Vertebral lesions in a titanosaurian dinosaur from the Lower-Upper Cretaceous of Brazil

In this paper we describe macroscopically two types of bone lesions on a caudal vertebra of an indeterminate titanosaur recovered from the Lower-Upper Cretaceous (Albian-Cenomanian) Açu Formation in the Potiguar Basin, Brazil. The first type of lesion corresponds to cystic lesions on cranial and caudal joint surfaces of the vertebral body, which are identified as subchondral cysts. The second type of lesion corresponds to an irregular bone overgrowth located on longitudinal ligament insertion points. This ossification can be associated with an axial spondyloarthropathy or diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). Bone overgrowth on vertebrae is well documented in the dinosaur fossil record, whereas this is only the second case recorded of subchondral cysts.     

Increasing the Contrast of the Brain MR FLAIR Images Using Fuzzy Membership Functions and Structural Similarity Indices in Order to Segment MS Lesions

Segmentation is an important step for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS). This paper presents a new approach to the fully automatic segmentation of MS lesions in Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery (FLAIR) Magnetic Resonance (MR) images. With the aim of increasing the contrast of the FLAIR MR images with respect to the MS lesions, the proposed method first estimates the fuzzy memberships of brain tissues (i.e., the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the normal-appearing brain tissue (NABT), and the lesion). The procedure for determining the fuzzy regions of their member functions is performed by maximizing fuzzy entropy through Genetic Algorithm. Research shows that the intersection points of the obtained membership functions are not accurate enough to segment brain tissues. Then, by extracting the structural similarity (SSIM) indices between the FLAIR MR image and its lesions membership image, a new contrast-enhanced image is created in which MS lesions have high contrast against other tissues. Finally, the new contrast-enhanced image is used to segment MS lesions. To evaluate the result of the proposed method, similarity criteria from all slices from 20 MS patients are calculated and compared with other methods, which include manual segmentation. The volume of segmented lesions is also computed and compared with Gold standard using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and paired samples t test. Similarity index for the patients with small lesion load, moderate lesion load and large lesion load was 0.7261, 0.7745 and 0.8231, respectively. The average overall similarity index for all patients is 0.7649. The t test result indicates that there is no statistically significant difference between the automatic and manual segmentation. The validated results show that this approach is very promising.     

Studies on the mechanism of the reversal of rapid organelle transport in myelinated axons of Xenopus laevis

Rapid organelle transport was studied by computer- and video-enhanced microscopy in the region of localized lesions in single myelinated axons of Xenopus laevis. Localized lesions were created that were either impermeable to small ions in the bathing medium or were permeable to agents with molecular weights up to 10,000. Providing the axons were bathed in a suitable "internal" medium, organelle transport continued to within a few micrometers of the lesion whether the lesion was permeable or not. Organelles undergoing anterograde and retrograde transport reversed their direction of transport on reaching the lesion. In preparations with lesions that were permeable, nonhydrolyzable analogs of ATP inhibited normally directed and reversed organelle transport. In permeable preparations, vanadate and EDTA inhibited retrograde and reversed retrograde transport at different intra-axonal concentrations; anterograde and reversed anterograde transport were also differentially inhibited. Anterograde and retrograde organelle transport were also shown to be inhibited at different intraaxonal concentrations of vanadate and EDTA. The results provide evidence for the existence of two different axonal transport mechanisms in myelinated axons. The two mechanisms can account for the normally directed and reversed transport of individual organelles.     

