Establishment of Review Criteria Coordinating With the Automated Digital Cell Morphology Identification System in a Specialized Women's and Children's Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to establish appropriate review criteria for blood cell analysis in a specialized women's and children's hospital. Also, the CellaVision DI-60, was developed as one of the automated digital cell morphology analyzer, we evaluated if it was shown to be most effective under the certain review criteria. METHODS: A total of 2890 blood samples were detected to optimize the previously established review criteria for women and children with the Sysmex XE-2100. A total of 623 samples were used to validate the criteria. RESULTS: The microscopic-review rate based on the initial review criteria was 51.0%. After optimization, it was reduced to 17.3% and the false-negative rate was 3.85%. There was > 80% consistency between manual review results and CellaVision DI-60 preclassification when samples triggered the platelet- or red cell-related rules. The sensitivity for abnormalities (immature granulocytes, nucleated red blood cells) of reclassification was 90% to 100% and the false-negative rate was < 5%. However, direct microscopic review was required when the "Blasts/AbnLympho?" and "Atypical Lympho?" flags were triggered. CONCLUSION: Specialized review criteria are needed for women and children. An automated morphology identification system might help to improve the review criteria.

Detection Time Distribution of Microcolonies Formed by Individual Heat-Injured Cells of Escherichia coli.

The microcolony formation at 30℃ on an enriched minimal salts agar plates by individual Escherichia coli cells heated at 50℃ was monitored with a time-lapse shadow image analysis system, MicroBio µ3DTM AutoScanner. While the time course of microcolony count detected every half an hour for the unheated cells seemingly demonstrated a normal distribution, that for the heated cell population demonstrated totally the growth delay probably resulting from cell injury and also interestingly distributed in its rather deformed pattern with a tailing. Those patterns of the cumulative counts of appearing microcolonies during the post-heating cultivation period were expressed in three different mathematical models. This approach may be proposed as a rapid cultivation method predictable for enumeration of viable and repairable injured cells in practical use.

Sequence and time course of depletion of cardiac cellular proteins and accumulation of plasma proteins in rat early ischemic myocardium.

In order to investigate the sequence and time course of fibronectin (Fn), fibrinogen (Fg), complement (C5), myoglobin (Mb), actin (HHF35), and desmin (Dm) for the diagnosis of early myocardial ischemia, the myocardial ischemia model was established in rats, the positive reaction areas of Fn, Fg and C5 and the depletion areas of Mb, HHF35 and Dm in the ischemic cardiomyocytes were studied with immunohistochemistry, image analysis technique and statistical system. The results showed that the depletion of Dm, HHF35 and Mb, and the positive staining of Fg and C5 in ischemic cardiomyocytes were found as early as 15 min after the myocardial ischemia, but the positive staining of Fn occurred till 3 h after myocardial ischemia. With the prolongation of ischemia, the areas of the depletion of Dm, HHF35, Mb and the positive staining of Fg, C5 and Fn gradually enlarged. It is suggested that all the six immunohistochemical markers are more sensitive than routine H&E staining, and that Dm, HHF35, Mb, Fg, C5 are more sensitive markers than Fn for detection of early myocardial ischemia.

Biometric Characterization and Morphophysiological Quality of Peach Rootstock Seeds Using Images of their Seedling Vigor.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of using the computerized imaging Seed Analysis System (SAS) in the biometric and morphophysiological characterization of seeds and the initial growth of seedlings from peach rootstocks. METHODS: The experimental design was completely randomized with five replicates of 20 seeds. The variables analyzed were the seed humidity content, length and width of seeds measured by SAS technology and manual measurements, mean germination time, germination percentage, radicle length and width, taproot length, length of the aerial part and taproot/aerial part ratio. RESULTS: The highest seed length, germination percentage (100%) and lower germination time (11.3), were obtained with the cv. Capdeboscq while, 'Tsukuba 1', 2' and 3' had intermediate seedlings length, varying from 1.55 to 1.65 cm with mean germination times between 14.5 and 18.0 days and average germination percentage of 96%. The computerized analysis of images is fast and efficient for biometric evaluations such as seed width and length, as well as initial growth of peach tree seedlings. The cvs Capdeboscq, Flordaguard and Tsukuba 2 presented greater radicle width, length and a mean taproot/aerial part ratio equal to 2, as well as higher number of adventitious roots, which indicated a strong positive correlation between radicle length, taproot length and initial seedling growth. CONCLUSION: The continuity of the research will certainly allow the development of reliable procedures for other species, besides allowing the identification of wider alternatives for the use of this system for the expansion of knowledge in the areas of physiology and evaluation of the physiological potential of seeds.

