Impaired intratumoral dendritic cell function and potential predictive value of dendritic cell markers for metastasis in malignant salivary gland tumors.

BACKGROUND: The differentiation between primary and metastatic salivary gland neoplasms (SGNs) helps in determining appropriate management strategies, including the need for additional diagnostic tests, surveillance, or aggressive treatment. The purpose of this study was to identify and quantify the immature and mature dendritic cells (DCs) in metastatic and no metastatic SGNs and determine its association with clinicopathological findings. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cross-sectional, observational, and descriptive study that includes 33 malignant salivary gland neoplasms [MSGN (6, 18.1% metastatic)], and 22 pleomorphic adenomas (PA), as a control group. Clinical and histopathological characteristics were obtained. Immunohistochemistry for human leukocyte antigen D-related (HLA-DR), CD1a, CD83, and Ki-67 proteins was done. Positive intra- and peritumoral DCs were counted. RESULTS: Individuals with MSGN had a lower density of intratumoral HLA-DR+ cells than those with PA (p=0.001), Ki-67 immunostaining was significantly higher in MSGN than in PA (6% vs. 1.4%, p<0.001). Metastatic MSGN showed less intratumoral CD1a+ than non-metastatic (3.2 vs. 165.1, p=0.001). No differences in intra- and peritumoral CD83+ cells were found between benign and malignant SGN. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the immune-protective function of intratumoral DCs is compromised in MSGNs. DCs markers may represent useful prediction tools for metastases in salivary gland malignancies, with crucial implications in the implementation of appropriate disease management strategies.

Analytic plenoptic camera diffraction model and radial distortion analysis due to vignetting.

Using a mathematical approach, this paper presents a generalization of semi-analytical expressions for the point spread function (PSF) of plenoptic cameras. The model is applicable in the standard regime of the scalar diffraction theory while the extension to arbitrary main lens transmission functions generalizes a priori formalism. The accuracy and applicability of the model is well verified against the exact Rayleigh-Sommerfeld diffraction integral and a rigorous proof of convergence for the PSF series expression is made. Since vignetting can never be fully eliminated, it is critical to inspect the image degradation it poses through distortions. For what we believe is the first time, diffractive distortions in the diffraction-limited plenoptic camera are closely examined and demonstrated to exceed those that would otherwise be estimated by a geometrical optics formalism, further justifying the necessity of an approach based on wave optics. Microlenses subject to the edge diffraction effects of the main lens vignetting are shown to translate into radial distortions of increasing severity and instability with defocus. The distortions due to vignetting are found to be typically bound by the radius of the geometrical defocus in the image plane, while objects confined to the depth of field give rise to merely subpixel distortions.

Practical guide for setting up a Fourier light-field microscope.

A practical guide for the easy implementation of a Fourier light-field microscope is reported. The Fourier light-field concept applied to microscopy allows the capture in real time of a series of 2D orthographic images of microscopic thick dynamic samples. Such perspective images contain spatial and angular information of the light-field emitted by the sample. A feature of this technology is the tight requirement of a double optical conjugation relationship, and also the requirement of NA matching. For these reasons, the Fourier light-field microscope being a non-complex optical system, a clear protocol on how to set up the optical elements accurately is needed. In this sense, this guide is aimed to simplify the implementation process, with an optical bench and off-the-shelf components. This will help the widespread use of this recent technology.

Three-dimensional imaging through patterned type-1 microscopy.

We report a scanning non-confocal fluorescence microscopy scheme that provides images with optical sectioning and with a lateral resolution that surpasses by a factor of two the diffraction resolution limit. This technique is based on the type-1 microscopy concept combined with patterned illumination. The method does not require the application of phase-shifting or post-processing algorithms and provides artifact-free superresolved 3D images. We have validated the theory by means of experimental data.

Examining the utility of pinhole-type screens for lightfield display.

