatly increased in 16-wk-old ducklings fed 5.0% oil. Liver hypertrophy and splenic atrophy were gross evidences of pathological effects in birds on the 5.0% oil diet. More subtle effects included biochemical lesions that resulted in the elevation of plasma alanine aminotransferase and ornithine carbamoyltransferase activity.

"I Don't Know the Words He Uses": Therapeutic Communication among Q'eqchi Maya Healers and Their Patients.

PubMed

Waldram, James B

2015-09-01

Traditional or indigenous healing is often assumed to involve rich forms of dialogical and symbolic communication between healer and patient that serve to explain its salience and efficacy. An ethnographic study of Q'eqchi Maya healing in Belize suggests, however, that communication in some forms of indigenous healing may also be minimal and peripheral to treatment and more akin to that of biomedicine than so-called traditional medicine. While communication may still involve symbolic, intercorporeal, and other forms of subtle intersubjective connection, anthropologists often overreach in an effort to portray such healing systems in contradistinction to biomedicine. It is argued here that Q'eqchi healing might best be thought of as a form of empirically based restorative medicine in which communication is purely instrumental to the healer's task of diagnosing and eliminating pathology and restoring the health of the patient. © 2015 by the American Anthropological Association.

Harnessing the immune system for treatment and detection of tau pathology.

PubMed

Congdon, Erin E; Krishnaswamy, Senthilkumar; Sigurdsson, Einar M

2014-01-01

The tau protein is an attractive target for therapy and diagnosis. We started a tau immunotherapy program about 13 years ago and have since demonstrated that active and passive immunotherapies diminish tau pathology and improve function, including cognition, in different mouse models. These findings have been confirmed and extended by several groups. We routinely detect neuronal, and to a lesser extent microglial, antibody uptake correlating with tau pathology. Antibodies bind tau aggregates in the endosomal/lysosomal system, enhancing clearance presumably by promoting their disassembly. Extracellular clearance has recently been shown by others, using antibodies that apparently are not internalized. As most pathological tau is neuronal, intracellular targeting may be more efficacious. However, extracellular tau may be more accessible to antibodies, with tau-antibody complexes a target for microglial phagocytosis. The extent of involvement of each pathway may depend on numerous factors including antibody properties, degree of pathology, and experimental model. On the imaging front, multiple tau ligands derived from β-sheet dyes have been developed by several groups, some with promising results in clinical PET tests. Postmortem analysis should clarify their tau specificity, as in theory and based on histological staining, those are likely to have some affinity for various amyloids. We are developing antibody-derived tau probes that should be more specific, and have in mouse models shown in vivo detection and binding to pathological tau after peripheral injection. These are exciting times for research on tau therapies and diagnostic agents that hopefully can be applied to humans in the near future.

Pathological Imitative Behavior and Response Preparation in Schizophrenia.

PubMed

Dankinas, Denisas; Melynyte, Sigita; Siurkute, Aldona; Dapsys, Kastytis

2017-08-01

Pathological imitative behavior (ehopraxia) is occasionally observed in schizophrenia patients. However, only a severe form of echopraxia can be detected with the help of a direct observation. Therefore, our goal was to study a latent form of pathological imitative behavior in this disorder, which is indicated by an increase of imitative tendencies. In our study, 14 schizophrenia patients and 15 healthy subjects were employed in two tasks: (a) in an imitative task they had to copy a hand action seen on a screen; (b) in a counter-imitative task they had to make a different movement (which involves an inhibition of prepotent imitative tendency that is impaired in case of pathological imitative behavior). Imitative tendencies were assessed by an interference score - a difference between counter-imitative and imitative response parameters. We also studied a response preparation in both groups by employing precueing probabilistic information. Our results revealed that schizophrenia patients were able to employ probabilistic information to prepare properly not only the imitative, but also the counter-imitative responses, the same as the healthy subjects did. Nevertheless, we detected increased prepotent imitative tendencies in schizophrenia patients, what indicates the latent pathological imitative behavior in case of this disorder. The obtained results suggest that in the case of schizophrenia problems with pathological imitative behavior more likely occurred in executive rather than in the preparatory stage of response. Our findings can help to detect a latent echopraxia in schizophrenia patients that cannot be revealed by direct observation. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Portal venous gas detected on computed tomography in emergency situations: surgery is still necessary.

PubMed

Monneuse, Olivier; Pilleul, Frank; Barth, Xavier; Gruner, Laurent; Allaouchiche, Bernard; Valette, Pierre-Jean; Tissot, E

2007-05-01

Portal venous gas (PVG) has been reported to be associated with lethal surgical diagnosis. Recent studies tend to confirm the clinical significance of gas in the portal vein; however, some patients are managed without surgical treatment. The aim of this study was to assess both the diagnoses and the treatment of patients with PVG in an emergency surgical setting. We performed a retrospective chart review of 15 patients with PVG in the emergency setting detected by computed tomography (CT) between July 1999 and July 2004. Characteristics assessed included age, sex, clinical presentation, first CT diagnosis of both PVG and the underlying pathology, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, surgical findings, final clinical diagnosis, duration of hospitalization, and evolution of the illness/mortality. All patients were examined one month after operation. This series of 5 women and 10 men ranged in age from 38 to 90 years at the time they underwent emergency surgical treatment. The mean preoperative ASA score was 4.20. Computed tomography diagnosed the underlying pathology in all cases: bowel obstruction (4 cases), bowel necrosis (9 cases), and diffuse peritonitis (2 cases). The mean length of hospital stay was 12.4 days. The mortality rate was 46.6%; (7 patients). A wide range of pathologies can generate PVG. Computed tomography can detect both the presence of gas and the underlying pathology. In emergency situations, all the diagnosed causal pathologies required a surgical procedure without delay. We report that the prognosis was related to the pathology itself and was not influenced by the presence of PVG.

Cognitive Variability during Middle-Age: Possible Association with Neurodegeneration and Cognitive Reserve

PubMed Central

Ferreira, Daniel; Machado, Alejandra; Molina, Yaiza; Nieto, Antonieta; Correia, Rut; Westman, Eric; Barroso, José

2017-01-01

Objective: Increased variability in cognition with age has been argued as an indication of pathological processes. Focusing on early detection of neurodegenerative disorders, we investigated variability in cognition in healthy middle-aged adults. In order to understand possible determinants of this variability, we also investigated associations with cognitive reserve, neuroimaging markers, subjective memory complaints, depressive symptomatology, and gender. Method: Thirty-one 50 ± 2 years old individuals were investigated as target group and deviation was studied in comparison to a reference younger group of 30 individuals 40 ± 2 years old. Comprehensive neuropsychological and structural imaging protocols were collected. Brain regional volumes and cortical thickness were calculated with FreeSurfer, white matter hyperintensities with CASCADE, and mean diffusivity with FSL. Results: Across-individuals variability showed greater dispersion in lexical access, processing speed, executive functions, and memory. Variability in global cognition correlated with, reduced cortical thickness in the right parietal-temporal-occipital association cortex, and increased mean diffusivity in the cingulum bundle and right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus. A trend was also observed for the correlation between global cognition and hippocampal volume and female gender. All these associations were influenced by cognitive reserve. No correlations were found with subjective memory complaints, white matter hyperintensities and depressive symptomatology. Across-domains and across-tasks variability was greater in several executive components and cognitive processing speed. Conclusion: Variability in cognition during middle-age is associated with neurodegeneration in the parietal–temporal–occipital association cortex and white matter tracts connecting this to the prefrontal dorsolateral cortex and the hippocampus. Moreover, this effect is influenced by cognitive reserve. Studying variability offers valuable information showing that differences do not occur in the same magnitude and direction across individuals, cognitive domains and tasks. These findings may have important implications for early detection of subtle cognitive impairment and clinical interpretation of deviation from normality. PMID:28649200

De novo status epilepticus with isolated aphasia.

PubMed

Flügel, Dominique; Kim, Olaf Chan-Hi; Felbecker, Ansgar; Tettenborn, Barbara

2015-08-01

Sudden onset of aphasia is usually due to stroke. Rapid diagnostic workup is necessary if reperfusion therapy is considered. Ictal aphasia is a rare condition but has to be excluded. Perfusion imaging may differentiate acute ischemia from other causes. In dubious cases, EEG is required but is time-consuming and laborious. We report a case where we considered de novo status epilepticus as a cause of aphasia without any lesion even at follow-up. A 62-year-old right-handed woman presented to the emergency department after nurses found her aphasic. She had undergone operative treatment of varicosis 3 days earlier. Apart from hypertension and obesity, no cardiovascular risk factors and no intake of medication other than paracetamol were reported. Neurological examination revealed global aphasia and right pronation in the upper extremity position test. Computed tomography with angiography and perfusion showed no abnormalities. Electroencephalogram performed after the CT scan showed left-sided slowing with high-voltage rhythmic 2/s delta waves but no clear ictal pattern. Intravenous lorazepam did improve EEG slightly, while aphasia did not change. Lumbar puncture was performed which likely excluded encephalitis. Magnetic resonance imaging showed cortical pathological diffusion imaging (restriction) and cortical hyperperfusion in the left parietal region. Intravenous anticonvulsant therapy under continuous EEG resolved neurological symptoms. The patient was kept on anticonvulsant therapy. Magnetic resonance imaging after 6 months showed no abnormalities along with no clinical abnormalities. Magnetic resonance imaging findings were only subtle, and EEG was without clear ictal pattern, so the diagnosis of aphasic status remains with some uncertainty. However, status epilepticus can mimic stroke symptoms and has to be considered in patients with aphasia even when no previous stroke or structural lesions are detectable and EEG shows no epileptic discharges. Epileptic origin is favored when CT or MR imaging reveal no hypoperfusion. In this case, MRI was superior to CT in detecting hyperperfusion. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Status Epilepticus". Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pictorial essay: Mammography of the male breast

PubMed Central

Popli, Manju Bala; Popli, V; Bahl, P; Solanki, Y

2009-01-01

Mammography is an imaging modality that is widely perceived to be of use only in women for the detection and diagnosis of breast pathologies. Here, we present a pictorial essay on the mammographic spectrum of male breast pathologies. PMID:19881102

Texture Analysis of Recurrence Plots Based on Wavelets and PSO for Laryngeal Pathologies Detection.

PubMed

Souza, Taciana A; Vieira, Vinícius J D; Correia, Suzete E N; Costa, Silvana L N C; de A Costa, Washington C; Souza, Micael A

2015-01-01

This paper deals with the discrimination between healthy and pathological speech signals using recurrence plots and wavelet transform with texture features. Approximation and detail coefficients are obtained from the recurrence plots using Haar wavelet transform, considering one decomposition level. The considered laryngeal pathologies are: paralysis, Reinke's edema and nodules. Accuracy rates above 86% were obtained by means of the employed method.

Image analysis and machine learning in digital pathology: Challenges and opportunities.

PubMed

Madabhushi, Anant; Lee, George

2016-10-01

With the rise in whole slide scanner technology, large numbers of tissue slides are being scanned and represented and archived digitally. While digital pathology has substantial implications for telepathology, second opinions, and education there are also huge research opportunities in image computing with this new source of "big data". It is well known that there is fundamental prognostic data embedded in pathology images. The ability to mine "sub-visual" image features from digital pathology slide images, features that may not be visually discernible by a pathologist, offers the opportunity for better quantitative modeling of disease appearance and hence possibly improved prediction of disease aggressiveness and patient outcome. However the compelling opportunities in precision medicine offered by big digital pathology data come with their own set of computational challenges. Image analysis and computer assisted detection and diagnosis tools previously developed in the context of radiographic images are woefully inadequate to deal with the data density in high resolution digitized whole slide images. Additionally there has been recent substantial interest in combining and fusing radiologic imaging and proteomics and genomics based measurements with features extracted from digital pathology images for better prognostic prediction of disease aggressiveness and patient outcome. Again there is a paucity of powerful tools for combining disease specific features that manifest across multiple different length scales. The purpose of this review is to discuss developments in computational image analysis tools for predictive modeling of digital pathology images from a detection, segmentation, feature extraction, and tissue classification perspective. We discuss the emergence of new handcrafted feature approaches for improved predictive modeling of tissue appearance and also review the emergence of deep learning schemes for both object detection and tissue classification. We also briefly review some of the state of the art in fusion of radiology and pathology images and also combining digital pathology derived image measurements with molecular "omics" features for better predictive modeling. The review ends with a brief discussion of some of the technical and computational challenges to be overcome and reflects on future opportunities for the quantitation of histopathology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Improved Ultrasonic Imaging of the Breast

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-08-01

benign and malignant masses often exhibit only subtle image differences. We have invented a new technique that uses modified ultrasound equipment to form images of ultrasonic angular scatter. This method provides a new source of image contrast and should enhance the detectability of MCs and improve the differentiation of benign and malignant lesions. This method yields high resolution images with minimal statistical variability. In this first year 0 funding, we have formed images in tissue mimicking phantoms and found that

Airborne-biogeochemical survey test-case results

USGS Publications Warehouse

Collins, William E.; Chang, Sheng-Huei; Raines, Gary L.; Canney, Frank C.; Ashley, Roger; Barringer, Anthony R.

1980-01-01

Airborne spectroradiometer surveys over several forest-covered sulfide bodies indicate that mineralization has affected the overlying vegetation; anomalous spectral reflectivity properties can be detected in the vegetation using appropriate remote-sensing interments and data-reduction techniques. Mineralization induces subtle changes in the shape of the chlorophyll a and b absorption spectrum between 550 and 750 nm. The observed spectral variations appear specifically to be on the wings of the broad red chlorophyll bars, centered at about 680 nm.

A Top-down versus a Bottom-up Hidden-variables Description of the Stern-Gerlach Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arsenijević, M.; Jeknić-Dugić, J.; Dugić, M.

We employ the Stern-Gerlach experiment to highlight the basics of a minimalist, non-interpretational top-down approach to quantum foundations. Certain benefits of the "quantum structural studies" (QSS) highlightedhere are detected and discussed. While the top-down approach can be described without making any reference to the fundamental structure of a closed system, the hidden variables (HV) theory á la Bohm proves to be more subtle than it is typically regarded.

A Pathological Brain Detection System based on Extreme Learning Machine Optimized by Bat Algorithm.

PubMed

Lu, Siyuan; Qiu, Xin; Shi, Jianping; Li, Na; Lu, Zhi-Hai; Chen, Peng; Yang, Meng-Meng; Liu, Fang-Yuan; Jia, Wen-Juan; Zhang, Yudong

2017-01-01

It is beneficial to classify brain images as healthy or pathological automatically, because 3D brain images can generate so much information which is time consuming and tedious for manual analysis. Among various 3D brain imaging techniques, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is the most suitable for brain, and it is now widely applied in hospitals, because it is helpful in the four ways of diagnosis, prognosis, pre-surgical, and postsurgical procedures. There are automatic detection methods; however they suffer from low accuracy. Therefore, we proposed a novel approach which employed 2D discrete wavelet transform (DWT), and calculated the entropies of the subbands as features. Then, a bat algorithm optimized extreme learning machine (BA-ELM) was trained to identify pathological brains from healthy controls. A 10x10-fold cross validation was performed to evaluate the out-of-sample performance. The method achieved a sensitivity of 99.04%, a specificity of 93.89%, and an overall accuracy of 98.33% over 132 MR brain images. The experimental results suggest that the proposed approach is accurate and robust in pathological brain detection. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Traumatic brain injury produced by exposure to blasts, a critical problem in current wars: biomarkers, clinical studies, and animal models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dixon, C. Edward

2011-06-01

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from exposure to blast energy released by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) has been recognized as the "signature injury" of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Repeated exposure to mild blasts may produce subtle deficits that are difficult to detect and quantify. Several techniques have been used to detect subtle brain dysfunction including neuropsychological assessments, computerized function testing and neuroimaging. Another approach is based on measurement of biologic substances (e.g. proteins) that are released into the body after a TBI. Recent studies measuring biomarkers in CSF and serum from patients with severe TBI have demonstrated the diagnostic, prognostic, and monitoring potential. Advancement of the field will require 1) biochemical mining for new biomarker candidates, 2) clinical validation of utility, 3) technical advances for more sensitive, portable detectors, 4) novel statistical approach to evaluate multiple biomarkers, and 5) commercialization. Animal models have been developed to simulate elements of blast-relevant TBI including gas-driven shock tubes to generate pressure waves similar to those produced by explosives. These models can reproduce hallmark clinical neuropathological responses such as neuronal degeneration and inflammation, as well as behavioral impairments. An important application of these models is to screen novel therapies and conduct proteomic, genomic, and lipodomic studies to mine for new biomarker candidates specific to blast relevant TBI.

Monitoring Forest Degradation for a Case Study in Cambodia: Comparison of Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langner, Andreas; Miettinen, Jukka; Stibig, Hans-Jurgen

2016-08-01

We use a Normalized Burned Ratio (NBR) differential approach for detecting forest canopy disturbance caused by selective logging in evergreen tropical moist forests of central Cambodia. The general disturbance pattern obtained from Landsat 8 (30 m) imagery is largely compatible to Sentinel-2 (10 m), showing good conformity to high resolution RapidEye reference data. However, the 10 m spatial resolution of Sentinel-2 provides notably higher spatial detail and purer pixel values, increasing the potential for detecting fine and subtle forest canopy changes as indicators for potential forest degradation. We can expect further improvement for detecting short-lived disturbance signals in tropical forest canopies due to an increased revisit frequency (5 days) after the Sentinel-2B launch.

Instrument characterization for the detection of long-term changes in stratospheric ozone - An analysis of the SBUV/2 radiometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frederick, J. E.; Heath, D. F.; Cebula, R. P.

1986-01-01

The scientific objective of unambiguously detecting subtle global trends in upper stratospheric ozone requires that one maintains a thorough understanding of the satellite-based remote sensors intended for this task. The instrument now in use for long term ozone monitoring is the SBUV/2 being flown on NOAA operational satellites. A critical activity in the data interpretation involves separating small changes in measurement sensitivity from true atmospheric variability. By defining the specific issues that must be addressed and presenting results derived early in the mission of the first SBUV/2 flight model, this work serves as a guide to the instrument investigations that are essential in the attempt to detect long-term changes in the ozone layer.

Impacts of exploratory drilling for oil and gas on the benthic environment of Georges Bank

USGS Publications Warehouse

Neff, J. M.; Bothner, Michael H.; Maciolek, N. J.; Grassle, J. F.

1989-01-01

Cluster analysis revealed a strong relationship between community structure and both sediment type and water depth. Little seasonal variation was detected, but some interannual differences were revealed by cluster analysis and correspondence analysis. The replicates from a station always resembled each other more than they resembled any replicates from other stations. In addition, the combined replicates from a station always clustered with samples from that station taken on other cruises. This excellent replication and uniformity of the benthic infaunal community at a station over time made it possible to detect very subtle changes in community parameters that might be related to discharges of drilling fluid and drill cuttings. Nevertheless, no changes were detected in benthic communities of Georges Bank that could be attributed to drilling activities.

A graphene-based electrochemical sensor for sensitive detection of paracetamol

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kang, Xinhuang; Wang, Jun; Wu, Hong

2010-05-15

An electrochemical sensor based on the electrocatalytic activity of functionalized graphene for sensitive detection of paracetamol is presented. The electrochemical behaviors of paracetamol on graphene-modified glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs) were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and square-wave voltammetry. The results showed that the graphene-modified electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity to paracetamol. A quasi-reversible redox process of paracetamol at the modified electrode was obtained, and the over-potential of paracetamol decreased significantly compared with that at the bare GCE. Such electrocatalytic behavior of graphene is attributed to its unique physical and chemical properties, e.g., subtle electronic characteristics, attractive π–π interaction, and strong adsorptivemore » capability. The sensor shows great promise for simple, sensitive, and quantitative detection of paracetamol.« less

A Multi-Scale Study on the Role of Trace Metals on Physiological and Pathological Mineralization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rammelkamp, Derek

The work in this thesis provides mulit-scale contributions towards understanding the effects of trace metals on the pathological mineralization process relating to both the development of healthy bone tissue, the diseased state of osteoporosis, and microcalcifications which develop in breast cancers. A protein level study was performed on ECM protein fibronectin, which plays a role in cell adhesion. The protein studies showed zinc interactions with fibronectin and its fragment, anastellin, to influence protein structure. Zinc is also shown to decrease cell migration in vitro, which may be influenced by changes in fibronectin ECM structure. The effects of osteoporosis on micronutrient composition in vivo were examined using the technique of x-ray fluorescence (XRF) in an ovariectomized rat model. Compared to healthy bone, subtle difference are observed in zinc and iron in osteoporotic rat bones, showing micronutrients may play an important role in healthy bone regulation. Effects of micronutrient zinc was used to inhibit microcalcification formation in breast cancers. Microcalcifications have been linked malignancy of breast cancers, but the process of microcalcification formation has yet to be well understood. In this work, exogenous zinc is used to inhibit microcalcification formation, and metastatic potential in both a 2D and 3D spheroid environment. A novel in vitro self-assembled three dimensional multi-cellular tumor spheroid (MCTS) model for the study of breast cancer microcalcifications was developed for this experiment. A MCTS model for studying breast cancer microcalcifications has potential to be used in drug discovery, or for basic research applications studying mechanisms of microcalcification formation, which are still not fully understood. Taken together this study uses a multi-scale approach to gain a better understanding of micronutrients involved in pathological mineralization.

Grand Rounds: An Outbreak of Toxic Hepatitis among Industrial Waste Disposal Workers

PubMed Central

Cheong, Hae-Kwan; Kim, Eun A; Choi, Jung-Keun; Choi, Sung-Bong; Suh, Jeong-Ill; Choi, Dae Seob; Kim, Jung Ran

2007-01-01

Context Industrial waste (which is composed of various toxic chemicals), changes to the disposal process, and addition of chemicals should all be monitored and controlled carefully in the industrial waste industry to reduce the health hazard to workers. Case presentation Five workers in an industrial waste plant developed acute toxic hepatitis, one of whom died after 3 months due to fulminant hepatitis. In the plant, we detected several chemicals with hepatotoxic potential, including pyridine, dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide, and methylenedianiline. The workers had been working in the high-vapor-generating area of the plant, and the findings of pathologic examination showed typical features of acute toxic hepatitis. Discussion Infectious hepatitis and drug-induced hepatitis were excluded by laboratory findings, as well as the clinical course of hepatitis. All cases of toxic hepatitis in this plant developed after the change of the disposal process to thermochemical reaction–type treatment using unslaked lime reacted with industrial wastes. During this chemical reaction, vapor containing several toxic materials was generated. Although we could not confirm the definitive causative chemical, we suspect that these cases of hepatitis were caused by one of the hepatotoxic agents or by a synergistic interaction among several of them. Relevance to clinical or professional practice In the industrial waste treatment process, the danger of developing toxic hepatitis should be kept in mind, because any subtle change of the treatment process can generate various toxic materials and threaten the workers’ health. A mixture of hepatotoxic chemicals can induce clinical manifestations that are quite different from those predicted by the toxic property of a single agent. PMID:17366828

Insight on AV-45 binding in white and grey matter from histogram analysis: a study on early Alzheimer's disease patients and healthy subjects

PubMed Central

Nemmi, Federico; Saint-Aubert, Laure; Adel, Djilali; Salabert, Anne-Sophie; Pariente, Jérémie; Barbeau, Emmanuel; Payoux, Pierre; Péran, Patrice

2014-01-01

Purpose AV-45 amyloid biomarker is known to show uptake in white matter in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) but also in healthy population. This binding; thought to be of a non-specific lipophilic nature has not yet been investigated. The aim of this study was to determine the differential pattern of AV-45 binding in healthy and pathological populations in white matter. Methods We recruited 24 patients presenting with AD at early stage and 17 matched, healthy subjects. We used an optimized PET-MRI registration method and an approach based on intensity histogram using several indexes. We compared the results of the intensity histogram analyses with a more canonical approach based on target-to-cerebellum Standard Uptake Value (SUVr) in white and grey matters using MANOVA and discriminant analyses. A cluster analysis on white and grey matter histograms was also performed. Results White matter histogram analysis revealed significant differences between AD and healthy subjects, which were not revealed by SUVr analysis. However, white matter histograms was not decisive to discriminate groups, and indexes based on grey matter only showed better discriminative power than SUVr. The cluster analysis divided our sample in two clusters, showing different uptakes in grey but also in white matter. Conclusion These results demonstrate that AV-45 binding in white matter conveys subtle information not detectable using SUVr approach. Although it is not better than standard SUVr to discriminate AD patients from healthy subjects, this information could reveal white matter modifications. PMID:24573658

Axonal diameter and density estimated with 7-Tesla hybrid diffusion imaging in transgenic Alzheimer rats

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daianu, Madelaine; Jacobs, Russell E.; Town, Terrence; Thompson, Paul M.

2016-03-01

Diffusion-weighted MR imaging (DWI) is a powerful tool to study brain tissue microstructure. DWI is sensitive to subtle changes in the white matter (WM), and can provide insight into abnormal brain changes in diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we used 7-Tesla hybrid diffusion imaging (HYDI) to scan 3 transgenic rats (line TgF344-AD; that model the full clinico-pathological spectrum of the human disease) ex vivo at 10, 15 and 24 months. We acquired 300 DWI volumes across 5 q-sampling shells (b=1000, 3000, 4000, 8000, 12000 s/mm2). From the top three b-value shells with highest signal-to-noise ratios, we reconstructed markers of WM disease, including indices of axon density and diameter in the corpus callosum (CC) - directly quantifying processes that occur in AD. As expected, apparent anisotropy progressively decreased with age; there were also decreases in the intra- and extra-axonal MR signal along axons. Axonal diameters were larger in segments of the CC (splenium and body, but not genu), possibly indicating neuritic dystrophy - characterized by enlarged axons and dendrites as previously observed at the ultrastructural level (see Cohen et al., J. Neurosci. 2013). This was further supported by increases in MR signals trapped in glial cells, CSF and possibly other small compartments in WM structures. Finally, tractography detected fewer fibers in the CC at 10 versus 24 months of age. These novel findings offer great potential to provide technical and scientific insight into the biology of brain disease.

Grand rounds: an outbreak of toxic hepatitis among industrial waste disposal workers.

PubMed

Cheong, Hae-Kwan; Kim, Eun A; Choi, Jung-Keun; Choi, Sung-Bong; Suh, Jeong-Ill; Choi, Dae Seob; Kim, Jung Ran

2007-01-01

Industrial waste (which is composed of various toxic chemicals), changes to the disposal process, and addition of chemicals should all be monitored and controlled carefully in the industrial waste industry to reduce the health hazard to workers. Five workers in an industrial waste plant developed acute toxic hepatitis, one of whom died after 3 months due to fulminant hepatitis. In the plant, we detected several chemicals with hepatotoxic potential, including pyridine, dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide, and methylenedianiline. The workers had been working in the high-vapor-generating area of the plant, and the findings of pathologic examination showed typical features of acute toxic hepatitis. Infectious hepatitis and drug-induced hepatitis were excluded by laboratory findings, as well as the clinical course of hepatitis. All cases of toxic hepatitis in this plant developed after the change of the disposal process to thermochemical reaction-type treatment using unslaked lime reacted with industrial wastes. During this chemical reaction, vapor containing several toxic materials was generated. Although we could not confirm the definitive causative chemical, we suspect that these cases of hepatitis were caused by one of the hepatotoxic agents or by a synergistic interaction among several of them. In the industrial waste treatment process, the danger of developing toxic hepatitis should be kept in mind, because any subtle change of the treatment process can generate various toxic materials and threaten the workers' health. A mixture of hepatotoxic chemicals can induce clinical manifestations that are quite different from those predicted by the toxic property of a single agent.

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) of the human brain: technique, findings and clinical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hiscox, Lucy V.; Johnson, Curtis L.; Barnhill, Eric; McGarry, Matt D. J.; Huston 3rd, John; van Beek, Edwin J. R.; Starr, John M.; Roberts, Neil

2016-12-01

Neurological disorders are one of the most important public health concerns in developed countries. Established brain imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and x-ray computerised tomography (CT) have been essential in the identification and diagnosis of a wide range of disorders, although usually are insufficient in sensitivity for detecting subtle pathological alterations to the brain prior to the onset of clinical symptoms—at a time when prognosis for treatment is more favourable. The mechanical properties of biological tissue provide information related to the strength and integrity of the cellular microstructure. In recent years, mechanical properties of the brain have been visualised and measured non-invasively with magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), a particularly sensitive medical imaging technique that may increase the potential for early diagnosis. This review begins with an introduction to the various methods used for the acquisition and analysis of MRE data. A systematic literature search is then conducted to identify studies that have specifically utilised MRE to investigate the human brain. Through the conversion of MRE-derived measurements to shear stiffness (kPa) and, where possible, the loss tangent (rad), a summary of results for global brain tissue and grey and white matter across studies is provided for healthy participants, as potential baseline values to be used in future clinical investigations. In addition, the extent to which MRE has revealed significant alterations to the brain in patients with neurological disorders is assessed and discussed in terms of known pathophysiology. The review concludes by predicting the trends for future MRE research and applications in neuroscience.

