Image-based discriminating morphological features for gastric atrophy assessment: a step to go further.

The aim of this study is to establish a basis for automated assessment of gastric atrophy according to the Updated Sydney System. We sought to minimize inter- and intra-observer variations in the application of the Sydney System. A total of 160 biopsies were examined by three pathologists and graded using the visual scale of the Updated Sydney System. A consensus was reached on 135 biopsies. Digital images were captured for the studied biopsies. Image processing techniques were used to extract four morphological features that uniquely discriminate each atrophy grade. The features are related to gland density and shape. To validate the reproducibility of these features, the K-Means clustering technique was used. We were able to grade the atrophy with an overall precision of 95.6%. Furthermore, the proposed features were able to distinguish four discrete grades without any significant overlap. This has not been achieved by previous studies.

Familial disorder of sex determination in seven individuals from three related sibships.

In humans, the sex of an individual is determined by the Y-chromosome-related SRY gene, which causes the differentiation of the undifferentiated gonads into testicular tissue. True hermaphrodites without a Y chromosome and XX males represent a sex determination error in which testicular tissue develops despite the absence of the SRY gene. Familial forms of XX true hermaphrodites and XX males exist in the literature, which also contains the two forms co-existing in the same family. In this report, we present a large family with seven affected individuals with phenotypes ranging from XX male to XX true hermaphrodite with predominance of female characteristics. We suggest that XX maleness and XX true hermaphroditism represent a continuum of the same disorder. We speculate on the mode of inheritance of this disorder in this particular family.