The use of microlens arrays for lightfield display has the drawback of providing images with strong chromatic aliasing. To overcome this problem, pinhole-type lightfield monitors are proposed. This paper is devoted to evaluating the capability for such lightfield monitors to offer the user a convincing 3D experience with images with enough brightness and continuous aspect. Thus, we have designed a psychophysical test specifically adapted for lightfield monitors, which allowed us to confirm the usability of pinhole-type monitors.

Human papillomavirus load in benign HPV-associated oral lesions from HIV/AIDS individuals.

BACKGROUND: Although HPV emerged as a crucial carcinogenic and prognostic biomarker in head and neck cancer, and considering the increase in HPV-associated oral lesions (HPV-OLs) in HIV individuals, molecular information about HPV-OLs is scarce; thus, our aim was to determine viral loads in HPV-OLs from HIV/AIDS individuals. METHODS: HIV/AIDS subjects with HPV-OL were included in this cross-sectional study. Following informed consent, biopsies were obtained. HPV detection and typing were carried out by PCR and sequencing (MY09/11, GP5+/6+). HPV-13 and HPV-32 loads were determined by a high-resolution melting assay. For statistical analysis, X2 , Fisher's exact, and Mann-Whitney U tests were applied, using SPSS software (v.23). RESULTS: Twenty-nine HIV subjects (median age 38 years, 93% males) were included. Most were AIDS individuals (72.4%) under HAART (89.7%). Twenty-two (75.9%) participants had more than one HPV-OL (four with florid presentations), mostly multifocal epithelial hyperplasia (62%), being HPV-13 (26%) and HPV-32 (31%) the most frequent types. HPV load was higher in individuals with multiple HPV-OLs than in solitary lesions (4.9 vs. 3.2 Log10 copies/ml, p = .090) and in HPV-32+ than in HPV-13+ (8.3 vs. 6.4 Log10 copies/ml, p = .014). CONCLUSIONS: Multiple HPV-OLs showed high HPV loads, possibly indicating transcriptional activity of the virus; however, in the HIV setting, the individual and local immunological response could be the key process.

Double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial evaluating doxycycline effects on chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Chemotherapy (CT)-associated oral mucositis (OM) is one of the most debilitating and painful side effects in oncology patients, with limited effective management options. During CT, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are upregulated, causing damage in mucosal and submucosal tissues, and playing a key role in OM; therefore, the use of subantimicrobial doxycycline as a MMP inhibitor may represent a potential approach for OM management. The aim of this clinical trial was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of low doses of doxycycline in OM development in individuals with acute leukaemia (AL) during CT. METHODS: Randomized controlled clinical trial (Registration No. NCT01087476) performed in adult AL patients scheduled to receive CT (September 2010-October 2014). Individuals were stratified by leukaemia type and assigned randomly to receive doxycycline hyclate (50 mg/d) (doxycycline group: DG) or placebo (placebo group: PG) before and during CT. Included subjects had a baseline oral examination and thereafter 3 times a week during 21 days. The primary outcome was OM development. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: One hundred and forty-seven AL subjects were enrolled: 74 in DG and 73 in PG; baseline characteristics between groups were comparable. During follow-up, 15 (10.2%) individuals developed OM; no differences between treatment groups were found (DG:8.1%, PG:12.3%; P = .59). The mean OM Assessment Scale score was 2.51, without differences between groups (DG:2.7, PG:2.4; P = .65). Low baseline blood albumin levels in the OM-affected individuals were identified, revealing the effect of systemic deterioration as a predisposing factor for OM development. No adverse effects were observed. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: Subantimicrobial doses of doxycycline did not reduce the incidence, onset, duration or severity of OM.

TNF as marker of oral candidiasis, HSV infection, and mucositis onset during chemotherapy in leukemia patients.