Skin lesions on North Atlantic right whales: categories, prevalence and change in occurrence in the 1990s

North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis experienced decreased reproduction and body condition in the 1990s, causing concern about the overall health of this critically endangered population. Images from a detailed photo-identification catalog of right whales were analyzed for the presence of skin lesions. Lesions were categorized as white lesions or blister lesions and each of those categories were further divided based on lesion morphology and location. Of 439 whales photo-analyzed between 1980 and 2002, white lesions were detected on 227 ind. (51.7%) and blister lesions were found on 76 ind. (17.3%). The majority of white lesions (72.8%) were detected in the Bay of Fundy where their prevalence increased dramatically during the 1990s (peaking at 40 and 41% of all identified whales in 1997 and 1999, respectively). A correlation between whale density and white lesions in the Bay of Fundy suggested that this lesion type may have been the result of a contagious agent, though the data on mother/calf pairs did not indicate transmission from mother to calf. Blister lesions appeared at low levels throughout the population over the study period. Neither lesion category was more prevalent on males or females, nor were there any differences between adults and juveniles. One white lesion type appeared exclusively on whales that had been entangled, and whose subsequent survival was in most cases questionable. This is the first detailed analysis of skin lesions in this species. Only 1 tissue sample has been previously obtained from a lesion, and thus the histology and etiology of these lesions remain unknown. Further work is needed to explore the role of disease and environmental variables in lesion prevalence.     

Recovery of Enterococcus faecalis in root canal lumen of patients with primary and secondary endodontic lesions

The presence of Enterococcus faecalis in root canal teeth affected by primary and secondary periapical lesions was studied using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. The association between presence of E. faecalis with clinical signs of apical lesions was assessed to evaluate a possible relationship between clinical findings. Microbial samples were obtained from healthy patients affected by different periapical lesions, 79 teeth with primary periapical lesion and 23 with secondary periapical lesion. For each tooth, clinical symptoms and X-ray appearance were examined. E. faecalis was detected in 6 of 79 samples with primary lesion (7.6%), and in 9 of 23 with secondary lesion (39.1%). Suggested association was found between E. faecalis and secondary apical lesions. As regard specific signs and symptoms E. faecalis was more associated with asymptomatic lesions (all p<0.05) than with symptomatic apical lesions. The study confirms the high presence of E. faecalis in secondary apical lesions. However, its effective role in endodontic pathogenesis such as bone periapical lesions needs to be clarified.     

Atherosclerotic lesion progression is attenuated by reconstitution with bone marrow from macrophage-specific cholesteryl ester hydrolase transgenic mice

Accumulation of cholesteryl ester (CE)-enriched macrophage foam cells is central to the development of atherosclerotic lesions. Intracellular CE hydrolysis is the rate-limiting step in the removal of free cholesterol from macrophage foam cells. Enhancing this process by transgenic overexpression of CE hydrolase (CEH) resulted in a significant decrease in diet-induced atherosclerosis in LDL receptor-deficient (LDLR-/-) mice. However, for development of this step as an antiatherosclerotic target it is imperative to demonstrate that increase in CE hydrolysis after initiation of lesion formation will also attenuate further lesion progression. The objective of the present study was to directly address this issue using an animal model. LDLR-/- mice were fed a high-fat high-cholesterol diet (Western Diet) for 8 wk to initiate lesion formation and were then divided into three groups. Group 1 mice were killed to determine baseline lesion development. Mice in groups 2 and 3 were irradiated and transplanted with either LDLR-/- or LDLR-/-CEH transgenic bone marrow and maintained on Western Diet. Atherosclerotic lesion progression was assessed after 12 wk. While a more than fourfold increase in total lesions (compared to group 1) was seen in group 2 receiving LDLR-/- marrow, a significantly lower increase (<2-fold) was noted in mice reconstituted with CEH transgenic marrow (group 3). Lesions in group 3 mice were also more cellular with smaller necrotic cores. Lesion progression is associated with a switch in macrophage phenotype from anti-inflammatory M2 to proinflammatory M1 phenotype and is consistent with reduced lesion progression. Aortas from group 3 mice contained a significantly higher percentage of macrophages in M2 phenotype (Ly6C(lo)). These data demonstrate for the first time that enhancing macrophage CE hydrolysis even after lesion initiation can still attenuate further lesion progression and also switches the phenotype of lesion-associated macrophages to anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype establishing intracellular CE hydrolysis as an anti-atherosclerotic as well as anti-inflammatory target.     

