Computer-aided three-dimensional reconstructions of the arrangement of primary spermatocytes in human seminiferous tubules

Summary With the use of a digital image-processing method three-dimensional reconstructions of the arrangement of spermatocytes in human seminiferous tubules were performed. With this method it was possible to investigate the cellular distribution in the tubule in nearly any given perspective and projection. In addition, by means of simple mathematical procedures, such as by transformation of Cartesian coordinates into cylindrical coordinates, it was possible to vary the shape of a reconstruction, i.e., to convert the cylindrical image of a tubular portion into a right-angled r--z-representation.The present work not only confirms the existence of a complex helical plan of organization of the human seminiferous epithelium but also provides further aspects of the phenomenon of physiological germ-cell loss and its integration into the kinetics of spermatogenesis.Dedicated to Prof. E.C. Roosen-Runge, Seattle, on the occasion of his 75th birthday     

Decreased plasma nesfatin-1 levels in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Nesfatin-1 is a novel anorexigenic hormone which has close relationship with diabetes, obese, anorexia nervosa, psychiatric disorders and neurogenic diseases. The aim of our study was to evaluate levels of plasma nesfatin-1 among patients presenting with coronary artery disease and the correlation between nesfatin-1 levels and other clinical parameters. Fasting plasma levels of nesfatin-1 were tested in 48 acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients, 74 stable angina pectoris (SAP) patients and 34 control subjects. All of them were examined by coronary angiography. The severity of coronary atherosclerosis was assessed using the Gensini score. Plasma nesfatin-1 levels were significantly lower in AMI group than SAP group or control group (0.91 ± 0.08 ng/mL vs. 0.98 ± 0.19 ng/mL and 1.09 ± 0.39 ng/mL, respectively, P < 0.05). In AMI patients, plasma nesfatin-1 levels were negatively correlated with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, neutrophil% or Gensini scores. Such information implies that lower nesfatin-1 concentration may play a very important role in the development of AMI.     

Performances de la scintigraphie parathyroïdienne au 99mTc-Sestamibi dans l’hyperparathyroïdie secondaire (à propos de 20 cas)

Aim of the studyTo evaluate the performance of the ^99mTc-Sestamibi parathyroid scintigraphy and to compare it with the performance of cervical ultrasonography in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism who are candidates for parathyroidectomy.Patients and methodsWe performed a retrospective study including 20 patients with severe secondary hyperparathyroidism who underwent parathyroid scintigraphy in the nuclear medicine department of Sfax, during the period between January 2009 and June 2012. Our two days protocol included dual-phase, MIBI/Tc subtraction and single photon emission photons (SPECT) techniques. We analyzed the results obtained from each technique alone, then from combinations thereof. For all patients, we have collected the surgical and histopathological data as well cervical ultrasound if available.ResultsThe subtraction technique was the best performing with a sensitivity of 47% and an accuracy of 55%. The combination of subtraction scintigraphy and SPECT has improved the sensitivity to 53%and accuracy to 57%. The combined lecture of ultrasound and scintigraphy has given the best performance with a sensitivity of 58%, a specificity of 83% and an accuracy of 66%.ConclusionParathyroid scintigraphy combining subtraction and SPECT showed better reliability. The coupling with ultrasound is essential to improve results. The poor performance of scintigraphy in secondary hyperparathyroidism implies that it should be required only to search for ectopic or supernumerary glands.     

介入治疗成人非创伤性股骨头缺血性坏死的疗效分析

目的：分析介入治疗对于成人非创伤性股骨头缺血性坏死的疗效。方法：采用介入方法治疗95例共117髋非创伤性股骨头缺血性坏死。对比介入治疗前后DSA造影分型结果及血供异常例数。结果：117患髋中,Ia型的31病髋中,11髋（35．48％）介入治疗后动脉主干再通;Ib型的27髋中,24髋（88．89％）介入治疗后分支再通;II型的11髋中,5髋（45．45％）实质期股骨头缺损面积缩小;III型的10髋中,8髋（80．00％）静脉期见股骨头浓密染色明显减轻;Ⅳ型的33髋中,28髋（84．85％）可见动脉主干再通、分支增粗、实质期股骨头缺损面积缩小和静脉期股骨头染色减轻等。治疗前117病髋异常率为95．73％。经过介入治疗后,异常率为30．77％。治疗后异常率明显低于治疗前异常率（P〈0．01）。结论：介入治疗可有效改善非创伤性股骨头缺血性坏死血供异常,增加股骨头血供,具有操作简单、创伤小、疗效确切等优点。关键阗：股骨头缺血性坏死;介入治疗;数字减影血管造影     

三维CT血管造影在颅内动脉瘤夹闭术后复查中的应用

目的:评价三维CT血管造影(3D-CTA)在颅内动脉瘤夹闭术后复查中的应用价值.方法:选取我院神经外科2010年8月至2012年1月间,共42例颅内动脉瘤夹闭术后患者(45个动脉瘤),分别于动脉瘤夹闭术后5-7天,5-6个月,12个月接受三维CT血管造影(3D-CTA)和数字减影血管造影(DSA)检查,以DSA为金标准,判断CTA对动脉瘤术后残留、血管闭塞狭窄等检出的灵敏度和特异度.结果:3D-CTA发现4例瘤颈残留,1例吻合血管闭塞,28例载瘤动脉通畅,6例术中阻断的载瘤动脉不显影,61个动脉瘤夹均可清晰辨识,与DSA结果一致.3D-CTA评价瘤颈残留与载瘤动脉、吻合血管通畅的灵敏度和特异度均为100％,一致性为1.0.结论:3D-CTA检查操作简便,结果真实可靠,临床应用价值极高,能够很好的显示动脉瘤夹闭术后改变,可作为颅内动脉瘤夹闭术后长期多次随访的主要方法.     

Comparison of boosted regression tree and random forest models for mapping topsoil organic carbon concentration in an alpine ecosystem

Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays an important role in soil fertility and carbon sequestration, and a better understanding of the spatial patterns of SOC is essential for soil resource management. In this study, we used boosted regression tree (BRT) and random forest (RF) models to map the distribution of topsoil organic carbon content at the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau in China. A set of 105 soil samples and 12 environmental variables (including topography, climate and vegetation) were analyzed. The performance of the models was evaluated using a 10-fold cross-validation procedure. Maps of the mean values and standard deviations of SOC were generated to illustrate model variability and uncertainty. The results indicate that the BRT and RF models exhibited very similar performance and yielded similar predicted distributions of SOC. The two models explained approximately 70% of the total SOC variability. The BRT and RF models robustly predicted the SOC at low observed SOC values, whereas they underestimated high observed SOC values. This underestimation may have been caused by biased distributions of soil samples in the SOC space. Vegetation-related variables were assigned the highest importance in both models, followed by climate and topography. Both models produced spatial distribution maps of SOC that were closely related to vegetation cover. The SOC content predicted by the BRT model was clearly higher than that of the RF model in areas with greater vegetation cover because the contributions of vegetation-related variables in the two models (65% and 43%, respectively) differed significantly. The predicted SOC content increased from the northwestern to the southeastern part of the study area, average values produced by the BRT and RF models were 27.3 g kg⁻¹ and 26.6 g kg⁻¹, respectively. We conclude that the BRT and RF methods should be calibrated and compared to obtain the best prediction of SOC spatial distribution in similar regions. In addition, vegetation variables, including those obtained from remote sensing imagery, should be taken as the main environmental indicators and explicitly included when generating SOC maps in Alpine environments.