Morphological Analysis Research Articles

Protocol for assessing and visualizing cell microaggregate formation in whole blood by imaging flow cytometry.

Blood cell aggregates are clinically useful biomarkers in a number of medical disorders. This protocol provides accurate and quantitative analysis of cell aggregates using a small volume of whole blood and imaging flow cytometry. We describe steps for sample collection, staining, and measurement. We then detail gating procedures and analysis of cell morphology. Sample preparation artifacts, activation, and morphological changes of cells are mitigated by omitting erythrocyte lysis and leukocyte isolation while maintaining high-throughput accurate imaging of leukocytes and platelets.

Tracking evolutionary changes within Allophaiomys, Terricola and Microtus voles revealed by a landmark point-based geometric morphometric study on molars from Hungary

ABSTRACT In the present work, a geometric morphologic study was carried out to compare the lower first molars of species belonging to the genera Allophaiomys, Terricola and Microtus and to explore the morphological variation within species. The examined teeth were recovered from nine Early and Middle Pleistocene sites, but recent material was also used in the study. We analysed the teeth of 733 Allophaiomys spp. 855 Terricola arvalidens, 339 Terricola hintoni and 625 recent Terricola subterraneus. Morphology and linear morphometric data of teeth were compared using canonical variate analysis and landmark analysis. The resulting morphological series reflect the phylogenetic relationships between species. We also tested the morphological changes observed in the fossil material with the separation times calculated from recent phylogenetic studies. Our results suggest that most phylogenetic changes can be traced by morphological analysis of this tooth. While the emergence of species belonging to the genera Terricola and Microtus is broadly consistent with the phylogenetic data, early colonisation of the genus Agricola was not morphologically detectable. The study of the genus Allophaiomys has revealed a palaeoecological difference between northern and southern Hungary during the mid-Pleistocene transition. Southern Hungary was covered with steppe, while northern Hungary was forested at that time.

FL-W3S: Cross-domain federated learning for weakly supervised semantic segmentation of white blood cells.

Segmentation models for clinical data experience severe performance degradation when trained on a single client from one domain and distributed to other clients from different domain. Federated Learning (FL) provides a solution by enabling multi-party collaborative learning without compromising the confidentiality of clients' private data. In this paper, we propose a cross-domain FL method for Weakly Supervised Semantic Segmentation (FL-W3S) of white blood cells in microscopic images. We perform model training on multiple clients with different data distributions to obtain a global aggregated model using only image-level class labels for semantic segmentation of white blood cells. A multi-class token transformer model learns the relationship between patch tokens and class tokens during collaborative learning and generates class-specific localization maps for mask predictions. To rectify the localization maps, we use patch-level pairwise affinity obtained from patch-to-patch transformer attention. We evaluate performance of the proposed semantic segmentation method on two different datasets of white blood cells from different domains. Our experimental results show that for two datasets, there is 2.56% and 1.39% increase in performance of the proposed method over existing state-of-the-art methods. The combination of federated learning for collaborative model training while preserving data privacy, alongside white blood cell segmentation techniques for precise cell identification, enhances diagnostic accuracy and personalized treatment strategies in clinical applications, particularly in hematology and pathology. More specifically, it involves isolating white blood cell from blood smear for further analysis such as automated blood cell counting, morphological analysis, cell classification, disease diagnosis and monitoring.

Computed tomographic analysis of the frontal sinus morphology and structures that affect the size of the frontal sinus outflow tract in Vietnamese people