Effects of scalding and dehairing of pig carcasses at abattoirs on the visibility of welfare-related lesions

There is increasing interest in developing abattoir-based measures to assist in determining the welfare status of pigs. The primary aim of this study was to determine the most appropriate place on the slaughter line to conduct assessments of welfare-related lesions, namely apparent aggression-related skin lesions (hereafter referred to as ‘skin lesions’), loin bruising and apparent tail biting damage. The study also lent itself to an assessment of the prevalence of these lesions, and the extent to which they were linked with production variables. Finishing pigs processed at two abattoirs on the Island of Ireland (n=1950 in abattoir A, and n=1939 in abattoir B) were used. Data were collected over 6 days in each abattoir in July 2014. Lesion scoring took place at two points on the slaughter line: (1) at exsanguination (slaughter stage 1 (SS1)), and (2) following scalding and dehairing of carcasses (slaughter stage 2 (SS2)). At both points, each carcass was assigned a skin and tail lesion score ranging from 0 (lesion absent) to 3 or 4 (severe lesions), respectively. Loin bruising was recorded as present or absent. Differences in the percentage of pigs with observable lesions of each type were compared between SS1 and SS2 using McNemar/McNemar-Bowker tests. The associations between each lesion type, and both cold carcass weight and condemnations, were examined at batch level using Pearson’s correlations. Batch was defined as the group of animals with a particular farm identification code on a given day. The overall percentage of pigs with a visible skin lesion (i.e. score>0) decreased between SS1 and SS2 (P<0.001). However, the percentage of pigs with a severe skin lesion increased numerically from SS1 to SS2. The percentage of pigs with a visible tail lesion and with loin bruising also increased between SS1 and SS2 (P<0.001). There was a positive correlation between the percentage of carcasses that were partially condemned, and the percentage of pigs with skin lesions, tail lesions and loin bruising (P<0.05). In addition, as the batch-level frequency of each lesion type increased, average cold carcass weight decreased (P<0.001). These findings suggest that severe skin lesions, tail lesions and loin bruising are more visible on pig carcasses after they have been scalded and dehaired, and that this is when abattoir-based lesion scoring should take place. The high prevalence of all three lesion types, and the links with economically important production parameters, suggests that more research into identifying key risk factors is warranted.     

Validation of Network Communicability Metrics for the Analysis of Brain Structural Networks

Computational network analysis provides new methods to analyze the brain''s structural organization based on diffusion imaging tractography data. Networks are characterized by global and local metrics that have recently given promising insights into diagnosis and the further understanding of psychiatric and neurologic disorders. Most of these metrics are based on the idea that information in a network flows along the shortest paths. In contrast to this notion, communicability is a broader measure of connectivity which assumes that information could flow along all possible paths between two nodes. In our work, the features of network metrics related to communicability were explored for the first time in the healthy structural brain network. In addition, the sensitivity of such metrics was analysed using simulated lesions to specific nodes and network connections. Results showed advantages of communicability over conventional metrics in detecting densely connected nodes as well as subsets of nodes vulnerable to lesions. In addition, communicability centrality was shown to be widely affected by the lesions and the changes were negatively correlated with the distance from lesion site. In summary, our analysis suggests that communicability metrics that may provide an insight into the integrative properties of the structural brain network and that these metrics may be useful for the analysis of brain networks in the presence of lesions. Nevertheless, the interpretation of communicability is not straightforward; hence these metrics should be used as a supplement to the more standard connectivity network metrics.     

