Assessment of a scoring system for Basal Cell Carcinoma with multi-beam optical coherence tomography.

BACKGROUND: Multi-beam optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a novel method of non-invasive skin imaging allowing the evaluation of tissue at high level of lateral and axial resolution. It permits the horizontal and vertical evaluation of the extent of diseases. OBJECTIVE: Herein, we aimed to validate diagnosing basal cell carcinoma (BCC) by OCT using a newly developed scoring system ('Berlin Score'-BS). This was based on the predetermined criteria such as dark border underneath the tumour and ovoid structures. Their frequency and distribution in subtypes of BCC were evaluated. METHODS: The study was conducted in two phases, in which the experience of examiner differed. A total of 127 BCC and 50 other skin diseases were examined. In phase one, students performed the evaluation of skin lesions using the BS, while in phase two an expert performed the scoring in a different subset of patients. RESULTS: Application of BS by students revealed sensitivity and specificity of 92.8% (95% CI 85.4-96.8) and 24.1% (95% CI 11.0-43.4) when reaching the lower threshold BS≥8. The most common BCC subtypes were superficial (28.7%) and nodular (22.6%) BCC. Second phase was carried out to verify collected data by a dermatological specialist and expert in using OCT. Increased sensitivity and specificity for OCT amounted to 96.6% (95% CI 80.4-99.8) and 75.2% (95% CI 52.5-90.9). Thereby 88% of all diagnoses were correctly classified confirmed by histopathology. CONCLUSION: Multi-beam optical coherence tomography revealed to be a fast and promising device for assessing lesions by means of BS. Both students, who benefit from practice in handling OCT, and experts are able to perform this procedure. However, experience and training in the interpretation markedly increased sensitivity and specificity of the BS in our study. Moreover, redefinition and refining of the criteria seems necessary and may further increase the diagnostic value of OCT for NMSC.

Correlation of optical coherence tomography and histology in microcystic adnexal carcinoma: a case report.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Herein, we report a case of microcystic adnexal carcinoma (MAC), which we correlated and evaluated by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and conventional H&E histology. METHODS: A commercially available OCT scanner was used for imaging. Several multi-slice images were obtained from the central portion of the lesion. Correlation of OCT findings with histology was performed retrospectively. RESULTS: Microcystic adnexal carcinoma showed characteristic criteria, which were divided into superficial and sub-epidermal findings. CONCLUSION: The use of OCT can visualize characteristic criteria of MAC, thus enabling prompt diagnosis before surgery.

Vacuoles release sucrose via tonoplast-localised SUC4-type transporters.

Arabidopsis thaliana has seven genes for functionally active sucrose transporters. Together with sucrose transporters from other dicot and monocot plants, these proteins form four separate phylogenetic groups. Group-IV includes the Arabidopsis protein SUC4 (synonym SUT4) and related proteins from monocots and dicots. These Group-IV sucrose transporters were reported to be either tonoplast- or plasma membrane-localised, and in heterologous expression systems were shown to act as sucrose/H(+) symporters. Here, we present comparative analyses of the subcellular localisation of the Arabidopsis SUC4 protein and of several other Group-IV sucrose transporters, studies on tissue specificity of the Arabidopsis SUC4 promoter, phenotypic characterisations of Atsuc4.1 mutants and AtSUC4 overexpressing (AtSUC4-OX) plants, and functional comparisons of Atsuc4.1 and AtSUC4-OX vacuoles. Our data show that SUC4-type sucrose transporters from different plant families (Brassicaceae, Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae) localise exclusively to the tonoplast, demonstrating that vacuolar sucrose transport is a common theme of all SUC4-type proteins. AtSUC4 expression is confined to the stele of Arabidopsis roots, developing anthers and meristematic tissues in all aerial parts. Analyses of the carbohydrate content of WT and mutant seedlings revealed reduced sucrose content in AtSUC4-OX seedlings. This is in line with patch-clamp analyses of AtSUC4-OX vacuoles that characterise AtSUC4 as a sucrose/H(+) symporter directly in the tonoplast membrane.

Detection of Salmonella spp. in water using magnetic capture hybridization combined with PCR or real-time PCR.

The removal of target DNA by magnetic capture hybridization (MCH) from constituents inhibitory to amplification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was evaluated using Salmonella as the test pathogen. Hybrids were subjected to both conventional and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). When PCR inhibitors commonly found in water were added to the reaction, MCH-PCR increased the detection sensitivity on the order of 8 to 2,000-fold compared with the system using only PCR. To determine the selectivity of MCH for target DNA (Salmonella), different amounts of non-target DNA (Escherichia coli) were added to the qPCR reaction. The highest non-target DNA concentration interfered with the amplification by qPCR alone, while MCH-qPCR was unaffected. Average recovery of Salmonella DNA by MCH-qPCR was 31% using optimized buffers, washing solutions and enzymatic digestion. A recovery function was proposed in order to calculate the real cell number based on the measured value. Preliminary testing confirmed the suitability of this method for analysis of natural waters.