Children with chronic lung diseases have cognitive dysfunction as assessed by event-related potential (auditory P300) and Stanford-Binet IQ (SB-IV) test.

PubMed

Kamel, Terez Boshra; Abd Elmonaem, Mahmoud Tarek; Khalil, Lobna Hamed; Goda, Mona Hamdy; Sanyelbhaa, Hossam; Ramzy, Mourad Alfy

2016-10-01

Chronic lung disease (CLD) in children represents a heterogeneous group of many clinico-pathological entities with risk of adverse impact of chronic or intermittent hypoxia. So far, few researchers have investigated the cognitive function in these children, and the role of auditory P300 in the assessment of their cognitive function has not been investigated yet. This study was designed to assess the cognitive functions among schoolchildren with different chronic pulmonary diseases using both auditory P300 and Stanford-Binet test. This cross-sectional study included 40 school-aged children who were suffering from chronic chest troubles other than asthma and 30 healthy children of similar age, gender and socioeconomic state as a control group. All subjects were evaluated through clinical examination, radiological evaluation and spirometry. Audiological evaluation included (basic otological examination, pure-tone, speech audiometry and immittancemetry). Cognitive function was assessed by auditory P300 and psychological evaluation using Stanford-Binet test (4th edition). Children with chronic lung diseases had significantly lower anthropometric measures compared to healthy controls. They had statistically significant lower IQ scores and delayed P300 latencies denoting lower cognitive abilities. Cognitive dysfunction correlated to severity of disease. P300 latencies were prolonged among hypoxic patients. Cognitive deficits in children with different chronic lung diseases were best detected using both Stanford-Binet test and auditory P300. P300 is an easy objective tool. P300 is affected early with hypoxia and could alarm subtle cognitive dysfunction.

Elevated GRIA1 mRNA expression in Layer II/III and V pyramidal cells of the DLPFC in schizophrenia

PubMed Central

O’Connor, J.A.; Hemby, S.E.

2012-01-01

The functional integrity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is altered in schizophrenia leading to profound deficits in working memory and cognition. Growing evidence indicates that dysregulation of glutamate signaling may be a significant contributor to the pathophysiology mediating these effects; however, the contribution of NMDA and AMPA receptors in the mediation of this deficit remains unclear. The equivocality of data regarding ionotropic glutamate receptor alterations of subunit expression in the DLPFC of schizophrenics is likely reflective of subtle alterations in the cellular and molecular composition of specific neuronal populations within the region. Given previous evidence of Layer II/III and V pyramidal cell alterations in schizophrenia and the significant influence of subunit composition on NMDA and AMPA receptor function, laser capture microdissection combined with quantitative PCR was used to examine the expression of AMPA (GRIA1-4) and NMDA (GRIN1, 2A and 2B) subunit mRNA levels in Layer II/III and Layer V pyramidal cells in the DLPFC. Comparisons were made between individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and controls (n=15/group). All subunits were expressed at detectable levels in both cell populations for all diseases as well as for the control group. Interestingly, GRIA1 mRNA was significantly increased in both cell types in the schizophrenia group compare to controls, while similar trends were observed in major depressive disorder (Layers II/III and V) and bipolar disorder (Layer V). These data suggest that increased GRIA1 subunit expression may contribute to schizophrenia pathology. PMID:17942280

Human papillomavirus type-16 variants in Quechua aboriginals from Argentina.

PubMed

Picconi, María Alejandra; Alonio, Lidia Virginia; Sichero, Laura; Mbayed, Viviana; Villa, Luisa Lina; Gronda, Jorge; Campos, Rodolfo; Teyssié, Angélica

2003-04-01

Cervical carcinoma is the leading cause of cancer death in Quechua indians from Jujuy (northwestern Argentina). To determine the prevalence of HPV-16 variants, 106 HPV-16 positive cervical samples were studied, including 33 low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL), 28 high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL), 9 invasive cervical cancer (ICC), and 36 samples from women with normal colposcopy and cytology. HPV genome variability was examined in the L1 and E6 genes by PCR-hybridization. In a subset of 20 samples, a LCR fragment was also analyzed by PCR-sequencing. Most variants belonged to the European branch with subtle differences that depended on the viral gene fragment studied. Only about 10% of the specimens had non-European variants, including eight Asian-American, two Asian, and one North-American-1. E6 gene analysis revealed that 43% of the samples were identical to HPV-16 prototype, while 57% corresponded to variants. Interestingly, the majority (87%) of normal smears had HPV-16 prototype, whereas variants were detected mainly in SIL and ICC. LCR sequencing yielded 80% of variants, including 69% of European, 19% Asian-American, and 12% Asian. We identified a new variant, the Argentine Quechua-51 (AQ-51), similar to B-14 plus two additional changes: G7842-->A and A7837-->C; phylogenetic inference allocated it in the Asian-American branch. The high proportion of European variants may reflect Spanish colonial influence on these native Inca descendants. The predominance of HPV-16 variants in pathologic samples when compared to normal controls could have implications for the natural history of cervical lesions. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Connectivity-based parcellation reveals distinct cortico-striatal connectivity fingerprints in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Balsters, Joshua H; Mantini, Dante; Wenderoth, Nicole

2018-04-15

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been associated with abnormal synaptic development causing a breakdown in functional connectivity. However, when measured at the macro scale using resting state fMRI, these alterations are subtle and often difficult to detect due to the large heterogeneity of the pathology. Recently, we outlined a novel approach for generating robust biomarkers of resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) using connectivity based parcellation of gross morphological structures to improve single-subject reproducibility and generate more robust connectivity fingerprints. Here we apply this novel approach to investigating the organization and connectivity strength of the cortico-striatal system in a large sample of ASD individuals and typically developed (TD) controls (N=130 per group). Our results showed differences in the parcellation of the striatum in ASD. Specifically, the putamen was found to be one single structure in ASD, whereas this was split into anterior and posterior segments in an age, IQ, and head movement matched TD group. An analysis of the connectivity fingerprints revealed that the group differences in clustering were driven by differential connectivity between striatum and the supplementary motor area, posterior cingulate cortex, and posterior insula. Our approach for analysing RS-fMRI in clinical populations has provided clear evidence that cortico-striatal circuits are organized differently in ASD. Based on previous task-based segmentations of the striatum, we believe that the anterior putamen cluster present in TD, but not in ASD, likely contributes to social and language processes. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multiscale adaptive analysis of circadian rhythms and intradaily variability: Application to actigraphy time series in acute insomnia subjects

PubMed Central

Rivera, Ana Leonor; Toledo-Roy, Juan C.; Ellis, Jason; Angelova, Maia

2017-01-01

Circadian rhythms become less dominant and less regular with chronic-degenerative disease, such that to accurately assess these pathological conditions it is important to quantify not only periodic characteristics but also more irregular aspects of the corresponding time series. Novel data-adaptive techniques, such as singular spectrum analysis (SSA), allow for the decomposition of experimental time series, in a model-free way, into a trend, quasiperiodic components and noise fluctuations. We compared SSA with the traditional techniques of cosinor analysis and intradaily variability using 1-week continuous actigraphy data in young adults with acute insomnia and healthy age-matched controls. The findings suggest a small but significant delay in circadian components in the subjects with acute insomnia, i.e. a larger acrophase, and alterations in the day-to-day variability of acrophase and amplitude. The power of the ultradian components follows a fractal 1/f power law for controls, whereas for those with acute insomnia this power law breaks down because of an increased variability at the 90min time scale, reminiscent of Kleitman’s basic rest-activity (BRAC) cycles. This suggests that for healthy sleepers attention and activity can be sustained at whatever time scale required by circumstances, whereas for those with acute insomnia this capacity may be impaired and these individuals need to rest or switch activities in order to stay focused. Traditional methods of circadian rhythm analysis are unable to detect the more subtle effects of day-to-day variability and ultradian rhythm fragmentation at the specific 90min time scale. PMID:28753669

Relationship between thoracic auscultation and lung pathology detected by ultrasonography in sheep.

PubMed

Scott, Phil; Collie, Dave; McGorum, Bruce; Sargison, Neil

2010-10-01

The utility of routine auscultation to detect and characterise the nature of a range of superficial lung and pleural pathologies in domestic sheep was assessed using ultrasonographic examination to indicate and localise pathologies pre-mortem. Necropsy examination was then used to fully characterise the nature and extent of the lesions. Auscultation recordings were made from 10 normal sheep with no clinical evidence of respiratory disease and with absence of significant superficial lung pathology, which was confirmed initially by ultrasound examination and subsequently at necropsy examination. A further two sheep with endotoxaemia and 30 sheep with well-defined lung lesions were also examined. Increased audibility of normal lung sounds in 4/10 normal sheep was associated with tachypnoea as a consequence of handling and transport during hot weather and was also observed in the two sheep with endotoxaemia. Moderate to severe coarse crackles detected in all advanced cases of ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (n=16) were audible over an area larger than the lesion distribution identified during ultrasound examination, and confirmed later at necropsy. Auscultation did not detect abnormal sounds in any of the five sheep with focal pleural abscesses (up to 10 cm diameter). Unilateral pyothorax caused attenuation of sounds relative to the contra-lateral normal lung in all three sheep with this condition. Marked fibrinous pleurisy caused attenuation of sounds relative to normal areas of lung in six sheep. No sounds resembling the description of pleural frictions rubs were heard in the sheep with marked fibrinous pleurisy (n=6) or associated with focal pleural abscesses (n=5). Routine interpretation of auscultated sound did not allow the presence of superficial lung pathology or its distribution to be accurately defined in the respiratory diseases represented in this study. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gently does it: Humans outperform a software classifier in recognizing subtle, nonstereotypical facial expressions.

PubMed

Yitzhak, Neta; Giladi, Nir; Gurevich, Tanya; Messinger, Daniel S; Prince, Emily B; Martin, Katherine; Aviezer, Hillel

2017-12-01

According to dominant theories of affect, humans innately and universally express a set of emotions using specific configurations of prototypical facial activity. Accordingly, thousands of studies have tested emotion recognition using sets of highly intense and stereotypical facial expressions, yet their incidence in real life is virtually unknown. In fact, a commonplace experience is that emotions are expressed in subtle and nonprototypical forms. Such facial expressions are at the focus of the current study. In Experiment 1, we present the development and validation of a novel stimulus set consisting of dynamic and subtle emotional facial displays conveyed without constraining expressers to using prototypical configurations. Although these subtle expressions were more challenging to recognize than prototypical dynamic expressions, they were still well recognized by human raters, and perhaps most importantly, they were rated as more ecological and naturalistic than the prototypical expressions. In Experiment 2, we examined the characteristics of subtle versus prototypical expressions by subjecting them to a software classifier, which used prototypical basic emotion criteria. Although the software was highly successful at classifying prototypical expressions, it performed very poorly at classifying the subtle expressions. Further validation was obtained from human expert face coders: Subtle stimuli did not contain many of the key facial movements present in prototypical expressions. Together, these findings suggest that emotions may be successfully conveyed to human viewers using subtle nonprototypical expressions. Although classic prototypical facial expressions are well recognized, they appear less naturalistic and may not capture the richness of everyday emotional communication. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Are Soft Short Tests Good Indicators of Internal Li-ion Cell Defects?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jeevarajan, J.; Chung, J.-S.; Jung, K.; Park, J.

2013-01-01

The self discharge test at full state of charge, may not be a good one to detect subtle defects since the li-ion chemistry has the highest self discharge at full state of charge. One should characterize self discharge versus storage time for each cell manufacturer/design to differentiate between normal self discharge and that due to a subtle manufacturing defect. The various soft short test methods indicate that if this test is carried out at full discharge (0% SOC) with all capacity removed (by lowering the current load in a stepwise manner to the same end of discharge voltage), then the cells need to be placed in storage for more than 72 hours to get a good analysis on the presence of subtle defects since it takes more than 72 hours to achieve voltage stabilization. If the cells are to be charged up even to a small percentage (ex. 1%), 72 hours are sufficient to determine issues. However, the pass/fail criteria should be based on a valid OCV decline. Less than 10 mV voltage decline is not a good method to detect subtle defects. As mentioned in the first bullet, self discharge is a competing reaction when a charge is introduced and hence a characterization of the self discharge versus storage time is required to fully correlate voltage decline to a failure due to a subtle defect. Soft short test method cannot be relied on for defect detection because cells with and without voltage decline seemed to have similar defects and characteristics. Screening methods such as internal resistance and capacity as well as a 3-sigma range for OCV, mass and dimensions should be used to screen out outliers. A very critical aspect in the understanding of subtle defects is to carry out destructive analysis of cells from every lot to confirm the quality of production and screen all cells and batteries in a stringent manner to have a high quality set of flight cells. Self Discharge Test: Fully charged cells shall be placed in Open circuit stand for 72 hours (OCV measurement twice a day); continue for total of 14 days with 1 reading per day 2. Soft Short Test 1: Fully charge; cells discharged to manufacturer's end of disch. Voltage (EODV) cutoff at C/5 rate; stand for 30 minutes; discharge with C/500 to the same EODV. stand for another 30 minutes; discharge the cells again using C/1000 current to the same EODV. OCV measurements twice a day for 72 hours and then for total of 14 days (data collection same as in 1.) 3. Soft Short Test 2: Fully charge; cells discharged to the manuf. EODV with a C/13 constant current; provide a 10 hour rest, discharge again to the same EODV with a current of C/250, provide a 10 hour rest, discharge again using a C/250 rate, provide a 24 hour rest, charge using C/250 to 3.15 V (for 12 hours). OCV measurements twice a day for at 72 hours. (data collection same as in 1.) 4. Soft Short Test 3: Fully charge; cells shall be discharged using C/10 current to manuf. EODV. Allow the cell to remain at Open circuit for 10 seconds. Discharge the cell at C/20 rate to the same EODV, hold open circuit for 24 hours. Discharge the cells at C/200 rate to the same end of voltage cutoff and hold open circuit for 24 hours. Discharge the cells one more time at C/200 rate to the same EODV and hold open circuit for 36 hours. Charge at C/200 rate to 3.15 V and hold for 3 days. Record OCV during the open circuit stand periods every 12 hours and at the beginning and end of the 3 day hold (include the 12 hour OCV recording during this time also). Capacity Cycling: Cells with declining voltages - one cell from each manufacturer chosen for cycling Destructive Physical Analysis (DPA): Cells with and without decline chosen from each lot for DPA.

Noninvasive detection of intracerebral hemorrhage using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hennes, Hans-Juergen; Lott, Carsten; Windirsch, Michael; Hanley, Daniel F.; Boor, Stephan; Brambrink, Ansgar; Dick, Wolfgang

1998-01-01

Intracerebral Hemorrhage (IH) is an important cause of secondary brain injury in neurosurgical patients. Early identification and treatment improve neurologic outcome. We have tested Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) as an alternative noninvasive diagnostic tool compared to CT-Scans to detect IH. We prospectively studied 212 patients with neurologic symptoms associated with intracranial pathology before performing a CT-scan. NIRS signals indicated pathologies in 181 cases (sensitivity 0.96; specificity 0.29). In a subgroup of subdural hematomas NIRS detected 45 of 46 hematomas (sensitivity 0.96; specificity 0.79). Identification of intracerebral hemorrhage using NIRS has the potential to allow early treatment, thus possibly avoiding further injury.

Noninvasive detection of intracerebral hemorrhage using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hennes, Hans J.; Lott, C.; Windirsch, Michael; Hanley, Daniel F.; Boor, Stephan; Brambrink, Ansgar; Dick, Wolfgang

1997-12-01

Intracerebral Hemorrhage (IH) is an important cause of secondary brain injury in neurosurgical patients. Early identification and treatment improve neurologic outcome. We have tested Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) as an alternative noninvasive diagnostic tool compared to CT-Scans to detect IH. We prospectively studied 212 patients with neurologic symptoms associated with intracranial pathology before performing a CT-scan. NIRS signals indicated pathologies in 181 cases (sensitivity 0.96; specificity 0.29). In a subgroup of subdural hematomas NIRS detected 45 of 46 hematomas (sensitivity 0.96; specificity 0.79). Identification of intracerebral hemorrhage using NIRS has the potential to allow early treatment, thus possibly avoiding further injury.

Aversive Disablism: Subtle Prejudice toward Disabled People

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deal, Mark

2007-01-01

Blatant forms of prejudice towards disabled people appear to be disappearing in the UK. However, subtle forms of prejudice remain and may be highly damaging to the achievement of the vision of disabled people being "respected and included as equal members of society". In order to assist placing subtle forms of prejudice within a…

Automated recognition of microcalcification clusters in mammograms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bankman, Isaac N.; Christens-Barry, William A.; Kim, Dong W.; Weinberg, Irving N.; Gatewood, Olga B.; Brody, William R.

1993-07-01

The widespread and increasing use of mammographic screening for early breast cancer detection is placing a significant strain on clinical radiologists. Large numbers of radiographic films have to be visually interpreted in fine detail to determine the subtle hallmarks of cancer that may be present. We developed an algorithm for detecting microcalcification clusters, the most common and useful signs of early, potentially curable breast cancer. We describe this algorithm, which utilizes contour map representations of digitized mammographic films, and discuss its benefits in overcoming difficulties often encountered in algorithmic approaches to radiographic image processing. We present experimental analyses of mammographic films employing this contour-based algorithm and discuss practical issues relevant to its use in an automated film interpretation instrument.

The Effect Of Digital Unsharp Masking On The Detectability Of Interstitial Infiltrates And Pneumothoraces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacMahon, Heber; Vyborny, Carl; Sabeti, Victoria; Metz, Charles; Doi, Kunio

1985-09-01

A potential advantage of digital radiographic systems is their ability to enhance images by various types of processing. Digital unsharp masking is one of the simplest and potentially most useful forms of enhancement. The efficacy of unsharp masking in clinical radiologic diagnosis has not been investigated systematically, however. The effect of digital unsharp masking on the detectability of two types of subtle abnormalities, pneumothorax and interstitial infiltrate, was studied in an observer performance test. An ROC analysis of this preliminary data suggests that unsharp masking may improve diagnostic accuracy for pneumothorax. Radiologists' performance in identifying interstitial infiltrates was degraded by the image processing, however, and false positive diagnoses tended to be more frequent.

Screening athletes with Down syndrome for ocular disease.

PubMed

Gutstein, Walter; Sinclair, Stephen H; North, Rachel V; Bekiroglu, N

2010-02-01

Persons with Down syndrome are well known to have a high prevalence of vision and eye health problems, many of which are undetected or untreated primarily because of infrequent ocular examinations. Public screening programs, directed toward the pediatric population, have become more popular and commonly use letter or symbol charts. This study compares 2 vision screening methods, the Lea Symbol chart and a newly developed interactive computer program, the Vimetrics Central Vision Analyzer (CVA), in their ability to identify ocular disease in the Down syndrome population. Athletes with Down syndrome participating in the European Special Olympics underwent an ocular screening including history, auto-refraction, colour vision assessment, stereopsis assessment, motility assessment, pupil reactivity, and tonometry testing, as well as anterior segment and fundus examinations to evaluate for ocular disease. Visual acuity was tested with the Lea chart and CVA to evaluate these as screening tests for detecting ocular disease as well as significant, uncorrected refractive errors. Among the 91 athletes that presented to the screening, 79 (158 eyes) were sufficiently cooperative for the examination to be completed. Mean age was 26 years +/-10.8 SD. Significant, uncorrected refractive errors (>/=1.00 spherical equivalent) were detected in 28 (18%) eyes and ocular pathology in 51 (32%) eyes. The Lea chart sensitivity and specificity were 43% and 74%, respectively, for detecting ocular pathology and 58% and 100% for detecting uncorrected refractive errors. The CVA sensitivity and specificity were 70% and 86% for detecting pathology and 71% and 100% for detecting uncorrected refractive errors. This study confirmed the findings of prior studies in identifying a significant presence of uncorrected refractive errors and ocular pathology in the Down syndrome population. Screening with the Lea symbol chart found borderline sufficient sensitivity and specificity for the test to be used for screening in this population. The better sensitivity and specificity of the CVA, if adjusted normative values are utilized, appear to make this test sufficient for testing Down syndrome children for identifying both refractive errors and ocular pathology. Copyright 2010 American Optometric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Myocardial Scar Imaging by Standard Single-Energy and Dual-Energy Late Enhancement Computed Tomography: Comparison to Pathology and Electroanatomical Map in an Experimental Chronic Infarct Porcine Model

PubMed Central

Truong, Quynh A.; Thai, Wai-ee; Wai, Bryan; Cordaro, Kevin; Cheng, Teresa; Beaudoin, Jonathan; Xiong, Guanglei; Cheung, Jim W.; Altman, Robert; Min, James K.; Singh, Jagmeet P.; Barrett, Conor D.; Danik, Stephan

2015-01-01

Background Myocardial scar is a substrate for ventricular tachycardia and sudden cardiac death. Late enhancement computed tomography (CT) imaging can detect scar, but it remains unclear whether newer late enhancement dual-energy (LE-DECT) acquisition has benefit over standard single-energy late enhancement (LE-CT). Objective We aim to compare late enhancement CT using newer LE-DECT acquisition and single-energy LE-CT acquisitions to pathology and electroanatomical map (EAM) in an experimental chronic myocardial infarction (MI) porcine study. Methods In 8 chronic MI pigs (59±5 kg), we performed dual-source CT, EAM, and pathology. For CT imaging, we performed 3 acquisitions at 10 minutes post-contrast: LE-CT 80 kV, LE-CT 100 kV, and LE-DECT with two post-processing software settings. Results Of the sequences, LE-CT 100 kV provided the best contrast-to-noise ratio (all p≤0.03) and correlation to pathology for scar (ρ=0.88). While LE-DECT overestimated scar (both p=0.02), LE-CT images did not (both p=0.08). On a segment basis (n=136), all CT sequences had high specificity (87–93%) and modest sensitivity (50–67%), with LE-CT 100 kV having the highest specificity of 93% for scar detection compared to pathology and agreement with EAM (κ 0.69). Conclusions Standard single-energy LE-CT, particularly 100kV, matched better to pathology and EAM than dual-energy LE-DECT for scar detection. Larger human trials as well as more technical-based studies that optimize varying different energies with newer hardware and software are warranted. PMID:25977115

Comparison of saline infusion sonohysterography and hysteroscopy in diagnosis of premenopausal women with abnormal uterine bleeding.

PubMed

Soguktas, Suna; Cogendez, Ebru; Kayatas, Semra Eser; Asoglu, Mehmet Resit; Selcuk, Selcuk; Ertekin, Aktug

2012-03-01

The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic effectiveness of transvaginal sonography (TVS), saline infusion sonohysterography (SIS), and diagnostic hysteroscopy (HS), with the pathologic specimen as a gold standard diagnostic method, in detecting endometrial pathology in premenopausal women with abnormal uterine bleeding. This prospective cohort study was conducted at Zeynep Kamil Education and Training Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey, and included 89 premenopausal women. All participants were examined first by TVS, further investigated with SIS and HS, and finally dilatation and curettage was performed when needed. The results obtained from these three methods were compared with the pathologic diagnoses. The positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR-) of TVS, SIS and HS were calculated by comparison with the final pathological diagnosis. In addition, area under the curve (AUC) values were also calculated. Polypoid lesion was the most common abnormal pathology. LR+ and LR- of TVS, SIS, and HS were 3.13 and 0.15, 9.83 and 0.07, 13.7 and 0.02 respectively in detection of any abnormal pathology, and the AUCs of TVS, SIS, and HS were 0.804, 0.920, and 0.954 respectively. When the three procedures were compared with each other separately, HS had the best diagnostic accuracy, and the diagnostic accuracy of HS and SIS was superior to TVS (p(1)=0.000, p(2)=0.000). For the detection of polypoid lesions, HS was the most accurate diagnostic procedure (AUC=0.947), followed by SIS (AUC=0.894) and TVS (AUC=0.778). HS provides the most accurate diagnosis and allows treatment in the same session in premenopausal women with abnormal uterine bleeding. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Automated detection of diagnostically relevant regions in H&E stained digital pathology slides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahlmann, Claus; Patel, Amar; Johnson, Jeffrey; Ni, Jie; Chekkoury, Andrei; Khurd, Parmeshwar; Kamen, Ali; Grady, Leo; Krupinski, Elizabeth; Graham, Anna; Weinstein, Ronald

2012-03-01

We present a computationally efficient method for analyzing H&E stained digital pathology slides with the objective of discriminating diagnostically relevant vs. irrelevant regions. Such technology is useful for several applications: (1) It can speed up computer aided diagnosis (CAD) for histopathology based cancer detection and grading by an order of magnitude through a triage-like preprocessing and pruning. (2) It can improve the response time for an interactive digital pathology workstation (which is usually dealing with several GByte digital pathology slides), e.g., through controlling adaptive compression or prioritization algorithms. (3) It can support the detection and grading workflow for expert pathologists in a semi-automated diagnosis, hereby increasing throughput and accuracy. At the core of the presented method is the statistical characterization of tissue components that are indicative for the pathologist's decision about malignancy vs. benignity, such as, nuclei, tubules, cytoplasm, etc. In order to allow for effective yet computationally efficient processing, we propose visual descriptors that capture the distribution of color intensities observed for nuclei and cytoplasm. Discrimination between statistics of relevant vs. irrelevant regions is learned from annotated data, and inference is performed via linear classification. We validate the proposed method both qualitatively and quantitatively. Experiments show a cross validation error rate of 1.4%. We further show that the proposed method can prune ~90% of the area of pathological slides while maintaining 100% of all relevant information, which allows for a speedup of a factor of 10 for CAD systems.

Current Role for Biomarkers in Clinical Diagnosis of Alzheimer Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia.

PubMed

Sheikh-Bahaei, Nasim; Sajjadi, Seyed Ahmad; Pierce, Aimee L

2017-11-14

Purpose of review Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia can often be diagnosed accurately with careful clinical history, cognitive testing, neurological examination, and structural brain MRI. However, there are certain circumstances wherein detection of specific biomarkers of neurodegeneration or underlying AD pathology will impact the clinical diagnosis or treatment plan. We will review the currently available biomarkers for AD and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and discuss their clinical importance. Recent findings With the advent of 18 F-labeled tracers that bind amyloid plaques, amyloid PET is now clinically available for the detection of amyloid pathology and to aid in a biomarker-supported diagnosis of AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to AD. It is not yet possible to test for the specific FTD pathologies (tau or TDP-43); however, a diagnosis of FTD may be "imaging supported" based upon specific MRI or FDG-PET findings. Cerebrospinal fluid measures of amyloid-beta, total-tau, and phospho-tau are clinically available and allow detection of both of the cardinal pathologies of AD: amyloid and tau pathology. Summary It is appropriate to pursue biomarker testing in cases of MCI and dementia when there remains diagnostic uncertainty and the result will impact diagnosis or treatment. Practically speaking, due to the rising prevalence of amyloid positivity with advancing age, measurement of biomarkers in cases of MCI and dementia is most helpful in early-onset patients, patients with atypical clinical presentations, or when considering referral for AD clinical trials.

Chronic pancreatitis.

PubMed

Kleeff, Jorg; Whitcomb, David C; Shimosegawa, Tooru; Esposito, Irene; Lerch, Markus M; Gress, Thomas; Mayerle, Julia; Drewes, Asbjørn Mohr; Rebours, Vinciane; Akisik, Fatih; Muñoz, J Enrique Domínguez; Neoptolemos, John P

2017-09-07

Chronic pancreatitis is defined as a pathological fibro-inflammatory syndrome of the pancreas in individuals with genetic, environmental and/or other risk factors who develop persistent pathological responses to parenchymal injury or stress. Potential causes can include toxic factors (such as alcohol or smoking), metabolic abnormalities, idiopathic mechanisms, genetics, autoimmune responses and obstructive mechanisms. The pathophysiology of chronic pancreatitis is fairly complex and includes acinar cell injury, acinar stress responses, duct dysfunction, persistent or altered inflammation, and/or neuro-immune crosstalk, but these mechanisms are not completely understood. Chronic pancreatitis is characterized by ongoing inflammation of the pancreas that results in progressive loss of the endocrine and exocrine compartment owing to atrophy and/or replacement with fibrotic tissue. Functional consequences include recurrent or constant abdominal pain, diabetes mellitus (endocrine insufficiency) and maldigestion (exocrine insufficiency). Diagnosing early-stage chronic pancreatitis is challenging as changes are subtle, ill-defined and overlap those of other disorders. Later stages are characterized by variable fibrosis and calcification of the pancreatic parenchyma; dilatation, distortion and stricturing of the pancreatic ducts; pseudocysts; intrapancreatic bile duct stricturing; narrowing of the duodenum; and superior mesenteric, portal and/or splenic vein thrombosis. Treatment options comprise medical, radiological, endoscopic and surgical interventions, but evidence-based approaches are limited. This Primer highlights the major progress that has been made in understanding the pathophysiology, presentation, prevalence and management of chronic pancreatitis and its complications.

