Statistical Comparison of Classifiers Applied to the Interferential Tear Film Lipid Layer Automatic Classification

The tear film lipid layer is heterogeneous among the population. Its classification depends on its thickness and can be done using the interference pattern categories proposed by Guillon. The interference phenomena can be characterised as a colour texture pattern, which can be automatically classified into one of these categories. From a photography of the eye, a region of interest is detected and its low-level features are extracted, generating a feature vector that describes it, to be finally classified in one of the target categories. This paper presents an exhaustive study about the problem at hand using different texture analysis methods in three colour spaces and different machine learning algorithms. All these methods and classifiers have been tested on a dataset composed of 105 images from healthy subjects and the results have been statistically analysed. As a result, the manual process done by experts can be automated with the benefits of being faster and unaffected by subjective factors, with maximum accuracy over 95%

Application of Caenorhabditis elegans (nematode) and Danio rerio embryo (zebrafish) as model systems to screen for developmental and reproductive toxicity of piperazine compounds.

Animal science

Acute Toxicity of the Antifouling Compound Butenolide in Non-Target Organisms

Butenolide [5-octylfuran-2(5H)-one] is a recently discovered and very promising anti-marine-fouling compound. In this study, the acute toxicity of butenolide was assessed in several non-target organisms, including micro algae, crustaceans, and fish. Results were compared with previously reported results on the effective concentrations used on fouling (target) organisms. According to OECD's guideline, the predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) was 0.168 µg l−1, which was among one of the highest in representative new biocides. Mechanistically, the phenotype of butenolide-treated Danio rerio (zebrafish) embryos was similar to the phenotype of the pro-caspase-3 over-expression mutant with pericardial edema, small eyes, small brains, and increased numbers of apoptotic cells in the bodies of zebrafish embryos. Butenolide also induced apoptosis in HeLa cells, with the activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK), Bcl-2 family proteins, and caspases and proteasomes/lysosomes involved in this process. This is the first detailed toxicity and toxicology study on this antifouling compound

Silicone hydrogel contact lens surface analysis by atomic force microscopy: shape parameters

spikes and troughs. Shape parameters as kurtosis (Rku) and skewness (Rsk) serve to distinguish between two profiles with the same Ra. They have been reported in many biomedical fields, but they were no applied to contact lenses before. The aim of this study is to analyze surface properties of four silicone hydrogel contact lenses (CL) by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) evaluating Ra, Rku and Rsk. Methods: CL used in this study were disposable silicone hydrogel senofilcon A, comfilcon A, balafilcon A and lotrafilcon B. Unworn CL surfaces roughness and topography were measured by AFM (Veeco, multimode-nanoscope V) in tapping mode™. Ra, Rku and Rsk for 25 and 196 μm2 areas were determined. Results: Surface topography and parameters showed different characteristics depending on the own nature of the contact lens (Ra/Rku/Rsk for 25 and 196 μm2 areas were: senofilcon A 3,33/3,74/0,74 and 3,76/18,16/1,75; comfilcon A: 1,56/31,09/2,93 and 2,76/45,82/3,60; balafilcon A: 2,01/33,62/-2,14 and 2,54/23,36/-1,96; lotrafilcon B: 26,97/4,11/-0,34 and 29,25/2,82/-0,23). In lotrafilcon B, with the highest Ra, Rku showed a lower degree of peakedness of its distribution. Negative Rsk value obtained for balafilcon A showed a clear predominance of valleys in this lens. Conclusions: Kku and Rsk are two statistical parameters useful to analyse CL surfaces, which complete information from Ra. Differences in values distribution and symmetry were observed between CL.This paper has been partially funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion, through the research project PI10/01098

Contact lens hydrophobicity and roughness effects on bacterial adhesion

Purpose. This study was designed to assess whether hydrogel contact lens (CL) surface hydrophobicity and roughness affect Staphylococcus epidermidis adhesion. Methods. Bacterial adhesion experiments were performed on two unworn silicone hydrogel and three unworn conventional hydrogel CLs using the S. epidermidis strain CECT 4184. Microbial colonization was assessed by conducting counts expressed as colony-forming units. CL hydrophobicity was determined through water contact angle measurements and the roughness parameters such as mean surface roughness (Ra), kurtosis (Rku), and skewness (Rsk) were determined through atomic force microscopy in Tapping Mode. Results. The conventional CLs showed similar water contact angles (p 0) over troughs. S. epidermidis adhered more to the hydrophobic CLs (p <0.05). Omafilcon A and comfilcon A, which showed the lowest Ra values among the hydrophilic and hydrophobic lenses, respectively, returned the lowest bacterial adhesion scores (p< 0.05). Conclusions. Our results suggest that more hydrophobic CLs are more prone to S. epidermidis adhesion. Although the Ra appears to be related to S. epidermidis adhesion, the influence of Rku and Rsk on this variable remains unclear

Subcutaneous Sarcoidosis during Pegylated Interferon Alfa and Ribavirin Treatment for Chronic Hepatitis C

Interferon is used to treat hepatitis C virus infection and its cutaneous side effects are well known. Recently, interferon-induced sarcoidosis has been reported. We report a new case of sarcoidosis during pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin treatment with an unusual presentation in a woman with previous episodes of erythema nodusum and nodular vasculitis related to HCV

Thyroid paraganglioma. Report of 3 cases and description of an immunohistochemical profile useful in the differential diagnosis with medullary thyroid carcinoma, based on complementary DNA array results.

Thyroid paraganglioma is a rare disorder that sometimes poses problems in differential diagnosis with medullary thyroid carcinoma. So far, differential diagnosis is solved with the help of some markers that are frequently expressed in medullary thyroid carcinoma (thyroid transcription factor 1, calcitonin, and carcinoembryonic antigen). However, some of these markers are not absolutely specific of medullary thyroid carcinoma and may be expressed in other tumors. Here we report 3 new cases of thyroid paraganglioma and describe our strategy to design a diagnostic immunohistochemical battery. First, we performed a comparative analysis of the expression profile of head and neck paragangliomas and medullary thyroid carcinoma, obtained after complementary DNA array analysis of 2 series of fresh-frozen samples of paragangliomas and medullary thyroid carcinoma, respectively. Seven biomarkers showing differential expression were selected (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase 1 alpha subcomplex, 4-like 2, NDUFA4L2; cytochrome c oxidase subunit IV isoform 2; vesicular monoamine transporter 2; calcitonin gene-related protein/calcitonin; carcinoembryonic antigen; and thyroid transcription factor 1) for immunohistochemical analysis. Two tissue microarrays were constructed from 2 different series of paraffin-embedded samples of paragangliomas and medullary thyroid carcinoma. We provide a classifying rule for differential diagnosis that combines negativity or low staining for calcitonin gene-related protein (histologic score, <10) or calcitonin (histologic score, <50) together with positivity of any of NADH dehydrogenase 1 alpha subcomplex, 4-like 2; cytochrome c oxidase subunit IV isoform 2; or vesicular monoamine transporter 2 to predict paragangliomas, showing a prediction error of 0%. Finally, the immunohistochemical battery was checked in paraffin-embedded blocks from 4 examples of thyroid paraganglioma (1 previously reported case and 3 new cases), showing also a prediction error of 0%. Our results suggest that the comparative expression profile, obtained by complementary DNA arrays, seems to be a good tool to design immunohistochemical batteries used in differential diagnosis