The frontal recess is a relatively small and narrow area with many neighboring structures and is very diverse in each body. Surgical intervention in this area is still challenging for surgeons. The International Frontal Sinus Anatomy Classification (IFAC) helps classify frontal cells on computed tomography (CT) scans for surgical purposes and anatomical accuracy. This study aims to investigate the morphology of the frontal sinus, the anteroposterior (A-P) diameter of the frontal sinus ostium and the A-P diameter of the frontal recess, the frontal cells classified by IFAC and the relationships between frontal sinus characteristics and A-P diameter of frontal sinus ostium and frontal recess on CT scans. Descriptive cross-sectional study on all CT scans of nasal cavities and paranasal sinuses of patients ≥ 20 years old at the Examination Department of Minh Duc Hospital — Ben Tre and Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital. In terms of morphology, we found that the most common type was large-sized frontal sinus (40.7%), followed by medium (35.4%) and small (23.9%), respectively. The three dimensions of the frontal sinus in men were larger than in women (p<0.05). The mean A-P diameter of frontal sinus ostium was 6.41±2.66 mm. The mean A-P diameter of frontal sinus recess was 3.23 ± 2.59 mm. The agger nasi cells accounted for the highest proportion (93.6%) and supraorbital ethmoid cells accounted for the lowest proportion (2.9%). There was a statistically significant relationship between ostium diameter and frontal sinus morphology with p<0.001. The A-P diameter of the frontal sinus ostium and frontal recess became narrower with the appearance of the frontal cells. From the study’s results about the frontal sinus morphology, the relationship between the frontal recess cells and the structures affecting the anteroposterior diameter of the frontal sinus drainage pathway can assist surgeons in planning effective and safe surgical interventions in the frontal sinus area.

The Effect of Silver Diamine Fluoride Combined with Potassium Iodide and Sodium Fluoride on the Remineralisation of Hydroxyapatite.

To compare remineralisation efficacy between silver diamine fluoride (SDF) combined with potassium iodide (KI) and sodium fluoride (NaF) varnish using hydroxyapatite (HAP) artificial white spot lesions (AWSLs) demineralisation model. A total of 25 HAP disks was randomly divided into five groups (n = 5): baseline, AWSLs, deionized water (DW), SDF-KI or F-varnish. After AWSLs were developed, the specimen was treated with either deionized water, SDF-KI or F-varnish. These specimens were then subjected to pH-cycling for 7 days. The remineralisation potential was assessed by measuring changes in Vickers hardness (VHN). Morphological and compositional analyses were conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray (EDX), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Ion-selective electrodes (ISE) were utilised to measure calcium and fluoride release. SDF-KI treatment demonstrated statistically significant remineralisation potential in restoring VHN values vs baseline levels (p 0.001). SEM, EDX, and XRD analyses confirmed the mineral deposits to indicate remineralisation. The uptake of calcium was higher in SDF-KI than in F-varnish (p = 0.011). The fluorapatite (FAP) and fluoride-substituted apatite formation were validated by FTIR and XRD analyses. SDF-KI and F-varnish applications are both effective in promoting remineralisation on HAP disks. The application of SDF-KI affected the physicochemical and mechanical properties of demineralised HAP. The SDF-KI showed more formation of fluoride-substituted apatite and is effective in the hardening of demineralised HAP.

Automatic segmentation of cortical bone microstructure: Application and analysis of three proximal femur sites.

Osteoporosis is the most common bone metabolic unbalance, leading to fragility fractures, which are known to be associated with structural changes in the bone. Cortical bone accounts for 80 % of the skeleton mass and undergoes remodeling throughout life, leading to changes in its thickness and microstructure. Although many studies quantified the different cortical bone structures using CT techniques (3D), they are often realised on a small number of samples. Therefore, the work presented here proposes a method to quantify cortical bone microstructure using 2D histology, shows its application on a set of 94 samples and compares to 3D methods. Fresh frozen human femur pairs from 47 donors aged between 57 and 96 years were obtained from the Medical University of Vienna. Bone samples were cut from 3 sites: proximal part of the diaphysis, inferior and superior segments of the neck. The samples were stained with toluidine blue and imaged under light microscopy. After manual segmentation of a few regions of interest by multiple operators, a convolutional neural network was trained in combination with a random forest for automatic segmentation. The segmentation analysis compares morphology and structure distribution of Haversian canals, osteocyte lacunae, and cement lines with literature, between anatomical sites, sex, left and right sides, and relation to ageing. Morphological analysis of the segmentation gives results similar to the literature. Comparison between male and female donors shows no significant differences. There is no significant difference between left and right femur on paired samples but significant differences are observed between anatomical locations. The structures' relative amounts do not present significant changes with age but only weak tendencies. Nevertheless, a strong correlation was observed between osteocyte lacunae density and bone areal fraction. This study presents a full process to stain and automatically segment digital cortical bone images. Its application to a large sample set of proximal femora provides strong statistics on the cortical bone structures morphology and distribution. Similarities observed between sides and sexes together with differences observed between sites could indicate that mechanical loading might be a main driver for bone microstructure. Additionally, the relationship between osteocyte lacunae density and bone areal fraction could suggest that bone porosity is regulated by osteocyte survival.