Correlation between quantitative pivot shift and generalized joint laxity: a prospective multicenter study of ACL ruptures.

PURPOSE: To investigate whether an increased magnitude of quantitative rotatory knee laxity is associated with a greater level of generalized joint laxity in ACL-injured and contralateral knees. METHODS: A total of 103 patients were enrolled across four international centers to undergo anatomic ACL reconstruction. Rotatory knee laxity was evaluated preoperatively, both in the awake state and under anesthesia, using the standardized pivot shift test. Two devices were used to quantify rotatory knee laxity; an inertial sensor, measuring the joint acceleration, and an image analysis system, measuring the lateral compartment translation of the tibia. The presence of generalized joint laxity was determined using the Beighton Hypermobility Score. The correlation between the level of generalized joint laxity and the magnitude of rotatory knee laxity was calculated for both the involved knee and the non-involved knee. Further, patients were dichotomized into low (0-4) or high (5-9) Beighton Score groups. Alpha was set at < 0.05. RESULTS: Ninety-six patients had complete datasets, 83 and 13 in the low and high Beighton Score groups respectively. In anesthetized patients, there was a significant correlation between the degree of Beighton Score and quantitative pivot shift when analyzing the non-involved knee using the image analysis system (r = 0.235, p < 0.05). When analyzing the same knee, multivariate analysis adjusted for meniscal injury, age and gender revealed an increased odds ratio for patients with increased lateral compartment translation to be part of the high Beighton Score group (OR 1.86, 95% CI 1.10-3.17, p < 0.05). No other correlation was significant. When analyzing the dichotomized subgroups, no significant correlations could be established. CONCLUSION: The findings in this study suggest that there is a weak correlation between generalized joint laxity and the contralateral healthy knee, indicating increased rotatory knee laxity in these patients. Generalized joint laxity does not appear to correlate with rotatory knee laxity in ACL-injured knees. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prospective cohort study; level of evidence, 2.

Development of a computer-aided-controlling and image analysis system for light/dark box test in mice and rats / 中国比较医学杂志

Objective To develop a computer-aided-controlling and analysis system for light/dark box in mice and rats with a high degree of automation and intelligence.Methods Video recording and image processing were applied to develop the computer-aided-controlling and image analysis system for light/dark box test in mice and rats. The artificial environment was developed. The stability and reliability of the system was validated by male rats. Results The percentage of time spent in the lit chamber in total time was above 79.40%. The data showed that the artificial environment was successful. When the threshold was set at 18 cm/s, the data showed a high correlation coefficient of movement time between the computer and manual recordings(r > 0.99). Classical indexes including transition and time spent in both the lit and dark chambers also showed a high correlation. The model group showed a significantly decrease in the transitions and time spent in the lit chamber compared with the control group, indicating a high stability and reliability of the light/dark box test. Conclusions A stable and highly intelligent computer-aided-controlling and image analysis system for light/dark box test of mice and rats has been developed,and it could be used for pathological mechanism studies of anxiolytics.

Large-scale image region documentation for fully automated image biomarker algorithm development and evaluation.

With the advent of fully automated image analysis and modern machine learning methods, there is a need for very large image datasets having documented segmentations for both computer algorithm training and evaluation. This paper presents a method and implementation for facilitating such datasets that addresses the critical issue of size scaling for algorithm validation and evaluation; current evaluation methods that are usually used in academic studies do not scale to large datasets. This method includes protocols for the documentation of many regions in very large image datasets; the documentation may be incrementally updated by new image data and by improved algorithm outcomes. This method has been used for 5 years in the context of chest health biomarkers from low-dose chest CT images that are now being used with increasing frequency in lung cancer screening practice. The lung scans are segmented into over 100 different anatomical regions, and the method has been applied to a dataset of over 20,000 chest CT images. Using this framework, the computer algorithms have been developed to achieve over 90% acceptable image segmentation on the complete dataset.

Cavernous hemangioma in the thymus: a case report.

