Desarrollo de los ventrículos laterales del cerebro durante el segundo trimestre de gestación identificados por resonancia magnética

El sistema ventricular del cerebro cambia su forma y tamaño durante el desarrollo fetal. Las modificaciones cronológicas están relacionadas al rápido crecimiento del parénquima cerebral por migración neuronal desde la matriz germinal, el desarrollo de las cisuras y surcos, el cuerpo calloso, la impronta de los núcleos de la base del cerebro y el tálamo. El objetivo del trabajo es describir los cambios morfológicos de los ventrículos laterales durante el segundo trimestre de gestación mediante el estudio con resonancia magnética de 20 fetos, 16 masculinos y 4 femeninos, de 16 semanas de edad gestacional media. Se utilizó un equipo de 1.5 Tesla con técnicas volumétricas 3D. Se registró la forma de cada ventrículo lateral mediante una línea central en una vista lateral 3D del cerebro. Además se comparó el diámetro vertical del cuerpo de cada ventrículo con el espesor del parénquima cerebral, correlacionando los datos con las semanas de edad gestacional, y el diámetro transverso del atrio ventricular. Los ventrículos laterales modificaron progresivamente su forma desde una línea curva esférica hasta una elíptica con cola desde la 12ª hasta la 20ª semanas de gestación. El diámetro vertical del cuerpo ventricular se redujo en éste periodo gestacional en comparación con el parénquima cerebral que incrementó notablemente su espeso

Methods for visual mining of genomic and proteomic data atlases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>As the volume, complexity and diversity of the information that scientists work with on a daily basis continues to rise, so too does the requirement for new analytic software. The analytic software must solve the dichotomy that exists between the need to allow for a high level of scientific reasoning, and the requirement to have an intuitive and easy to use tool which does not require specialist, and often arduous, training to use. Information visualization provides a solution to this problem, as it allows for direct manipulation and interaction with diverse and complex data. The challenge addressing bioinformatics researches is how to apply this knowledge to data sets that are continually growing in a field that is rapidly changing.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This paper discusses an approach to the development of visual mining tools capable of supporting the mining of massive data collections used in systems biology research, and also discusses lessons that have been learned providing tools for both local researchers and the wider community. Example tools were developed which are designed to enable the exploration and analyses of both proteomics and genomics based atlases. These atlases represent large repositories of raw and processed experiment data generated to support the identification of biomarkers through mass spectrometry (the PeptideAtlas) and the genomic characterization of cancer (The Cancer Genome Atlas). Specifically the tools are designed to allow for: the visual mining of thousands of mass spectrometry experiments, to assist in designing informed targeted protein assays; and the interactive analysis of hundreds of genomes, to explore the variations across different cancer genomes and cancer types.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The mining of massive repositories of biological data requires the development of new tools and techniques. Visual exploration of the large-scale atlas data sets allows researchers to mine data to find new meaning and make sense at scales from single samples to entire populations. Providing linked task specific views that allow a user to start from points of interest (from diseases to single genes) enables targeted exploration of thousands of spectra and genomes. As the composition of the atlases changes, and our understanding of the biology increase, new tasks will continually arise. It is therefore important to provide the means to make the data available in a suitable manner in as short a time as possible. We have done this through the use of common visualization workflows, into which we rapidly deploy visual tools. These visualizations follow common metaphors where possible to assist users in understanding the displayed data. Rapid development of tools and task specific views allows researchers to mine large-scale data almost as quickly as it is produced. Ultimately these visual tools enable new inferences, new analyses and further refinement of the large scale data being provided in atlases such as PeptideAtlas and The Cancer Genome Atlas.</p

Regional and experiential differences in surgeon preference for the treatment of cervical facet injuries: a case study survey with the AO Spine Cervical Classification Validation Group

Purpose: The management of cervical facet dislocation injuries remains controversial. The main purpose of this investigation was to identify whether a surgeon’s geographic location or years in practice influences their preferred management of traumatic cervical facet dislocation injuries. Methods: A survey was sent to 272 AO Spine members across all geographic regions and with a variety of practice experience. The survey included clinical case scenarios of cervical facet dislocation injuries and asked responders to select preferences among various diagnostic and management options. Results: A total of 189 complete responses were received. Over 50% of responding surgeons in each region elected to initiate management of cervical facet dislocation injuries with an MRI, with 6 case exceptions. Overall, there was considerable agreement between American and European responders regarding management of these injuries, with only 3 cases exhibiting a significant difference. Additionally, results also exhibited considerable management agreement between those with ≤ 10 and &gt; 10&nbsp;years of practice experience, with only 2 case exceptions noted. Conclusion: More than half of responders, regardless of geographical location or practice experience, identified MRI as a screening imaging modality when managing cervical facet dislocation injuries, regardless of the status of the spinal cord and prior to any additional intervention. Additionally, a majority of surgeons would elect an anterior approach for the surgical management of these injuries. The study found overall agreement in management preferences of cervical facet dislocation injuries around the globe

Establishing the injury severity of subaxial cervical spine trauma validating the hierarchical nature of the AO spine subaxial cervical spine injury classification system

Study Design. Global cross-sectional survey. Objective. The aim of this study was to validate the AO Spine Subaxial Cervical Spine Injury Classification by examining the perceived injury severity by surgeon across AO geographical regions and practice experience. Summary of Background Data. Previous subaxial cervical spine injury classifications have been limited by subpar interobserver reliability and clinical applicability. In an attempt to create a universally validated scheme with prognostic value, AO Spine established a subaxial cervical spine injury classification involving four elements: injury morphology, facet injury involvement, neurologic status, and case-specific modifiers. Methods. A survey was sent to 272 AO Spine members across all geographic regions and with a variety of practice experience. Respondents graded the severity of each variable of the classification system on a scale from zero (low severity) to 100 (high severity). Primary outcome was to assess differences in perceived injury severity for each injury type over geographic regions and level of practice experience. Results. A total of 189 responses were received. Overall, the classification system exhibited a hierarchical progression in subtype injury severity scores. Only three subtypes showed a significant difference in injury severity score among geographic regions: F3 (floating lateral mass fracture, P ¼ 0.04), N3 (incomplete spinal cord injury, P ¼ 0.03), and M2 (critical disk herniation, P ¼ 0.04). When stratified by surgeon experience, pairwise comparison showed only two morphological subtypes, B1 (bony posterior tension band injury, P ¼ 0.02) and F2 (unstable facet fracture, P ¼ 0.03), and one neurologic subtype (N3, P ¼ 0.02) exhibited a significant difference in injury severity score. Conclusion. The AO Spine Subaxial Cervical Spine Injury Classification System has shown to be reliable and suitable for proper patient management. The study shows this classification is substantially generalizable by geographic region and surgeon experience, and provides a consistent method of communication among physicians while covering the majority of subaxial cervical spine traumatic injuries