Imaging of pulmonary emphysema: A pictorial review

PubMed Central

Takahashi, Masashi; Fukuoka, Junya; Nitta, Norihisa; Takazakura, Ryutaro; Nagatani, Yukihiro; Murakami, Yoko; Otani, Hideji; Murata, Kiyoshi

2008-01-01

The term ‘emphysema’ is generally used in a morphological sense, and therefore imaging modalities have an important role in diagnosing this disease. In particular, high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is a reliable tool for demonstrating the pathology of emphysema, even in subtle changes within secondary pulmonary lobules. Generally, pulmonary emphysema is classified into three types related to the lobular anatomy: centrilobular emphysema, panlobular emphysema, and paraseptal emphysema. In this pictorial review, we discuss the radiological – pathological correlation in each type of pulmonary emphysema. HRCT of early centrilobular emphysema shows an evenly distributed centrilobular tiny areas of low attenuation with ill-defined borders. With enlargement of the dilated airspace, the surrounding lung parenchyma is compressed, which enables observation of a clear border between the emphysematous area and the normal lung. Because the disease progresses from the centrilobular portion, normal lung parenchyma in the perilobular portion tends to be preserved, even in a case of far-advanced pulmonary emphysema. In panlobular emphysema, HRCT shows either panlobular low attenuation or ill-defined diffuse low attenuation of the lung. Paraseptal emphysema is characterized by subpleural well-defined cystic spaces. Recent topics related to imaging of pulmonary emphysema will also be discussed, including morphometry of the airway in cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, combined pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary emphysema, and bronchogenic carcinoma associated with bullous lung disease. PMID:18686729

Metabolomics: beyond biomarkers and towards mechanisms

PubMed Central

Johnson, Caroline H.; Ivanisevic, Julijana; Siuzdak, Gary

2017-01-01

Metabolomics, which is the profiling of metabolites in biofluids, cells and tissues, is routinely applied as a tool for biomarker discovery. Owing to innovative developments in informatics and analytical technologies, and the integration of orthogonal biological approaches, it is now possible to expand metabolomic analyses to understand the systems-level effects of metabolites. Moreover, because of the inherent sensitivity of metabolomics, subtle alterations in biological pathways can be detected to provide insight into the mechanisms that underlie various physiological conditions and aberrant processes, including diseases. PMID:26979502

Weighted network analysis of high-frequency cross-correlation measures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iori, Giulia; Precup, Ovidiu V.

2007-03-01

In this paper we implement a Fourier method to estimate high-frequency correlation matrices from small data sets. The Fourier estimates are shown to be considerably less noisy than the standard Pearson correlation measures and thus capable of detecting subtle changes in correlation matrices with just a month of data. The evolution of correlation at different time scales is analyzed from the full correlation matrix and its minimum spanning tree representation. The analysis is performed by implementing measures from the theory of random weighted networks.

Facial emotion recognition is inversely correlated with tremor severity in essential tremor.

PubMed

Auzou, Nicolas; Foubert-Samier, Alexandra; Dupouy, Sandrine; Meissner, Wassilios G

2014-04-01

We here assess limbic and orbitofrontal control in 20 patients with essential tremor (ET) and 18 age-matched healthy controls using the Ekman Facial Emotion Recognition Task and the IOWA Gambling Task. Our results show an inverse relation between facial emotion recognition and tremor severity. ET patients also showed worse performance in joy and fear recognition, as well as subtle abnormalities in risk detection, but these differences did not reach significance after correction for multiple testing.

Assessment of Detection and Refinement Strategies for de novo Protein Structures using Force Field and Statistical Potentials

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-01

energy landscape of real proteins . As such, real proteins may have a subtle free energy gradient toward the native that requires long folding times...some leaning, however slight, toward the lowest free - energy basin .9 One caveat in the connection between the scoring funnel and the folding funnel is... protein sets. The average DFIRE-AA scores from each cluster were ranked, and the lowest- energy conformers from each of the top 16 clusters

Development of a quantitative in-shoe measurement system for assessing balance: sixteen-sensor insoles.

PubMed

Bamberg, Stacy M; Lastayo, Paul; Dibble, Lee; Musselman, Josh; Raghavendra, Swarna Kiran Dasa

2006-01-01

This work presents the first phase in the development of an in-shoe sensor system designed to evaluate balance. Sixteen force-sensitive resistors were strategically mounted to a removable insole, and the bilateral outputs were recorded. The initial results indicate that these sensors are capable of detecting subtle changes in weight distribution, corresponding to the subject's ability to balance. Preliminary analysis of this data found a clear correlation between the ability to balance and the state of health of the subject.

Detection of laryngeal function using speech and electroglottographic data.

PubMed

Childers, D G; Bae, K S

1992-01-01

The purpose of this research was to develop quantitative measures for the assessment of laryngeal function using speech and electroglottographic (EGG) data. We developed two procedures for the detection of laryngeal pathology: 1) a spectral distortion measure using pitch synchronous and asynchronous methods with linear predictive coding (LPC) vectors and vector quantization (VQ) and 2) analysis of the EGG signal using time interval and amplitude difference measures. The VQ procedure was conjectured to offer the possibility of circumventing the need to estimate the glottal volume velocity wave-form by inverse filtering techniques. The EGG procedure was to evaluate data that was "nearly" a direct measure of vocal fold vibratory motion and thus was conjectured to offer the potential for providing an excellent assessment of laryngeal function. A threshold based procedure gave 75.9 and 69.0% probability of pathological detection using procedures 1) and 2), respectively, for 29 patients with pathological voices and 52 normal subjects. The false alarm probability was 9.6% for the normal subjects.

Pathological brain detection based on wavelet entropy and Hu moment invariants.

PubMed

Zhang, Yudong; Wang, Shuihua; Sun, Ping; Phillips, Preetha

2015-01-01

With the aim of developing an accurate pathological brain detection system, we proposed a novel automatic computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) to detect pathological brains from normal brains obtained by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning. The problem still remained a challenge for technicians and clinicians, since MR imaging generated an exceptionally large information dataset. A new two-step approach was proposed in this study. We used wavelet entropy (WE) and Hu moment invariants (HMI) for feature extraction, and the generalized eigenvalue proximal support vector machine (GEPSVM) for classification. To further enhance classification accuracy, the popular radial basis function (RBF) kernel was employed. The 10 runs of k-fold stratified cross validation result showed that the proposed "WE + HMI + GEPSVM + RBF" method was superior to existing methods w.r.t. classification accuracy. It obtained the average classification accuracies of 100%, 100%, and 99.45% over Dataset-66, Dataset-160, and Dataset-255, respectively. The proposed method is effective and can be applied to realistic use.

Molecular pathology of bone tumours: diagnostic implications.

PubMed

Puls, Florian; Niblett, Angela J; Mangham, D Chas

2014-03-01

Alongside histomorphology and immunohistochemistry, molecular pathology is now established as one of the cornerstones in the tissue diagnosis of bone tumours. We describe the principal molecular pathological techniques employed, and each of the bone tumour entities where their identified characteristic molecular pathological changes can be detected to support and confirm the suspected histological diagnosis. Tumours discussed include fibrous dysplasia, classical and subtype osteosarcomas, central and surface cartilaginous tumours, Ewing's sarcoma, vascular tumours, aneurysmal bone cyst, chordoma, myoepithelioma, and angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma. This is a rapidly evolving field with discoveries occurring every few months, and some of the newer entities (the Ewing's-like sarcomas), which are principally identified by their molecular pathology characteristics, are discussed. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Predicting subtle behavioral responses of invertebrates to soil contaminants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Donkin, S.G.

1995-12-31

At concentration levels well below those which cause death and injury to soil invertebrates, a toxic chemical plume may yet effectively damage a soil ecosystem by triggering avoidance behavior among sensitive invertebrates as they move along the concentration gradient. The result may be a soil ecosystem lacking the benefits of effective nutrient cycling and mineralization which a thriving invertebrate population provides. While determining actual detection limits of invertebrates for chemical gradients in soils is experimentally difficult, theoretical calculations have suggested that such limits may be extremely low, and hence many organisms may sense and avoid concentrations of chemicals far belowmore » levels commonly considered acceptable. The minimum gradient (G) that can be detected by a receptor depends on the receptor radius (R), the chemical concentration (C), the diffusion constant of the chemical (D), the velocity of the organism (v), and the time over which the receptor integrates the chemical signal (t). In addition, the characteristics of that gradient are determined by interactions between the chemical and the soil particles (sorption/desorption), and advection through the pore spaces. The example of lead (Pb), a neurotoxic metal with demonstrated behavioral effects on the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, is used to model a chemical migrating through a soil. Based on experimentally determined Pb concentrations which elicited avoidance behavior in nematodes, and sorption characteristics of defined Pb-soil systems, the minimum detectable gradient (G) produced by a solubilized Pb plume in several soils was modeled. The results predict maximum allowable Pb levels in a soil if a healthy invertebrate community is desired, and suggest areas for further research into the subtle behavioral effects of environmental toxicants ore sensitive invertebrates.« less

Polychromatic SSVEP stimuli with subtle flickering adapted to brain-display interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chien, Yu-Yi; Lin, Fang-Cheng; Zao, John K.; Chou, Ching-Chi; Huang, Yi-Pai; Kuo, Heng-Yuan; Wang, Yijun; Jung, Tzyy-Ping; Shieh, Han-Ping D.

2017-02-01

Objective. Interactive displays armed with natural user interfaces (NUIs) will likely lead the next breakthrough in consumer electronics, and brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are often regarded as the ultimate NUI-enabling machines to respond to human emotions and mental states. Steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) are a commonly used BCI modality due to the ease of detection and high information transfer rates. However, the presence of flickering stimuli may cause user discomfort and can even induce migraines and seizures. With the aim of designing visual stimuli that can be embedded into video images, this study developed a novel approach to induce detectable SSVEPs using a composition of red/green/blue flickering lights. Approach. Based on the opponent theory of colour vision, this study used 32 Hz/40 Hz rectangular red-green or red-blue LED light pulses with a 50% duty cycle, balanced/equal luminance and 0°/180° phase shifts as the stimulating light sources and tested their efficacy in producing SSVEP responses with high signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) while reducing the perceived flickering sensation. Main results. The empirical results from ten healthy subjects showed that dual-colour lights flickering at 32 Hz/40 Hz with a 50% duty cycle and 180° phase shift achieved a greater than 90% detection accuracy with little or no flickering sensation. Significance. As a first step in developing an embedded SSVEP stimulus in commercial displays, this study provides a foundation for developing a combination of three primary colour flickering backlights with adjustable luminance proportions to create a subtle flickering polychromatic light that can elicit SSVEPs at the basic flickering frequency.

Is 2D speckle tracking echocardiography useful for detecting and monitoring myocardial dysfunction in adult m.3243A>G carriers? - a retrospective pilot study.

PubMed

Koene, S; Timmermans, J; Weijers, G; de Laat, P; de Korte, C L; Smeitink, J A M; Janssen, M C H; Kapusta, L

2017-03-01

Cardiomyopathy is a common complication of mitochondrial disorders, associated with increased mortality. Two dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2DSTE) can be used to quantify myocardial deformation. Here, we aimed to determine the usefulness of 2DSTE in detecting and monitoring subtle changes in myocardial dysfunction in carriers of the 3243A>G mutation in mitochondrial DNA. In this retrospective pilot study, 30 symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers of the mitochondrial 3243A>G mutation of whom two subsequent echocardiograms were available were included. We measured longitudinal, circumferential and radial strain using 2DSTE. Results were compared to published reference values. Speckle tracking was feasible in 90 % of the patients for longitudinal strain. Circumferential and radial strain showed low face validity (low number of images with sufficient quality; suboptimal tracking) and were therefore rejected for further analysis. Global longitudinal strain showed good face validity, and was abnormal in 56-70 % (depending on reference values used) of the carriers (n = 27). Reproducibility was good (mean difference of 0.83 for inter- and 0.40 for intra-rater reproducibility; ICC 0.78 and 0.89, respectively). The difference between the first and the second measurement exceeded the measurement variance in 39 % of the cases (n = 23; feasibility of follow-up 77 %). Even in data collected as part of clinical care, two-dimensional strain echocardiography seems a feasible method to detect and monitor subtle changes in longitudinal myocardial deformation in adult carriers of the mitochondrial 3243A>G mutation. Based on our data and the reported accuracy of global longitudinal strain in other studies, we suggest the use of global longitudinal strain in a prospective follow-up or intervention study.

HeartSaver: a mobile cardiac monitoring system for auto-detection of atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, and atrio-ventricular block.

PubMed

Sankari, Ziad; Adeli, Hojjat

2011-04-01

A mobile medical device, dubbed HeartSaver, is developed for real-time monitoring of a patient's electrocardiogram (ECG) and automatic detection of several cardiac pathologies, including atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction and atrio-ventricular block. HeartSaver is based on adroit integration of four different modern technologies: electronics, wireless communication, computer, and information technologies in the service of medicine. The physical device consists of four modules: sensor and ECG processing unit, a microcontroller, a link between the microcontroller and the cell phone, and mobile software associated with the system. HeartSaver includes automated cardiac pathology detection algorithms. These algorithms are simple enough to be implemented on a low-cost, limited-power microcontroller but powerful enough to detect the relevant cardiac pathologies. When an abnormality is detected, the microcontroller sends a signal to a cell phone. This operation triggers an application software on the cell phone that sends a text message transmitting information about patient's physiological condition and location promptly to a physician or a guardian. HeartSaver can be used by millions of cardiac patients with the potential to transform the cardiac diagnosis, care, and treatment and save thousands of lives. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The predictive value of magnetic resonance imaging of retinoblastoma for the likelihood of high-risk pathologic features.

PubMed

Hiasat, Jamila G; Saleh, Alaa; Al-Hussaini, Maysa; Al Nawaiseh, Ibrahim; Mehyar, Mustafa; Qandeel, Monther; Mohammad, Mona; Deebajah, Rasha; Sultan, Iyad; Jaradat, Imad; Mansour, Asem; Yousef, Yacoub A

2018-06-01

To evaluate the predictive value of magnetic resonance imaging in retinoblastoma for the likelihood of high-risk pathologic features. A retrospective study of 64 eyes enucleated from 60 retinoblastoma patients. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging was performed before enucleation. Main outcome measures included demographics, laterality, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of magnetic resonance imaging in detecting high-risk pathologic features. Optic nerve invasion and choroidal invasion were seen microscopically in 34 (53%) and 28 (44%) eyes, respectively, while they were detected in magnetic resonance imaging in 22 (34%) and 15 (23%) eyes, respectively. The accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging in detecting prelaminar invasion was 77% (sensitivity 89%, specificity 98%), 56% for laminar invasion (sensitivity 27%, specificity 94%), 84% for postlaminar invasion (sensitivity 42%, specificity 98%), and 100% for optic cut edge invasion (sensitivity100%, specificity 100%). The accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging in detecting focal choroidal invasion was 48% (sensitivity 33%, specificity 97%), and 84% for massive choroidal invasion (sensitivity 53%, specificity 98%), and the accuracy in detecting extrascleral extension was 96% (sensitivity 67%, specificity 98%). Magnetic resonance imaging should not be the only method to stratify patients at high risk from those who are not, eventhough it can predict with high accuracy extensive postlaminar optic nerve invasion, massive choroidal invasion, and extrascleral tumor extension.

Computed-aided diagnosis (CAD) in the detection of breast cancer.

PubMed

Dromain, C; Boyer, B; Ferré, R; Canale, S; Delaloge, S; Balleyguier, C

2013-03-01

Computer-aided detection (CAD) systems have been developed for interpretation to improve mammographic detection of breast cancer at screening by reducing the number of false-negative interpretation that can be caused by subtle findings, radiologist distraction and complex architecture. They use a digitized mammographic image that can be obtained from both screen-film mammography and full field digital mammography. Its performance in breast cancer detection is dependent on the performance of the CAD itself, the population to which it is applied and the radiologists who use it. There is a clear benefit to the use of CAD in less experienced radiologist and in detecting breast carcinomas presenting as microcalcifications. This review gives a detailed description CAD systems used in mammography and their performance in assistance of reading in screening mammography and as an alternative to double reading. Other CAD systems developed for MRI and ultrasound are also presented and discussed. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Deep learning with non-medical training used for chest pathology identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bar, Yaniv; Diamant, Idit; Wolf, Lior; Greenspan, Hayit

2015-03-01

In this work, we examine the strength of deep learning approaches for pathology detection in chest radiograph data. Convolutional neural networks (CNN) deep architecture classification approaches have gained popularity due to their ability to learn mid and high level image representations. We explore the ability of a CNN to identify different types of pathologies in chest x-ray images. Moreover, since very large training sets are generally not available in the medical domain, we explore the feasibility of using a deep learning approach based on non-medical learning. We tested our algorithm on a dataset of 93 images. We use a CNN that was trained with ImageNet, a well-known large scale nonmedical image database. The best performance was achieved using a combination of features extracted from the CNN and a set of low-level features. We obtained an area under curve (AUC) of 0.93 for Right Pleural Effusion detection, 0.89 for Enlarged heart detection and 0.79 for classification between healthy and abnormal chest x-ray, where all pathologies are combined into one large class. This is a first-of-its-kind experiment that shows that deep learning with large scale non-medical image databases may be sufficient for general medical image recognition tasks.

Molecular detection of Helicobacter pylori in oral samples from patients suffering digestive pathologies.

PubMed

Medina, Myriam-Lucrecia; Medina, Marcelo-Gabriel; Martín, Graciela-Teresita; Picón, Santiago-Omar; Bancalari, Adriana; Merino, Luis-Antonio

2010-01-01

to determine the simultaneous presence of H. pylori in both the oral cavity and gastric mucosal in patients suffering digestive pathologies and to establish the possible association between the presence of H. pylori in the oral cavity and the gingivoperiodontal pathology. Patients with gastric symptoms (case group) and asymptomatic patients (control group) seen at the Gastroenterology Department of Dr. Julio C. Perrando Hospital (Resistencia, Argentina) were selected. Dental plaque and saliva samples from both groups were obtained. In the case group, gastric biopsy samples were also taken. H. pylori was detected in gastric biopsies by histological stains, and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was carried out on the oral samples. Among the 98 patients (43 cases and 55 controls), 196 oral samples (saliva 98, dental plaque 98) and 43 gastric biopsias were obtained. H. pylori was detected in oral samples in 18/98 patients, in gastric biopsies in 38/43 patients, and in both samples in 15/43 patients. The presence of H. pylori in the oral cavity of patients suffering digestive pathologies is more frequent in those patients harbouring a gingivoperiodontal disease, and this fact could represent an obstacle for the eradication of the bacterium. At the same time, it could constitute a risk factor for gastrointestinal reinfection after treatment.

Detection of bacterial DNA by PCR in dogs with stifle pathology.

PubMed

Bhandal, Jitender; Hayashi, Kei; Kim, Sun-Young; Klein, Martha; Wong, Alice; Toupadakis, Chrisoula A; Muir, Peter; Yellowley, Clare E

2013-10-01

To determine presence of bacterial DNA in canine stifles with cranial cruciate ligament rupture (CCLR) and medial patellar luxation (MPL) compared to normal canine stifles (control). Prospective clinical study. Dogs (n = 44). Dogs of varying age, breed, sex, and weight residing in California were assessed for stifle pathology (CCLR, MPL, or normal control). Synovial fluid of all stifles was assessed for the presence of bacterial DNA using broad-ranging 16S rRNA primers and PCR. Bacterial DNA was detected in normal control stifles and those with CCLR and MPL. There were no statistical differences in the copy numbers of bacterial DNA in the stifle synovial fluid among groups (P > .05); however, synovial fluid specimens from dogs with stifle pathology (CCLR and MPL combined) tended to have higher copy numbers of bacterial DNA than those from controls (P = .06). There was no significant difference in the number of bacterial DNA between the CCLR and MPL groups (P = .57). The copy numbers of bacterial DNA had a weak positive significant correlation with the duration of lameness in CCLR group (P < .05). Increased detection of bacterial DNA in the stifle synovial fluid may indicate joint pathology but not be directly linked to a specific joint disease. © Copyright 2013 by The American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Overview of the "epigenetic end points in toxicologic pathology and relevance to human health" session of the 2014 Society Of Toxicologic Pathology Annual Symposium.

PubMed

Hoenerhoff, Mark J; Hartke, James

2015-01-01

The theme of the Society of Toxicologic Pathology 2014 Annual Symposium was "Translational Pathology: Relevance of Toxicologic Pathology to Human Health." The 5th session focused on epigenetic end points in biology, toxicity, and carcinogenicity, and how those end points are relevant to human exposures. This overview highlights the various presentations in this session, discussing integration of epigenetics end points in toxicologic pathology studies, investigating the role of epigenetics in product safety assessment, epigenetic changes in cancers, methodologies to detect them, and potential therapies, chromatin remodeling in development and disease, and epigenomics and the microbiome. The purpose of this overview is to discuss the application of epigenetics to toxicologic pathology and its utility in preclinical or mechanistic based safety, efficacy, and carcinogenicity studies. © 2014 by The Author(s).

Fractal Complexity-Based Feature Extraction Algorithm of Communication Signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hui; Li, Jingchao; Guo, Lili; Dou, Zheng; Lin, Yun; Zhou, Ruolin

How to analyze and identify the characteristics of radiation sources and estimate the threat level by means of detecting, intercepting and locating has been the central issue of electronic support in the electronic warfare, and communication signal recognition is one of the key points to solve this issue. Aiming at accurately extracting the individual characteristics of the radiation source for the increasingly complex communication electromagnetic environment, a novel feature extraction algorithm for individual characteristics of the communication radiation source based on the fractal complexity of the signal is proposed. According to the complexity of the received signal and the situation of environmental noise, use the fractal dimension characteristics of different complexity to depict the subtle characteristics of the signal to establish the characteristic database, and then identify different broadcasting station by gray relation theory system. The simulation results demonstrate that the algorithm can achieve recognition rate of 94% even in the environment with SNR of -10dB, and this provides an important theoretical basis for the accurate identification of the subtle features of the signal at low SNR in the field of information confrontation.

The angular dependence of pulse shape discrimination and detection sensitivity in cylindrical and cubic EJ-309 organic liquid scintillators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, A. R.; Joyce, M. J.

2017-01-01

Liquid scintillators are used widely for neutron detection and for the assay of nuclear materials. However, due to the constituents of the detector and the nitrogen void within the detector cell, usually incorporated to accommodate any expansion that might occur to avoid leakage, fluctuations in detector response have been observed associated with the orientation of the detector when in use. In this work the angular dependence of the pulse-shape discrimination performance in an EJ309 liquid scintillator has been investigated with 252Cf in terms of the separation of γ -ray and neutron events, described quantitatively by the figure-of-merit. A subtle dependence in terms of pulse-shape discrimination is observed. In contrast, a more significant dependence of detection sensitivity with the angle of orientation is evident.

Subclinical Cushing's syndrome: current concepts and trends.

PubMed

Zografos, George N; Perysinakis, Iraklis; Vassilatou, Evangeline

2014-01-01

Clinically inapparent adrenal masses which are incidentally detected have become a common problem in everyday practice. Approximately 5-20% of adrenal incidentalomas present subclinical cortisol hypersecretion which is characterized by subtle alterations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis due to adrenal autonomy. This disorder has been described as subclinical Cushing's syndrome, since there is no typical clinical phenotype. The diagnosis of subclinical Cushing's syndrome is based on biochemical evaluation; however, there is still no consensus for the biochemical diagnostic criteria. An abnormal 1mg dexamethasone suppression test (DST) as initial screening test in combination with at least one other abnormal test of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis has been advocated by most experts for the diagnosis of subclinical Cushing's syndrome. DST is the main method of establishing the diagnosis, while there is inhomogeneity of the information that other tests provide. Arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus type 2 or impaired glucose tolerance, central obesity, osteoporosis/vertebral fractures and dyslipidemia are considered as detrimental effects of chronic subtle cortisol excess, although there is no proven causal relationship between subclinical cortisol hypersecretion and these morbidities. Therapeutic strategies include careful observation along with medical treatment of morbidities potentially related to subtle cortisol hypersecretion versus laparoscopic adrenalectomy. The optimal management of patients with subclinical Cushing's syndrome is not yet defined. The conservative approach is appropriate for the majority of these patients; however, the duration of follow-up and the frequency of periodical evaluation still remain open issues. Surgical resection may be beneficial for patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus type 2 or abnormal glucose tolerance and obesity.

Noninvasive assessment of altered activity following restraint in mice using an automated physiological monitoring system.

PubMed

Spiers, Jereme G; Chen, Hsiao-Jou Cortina; Steyn, Frederik J; Lavidis, Nickolas A; Woodruff, Trent M; Lee, John D

2017-01-01

In the laboratory setting, typical endocrine and targeted behavioral tests are limited in their ability to provide a direct assessment of stress in animals housed in undisturbed conditions. We hypothesized that an automated phenotyping system would allow the detection of subtle stress-related behavioral changes well beyond the time-frames examined using conventional methods. In this study, we have utilized the TSE PhenoMaster system to continuously record basal behaviors and physiological parameters including activity, body weight, food intake and oxygen consumption in undisturbed and stressed C57Bl/6J male mice (n = 12/group), with a pharmacological intervention using the conventional anxiolytic, diazepam (5 mg kg -1 i.p.; n = 8/group). We observed significant 20-30% reductions in locomotor activity in the dark phase, with subtle reductions in light phase activity for up to 96 h following a single 2 h episode of restraint stress. A single administration of diazepam reduced plasma corticosterone concentrations by 30-35% during stress exposure when compared to mice treated with vehicle. This treatment did not result in significantly different locomotor activity compared to vehicle within the first 48 h following restraint stress. However, diazepam treatment facilitated restoration of locomotor activity at 72 and 96 h after restraint stress exposure in comparison to vehicle-treated mice. Hence, the use of an automated phenotyping system allows a real time assessment of basal behaviors and empirical metabolism following exposure to restraint stress and demonstrates major and subtle changes in activity persist for several days after stress exposure.

Gravitational and magnetic field variations synergize to cause subtle variations in the global transcriptional state of Arabidopsis in vitro callus cultures

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Biological systems respond to changes in both the Earth's magnetic and gravitational fields, but as experiments in space are expensive and infrequent, Earth-based simulation techniques are required. A high gradient magnetic field can be used to levitate biological material, thereby simulating microgravity and can also create environments with a reduced or an enhanced level of gravity (g), although special attention should be paid to the possible effects of the magnetic field (B) itself. Results Using diamagnetic levitation, we exposed Arabidopsis thaliana in vitro callus cultures to five environments with different levels of effective gravity and magnetic field strengths. The environments included levitation, i.e. simulated μg* (close to 0 g* at B = 10.1 T), intermediate g* (0.1 g* at B = 14.7 T) and enhanced gravity levels (1.9 g* at B = 14.7 T and 2 g* at B = 10.1 T) plus an internal 1 g* control (B = 16.5 T). The asterisk denotes the presence of the background magnetic field, as opposed to the effective gravity environments in the absence of an applied magnetic field, created using a Random Position Machine (simulated μg) and a Large Diameter Centrifuge (2 g). Microarray analysis indicates that changes in the overall gene expression of cultured cells exposed to these unusual environments barely reach significance using an FDR algorithm. However, it was found that gravitational and magnetic fields produce synergistic variations in the steady state of the transcriptional profile of plants. Transcriptomic results confirm that high gradient magnetic fields (i.e. to create μg* and 2 g* conditions) have a significant effect, mainly on structural, abiotic stress genes and secondary metabolism genes, but these subtle gravitational effects are only observable using clustering methodologies. Conclusions A detailed microarray dataset analysis, based on clustering of similarly expressed genes (GEDI software), can detect underlying global-scale responses, which cannot be detected by means of individual gene expression techniques using raw or corrected p values (FDR). A subtle, but consistent, genome-scale response to hypogravity environments was found, which was opposite to the response in a hypergravity environment. PMID:22435851

Detection of circulating tumor cells using oHSV1-hTERT-GFP in lung cancer.

PubMed

Gao, Hongjun; Liu, Wenjing; Yang, Shaoxing; Zhang, Wen; Li, Xiaoyan; Qin, Haifeng; Wang, Weixia; Zhao, Changyun

2018-01-01

This study was conducted to evaluate the clinical utility of the oHSV1-hTERT-GFP circulating tumor cell (CTC) detection method in the peripheral blood of patients with lung cancer by comparing its sensitivity to the CellSearch CTC detection method. The oHSV1-hTERT-GFP and CellSearch CTC detection methods were compared using peripheral blood samples of patients pathologically diagnosed with lung cancer. A total of 240 patients with lung cancer were recruited, including 89 patients who were newly diagnosed and 151 patients who had previously received treatment. Sixty-six newly diagnosed patients were evaluated using both methods. The CTC detection rates were 71.2% and 33.3% using the oHSV1-hTERT-GFP and CellSearch methods, respectively; this difference was statistically significant (P = 0.000). Among the entire cohort (n = 240), the CTC detection rate using the oHSV1-hTERT-GFP method was 76.3%, with a CTC count of 0-81. The CTC detection rates were 76.7%, 68.9%, and 76.3% in patients with squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and small cell lung cancer, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the CTC detection rates between these different pathological subtypes (P = 0.738). The CTC detection rates of 79.8% and 74.4% in patients with stage I-III and IV lung cancer, respectively, were not significantly different (P = 0.427). The oHSV1-hTERT-GFP method is highly effective for detecting CTCs in patients with lung cancer, independent of pathological type and disease stage, and is ideal for large-scale clinical applications. © 2017 The Authors. Thoracic Cancer published by China Lung Oncology Group and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Detection of Subtle Cognitive Changes after mTBI Using a Novel Tablet-Based Task.