Pig carcass tail lesions: the influence of record keeping through an advisory service and the relationship with farm performance parameters

Tail lesions are important pig welfare indicators that could be recorded during meat inspection as they are more visible on the carcass than on the live animal. Tail biting is associated with reduced performance in the bitten pig, but it is not clear whether problems with tail biting are reflected in general farm performance figures. Farm advisory services aim to improve farm productivity which could be associated with improvements in pig welfare. Record keeping forms an integral part of such advisory services. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of record keeping in the Teagasc eProfit Monitor (ePM herds) on the prevalence of tail lesion severity scores in Irish slaughter pigs. In addition, we investigated associations between the prevalence of tail lesion scores and production parameters at farm level in ePM herds. Pigs were observed after scalding/dehairing and tail lesion score (0 to 4), sex and farm identification were recorded. Tail lesion scores were collapsed into none/mild lesions (score ⩽1), moderate lesions (score 2) and severe lesions (score ⩾3). The effect of record keeping (ePM herd) on the different tail lesion outcomes was analysed at batch level using the events/trials structure in generalized linear mixed models (PROC GLIMMIX). Spearman’s rank correlations were calculated between average tail lesion score of a batch and production parameters. A total of 13 133 pigs were assessed from 73 batches coming from 61 farms. In all, 23 farms were identified as ePM herds. The average prevalence of moderate tail lesions was 26.8% and of severe tail lesions was 3.4% in a batch. Batches coming from ePM herds had a lower prevalence of moderate tail lesions than non-ePM herds (P<0.001). Average tail lesion score was negatively associated with age (P<0.05) and weight (P<0.05) at sale/transfer of weaners, and tended to be positively associated with the number of finishing days (P=0.06). In addition, the prevalence of severe tail lesions was negatively associated with average daily gain in weaners (P<0.05) and tended to do so with average daily gain in finishers (P=0.08). This study provides the first indication that record keeping through an advisory service may help to lower the risk of tail biting, which is associated with improved farm performance.     

Pathological findings of cardiac rhabdomyomatosis in the guinea pig

Cardiac rhabdomyomatosis of Hartley guinea pigs was examined by light and transmission electron microscopy, and its incidence and distribution were also described. Cardiac rhabdomyomatosis was found in 58 cases out of 345 animals, aged from 1.5 to 17 weeks. A few small lesions were noted in many cases, but large lesions were rare. Most lesions noted in the ventricle were found to measure from 1 mm2 to 5 mm2 in area. The larger lesions were seen near the cardiac apex. In terms of distribution of the lesions, they were observed most frequently in the left ventricular free wall. They were also distributed less frequently in the ventricular septum and in the right ventricular free wall. In bilateral free walls and the ventricular septum, this lesion was frequently noted on the endocardial side and in the tunica muscularis, respectively. Light microscopically, this lesion had a characteristic nodular-reticular structure with large vacuolated cells. Electron microscopy of cardiac rhabdomyomatosis revealed two cell types, A and B. Type A cells were characterized by large aggregates of glycogen particles distributed loosely in the cytoplasm and by myofibrils and mitochondria located at the periphery of the cytoplasm. Type B cells were characterized by large aggregates of mitochondria near the nucleus and at the periphery of the cytoplasm and by large aggregates of glycogen particles with a similar distribution to those in type in type A cells. Myocardial cells in the marginal regions of rhabdomyomatosis lesions showed mitochondrial swelling and rupture of myofibrils.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Rib lesions in chronic pulmonary tuberculosis

The diagnosis of skeletal tuberculosis in human remains has traditionally been based upon the detection of secondary skeletal lesions which result from hemotogenous dissemination of tubercle bacilli (e.g., Pott's disease). Since such lesions develop in less than 7% of cases of human tuberculosis, the paleodemography and paleoepidemiology of this disease have been difficult to assess from skeletal remains. This study presents a new diagnostic approach to tuberculosis, focusing on the skeletal manifestations of chronic pulmonary disease (which comprises approximately 90% of human-form tuberculosis). Four hundred forty-five skeletal remains from persons dying of tuberculosis during the first half of the 20th century were examined. A total of 70/445 (16%) exhibited skeletal lesions in one or more locations as a response to infection. Of these 70, 39 (56%) were found to display a specific set of lesions restricted to the internal aspect of the ribs. These lesions take one of two forms: (1) diffuse periostitis or (2) localized abscess, and appear to correspond to areas of chronic pulmonary infection. The diffuse type of rib lesion is more commonly observed than the localized type. In our observations (and according to the natural history of tuberculosis) the occurrence of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis is usually mutually exclusive with hematogenous dissemination to secondary bone locations. Thus, the detection of rib lesions in cases of chronic pulmonary disease increases the absolute sample size of skeletal tuberculosis by a factor of two in this study.     

