Digital image analysis of AgNORs in cervical smears of women with premalignant and malignant lesions of the uterine cervix

We performed a hospital-based, unmatched case-control study to investigate the association between progressive stages of cervical neoplasia and digital analysis of cell proliferation by silver stained nucleolus organizer region associated proteins (AgNORs). We measured cell proliferation levels in the cervical epithelial cells of 10 women with low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LG-SIL), eight with high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HG-SIL), 11 with cervical cancer (CC) and eight with no cervical lesions (controls) using the AgNORs technique. Cell proliferation was measured by digital image analysis (DIA). DIA revealed increased total areas of AgNORs in HG-SIL and CC compared to LG-SIL and control patients. AgNORs with a kidney or cluster shape exhibited greater areas than those with a spherical or long shape. We propose a cut-off of 118 pixels to differentiate benign (control and LG-SIL) from malignant (HG-SIL and CC) lesions. DIA of AgNORs is a simple and inexpensive method for studying proliferation. The increased total area of AgNORs in malignant lesions provides information regarding cell behavior and may be related to cervical carcinogenesis; however, further validation studies are required to establish its usefulness in cytological analysis.     

Computer aided morphometric analysis of oral leukoplakia and oral squamous cell carcinoma

We compared the changes in the cells in the basal layer of normal mucosa, oral leukoplakia with dysplasia and different grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) using computer aided image analysis of tissue sections. We investigated three morphometric parameters: nuclear area (NA), cell area (CA) and their ratio (NA:CA). NA and NA:CA ratio showed a statistically significant increase from dysplasia to increasing grades of OSCC. Nuclear size was useful for differentiating normal tissue, potentially malignant leukoplakia and OSCC.     

前列腺素E1治疗冠状动脉微血管病变的临床研究

目的:本研究旨在探索前列腺素E1(PGE1)对冠状动脉微血管病变(CMVD)治疗的效果及其可能的机制。方法:92例CMVD患者随机分为PGE1治疗组(47例)及常规治疗组(45例)。PGE1治疗组给予PGE1静脉注射,10μg/次,一日一次。常规治疗组给予等剂量生理盐水静脉注射,一日一次。两组治疗时间均为10天。通过治疗前后各组的西雅图心绞痛量表评分、血清血栓调节蛋白(TM)水平、血清超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)水平观察PGE1对CMVD的治疗效果。结果:PGE1治疗组在西雅图心绞痛量表中的5个维度(躯体活动受限程度、心绞痛频率、心绞痛稳定状态、治疗的满意程度、疾病认识)评分均高于常规治疗组(P均0.05)。此外,PGE1治疗组患者血清TM水平较常规治疗组显著下调(PGE1治疗组18.25±7.84 vs常规治疗组23.1±9.11,P0.05),血清SOD水平两组间无统计学差异(PGE1治疗组78.23±18.61 vs常规治疗组71.01±19.1,P=0.07)。结论:PGE1能够缓解CMVD患者的心绞痛状态,提高CMVD患者的生活质量,其机制可能与下调血清TM水平、保护冠状动脉微血管内皮细胞有关。     

Salt‐enhanced cultivation as a morphology engineering tool for filamentous actinomycetes: Increased production of labyrinthopeptin A1 in Actinomadura namibiensis

Salt‐enhanced cultivation as a morphology engineering tool for the filamentous actinomycete Actinomadura namibiensis was evaluated in 500‐mL shaking flasks (working volume 100 mL) with the aim of increasing the concentration of the pharmaceutically interesting peptide labyrinthopeptin A1. Among the inorganic salts added to a complex production medium, the addition of (NH₄)₂SO₄ led to the highest amount of labyrinthopeptin A1 production. By using 50 mM (NH₄)₂SO₄, the labyrinthopeptin A1 concentration increased up to sevenfold compared to the non‐supplemented control, resulting in 325 mg L^?1 labyrinthopeptin A1 after 10 days of cultivation. The performance of other ammonium‐ and sulfate‐containing salts (e.g., NH₄Cl, K₂SO₄) was much lower than the performance of (NH₄)₂SO₄. A positive correlation between the uptake of glycerol as one of the main carbon sources and nongrowth‐associated labyrinthopeptin productivity was found. The change in the cell morphology of A. namibiensis in conjunction with increased osmolality by the addition of 50 mM (NH₄)₂SO₄, was quantified by image analysis. A. namibiensis always developed a heterogeneous morphology with pellets and loose mycelia present simultaneously. In contrast to the non‐supplemented control, the morphology of (NH₄)₂SO₄‐supplemented cultures was characterized by smaller and circular pellets that were more stable against disintegration in the stationary production phase.     

MyROOT: a method and software for the semiautomatic measurement of primary root length in Arabidopsis seedlings

Root analysis is essential for both academic and agricultural research. Despite the great advances in root phenotyping and imaging, calculating root length is still performed manually and involves considerable amounts of labor and time. To overcome these limitations, we developed MyROOT, a software for the semiautomatic quantification of root growth of seedlings growing directly on agar plates. Our method automatically determines the scale from the image of the plate, and subsequently measures the root length of the individual plants. To this aim, MyROOT combines a bottom‐up root tracking approach with a hypocotyl detection algorithm. At the same time as providing accurate root measurements, MyROOT also significantly minimizes the user intervention required during the process. Using Arabidopsis, we tested MyROOT with seedlings from different growth stages and experimental conditions. When comparing the data obtained from this software with that of manual root measurements, we found a high correlation between both methods (R² = 0.997). When compared with previous developed software with similar features (BRAT and EZ‐Rhizo), MyROOT offered an improved accuracy for root length measurements. Therefore, MyROOT will be of great use to the plant science community by permitting high‐throughput root length measurements while saving both labor and time.     

