Tomographic phase and attenuation extraction for a sample composed of unknown materials using x-ray propagation-based phase-contrast imaging.

Propagation-based phase-contrast x-ray imaging (PB-PCXI) generates image contrast by utilizing sample-imposed phase-shifts. This has proven useful when imaging weakly attenuating samples, as conventional attenuation-based imaging does not always provide adequate contrast. We present a PB-PCXI algorithm capable of extracting the x-ray attenuation  ß and refraction  δ, components of the complex refractive index of distinct materials within an unknown sample. The method involves curve fitting an error-function-based model to a phase-retrieved interface in a PB-PCXI tomographic reconstruction, which is obtained when Paganin-type phase retrieval is applied with incorrect values of δ and ß. The fit parameters can then be used to calculate true δ and ß values for composite materials. This approach requires no a priori sample information, making it broadly applicable. Our PB-PCXI reconstruction is single-distance, requiring only one exposure per tomographic angle, which is important for radiosensitive samples. We apply this approach to a breast-tissue sample, recovering the refraction component  Î´, with 0.6-2.4% accuracy compared with theoretical values.

[Primary amyloidoma of the brain]. / Pervichnaya amiloidoma golovnogo mozga.

Primary brain amyloidoma is rare tumor-like lesion characterized by focal accumulation of insoluble fibrillar aggregates of amyloid in brain tissue without systemic amyloidosis. Literature review and a case report of primary brain amyloidoma in 61 years old female are given with a special attention on the complexity of preoperative diagnosis.

Tomographic reconstruction using tilted Laue analyser-based X-ray phase-contrast imaging.

Analyser-based phase-contrast imaging (ABPCI) is a highly sensitive phase-contrast imaging method that produces high-contrast images of weakly absorbing materials. However, it is only sensitive to phase gradient components lying in the diffraction plane of the analyser crystal [i.e. in one dimension (1-D)]. In order to accurately account for and measure phase effects produced by the wavefield-sample interaction, ABPCI and other 1-D phase-sensitive methods must achieve 2-D phase gradient sensitivity. An inclined geometry method was applied to a Laue geometry setup for X-ray ABPCI through rotation of the detector and object about the optical axis. This allowed this traditionally 1-D phase-sensitive phase-contrast method to possess 2-D phase gradient sensitivity. Tomographic datasets were acquired over 360° of a multi-material phantom with the detector and sample tilted by 8°. The real and imaginary parts of the refractive index were reconstructed for the phantom.

Social and Cognitive Impairments in Rat Offspring after Ultrasound-Induced Prenatal Stress.

We studied the possibility of developing an autism model based on chronic prenatal psychological stress caused by variable frequency ultrasound 20-45 kHz. The offspring of female rats stressed during pregnancy demonstrated reduced time of social contacts in the social interaction test, increased anxiety in the open-field test, and memory impairment in the Morris water maze test in comparison with the control (intact) rat offspring. We also found a reducing trend in the BDNF gene expression in the amygdala in males of the experimental group. The results showed the possibility of developing the animal autism model based on prenatal stress.

[Surgical treatment of lung injuries and diseases in patients with blunt chest trauma]. / Khirurgicheskoe lechenie povrezhdenii i boleznei legkikh u patsientov s zakrytoi travmoi grudi.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the indications for optimal open lung surgery in patients with severe blunt chest injury. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Hematomas, lung wounds and purulent pulmonary complications were studied in four groups of victims. Causes of injuries included road accidents (n=426), falling and beating (n=387), catatrauma (n=217), squeezing the body with a massive weight (n=46). Majority of victims (n=731, 67.9%) were transferred to the hospital within 1-5 hours after injury; 345 (32.1%) patients were transferred from other hospitals to treat combined injuries of head, chest, abdomen and complications within 1-49 days after injury. RESULTS: Lung surgery was applied in 48 patients. Typical resections and pneumonectomies made up 77.1%. Indications for surgery included lung wounds complicated by pulmonary hemorrhage grade IIa and severe hemothorax, intrapulmonary hematoma ≥6 cm with high risk of bleeding and suppuration, gangrene, gangrenous and purulent abscesses of aspiration genesis, lung cancer first diagnosed in victims. Postoperative mortality was 14.6%. Twelve victims with unrecognized deep lung wounds and pulmonary root rupture were not operated. Thus, 5.6% of victims with severe blunt chest trauma need for open lung surgery.