Performance of the automated digital cell image analyzer UIMD PBIA in white blood cell classification: a comparative study with sysmex DI-60.

This study aimed to evaluate the performance of PBIA (UIMD, Seoul, Republic of Korea), an automated digital morphology analyzer using deep learning, for white blood cell (WBC) classification in peripheral blood smears and compare it with the widely used DI-60 (Sysmex, Kobe, Japan). A total of 461 slides were analyzed using PBIA and DI-60. For each instrument, pre-classification performance was evaluated on the basis of post-classification results verified by users. Pre- and post-classification results were compared with manual WBC differentials, and the ability to identify abnormal cells was assessed. The pre-classification performance of PBIA was better than that of DI-60 for most cell classes. PBIA had an accuracy of 90.0 % and Cohen's kappa of 0.934, higher than DI-60 (45.5 % accuracy and 0.629 kappa) across all cell classes. The pre-classification performance of both instruments decreased when abnormal cells were observed in manual counts, but PBIA still performed better. PBIA also appeared to show better correlation with manual WBC differential counts, particularly in pre-classification (Pearson's correlation coefficient: 0.696-0.944 vs. 0.230-0.882 for neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils, and blasts), although the mean differences varied by cell class. For abnormal cells identified in manual counts, PBIA exhibited more false positives for blasts (30.5 vs. 2.3 %), while DI-60 hada higher rate of false negatives (42.1 vs. 6.1 %). Both instruments exhibited high false negative rates for atypical lymphocytes. PBIA demonstrated better performance than DI-60, highlighting its clinical utility. Further multicenter studies are required for full validation.

Human Plasma-Derived Exosomes: A Promising Carrier System for the Delivery of Hydroxyurea to Combat Breast Cancer.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential of human plasma derived exosomes for the delivery of hydroxyurea to enhance its therapeutic efficacy in breast cancer. Plasma derived exosomes were isolated using differential centrifugation along with ultrafiltration method. Hydroxyurea was encapsulated in exosomes using a freeze-thaw method. The exosomes and Exo-HU were characterized for their size distribution, drug entrapment efficiency, in-vitro drug release profile, morphological analysis and cytotoxic effects on MCF-7 cell line. The results showed a mean size of 178.8nm and a zeta potential of -18.3mV, indicating good stability and 70% encapsulation effectiveness for HU. Exo-HU produced sustained drug release action with a considerable percentage released within 72h. The morphological analysis indicated that the plasma derived exosomes were spherical, and cup shaped. In cytotoxicity studies on MCF-7 cells, Exo-HU has reduced cell viability compared to HU and blank exosomes. Findings of this study showed that human plasma-derived exosomes have been considered as effective delivery vehicle for hydroxyurea, potentially improving breast cancer treatment outcomes.

Depot-specific adiposity changes in ovariectomized mice on high-fat diet.

