Usefulness of Fractal Analysis of Kirsch Edge Images for the Tissue Fragment Inner Structure in Breast FNAB

<b><i>Objective:</i></b> Recent advances in high-precision mammography and ultrasound screening have led to an increase in the detection of early lesions (ductal carcinoma in situ and small cancers) appearing as microcalcified lesions or microcystic images, and there needs to be an improvement in the accuracy of breast fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) assessing these lesions. The objective of this study was to investigate whether fractal analysis of Kirsch edge images for the tissue fragment inner structure (FKT) is useful in breast FNAB. FKT measures tissue fragment chromasia of hyperchromatic crowded tissue fragments (HCG), tissue fragment shape unevenness, and tissue fragment inner structure complexity. <b><i>Study Design Materials:</i></b> Nineteen epithelial tissue fragments of fibroadenoma (FA) from 7 patients and 52 tissue fragments of invasive breast carcinoma of no special type (IBC-NST) (grade 1–2) from 11 patients were assessed. First, tissue fragments were classified into small (smaller than 60 × 102 μm²), medium, and large (100 × 102 μm² or larger), and the appearance rate of each size was determined. Second, for FKT, the luminance value of tissue fragment chromasia, the unevenness and fractal value, and the tissue fragment inner structure complexity were determined. In statistical analysis, the Steel-Dwass test, nonlinear discriminant analysis, and receiver operating characteristic analysis were performed, setting the significance level at <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05. <b><i>Results:</i></b> “Unevenness of the tissue fragment shape,” “fractal value of the tissue fragment shape,” and “fractal value of the tissue fragment inner structure” were significantly higher in small and large tissue fragments in IBC-NST compared with those in FA. The specificity and sensitivity were the highest (100%) in small tissue fragments in multivariate analysis using 4 variables (“luminance value of tissue fragment chromasia,” “unevenness of tissue fragment shape,” “fractal value of the tissue fragment shape,” and “fractal value of the tissue fragment inner structure”). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> FKT, which evaluates “tissue fragment darkness,” “tissue fragment shape unevenness,” and “tissue fragment inner structure complexity” focusing on small tissue fragments of HCG in breast FNAB, is useful as a system that assists cytopathological assessment of breast FNAB.

Mucormicose aguda por Rhizopus isolado de fragmento de tecido pulmonar de paciente imunocomprometido: relato de caso / Acute Mucormycosis due to Rhizopus isolated in patient´s lung tissue fragments: case report

O gênero Rhizopus é responsável por várias infecções, dentre elas a pulmonar, a qual acomete até 11% dos casos. O objetivo desse estudo é relatar o isolamento do gênero Rhizopus sp. de fragmento de tecido pulmonar de um paciente com cetoacidose diabética. Paciente do gênero masculino, 22 anos, queixou-se de dispneia, dor intensa no hemitórax esquerdo e dorso. Foram solicitados: teste rápido para HIV, duas pesquisas para baciloscopia, exame de radiologia do tórax e uma cultura micológica de fragmento de tecido pulmonar. No exame micológico direto, foram observadas várias hifas hialinas largas de paredes finas e cenocíticas, estolões e rizoides, e, em cultura, houve o desenvolvimento de colônia de crescimento rápido em temperatura ambiente, de coloração inicialmente branca. A micromorfologia da cultura revelou a presença de esporangióforos com esporângios contendo esporangiosporos, o que confirma diagnóstico de mucormicose por Rhizopus sp. O paciente foi a óbito devido ao agravamento do quadro clínico.Palavras-Chave: Mucormicose; Cetoacidose; Rhizopus; PneumopatiasABSTRACTThe Rhyzopus genus is responsible for various infections, including the lung infection, which affects up to 11% of the cases. The aim of this study is to report the isolation of genus Rhyzopus sp. of lung tissue fragment of a patient having diabetic ketoacidosis. Male patient, 22 years of age, complaining of dyspnea, severe pain in the left hemithorax and back. It was requested: a quick test for HIV, two surveys to smear, radiological examination of the chest and a mycological culture of lung tissue fragments. The direct mycological examination revealed several large hyaline hyphae with thin walls and cenocytic walls, stolons and rhizoids. The culture exam has shown the developing of a fast-growing colony at room temperature, initially white. The micromorphology of the culture has shown the presence of sporangiophores with sporangia containing sporangiospores confirming the diagnosis of mucormycosis by Rhyzopus sp. The patient died due to the worsening of clinical condition.Keywords: Mucormycosis; Ketoacidosis; Rhyzopus; Acute lung injury