OBJECTIVE: To assess changes in the salivary expression of IL-1α, IL-1ß, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, and TNF in acute leukemia (AL) patients before and during chemotherapy, and its association with HSV infection, oral candidiasis (OC), and oral mucositis (OM) onset. METHODS: Cohort study in AL patients >15 years starting induction chemotherapy at a Mexican oncological center (2013-2014). Onset of oral lesions (OLs) was assessed during follow-up, and saliva was obtained at baseline, at visit 2 (days 4-12), and at visit 3 (days 13-21) after chemotherapy, treated with a protease inhibitor and stored at -70°C. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed. Cox proportional hazards regression models were constructed to estimate hazard ratios and its 95% CI (HR, 95% CI) for OL development. RESULTS: Forty-one patients were followed up, and 17 (41.5%) developed OLs. OL patients had higher baseline salivary IL-1α than those without lesions (p = 0.040). During visit 2, OL patients had higher levels of IL-1α (p = 0.033), IL-1ß (p = 0.016), IL-6 (p = 0.035), and TNF (p = 0.019) than those who did not develop OLs. Patients with HSV infection, OC, and OM showed higher salivary TNF levels during follow-up (HR: 3.52, 95% CI: 1.35-9.14, p = 0.010). CONCLUSION: AL patients undergoing chemotherapy with high salivary TNF levels were more likely to develop HSV infection, OC, and OM.

Resolution improvements in integral microscopy with Fourier plane recording.

Integral microscopes (IMic) have been recently developed in order to capture the spatial and the angular information of 3D microscopic samples with a single exposure. Computational post-processing of this information permits to carry out a 3D reconstruction of the sample. By applying conventional algorithms, both depth and also view reconstructions are possible. However, the main drawback of IMic is that the resolution of the reconstructed images is low and axially heterogeneous. In this paper, we propose a new configuration of the IMic by placing the lens array not at the image plane, but at the pupil (or Fourier) plane of the microscope objective. With this novel system, the spatial resolution is increased by factor 1.4, and the depth of field is substantially enlarged. Our experiments show the feasibility of the proposed method.

Diabetes screening by telecentric digital holographic microscopy.

Diabetes is currently the world's fastest growing chronic disease and it is caused by deficient production of insulin by the endocrine pancreas or by abnormal insulin action in peripheral tissues. This results in persistent hyperglycaemia that over time may produce chronic diabetic complications. Determination of glycated haemoglobin level is currently the gold standard method to evaluate and control sustained hyperglycaemia in diabetic people. This measurement is currently made by high-performance liquid chromatography, which is a complex chemical process that requires the extraction of blood from the antecubital vein. To reduce the complexity of that measurement, we propose a fully-optical technique that is based in the fact that there are changes in the optical properties of erythrocytes due to the presence of glucose-derived adducts in the haemoglobin molecule. To evaluate these changes, we propose to perform quantitative phase maps of erythrocytes by using telecentric digital holographic microscopy. Our experiments show that telecentric digital holographic microscopy allows detecting, almost in real time and from a single drop of blood, significant differences between erythrocytes of diabetic patients and healthy patients. Besides, our phase measurements are well correlated with the values of glycated haemoglobin and the blood glucose values.

The global burden of oral diseases in pediatric HIV-infected populations: a workshop report.

OBJECTIVES: To achieve a comprehensive understanding about the global burden of oral diseases in HIV-infected children and to identify research needs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature search was conducted in PubMed (2009-2014) to address five questions: (i) prevalence of oral diseases in HIV-infected compared with uninfected children, (ii) impact of oral diseases on quality of life, (iii) effect of antiretroviral exposure in utero on craniofacial and dental development, (iv) important co-infections and antiretroviral complications, and (v) value of atraumatic restorative treatment. RESULTS: Studies showed a high prevalence of dental caries in HIV-infected children but the relationship between HIV infection and dental caries remains unclear. Also quality of life needs further investigation supported by better study designs and improvement of the instruments used. Up-to-date evidence suggested long-term harms associated with in utero antiretroviral exposure were minor but would require long-term follow-up through National Registries. The reviews also revealed the wide spectrum of metabolic disease due to antiretroviral therapy and co-infections such as tuberculosis. Finally, atraumatic restorative technique appears to be a simple and safe technique to treat dental caries but outcomes need further evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: The impact of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected children has raised novel challenging questions in the field of oral health warranting future research.