Ovariectomized (OVX) mice serve as a key model for studying postmenopausal metabolic changes, particularly obesity, as they mimic the hormonal state of postmenopausal women. However, our understanding remains limited regarding how hormonal and dietary factors affect different adipose tissues. Furthermore, precise documentation of experimental procedures and their effects on specific adipose tissue depots is essential for reproducible translational research. This study investigated depot-specific adiposity development in OVX mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD), focusing on how reduced estrogen levels and dietary intervention affect distinct fat depots. We composed subcutaneous and visceral white adipose tissue (WAT) depots from sham-operated (Sham) and OVX female C57BL/6JJcl mice on a regular diet (RD) and high-fat diet (HFD) for 20 weeks. OVX mice on HFD gained significantly more weight than Sham controls. Adiposity increased in abdominal subcutaneous WAT (sWAT) and perirenal WAT (prWAT) of OVX mice, but not in mesenteric WAT (mWAT). Analysis of adipose tissue morphology revealed that OVX mice exhibited enlarged adipocyte cross-sectional areas under low estrogen (E2) conditions, suggesting enhanced adipogenesis in an estrogen-deficient state. These findings suggest that low estrogen condition accelerated adiposity, in a tissue site-dependent manner.

Rice husk biowaste derived microcrystalline cellulose reinforced sustainable green composites: A comprehensive characterization for lightweight applications.

This study addresses the issue of waste generation within the food industry, focusing on the conversion of rice husk waste into value-added products. The investigation involves a comprehensive characterization of microcrystalline cellulose extracted from the rice husk and reinforcing them in bio-epoxy resin to determine its feasibility in producing ecofriendly products. The dried rice husk waste was made to undergo a series of treatments, including alkali, acid hydrolysis, and bleaching for extracting high purity microcrystalline cellulose. Physio-chemical, morphological, thermal, and spectroscopy analyses were performed on rice husk microcrystalline cellulose (RHMCC), revealing a high cellulose content (94.39 %), favourable crystallinity (77.8 %), low density (1.571 g/cm3), and substantial thermal stability (299.14 °C). Additionally, the surface roughness of rice husk microcrystalline cellulose supports its suitability as a bio-filler material in the production of environmentally friendly composites. The rice husk microcrystalline cellulose was added to bio-epoxy polymer at different weight percentages (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 %), and mechanical and spectroscopy characteristics were evaluated using ASTM standards. Fractographical morphology was also examined in the fractured sample to disclose cellulose bonding behaviour, void forms, filler agglomeration, and fracture behaviour. This research contributes in reducing waste in food industry and promoting sustainable ecofriendly products to the society.

Cellulase from Halomonas elongata for biofuel application: enzymatic characterization and inhibition tolerance investigation

Halophilic bacteria are promising candidates for biofuel production because of their efficient cellulose degradation. Their cellulases exhibit high activity, even in the presence of inhibitors and under extreme conditions, making them ideal for biorefinery applications. In this study, we isolated a strain of Halomonas elongata (Kadal6) from decomposed cotton cloth on a Rameshwaram seashore. Morphological, biochemical, and 16S rRNA analyses revealed that Kadal6 was 99.93% similar to the cellulase-producing strain, H. elongata MH25661. The tolerance of the cellulase to inhibitors was assessed through molecular docking with a cellulase model of MH25661 generated by I-TASSER and experimentally using response surface methodology (RSM) with Kadal6. A molecular docking study indicated a high inhibition constant for ethanol, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), and furfural. Cellulase from H. elongata Kadal6 (CellHe) showed a maximum inhibition rate of 44.27% at 55 °C, 15% ethanol, and 6.5 g/L furfural and HMF. The enzyme retained 50% of its activity in the presence of these inhibitors, and remained unaffected at 1 g/L furfural and HMF, although inhibition occurred at 3 g/L. H. elongata cellulase demonstrated significant tolerance to inhibition both in vitro (RSM) and in silico, indicating its potential for biorefinery applications in harsh environments.

Simultaneous regulation of grain size and interface of single-crystal ultrahigh-nickel LiNi0.9Co0.055Mn0.045O2 via one-step Li2ZrO3 coating.