[Morphological features of IgG4-related lesions at various sites]. / Morfologicheskie osobennosti IgG4-sviazannykh porazhenii razlichnykh lokalizatsii.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the morphological features of IgG4-related lesions and to improve pathomorphological criteria for diagnosing various clinical variants of IgG4-related disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Biopsy and surgical materials from 100 patients with tumor-like lesions at various sites (63 cases of IgG4-related lesion and 37 cases of non-IgG4-related inflammatory processes) were studied. Histological and immunohistochemical studies were conducted to determine the absolute counts of CD138+ cells, IgG+ and IgG4+ in the inflammatory infiltrates, as well as IgG4/IgG and IgG4/CD138 cell ratios. RESULTS: When IgG4-related disease manifested, pancreatic, lacrimal, and salivary gland lesions prevailed. Brisk lymphoplasmacytic infiltration is characteristic for tissue damage in the eye, salivary glands, thyroid, pancreas, and skin. The formation of moiré fibrosis was specific to damages to the pancreas, liver and bile ducts, and eye tissues. Obliterative phlebitis is most often observed in pancreatic and salivary gland lesions. According to international criteria, the frequency of achieving the required level of IgG4+ plasma cells in each organ was high in lesions of the pancreas, bile ducts, and lymph nodes and that was low in lesions of the salivary and lacrimal glands and skin. The IgG4+/CD138+ and IgG4+/IgG+ cell ratios exceeded 40% in all cases. CONCLUSION: The morphologic diagnosis of IgG4-related disease is based on the detection of lymphoplasmacytic infiltration, moiré fibrosis, and obliterative phlebitis, as well as on the calculation of the absolute number of IgG4+ plasma cells in the inflammatory infiltrate and on the determination of IgG4+/IgG+ and IgG4+/CD138+ cell ratios. The number of IgG4+ plasma cells depends on the location of the lesion and on the phase of the process.

[Primary splenic angiosarcoma]. / Pervichnaia angiosarkoma selezenki.

Primary splenic angiosarcoma is a rare and high-grade vascular tumor having a significant metastatic potential. The authors give the data available in the literature and describe their own case of primary splenic angiosarcoma in a 42-year-old male patient with multiple distant metastases in the lymph nodes and skin. The paper shows some difficulties in the morphologic diagnosis of this tumor.

[Telomere-telomerase system in aging, norm and pathology (literature review)].

This literature review presents results of research showing association between functional activity of the telomere-telomerase system and mental cognitive and emotional processes in normal and various pathological states: chronic stress, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, mild cognitive impairment and dementia in aging. It also refers to age-specific, psycho-social, economic, immunological, genetic and epigenetic factors that influence these relationships.

[Gastric cancer concurrent with IgG4-related disease: A clinical case and a review of literature]. / Sochetanie raka zheludka s IgG4-svyazannoi bolezn'yu (klinicheskoe nablyudenie i obzor literatury).

The paper presents the data available in the literature on IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) concurrent with malignancies at different sites, as well as possible common pathogenetic mechanisms of their development and morphological diagnostic criteria for IgG4-RD. The authors give their own observation of gastric signet ring cell carcinoma concurrent with morphologically verified IgG4-RD.

[FACTORS AFFECTING SPERMATOGENESIS PRESERVATION IN RATS WITH SEMINIFEROUS TRACT OBSTRUCTION].

The aim of the study was to examine the effect of the seminal tract obstruction of different degree and duration on the morphological and functional condition of testicular tissue. The study was conducted in 50 male Wistar rats. Three experimental models of seminiferous tract obstruction were set up: obstruction of the proximal part of the ductus deferens, obstruction of the distal part of the ductus deferens and obstruction of at the epididymis level. Morphological evaluation of testicular tissue was performed at 3 and 6 months after the obstruction. It was found that obstruction at the epididymis level caused the most severe impairment of spermatogenesis.

Prognostic impact of clinicopathological features and expression of biomarkers related to (18)F-FDG uptake in esophageal cancer.

PURPOSE: To analyze the association between pretreatment 18-F-fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG) uptake and characteristics of aggressive tumor biology in predicting outcome in esophageal cancer (EC). METHODS: Tumor FDG-uptake was measured by maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) in 47 patients undergoing esophagectomy with curative intent. ROC analyses were used to predict an optimal SUVmax cutoff for survival. Expression of hexokinase-II (HK-II), glucose transporter I (GLUT-I), hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-Iα), vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C), p53, and proliferative activity (Ki-67) were correlated with SUVmax values and clinicopathological characteristics. RESULTS: A SUVmax > 3.67 predicted a significantly lower disease-free survival (DFS) and distant recurrence-free survival (p = 0.022 and p = 0.005). High HK-II expression was correlated with reduced SUVmax values (p = 0.002) and was significantly higher in esophageal adenocarcinoma compared with squamous cell carcinoma (p = 0.005). Preoperative high FDG uptake in primary tumors was associated with nodal metastases (pN1; Spearman correlation 0.39, p = 0.01). We found no positive correlation between SUVmax and GLUT-1, HK-1, HIF-Iα 1, VEGF-C, p53, and Ki-67 expression. CONCLUSIONS: High preoperative FDG-uptake strongly predicts poor survival outcome and is associated with lymph node metastases in EC patients. HK-II expression was related to SUVmax and DFS.

X-ray Bragg magnifier microscope as a linear shift invariant imaging system: image formation and phase retrieval.