PubMed

Fischer, Tara D; Red, Stuart D; Chuang, Alice Z; Jones, Elizabeth B; McCarthy, James J; Patel, Saumil S; Sereno, Anne B

2016-07-01

This study examined the potential for novel tablet-based tasks, modeled after eye tracking techniques, to detect subtle sensorimotor and cognitive deficits after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Specifically, we examined whether performance on these tablet-based tasks (Pro-point and Anti-point) was able to correctly categorize concussed versus non-concussed participants, compared with performance on other standardized tests for concussion. Patients admitted to the emergency department with mTBI were tested on the Pro-point and Anti-point tasks, a current standard cognitive screening test (i.e., the Standard Assessment of Concussion [SAC]), and another eye movement-based tablet test, the King-Devick(®) (KD). Within hours after injury, mTBI patients showed significant slowing in response times, compared with both orthopedic and age-matched control groups, in the Pro-point task, demonstrating deficits in sensorimotor function. Mild TBI patients also showed significant slowing, compared with both control groups, on the Anti-point task, even when controlling for sensorimotor slowing, indicating deficits in cognitive function. Performance on the SAC test revealed similar deficits of cognitive function in the mTBI group, compared with the age-matched control group; however, the KD test showed no evidence of cognitive slowing in mTBI patients, compared with either control group. Further, measuring the sensitivity and specificity of these tasks to accurately predict mTBI with receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that the Anti-point and Pro-point tasks reached excellent levels of accuracy and fared better than current standardized tools for assessment of concussion. Our findings suggest that these rapid tablet-based tasks are able to reliably detect and measure functional impairment in cognitive and sensorimotor control within hours after mTBI. These tasks may provide a more sensitive diagnostic measure for functional deficits that could prove key to earlier detection of concussion, evaluation of interventions, or even prediction of persistent symptoms.

Toward Monitoring Parkinson's Through Analysis of Static Handwriting Samples: A Quantitative Analytical Framework.

PubMed

Zhi, Naiqian; Jaeger, Beverly Kris; Gouldstone, Andrew; Sipahi, Rifat; Frank, Samuel

2017-03-01

Detection of changes in micrographia as a manifestation of symptomatic progression or therapeutic response in Parkinson's disease (PD) is challenging as such changes can be subtle. A computerized toolkit based on quantitative analysis of handwriting samples would be valuable as it could supplement and support clinical assessments, help monitor micrographia, and link it to PD. Such a toolkit would be especially useful if it could detect subtle yet relevant changes in handwriting morphology, thus enhancing resolution of the detection procedure. This would be made possible by developing a set of metrics sensitive enough to detect and discern micrographia with specificity. Several metrics that are sensitive to the characteristics of micrographia were developed, with minimal sensitivity to confounding handwriting artifacts. These metrics capture character size-reduction, ink utilization, and pixel density within a writing sample from left to right. They are used here to "score" handwritten signatures of 12 different individuals corresponding to healthy and symptomatic PD conditions, and sample control signatures that had been artificially reduced in size for comparison purposes. Moreover, metric analyses of samples from ten of the 12 individuals for which clinical diagnosis time is known show considerable informative variations when applied to static signature samples obtained before and after diagnosis. In particular, a measure called pixel density variation showed statistically significant differences ( ) between two comparison groups of remote signature recordings: earlier versus recent, based on independent and paired t-test analyses on a total of 40 signature samples. The quantitative framework developed here has the potential to be used in future controlled experiments to study micrographia and links to PD from various aspects, including monitoring and assessment of applied interventions and treatments. The inherent value in this methodology is further enhanced by its reliance solely on static signatures, not requiring dynamic sampling with specialized equipment.

Detection of Subtle Cognitive Changes after mTBI Using a Novel Tablet-Based Task

PubMed Central

Red, Stuart D.; Chuang, Alice Z.; Jones, Elizabeth B.; McCarthy, James J.; Patel, Saumil S.; Sereno, Anne B.

2016-01-01

Abstract This study examined the potential for novel tablet-based tasks, modeled after eye tracking techniques, to detect subtle sensorimotor and cognitive deficits after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Specifically, we examined whether performance on these tablet-based tasks (Pro-point and Anti-point) was able to correctly categorize concussed versus non-concussed participants, compared with performance on other standardized tests for concussion. Patients admitted to the emergency department with mTBI were tested on the Pro-point and Anti-point tasks, a current standard cognitive screening test (i.e., the Standard Assessment of Concussion [SAC]), and another eye movement–based tablet test, the King-Devick® (KD). Within hours after injury, mTBI patients showed significant slowing in response times, compared with both orthopedic and age-matched control groups, in the Pro-point task, demonstrating deficits in sensorimotor function. Mild TBI patients also showed significant slowing, compared with both control groups, on the Anti-point task, even when controlling for sensorimotor slowing, indicating deficits in cognitive function. Performance on the SAC test revealed similar deficits of cognitive function in the mTBI group, compared with the age-matched control group; however, the KD test showed no evidence of cognitive slowing in mTBI patients, compared with either control group. Further, measuring the sensitivity and specificity of these tasks to accurately predict mTBI with receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that the Anti-point and Pro-point tasks reached excellent levels of accuracy and fared better than current standardized tools for assessment of concussion. Our findings suggest that these rapid tablet-based tasks are able to reliably detect and measure functional impairment in cognitive and sensorimotor control within hours after mTBI. These tasks may provide a more sensitive diagnostic measure for functional deficits that could prove key to earlier detection of concussion, evaluation of interventions, or even prediction of persistent symptoms. PMID:26398492

Learning from mothers: how myths, policies and practices affect the detection of subtle developmental problems in children.

PubMed

Williams, J

2007-05-01

Recent research has revealed increasing concerns over the number of children entering school with unidentified developmental problems, even though there are ostensibly comprehensive health services available for mothers and their children in the pre-school years. Recognizing that early detection and early intervention reduce the likelihood of long-term health and educational problems, it is important to understand why so many children are not detected with developmental problems in their pre-school years. This doctoral study utilized the knowledge and experience of mothers to draw attention to reasons why children with subtle developmental problems are not identified until school age. A qualitative methodology utilized a synthesis of interpretive biography and literary folkloristics as a method of collecting, reading and interpreting personal stories. Three literary theories, arising, respectively, from the tenets of semiotics, neoMarxism and post-structuralism, were used to critically deconstruct the mothers' stories. The findings highlight a number of factors that influence the interaction between mothers, health professionals and members of the community, and how these interactions impact on the early detection of children's developmental problems. The findings illustrate the influence of societal myths on how mothers and health professionals view their roles, and on how they think about and respond to the child's problem. They also confirm the value placed on professional knowledge and the role it plays in communications between mothers and health professionals. Finally, they draw attention to how competing arguments about diagnosis and labelling delay identification and access to intervention programmes for children. Health professionals working with mothers and young children should be aware of how their values, beliefs and communication styles affect their professional practice, especially when interacting with mothers who raise concerns about their children. State policies that limit access to early intervention programmes should also be reconsidered so that young children are not excluded from assistance.

Differences in Looking at Own- and Other-Race Faces Are Subtle and Analysis-Dependent: An Account of Discrepant Reports.

PubMed

Arizpe, Joseph; Kravitz, Dwight J; Walsh, Vincent; Yovel, Galit; Baker, Chris I

2016-01-01

The Other-Race Effect (ORE) is the robust and well-established finding that people are generally poorer at facial recognition of individuals of another race than of their own race. Over the past four decades, much research has focused on the ORE because understanding this phenomenon is expected to elucidate fundamental face processing mechanisms and the influence of experience on such mechanisms. Several recent studies of the ORE in which the eye-movements of participants viewing own- and other-race faces were tracked have, however, reported highly conflicting results regarding the presence or absence of differential patterns of eye-movements to own- versus other-race faces. This discrepancy, of course, leads to conflicting theoretical interpretations of the perceptual basis for the ORE. Here we investigate fixation patterns to own- versus other-race (African and Chinese) faces for Caucasian participants using different analysis methods. While we detect statistically significant, though subtle, differences in fixation pattern using an Area of Interest (AOI) approach, we fail to detect significant differences when applying a spatial density map approach. Though there were no significant differences in the spatial density maps, the qualitative patterns matched the results from the AOI analyses reflecting how, in certain contexts, Area of Interest (AOI) analyses can be more sensitive in detecting the differential fixation patterns than spatial density analyses, due to spatial pooling of data with AOIs. AOI analyses, however, also come with the limitation of requiring a priori specification. These findings provide evidence that the conflicting reports in the prior literature may be at least partially accounted for by the differences in the statistical sensitivity associated with the different analysis methods employed across studies. Overall, our results suggest that detection of differences in eye-movement patterns can be analysis-dependent and rests on the assumptions inherent in the given analysis.

Differences in Looking at Own- and Other-Race Faces Are Subtle and Analysis-Dependent: An Account of Discrepant Reports

PubMed Central

Arizpe, Joseph; Kravitz, Dwight J.; Walsh, Vincent; Yovel, Galit; Baker, Chris I.

2016-01-01

The Other-Race Effect (ORE) is the robust and well-established finding that people are generally poorer at facial recognition of individuals of another race than of their own race. Over the past four decades, much research has focused on the ORE because understanding this phenomenon is expected to elucidate fundamental face processing mechanisms and the influence of experience on such mechanisms. Several recent studies of the ORE in which the eye-movements of participants viewing own- and other-race faces were tracked have, however, reported highly conflicting results regarding the presence or absence of differential patterns of eye-movements to own- versus other-race faces. This discrepancy, of course, leads to conflicting theoretical interpretations of the perceptual basis for the ORE. Here we investigate fixation patterns to own- versus other-race (African and Chinese) faces for Caucasian participants using different analysis methods. While we detect statistically significant, though subtle, differences in fixation pattern using an Area of Interest (AOI) approach, we fail to detect significant differences when applying a spatial density map approach. Though there were no significant differences in the spatial density maps, the qualitative patterns matched the results from the AOI analyses reflecting how, in certain contexts, Area of Interest (AOI) analyses can be more sensitive in detecting the differential fixation patterns than spatial density analyses, due to spatial pooling of data with AOIs. AOI analyses, however, also come with the limitation of requiring a priori specification. These findings provide evidence that the conflicting reports in the prior literature may be at least partially accounted for by the differences in the statistical sensitivity associated with the different analysis methods employed across studies. Overall, our results suggest that detection of differences in eye-movement patterns can be analysis-dependent and rests on the assumptions inherent in the given analysis. PMID:26849447

Bodily action penetrates affective perception

PubMed Central

Rigutti, Sara; Gerbino, Walter

2016-01-01

Fantoni & Gerbino (2014) showed that subtle postural shifts associated with reaching can have a strong hedonic impact and affect how actors experience facial expressions of emotion. Using a novel Motor Action Mood Induction Procedure (MAMIP), they found consistent congruency effects in participants who performed a facial emotion identification task after a sequence of visually-guided reaches: a face perceived as neutral in a baseline condition appeared slightly happy after comfortable actions and slightly angry after uncomfortable actions. However, skeptics about the penetrability of perception (Zeimbekis & Raftopoulos, 2015) would consider such evidence insufficient to demonstrate that observer’s internal states induced by action comfort/discomfort affect perception in a top-down fashion. The action-modulated mood might have produced a back-end memory effect capable of affecting post-perceptual and decision processing, but not front-end perception. Here, we present evidence that performing a facial emotion detection (not identification) task after MAMIP exhibits systematic mood-congruent sensitivity changes, rather than response bias changes attributable to cognitive set shifts; i.e., we show that observer’s internal states induced by bodily action can modulate affective perception. The detection threshold for happiness was lower after fifty comfortable than uncomfortable reaches; while the detection threshold for anger was lower after fifty uncomfortable than comfortable reaches. Action valence induced an overall sensitivity improvement in detecting subtle variations of congruent facial expressions (happiness after positive comfortable actions, anger after negative uncomfortable actions), in the absence of significant response bias shifts. Notably, both comfortable and uncomfortable reaches impact sensitivity in an approximately symmetric way relative to a baseline inaction condition. All of these constitute compelling evidence of a genuine top-down effect on perception: specifically, facial expressions of emotion are penetrable by action-induced mood. Affective priming by action valence is a candidate mechanism for the influence of observer’s internal states on properties experienced as phenomenally objective and yet loaded with meaning. PMID:26893964

Do circulating tumor cells, exosomes, and circulating tumor nucleic acids have clinical utility? A report of the association for molecular pathology.

PubMed

Gold, Bert; Cankovic, Milena; Furtado, Larissa V; Meier, Frederick; Gocke, Christopher D

2015-05-01

Diagnosing and screening for tumors through noninvasive means represent an important paradigm shift in precision medicine. In contrast to tissue biopsy, detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating tumor nucleic acids provides a minimally invasive method for predictive and prognostic marker detection. This allows early and serial assessment of metastatic disease, including follow-up during remission, characterization of treatment effects, and clonal evolution. Isolation and characterization of CTCs and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) are likely to improve cancer diagnosis, treatment, and minimal residual disease monitoring. However, more trials are required to validate the clinical utility of precise molecular markers for a variety of tumor types. This review focuses on the clinical utility of CTCs and ctDNA testing in patients with solid tumors, including somatic and epigenetic alterations that can be detected. A comparison of methods used to isolate and detect CTCs and some of the intricacies of the characterization of the ctDNA are also provided. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Investigative Pathology and the Association for Molecular Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Early Detection of Breast Cancer via Multi-plane Correlation Breast Imaging

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-04-01

pathology that the radiologists are looking for, leading to high rate of false positives. An imaging technique which may alleviate the limiting factor of...received on 07/24/06. Five mastectomy specimens were subsequently obtained from the pathology laboratory at the Duke hospital and imaged for this... pathology , thus providing a 2D contour map of the possible locations of the lesion. To evaluate the performance of MCI, the 2D contour map was compared

Automated Detection of Optic Disc in Fundus Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burman, R.; Almazroa, A.; Raahemifar, K.; Lakshminarayanan, V.

Optic disc (OD) localization is an important preprocessing step in the automated image detection of fundus image infected with glaucoma. An Interval Type-II fuzzy entropy based thresholding scheme along with Differential Evolution (DE) is applied to determine the location of the OD in the right of left eye retinal fundus image. The algorithm, when applied to 460 fundus images from the MESSIDOR dataset, shows a success rate of 99.07 % for 217 normal images and 95.47 % for 243 pathological images. The mean computational time is 1.709 s for normal images and 1.753 s for pathological images. These results are important for automated detection of glaucoma and for telemedicine purposes.

Tracking changes in volcanic systems with seismic Interferometry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haney, Matt; Alicia J. Hotovec-Ellis,; Bennington, Ninfa L.; Silvio De Angelis,; Clifford Thurber,

2014-01-01

The detection and evaluation of time-dependent changes at volcanoes form the foundation upon which successful volcano monitoring is built. Temporal changes at volcanoes occur over all time scales and may be obvious (e.g., earthquake swarms) or subtle (e.g., a slow, steady increase in the level of tremor). Some of the most challenging types of time-dependent change to detect are subtle variations in material properties beneath active volcanoes. Although difficult to measure, such changes carry important information about stresses and fluids present within hydrothermal and magmatic systems. These changes are imprinted on seismic waves that propagate through volcanoes. In recent years, there has been a quantum leap in the ability to detect subtle structural changes systematically at volcanoes with seismic waves. The new methodology is based on the idea that useful seismic signals can be generated “at will” from seismic noise. This means signals can be measured any time, in contrast to the often irregular and unpredictable times of earthquakes. With seismic noise in the frequency band 0.1–1 Hz arising from the interaction of the ocean with the solid Earth known as microseisms, researchers have demonstrated that cross-correlations of passive seismic recordings between pairs of seismometers yield coherent signals (Campillo and Paul 2003; Shapiro and Campillo 2004). Based on this principle, coherent signals have been reconstructed from noise recordings in such diverse fields as helioseismology (Rickett and Claerbout 2000), ultrasound (Weaver and Lobkis 2001), ocean acoustic waves (Roux and Kuperman 2004), regional (Shapiro et al. 2005; Sabra et al. 2005; Bensen et al. 2007) and exploration (Draganov et al. 2007) seismology, atmospheric infrasound (Haney 2009), and studies of the cryosphere (Marsan et al. 2012). Initial applications of ambient seismic noise were to regional surface wave tomography (Shapiro et al. 2005). Brenguier et al. (2007) were the first to use ambient noise tomography (ANT) to map the 3D structure of a volcanic interior (at Piton de la Fournaise). Subsequent studies have imaged volcanoes with ANT at Okmok (Masterlark et al. 2010), Toba (Stankiewicz et al. 2010), Katmai (Thurber et al. 2012), Asama (Nagaoka et al. 2012), Uturuncu (Jay et al. 2012), and Kilauea (Ballmer et al. 2013b). In addition, Ma et al. (2013) have imaged a scatterer in the volcanic region of southern Peru by applying array techniques to ambient noise correlations. Prior to and in tandem with the development of ANT, researchers discovered that repeating earthquakes, which often occur at volcanoes, could be used to monitor subtle time-dependent changes with a technique known as the doublet method or coda wave interferometry (CWI) (Poupinet et al. 1984; Roberts et al. 1992; Ratdomopurbo and Poupinet 1995; Snieder et al. 2002; Pandolfi et al. 2006; Wegler et al. 2006; Martini et al. 2009; Haney et al. 2009; De Angelis 2009; Nagaoka et al. 2010; Battaglia et al. 2012; Erdem and Waite 2005; Hotovec-Ellis et al. 2014). Chaput et al. (2012) have also used scattered waves from Strombolian eruption coda at Erebus volcano to image the reflectivity of the volcanic interior with body wave interferometry. However, CWI in its original form was limited in that repeating earthquakes, or doublets, were not always guaranteed to occur. With the widespread use of noise correlations in seismology following the groundbreaking work by Campillo and Paul (2003) and Shapiro et al. (2005), it became evident that the nature of the ambient seismic field, due to its oceanic origin, enabled the continuous monitoring of subtle, time-dependent changes at both fault zones (Wegler and Sens-Schönfelder 2007; Brenguier et al. 2008b; Wegler et al. 2009; Sawazaki et al. 2009; Tatagi et al. 2012) and volcanoes (Sens-Schönfelder and Wegler 2006; Brenguier et al. 2008a) without the need for repeating earthquakes. Seismic precursors to eruptions based on ambient noise we

The Use of Tympanometry to Detect Aerotitis Media in Hypobaric Chamber Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-01

1972; 81:1654-78. for transient pathologic conditions of the middle ear 3. Brookler KH. Etiologic factors in non-supperotive otitis media . such as upper...Bluestone CD, Fria TJ,. Stool SE, Quinter CB, Sabo post-flight residual pathological conditions. These DL. Identification of otitis media with

Colour detection thresholds in faces and colour patches.

PubMed

Tan, Kok Wei; Stephen, Ian D

2013-01-01

Human facial skin colour reflects individuals' underlying health (Stephen et al 2011 Evolution & Human Behavior 32 216-227); and enhanced facial skin CIELab b* (yellowness), a* (redness), and L* (lightness) are perceived as healthy (also Stephen et al 2009a International Journal of Primatology 30 845-857). Here, we examine Malaysian Chinese participants' detection thresholds for CIELab L* (lightness), a* (redness), and b* (yellowness) colour changes in Asian, African, and Caucasian faces and skin coloured patches. Twelve face photos and three skin coloured patches were transformed to produce four pairs of images of each individual face and colour patch with different amounts of red, yellow, or lightness, from very subtle (deltaE = 1.2) to quite large differences (deltaE = 9.6). Participants were asked to decide which of sequentially displayed, paired same-face images or colour patches were lighter, redder, or yellower. Changes in facial redness, followed by changes in yellowness, were more easily discriminated than changes in luminance. However, visual sensitivity was not greater for redness and yellowness in nonface stimuli, suggesting red facial skin colour special salience. Participants were also significantly better at recognizing colour differences in own-race (Asian) and Caucasian faces than in African faces, suggesting the existence of cross-race effect in discriminating facial colours. Humans' colour vision may have been selected for skin colour signalling (Changizi et al 2006 Biology Letters 2 217-221), enabling individuals to perceive subtle changes in skin colour, reflecting health and emotional status.

Differential Cued-Stroop Performance in Cognitively Asymptomatic Older Adults with Biomarker-Identified Risk for Alzheimer's Disease: A Pilot Study.

PubMed

Patten, Ryan Van; Fagan, Anne M; Kaufman, David A S

2018-04-04

There exists a need for more sensitive measures, capable of detecting subtle cognitive decline due to Alzheimer's disease. To advance the literature in Alzheimer's disease by demonstrating that performance on a cued-Stroop task is impacted by preclinical Alzheimer's disease neuropathology. Twenty-nine cognitively asymptomatic older adults completed a computerized, cued-Stroop task in which accuracy rates and intraindividual variability in reaction times were the outcomes of interest. Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of Aβ42 and tau were measured and participants were then grouped according to a published p-tau/Aβ42 cutoff reflecting risk for Alzheimer's disease (preclinical Alzheimer's disease = 14; control = 15). ANOVAs indicated that accuracy rates did not differ between the groups but 4-second delay incongruent color-naming Stroop coefficient of variation reaction times were higher in the preclinical Alzheimer's disease group compared to the control group, reflecting increased within-person variability. Moreover, partial correlations showed no relationships between cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers and accuracy rates. However, increases in coefficient of variation reaction times correlated with decreased Aβ42 and increases in p-tau and the p-tau/Aβ42 ratio. Results supported the ability of the computerized, cued-Stroop task to detect subtle Alzheimer's disease neuropathology using a small cohort of cognitively asymptomatic older adults. The ongoing measurement of cued-Stroop coefficient of variation reaction times has both scientific and clinical utility in preclinical Alzheimer's disease. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Stratified Mucin-Producing Intraepithelial Lesion of the Cervix: Subtle Features Not to Be Missed.

PubMed

Schwock, Joerg; Ko, Hyang Mi; Dubé, Valérie; Rouzbahman, Marjan; Cesari, Matthew; Ghorab, Zeina; Geddie, William R

2016-01-01

Stratified mucin-producing intraepithelial lesion (SMILE) is an uncommon premalignant lesion of the uterine cervix. A detailed examination of preinvasive SMILE cases including a comparison of the cytologic features with usual-type adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) and human papillomavirus (HPV) genotyping was performed. Excisions and preceding Papanicolaou (Pap) tests were retrieved from the files of 2 tertiary care centers. Histologic review estimated the lesional SMILE proportion. Pap tests were reviewed and assessed for architectural, cellular and background features. Cobas® HPV test was performed. 13 cases were identified. Mean/median patient age was 35/33 years (range 23-51 years). Concurrent high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion was found in 10/13 (77%) and AIS in 8/13 (62%) cases. In 6 cases, SMILE was dominant (≥50%) and represented in 5/6 corresponding Pap tests. Cytology interpretations differed more often in the SMILE-dominant group (p < 0.05). SMILE and AIS had overlapping features. Feathering and prominent nucleoli were absent in SMILE. HPV DNA was detected in all 12 cases tested. HPV 18 was most common (7/12). Excisions with positive/suspicious margins were reported in 5/6 SMILE-dominant versus 3/7 nondominant cases. SMILE is best considered as an AIS variant for cytologic, etiologic and management purposes. Cytologic features overlap with AIS, but are more subtle and easily missed. HPV testing may play a role in facilitating SMILE detection. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Ultrasound Evaluation of Thyroid Gland Pathologies After Radiation Therapy and Chemotherapy to Treat Malignancy During Childhood

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lollert, André, E-mail: andre.lollert@unimedizin-mainz.de; Gies, Christina; Laudemann, Katharina

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate correlations between treatment of malignancy by radiation therapy during childhood and the occurrence of thyroid gland pathologies detected by ultrasonography in follow-up examinations. Methods and Materials: Reductions of thyroid gland volume below 2 standard deviations of the weight-specific mean value, occurrence of ultrasonographically detectable thyroid gland pathologies, and hypothyroidism were retrospectively assessed in 103 children and adolescents 7 months to 20 years of age (median: 7 years of age) at baseline (1997-2013) treated with chemoradiation therapy (with the thyroid gland dose assessable) or with chemotherapy alone and followed by ultrasonography and laboratory examinations throughmore » 2014 (median follow-up time: 48 months). Results: A relevant reduction of thyroid gland volume was significantly correlated with thyroid gland dose in univariate (P<.001) and multivariate analyses for doses above 2 Gy. Odds ratios were 3.1 (95% confidence interval: 1.02-9.2; P=.046) for medium doses (2-25 Gy) and 14.8 (95% confidence interval: 1.4-160; P=.027) for high doses (>25 Gy). Thyroid gland dose was significantly higher in patients with thyroid gland pathologies during follow-up (P=.03). Univariate analysis revealed significant correlations between hypothyroidism and thyroid gland dose (P<.001). Conclusions: Ultrasonographically detectable changes, that is, volume reductions, pathologies, and hypothyroidism, after malignancy treatment during childhood are associated with thyroid gland dose. Both ultrasonography and laboratory follow-up examinations should be performed regularly after tumor therapy during childhood, especially if the treatment included radiation therapy.« less

Ultrasound Evaluation of Thyroid Gland Pathologies After Radiation Therapy and Chemotherapy to Treat Malignancy During Childhood.

PubMed

Lollert, André; Gies, Christina; Laudemann, Katharina; Faber, Jörg; Jacob-Heutmann, Dorothee; König, Jochem; Düber, Christoph; Staatz, Gundula

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate correlations between treatment of malignancy by radiation therapy during childhood and the occurrence of thyroid gland pathologies detected by ultrasonography in follow-up examinations. Reductions of thyroid gland volume below 2 standard deviations of the weight-specific mean value, occurrence of ultrasonographically detectable thyroid gland pathologies, and hypothyroidism were retrospectively assessed in 103 children and adolescents 7 months to 20 years of age (median: 7 years of age) at baseline (1997-2013) treated with chemoradiation therapy (with the thyroid gland dose assessable) or with chemotherapy alone and followed by ultrasonography and laboratory examinations through 2014 (median follow-up time: 48 months). A relevant reduction of thyroid gland volume was significantly correlated with thyroid gland dose in univariate (P<.001) and multivariate analyses for doses above 2 Gy. Odds ratios were 3.1 (95% confidence interval: 1.02-9.2; P=.046) for medium doses (2-25 Gy) and 14.8 (95% confidence interval: 1.4-160; P=.027) for high doses (>25 Gy). Thyroid gland dose was significantly higher in patients with thyroid gland pathologies during follow-up (P=.03). Univariate analysis revealed significant correlations between hypothyroidism and thyroid gland dose (P<.001). Ultrasonographically detectable changes, that is, volume reductions, pathologies, and hypothyroidism, after malignancy treatment during childhood are associated with thyroid gland dose. Both ultrasonography and laboratory follow-up examinations should be performed regularly after tumor therapy during childhood, especially if the treatment included radiation therapy. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

New View on the Initial Development Site and Radiographic Classification System of Osteoarthritis of the Knee Based on Radiographic Analysis

PubMed Central

Moon, Ki-Ho

2012-01-01

Introduction: Radiographic pathology of severe osteoarthritis of the knee (OAK) such as severe osteophyte at tibial spine (TS), compartment narrowing, marginal osteophyte, and subchondral sclerosis is well known. Kellgren-Lawrence grading system, which is widely used to diagnose OAK, describes narrowing-marginal osteophyte in 4-grades but uses osteophyte at TS only as evidence of OAK without detailed-grading. However, kinematically the knee employs medial TS as an axis while medial and lateral compartments carry the load, suggesting that early OAK would occur sooner at TS than at compartment. Then, Kellgren-Lawrence system may be inadequate to diagnose early-stage OAK manifested as a subtle osteophyte at TS without narrowing-marginal osteophyte. This undiagnosed-OAK will deteriorate becoming a contributing factor in an increasing incidence of OAK. Methods: This study developed a radiographic OAK-marker based on both osteophyte at TS and compartment narrowing-marginal osteophyte and graded as normal, mild, moderate, and severe. With this marker, both knee radiographs of 1,728 patients with knee pain were analyzed. Results: Among 611 early-stage mild OAK, 562 or 92% started at TS and 49 or 8% at compartment. It suggests the initial development site of OAK, helping develop new site-specific radiographic classification system of OAK accurately to diagnose all severity of OAK at early, intermediate, or late-stage. It showed that Kellgren-Lawrence system missed 92.0% of early-stage mild OAK from diagnosis. Conclusions: A subtle osteophyte at TS is the earliest radiographic sign of OAK. A new radiographic classification system of OAK was suggested for accurate diagnosis of all OAK in severity and at stage. PMID:23675278

New view on the initial development site and radiographic classification system of osteoarthritis of the knee based on radiographic analysis.