Single-crystal ultrahigh-nickel LiNixCoyMn1-x-yO2 (NCM) materials are recognized for significant potential in the development of high-performance lithium-ion batteries, primarily owing to their higher energy density and superior cycling performance compared to polycrystalline counterparts. However, these materials require high calcination temperatures, suffer from significant lithium/nickel mixing, and face challenges in composition control. Although high-activity oxide precursors prepared via spray pyrolysis can reduce calcination temperatures, the smaller particle size of the resulting NCM materials intensifies interfacial side reactions. In this study, we addressed these challenges by coating LiNi0.9Co0.055Mn0.045O2 (NCM90) with Li2ZrO3 through low-temperature annealing, which integrates grain size regulation and interface modification in one step. Morphology and structure analysis show that the applied coating increased the particle size from 0.3μm to 0.75 μm, preserved a more reversible crystalline structure in the lithium-deficient state, and reduced the volumetric shrinkage of NCM during cycling. The initial discharge capacity (212mAh/g at 0.1 C) and 100 cycle capacity retention (88%) of the optimal material (Li2ZrO3 loading of 0.16wt%) significantly exceeded those of unmodified NCM90 and C-NCM90 prepared from a commercial precursor. This proposed "two birds with one stone" strategy offers a promising approach for developing single-crystal ultrahigh-nickel cathode materials and, consequently, high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

Endophytic Trichoderma (Sordariomycetes, Hypocreaceae) species associated with Citrus in Guangdong province, China

ABSTRACT Trichoderma species are well-known biocontrol agents for many plant diseases. These species are also associated as endophytes in various hosts. In the present study, endophytic Trichoderma species were isolated from four Citrus species: Citrus reticulata, C. nobilis, C. tachibana, and C. maxima. Isolates were identified based on morphology and multigene phylogenetic analysis based on internal transcribed spacer regions of the ribosomal DNA (ITS), the translation elongation factor 1-α encoding gene (tef1-α) and the gene encoding the second largest nuclear RNA polymerase subunit (rpb2). In total, 16 isolates were identified as four new species and one known species. Trichoderma reticulatae sp. nov., T. citri sp. nov., T. wujiangense sp. nov. belonging to the Harzianum clade are introduced as new species. From the Atroviride clade, T. nobilis sp. nov. is introduced as a new species and T. koningiopsis belonging to the Viride clade is described as a new host record. A detailed description of the morphology and cultural characteristics of the newly discovered Trichoderma species is provided, and these characteristics were compared with those of closely related species to better understand the taxonomic relationships within the Trichoderma. Our study will provide an account of Trichoderma species associated with various Citrus species in Guangdong, China.

Engineered alginate-polyethyleneimine and sludge-aluminosilicate biochar composites for greywater treatment: Performance evaluation and models for designing pilot-scale systems.

Greywater, originating from kitchen sinks and toilets, constitutes 75-80 % of the domestic wastewater produced in homes and can be reclaimed for non-potable uses. This study synthesized novel sludge-derived aluminosilicates and alginate-polyethyleneimine (PEI) biochar composites. The aluminosilicates offer a sustainable approach to sludge management, while alginate-polyethyleneimine presents a green biochar modification approach. Their performance in fixed bed columns for treating greywater was compared with zinc chloride, calcium alginate, and PEI-biochar composites. The CatBoost machine learning algorithm also predicted contaminant removal efficiency and breakthrough parameters. The morphological and chemical analyses showed that the modification techniques improved the physiochemical properties of the biochar, which in turn influenced contaminant removal efficiency. With its enhanced surface area and pore structure, zinc chloride-biochar demonstrated notable effectiveness in removing organic matter (highest COD removal efficiency 96.1 %). PEI-biochar exhibited a high removal efficiency for nitrates (highest value of 95.5 %), attributed to the positive amine groups. Aluminosilicate-biochar was the most effective at removing ammonium due to its high cation exchange capacity. The CatBoost algorithm successfully stimulated E. coli, total nitrogen, COD removal efficiencies, and breakthrough parameters from greywater using biochar (R2 > 0.7). Future research should conduct a pilot-scale study for this technology, explore the use of modified biochar arranged in multilayers for treating greywater, use of biochar for removing emerging contaminants in greywater, and optimize predictive models for greywater treatment. The insights from our study provide valuable guidance for effective and sustainable greywater treatment.