We present the theoretical description of the image formation with the in-line germanium Bragg Magnifier Microscope (BMM) and the first successful phase retrieval of X-ray holograms recorded with this imaging system. The conditions under which the BMM acts as a linear shift invariant system are theoretically explained and supported by the experiment. Such an approach simplifies the mathematical treatment of the image formation and reconstruction as complicated propagation of the wavefront onto inclined planes can be avoided. Quantitative phase retrieval is demonstrated using a test sample and a proof of concept phase imaging of a spider leg is also presented.

Caspase expression in placental terminal villi in spontaneous and induced pregnancy.

Placental levels of caspase 1, 8, and 10 were studied by the immunohistochemical method in full-term spontaneous and induced pregnancies. The levels of these caspases in the placental terminal villi were significantly higher in induced pregnancy. The changes were more marked after intracytoplasmatic injection of spermatozoa.

Expression of insulin-like growth factors in the placenta in preeclampsia.

Comparative morphological study of the placentas in women with preeclampsia and small-for-date fetuses was carried out. Expression of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor-2 (IGF-2), and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) was detected by immunohistochemical methods. Low expression of IGF-1 and high expression of IGF-2 and IGFBP-3 in the placental tissue depending on preeclampsia severity were detected. The most pronounced changes were found in preeclampsia associated with small-for-date fetuses.

Vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptors in the placental villi of pregnant patients with pre-eclampsia.

Comparative morphological study of the placentas from women with pre-eclampsia of different severity was carried out. The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptors (VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2, VEGFR-3) was studied by immunohistochemical methods. Branched angiogenesis processes predominated in the placentas of patients with pre-eclampsia. The syncytiocapillary membranes were thickened, the number of syncytial buds was greater than normally. Immunohistochemical studies showed high expression of VEGF and VEGFR-1 and low expression of VEGFR-2 in the placental villous structures.

The expression of matrix metalloproteinases in placental tissue depends on the severity of undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia.

Immunohistochemical study of MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression in placental tissue of pregnant patients with undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia of different severity showed that more severe condition was associated with higher expression of these MMP, this underlying the development of pregnancy and labor complications. The most pronounced elevation of the studied MMP levels was found in the basal plate decidual cells in women with undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia of more than 18 score.

[Development of a diagnostic test system for early non-invasive detection of prostate cancer based on PCA3 mRNA levels in urine sediment using quantitative reverse tanscription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR)].

The wide introduction of prostatic specific antigen (PSA) determination into clinical practice has resulted in a larger number of prostate biopsies, while the lower age threshold for PSA has led to a larger number of unnecessary prostate biopsies. Hence, there is a need for new biomarkers that can detect prostate cancer. PCA3 is a noncoding messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) that is expressed exclusively in prostate cells. The aim of the study has been to develop a diagnostic test system for early non-invasive detection of prostate cancer based on PCA3 mRNA levels in urine sediment using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). As part of the study, a laboratory diagnostic test system prototype has been designed, an application methodology has been developed and specificity and sensitivity data of the method has been assessed. The diagnostic system has demonstrated its ability to detect significantly elevated levels of PCA 3/KLK 3 in samples from prostate cancer (PCa) patients compared with those from healthy men. The findings have shown relatively high diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and negative-predictive values for an early non-invasive screening of prostate cancer

[Stillbirth rates in the subjects of the Russian Federation in 2010].

The paper analyzes the 2010 Russian State Statistics Service data on stillbirth rates in the Russian Federation and its subjects. There was a steady decline in the mean stillbirth rate (from 6.8 to 4.67 per thousand) in the Russian Federation in 2000-2010. In 2010, the rate was low in 10 (12%) subjects, moderate in 42 (50.6%), and high in 31 (37.4%). The reduction in the proportion of intranatal stillbirth is naturally accompanied by the increase in its antenatal component. According to the data of the Russian State Statistics Service, the most common cause of stillbirth is intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia: 391.9 per 100,000 born alive and dead. The most frequent maternal cause was notified to be placental pathology: 209 per 100,000 born alive and dead.

[Early neonatal mortality in the Russian Federation in 2010].

The paper analyzes the data of the Federal State Statistics Service on early neonatal mortality in the Russian Federation as a whole and its federal districts in 2010. There was a steady decline (ranging from 6.52 to 2.75%) in the mean early neonatal mortality rates in the Russian Federation in 2000-2010. In 2010, there were low, moderate, and high early neonatal mortality rates in 59 (71.1%), 20 (24.1%), 4 (4.8%) federal subjects, respectively. Most neonatal deaths were noted within the first 24 hours of life. According to the Federal State Statistics Service data, the commonest cause of early neonatal death in Russia is respiratory distress (103.2 deaths per 100,000 live births), hyaline membrane disease in particular. Among the causes of neonatal death, maternal diseases unrelated to pregnancy are indicated most commonly (in 22.7% of cases).