Urban legends series: oral manifestations of HIV infection.

Human immunodeficiency virus-related oral lesions (HIV-OLs), such as oral candidiasis (OC) and oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL), have been recognized as indicators of immune suppression since the beginning of the global HIV epidemic. The diagnosis and management of HIV disease and spectrum of opportunistic infection has changed over the past 30 years as our understanding of the infection has evolved. We investigated the following controversial topics: (i) Are oral manifestations of HIV still relevant after the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)? (ii) Can we nowadays still diagnose HIV infection through oral lesions? (iii) Is the actual classification of oral manifestations of HIV adequate or does it need to be reviewed and updated? (iv) Is there any novelty in the treatment of oral manifestations of HIV infection? Results from extensive literature review suggested the following: (i) While HAART has resulted in significant reductions in HIV-OLs, many are still seen in patients with HIV infection, with OC remaining the most common lesion. While the relationship between oral warts and the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome is less clear, the malignant potential of oral human papillomavirus infection is gaining increasing attention. (ii) Effective antiretroviral therapy has transformed HIV from a fatal illness to a chronic manageable condition and as a result expanded screening policies for HIV are being advocated both in developed and in developing countries. Affordable, reliable, and easy-to-use diagnostic techniques have been recently introduced likely restricting the importance of HIV-OLs in diagnosis. (iii) The 1993 EC-Clearinghouse classification of HIV-OLs is still globally used despite controversy on the relevance of periodontal diseases today. HIV-OL case definitions were updated in 2009 to facilitate the accuracy of HIV-OL diagnoses by non-dental healthcare workers in large-scale epidemiologic studies and clinical trials. (iv) Research over the last 6 years on novel modalities for the treatment of HIV-OLs has been reported for OC and OHL.

Primary oral and sinonasal mucosal melanomas in Latin America: a systematic review.

Primary oral and sinonasal mucosal melanomas (POSNMMs) are aggressive neoplasms with limited therapeutic alternatives. The aim of this review was to characterize the demographic, clinical, immunohistochemical, and molecular information regarding these tumors in the Latin American population. Articles published in English, Spanish, or Portuguese (1990-2022) retrieved from the PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, CAS, Web of Science, EBSCO, and Google Academic databases were included. Thirty-three studies, with a total of 1212 cases, were identified. Clinicopathological data were available for 870 cases and immunohistochemical and/or molecular information for 342. Nineteen studies (57.6%) reported cases of oral melanoma, three (9.1%) sinonasal melanoma, and 11 (33.3%) oral and sinonasal melanoma. Fifteen studies (45.5%) provided only clinicopathological data, 12 (36.4%) reported only immunohistochemical data, two (6.1%) shared clinicopathological and immunohistochemical data, one (3.0%) offered clinicopathological, immunohistochemical, and molecular data, one (3.0%) provided immunohistochemical and molecular data, one (3.0%) clinicopathological and molecular data, and one (3.0%) only molecular data. The mean age of individuals with POSNMMs was 58 years, and slightly more were male (male 51.3%, female 48.7%). In Latin America, POSNMMs are a rare but aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Although molecular data and targeted therapy are still being researched, data from Latin America indicate the need for multicenter collaborative clinical trials to unite individual and isolated efforts.

High-resolution far-field integral-imaging camera by double snapshot.

In multi-view three-dimensional imaging, to capture the elemental images of distant objects, the use of a field-like lens that projects the reference plane onto the microlens array is necessary. In this case, the spatial resolution of reconstructed images is equal to the spatial density of microlenses in the array. In this paper we report a simple method, based on the realization of double snapshots, to double the 2D pixel density of reconstructed scenes. Experiments are reported to support the proposed approach.

Distributed abstraction and verification of an installed optical fibre network.