Cavernous hemangioma is not a neoplasm, but rather a congenital venous malformation with the potential to develop in all parts of the body, though it is very rarely seen in the thymus. We report a case of cavernous hemangioma in the thymus partially resected. A 71-year-old woman presented with pericardial discomfort, and chest computed tomography (CT) showed a left lateral mediastinal mass which was 2.0 × 1.2 × 1.8 cm in size, with border regularity and without calcification. Its interior was partially enhanced. Three-dimensional chest computed tomography image showed a tortuous vessel connecting to the tumor. Surgical resection was performed for the purpose of providing a definitive diagnosis and treatment because a mediastinal tumor such as thymoma or teratoma was suspected. Partial resection of the thymus including the mass was done by utilizing a three-port, left-sided video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) approach with hoisting of the third rib with the patient in a spinal position. A wine-colored mass bulging from the surface of the left lobe of the thymus was identified along with the communicating vessel which could only be cut with an energy device. It is considered that thymic partial resection using VATS is a better option for small and non-infiltrative lesions.

Laparoscopic upper-pole heminephrectomy for duplicated renal collecting system with superselective artery clamping using virtual partial nephrectomy analysis of Synapse Vincent: A case report.

A 22-year-old woman was diagnosed with a duplicated renal collecting system with hydronephrosis and parenchymal loss in the upper pole of the left kidney. She underwent laparoscopic left upper-pole nephrectomy. Although a complex hilar vascular anatomy was identified during the operation, preoperative three-dimensional computed tomographic reconstruction using a three-dimensional image analysis device (Synapse Vincent; Fuji Medical Systems, Tokyo, Japan) greatly helped to accurately identify the anatomical renal hilum. For further detail, virtual partial nephrectomy analysis using a Voronoi decomposition was used to visualize the area supplied by a selected arterial branch including the atrophic cleavage line. We controlled the bleeding with selective clamping and safely carried out upper-pole heminephrectomy according to the preoperative plan.

Novel method for ANA quantitation using IIF imaging system.

A variety of antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) are found in the serum of patients with autoimmune diseases. The detection of abnormal ANA titers is a critical criterion for diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other connective tissue diseases. Indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIF) on HEp-2 cells is the gold standard method to determine the presence of ANA and therefore provides information about the localization of autoantigens that are useful for diagnosis. However, its utility was limited in prognosing and monitoring of disease activity due to the lack of standardization in performing the technique, subjectivity in interpreting the results and the fact that it is only semi-quantitative. On the other hand, ELISA for the detection of ANA can quantitate ANA but could not provide further information about the localization of the autoantigens. It would be ideal to integrate both of the quantitative and qualitative methods. To address this issue, this study was conducted to quantitatively detect ANAs by using IIF imaging analysis system. Serum samples from patients with ANA positive (including speckled, homogeneous, nuclear mixture and cytoplasmic mixture patterns) and negative were detected for ANA titers by the classical IIF and analyzed by an image system, the image of each sample was acquired by the digital imaging system and the green fluorescence intensity was quantified by the Image-Pro plus software. A good correlation was found in between two methods and the correlation coefficients (R(2)) of various ANA patterns were 0.942 (speckled), 0.942 (homogeneous), 0.923 (nuclear mixture) and 0.760 (cytoplasmic mixture), respectively. The fluorescence density was linearly correlated with the log of ANA titers in various ANA patterns (R(2)>0.95). Moreover, the novel ANA quantitation method showed good reproducibility (F=0.091, p>0.05) with mean±SD and CV% of positive, and negative quality controls were equal to 126.4±9.6 and 7.6%, 10.4±1.25 and 12.0%, respectively. In conclusion, our novel ANA quantitation method can provide both of the fluorescence density, which could precisely reflect the fluctuate of ANAs level in patient's serum and the useful information about the localization of the autoantigens for clinician in diagnosing and monitoring diseases.

Image Analysis for Degradation of DNA in Retinal Nuclei of Rat after Death / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

The changes of retinal nuclear DNA content in rats after death was detected and the relationship between degradation of retinal nuclear DNA and postmortem interval (PM1) was analyzed. Ninety healthy adult SD rats, female, weighing 250±10 g, were randomly divided into 15 groups. At 20 ℃, the retinal cells were withdrawn every 2 h within 0 to 28 h after death and stained with Feulgen-Vans. Index of density (ID), integral absorbance (IA) and average absorbance (AA) in retinal nucleus were analyzed by image analysis system. And the obtained data were subjected to linear regression analysis by using SPSS 12.0 software. The results showed that in retinal nucleus, AA and IA were gradually declined with the prolongation of PMI, while ID had an increased tendency. Within 28 h after PMI, the regression equations were as follows: YAA=-0.009XAA+0.590 (R2=0.949), YIA=-0.097XIA+18.903 (R2=0.968), YID=0.122XID+2.246 (R2=0.951). It was concluded that retinal nuclear DNA after death in rats was degraded gradually and had a good correlation with PMI.