Integrated analyses provide insights into the seed dormancy mechanisms of the endangered plant Sinojackia sarcocarpa.

Sinojackia sarcocarpa, an endangered ornamental plant endemic to China, faces germination challenges that contribute to its endangered status. The mechanisms of its seed dormancy are not well understood. This study used morphological, physiological, transcriptomic, and gene function analyses to investigate these mechanisms. Our research shows that seed dormancy in Sinojackia sarcocarpa involves both physical and physiological factors. We found that removing the hard endocarp and applying gibberellic acid can effectively break dormancy. Transcriptomic analysis identified 2218 up-regulated and 374 down-regulated genes during germination. Notably, DOG1-domain genes SsDOGL4, SsTGA9, and SsTGA10 were significantly downregulated, while SsDOG1 was not. Additionally, overexpression of SsDOGL4 in Arabidopsis endosperm was found to enhance seed dormancy. Collectively, these findings offer significant insights into the mechanisms underlying seed dormancy in this endangered plant species.

Multiscale Hierarchical Micro- and Nano-Surface Induced by High-Repetition-Rate Femtosecond Laser Promote Peri-Implant Osseointegration.

Micro- and nanomorphological modification and roughening of titanium implant surfaces can enhance osseointegration; however, the optimal morphology remains unclear. Laser processing of implant surfaces has demonstrated significant potential due to its precision, controllability, and environmental friendliness. Femtosecond lasers, through precise optimization of processing parameters, can modify the surface of any solid material to generate micro- and nanomorphologies of varying scales and roughness. Inspired by the multiscale micro- and nanostructures of natural bone tissue, this study employed a high-repetition-rate femtosecond laser to fabricate three distinct micro- and nanomorphologies on titanium implant surfaces, characterized by low (LTi), medium (MTi), and high (HTi) roughness, exhibiting multiscale coexistence. Comprehensive characterization of the modified surfaces included analysis of morphology, roughness, wettability, and elemental composition. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to evaluate osteogenic differentiation and osseointegration capabilities. Results revealed that the HTi surface, exhibiting high roughness, presents a multiscale hierarchical micro- and nanostructure composed of micrometer-sized spheres, submicrometer-sized corrugations, and nanometer-sized particles. In vitro studies demonstrated that the HTi surface promoted earlier adhesion, spreading, and enhanced osteogenic differentiation of osteoblasts, while in vivo studies indicated improved bone formation and osseointegration. In conclusion, multiscale hierarchical micro- and nanosurfaces with high roughness generated by high-repetition-rate femtosecond laser processing hold considerable promise for titanium implant applications.

Photobiomodulation of alveolar bone healing in rats with low-level laser and light emitting diode therapy.

The present study investigates the potential contribution of Photobiomodulation (PBM) to the regeneration of the bone following the extraction of the first mandibular molar in rats. The study evaluates the efficacy of PBM, using both Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) and Light-Emitting Diode Therapy (LEDT), as promotors of osteoblastic activity and the formation of new bone. Study design, setting, and sample: 45 male Wistar rats were divided randomly into three groups of 15 individuals - (i) control group (left lower molar removed only), (ii) the LLL group (molar removed, followed by LLLT), and (iii) the LED group (molar removed, followed by LEDT). Each of these groups was divided into three subgroups of five rats, which were monitored for 7, 14 or 28 days following the extraction of the tooth. For analysis, the bone of the right mandibular hemiarch was extracted and the specimens were stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin. Microscopic morphological analysis revealed that the LED therapy had promoted greater bone remodeling activity at 7 and 14 days post-extraction, whereas the LLLT promoted the generation of more mature bone tissue, but more slowly overall. The quantitative analysis revealed a significant increase in the area of bone activity and the osteoblast count in both PBM groups in comparison with the control.Photobiomodulation, using either low-level laser or LED therapy, is effective for both bone regeneration and osteoblast activity following dental injury in rats. While the LED therapy initially presented higher levels of remodeling activity, the laser produced more mature bone tissue over time. These findings indicate that PBM is a promising therapeutic alternative for healing bone, with the potential for the improvement of postoperative outcomes in dental practise.

