Automated histopathological evaluation of pterygium using artificial intelligence

PurposeThis study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a new automated method for the evaluation of histopathological images of pterygium using artificial intelligence.MethodsAn in-house software for automated grading of histopathological images was developed. Histopathological images of pterygium (400 images from 40 patients) were analysed using our newly developed software. Manual grading (I–IV), labelled based on an established scoring system, served as the ground truth for training the four-grade classification models. Region of interest segmentation was performed before the classification of grades, which was achieved by the combination of expectation-maximisation and k-nearest neighbours. Fifty-five radiomic features extracted from each image were analysed with feature selection methods to examine the significant features. Five classifiers were evaluated for their ability to predict quantitative grading.ResultsAmong the classifier models applied for automated grading in this study, the bagging tree showed the best performance, with a 75.9% true positive rate (TPR) and 75.8% positive predictive value (PPV) in internal validation. In external validation, the method also demonstrated reproducibility, with an 81.3% TPR and 82.0% PPV for the average of four classification grades.ConclusionsOur newly developed automated method for quantitative grading of histopathological images of pterygium may be a reliable method for quantitative analysis of histopathological evaluation of pterygium.

Spontaneous poisoning by Baccharis vulneraria Backer in cattle

ABSTRACT: Baccharis vulneraria Backer is a sub-shrub frequently found in southern Brazil, which leads to gastrointestinal tract intoxication. The objective of this study is to describe epidemiological, clinical and anatomopathological aspects of two cases of B. vulneraria poisoning in cattle. Two bovines from two different municipalities in the Itajaí Valley, Santa Catarina, Brazil were necropsied and performed the histopathological evaluation and botanical classification of the plant found in the pasture. Bovine 1 had dehydration, ruminal atony, diarrhea, congested mucous membranes and hypothermia for 20 hours, and died during clinical care. At necropsy, there was moderate multifocal detachment and reddening of the forestomachs mucosa. Bovine 2 presented anorexia, dry feces, ruminal atony, vocalization and muscle tremors for ten days, unresponsive to treatments, evolving to death. At necropsy were seen loosening of the mucosa with marked diffuse reddening and transmural edema. The microscopic exam revealed degeneration, necrosis, vesiculation, and detachment of the forestomachs’ mucosa, associated with moderate multifocal neutrophilic infiltrate (Bovine 1); marked diffuse transmural necrosis, edema, hemorrhage, and marked fibrinous exudation (Bovine 2). A large amount of B. vulneraria was found in the pastures, with signs of consumption. In this report, a case of subacute evolution of B. vulneraria poisoning was observed, since the poisoning by this plant is usually acute. More knowledge about poisoning by this plant is necessary for the prevention and control, avoiding new mortality cases.

Thyroid Swellings Undergoing Thyroidectomy in a Tertiary Hospital of Nepal: A Retrospective Study of Distribution and Prevalence of Malignancy

Introduction: Thyroid nodules brought to a hospital are checked for cancer. A post-operative histological examination is a gold standard for diagnosing thyroid lesions. Treatment is aided by a prior understanding of the disease’s underlying pattern. Objective: A retrospective study was done to determine the prevalence and distribution of malignancy in suspicious thyroid nodules. Methods: The study was conducted at Ganesh Man Singh Memorial Academy of ENT- Head and Neck studies from August 2017 to March 2020. All the subjects (n=183) presenting with a thyroid nodule and who had post-operative histopathological evaluation available were recruited in the study. The proportion and percentage of findings of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) and histopathological evaluation were done. The distribution of histopathological observation was also analyzed in terms of age group and gender. Results: The mean age of study participants was 40.23 ± 13.77 years (n=183). The predominance of women was notable. In about 98 (53.55%) of the patients who underwent thyroidectomy, a benign lesion was found, but the most common finding was papillary carcinoma (40.98%). In the age group below 50 years, papillary carcinoma was most common. Among people older than 50, colloid goiter was more common. Follicular and medullary carcinomas were only observed in female participants. Gender did not appear to be associated with malignancy (p=0.99). Follicular adenomas were noted to have the youngest mean age. Conclusions: We observed a high prevalence of malignancy, particularly papillary carcinoma in clinically suspected thyroid nodules of a tertiary hospital in Nepal. Keywords: Colloid Goiter; malignancy; papillary carcinoma; thyroid cancer; thyroid nodule.

Impact of injectable chitosan cryogel microspherescaffolds on differentiation and proliferation of adiposederived mesenchymal stem cells into fat cells

Difficulty in the clinical practice of stem cell therapy is often experienced in achieving desired target tissue cell differentiation and migration of stem cells to other tissue compartments where they are destroyed or die. This study was performed to evaluate if mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may differentiate into desired cell types when injected after combined with an injectable cryogel scaffold and to investigate if this scaffold may help in preventing cells from passing into different tissue compartments. MSCs were obtained from fat tissue of the rabbits as autografts and nuclei and cytoplasms of these cells were labeled with BrdU and PKH26. In Group 1, only-scaffold; in Group 2, only-MSCs; and in Group 3, combined stem cell/scaffold were injected to the right malar area of the rabbits. At postoperative 3 weeks, volumes of the injected areas were calculated by computer-tomography scans and histopathological evaluation was performed. The increase in the volume of the right malar areas was more in Group 3. In histopathological evaluation, chitosan cryogel microspheres were observed microscopically within the tissue and the scaffold was only partially degraded. Normal tissue form was seen in Group 2. Cells differentiated morphologically into fat cells were detected in Groups 2 and 3. Injectable chitosan cryogel microspheres were used in vivo for the first time in this study. As it was demonstrated to be useful in carrying MSCs to the reconstructed area, help cell differentiation to desired cells and prevent migration to other tissue compartments, it may be used for reconstructive purposes in the future.