Lesion Activity on Brain MRI in a Chinese Population with Unilateral Optic Neuritis

Longitudinal studies have shown that brain white matter lesions are strong predictors of the conversion of unilateral optic neuritis to multiple sclerosis (MS) in Caucasian populations. Consequently brain MRI criteria have been developed to improve the prediction of the development of clinically definite multiple sclerosis (CDMS). In Asian populations, optic neuritis may be the first sign of classical or optic-spinal MS. These signs add to the uncertainty regarding brain MRI changes with respect to the course of unilateral optic neuritis. The aim of this study was to examine the association between brain lesion activity and conversion to CDMS in Chinese patients with unilateral optic neuritis. A small prospective cohort study of 40 consecutive Chinese patients who presented with unilateral optic neuritis was conducted. Brain lesion activity was recorded as the incidence of Gd-enhanced lesions and new T2 lesions. Brain lesions on MRI that were characteristic of MS were defined according to the 2010 revisions of the McDonald criteria. The primary endpoint was the development of CDMS. We found that nineteen patients (48%) had brain lesions that were characteristic of MS on the initial scan. One of these patients (3%) had Gd-enhanced brain lesions. A significantly lower percentage of the patients (10%, p<0.001) presented with new T2 brain lesions on the second scan. During a median of 5 years of follow-up, seven patients (18%) developed CDMS. There was no significant difference in the conversion rate to CDMS between patients with and without brain lesions that were characteristic of MS (4/19 and 3/21, respectively; Fisher exact test, one-sided, p = 0.44). We conclude that brain lesions characteristic of MS are common in Chinese patients with unilateral optic neuritis; however, these patients exhibit low lesion activity. The predictive value of brain lesion activity for CDMS requires investigation in additional patients.     

Non‐traumatic bone infection in stegosaurs from Como Bluff,Wyoming

Palaeopathologies are relatively common in the fossil record; however, bone histological analyses of these are rare as they are more commonly discovered and described using radiological scans. Here, we describe the bone microstructure of infectious abscesses (osteomyelitis) in the long bones of two Stegosaurus individuals from the Como Bluff area of the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation. Multiple lytic, geographical lesions filled with reactive lamellar bone occur in a femur of a juvenile specimen. A single lesion was found in an adult tibia. This lesion is characterized by the presence of spiculated periosteal reactive growth perpendicular to the bone surface and the formation of new trabeculae within the lesion.     

Omics technologies provide new insights into the molecular physiopathology of equine osteochondrosis

Background

Osteochondrosis (OC(D)) is a juvenile osteo-articular disorder affecting several mammalian species. In horses, OC(D) is considered as a multifactorial disease and has been described as a focal disruption of endochondral ossification leading to the development of osteoarticular lesions. Nevertheless, OC(D) physiopathology is poorly understood. Affected horses may present joint swelling, stiffness and lameness. Thus, OC(D) is a major concern for the equine industry. Our study was designed as an integrative approach using omics technologies for the identification of constitutive defects in epiphyseal cartilage and/or subchondral bone associated with the development of primary lesions to further understand OC(D) pathology. This study compared samples from non-affected joints (hence lesion-free) from OC(D)-affected foals (n = 5, considered predisposed samples) with samples from OC-free foals (n = 5) considered as control samples. Consequently, results are not confounded by changes associated with the evolution of the lesion, but focus on altered constitutive molecular mechanisms. Comparative proteomics and micro computed tomography analyses were performed on predisposed and OC-free bone and cartilage samples. Metabolomics was also performed on synovial fluid from OC-free, OC(D)-affected and predisposed joints.