The management of wavelength routed optical mesh networks is complex with many potential light path routes and numerous physical layer impairments to transmission performance. This complexity can be reduced by applying the ideas of abstraction from computer science where different equipment is described in the same basic terms. The noise-to-signal ratio can be used as a metric to describe the quality of transmission performance of a signal propagated through a network element and accumulates additively through a sequence of such elements allowing the estimation of end-to-end performance. This study aims to explore the robustness of the noise-to-signal ratio metric in an installed fibre infrastructure. We show that the abstracted noise-to-signal ratio is independent of the observers and their location. We confirm that the abstracted noise-to-signal ratio can reasonably predict the performance of light-paths subsequently set in our network. Having a robust network element abstraction that can be incorporated into routeing engines allows the network management controller to make decisions on the most effective way to use the network resources in terms of the routeing and data coding format.

3D integral imaging display by smart pseudoscopic-to-orthoscopic conversion (SPOC).

Previously, we reported a digital technique for formation of real, non-distorted, orthoscopic integral images by direct pickup. However the technique was constrained to the case of symmetric image capture and display systems. Here, we report a more general algorithm which allows the pseudoscopic to orthoscopic transformation with full control over the display parameters so that one can generate a set of synthetic elemental images that suits the characteristics of the Integral-Imaging monitor and permits control over the depth and size of the reconstructed 3D scene.

Optical implementation of micro-zoom arrays for parallel focusing in integral imaging.

We report 3D integral imaging with an electronically tunable-focal-length lens for improved depth of field. The micro-zoom arrays are generated and implemented based on the concept of parallel apodization. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of parallel dynamic focusing in integral imaging based on the use of micro-zoom arrays.

Reduction of spherical-aberration impact in microscopy by wavefront coding.

In modern high-NA optical scanning instruments, like scanning microscopes, the refractive-index mismatch between the sample and the immersion medium introduces a significant amount of spherical aberration when imaging deep inside the specimen, spreading out the impulse response. Since such aberration depends on the focalization depth, it is not possible to achieve a static global compensation for the whole 3D sample in scanning microscopy. Therefore a depth-variant impulse response is generated. Consequently, the design of pupil elements that increase the tolerance to this aberration is of great interest. In this paper we report a hybrid technique that provides a focal spot that remains almost invariant in the depth-scanning processing of thick samples. This invariance allows the application of 3D deconvolution techniques to that provide an improved recovery of the specimen structure when imaging thick samples.

Clinical, histological and immunohistochemical findings in oral Kaposi's sarcoma in a series of Mexican AIDS patients. Comparative study.

BACKGROUND: The origin of spindle cells (SC) in oral Kaposi's sarcoma (OKS) is still an intriguing aspect. Thus the aim of the present study was to compare the clinical, histological and immunohistochemical characteristics of OKS and oral pyogenic granuloma (OPG), in order to contribute to the knowledge of the cells involved in Kaposi's sarcoma pathogenesis. METHODS: In this retrospective, observational and comparative study, 39 OKS and 30 OPG cases were included. Immunohistochemical studies were performed for vimentin, alpha SMA, desmin, C-kit, CD34, D2-40 and LANA-1 [human herpesvirus-8(HHV-8)]. Statistical comparisons were done using the chi-square and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney rank sum tests. RESULTS: Fourteen (35.9%) OKS cases also affected the skin, and 83.8% involved the palate. All OKS and OPG were positive for vimentin and CD34. OKS samples were positive for alpha SMA, and 25.6% expressed C-kit. All OKS cases were positive for HHV-8, and the number of positive cells increased significantly from early / intermediate to late histological stage. D2-40 was expressed in the cellular component and vascular walls of all OKS cases, but it was negative in OPG. HHV-8 expression was increased in late histological stages of OKS lesions. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of D2-40 marker in the vascular walls and SC supports the view of a lymphatic differentiation in neoplastic cells of OKS. Desmin, alpha SMA, D2-40, C-kit and HHV-8 were the main markers differently expressed in OKS and OPG.