PubMed

Moon, Ki-Ho

2012-12-01

Radiographic pathology of severe osteoarthritis of the knee (OAK) such as severe osteophyte at tibial spine (TS), compartment narrowing, marginal osteophyte, and subchondral sclerosis is well known. Kellgren-Lawrence grading system, which is widely used to diagnose OAK, describes narrowing-marginal osteophyte in 4-grades but uses osteophyte at TS only as evidence of OAK without detailed-grading. However, kinematically the knee employs medial TS as an axis while medial and lateral compartments carry the load, suggesting that early OAK would occur sooner at TS than at compartment. Then, Kellgren-Lawrence system may be inadequate to diagnose early-stage OAK manifested as a subtle osteophyte at TS without narrowing-marginal osteophyte. This undiagnosed-OAK will deteriorate becoming a contributing factor in an increasing incidence of OAK. This study developed a radiographic OAK-marker based on both osteophyte at TS and compartment narrowing-marginal osteophyte and graded as normal, mild, moderate, and severe. With this marker, both knee radiographs of 1,728 patients with knee pain were analyzed. Among 611 early-stage mild OAK, 562 or 92% started at TS and 49 or 8% at compartment. It suggests the initial development site of OAK, helping develop new site-specific radiographic classification system of OAK accurately to diagnose all severity of OAK at early, intermediate, or late-stage. It showed that Kellgren-Lawrence system missed 92.0% of early-stage mild OAK from diagnosis. A subtle osteophyte at TS is the earliest radiographic sign of OAK. A new radiographic classification system of OAK was suggested for accurate diagnosis of all OAK in severity and at stage.

Structured reporting ensures complete content and quick detection of essential data in pathology reports of oncological breast resection specimens.

PubMed

Aumann, Konrad; Niermann, Kathrin; Asberger, Jasmin; Wellner, Ulrich; Bronsert, Peter; Erbes, Thalia; Hauschke, Dieter; Stickeler, Elmar; Gitsch, Gerald; Kayser, Gian; Werner, Martin

2016-04-01

There is increasing evidence that not only the way of data acquisition but also the design of data visualization (i.e., the format) has impact on the quality of pathology reports. Therefore, we investigated the correlation between the format of pathology reports and the amount as well as the detection time of transmitted data. All reports of oncological breast resection specimens referred to the Institute for Surgical Pathology, University Medical Center Freiburg, between 2003 and 2011 (n = 4181) were classified into descriptive reports (DR, n = 856), structured reports (SR, n = 2455), or template-based synoptic reports (TBSR, n = 870). The reports were screened regarding the content of nine organ-specific essential data. The amount of recorded essential data per report was summarized in an essential data score (EDS) and the format types were statistically compared regarding their EDS. Additionally, we measured the time a gynecologist needed to detect all nine essential data within a subset of reports and compared the format types regarding the detection times statistically. A full-score EDS of 9 was seen in 28.4 % of all reports, in 4 % of DRs, in 21.4 % of SRs, and in 72.3 % of TBSRs (p < 0.0001). Median EDS of DRs was 7, of SRs 8, and of TBSRs 9 (p < 0.0001). Data regarding tumor localization, tumor size, specific grading, angioinvasion, hormone receptor status, and additional findings were mentioned more frequently in TBSRs compared to other format type reports with a statistically highly significant difference (p < 0.0001). Mean data detection time decreased significantly from 26 to 20 and 14 s in DRs, SRs, and TBSRs, respectively. Our results clearly show that due to the use of TBSRs reporting of oncological breast resection specimens are improved regarding the content of essential data and the clarity of the data layout resulting in a rapid detection of essential data by clinicians.

Greater perceptual sensitivity to happy facial expression.

PubMed

Maher, Stephen; Ekstrom, Tor; Chen, Yue

2014-01-01

Perception of subtle facial expressions is essential for social functioning; yet it is unclear if human perceptual sensitivities differ in detecting varying types of facial emotions. Evidence diverges as to whether salient negative versus positive emotions (such as sadness versus happiness) are preferentially processed. Here, we measured perceptual thresholds for the detection of four types of emotion in faces--happiness, fear, anger, and sadness--using psychophysical methods. We also evaluated the association of the perceptual performances with facial morphological changes between neutral and respective emotion types. Human observers were highly sensitive to happiness compared with the other emotional expressions. Further, this heightened perceptual sensitivity to happy expressions can be attributed largely to the emotion-induced morphological change of a particular facial feature (end-lip raise).

The nursing perspective on monitoring hemodynamics and oxygen transport.

PubMed

Tucker, Dawn; Hazinski, Mary Fran

2011-07-01

Maintenance of adequate systemic oxygen delivery requires careful clinical assessment integrated with hemodynamic measurements and calculations to detect and treat conditions that may compromise oxygen delivery and lead to life-threatening shock, respiratory failure, or cardiac arrest. The bedside nurse constantly performs such assessments and measurements to detect subtle changes and trends in patient condition. The purpose of this editorial is to highlight nursing perspectives about the hemodynamic and oxygen transport monitoring systems summarized in the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society Evidence- Based Review and Consensus Statement on Monitoring of Hemodynamics and Oxygen Transport Balance. There is no substitute for the observations of a knowledgeable and experienced clinician who understands the patient's condition and potential causes of deterioration and is able to evaluate response to therapy.

A Model-Based Probabilistic Inversion Framework for Wire Fault Detection Using TDR

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuet, Stefan R.; Timucin, Dogan A.; Wheeler, Kevin R.

2010-01-01

Time-domain reflectometry (TDR) is one of the standard methods for diagnosing faults in electrical wiring and interconnect systems, with a long-standing history focused mainly on hardware development of both high-fidelity systems for laboratory use and portable hand-held devices for field deployment. While these devices can easily assess distance to hard faults such as sustained opens or shorts, their ability to assess subtle but important degradation such as chafing remains an open question. This paper presents a unified framework for TDR-based chafing fault detection in lossy coaxial cables by combining an S-parameter based forward modeling approach with a probabilistic (Bayesian) inference algorithm. Results are presented for the estimation of nominal and faulty cable parameters from laboratory data.

Machine learning plus optical flow: a simple and sensitive method to detect cardioactive drugs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Eugene K.; Kurokawa, Yosuke K.; Tu, Robin; George, Steven C.; Khine, Michelle

2015-07-01

Current preclinical screening methods do not adequately detect cardiotoxicity. Using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPS-CMs), more physiologically relevant preclinical or patient-specific screening to detect potential cardiotoxic effects of drug candidates may be possible. However, one of the persistent challenges for developing a high-throughput drug screening platform using iPS-CMs is the need to develop a simple and reliable method to measure key electrophysiological and contractile parameters. To address this need, we have developed a platform that combines machine learning paired with brightfield optical flow as a simple and robust tool that can automate the detection of cardiomyocyte drug effects. Using three cardioactive drugs of different mechanisms, including those with primarily electrophysiological effects, we demonstrate the general applicability of this screening method to detect subtle changes in cardiomyocyte contraction. Requiring only brightfield images of cardiomyocyte contractions, we detect changes in cardiomyocyte contraction comparable to - and even superior to - fluorescence readouts. This automated method serves as a widely applicable screening tool to characterize the effects of drugs on cardiomyocyte function.

Different Achilles Tendon Pathologies Show Distinct Histological and Molecular Characteristics

PubMed Central

Minkwitz, Susann; Schmock, Aysha; Bormann, Nicole; Kurtoglu, Alper; Tsitsilonis, Serafeim; Manegold, Sebastian

2018-01-01

Reasons for the development of chronic tendon pathologies are still under debate and more basic knowledge is needed about the different diseases. The aim of the present study was therefore to characterize different acute and chronic Achilles tendon disorders. Achilles tendon samples from patients with chronic tendinopathy (n = 7), chronic ruptures (n = 6), acute ruptures (n = 13), and intact tendons (n = 4) were analyzed. The histological score investigating pathological changes was significantly increased in tendinopathy and chronic ruptures compared to acute ruptures. Inflammatory infiltration was detected by immunohistochemistry in all tendon pathology groups, but was significantly lower in tendinopathy compared to chronic ruptures. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis revealed significantly altered expression of genes related to collagens and matrix modeling/remodeling (matrix metalloproteinases, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases) in tendinopathy and chronic ruptures compared to intact tendons and/or acute ruptures. In all three tendon pathology groups markers of inflammation (interleukin (IL) 1β, tumor necrosis factor α, IL6, IL10, IL33, soluble ST2, transforming growth factor β1, cyclooxygenase 2), inflammatory cells (cluster of differentaition (CD) 3, CD68, CD80, CD206), fat metabolism (fatty acid binding protein 4, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α, adiponectin), and innervation (protein gene product 9.5, growth associated protein 43, macrophage migration inhibitory factor) were detectable, but only in acute ruptures significantly regulated compared to intact tendons. The study gives an insight into structural and molecular changes of pathological processes in tendons and might be used to identify targets for future therapy of tendon pathologies. PMID:29385715

Comparison of magnetic resonance imaging and video capsule enteroscopy in diagnosing small-bowel pathology: localization-dependent diagnostic yield.

PubMed

Böcker, Ulrich; Dinter, Dietmar; Litterer, Caroline; Hummel, Frank; Knebel, Phillip; Franke, Andreas; Weiss, Christel; Singer, Manfred V; Löhr, J-Matthias

2010-04-01

New technology has considerably advanced the diagnosis of small-bowel pathology. However, its significance in clinical algorithms has not yet been fully assessed. The aim of the present analysis was to compare the diagnostic utility and yield of video-capsule enteroscopy (VCE) to that of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with suspected or established Crohn's disease (Group I), obscure gastrointestinal blood loss (Group II), or suspected tumors (Group III). Forty-six out of 182 patients who underwent both modalities were included: 21 in Group I, 20 in Group II, and five in Group III. Pathology was assessed in three predetermined sections of the small bowel (upper, middle, and lower). The McNemar and Wilcoxon tests were used for statistical analysis. In Group I, lesions were found by VCE in nine of the 21 patients and by MRI in six. In five patients, both modalities showed pathology. In Group II, pathological changes were detected in 11 of the 20 patients by VCE and in eight patients by MRI. In five cases, pathology was found with both modalities. In Group III, neither modality showed small-bowel pathology. For the patient groups combined, diagnostic yield was 43% with VCE and 30% with MRI. The diagnostic yield of VCE was superior to that of MRI in the upper small bowel in both Groups I and II. VCE is superior to MRI for the detection of lesions related to Crohn's disease or obscure gastrointestinal bleeding in the upper small bowel.

Multiple sclerosis masquerading as Alzheimer-type dementia: Clinical, radiological and pathological findings.

PubMed

Tobin, W O; Popescu, B F; Lowe, V; Pirko, I; Parisi, J E; Kantarci, K; Fields, J A; Bruns, M B; Boeve, B F; Lucchinetti, C F

2016-04-01

We report a comprehensive clinical, radiological, neuropsychometric and pathological evaluation of a woman with a clinical diagnosis of AD dementia (ADem), but whose autopsy demonstrated widespread demyelination, without Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology. Initial neuropsychometric evaluation suggested amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Serial magnetic resonance images (MRI) images demonstrated the rate of increase in her ventricular volume was comparable to that of 46 subjects with aMCI who progressed to ADem, without accumulating white matter disease. Myelin immunohistochemistry at autopsy demonstrated extensive cortical subpial demyelination. Subpial lesions involved the upper cortical layers, and often extended through the entire width of the cortex. Multiple sclerosis (MS) can cause severe cortical dysfunction and mimic ADem. Cortical demyelination is not well detected by standard imaging modalities and may not be detected on autopsy without myelin immunohistochemistry. © The Author(s), 2015.

Analysis of tau post-translational modifications in rTg4510 mice, a model of tau pathology.

PubMed

Song, Lixin; Lu, Sherry X; Ouyang, Xuesong; Melchor, Jerry; Lee, Julie; Terracina, Giuseppe; Wang, Xiaohai; Hyde, Lynn; Hess, J Fred; Parker, Eric M; Zhang, Lili

2015-03-26

Microtubule associated protein tau is the major component of the neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease and several other neurodegenerative diseases. Tau mutations are associated with frontotemperal dementia with parkinsonism on chromosome 17 (FTDP-17). rTg4510 mice overexpress human tau carrying the P301L FTDP-17 mutation and develop robust NFT-like pathology at 4-5 months of age. The current study is aimed at characterizing the rTg4510 mice to better understand the genesis of tau pathology and to better enable the use of this model in drug discovery efforts targeting tau pathology. Using a panel of immunoassays, we analyzed the age-dependent formation of pathological tau in rTg4510 mice and our data revealed a steady age-dependent accumulation of pathological tau in the insoluble fraction of brain homogenates. The pathological tau was associated with multiple post-translational modifications including aggregation, phosphorylation at a wide variety of sites, acetylation, ubiquitination and nitration. The change of most tau species reached statistical significance at the age of 16 weeks. There was a strong correlation between the different post-translationally modified tau species in this heterogeneous pool of pathological tau. Total tau in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) displayed a multiphasic temporal profile distinct from the steady accumulation of pathological tau in the brain. Female rTg4510 mice displayed significantly more aggressive accumulation of pathological tau in the brain and elevation of total tau in CSF than their male littermates. The immunoassays described here were used to generate the most comprehensive description of the changes in various tau species across the lifespan of the rTg4510 mouse model. The data indicate that development of tauopathy in rTg4510 mice involves the accumulation of a pool of pathological tau that carries multiple post-translational modifications, a process that can be detected well before the histological detection of NFTs. Therapeutic treatment targeting tau should therefore aim to reduce all tau species associated with the pathological tau pool rather than reduce specific post-translational modifications. There is still much to learn about CSF tau in physiological and pathological processes in order to use it as a translational biomarker in drug discovery.

[Systemic immunological response in children with chronic gingivitis and gastro-intestinal pathology].

PubMed

Romanenko, E G

2014-01-01

Study of the immune system mechanisms in chronic catarrhal gingivitis in children with gastrointestinal pathology was performed in 102 children (49 with chronic gastritis and duodenitis and 53 with no signs of gastrointestinal pathology). Forty-eight children with healthy periodontium constituted control group. Generalized chronic catarrhal gingivitis in children with gastroduodenal pathology is characterized by intense humoral response by simultaneous T-cell immunity suppression. Detection of high serum titers of circulating immune complexes in patients with chronic catarrhal gingivitis suggests a role of immune response in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease increases with concomitant diseases of the upper gastrointestinal tract.

Overt and Subtle Racial Discrimination and Mental Health: Preliminary Findings for Korean Immigrants

PubMed Central

Noh, Samuel; Kaspar, Violet; Wickrama, K.A.S.

2007-01-01

Objectives. We examined differential effects of overt and subtle forms of racial discrimination on 2 dimensions of mental health—positive affect and depressive symptoms, and explored the mediating roles of emotional arousal and cognitive appraisal. Methods. Cross-sectional survey data were collected through face-to-face interviews with a sample (N=180) of adult Korean immigrants living in Toronto, Ontario. Maximum likelihood estimates of path coefficients were obtained using structural equation models. Results. Perceived racial discrimination was associated with both the erosion of positive affect and depressive symptoms. Overt discrimination was associated with the erosion of positive affect, and subtle discrimination was associated with depressive symptoms. Effects of subtle discrimination on depressive symptoms were mediated through cognitive appraisal. Conclusions. The results emphasize the salience of subtle discrimination for the mental health of Asian immigrants. Experiences of overt racial bias seemed to be of little importance for the levels of depressive symptoms among those in our sample, although the experience of blatant discrimination tended to reduce positive mood. PMID:17538066

Forms of ethnic prejudice: assessing the dimensionality of a Spanish-language version of the Blatant and Subtle Prejudice Scale.

PubMed

Cárdenas Castro, Manuel

2010-02-01

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the dimensionality of a Spanish-language version of the Blatant and Subtle Prejudice Scale via exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). No research has confirmed the hypothesized factor structure in Latin American countries. Using data from a random and probability survey in population of the northern area of Chile (N= 896), four models were specified: single factor model (global prejudice factor), correlated two-factor model (subtle and blatant prejudice), correlated two-factor second-order model, and single-factor second-order model. The findings indicated that the two-factor second-order model had the best fit. The corresponding alpha coefficients were .82 (subtle prejudice) and .76 (blatant prejudice). Lastly, differences were examined between , , and regarding their feelings toward immigrants, their feelings about their beliefs concerning the state aid received by these out-groups, and their feelings about their beliefs regarding future policies for them.

Detection of incidental colorectal pathology on positron emission tomography/computed tomography.

PubMed

Mui, Milton; Akhurst, Timothy; Warrier, Satish K; Lynch, A Craig; Heriot, Alexander G

2018-03-01

Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is an important modality in cancer imaging. With its increasing availability and use, it is not uncommon to detect incidental focal colorectal 18 F-FDG uptake which poses a diagnostic challenge, as they may be associated with malignant or pre-malignant colorectal lesions. The aim of our study is to determine the proportion of these findings which represents true pathology. Patients with incidental focal colorectal 18 F-FDG uptake on PET/CT who subsequently underwent colonoscopy between January 2002 to September 2013 were identified from a prospective database in a tertiary referral centre. PET/CT results were correlated with colonoscopy and pathology results in these patients. Positive predictive values (PPVs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of PET/CT in the detection of incidental colorectal pathology were calculated. A total of 148 patients (92 men and 56 women), with a mean age 73 years (range of 36 to 93 years) were included in the study. A total of 170 foci of colorectal 18 F-FDG uptake were detected on PET/CT. Of these, 101 foci corresponded to a malignant or pre-malignant lesion (PPV 59%; 95% CI: 52-67%). On a per-patient analysis, 93 patients had at least one focus of colorectal 18 F-FDG uptake which corresponded to a pre-malignant or malignant lesion (PPV 63%; 95% CI: 54-71%). Focal colorectal 18 F-FDG uptake on PET/CT is associated with a significant proportion of malignant or pre-malignant lesions. Further evaluation with colonoscopy is recommended. © 2016 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

Identifying associations between pig pathologies using a multi-dimensional machine learning methodology.

PubMed

Sanchez-Vazquez, Manuel J; Nielen, Mirjam; Edwards, Sandra A; Gunn, George J; Lewis, Fraser I

2012-08-31

Abattoir detected pathologies are of crucial importance to both pig production and food safety. Usually, more than one pathology coexist in a pig herd although it often remains unknown how these different pathologies interrelate to each other. Identification of the associations between different pathologies may facilitate an improved understanding of their underlying biological linkage, and support the veterinarians in encouraging control strategies aimed at reducing the prevalence of not just one, but two or more conditions simultaneously. Multi-dimensional machine learning methodology was used to identify associations between ten typical pathologies in 6485 batches of slaughtered finishing pigs, assisting the comprehension of their biological association. Pathologies potentially associated with septicaemia (e.g. pericarditis, peritonitis) appear interrelated, suggesting on-going bacterial challenges by pathogens such as Haemophilus parasuis and Streptococcus suis. Furthermore, hepatic scarring appears interrelated with both milk spot livers (Ascaris suum) and bacteria-related pathologies, suggesting a potential multi-pathogen nature for this pathology. The application of novel multi-dimensional machine learning methodology provided new insights into how typical pig pathologies are potentially interrelated at batch level. The methodology presented is a powerful exploratory tool to generate hypotheses, applicable to a wide range of studies in veterinary research.

Magnetic resonance imaging-ultrasound fusion biopsy for prediction of final prostate pathology.

PubMed

Le, Jesse D; Stephenson, Samuel; Brugger, Michelle; Lu, David Y; Lieu, Patricia; Sonn, Geoffrey A; Natarajan, Shyam; Dorey, Frederick J; Huang, Jiaoti; Margolis, Daniel J A; Reiter, Robert E; Marks, Leonard S

2014-11-01

We explored the impact of magnetic resonance imaging-ultrasound fusion prostate biopsy on the prediction of final surgical pathology. A total of 54 consecutive men undergoing radical prostatectomy at UCLA after fusion biopsy were included in this prospective, institutional review board approved pilot study. Using magnetic resonance imaging-ultrasound fusion, tissue was obtained from a 12-point systematic grid (mapping biopsy) and from regions of interest detected by multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (targeted biopsy). A single radiologist read all magnetic resonance imaging, and a single pathologist independently rereviewed all biopsy and whole mount pathology, blinded to prior interpretation and matched specimen. Gleason score concordance between biopsy and prostatectomy was the primary end point. Mean patient age was 62 years and median prostate specific antigen was 6.2 ng/ml. Final Gleason score at prostatectomy was 6 (13%), 7 (70%) and 8-9 (17%). A tertiary pattern was detected in 17 (31%) men. Of 45 high suspicion (image grade 4-5) magnetic resonance imaging targets 32 (71%) contained prostate cancer. The per core cancer detection rate was 20% by systematic mapping biopsy and 42% by targeted biopsy. The highest Gleason pattern at prostatectomy was detected by systematic mapping biopsy in 54%, targeted biopsy in 54% and a combination in 81% of cases. Overall 17% of cases were upgraded from fusion biopsy to final pathology and 1 (2%) was downgraded. The combination of targeted biopsy and systematic mapping biopsy was needed to obtain the best predictive accuracy. In this pilot study magnetic resonance imaging-ultrasound fusion biopsy allowed for the prediction of final prostate pathology with greater accuracy than that reported previously using conventional methods (81% vs 40% to 65%). If confirmed, these results will have important clinical implications. Copyright © 2014 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hybridization-Induced Aggregation Technology for Practical Clinical Testing: KRAS Mutation Detection in Lung and Colorectal Tumors.

PubMed

Sloane, Hillary S; Landers, James P; Kelly, Kimberly A

2016-07-01

KRAS mutations have emerged as powerful predictors of response to targeted therapies in the treatment of lung and colorectal cancers; thus, prospective KRAS genotyping is essential for appropriate treatment stratification. Conventional mutation testing technologies are not ideal for routine clinical screening, as they often involve complex, time-consuming processes and/or costly instrumentation. In response, we recently introduced a unique analytical strategy for revealing KRAS mutations, based on the allele-specific hybridization-induced aggregation (HIA) of oligonucleotide probe-conjugated microbeads. Using simple, inexpensive instrumentation, this approach allows for the detection of any common KRAS mutation in <10 minutes after PCR. Here, we evaluate the clinical utility of the HIA method for mutation detection (HIAMD). In the analysis of 20 lung and colon tumor pathology specimens, we observed a 100% correlation between the KRAS mutation statuses determined by HIAMD and sequencing. In addition, we were able to detect KRAS mutations in a background of 75% wild-type DNA-a finding consistent with that reported for sequencing. With this, we show that HIAMD allows for the rapid and cost-effective detection of KRAS mutations, without compromising analytical performance. These results indicate the validity of HIAMD as a mutation-testing technology suitable for practical clinical testing. Further expansion of this platform may involve the detection of mutations in other key oncogenic pathways. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Investigative Pathology and the Association for Molecular Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Study of the incidence and nature of "very subtle epidermal melasma" in relation to intense pulsed light treatment.

PubMed

Negishi, Kei; Kushikata, Nobuharu; Tezuka, Yukiko; Takeuchi, Kaori; Miyamoto, Eiko; Wakamatsu, Shingo

2004-06-01

Skin rejuvenation with intense pulsed light (IPL) is effective for clearing epidermal pigment disorders. Complications are mild and limited to epidermal burns caused by excessive settings. Some patients, however, experience IPL-induced melasma-like hyperpigmentation despite the appearance of normal skin. These patients seem to have very subtle epidermal melasma not visible to the naked eye. Ultraviolet photography has been useful in identifying these patients and preventing complications. The study investigated the incidence of very subtle melasma in patients using UV photography, and assessed this tool in identifying high-risk patients. 223 Japanese women, 30-69 years old, participated in the study. Very subtle melasma invisible to the naked eye under normal light was diagnosed by UV photography by two physicians, and any relationship among the disease incidence, age, and regular sunscreen use was examined. Sixty-three cases of very subtle melasma (28.3%) were identified among the 223 subjects, with a significantly lower incidence in sunscreen users. Patients diagnosed with subtle epidermal melasma and treated with mild IPL parameters did not suffer induced secondary hyperpigmentaion. To help avoid complications after treatment, IPL users should be aware of the age and sunscreen-related incidence of this phenomenon in Asian patients.

Oral pathology diagnosis by means of micro-Raman spectroscopy on biopsies and blood serum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zenone, F.; Lepore, M.; Perna, G.; Carmone, P.; Delfino, I.; Gaeta, G. M.; Capozzi, V.

2007-02-01

Pemphigus vulgaris is a chronic, autoimmune, blistering disease of the skin and mucous membranes with a potentially fatal outcome. In this case micro-Raman spectroscopy (μ-RS) can provide a powerful tool for a not invasive analysis of biological tissue for biopsy and in vivo investigation. Based on the evaluation of molecular vibration frequencies, the μ-RS is able to detect the main molecular bonds of protein constituents, as the C-H and C-C ones. Changes in frequency or in the relative intensity of the vibration modes revealed by μ-RS can be related to changes of chemical bond and of protein structure induced by pathology. Quantitative information on the intensity variation of specific Raman lines can be extracted by Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis. μ-RS was performed on some samples of oral tissue and blood serum from informed patients affected by pemphigus vulgaris (an oral pathology) at different pathology stages. The spectra were measured by means of a Raman confocal microspectrometer apparatus using the 633 nm line of a He- Ne laser source. The main protein bonds are clearly detectable in the considered samples giving important information on the integrity and on the state of tissue and blood serum components (lipids and proteins), and consequently on the occurrence of pathology.

Computer aided detection of tumor and edema in brain FLAIR magnetic resonance image using ANN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pradhan, Nandita; Sinha, A. K.

2008-03-01

This paper presents an efficient region based segmentation technique for detecting pathological tissues (Tumor & Edema) of brain using fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) magnetic resonance (MR) images. This work segments FLAIR brain images for normal and pathological tissues based on statistical features and wavelet transform coefficients using k-means algorithm. The image is divided into small blocks of 4×4 pixels. The k-means algorithm is used to cluster the image based on the feature vectors of blocks forming different classes representing different regions in the whole image. With the knowledge of the feature vectors of different segmented regions, supervised technique is used to train Artificial Neural Network using fuzzy back propagation algorithm (FBPA). Segmentation for detecting healthy tissues and tumors has been reported by several researchers by using conventional MRI sequences like T1, T2 and PD weighted sequences. This work successfully presents segmentation of healthy and pathological tissues (both Tumors and Edema) using FLAIR images. At the end pseudo coloring of segmented and classified regions are done for better human visualization.

Automated Monitoring with a BSP Fault-Detection Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bickford, Randall L.; Herzog, James P.

2003-01-01

The figure schematically illustrates a method and procedure for automated monitoring of an asset, as well as a hardware- and-software system that implements the method and procedure. As used here, asset could signify an industrial process, power plant, medical instrument, aircraft, or any of a variety of other systems that generate electronic signals (e.g., sensor outputs). In automated monitoring, the signals are digitized and then processed in order to detect faults and otherwise monitor operational status and integrity of the monitored asset. The major distinguishing feature of the present method is that the fault-detection function is implemented by use of a Bayesian sequential probability (BSP) technique. This technique is superior to other techniques for automated monitoring because it affords sensitivity, not only to disturbances in the mean values, but also to very subtle changes in the statistical characteristics (variance, skewness, and bias) of the monitored signals.

Pathological Laughter as a Symptom of Midbrain Infarction

PubMed Central

Dabby, Ron; Watemberg, Nathan; Lampl, Yair; Eilam, Anda; Rapaport, Abraham; Sadeh, Menachem

2004-01-01

Pathological laughter is an uncommon symptom usually caused by bilateral, diffuse cerebral lesions. It has rarely been reported in association with isolated cerebral lesions. Midbrain involvement causing pathological laughter is extremely unusual. We describe three patients who developed pathological laughter after midbrain and pontine-midbrain infarction. In two patients a small infarction in the left paramedian midbrain was detected, whereas the third one sustained a massive bilateral pontine infarction extending to the midbrain. Laughter heralded stroke by one day in one patient and occurred as a delayed phenomenon three months after stroke in another. Pathological laughter ceased within a few days in two patients and was still present at a two year follow-up in the patient with delayed-onset laughter. Pathological laughter can herald midbrain infarction or follow stroke either shortly after onset of symptoms or as a delayed phenomenon. Furthermore, small unilateral midbrain infarctions can cause this rare complication. PMID:15706050

A novel time-domain signal processing algorithm for real time ventricular fibrillation detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monte, G. E.; Scarone, N. C.; Liscovsky, P. O.; Rotter S/N, P.