阿克苏河流域土壤湿度反演与监测研究

以新疆阿克苏河流域为研究区,以GF-1 WFV和Landsat8 OLI两种高分辨率遥感影像为数据源,结合102个不同深度层的土壤湿度实测数据,选择垂直干旱指数(PDI)、改进型垂直干旱指数(MPDI)和植被调整垂直干旱指数(VAPDI),对土壤湿度指数反演的效果进行比较和验证。结果表明,两种数据源下的PDI、MPDI、VAPDI与土壤湿度实测含水量的决定系数较高,尤其是0—10 cm的相关性最强,平均决定系数达到0.68,说明基于光学遥感影像近红外和红光波段反射率构建的反演指数对近地表层土壤湿度信息更敏感,但对地下较深层次的土壤湿度反演精度略低;MPDI和VAPDI能够在一定程度上克服混合像元对土壤湿度光谱信息的影响,反演的精度要比PDI高,尤其是高植被覆盖度区,采用垂直植被指数(PVI)修正的VAPDI反演精度最佳;基于两种遥感数据源的土壤湿度空间异质性基本一致,但空间分辨率较高的GF-1 WFV模拟的土壤湿度空间分异更加精细和明显。研究结果可为"一带一路"背景下干旱半干旱地区大范围和动态监测土壤湿度、开展定量节水灌溉等提供理论基础和实践参考。     

Whole‐brain microcirculation detection after ischemic stroke based on swept‐source optical coherence tomography

The occurrence and development of ischemic stroke are closely related to cerebral blood flow. Real‐time monitoring of cerebral perfusion level is very useful for understanding the mechanisms of the disease. A wide field of view (FOV) is conducive to capturing lesions and observing the progression of the disease. In this paper, we attempt to monitor the whole‐brain microcirculation in middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rats over time using a wide FOV swept‐source OCT (SS‐OCT) system. A constrained image registration algorithm is used to remove motion artifacts that are prone to occur in a wide FOV angiography. During ischemia, cerebral perfusion levels in the left and right hemispheres, as well as in the whole brain were quantified and compared. Changes in the shape and location of blood vessels were also recorded. The results showed that the trend in cerebral perfusion levels of both hemispheres was highly consistent during MCAO, and the position of the blood vessels varied over time. This work will provide new insights of ischemic stroke and is helpful to assess the effectiveness of potential treatment strategies.      

Optical coherence tomography to detect acute esophageal radiation‐induced damage in mice: A validation study

Radiation therapy for patients with non‐small‐cell lung cancer is hampered by acute radiation‐induced toxicity in the esophagus. This study aims to validate that optical coherence tomography (OCT), a minimally invasive imaging technique with high resolution (~10 μm), is able to visualize and monitor acute radiation‐induced esophageal damage (ARIED) in mice. We compare our findings with histopathology as the gold standard. Irradiated mice receive a single dose of 40 Gy at proximal and distal spots of the esophagus of 10.0 mm in diameter. We scan mice using OCT at two, three, and seven days post‐irradiation. In OCT analysis, we define ARIED as a presence of distorted esophageal layering, change in backscattering signal properties, or change in the esophageal wall thickness. The average esophageal wall thickness is 0.53 mm larger on OCT when ARIED is present based on histopathology. The overall sensitivity and specificity of OCT to detect ARIED compared to histopathology are 94% and 47%, respectively. However, the overall sensitivity of OCT to assess ARIED is 100% seven days post‐irradiation. We validate the capability of OCT to detect ARIED induced by high doses in mice. Nevertheless, clinical studies are required to assess the potential role of OCT to visualize ARIED in humans.      

In vivo detection of endotracheal tube biofilms in intubated critical care patients using catheter‐based optical coherence tomography

The formation of biofilms in the endotracheal tubes (ETTs) of intubated patients on mechanical ventilation is associated with a greater risk of ventilator‐associated pneumonia and death. New technologies are needed to detect and monitor ETTs in vivo for the presence of these biofilms. Longitudinal OCT imaging was performed in mechanically ventilated subjects at 24‐hour intervals until extubation to detect the formation and temporal changes of in vivo ETT biofilms. OCT‐derived attenuation coefficient images were used to differentiate between mucus and biofilm. Extubated ETTs were examined with optical and electron microscopy, and all imaging results were correlated with standard‐of‐care clinical test reports. OCT and attenuation coefficient images from four subjects were positive for ETT biofilms and were negative for two subjects. The processed and stained extubated ETTs and clinical reports confirmed the presence/absence of biofilms in all subjects. Our findings confirm that OCT can detect and differentiate between biofilm‐positive and biofilm‐negative groups (P < 10^?5). OCT image‐based features may serve as biomarkers for direct in vivo detection of ETT biofilms and help drive investigation of new management strategies to reduce the incidence of VAP.