Results

Two lesion subtypes were identified: OCD (lesion with fragment) and OC (osteochondral defects). Modulated proteins were identified using omics technologies (2-DE proteomics) in cartilage and bone from affected foals compare to OC-free foals. These were associated with cellular processes including cell cycle, energy production, cell signaling and adhesion as well as tissue-specific processes such as chondrocyte maturation, extracellular matrix and mineral metabolism. Of these, five had already been identified in synovial fluid of OC-affected foals: ACTG1 (actin, gamma 1), albumin, haptoglobin, FBG (fibrinogen beta chain) and C4BPA (complement component 4 binding protein, alpha).

Conclusion

This study suggests that OCD lesions may result from a cartilage defect whereas OC lesions may be triggered by both bone and cartilage defects, suggesting that different molecular mechanisms responsible for the equine osteochondrosis lesion subtypes and predisposition could be due to a defect in both bone and cartilage. This study will contribute to refining the definition of OC(D) lesions and may improve diagnosis and development of therapies for horses and other species, including humans.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-947) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

富血小板血浆注射治疗在膝骨关节炎中的应用进展

富血小板血浆(platelet-rich plasma，PRP)由于富含多种活性生长因子，能够刺激软骨细胞增殖，促进软骨前体细胞增殖、迁移、向软骨细胞分化，促进胶原蛋白合成以及抑制软骨的炎性反应和退变，提供有利于组织修复的内环境，延缓病情进展。近年来PRP注射治疗已成为治疗与骨关节炎(osteoarthritis，OA)相关疾病的新型选择，并且疗效显著。为了进一步提高其效用，PRP注射治疗不仅在关节腔内进行，还可在软骨下骨内进行注射。软骨下骨的病变会加速软骨损耗，故有必要将软骨下骨也当作OA众多发病机制和病理过程的关键因素之一。根据PRP的生物特效以及PRP注射治疗在膝骨关节炎(knee osteoarthritis，KOA)中应用的研究进展进行了综述，同时对软骨下骨内PRP注射治疗KOA的研究进行了展望，以期为KOA的治疗提供更加有效的方法。     

Functional remineralization of dentin lesions using polymer-induced liquid-precursor process

It was hypothesized that applying the polymer-induced liquid-precursor (PILP) system to artificial lesions would result in time-dependent functional remineralization of carious dentin lesions that restores the mechanical properties of demineralized dentin matrix. 140 μm deep artificial caries lesions were remineralized via the PILP process for 7-28 days at 37°C to determine temporal remineralization characteristics. Poly-L-aspartic acid (27 KDa) was used as the polymeric process-directing agent and was added to the remineralization solution at a calcium-to-phosphate ratio of 2.14 (mol/mol). Nanomechanical properties of hydrated artificial lesions had a low reduced elastic modulus (E(R) = 0.2 GPa) region extending about 70 μm into the lesion, with a sloped region to about 140 μm where values reached normal dentin (18-20 GPa). After 7 days specimens recovered mechanical properties in the sloped region by 51% compared to the artificial lesion. Between 7-14 days, recovery of the outer portion of the lesion continued to a level of about 10 GPa with 74% improvement. 28 days of PILP mineralization resulted in 91% improvement of E(R) compared to the artificial lesion. These differences were statistically significant as determined from change-point diagrams. Mineral profiles determined by micro x-ray computed tomography were shallower than those determined by nanoindentation, and showed similar changes over time, but full mineral recovery occurred after 14 days in both the outer and sloped portions of the lesion. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis showed similar morphologies that were distinct from normal dentin with a clear line of demarcation between the outer and sloped portions of the lesion. Transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction showed that the starting lesions contained some residual mineral in the outer portions, which exhibited poor crystallinity. During remineralization, intrafibrillar mineral increased and crystallinity improved with intrafibrillar mineral exhibiting the orientation found in normal dentin or bone.     