2011-12-01

This paper presents an application of a novel algorithm for real time detection of ECG pathologies, especially ventricular fibrillation. It is based on segmentation and labeling process of an oversampled signal. After this treatment, analyzing sequence of segments, global signal behaviours are obtained in the same way like a human being does. The entire process can be seen as a morphological filtering after a smart data sampling. The algorithm does not require any ECG digital signal pre-processing, and the computational cost is low, so it can be embedded into the sensors for wearable and permanent applications. The proposed algorithms could be the input signal description to expert systems or to artificial intelligence software in order to detect other pathologies.

[Detection of respiratory tract diseases among rural population during the team-work mass screening].

PubMed

Abramson, E Z; Galkin, V B; Stepanova, G Ia

1990-01-01

A screening complex for the examination of the rural population has been worked out to detect bronchopulmonary pathology and form groups of risk for respiratory diseases. The complex of methods included compulsory questionnaires and ++fluoro-functional examination, spirometry if indicated and bacterial tests. Out of 1, 131 persons examined, 328 were found to have respiratory diseases. Chronic non-specific respiratory diseases were detected in 103 subjects, including 62 of them having obstructive bronchitis. A risk group developing chronic non-specific respiratory diseases, including 202 persons with disturbed ventilation activity of the lungs, post-tuberculous inadequate changes and other pathology. Pulmonary tuberculosis was registered in 7 subjects. The given data indicate the necessity of a complex examination of the population.

Digital stethoscopes compared to standard auscultation for detecting abnormal paediatric breath sounds.

PubMed

Kevat, Ajay C; Kalirajah, Anaath; Roseby, Robert

2017-07-01

Our study aimed to objectively describe the audiological characteristics of wheeze and crackles in children by using digital stethoscope (DS) auscultation, as well as assess concordance between standard auscultation and two different DS devices in their ability to detect pathological breath sounds. Twenty children were auscultated by a paediatric consultant doctor and digitally recorded using the Littman™ 3200 Digital Electronic Stethoscope and a Clinicloud™ DS with smart device. Using spectrographic analysis, we found those with clinically described wheeze had prominent periodic waveform segments spanning expiration for a period of 0.03-1.2 s at frequencies of 100-1050 Hz, and occasionally spanning shorter inspiratory segments; paediatric crackles were brief discontinuous sounds with a distinguishing waveform. There was moderate concordance with respect to wheeze detection between digital and standard binaural stethoscopes, and 100% concordance for crackle detection. Importantly, DS devices were more sensitive than clinician auscultation in detecting wheeze in our study. Objective definition of audio characteristics of abnormal paediatric breath sounds was achieved using DS technology. We demonstrated superiority of our DS method compared to traditional auscultation for detection of wheeze. What is Known: • The audiological characteristics of abnormal breath sounds have been well-described in adult populations but not in children. • Inter-observer agreement for detection of pathological breath sounds using standard auscultation has been shown to be poor, but the clinical value of now easily available digital stethoscopes has not been sufficiently examined. What is New: • Digital stethoscopes can objectively define the nature of pathological breath sounds such as wheeze and crackles in children. • Paediatric wheeze was better detected by digital stethoscopes than by standard auscultation performed by an expert paediatric clinician.

Automated airway evaluation system for multi-slice computed tomography using airway lumen diameter, airway wall thickness and broncho-arterial ratio

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Odry, Benjamin L.; Kiraly, Atilla P.; Novak, Carol L.; Naidich, David P.; Lerallut, Jean-Francois

2006-03-01

Pulmonary diseases such as bronchiectasis, asthma, and emphysema are characterized by abnormalities in airway dimensions. Multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) has become one of the primary means to depict these abnormalities, as the availability of high-resolution near-isotropic data makes it possible to evaluate airways at oblique angles to the scanner plane. However, currently, clinical evaluation of airways is typically limited to subjective visual inspection only: systematic evaluation of the airways to take advantage of high-resolution data has not proved practical without automation. We present an automated method to quantitatively evaluate airway lumen diameter, wall thickness and broncho-arterial ratios. In addition, our method provides 3D visualization of these values, graphically illustrating the location and extent of disease. Our algorithm begins by automatic airway segmentation to extract paths to the distal airways, and to create a map of airway diameters. Normally, airway diameters decrease as paths progress distally; failure to taper indicates abnormal dilatation. Our approach monitors airway lumen diameters along each airway path in order to detect abnormal profiles, allowing even subtle degrees of pathologic dilatation to be identified. Our method also systematically computes the broncho-arterial ratio at every terminal branch of the tree model, as a ratio above 1 indicates potentially abnormal bronchial dilatation. Finally, the airway wall thickness is computed at corresponding locations. These measurements are used to highlight abnormal branches for closer inspection, and can be summed to compute a quantitative global score for the entire airway tree, allowing reproducible longitudinal assessment of disease severity. Preliminary tests on patients diagnosed with bronchiectasis demonstrated rapid identification of lack of tapering, which also was confirmed by corresponding demonstration of elevated broncho-arterial ratios.

Multimodal Approach for Radical Excision of Focal Cortical Dysplasia by Combining Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data to Intraoperative Ultrasound, Electrocorticography, and Cortical Stimulation: A Preliminary Experience.

PubMed

Tringali, Giovanni; Bono, Beatrice; Dones, Ivano; Cordella, Roberto; Didato, Giuseppe; Villani, Flavio; Prada, Francesco

2018-05-01

Type II focal cortical dysplasia is the most common malformation of cortical development associated with drug resistant epilepsy and susceptible to surgical resection. Although, at present, advanced imaging modalities are capable of detecting most cortical disorders, it is still a challenge for the surgeon to visualize them intraoperatively. The lack of direct identification between normal brain and subtle dysplastic tissue may explain the poor results in terms of being seizure-free versus other forms of epilepsy. The aim of this study is to compare magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and intraoperative ultrasound-guided neuronavigation, along with cortical stimulation and acute electrocorticography, as a multimodal surgical approach to cortical dysplasia's tailored resection. Six consecutive patients with type II cortical dysplasia underwent epilepsy surgery by means of MRI/intraoperative ultrasound-guided neuronavigation. Intraoperative cortical stimulation of sensory/motor cortex was performed to localize cortical eloquent areas. Acute electrocorticography was used to identify epileptogenic tissue. These findings were correlated to real-time ultrasound imaging to establish the extent of the resection. Intraoperative ultrasound depicted cortical dysplasias at a higher resolution and accuracy than MRI. Therefore it maximized the extent of the resection. Both postoperative MRIs and pathology documented the extent of the resection in all patients. Seizure-freedom was achieved in 5 cases (Engel class IA), and in 1 patient it was classified as Engel class IB. No postoperative neurological deficits were observed. These results strongly suggest feasibility of ultrasound-guided resection of focal cortical dysplasia. Providing high resolution and accuracy, it allows an easy, real-time discrimination between normal and dysplastic brain. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Electrokinetic detection for X-ray spectra of weakly interacting liquids: n-decane and n-nonane.

PubMed

Lam, Royce K; Shih, Orion; Smith, Jacob W; Sheardy, Alex T; Rizzuto, Anthony M; Prendergast, David; Saykally, Richard J

2014-06-21

The introduction of liquid microjets into soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy enabled the windowless study of liquids by this powerful atom-selective high vacuum methodology. However, weakly interacting liquids produce large vapor backgrounds that strongly perturb the liquid signal. Consequently, solvents (e.g., hydrocarbons, ethers, ketones, etc.) and solutions of central importance in chemistry and biology have been inaccessible by this technology. Here we describe a new detection method, upstream detection, which greatly reduces the vapor phase contribution to the X-ray absorption signal while retaining important advantages of liquid microjet sample introduction (e.g., minimal radiation damage). The effectiveness of the upstream detection method is demonstrated in this first study of room temperature liquid hydrocarbons: n-nonane and n-decane. Good agreement with first principles' calculations indicates that the eXcited electron and Core Hole theory adequately describes the subtle interactions in these liquids that perturb the electronic structure of the unoccupied states probed in core-level experiments.

Can citizen science produce good science? Testing the OPAL Air Survey methodology, using lichens as indicators of nitrogenous pollution.

PubMed

Tregidgo, Daniel J; West, Sarah E; Ashmore, Mike R

2013-11-01

Citizen science is having increasing influence on environmental monitoring as its advantages are becoming recognised. However methodologies are often simplified to make them accessible to citizen scientists. We tested whether a recent citizen science survey (the OPAL Air Survey) could detect trends in lichen community composition over transects away from roads. We hypothesised that the abundance of nitrophilic lichens would decrease with distance from the road, while that of nitrophobic lichens would increase. The hypothesised changes were detected along strong pollution gradients, but not where the road source was relatively weak, or background pollution relatively high. We conclude that the simplified OPAL methodology can detect large contrasts in nitrogenous pollution, but it may not be able to detect more subtle changes in pollution exposure. Similar studies are needed in conjunction with the ever-growing body of citizen science work to ensure that the limitations of these methods are fully understood. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated Detection of Microaneurysms Using Scale-Adapted Blob Analysis and Semi-Supervised Learning

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adal, Kedir M.; Sidebe, Desire; Ali, Sharib

2014-01-07

Despite several attempts, automated detection of microaneurysm (MA) from digital fundus images still remains to be an open issue. This is due to the subtle nature of MAs against the surrounding tissues. In this paper, the microaneurysm detection problem is modeled as finding interest regions or blobs from an image and an automatic local-scale selection technique is presented. Several scale-adapted region descriptors are then introduced to characterize these blob regions. A semi-supervised based learning approach, which requires few manually annotated learning examples, is also proposed to train a classifier to detect true MAs. The developed system is built using onlymore » few manually labeled and a large number of unlabeled retinal color fundus images. The performance of the overall system is evaluated on Retinopathy Online Challenge (ROC) competition database. A competition performance measure (CPM) of 0.364 shows the competitiveness of the proposed system against state-of-the art techniques as well as the applicability of the proposed features to analyze fundus images.« less

Interfaces detection after corneal refractive surgery by low coherence optical interferometry

PubMed Central

Verrier, I.; Veillas, C.; Lépine, T.; Nguyen, F.; Thuret, G.; Gain, P.

2010-01-01

The detection of refractive corneal surgery by LASIK, during the storage of corneas in Eye Banks will become a challenge when the numerous operated patients will arrive at the age of cornea donation. The subtle changes of corneal structure and refraction are highly suspected to negatively influence clinical results in recipients of such corneas. In order to detect LASIK cornea interfaces we developed a low coherence interferometry technique using a broadband continuum source. Real time signal recording, without moving any optical elements and without need of a Fourier Transform operation, combined with good measurement resolution is the main asset of this interferometer. The associated numerical processing is based on a method initially used in astronomy and offers an optimal correlation signal without the necessity to image the whole cornea that is time consuming. The detection of corneal interfaces - both outer and inner surface and the buried interface corresponding to the surgical wound – is then achieved directly by the innovative combination of interferometry and this original numerical process. PMID:21258562

An evaluation of dynamic mutuality measurements and methods in cyclic time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Xiaohua; Huang, Guitian; Duan, Na

2010-12-01

Several measurements and techniques have been developed to detect dynamic mutuality and synchronicity of time series in econometrics. This study aims to compare the performances of five methods, i.e., linear regression, dynamic correlation, Markov switching models, concordance index and recurrence quantification analysis, through numerical simulations. We evaluate the abilities of these methods to capture structure changing and cyclicity in time series and the findings of this paper would offer guidance to both academic and empirical researchers. Illustration examples are also provided to demonstrate the subtle differences of these techniques.

Application of multispectral photography to mineral and land resources of South Carolina

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olson, N. K. (Principal Investigator)

1975-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Good results were obtained from using Skylab photography in conjunction with LANDSAT imagery for visual interpretation of various geologic features, particularly lineaments. It was concluded that visual interpretation alone of Skylab photographs was quite limited, and much of this was because of the low contrast, heavily vegetated terrain in southeastern United States. Lineaments of major structural features are detectable but subtle. An intimate knowledge of the geologic field relationships is needed before a meaningful analysis is feasible using current satellite photography alone.

Towards a compendium of the psychopathologies of love.

PubMed

Levine, Stephen B

2014-01-01

Adults are commonly preoccupied with their love lives and in psychotherapy they often express frustrations with themselves and their partners. Ironically, patients' preoccupations with the processes of love have not created many professional deliberations on the nature of love and mechanisms of its subversion. This essay describes the converging influences that may explain the professional avoidance of love. It then describes the reasons to try to create a compendium of clinically apparent impediments to loving. The pathologies of love are divided into three categories: (1) characteristics that impede the formation of a sexual adult attachment; (2) patterns that diminish the index person's lovability to the partner; (3) processes that deteriorate the index person's ability to continue to love the partner. The compendium seems to present several important utilities. It clarifies the pathogenesis of some mental suffering. It defines a distinct, more relevant focus to psychotherapy. It makes clear that a better understanding of love's subtle processes of evolution is needed. It invites further refinement of both healthy and problematic love processes.

The fairy tale as paradigm of the separation-individuation crisis: implications for treatment of the borderline adolescent.

PubMed

Brandt, L M

1983-01-01

This chapter is an attempt to offer a model for therapeutic work with borderline patients that is based on the structure and content of the fairy tale. It views the fairy tale as both descriptive in its echoing of developmental struggles of childhood and integrative in providing a model for resolution of these conflicts. Clare's use of the fairy tale offers confirmation of theoretical notions which place the etiology of borderline pathology in early developmental failures and a clue to the therapeutic work with borderline patients. While the childhood route of the fairy tale may no longer be available to most, its subtle mirroring of the separation-individuation crisis and gradual, growthful steps toward integration of both the external and the internal worlds offer an exquisite model for the work of psychotherapy. "Once a king in Narnia , always a king in Narnia . But don't go trying to use the same route twice. . ." (Lewis 1950, p. 186).

Multispectral image enhancement for H&E stained pathological tissue specimens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bautista, Pinky A.; Abe, Tokiya; Yamaguchi, Masahiro; Ohyama, Nagaaki; Yagi, Yukako

2008-03-01

The presence of a liver disease such as cirrhosis can be determined by examining the proliferation of collagen fiber from a tissue slide stained with special stain such as the Masson's trichrome(MT) stain. Collagen fiber and smooth muscle, which are both stained the same in an H&E stained slide, are stained blue and pink respectively in an MT-stained slide. In this paper we show that with multispectral imaging the difference between collagen fiber and smooth muscle can be visualized even from an H&E stained image. In the method M KL bases are derived using the spectral data of those H&E stained tissue components which can be easily differentiated from each other, i.e. nucleus, cytoplasm, red blood cells, etc. and based on the spectral residual error of fiber weighting factors are determined to enhance spectral features at certain wavelengths. Results of our experiment demonstrate the capability of multispectral imaging and its advantage compared to the conventional RGB imaging systems to delineate tissue structures with subtle colorimetric difference.

PRDM9 variation strongly influences recombination hot-spot activity and meiotic instability in humans.

PubMed

Berg, Ingrid L; Neumann, Rita; Lam, Kwan-Wood G; Sarbajna, Shriparna; Odenthal-Hesse, Linda; May, Celia A; Jeffreys, Alec J

2010-10-01

PRDM9 has recently been identified as a likely trans regulator of meiotic recombination hot spots in humans and mice. PRDM9 contains a zinc finger array that, in humans, can recognize a short sequence motif associated with hot spots, with binding to this motif possibly triggering hot-spot activity via chromatin remodeling. We now report that human genetic variation at the PRDM9 locus has a strong effect on sperm hot-spot activity, even at hot spots lacking the sequence motif. Subtle changes within the zinc finger array can create hot-spot nonactivating or enhancing variants and can even trigger the appearance of a new hot spot, suggesting that PRDM9 is a major global regulator of hot spots in humans. Variation at the PRDM9 locus also influences aspects of genome instability-specifically, a megabase-scale rearrangement underlying two genomic disorders as well as minisatellite instability-implicating PRDM9 as a risk factor for some pathological genome rearrangements.

PRDM9 variation strongly influences recombination hot-spot activity and meiotic instability in humans

PubMed Central

Berg, Ingrid L.; Neumann, Rita; Lam, Kwan-Wood G.; Sarbajna, Shriparna; Odenthal-Hesse, Linda; May, Celia A.; Jeffreys, Alec J.

2011-01-01

PRDM9 has recently been identified as a likely trans-regulator of meiotic recombination hot spots in humans and mice1-3. The protein contains a zinc finger array that in humans can recognise a short sequence motif associated with hot spots4, with binding to this motif possibly triggering hot-spot activity via chromatin remodelling5. We now show that variation in the zinc finger array in humans has a profound effect on sperm hot-spot activity, even at hot spots lacking the sequence motif. Very subtle changes within the array can create hot-spot non-activating and enhancing alleles, and even trigger the appearance of a new hot spot. PRDM9 thus appears to be the preeminent global regulator of hot spots in humans. Variation at this locus also influences aspects of genome instability, specifically a megabase-scale rearrangement underlying two genomic disorders6 as well as minisatellite instability7, implicating PRDM9 as a risk factor for some pathological genome rearrangements. PMID:20818382

Metabolic Vulnerability in the Neurodegenerative Disease Glaucoma

PubMed Central

Inman, Denise M.; Harun-Or-Rashid, Mohammad

2017-01-01

Axons can be several orders of magnitude longer than neural somas, presenting logistical difficulties in cargo trafficking and structural maintenance. Keeping the axon compartment well supplied with energy also presents a considerable challenge; even seemingly subtle modifications of metabolism can result in functional deficits and degeneration. Axons require a great deal of energy, up to 70% of all energy used by a neuron, just to maintain the resting membrane potential. Axonal energy, in the form of ATP, is generated primarily through oxidative phosphorylation in the mitochondria. In addition, glial cells contribute metabolic intermediates to axons at moments of high activity or according to need. Recent evidence suggests energy disruption is an early contributor to pathology in a wide variety of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by axonopathy. However, the degree to which the energy disruption is intrinsic to the axon vs. associated glia is not clear. This paper will review the role of energy availability and utilization in axon degeneration in glaucoma, a chronic axonopathy of the retinal projection. PMID:28424571

The Takei Handheld Dynamometer: An Effective Clinical Outcome Measure Tool for Hand and Wrist Function in Boxing.

PubMed

Gatt, Ian; Smith-Moore, Sophie; Steggles, Charlie; Loosemore, Mike

2018-05-01

The aim of this article was to explore retrospectively the Takei dynamometer as a valid and reliable outcome measure tool for hand and wrist pathology in the Great Britain amateur boxing squad between 2010 and 2014. Longitudinal retrospective injury surveillance of the Great Britain boxing squad was performed from 2010 to 2014. The location, region affected, description, and duration of each injury were recorded by the team doctor and team physiotherapists. For each significant injury, we recorded hand grip scores using the Takei handheld dynamometer and compared the scores with baseline measures. At the hand, fractures and dislocations were highly detected with an average difference of 40.2% ( P < .05) when comparing postinjury to baseline measures. At the wrist, carpometacarpal and carpal joint injuries were highly detected with an average difference of 32.6% ( P < .05). Other injuries provided varied results. In the absence of pathology, up to 15% difference between left and right scores can be considered normal with a predominance observed below 10%. A difference of 20% can be indicative of a form of pathology, although pathologies can also be present with lower difference or no apparent changes. A difference of >20% should be highly considered for significant pathology. The Takei dynamometer is a valid and reliable outcome measure tool for hand and wrist pathologies in boxing. Our study highlights the importance of appropriate clinical tools to guide injury management in this sport.

Dual Pathologies of Parathyroid Adenoma and Papillary Thyroid Cancer on Fluorocholine and Fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT.

PubMed

Thanseer, N T K; Bhadada, Sanjay Kumar; Sood, Ashwani; Parihar, Ashwin Singh; Dahiya, Divya; Singh, Priyanka; Basher, Rajender Kumar; Das, Ashim; Mittal, Bhagwant R

2018-04-01

18 F-Fluorocholine (FCH) PET/CT is evolving as a functional imaging modality for the preoperative imaging of abnormal parathyroid tissue(s) helping to localize eutopic and ectopic parathyroid tissue and limit the extent of surgery. FCH PET/CT may show incidental uptake in various thyroid lesions necessitating further evaluation, whereas the role of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT in the detection of incidental thyroid nodules is well documented. The case of a middle-aged woman with dual pathology of parathyroid adenoma and papillary thyroid cancer detected on FCH and FDG PET/CT is presented.

Facial emotion recognition and borderline personality pathology.

PubMed

Meehan, Kevin B; De Panfilis, Chiara; Cain, Nicole M; Antonucci, Camilla; Soliani, Antonio; Clarkin, John F; Sambataro, Fabio

2017-09-01

The impact of borderline personality pathology on facial emotion recognition has been in dispute; with impaired, comparable, and enhanced accuracy found in high borderline personality groups. Discrepancies are likely driven by variations in facial emotion recognition tasks across studies (stimuli type/intensity) and heterogeneity in borderline personality pathology. This study evaluates facial emotion recognition for neutral and negative emotions (fear/sadness/disgust/anger) presented at varying intensities. Effortful control was evaluated as a moderator of facial emotion recognition in borderline personality. Non-clinical multicultural undergraduates (n = 132) completed a morphed facial emotion recognition task of neutral and negative emotional expressions across different intensities (100% Neutral; 25%/50%/75% Emotion) and self-reported borderline personality features and effortful control. Greater borderline personality features related to decreased accuracy in detecting neutral faces, but increased accuracy in detecting negative emotion faces, particularly at low-intensity thresholds. This pattern was moderated by effortful control; for individuals with low but not high effortful control, greater borderline personality features related to misattributions of emotion to neutral expressions, and enhanced detection of low-intensity emotional expressions. Individuals with high borderline personality features may therefore exhibit a bias toward detecting negative emotions that are not or barely present; however, good self-regulatory skills may protect against this potential social-cognitive vulnerability. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Detecting and Imaging of γ-Glutamytranspeptidase Activity in Serum, Live Cells, and Pathological Tissues with a High Signal-Stability Probe by Releasing a Precipitating Fluorochrome.

PubMed

Ou-Yang, Juan; Li, Yong-Fei; Wu, Ping; Jiang, Wen-Li; Liu, Hong-Wen; Li, Chun-Yan

2018-06-20

γ-Glutamytranspeptidase (GGT) is a significant tumor-related biomarker that overexpresses in several tumor cells. Accurate detection and imaging of GGT activity in serum, live cells, and pathological tissues hold great significance for cancer diagnosis, treatment, and management. Recently developed small molecule fluorescent probes for GGT tend to diffuse to the whole cytoplasm and then translocate out of live cells after enzymatic reaction, which make them fail to provide high spatial resolution and long-term imaging in biological systems. To address these problems, a novel fluorescent probe (HPQ-PDG) which releases a precipitating fluorochrome upon the catalysis of GGT is designed and synthesized. HPQ-PDG is able to detect GGT activity with high spatial resolution and good signal-stability. The large Stokes shift of the probe enables it to detect the activity of GGT in serum samples with high sensitivity. To our delight, the probe is used for imaging GGT activity in live cells with the ability of discriminating cancer cells from normal cells. What's more, we successfully apply it for pathological tissues imaging, with the results indicating that the potential application of HPQ-PDG in histopathological examination. All these results demonstrate the potential application of HPQ-PDG in the clinic.

Curvature correction of retinal OCTs using graph-based geometry detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kafieh, Raheleh; Rabbani, Hossein; Abramoff, Michael D.; Sonka, Milan

2013-05-01

In this paper, we present a new algorithm as an enhancement and preprocessing step for acquired optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of the retina. The proposed method is composed of two steps, first of which is a denoising algorithm with wavelet diffusion based on a circular symmetric Laplacian model, and the second part can be described in terms of graph-based geometry detection and curvature correction according to the hyper-reflective complex layer in the retina. The proposed denoising algorithm showed an improvement of contrast-to-noise ratio from 0.89 to 1.49 and an increase of signal-to-noise ratio (OCT image SNR) from 18.27 to 30.43 dB. By applying the proposed method for estimation of the interpolated curve using a full automatic method, the mean ± SD unsigned border positioning error was calculated for normal and abnormal cases. The error values of 2.19 ± 1.25 and 8.53 ± 3.76 µm were detected for 200 randomly selected slices without pathological curvature and 50 randomly selected slices with pathological curvature, respectively. The important aspect of this algorithm is its ability in detection of curvature in strongly pathological images that surpasses previously introduced methods; the method is also fast, compared to the relatively low speed of similar methods.

Diagnosing subtle palatal anomalies: Validation of video-analysis and assessment protocol for diagnosing occult submucous cleft palate.

PubMed

Rourke, Ryan; Weinberg, Seth M; Marazita, Mary L; Jabbour, Noel

2017-09-01

Submucous cleft palate (SMCP) classically involves bifid uvula, zona pellucida, and notched hard palate. However, patients may present with more subtle anatomic abnormalities. The ability to detect these abnormalities is important for surgeons managing velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD) or considering adenoidectomy. Validate an assessment protocol for diagnosis of occult submucous cleft palate (OSMCP) and identify physical examination features present in patients with OSMCP in the relaxed and activated palate positions. Study participants included patients referred to a pediatric VPD clinic with concern for hypernasality or SMCP. Using an appropriately encrypted iPod touch, transoral video was obtained for each patient with the palate in the relaxed and activated positions. The videos were reviewed by two otolaryngologists in normal speed and slow-motion, as needed, and a questionnaire was completed by each reviewer pertaining to the anatomy and function of the palate. 47 patients, with an average age of 4.6 years, were included in the study over a one-year period. Four videos were unusable due to incomplete view of the palate. The most common palatal abnormality noted was OSMCP, diagnosed by each reviewer in 26/43 and 30/43 patients respectively. Using the assessment protocol, agreement on palatal diagnosis was 83.7% (kappa = 0.68), indicating substantial agreement, with the most prevalent anatomic features being vaulted palate elevation (96%) and visible notching of hard palate (75%). The diagnosis of subtle palatal anomalies is difficult and can be subjective. Using the proposed video-analysis method and assessment protocol may improve reliability of diagnosis of OSMCP. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pathological and Molecular Evaluation of Pancreatic Neoplasms

PubMed Central

Rishi, Arvind; Goggins, Michael; Wood, Laura D.; Hruban, Ralph H.

2015-01-01

Pancreatic neoplasms are morphologically and genetically heterogeneous and include wide variety of neoplasms ranging from benign to malignant with an extremely poor clinical outcome. Our understanding of these pancreatic neoplasms has improved significantly with recent advances in cancer sequencing. Awareness of molecular pathogenesis brings in new opportunities for early detection, improved prognostication, and personalized gene-specific therapies. Here we review the pathological classification of pancreatic neoplasms from their molecular and genetic perspective. All of the major tumor types that arise in the pancreas have been sequenced, and a new classification that incorporates molecular findings together with pathological findings is now possible (Table 1). This classification has significant implications for our understanding of why tumors aggregate in some families, for the development of early detection tests, and for the development of personalized therapies for patients with established cancers. Here we describe this new classification using the framework of the standard histological classification. PMID:25726050

Stereological analysis of neuron, glial and endothelial cell numbers in the human amygdaloid complex.

PubMed

García-Amado, María; Prensa, Lucía

2012-01-01

Cell number alterations in the amygdaloid complex (AC) might coincide with neurological and psychiatric pathologies with anxiety imbalances as well as with changes in brain functionality during aging. This stereological study focused on estimating, in samples from 7 control individuals aged 20 to 75 years old, the number and density of neurons, glia and endothelial cells in the entire AC and in its 5 nuclear groups (including the basolateral (BL), corticomedial and central groups), 5 nuclei and 13 nuclear subdivisions. The volume and total cell number in these territories were determined on Nissl-stained sections with the Cavalieri principle and the optical fractionator. The AC mean volume was 956 mm(3) and mean cell numbers (x10(6)) were: 15.3 neurons, 60 glial cells and 16.8 endothelial cells. The numbers of endothelial cells and neurons were similar in each AC region and were one fourth the number of glial cells. Analysis of the influence of the individuals' age at death on volume, cell number and density in each of these 24 AC regions suggested that aging does not affect regional size or the amount of glial cells, but that neuron and endothelial cell numbers respectively tended to decrease and increase in territories such as AC or BL. These accurate stereological measures of volume and total cell numbers and densities in the AC of control individuals could serve as appropriate reference values to evaluate subtle alterations in this structure in pathological conditions.

Unusual cardiac paraganglioma mimicking an atypical carcinoid tumor of the lung

PubMed Central

Evans, Mark; Wang, Beverly; Delrosario, J. Lawrence; Cheng, Timmy; Milliken, Jeffrey

2018-01-01

We present a case of unusual cardiac paraganglioma (PG) initially misdiagnosed as atypical carcinoid tumor of the lung and discuss key clinical and pathologic characteristics that guide surgical management of these rare chromaffin cell tumors. A 64-year-old female with persistent cough and back pain was found to have a 4 cm × 3 cm mass abutting multiple cardiopulmonary structures. A biopsy was performed at an outside institution and pathology reported “atypical neuroendocrine carcinoma, consistent with carcinoid”. The patient was transferred to our institution and pericardial resection with right pneumonectomy was performed to excise the tumor. Histology of the mass was that of PG with multiple ethanol embolizations. Immunohistochemical examination revealed that type I (chief) cells were positive for neuroendocrine markers (chromogranin A and synaptophysin), while type II (sustentacular) cells were positive for S100. There was no evidence of atypical carcinoid tumor in the lung. PG is an entity of chromaffin cell tumors that often affects the adrenal glands and carotid body. PG rarely occurs in the thoracic region, accounting for just 1–2% of all PG. Proper diagnosis of cardiac PG is challenging owing to its rare prevalence, subtle symptoms of presentation, and the neuroendocrine histopathological features it shares with atypical carcinoids. These tumors are typically benign and are best treated by surgical resection. Our report examines the approach to appropriate diagnosis of cardiac PG vs. atypical carcinoid, preoperative management, and surgical treatment by describing successful resection through thoracotomy without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. PMID:29600100

Clinical and anatomic pathology effects of serial blood sampling in rat toxicology studies, using conventional or microsampling methods.