Progression Model Tissue Microarray (TMA) for the Study of Uterine Carcinomas

Cervical and endometrial uterine carcinomas are heterogeneous groups of cancers, which are preceded by preneoplastic lesions. More accurate tools are needed to improve the diagnosis and to define markers which may be relevant for the diagnosis, prediction of disease progression and therapeutic response.High throughput technologies for testing and validating molecular targets in cancer lesions and in their precursors are presently available. Among them, the tissue microarray (TMA) presents the advantage of a morphological control of the analyzed tissue fragment. In this article, we review the different aspects of the TMA technology with a special consideration to a uterine carcinogenesis model.

Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Activates KiSS-1 Gene Expression in the Brain of the Prepubertal Female Rat

KiSS-1 gene expression has been shown to increase as puberty approaches, and its peptide products, kisspeptins, are involved in LHRH secretion at puberty. Factors contributing to increased KiSS-1 expression, however, have not been identified; thus, the purpose of this study was to assess whether IGF-I could induce transcription of this gene in prepubertal female rats. IGF-I or saline was centrally administered to immature rats that were killed 2, 4, and 6 h later. Real-time PCR revealed that IGF-I induced (P &lt; 0.01) KiSS-1 gene expression at 6 h in a tissue fragment that contained both the anteroventral periventricular (AVPV) and arcuate (ARC) nuclei. Subsequently, the AVPV and ARC nuclei were separated to assess whether region-specific effects could be identified. IGF-I stimulated (P &lt; 0.01) KiSS-1 gene expression in the AVPV nucleus at 6 h after injection, with no change observed in the ARC nucleus. Serum estradiol (E2) levels were not altered at any time point after IGF-I, demonstrating that the increased KiSS-1 expression observed was not caused by an elevation in E2. Additionally, the IGF-I action to induce KiSS-1 gene expression in the AVPV nucleus was further demonstrated when the IGF-I was administered systemically. E2 appears to play an important permissive role because 1-d ovariectomized rats responded to IGF-I with increased (P &lt; 0.01) KiSS-1 expression, whereas, 20 d after ovariectomy, when the E2 levels had fallen below assay sensitivity, the IGF-I was unable to induce KiSS-1 expression. The IGF-I effect was further demonstrated by showing that the IGF-I receptor antagonist, JB-1, blocked the IGF-I-induced increase in KiSS-1 expression. Collectively, these data indicate that IGF-I is an activator of the KiSS-1 gene in the prepubertal female rat. IGF-1 is an early activator of the KiSS-1 gene at the time of female puberty.

Eruption sequestrum: x-ray microanalysis and microscopic findings

A 12 year-old girl with eruption sequestrum of the mandibular left second molars is reported. Intraoral findings revealed that a small hard tissue fragment white in color and with bone-like hardness on the occlusal surface of the mandibular second molar which was erupting. Histopathologically, the fragments consisted of necrotized cortical bone. Chronic inflammatory alterations were also observed in the gingiva in the area of contact with the osseous tissue. X-ray microanalyzer findings revealed the percentages of calcium and phosphorous (by weight) as 78.41% and 21.59%, respectively, for a calcium to phosphorous ratio of 3.63, which was higher than that seen in normal osseous tissue.