Characterization of gout in a skeletal population sample: Presumptive diagnosis in a micronesian population

Characterization of the nature and skeletal distribution of gout was accomplished in a Chamoru (Chamorros) population with predilection to the disease. Uniform excavation by the gouty diathesis produces a punched-out appearance to these predominantly monarticular lesions. The lesion is distinct from that seen in rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthropathy, or infection. Reactive new bone formation in some gouty lesions also has an apparently unique, ivory-like discoloration (contrasted with the adjacent bone), which facilitates diagnosis. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

A computer-aided diagnosis scheme of breast lesion classification using GLGLM and shape features: Combined-view and multi-classifiers

PurposeTo address high false-positive results of FFDM issue, we make the first effort to develop a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) scheme to analyze and distinguish breast lesions.MethodThe breast lesion regions were first segmented and depicted on FFDM images from 106 patients. In this work, 11 gray-level gap-length matrix texture features and 12 shape features were extracted form craniocaudal view and mediolateral oblique view, and then Student’s t-test, Fisher-score and Relief-F were introduced to select features. We also investigated the effect of three factors, i.e., discretisation, selection methods and classifier methods, of the classification performance via analysis of variance. Finally, a classification model was constructed. Spearman’s correlation coefficient analysis was conducted to assess the internal relevance of features.ResultsThe proposed scheme using Student’s t-test achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) value of 0.923 at 512 bins. The AUC values are 0.884, 0.867, 0.874 and 0.901 for the low gray-level gaps emphasis (LGGE), solidity, extent, and the combined set, respectively. Solidity and extent depicts the correlation coefficient of 0.86 (P < 0.05).ConclusionsWe present a new CAD scheme based on the contribution of the significant factors. The experimental results demonstrate that the presented scheme can be used to successfully distinguish breast carcinoma lesions and benign fibroadenoma lesions in our FFDM dataset and the MIAS dataset, which may provide a CAD method to assist radiologists in diagnosing and interpreting screening mammograms. Moreover, we found that LGGE, solidity and extent features show great potential for breast lesion classification.     

Importance of the sporotrichosis asteroid body for the rapid diagnosis of sporotrichosis

Eighty patients with cutaneous sporotrichosis were studied between 1985 and 1996. The investigation of asteroid bodies (AB) was done by direct microscopic slides examination of pus obtained from the lesions. Patients were divided into two groups: 32 consulting before 1989, and 48 consulting after 1990. In the first group, material was obtained as usual by simple digital pressure of the most productive lesion, and then wet preparation microscopic examination was performed. Fourteen patients with AB were found in this group (43.75%). In the second group the initial pus was discarded and new samples were taken more deeply, and examined up to five slides for each patient. The slides were carefully examined at light microscope. Fourty five patients with AB were detected in this group (93.75%). All eighty samples were cultured and all of them were positive for Sporothrix schenckii. The change of methodology to obtain the samples and the exhaustive observations, increased the possibility of AB detection. ABs are of great diagnostic value and might be of importance to initiate treatment before reporting culture.     

What do biomarkers tell us about the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis?

Biomarkers may provide information that promotes understanding of prognosis, disease activity, and pathogenesis in ankylosing spondylitis. Biomarkers reflecting disease activity (metallo-proteinase-3) and inflammatory lesions on magnetic resonance imaging predict new bone formation and are ameliorated by anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy, yet this treatment may not prevent new bone formation. Moreover, elevated levels of biomarkers reflecting tissue repair (bone-specific alkaline phosphatase) post-treatment together with magnetic resonance imaging indicates such treatment may even promote repair through new bone formation. Tumor necrosis factor regulation of Dickkopf-1 may constitute a molecular brake that controls osteoblastogenesis through wingless and bone morphogenetic proteins in an established inflammatory lesion in ankylosing spondylitis.