Mosaic-like Appearance Research Articles

Standard vs magnifying narrow-band imaging endoscopy for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection and gastric precancerous conditions.

BACKGROUNDAdvances in endoscopic imaging enable the identification of patients at high risk of gastric cancer. However, there are no comparative data on the utility of standard and magnifying narrow-band imaging (M-NBI) endoscopy for diagnosing Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, gastric atrophy, and intestinal metaplasia. AIMTo compare the diagnostic performance of standard and M-NBI endoscopy for H. pylori gastritis and precancerous conditions. METHODSIn 254 patients, standard endoscopy findings were classified into mosaic-like appearance (type A), diffuse homogenous redness (type B), and irregular redness with groove (type C). Gastric mucosal patterns visualized by M-NBI were classified as regular round pits with polygonal sulci (type Z-1), more dilated and linear pits without sulci (type Z-2), and loss of gastric pits with coiled vessels (type Z-3). RESULTSThe diagnostic accuracy of standard and M-NBI endoscopy for H. pylori gastritis was 93.3% and 96.1%, respectively. Regarding gastric precancerous conditions, the accuracy of standard and M-NBI endoscopy was 72.0% vs 72.6% for moderate to severe atrophy, and 61.7% vs. 61.1% for intestinal metaplasia in the corpus, respectively. Compared to type A and Z-1, types B+C and Z-2+Z-3 were significantly associated with moderate to severe atrophy [odds ratio (OR) = 5.56 and 8.67] and serum pepsinogen I/II ratio of ≤ 3 (OR = 4.48 and 5.69). CONCLUSIONClose observation of the gastric mucosa by standard and M-NBI endoscopy is useful for the diagnosis of H. pylori gastritis and precancerous conditions.

Habitat Mosaics of Sand Steppes and Forest-Steppes in the Ipoly Valley in Hungary

The present study focuses on the mosaic-like occurrences of patches of steppes and fore-steppes in the Pannonian forest-steppe zone. We present the current vegetation, which is maintained including by human landscape use, i.e., grazing and mowing. The area is complex and for this reason it shows the changes in the landscape and differences in the vegetation more diversely. We wanted to answer the questions: Do sand steppes and forest-steppes occur in the Ipoly Valley and what location? What kind of environmental effects influence the species composition on these areas? Besides classic habitat mapping, are the satellite data from Sentinel-2A useful for distinction of different areas? Comparison of vegetation patches was based on the Hungarian habitat classification system (ÁNÉR). Based on satellite images, quantile data of the Normalized Vegetation Index (NDVI) were used for comparison. Based on the result, water bodies and urban areas are clearly distinguishable from other natural habitats. In some natural vegetation types, we found visible differences, such as grasslands, i.e., sandy steppe meadows and shrubby, woody vegetation patches. Sandy vegetation mainly grows on calcareous soils, which appear to be mosaic-like in the landscape on raised alluvials on the patches of past islands and reefs. From open to continuous closed grasslands, these vegetation types mainly grow on lithosoils. New occurrences of Pannonian sandy vegetation were discovered. In the sandy areas along the Ipoly Valley, open sandy grasslands were found, which is where the northernmost known occurrences of this vegetation type are. Besides common sandy grassland species, the vegetation also contains herbs that are typical in loess-grasslands and it is maintained by grazing, similarly to the eastern Pannonian area. This type of grazing can be useful when maintaining the mosaic-like appearance and diversity of the vegetation.

A recoverable AMBTC authentication scheme using similarity embedding strategy.

In this paper, we propose an efficient method for authenticating the absolute moment block truncation coding (AMBTC) compressed images with the capability to recover tampered blocks. The existing methods may not be able to detect some types of intentional tampering. Meanwhile, the tampered blocks are only recovered by their means, causing an unpleasant mosaic-like appearance. The proposed method classifies image blocks into groups according to their similarities, and the group information is recorded for the recovery purpose. The multiple copies of the group information are scrambled and embedded into the bitmap of smooth blocks. The dominant portions of quantization levels are adjusted to generate a set of authentication code candidates. The codes with the minimal distortion are embedded into the least significant bits (LSBs) of the quantization levels. The tampered blocks can be recovered by averaging those untampered ones with the same index. The experimental results show that the proposed method not only achieves an excellent marked image quality and detectability, but also offers a satisfactory recovered result.

