Indeterminate thyroid cytology: Detecting malignancy using analysis of nuclear images

Background: Thyroid nodules diagnosed as 'atypia of undetermined significance/ follicular lesion of undetermined significance' (AUS/FLUS) or 'follicular neoplasm/ suspected follicular neoplasm' (FN/SFN), according to Bethesda’s classification, represena challenge in clinical practice. Computerized analysis of nuclear images (CANI) could be a useful tool for these cases. Our aim was to evaluate the ability of CANI to correctly classify AUS/FLUS and FN/SFN thyroid nodules for malignancy. Methods: We studied 101 nodules cytologically classified as AUS/FLUS (n = 68) or FN/SFN (n = 33) from 97 thyroidectomy patients. Slides with cytological material were submitted for manual selection and analysis of the follicular cell nuclei for morphometric and texture parameters using ImageJ software. The histologically benign and malignant lesions were compared for such parameters which were then evaluated for the capacity to predict malignancy using the classification and regression trees gini model. The intraclass coefficient of correlation was used to evaluate method reproducibility. Results: In AUS/FLUS nodule analysis, the benign and malignant nodules differed for entropy (P < 0.05), while the FN/SFN nodules differed for fractal analysis, coefficient of variation (CV) of roughness, and CV-entropy (P < 0.05). Considering the AUS/FLUS and FN/SFN nodules separately, it correctly classified 90.0 and 100.0% malignant nodules, with a correct global classification of 94.1 and 97%, respectively. We observed that reproducibility was substantially or nearly complete (0.61–0.93) in 10 of the 12 nuclear parameters evaluated. Conclusion: CANI demonstrated a high capacity for correctly classifying AUS/FLUS and FN/SFN thyroid nodules for malignancy. This could be a useful method to help increase diagnostic accuracy in the indeterminate thyroid cytology.This study received financial support from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP; processes number 2016/14987-0 and number 2016/14988-6). Further funding through 'Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologi' – FCT and FEDER 'Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional funds through the COMPETE 2020'; by Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization 'POCI' (Grant no. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274); by the 'Advancing cancer research: from basic knowledge to application' (grant no. NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000029); and by the 'Projetos Estruturados de I & D & I', funded by Norte 2020 – Programa Operacional Regional do Norte

The global abundance of tree palms

Aim: Palms are an iconic, diverse and often abundant component of tropical ecosystems that provide many ecosystem services. Being monocots, tree palms are evolutionarily, morphologically and physiologically distinct from other trees, and these differences have important consequences for ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration and storage) and in terms of responses to climate change. We quantified global patterns of tree palm relative abundance to help improve understanding of tropical forests and reduce uncertainty about these ecosystems under climate change. Location: Tropical and subtropical moist forests. Time period: Current. Major taxa studied: Palms (Arecaceae). Methods: We assembled a pantropical dataset of 2,548 forest plots (covering 1,191 ha) and quantified tree palm (i.e., ≥10 cm diameter at breast height) abundance relative to co‐occurring non‐palm trees. We compared the relative abundance of tree palms across biogeographical realms and tested for associations with palaeoclimate stability, current climate, edaphic conditions and metrics of forest structure. Results: On average, the relative abundance of tree palms was more than five times larger between Neotropical locations and other biogeographical realms. Tree palms were absent in most locations outside the Neotropics but present in >80% of Neotropical locations. The relative abundance of tree palms was more strongly associated with local conditions (e.g., higher mean annual precipitation, lower soil fertility, shallower water table and lower plot mean wood density) than metrics of long‐term climate stability. Life‐form diversity also influenced the patterns; palm assemblages outside the Neotropics comprise many non‐tree (e.g., climbing) palms. Finally, we show that tree palms can influence estimates of above‐ground biomass, but the magnitude and direction of the effect require additional work. Conclusions: Tree palms are not only quintessentially tropical, but they are also overwhelmingly Neotropical. Future work to understand the contributions of tree palms to biomass estimates and carbon cycling will be particularly crucial in Neotropical forests

Determinants of serum lipoprotein(a) concentration in normolipidaemic individuals without clincal atherosclerosis

Background: Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) is an independent risk factor for coronary artery diseases. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the determinants of plasma Lp(a) concentrations in normolipidaemic individuals. Methods: Immunonephelometric quantification of Lp(a) was made in 177 volunteers. A multivariate analysis was employed to verify the influence of clinical and biochemical parameters on plasma Lp(a) concentration. Results: The serum Lp(a) concentration in this population ranged from 0.7 to 40 nmol/L. The Lp(a) predictors were: sex (female), HDL2 triglyceride (negative) and LDL-cholesterol (positive). Conclusions: The modulation of plasma Lp(a) concentration in this study points to pro-atherogenic lipoprotein associations.42539839

Antibodies against oxidized low-density lipoprotein in normolipidemic smokers

Oxidative low-density lipoprotein (LDL) damage caused by oxidants present in cigarette smoke may be involved in the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease,(1) but there is a controversy in published reports on this subject. Gouaze et al(2) demonstrated increased oxidizability in smokers, Siekmeier et al(3) could not confirm these results, and Chen and Loo(4) found an antioxidant property of cigarette smoke extract by measuring its effect on LDL oxidizability in vitro. We evaluated the contribution of cigarette smoking on LDL oxidizability and,plasma levels of antioxidized LDL in a well-defined healthy population of normolipidemic smokers. Blood samples were drawn a few minutes after subjects smoked 1 cigarette to ensure higher blood levels of oxidative products from cigarette smoke.(5).906651

A PROPOSAL FOR A PROCEDURE FOR THE DETECTION OF OPHTHALMIC DISTURBANCES IN SCHOOL-CHILDREN

The proposal for a visual acuity test (A. V.) arose from a survey conducted among School Children of the 'Ciclo Basico (C.B.)' i. e., the first two years of Elementary School in S. Carlos, S. Paulo State, Brazil. Nine schools participated in this study. The teachers were properly trained to apply the A. V. and squinting tests according to a standardized procedure. Of 2,025 children tested, 88.1% showed levels of A. V. higher than 0.8, and a squinting prevalence of 2.17%. When the application of the test was over, each school presented its proposals for the systematical application of such tests. These proposals had a common point: the test should be applied by the teachers themselves under the supervision of the co-ordinators of the C. B. The school nurse would be responsible for giving overall assistance to all the activities of the program at all levels.27320420