Evaluation of Porosity in Cylindrical Bone Cement Specimen Using Image Analysis System / 대한정형외과연구학회지

PURPOSE: The porosity of the bone cement is the most important cause of fatigue failure, the most common mode of failure of bone cement using widely in arthroplasty. It is important to evaluate the porosity of bone cement for improvement or development of bone cement, but the conventional 'stain, 'cut, and 'polish, manual method takes long time and efforts. So it is necessary to develop a new technique for evaluation of porosity of bone cement. We tried a technique using computer image analysis system to evaluate the porosity of bone cement specimen and assess efficacy of the method. Simultaneously we evaluated the relationship between the porosity of bone cement and fatigue failure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We made 59, 2.5inch-length bone cement specimens(30 Simplex P, 29 Palacos R) using Simplex P and Palaces R which are widely using in clinical situation and checked radiogram using mammography film. After scanning the mammography film, we measured the porosity of the bone cement specimens using NIH(National Institute for Health) Image 1.6 version image analysis program. We also, measured the porosity of the bone cement specimens with conventional 'stain','cut' and 'polish' method, after then compared the results of two methods. Simultaneously, we evaluated the relationship between porosity & fatigue failure by loading 9.0, 10.0, 12.5 and 15.0 MPa load with frequency of 10Hz to the bone cement specimens under the physiologic condition. RESULTS: The coefficient of relation of simplex P and palaces R was 0.729 and 0.713 respectively, so there was high relationship between the image analysis system method and conventional one. It was easy and took shorter time to measure the porosity of bone cement specimens with image analysis system. There was high correlation between cement porosity and fatigue failure, regardless of level of load. CONCLUSION: It was very easy and fast to measure the porosity of the bone cement specimens with image analysis system and there was high correlation between cement porosity and fatigue failure.

Immunohistochemical study with depletion of cardiac troponin T in humen on myocardial infarction / 中国法医学杂志

Objective To detect the loss of cardiac troponin T (CTnT) in human myocardial infarction. Methods Loss of cardiac troponin T in human myocardial infarction was detected by immunohistochemical LSAB method. Results Obvious depletion of CTnT was observed in cases died from myocardial infarction,and by the computer image analysis, the mean CTnT-depleting area in myocardial infarction group was significantly different from that in the control group(P

Immunohistochemical localization of dental matrix protein 1 in carious human permanent teeth / 实用口腔医学杂志

Objective:To investigate the expression of dental matrix protein 1(DMP1)in carious human permanent teeth and its possible role during the reparative process after pulp injury.Methods:10 of noncarious third molars (NC),10 of shallow carious (SC),10 of intermediate carious (IC) and 10 of deep carious (DC) were prepared for the detection of DMP1 in odontoblasts by immunohistochemical staining. DMP1 expression in odontoblasts was analyzed by image analysis system and expressed as integral optical density (IOD).Results:DMP1 was majorly detected in cytoplasms and processes of odontoblasts and odontoblast-like cells.The IOD values in the groups of NC,SC,IC and DC were 0.265?0.018,0.309?0.021,0.678?0.031 * and 0.691? 0.033 * respectively;that in the reparative dentin in DC group was 0.856?0.045 ** ( *vs NC P

Analysis of Facial Motion Using Digitized Images / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Many tools are available for the evaluation of facial motion. They run the gamut from the gross scale proposed by House and May, the regional scale preferred by Adour and Yanagihara and the personal computers used by Neely and Isono. However, more objective and accurate tools of evaluation are still in need. With the aim of establishing a simple, objective evaluation method of facial motion, we devised a computerized image-difference analysis system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Facial motions of 14 normal volunteers were analyzed utilizing the computerized image-difference analysis system. Techniques such as image capturing, subtraction and thresholding were used to anlayze resting, smiling and eyeclosing motions of face. RESULTS: The subtracted image of a resting-face from an eye-closing face showed a greater movement in the eye area than in the mouth area. The subtracted image of a resting-face from a smiling face showed a greater movement in the mouth area than in the eye area. But there were no statistical differences between the right and the left side of the face of the same subject(p<0.05). CONCLUSION: It is possible to use the image analysis system to access facial motion of subjects with or without the normal facial motion.