Morphological analysis of cold-water coral skeletons for evaluating in silico mechanical models of reef-scale crumbling

Morphological analysis of cold-water coral skeletons for evaluating in silico mechanical models of reef-scale crumbling

The effects of estrogen depletion in female rats: differential influences on somato-motor and sensory cortices.

Aging women experience a significant decline of ovarian hormones, particularly estrogen, following menopause, and become susceptible to cognitive and psychomotor deficits. Although the effects of estrogen depletion had been documented in the prefrontal and somatosensory cortices, its impact on somatomotor cortex, a region crucial for motor and cognitive functions, remains unclear. To explore this, we ovariectomized young adult female rats and fed subsequently with phytoestrogen-free diet and studied the effects of estrogen depletion on the somato-sensory and motor cortices. Low serum estrogen was confirmed prior to biochemical and morphological analyses. Results revealed that estrogen depletion differentially affected the two cortical areas: all three estrogen receptors were downregulated in the somatosensory cortex, whereas in the somatomotor cortex, G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor 30 was upregulated, estrogen receptor α decreased, and estrogen receptor β remained unaffected. Intracellular dye injections revealed decreased dendritic spines on layer III and V pyramidal neurons of the somato-sensory cortex but increased in those of the motor cortex. These were accompanied by decrease and increase of excitatory postsynaptic density protein 95 respectively. Since dendritic spines receive excitatory inputs, these findings suggest that estrogen depletion changes the excitatory connectivity of the somato-sensory and motor cortices in opposite directions. Notably, estradiol replenishment reversed the dendritic spine increase in the somatomotor cortex, confirming the estrogen dependency of this effect. The differential influence of estrogen depletion on these two cortices could have contributed to the cognitive and psychomotor abnormalities in postmenopausal females.

GCTransNet: 3D mitochondrial instance segmentation based on Global Context Vision Transformers.

Mitochondria are double membrane-bound organelles essential for generating energy in eukaryotic cells. Mitochondria can be readily visualized in 3D using Volume Electron Microscopy (vEM), and accurate image segmentation is vital for quantitative analysis of mitochondrial morphology and function. To address the challenge of segmenting small mitochondrial compartments in vEM images, we propose an automated mitochondrial segmentation method called GCTransNet. This method employs grayscale migration technology to preprocess images, effectively reducing intensity distribution differences across EM images. By utilizing 3D Global Context Vision Transformers (GC-ViT) combined with global context self-attention modules and local self-attention modules, GCTransNet precisely models long-range and short-range spatial interactions. The long-range interactions enable the model to capture the global structural relationships within the mitochondrial segmentation network, while the short-range interactions refine local details and boundaries. In our approach, the encoder of the 3D U-Net network, a classical multi-scale learning architecture that retains high-resolution features through skip connections and combines multi-scale features for precise segmentation, is replaced by a 3D GC-ViT. The GC-ViT leverages shifted window-based self-attention, capturing long-range dependencies and offering improved segmentation accuracy compared to traditional U-Net encoders. In the MitoEM mitochondrial segmentation challenge, GCTransNet achieved state-of-the-art results, demonstrating its superiority in automated mitochondrial segmentation. The code and its documentation are publicly available at https://github.com/GanLab123/GCTransNet.