PubMed

Caron, Alexis; Lelong, Christine; Bartels, T; Dorchies, O; Gury, T; Chalier, Catherine; Benning, Véronique

2015-08-01

As a general practice in rodent toxicology studies, satellite animals are used for toxicokinetic determinations, because of the potential impact of serial blood sampling on toxicological endpoints. Besides toxicological and toxicokinetic determinations, blood samples obtained longitudinally from a same animal may be used for the assessment of additional parameters (e.g., metabolism, pharmacodynamics, safety biomarkers) to maximize information that can be deduced from rodents. We investigated whether removal of up to 6 × 200 μL of blood over 24h can be applied in GLP rat toxicology studies without affecting the scientific outcome. 8 week-old female rats (200-300 g) were dosed for up to 1 month with a standard vehicle and subjected or not (controls) to serial blood sampling for sham toxicokinetic/ancillary determinations, using miniaturized methods allowing collection of 6 × 50, 100 or 200 μL over 24h. In-life endpoints, clinical pathology parameters and histopathology of organs sensitive to blood volume reduction were evaluated at several time points after completion of sampling. In sampled rats, minimal and reversible changes in red blood cell mass (maximally 15%) and subtle variations in liver enzymes, fibrinogen and neutrophils were not associated with any organ/tissue macroscopic or microscopic correlate. Serial blood sampling (up to 6 × 200 μL over 24h) is compatible with the assessment of standard toxicity endpoints in adult rats. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC ANATOMY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF RESPIRATORY ASPERGILLOSIS IN JUVENILE WHOOPING CRANES

PubMed Central

Kelley, Cristin; Pinkerton, Marie E.; Hartup, Barry K.

2015-01-01

Respiratory diseases are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in captivity reared, endangered whooping cranes (Grus americana). Objectives of this retrospective, case series, cross‐sectional study were to describe computed tomography (CT) respiratory anatomy in a juvenile whooping crane without respiratory disease, compare CT characteristics with gross pathologic characteristics in a group of juvenile whooping cranes with respiratory aspergillosis, and test associations between the number of CT tracheal bends and bird sex and age. A total of 10 juvenile whooping cranes (one control, nine affected) were included. Seven affected cranes had CT characteristics of unilateral extrapulmonary bronchial occlusion or wall thickening, and seven cranes had luminal occlusion of the intrapulmonary primary or secondary bronchi. Air sac membrane thickening was observed in three cranes in the cranial and caudal thoracic air sacs, and air sac diverticulum opacification was observed in four cranes. Necropsy lesions consisted of severe, subacute to chronic, focally extensive granulomatous pathology of the trachea, primary bronchi, lungs, or air sacs. No false positive CT scan results were documented. Seven instances of false negative CT scan results occurred; six of these consisted of subtle, mild air sacculitis including membrane opacification or thickening, or the presence of small plaques found at necropsy. The number of CT tracheal bends was associated with bird age but not sex. Findings supported the use of CT as a diagnostic test for avian species with respiratory disease and tracheal coiling or elongated tracheae where endoscopic evaluation is impractical. PMID:26592357

Clinical and neuropathological features of X-linked spinal muscular atrophy (SMAX2) associated with a novel mutation in the UBA1 gene.

PubMed

Dlamini, Nomazulu; Josifova, Dragana J; Paine, Simon M L; Wraige, Elizabeth; Pitt, Matthew; Murphy, Amanda J; King, Andrew; Buk, Stefan; Smith, Frances; Abbs, Stephen; Sewry, Caroline; Jacques, Thomas S; Jungbluth, Heinz

2013-05-01

Infantile-onset X-linked spinal muscular atrophy (SMAX2) is a rare lethal disorder linked to mutations in the UBA1 (previously UBE1) gene, encoding ubiquitin-activating enzyme 1 that has an important role in the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Published pathological reports are scarce. Here we report a male infant who presented from birth with predominantly truncal hypotonia following an antenatal history of reduced fetal movements. He had a myopathic face, profound weakness, multiple contractures and areflexia. Creatine kinase was moderately raised. Brain MRI showed non-specific symmetrical periventricular white matter changes. Neurophysiology revealed evidence of motor and sensory involvement and muscle biopsy showed marked inflammatory changes with subtle features suggestive of acute denervation. UBA1 sequencing revealed a novel hemizygous missense mutation (c.1670A>T; p.Glu557Val). He died from progressive respiratory failure at 4 months. On post mortem assessment, in addition to severe ventral motor neuron pathology, there was widespread involvement of the sensory system, as well as developmental and degenerative cerebellar abnormalities. In contrast to typical SMN1-associated SMA, the thalamus was unaffected. These findings indicate that SMAX2 is more accurately classified as a motor sensory neuronopathy rather than a pure anterior horn cell disorder. Ubiquitin-proteasome pathway defects may not only cause neurodegeneration but also affect normal neuronal development. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stereological Analysis of Neuron, Glial and Endothelial Cell Numbers in the Human Amygdaloid Complex

PubMed Central

García-Amado, María; Prensa, Lucía

2012-01-01

Cell number alterations in the amygdaloid complex (AC) might coincide with neurological and psychiatric pathologies with anxiety imbalances as well as with changes in brain functionality during aging. This stereological study focused on estimating, in samples from 7 control individuals aged 20 to 75 years old, the number and density of neurons, glia and endothelial cells in the entire AC and in its 5 nuclear groups (including the basolateral (BL), corticomedial and central groups), 5 nuclei and 13 nuclear subdivisions. The volume and total cell number in these territories were determined on Nissl-stained sections with the Cavalieri principle and the optical fractionator. The AC mean volume was 956 mm3 and mean cell numbers (x106) were: 15.3 neurons, 60 glial cells and 16.8 endothelial cells. The numbers of endothelial cells and neurons were similar in each AC region and were one fourth the number of glial cells. Analysis of the influence of the individuals’ age at death on volume, cell number and density in each of these 24 AC regions suggested that aging does not affect regional size or the amount of glial cells, but that neuron and endothelial cell numbers respectively tended to decrease and increase in territories such as AC or BL. These accurate stereological measures of volume and total cell numbers and densities in the AC of control individuals could serve as appropriate reference values to evaluate subtle alterations in this structure in pathological conditions. PMID:22719923

Neuropathology of Nondemented Aging: Presumptive Evidence for Preclinical Alzheimer Disease

PubMed Central

Price, Joseph L.; McKeel, Daniel W.; Buckles, Virginia D.; Roe, Catherine M.; Xiong, Chengjie; Grundman, Michael; Hansen, Lawrence A.; Petersen, Ronald C.; Parisi, Joseph E.; Dickson, Dennis W.; Smith, Charles D.; Davis, Daron G.; Schmitt, Frederick A.; Markesbery, William R.; Kaye, Jeffrey; Kurlan, Roger; Hulette, Christine; Kurland, Brenda F.; Higdon, Roger; Kukull, Walter; Morris, John C.

2009-01-01

Objective To determine the frequency and possible cognitive effect of histological Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in autopsied older nondemented individuals. Design Senile plaques (SPs) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) were assessed quantitatively in 97 cases from 7 Alzheimer’s Disease Centers (ADCs). Neuropathological diagnoses of AD (npAD) were also made with four sets of criteria. Adjusted linear mixed models tested differences between participants with and without npAD on the quantitative neuropathology measures and psychometric test scores prior to death. Spearman rank-order correlations between AD lesions and psychometric scores at last assessment were calculated for cases with pathology in particular regions. Setting Washington University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Participants Ninety-seven nondemented participants who were age 60 years or older at death (mean = 84 years). Results About 40% of nondemented individuals met at least some level of criteria for npAD; when strict criteria were used, about 20% of cases had npAD. Substantial overlap of Braak neurofibrillary stages occurred between npAD and no-npAD cases. Although there was no measurable cognitive impairment prior to death for either the no-npAD or npAD groups, cognitive function in nondemented aging appears to be degraded by the presence of NFTs and SPs. Conclusions Neuropathological processes related to AD in persons without dementia appear to be associated with subtle cognitive dysfunction and may represent a preclinical stage of the illness. By age 80–85 years, many nondemented older adults have substantial AD pathology. PMID:19376612

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration related proteins induce only subtle memory-related deficits when bilaterally overexpressed in the dorsal hippocampus

PubMed Central

Dayton, Robert D.; Wang, David B.; Cain, Cooper D.; Schrott, Lisa M.; Ramirez, Julio J.; King, Michael A.; Klein, Ronald L.

2011-01-01

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is a neurodegenerative disease that involves cognitive decline and dementia. To model the hippocampal neurodegeneration and memory-related behavioral impairment that occurs in FTLD and other tau and TDP-43 proteinopathy diseases, we used an adeno-associated virus serotype 9 (AAV9) vector to induce bilateral expression of either microtubule-associated protein tau or transactive response DNA binding protein 43 kDa (TDP-43) in adult rat dorsal hippocampus. Human wild-type forms of tau or TDP-43 were expressed. The vectors/doses were designed for moderate expression levels within neurons. Rats were evaluated for acquisition and retention in the Morris water task over 12 weeks after gene transfer. Neither vector altered acquisition performance compared to controls. In measurements of retention, there was impairment in the TDP-43 group. Histological examination revealed specific loss of dentate gyrus granule cells and concomitant gliosis proximal to the injection site in the TDP-43 group, with shrinkage of the dorsal hippocampus. Despite specific tau pathology, the tau gene transfer surprisingly did not cause obvious neuronal loss or behavioral impairment. The data demonstrate that TDP-43 produced mild behavioral impairment and hippocampal neurodegeneration in rats, whereas tau did not. The models could be of value for studying mechanisms of FTLD and other diseases with tau and TDP-43 pathology in the hippocampus including Alzheimer's disease, with relevance to early stage mild impairment. PMID:22177996

Fluorescence-Raman Dual Modal Endoscopic System for Multiplexed Molecular Diagnostics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Sinyoung; Kim, Yong-Il; Kang, Homan; Kim, Gunsung; Cha, Myeong Geun; Chang, Hyejin; Jung, Kyung Oh; Kim, Young-Hwa; Jun, Bong-Hyun; Hwang, Do Won; Lee, Yun-Sang; Youn, Hyewon; Lee, Yoon-Sik; Kang, Keon Wook; Lee, Dong Soo; Jeong, Dae Hong

2015-03-01

Optical endoscopic imaging, which was recently equipped with bioluminescence, fluorescence, and Raman scattering, allows minimally invasive real-time detection of pathologies on the surface of hollow organs. To characterize pathologic lesions in a multiplexed way, we developed a dual modal fluorescence-Raman endomicroscopic system (FRES), which used fluorescence and surface-enhanced Raman scattering nanoprobes (F-SERS dots). Real-time, in vivo, and multiple target detection of a specific cancer was successful, based on the fast imaging capability of fluorescence signals and the multiplex capability of simultaneously detected SERS signals using an optical fiber bundle for intraoperative endoscopic system. Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) on the breast cancer xenografts in a mouse orthotopic model were successfully detected in a multiplexed way, illustrating the potential of FRES as a molecular diagnostic instrument that enables real-time tumor characterization of receptors during routine endoscopic procedures.

Robust Nucleus/Cell Detection and Segmentation in Digital Pathology and Microscopy Images: A Comprehensive Review.

PubMed

Xing, Fuyong; Yang, Lin

2016-01-01

Digital pathology and microscopy image analysis is widely used for comprehensive studies of cell morphology or tissue structure. Manual assessment is labor intensive and prone to interobserver variations. Computer-aided methods, which can significantly improve the objectivity and reproducibility, have attracted a great deal of interest in recent literature. Among the pipeline of building a computer-aided diagnosis system, nucleus or cell detection and segmentation play a very important role to describe the molecular morphological information. In the past few decades, many efforts have been devoted to automated nucleus/cell detection and segmentation. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of the recent state-of-the-art nucleus/cell segmentation approaches on different types of microscopy images including bright-field, phase-contrast, differential interference contrast, fluorescence, and electron microscopies. In addition, we discuss the challenges for the current methods and the potential future work of nucleus/cell detection and segmentation.

Do experts and novices direct attention differently in examining physics diagrams? A study of change detection using the flicker technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morphew, Jason W.; Mestre, Jose P.; Ross, Brian H.; Strand, Natalie E.

2015-12-01

It is known that experts identify or perceive meaningful patterns in visual stimuli related to their domain of expertise. This study explores the speed with which experts and novices detect changes in physics diagrams. Since change detection depends on where individuals direct their attention, differences in the speed with which experts and novices detect changes to diagrams would suggest differences in attention allocation between experts and novices. We present data from an experiment using the "flicker technique," in which both physics experts and physics novices viewed nearly identical pairs of diagrams that are representative of typical introductory physics situations. The two diagrams in each pair contain a subtle difference that either does or does not change the underlying physics depicted in the diagram. Findings indicate that experts are faster at detecting physics-relevant changes than physics-irrelevant changes; however, there is no difference in response time for novices, suggesting that expertise guides attention for experts when inspecting physics diagrams. We discuss the cognitive implications of our findings.

Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Histone Deacetylases in Kidney Tissue Sections.

PubMed

Ververis, Katherine; Marzully, Selly; Samuel, Chrishan S; Hewitson, Tim D; Karagiannis, Tom C

2016-01-01

Fluorescent microscope imaging technologies are increasing in their applications and are being used on a wide scale. However methods used to quantify the level of fluorescence intensity are often not utilized-perhaps given the result may be immediately seen, quantification of the data may not seem necessary. However there are a number of reasons given to quantify fluorescent images including the importance of removing potential bias in the data upon observation as well as quantification of large numbers of images gives statistical power to detect subtle changes in experiments. In addition discreet localization of a protein could be detected without selection bias that may not be detectable by eye. Such data will be deemed useful when detecting the levels of HDAC enzymes within cells in order to develop more effective HDAC inhibitor compounds for use against multiple diseased states. Hence, we discuss a methodology devised to analyze fluorescent images using Image J to detect the mean fluorescence intensity of the 11 metal-dependent HDAC enzymes using murine kidney tissue sections as an example.

Use of narrow-band imaging bronchoscopy in detection of lung cancer.

PubMed

Zaric, Bojan; Perin, Branislav

2010-05-01

Narrow-band imaging (NBI) is a new endoscopic technique designed for detection of pathologically altered submucosal and mucosal microvascular patterns. The combination of magnification videobronchoscopy and NBI showed great potential in the detection of precancerous and cancerous lesions of the bronchial mucosa. The preliminary studies confirmed supremacy of NBI over white-light videobronchoscopy in the detection of premalignant and malignant lesions. Pathological patterns of capillaries in bronchial mucosa are known as Shibuya's descriptors (dotted, tortuous and abrupt-ending blood vessels). Where respiratory endoscopy is concerned, the NBI is still a 'technology in search of proper indication'. More randomized trials are necessary to confirm the place of NBI in the diagnostic algorithm, and more trials are needed to evaluate the relation of NBI to autofluorescence videobronchoscopy and to white-light magnification videobronchoscopy. Considering the fact that NBI examination of the tracheo-bronchial tree is easy, reproducible and clear to interpret, it is certain that NBI videobronchoscopy will play a significant role in the future of lung cancer detection and staging.

Comparative evaluation of [(99m)tc]tilmanocept for sentinel lymph node mapping in breast cancer patients: results of two phase 3 trials.

PubMed

Wallace, Anne M; Han, Linda K; Povoski, Stephen P; Deck, Kenneth; Schneebaum, Schlomo; Hall, Nathan C; Hoh, Carl K; Limmer, Karl K; Krontiras, Helen; Frazier, Thomas G; Cox, Charles; Avisar, Eli; Faries, Mark; King, Dennis W; Christman, Lori; Vera, David R

2013-08-01

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) surgery is used worldwide for staging breast cancer patients and helps limit axillary lymph node dissection. [(99m)Tc]Tilmanocept is a novel receptor-targeted radiopharmaceutical evaluated in 2 open-label, nonrandomized, within-patient, phase 3 trials designed to assess the lymphatic mapping performance. A total of 13 centers contributed 148 patients with breast cancer. Each patient received [(99m)Tc]tilmanocept and vital blue dye (VBD). Lymph nodes identified intraoperatively as radioactive and/or blue stained were excised and histologically examined. The primary endpoint, concordance (lower boundary set point at 90 %), was the proportion of nodes detected by VBD and [(99m)Tc]tilmanocept. A total of 13 centers contributed 148 patients who were injected with both agents. Intraoperatively, 207 of 209 nodes detected by VBD were also detected by [(99m)Tc]tilmanocept for a concordance rate of 99.04 % (p < 0.0001). [(99m)Tc]tilmanocept detected a total of 320 nodes, of which 207 (64.7 %) were detected by VBD. [(99m)Tc]Tilmanocept detected at least 1 SLN in more patients (146) than did VBD (131, p < 0.0001). In 129 of 131 patients with ≥1 blue node, all blue nodes were radioactive. Of 33 pathology-positive nodes (18.2 % patient pathology rate), [(99m)Tc]tilmanocept detected 31 of 33, whereas VBD detected only 25 of 33 (p = 0.0312). No pathology-positive SLNs were detected exclusively by VBD. No serious adverse events were attributed to [(99m)Tc]tilmanocept. [(99m)Tc]Tilmanocept demonstrated success in detecting a SLN while meeting the primary endpoint. Interestingly, [(99m)Tc]tilmanocept was additionally noted to identify more SLNs in more patients. This localization represented a higher number of metastatic breast cancer lymph nodes than that of VBD.

Sudden unexpected death related to enterovirus myocarditis: histopathology, immunohistochemistry and molecular pathology diagnosis at post-mortem

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Viral myocarditis is a major cause of sudden unexpected death in children and young adults. Until recently, coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) has been the most commonly implicated virus in myocarditis. At present, no standard diagnosis is generally accepted due to the insensitivity of traditional diagnostic tests. This has prompted health professionals to seek new diagnostic approaches, which resulted in the emergence of new molecular pathological tests and a more detailed immunohistochemical and histopathological analysis. When supplemented with immunohistochemistry and molecular pathology, conventional histopathology may provide important clues regarding myocarditis underlying etiology. Methods This study is based on post-mortem samples from sudden unexpected death victims and controls who were investigated prospectively. Immunohistochemical investigations for the detection of the enteroviral capsid protein VP1 and the characterization and quantification of myocardial inflammatory reactions as well as molecular pathological methods for enteroviral genome detection were performed. Results Overall, 48 sudden unexpected death victims were enrolled. As for controls, 37 cases of unnatural traffic accident victims were studied. Enterovirus was detected in 6 sudden unexpected death cases (12.5 %). The control samples were completely enterovirus negative. Furthermore, the enteroviral capsid protein VP1 in the myocardium was detected in enterovirus-positive cases revealed by means of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Unlike control samples, immunohistochemical investigations showed a significant presence of T and B lymphocytes in sudden unexpected death victims. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate clearly a higher prevalence of viral myocarditis in cases of sudden unexpected death compared to control subjects, suggesting that coxsackie B enterovirus may contribute to myocarditis pathogenesis significantly. PMID:22966951

Manually controlled targeted prostate biopsy with real-time fusion imaging of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging and transrectal ultrasound: an early experience.

PubMed

Shoji, Sunao; Hiraiwa, Shinichiro; Endo, Jun; Hashida, Kazunobu; Tomonaga, Tetsuro; Nakano, Mayura; Sugiyama, Tomoko; Tajiri, Takuma; Terachi, Toshiro; Uchida, Toyoaki

2015-02-01

To report our early experience with manually controlled targeted biopsy with real-time multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging and transrectal ultrasound fusion images for the diagnosis of prostate cancer. A total of 20 consecutive patients suspicious of prostate cancer at the multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging scan were recruited prospectively. Targeted biopsies were carried out for each cancer-suspicious lesion, and 12 systematic biopsies using the BioJet system. Pathological findings of targeted and systematic biopsies were analyzed. The median age of the patients was 70 years (range 52-83 years). The median preoperative prostate-specific antigen value was 7.4 ng/mL (range 3.54-19.9 ng/mL). Median preoperative prostate volume was 38 mL (range 24-68 mL). The number of cancer-detected cases was 14 (70%). The median Gleason score was 6.5 (range 6-8). Cancer-detected rates of the systematic and targeted biopsy cores were 6.7 and 31.8%, respectively (P < 0.0001). In six patients who underwent radical prostatectomy, the geographic locations and pathological grades of clinically significant cancers and index lesions corresponded to the pathological results of the targeted biopsies. Prostate cancers detected by targeted biopsies with manually controlled targeted biopsy using real-time multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging and transrectal ultrasound fusion imaging have significantly higher grades and longer length compared with those detected by systematic biopsies. Further studies and comparison with the pathological findings of whole-gland specimens have the potential to determine the role of this biopsy methodology in patients selected for focal therapy and those under active surveillance. © 2014 The Japanese Urological Association.

Bacterial DNA detected on pathologically changed heart valves using 16S rRNA gene amplification.

PubMed

Chalupova, Miroslava; Skalova, Anna; Hajek, Tomas; Geigerova, Lenka; Kralova, Dana; Liska, Pavel; Hecova, Hana; Molacek, Jiri; Hrabak, Jaroslav

2018-05-22

Nowadays, dental diseases are one of the most common illnesses in the world. Some of them can lead to translocation of oral bacteria to the bloodstream causing intermittent bacteraemia. Therefore, a potential association between oral infection and cardiovascular diseases has been discussed in recent years as a result of adhesion of oral microbes to the heart valves. The aim of this study was to detect oral bacteria on pathologically changed heart valves not caused by infective endocarditis. In the study, patients with pathologically changed heart valves were involved. Samples of heart valves removed during heart valve replacement surgery were cut into two parts. One aliquot was cultivated aerobically and anaerobically. Bacterial DNA was extracted using Ultra-Deep Microbiome Prep (Molzym GmbH, Bremen, Germany) followed by a 16S rRNA gene PCR amplification using Mastermix 16S Complete kit (Molzym GmbH, Bremen, Germany). Positive PCR products were sequenced and the sequences were analyzed using BLAST database ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih/BLAST ). During the study period, 41 samples were processed. Bacterial DNA of the following bacteria was detected in 21 samples: Cutibacterium acnes (formerly Propionibacterium acnes) (n = 11; 52.38% of patients with positive bacterial DNA detection), Staphylococcus sp. (n = 9; 42.86%), Streptococcus sp. (n = 1; 4.76%), Streptococcus sanguinis (n = 4; 19.05%), Streptococcus oralis (n = 1; 4.76%), Carnobacterium sp. (n = 1; 4.76%), Bacillus sp. (n = 2; 9.52%), and Bergeyella sp. (n = 1; 4.76%). In nine samples, multiple bacteria were found. Our results showed significant appearance of bacteria on pathologically changed heart valves in patients with no symptoms of infective endocarditis.

A Tissue Systems Pathology Test Detects Abnormalities Associated with Prevalent High-Grade Dysplasia and Esophageal Cancer in Barrett's Esophagus.

PubMed

Critchley-Thorne, Rebecca J; Davison, Jon M; Prichard, Jeffrey W; Reese, Lia M; Zhang, Yi; Repa, Kathleen; Li, Jinhong; Diehl, David L; Jhala, Nirag C; Ginsberg, Gregory G; DeMarshall, Maureen; Foxwell, Tyler; Jobe, Blair A; Zaidi, Ali H; Duits, Lucas C; Bergman, Jacques J G H M; Rustgi, Anil; Falk, Gary W

2017-02-01

There is a need for improved tools to detect high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) in patients with Barrett's esophagus. In previous work, we demonstrated that a 3-tier classifier predicted risk of incident progression in Barrett's esophagus. Our aim was to determine whether this risk classifier could detect a field effect in nondysplastic (ND), indefinite for dysplasia (IND), or low-grade dysplasia (LGD) biopsies from Barrett's esophagus patients with prevalent HGD/EAC. We performed a multi-institutional case-control study to evaluate a previously developed risk classifier that is based upon quantitative image features derived from 9 biomarkers and morphology, and predicts risk for HGD/EAC in Barrett's esophagus patients. The risk classifier was evaluated in ND, IND, and LGD biopsies from Barrett's esophagus patients diagnosed with HGD/EAC on repeat endoscopy (prevalent cases, n = 30, median time to HGD/EAC diagnosis 140.5 days) and nonprogressors (controls, n = 145, median HGD/EAC-free surveillance time 2,015 days). The risk classifier stratified prevalent cases and non-progressor patients into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk classes [OR, 46.0; 95% confidence interval, 14.86-169 (high-risk vs. low-risk); P < 0.0001]. The classifier also provided independent prognostic information that outperformed the subspecialist and generalist diagnosis. A tissue systems pathology test better predicts prevalent HGD/EAC in Barrett's esophagus patients than pathologic variables. The results indicate that molecular and cellular changes associated with malignant transformation in Barrett's esophagus may be detectable as a field effect using the test. A tissue systems pathology test may provide an objective method to facilitate earlier identification of Barrett's esophagus patients requiring therapeutic intervention. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(2); 240-8. ©2016 AACR. ©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.

Withdrawal times and associated factors in colonoscopy: a quality assurance multicenter assessment.

PubMed

Overholt, Bergein F; Brooks-Belli, Linda; Grace, Michael; Rankin, Kristin; Harrell, Royce; Turyk, Mary; Rosenberg, Fred B; Barish, Robert W; Gilinsky, Norman H

2010-04-01

To evaluate the use and impact of the recommended withdrawal time of at least 6 minutes from the cecum in colonoscopy in multiple gastroenterology endoscopy ambulatory surgery centers serving a wide geographical area. An observational prospective multicenter quality assurance review was conducted in 49 ambulatory surgery centers in 17 states with 315 gastroenterologists. There was no intervention with this quality assessment program as care of patients and the routine of gastroenterologists continued as standard practice. Multivariable analysis was applied to the database to examine factors affecting withdrawal time and polyp detection. There were 15,955 consecutive qualified patients receiving colonoscopies in a designated 4-week period. Gastroenterologists with average withdrawal times of 6 minutes or more in patients with no polyps were 1.8 times more likely to detect 1 or more polyps and had a significantly higher rate (P<0.0001) of polyp detection in patients with findings of polyps compared to gastroenterologists with average withdrawal times of less than 6 minutes in patients with no polyps. For patients with no pathology, the mean time of withdrawal was 6.98 (SD=4.34) minutes and for patients with pathology mean time of withdrawal was 11.27 (SD=6.71) minutes. Strongest predictors of withdrawal time of 6 minutes or more were presence of carcinoma (3.7 times more likely than those with no pathology), adenoma (2.0 times more likely than those with no pathology), and number of polyps visualized (1.7 times more likely for each polyp). This quality assurance assessment from standard colonoscopy practices of 315 gastroenterologists in 49 endoscopic ambulatory surgery centers serving a wide geographical area provides support for the merits of a colonoscopy withdrawal time from the cecum of 6 minutes or more to improve the detection of polyps.

Wireless system for long-term EEG monitoring of absence epilepsy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitchurch, Ashwin K.; Ashok, B. H.; Kumaar, R. V.; Saurkesi, K.; Varadan, Vijay K.

2002-11-01

Absence epilepsy is a form of epilepsy common mostly in children. The most common manifestations of Absence epilepsy are staring and transient loss of responsiveness. Also, subtle motor activities may occur. Due to the subtle nature of these symptoms, episodes of absence epilepsy may often go unrecognized for long periods of time or be mistakenly attributed to attention deficit disorder or daydreaming. Spells of absence epilepsy may last about 10 seconds and occur hundreds of times each day. Patients have no recollections of the events that occurred during those seizures and will resume normal activity without any postictal symptoms. The EEG during such episodes of Absence epilepsy shows intermittent activity of 3 Hz generalized spike and wave complexes. As EEG is the only way of detecting such symptoms, it is required to monitor the EEG of the patient for a long time and thus remain only in bed. So, effectively the EEG is being monitored only when the patient is stationary. The wireless monitoring sys tem described in this paper aims at eliminating this constraint and enables the physicial to monitor the EEG when the patient resumes his normal activities. This approach could even help the doctor identify possible triggers of absence epilepsy.