Image analysis for quantification of nucleolar organizer regions in basal cell carcinoma and seborrheic keratosis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) have recently attracted much attention because of claims that their frequency within nuclei is significantly higher in malignant cells than in normal, reactive, or benign neoplastic cells. The purpose of this paper is to analyze a method allowing selection of the best morphometric criterion for quantifying AgNORs (Silver stained Nucleolar organizer Regions) under conventional observation conditions, by light microscopy. METHODS: The various parameters including NORs counting in cutaneous tumors using image analysis system were studied. RESULTS: There were significant differences in mean numbers of AgNORs per nucleus, mean ratio of AgNORs area per nucleus area, mean ratio of greatest AgNORs area per nucleus area, mean nucleus area per a AgNOR, and CV (Coefficient of Variation) of AgNORs area between basal cell carcinoma and seborrheic keratosis. CONCLUSION: Study of AgNORs using the image analysis system is a useful tool for diagnosis of cutaneous tumors.

Quantification of Nucleolar Organizer Regions in Skin Tumors

BACKGROUND: Nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) have recently attracted much attention because of claims that their frequency within nuclei is significantly higher in malignant cells than in normal, reactive, or benign neoplastic cells. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to analyze a method allowing selection of the best morphometric criterion for quantifying AgNOR proteins under conventional observation conditions by light microscopy. METHOD: We tried to investigate the various parameters including NORs counting in cutaneous tumors using image analysis system. RESULTS: There were significant differences in mean nucleus area per a AgNOR, nucleus area between the benign and potentially malignant group. But the conventional counting of AgNORs is not able to differentiate between the two groups. We could discriminate squamous cell carcinoma from Bowen's disease using parameters of mean ratio of AgNORs area per nucleus area, mean ratio of greatest AgNORs area per nucleus area, coefficient of variation (C V) of nucleus area, and mean area of largest AgNORs. In squamous cell carcinoma and keratoacanthoma, C V of nucleus area has shown a significant difference. CONCLUSION: Study of AgNORs using image analysis system is a useful tool for the diagnosis of cutaneous tumors.

Experimental study of matrine's effects on intracelluar calcium effects on intracell cultured myocardial cells of SD rats / 中成药

Objectives: To clarify the antiarrhythmia mechanism of matrine by observing its effects on intracellular calcium concentration in cultured myocardial cells of SD rats. Methods: Myocardial cells of newborn(sucking) rats were fed with culture medium supplemented with verapamil、 potassium chloride and different dose of matrine, respectively. By means of the image analysis system, intensity changes of intracellular calcium were determined with the fluorescent probe to estimate indirectly inward calcium influx under the influence of matrine. Results: It was found that high potassium caused an increase in fluorescent intensity of intracellular calcium which could be inhibited by matrine. Conclusion: It is suggested that matrine may be a kind of calcium antagonium producing its antiarrhythmic action.

Effect of Pentoxifylline in the Experimental Acute Focal Cerebral Ischemia

The purpose of this experimental study is to determine the protective effect of pentoxifylline against the acute focal cerebral ischemia. The acute focal cerebral ischemia was induced by postorbital occlusion of the proximal portion of the left middle cerebral artery for 4 hours with reperfusion for 8 hours. The experimental animals were divided into two groups:group I(ischemic group) was the cats without pretreatment and group II(pentoxi group) was given pentoxifylline(15 mg/kg) intravenously 2 hours prior to occlusion of the artery. The total areas of infarction in left cerebral hemisphere were measured by image analysis system. In group I and II the total infracted areas were 4034.274 mm2 and 1385.536 mm2, respectively. The significant reduction of infracted areas in group II suggests that the pretreatment of petoxifylline has a beneficial effect on the acute focal cerebral ischemia in cats and would be applicable in the clinical field in which the ischemia is anticipated during major cerebral artery occlusion.

Study on the fibronectin for the diagnosis of myocardial infarction / 中国法医学杂志

In order to explore the value of fibronectin (Fn) in the postmortem diagnosis of myocardial infarction.The changes of Fn staining in normal, infarcted and other non infarcted myocardial injuries resulted from myocarditis, mechanical asphyxia, electrocution, hemorrhagic shock, cardiac contusion and organophosphate poisoning were studied with immunohistochemistry and image analysis system. The results showed that positive Fn staining could only be observed in groups of myocardial infarction and myocarditis, but could not be found in groups of mechanical asphyxia, electrocution, hemorrhagic shock, cardiac contusion, organophosphate poisoning. It is indicated that positive reaction of Fn could be affected only by myocarditis, so it is quite specific for the diagnosis of myocardial infarction.