The Mechanism of Speech Processing in Congenital Amusia: Evidence from Mandarin Speakers

PubMed Central

Liu, Fang; Jiang, Cunmei; Thompson, William Forde; Xu, Yi; Yang, Yufang; Stewart, Lauren

2012-01-01

Congenital amusia is a neuro-developmental disorder of pitch perception that causes severe problems with music processing but only subtle difficulties in speech processing. This study investigated speech processing in a group of Mandarin speakers with congenital amusia. Thirteen Mandarin amusics and thirteen matched controls participated in a set of tone and intonation perception tasks and two pitch threshold tasks. Compared with controls, amusics showed impaired performance on word discrimination in natural speech and their gliding tone analogs. They also performed worse than controls on discriminating gliding tone sequences derived from statements and questions, and showed elevated thresholds for pitch change detection and pitch direction discrimination. However, they performed as well as controls on word identification, and on statement-question identification and discrimination in natural speech. Overall, tasks that involved multiple acoustic cues to communicative meaning were not impacted by amusia. Only when the tasks relied mainly on pitch sensitivity did amusics show impaired performance compared to controls. These findings help explain why amusia only affects speech processing in subtle ways. Further studies on a larger sample of Mandarin amusics and on amusics of other language backgrounds are needed to consolidate these results. PMID:22347374

The mechanism of speech processing in congenital amusia: evidence from Mandarin speakers.

PubMed

Liu, Fang; Jiang, Cunmei; Thompson, William Forde; Xu, Yi; Yang, Yufang; Stewart, Lauren

2012-01-01

Congenital amusia is a neuro-developmental disorder of pitch perception that causes severe problems with music processing but only subtle difficulties in speech processing. This study investigated speech processing in a group of Mandarin speakers with congenital amusia. Thirteen Mandarin amusics and thirteen matched controls participated in a set of tone and intonation perception tasks and two pitch threshold tasks. Compared with controls, amusics showed impaired performance on word discrimination in natural speech and their gliding tone analogs. They also performed worse than controls on discriminating gliding tone sequences derived from statements and questions, and showed elevated thresholds for pitch change detection and pitch direction discrimination. However, they performed as well as controls on word identification, and on statement-question identification and discrimination in natural speech. Overall, tasks that involved multiple acoustic cues to communicative meaning were not impacted by amusia. Only when the tasks relied mainly on pitch sensitivity did amusics show impaired performance compared to controls. These findings help explain why amusia only affects speech processing in subtle ways. Further studies on a larger sample of Mandarin amusics and on amusics of other language backgrounds are needed to consolidate these results.

The Past, Present, and Future of Image-Enhanced Endoscopy

PubMed Central

Jang, Jae-Young

2015-01-01

Despite the remarkable progress recently made to enhance the resolution of white-light endoscopy, detection, and diagnosis of premalignant lesions, such as adenomas and subtle early-stage cancers, remains a great challenge. As for example, although chromoendoscopy, such as endoscopy using indigo carmine, is useful for the early diagnosis of subtle lesions, the technique presents various disadvantages ranging from the time required for spray application of the dye and suctioning of excess dye to the increased difficulty in identifying lesions in the presence of severe inflammation and obstruction of visual field due to the pooling of solution in depressed-type lesions. To overcome these diagnostic problems associated with chromoendoscopy, research has focused on the development of endoscopes based on new optical technologies. Several types of image-enhanced endoscopy methods have recently been presented. In particular, image-enhanced endoscopy has emerged as a new paradigm for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal disorders. Image-enhanced endoscopes provide high-contrast images of lesions by means of optical or electronic technologies, including the contrast enhancement of the mucosal surface and of blood vessels. Chromoendoscopy, narrow-band imaging, i-SCAN, and flexible spectral imaging color enhancement are representative examples of image-enhanced endoscopy discussed in this paper. PMID:26668791

Rapid detection of pathological mutations and deletions of the haemoglobin beta gene (HBB) by High Resolution Melting (HRM) analysis and Gene Ratio Analysis Copy Enumeration PCR (GRACE-PCR).

PubMed

Turner, Andrew; Sasse, Jurgen; Varadi, Aniko

2016-10-19

Inherited disorders of haemoglobin are the world's most common genetic diseases, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. The large number of mutations associated with the haemoglobin beta gene (HBB) makes gene scanning by High Resolution Melting (HRM) PCR an attractive diagnostic approach. However, existing HRM-PCR assays are not able to detect all common point mutations and have only a very limited ability to detect larger gene rearrangements. The aim of the current study was to develop a HBB assay, which can be used as a screening test in highly heterogeneous populations, for detection of both point mutations and larger gene rearrangements. The assay is based on a combination of conventional HRM-PCR and a novel Gene Ratio Analysis Copy Enumeration (GRACE) PCR method. HRM-PCR was extensively optimised, which included the use of an unlabelled probe and incorporation of universal bases into primers to prevent interference from common non-pathological polymorphisms. GRACE-PCR was employed to determine HBB gene copy numbers relative to a reference gene using melt curve analysis to detect rearrangements in the HBB gene. The performance of the assay was evaluated by analysing 410 samples. A total of 44 distinct pathological genotypes were detected. In comparison with reference methods, the assay has a sensitivity of 100 % and a specificity of 98 %. We have developed an assay that detects both point mutations and larger rearrangements of the HBB gene. This assay is quick, sensitive, specific and cost effective making it suitable as an initial screening test that can be used for highly heterogeneous cohorts.

Quantum computing. Defining and detecting quantum speedup.

PubMed

Rønnow, Troels F; Wang, Zhihui; Job, Joshua; Boixo, Sergio; Isakov, Sergei V; Wecker, David; Martinis, John M; Lidar, Daniel A; Troyer, Matthias

2014-07-25

The development of small-scale quantum devices raises the question of how to fairly assess and detect quantum speedup. Here, we show how to define and measure quantum speedup and how to avoid pitfalls that might mask or fake such a speedup. We illustrate our discussion with data from tests run on a D-Wave Two device with up to 503 qubits. By using random spin glass instances as a benchmark, we found no evidence of quantum speedup when the entire data set is considered and obtained inconclusive results when comparing subsets of instances on an instance-by-instance basis. Our results do not rule out the possibility of speedup for other classes of problems and illustrate the subtle nature of the quantum speedup question. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The Effect Of Pixel Size On The Detection Rate Of Early Pulmonary Sarcoidosis In Digital Chest Radiographic Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacMahon, Heber; Vyborny, Carl; Powell, Gregory; Doi, Kunio; Metz, Charles E.

1984-08-01

In digital radiography the pixel size used determines the potential spatial resolution of the system. The need for spatial resolution varies depending on the subject matter imaged. In many areas, including the chest, the minimum spatial resolution requirements have not been determined. Sarcoidosis is a disease which frequently causes subtle interstitial infiltrates in the lungs. As the initial step in an investigation designed to determine the minimum pixel size required in digital chest radiographic systems, we have studied 1 mm pixel digitized images on patients with early pulmonary sarcoidosis. The results of this preliminary study suggest that neither mild interstitial pulmonary infiltrates nor other abnormalities such as pneumothoraces may be detected reliably with 1 mm pixel digital images.

Prospective Evaluation of PI-RADS™ Version 2 Using the International Society of Urological Pathology Prostate Cancer Grade Group System.

PubMed

Mehralivand, Sherif; Bednarova, Sandra; Shih, Joanna H; Mertan, Francesca V; Gaur, Sonia; Merino, Maria J; Wood, Bradford J; Pinto, Peter A; Choyke, Peter L; Turkbey, Baris

2017-09-01

The PI-RADS™ (Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System), version 2 scoring system, introduced in 2015, is based on expert consensus. In the same time frame ISUP (International Society of Urological Pathology) introduced a new pathological scoring system for prostate cancer. Our goal was to prospectively evaluate the cancer detection rates for each PI-RADS, version 2 category and compare them to ISUP group scores in patients undergoing systematic biopsy and magnetic resonance imaging-transrectal ultrasound fusion guided biopsy. A total of 339 treatment naïve patients prospectively underwent multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging evaluated with PI-RADS, version 2 with subsequent systematic and fusion guided biopsy from May 2015 to May 2016. ISUP scores were applied to pathological specimens. An ISUP score of 2 or greater (ie Gleason 3 + 4 or greater) was defined as clinically significant prostate cancer. Cancer detection rates were determined for each PI-RADS, version 2 category as well as for the T2 weighted PI-RADS, version 2 categories in the peripheral zone. The cancer detection rate for PI-RADS, version 2 categories 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 was 25%, 20.2%, 24.8%, 39.1% and 86.9% for all prostate cancer, and 0%, 9.6%, 12%, 22.1% and 72.4% for clinically significant prostate cancer, respectively. On T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging the cancer detection rate in the peripheral zone was significantly higher for PI-RADS, version 2 category 4 than for overall PI-RADS, version 2 category 4 in the peripheral zone (all prostate cancer 36.6% vs 48.1%, p = 0.001, and clinically significant prostate cancer 22.9% vs 32.6%, p = 0.002). The cancer detection rate increases with higher PI-RADS, version 2 categories. Copyright © 2017 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Brain structural changes and their correlation with vascular disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: a voxel-based morphometric study.

PubMed

Wang, Chunxia; Fu, Kailiang; Liu, Huaijun; Xing, Fei; Zhang, Songyun

2014-08-15

Voxel-based morphometry has been used in the study of alterations in brain structure in type 1 diabetes mellitus patients. These changes are associated with clinical indices. The age at onset, pathogenesis, and treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus are different from those for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Thus, type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus may have different impacts on brain structure. Only a few studies of the alterations in brain structure in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients using voxel-based morphometry have been conducted, with inconsistent results. We detected subtle changes in the brain structure of 23 cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and demonstrated that there was no significant difference between the total volume of gray and white matter of the brain of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and that in controls. Regional atrophy of gray matter mainly occurred in the right temporal and left occipital cortex, while regional atrophy of white matter involved the right temporal lobe and the right cerebellar hemisphere. The ankle-brachial index in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus strongly correlated with the volume of brain regions in the default mode network. The ankle-brachial index, followed by the level of glycosylated hemoglobin, most strongly correlated with the volume of gray matter in the right temporal lobe. These data suggest that voxel-based morphometry could detect small structural changes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Early macrovascular atherosclerosis may play a crucial role in subtle brain atrophy in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, with chronic hyperglycemia playing a lesser role.

Environmental factors associated with a spectrum of neurodevelopmental deficits.

PubMed

Mendola, Pauline; Selevan, Sherry G; Gutter, Suzanne; Rice, Deborah

2002-01-01

A number of environmental agents have been shown to demonstrate neurotoxic effects either in human or laboratory animal studies. Critical windows of vulnerability to the effects of these agents occur both pre- and postnatally. The nervous system is relatively unique in that different parts are responsible for different functional domains, and these develop at different times (e.g., motor control, sensory, intelligence and attention). In addition, the many cell types in the brain have different windows of vulnerability with varying sensitivities to environmental agents. This review focuses on two environmental agents, lead and methylmercury, to illustrate the neurobehavioral and cognitive effects that can result from early life exposures. Special attention is paid to distinguishing between the effects detected following episodes of poisoning and those detected following lower dose exposures. Perinatal and childhood exposure to high doses of lead results in encephalopathy and convulsions. Lower-dose lead exposures have been associated with impairment in intellectual function and attention. At high levels of prenatal exposure, methylmercury produces mental retardation, cerebral palsy and visual and auditory deficits in children of exposed mothers. At lower levels of methylmercury exposure, the effects in children have been more subtle. Other environmental neurotoxicants that have been shown to produce developmental neurotoxicity include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, pesticides, ionizing radiation, environmental tobacco smoke, and maternal use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and cocaine. Exposure to environmental agents with neurotoxic effects can result in a spectrum of adverse outcomes from severe mental retardation and disability to more subtle changes in function depending on the timing and dose of the chemical agent. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Memory, executive, and multidomain subtle cognitive impairment: clinical and biomarker findings.

PubMed

Toledo, Jon B; Bjerke, Maria; Chen, Kewei; Rozycki, Martin; Jack, Clifford R; Weiner, Michael W; Arnold, Steven E; Reiman, Eric M; Davatzikos, Christos; Shaw, Leslie M; Trojanowski, John Q

2015-07-14

We studied the biomarker signatures and prognoses of 3 different subtle cognitive impairment (SCI) groups (executive, memory, and multidomain) as well as the subjective memory complaints (SMC) group. We studied 522 healthy controls in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Cutoffs for executive, memory, and multidomain SCI were defined using participants who remained cognitively normal (CN) for 7 years. CSF Alzheimer disease (AD) biomarkers, composite and region-of-interest (ROI) MRI, and fluorodeoxyglucose-PET measures were compared in these participants. Using a stringent cutoff (fifth percentile), 27.6% of the ADNI participants were classified as SCI. Most single ROI or global-based measures were not sensitive to detect differences between groups. Only MRI-SPARE-AD (Spatial Pattern of Abnormalities for Recognition of Early AD), a quantitative MRI pattern-based global index, showed differences between all groups, excluding the executive SCI group. Atrophy patterns differed in memory SCI and SMC. The CN and the SMC groups presented a similar distribution of preclinical dementia stages. Fifty percent of the participants with executive, memory, and multidomain SCI progressed to mild cognitive impairment or dementia at 7, 5, and 2 years, respectively. Our results indicate that (1) the different SCI categories have different clinical prognoses and biomarker signatures, (2) longitudinally followed CN subjects are needed to establish clinical cutoffs, (3) subjects with SMC show a frontal pattern of brain atrophy, and (4) pattern-based analyses outperform commonly used single ROI-based neuroimaging biomarkers and are needed to detect initial stages of cognitive impairment. © 2015 American Academy of Neurology.

Accuracy of vision technicians in screening ocular pathology at rural vision centres of southern India.

PubMed

Suram, Vasantha; Addepalli, Uday Kumar; Krishnaiah, Sannapaneni; Kovai, Vilas; Khanna, Rohit C

2016-03-01

There is paucity of data on the inter-observer agreement and diagnostic accuracy between a primary-care technician (vision technician) and an ophthalmologist. Hence, the current study was conducted to assess the accuracy of vision technicians, to screen potentially sight-threatening ocular conditions at rural vision centres of southern India and their agreement with an ophthalmologist. In July to August 2010, patients presenting to seven vision centres in Adilabad district (Andhra Pradesh) were selected and screened in a masked manner by seven vision technicians followed by an examination by a consultant ophthalmologist. Agreement was assessed between vision technicians and the ophthalmologist for screening of potential sight-threatening ocular conditions and decisions for referral. The ophthalmologist's findings were considered as the reference standard. Two hundred and seventy-nine patients were enrolled at seven vision centres with a mean age of 32.9 ± 21.8 years. Agreement for screening of ocular pathology was 0.82 (95 per cent CI, 0.8-0.83). There was excellent agreement for cataract (0.97; 95 per cent CI, 0.93-1), refractive error (0.98; 95 per cent CI, 0.96-1), corneal pathology (1.0; 95 per cent CI, 1.0-1.0) and other anterior segment pathology (0.95; 95 per cent CI, 0.9-1); the agreement was moderate to fair for detection of glaucoma suspects (0.43; 95 per cent CI, 0.28-0.60) and retinal pathology (0.39; 95 per cent CI, 0.14-0.63). Sensitivity for screening of anterior segment pathology was 94.6-100 per cent. There was a fair to moderate sensitivity for glaucoma suspect; 35.6 per cent (95 per cent CI, 21.9-51.2) and retinal pathology 26.3 per cent (95 per cent CI, 9.2-51.2). Specificity for screening of ocular pathology was 98.2 to 100 per cent. The kappa (κ) agreement for referral for any pathology was 0.82 (0.8-0.83) CONCLUSION: As there is good agreement between the vision technicians and the ophthalmologist for screening and referral of anterior segment pathology but moderate to fair for glaucoma suspects and retinal pathology, vision technicians would be a good resource at the primary level to screen for anterior segment pathology; however, they may need further training to detect posterior segment pathology. © 2016 Optometry Australia.

A pathological study of the tongues of rabid dogs in the Philippines.

PubMed

Shiwa, Nozomi; Kimitsuki, Kazunori; Manalo, Daria Llenaresas; Inoue, Satoshi; Park, Chun-Ho

2018-06-01

During rabies virus infections, the minor salivary glands are one of the important organs for virus replication and excretion into the oral cavity. However, details of pathological findings and viral antigen distribution in the minor salivary glands remain poorly understood. In this study, we conducted pathological tests on the tongues of 71 rabid dogs in the Philippines; the minor salivary glands (von Ebner's glands, lingual glands), circumvallate papilla, autonomic ganglia, and skeletal muscles were evaluated. Inflammatory changes were observed in the von Ebner's glands of 20/71 dogs, in the circumvallate papilla of 10/71, and in the tongue muscle of 1/71. Conversely, no morphological changes were observed in the lingual glands and autonomic ganglia. Viral antigens were detected via immunohistochemistry-based methods in the cytoplasm of the acinar epithelium in the von Ebner's glands of all 71 dogs. Virus particles were confirmed in the intercellular canaliculi and acinar lumen via electron microscopy. In the autonomic ganglia, viral antigens were detected in 67/71 rabid dogs. Viral antigens were detected in the taste buds of all 71 dogs, and were distributed mainly in type II and III taste bud cells. In tongue muscle fibers, viral antigens were detected in 11/71 dogs. No virus antigens were detected in lingual glands. These findings suggest that rabies virus descends in the tongue along the glossopharyngeal nerve after proliferation in the brain, and von Ebner's glands and taste buds are one of the portals of virus excretion into the saliva in rabid dogs.

Assessment of Renal Pathological Changes in Lupus Nephritis Using Diffusion Weighted Imaging: A Multiple Correspondence Analysis.

PubMed

Zheng, Zhenfeng; Yan, Tiekun; Jia, Junya; Li, Dong; Wei, Li; Shang, Wenya; Zheng, Zhenfeng

2018-05-30

Renal pathological changes affect the motion of water molecules, which can be detected using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). The current study was performed to explore the correlation between renal tissue pathological injuries and DWI iconographical parameters in lupus nephritis (LN). Twenty adult patients with LN and 11 healthy volunteers were recruited. Patients with LN received renal biopsies and renal DWI-MRI inspections. The renal biopsy tissues were characterized based on the ISN/RPS 2003 classification. The volunteers, who were of comparable gender and age, only underwent renal DWI-MRI inspection. Four DWI parameters, namely, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), pure diffusion coefficient (Dt), pseudo-diffusion coefficient (Dp), and perfusion fraction (fp), were calculated using monoexponential and biexponential functions, respectively. Data from different renal areas and pathological pattern groups were compared. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) was performed to explore the correlation between each DWI index and multiple pathological features. ADC, Dt, and fp values were lower in the LN group compared to the controls (P < 0.001) regardless of the renal area in the cortex and medulla. Dp values were higher in the LN group (P = 0.004). A difference in mean DWI parameters was found between three LN subgroups and the healthy volunteers, with the exception of the Dp index in the renal cortex. MCA showed that serious proliferative pathological injuries and lower ADC and Dt values were located in the same quadrant. The MCA plots of Dp and fp provided similar results. Higher Dp and fp values were located in the MCA plot quadrant with more serious proliferative pathological changes. DWI is a noninvasive technique that may be used to detect renal pathophysiological changes. Renal cell proliferation and intestinal fibrosis may impact the movement of water in certain microenvironments. Enhanced perfusion may be a compensatory mechanism that is associated with renal pathological injuries. © 2018 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

Improving patient safety through quality assurance.

PubMed

Raab, Stephen S

2006-05-01

Anatomic pathology laboratories use several quality assurance tools to detect errors and to improve patient safety. To review some of the anatomic pathology laboratory patient safety quality assurance practices. Different standards and measures in anatomic pathology quality assurance and patient safety were reviewed. Frequency of anatomic pathology laboratory error, variability in the use of specific quality assurance practices, and use of data for error reduction initiatives. Anatomic pathology error frequencies vary according to the detection method used. Based on secondary review, a College of American Pathologists Q-Probes study showed that the mean laboratory error frequency was 6.7%. A College of American Pathologists Q-Tracks study measuring frozen section discrepancy found that laboratories improved the longer they monitored and shared data. There is a lack of standardization across laboratories even for governmentally mandated quality assurance practices, such as cytologic-histologic correlation. The National Institutes of Health funded a consortium of laboratories to benchmark laboratory error frequencies, perform root cause analysis, and design error reduction initiatives, using quality assurance data. Based on the cytologic-histologic correlation process, these laboratories found an aggregate nongynecologic error frequency of 10.8%. Based on gynecologic error data, the laboratory at my institution used Toyota production system processes to lower gynecologic error frequencies and to improve Papanicolaou test metrics. Laboratory quality assurance practices have been used to track error rates, and laboratories are starting to use these data for error reduction initiatives.

Investigating Subtle Colors on Iapetus

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-04-06

NASA Cassini spacecraft stared toward Saturn two-toned moon Iapetus for about a week in early 2015, in a campaign motivated in part to investigate subtle color differences within the moon bright terrain.

Pathologic Findings of Breast Lesions Detected on Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

PubMed

Jabbar, Seema B; Lynch, Beverly; Seiler, Stephen; Hwang, Helena; Sahoo, Sunati

2017-11-01

- Breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is now used routinely for high-risk screening and in the evaluation of the extent of disease in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. Morphologic characteristics and the kinetic pattern largely determine how suspicious a breast lesion is on MRI. Because of its high sensitivity, MRI identifies a large number of suspicious lesions. However, the low to moderate specificity and the additional cost have raised questions regarding its frequent use. - To identify the pathologic entities that frequently present as suspicious enhancing lesions and to identify specific MRI characteristics that may be predictive of malignancy. - One hundred seventy-seven MRI-guided biopsies from 152 patients were included in the study. The indication for MRI, MRI features, pathologic findings, and patient demographics were recorded. The MRI findings and the pathology slides were reviewed by a dedicated breast radiologist and breast pathologists. - Seventy-one percent (126 of 177) of MRI-guided breast biopsies were benign, 11% (20 of 177) showed epithelial atypia, and 18% (31 of 177) showed malignancy. The vast majority (84%; 62 of 74) of MRI lesions with persistent kinetics were benign. However, 57% (17 of 30) of lesions with washout kinetics and 65% (62 of 95) of mass lesions were also benign. - Magnetic resonance imaging detects malignancies undetected by other imaging modalities but also detects a wide variety of benign lesions. Benign and malignant lesions identified by MRI share similar morphologic and kinetic features, necessitating biopsy for histologic confirmation.

PathBot: A Radiology-Pathology Correlation Dashboard.

PubMed

Kelahan, Linda C; Kalaria, Amit D; Filice, Ross W

2017-12-01

Pathology is considered the "gold standard" of diagnostic medicine. The importance of radiology-pathology correlation is seen in interdepartmental patient conferences such as "tumor boards" and by the tradition of radiology resident immersion in a radiologic-pathology course at the American Institute of Radiologic Pathology. In practice, consistent pathology follow-up can be difficult due to time constraints and cumbersome electronic medical records. We present a radiology-pathology correlation dashboard that presents radiologists with pathology reports matched to their dictations, for both diagnostic imaging and image-guided procedures. In creating our dashboard, we utilized the RadLex ontology and National Center for Biomedical Ontology (NCBO) Annotator to identify anatomic concepts in pathology reports that could subsequently be mapped to relevant radiology reports, providing an automated method to match related radiology and pathology reports. Radiology-pathology matches are presented to the radiologist on a web-based dashboard. We found that our algorithm was highly specific in detecting matches. Our sensitivity was slightly lower than expected and could be attributed to missing anatomy concepts in the RadLex ontology, as well as limitations in our parent term hierarchical mapping and synonym recognition algorithms. By automating radiology-pathology correlation and presenting matches in a user-friendly dashboard format, we hope to encourage pathology follow-up in clinical radiology practice for purposes of self-education and to augment peer review. We also hope to provide a tool to facilitate the production of quality teaching files, lectures, and publications. Diagnostic images have a richer educational value when they are backed up by the gold standard of pathology.

A computer-aided diagnosis system to detect pathologies in temporal subtraction images of chest radiographs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Looper, Jared; Harrison, Melanie; Armato, Samuel G.

2016-03-01

Radiologists often compare sequential radiographs to identify areas of pathologic change; however, this process is prone to error, as human anatomy can obscure the regions of change, causing the radiologists to overlook pathology. Temporal subtraction (TS) images can provide enhanced visualization of regions of change in sequential radiographs and allow radiologists to better detect areas of change in radiographs. Not all areas of change shown in TS images, however, are actual pathology. The purpose of this study was to create a computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) system that identifies which regions of change are caused by pathology and which are caused by misregistration of the radiographs used to create the TS image. The dataset used in this study contained 120 images with 74 pathologic regions on 54 images outlined by an experienced radiologist. High and low ("light" and "dark") gray-level candidate regions were extracted from the images using gray-level thresholding. Then, sampling techniques were used to address the class imbalance problem between "true" and "false" candidate regions. Next, the datasets of light candidate regions, dark candidate regions, and the combined set of light and dark candidate regions were used as training and testing data for classifiers by using five-fold cross validation. Of the classifiers tested (support vector machines, discriminant analyses, logistic regression, and k-nearest neighbors), the support vector machine on the combined candidates using synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) performed best with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve value of 0.85, a sensitivity of 85%, and a specificity of 84%.

Forensic molecular pathology: its impacts on routine work, education and training.

PubMed

Maeda, Hitoshi; Ishikawa, Takaki; Michiue, Tomomi

2014-03-01

The major role of forensic pathology is the investigation of human death in relevance to social risk management to determine the cause and process of death, especially in violent and unexpected sudden deaths, which involve social and medicolegal issues of ultimate, personal and public concerns. In addition to the identification of victims and biological materials, forensic molecular pathology contributes to general explanation of the human death process and assessment of individual death on the basis of biological molecular evidence, visualizing dynamic functional changes involved in the dying process that cannot be detected by morphology (pathophysiological or molecular biological vital reactions); the genetic background (genomics), dynamics of gene expression (up-/down-regulation: transcriptomics) and vital phenomena, involving activated biological mediators and degenerative products (proteomics) as well as metabolic deterioration (metabolomics), are detected by DNA analysis, relative quantification of mRNA transcripts using real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), and immunohisto-/immunocytochemistry combined with biochemistry, respectively. Thus, forensic molecular pathology involves the application of omic medical sciences to investigate the genetic basis, and cause and process of death at the biological molecular level in the context of forensic pathology, that is, 'advanced molecular autopsy'. These procedures can be incorporated into routine death investigations as well as guidance, education and training programs in forensic pathology for 'dynamic assessment of the cause and process of death' on the basis of autopsy and laboratory data. Postmortem human data can also contribute to understanding patients' critical conditions in clinical management. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

In Vivo Imaging of Cortical Inflammation and Subpial Pathology in Multiple Sclerosis by Combined PET and MRI

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-01

and Subpial Pathology in Multiple Sclerosis by Combined PET and MRI PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Caterina Mainero...studies in multiple sclerosis (MS) suggested that cortical demyelinating lesions, which are hardly detected in vivo on conventional magnetic resonance...disease progression in many MS cases. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Multiple sclerosis ; cortex; cortical sulci; neuroinflammation; microglia; cortical

Application of nanophotosensitizers (aluminum phthalocyanine nanoparticles) for early diagnosis and prevention of inflammatory diseases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsova, J. O.; Makarov, V. I.

2016-08-01

This paper deals with a possibility of new types of photosensitizers application - Aluminum Phthalocyanine nanoparticles (nAlPc) in clinical practice for diagnosis, prevention and therapy of inflammatory diseases in dentistry and traumatology. It was detected that the aluminum phthalocyanine (AlPc) fluoresces in the nanoparticle form in the presence of pathologic microflora or inflammation process. It will make possible to detect the local accumulation of pathological microflora on the enamel surface and also for diagnostics and treatment of inflammatory diseases. Experimental studies of interaction of NP-AlPc with tooth enamel and with biological joint tissue at arthrosis are presented.

Screening and referral of oral mucosal pathology: a check-up of Australian dentists.

PubMed

Allen, K; Farah, C S

2015-03-01

Oral squamous cell carcinomas and potentially malignant oral disorders can be detected early by visually inspecting the oral soft tissues. This study aimed to determine Australian dentists' opinions and practices regarding oral mucosal screening, referral and oral cancer prevention. Nine hundred and ninety-nine randomly selected general dentists were mailed a questionnaire. The questionnaire queried practitioners' opinions and perceptions of oral mucosal screening, their referral practices and their beliefs regarding detection and prevention of oral cancer. A total of n=640 individuals responded, yielding a response rate of 70.2%. Most Australian dentists reported to routinely perform oral mucosal screening. Lack of training, confidence, time and financial incentives were seen as barriers to performing mucosal screening to at least some degree by participants in this study. Most dentists manage referrals for oral mucosal pathology appropriately; however, only about half believe in following up with referred patients. Only half of dentists surveyed believed that they could influence a patient to quit smoking. Australian dentists place importance on oral mucosal screening. Some changes to dental education and training could be made to further improve confidence and ability of dentists in detecting and referring oral mucosal pathology. © 2015 Australian Dental Association.