Noninvasive Clinical Predictors of Portal Hypertensive Gastropathy in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis.

Portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) is described endoscopically as "mosaic-like appearance" of gastric mucosa with or without the red spots. It can only be diagnosed by upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of platelet count to spleen diameter ratio (PSR) and right liver lobe diameter to albumin ratio (RLAR) in the detection of PHG using upper GI endoscopy as a gold standard in patients with liver cirrhosis. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Hepatogastroenterology, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, Karachi. All consecutive patients with ages 18-65 years who were screened using esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) to exclude esophageal varices were enrolled. At the same time, findings related to PHG were noted. After informed consent, all the patients had blood tests including platelet count and albumin and abdominal ultrasound determining spleen diameter and right liver lobe diameter. Out of 111 patients, 59 (53.15%) were males with a mean age of 44 ± 12.61 years. Rate of PHG was observed in 84.68% (94/111) cases confirmed by EGD. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of PSR were 87.23%, 5.88%, 83.67%, 7.69%, and 74.7%, respectively, and those of RLAR were 28.72%, 70.59%, 84.38%, 15.19%, and 35.14%, respectively. PSR is better predictor of PHG than RLAR but at the expense of relatively lower specificities and NPV likely because of underlying pathophysiology (portal hypertension) which is similar for esophageal varices, PHG, and ascites.

Revisión de la familia Phyllophoridae (Holothuroidea: Dendrochirotida) de las aguas mexicanas.

The fauna of the echinoderms of Mexico is represented by 643 species. Within these, 113 belong to the class Holothuroidea (sea cucumbers). The phyllophorids (Holothuroidea: Phyllophoridae) are characterized by the presence of more than 10 tentacles and a calcareous ring prolonged posteriorly with small pieces forming a mosaic-like appearance. Their cryptic habits have made them difficult to record during the many years of taxonomic studies regarding this group in Mexico. This paper aims to raise awareness of the state of knowledge on the diversity of the Phyllophoridae family in Mexican territorial waters. We present 16 species belonging to six genera, living in shallow (0 - 200 m) to deep (> 200 m) waters in the Mexican Pacific, Gulf of California, Mexican Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Within these, three new records are included. A taxonomic identification catalog was obtained for each species, providing information about external and internal morphology; the material was examined and recorded with information from type material and locality, all previous reports for Mexico, the geographic and bathymetric distribution as well as photographs taken with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) of the shape and combination of the spicules. The work is complemented with a dichotomous key for identification.

Prediction ofHelicobacter pyloriInfection Status via Close Observation of Gastric Mucosal Pattern by Standard Endoscopy

2 , Cheorwon, Korea Background/Aims: Common endoscopic findings in stomachs with Helicobacter pylori infections include antral nodularity, thick- ened gastric folds, and visible submucosal vessels. These findings are suggestive but not diagnostic of H. pylori infection. Magnifying endoscopy can reveal more precisely the abnormal mucosal patterns in an H. pylori-infected stomach; however, it requires more training, expertise, and time. We aimed to establish a new classification for predicting H. pylori-infected stomachs by non-magnify- ing standard endoscopy alone. Materials and Methods: A total of 617 participants who underwent gastroscopy were prospectively enrolled from August 2011 to January 2012. We performed a careful close examination of the corpus at the greater curvature maintaining a distance ≤10 mm be- tween the endoscope tip and the mucosal surface. We classified gastric mucosal patterns into four categories: normal regular ar- rangement of collecting venules (numerous minute red dots), mosaic-like appearance (type A; swollen areae gastricae or snakeskin appearance), diffuse homogenous redness (type B), and mixed pattern (type C; irregular redness with groove) to predict H. pylori infection status. Results: The frequencies of H. pylori infection in patients with a normal regular arrangement of collecting venules pattern and types A, B, and C patterns were 9.4%, 87.7%, 98.1%, and 90.9%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative pre- dictive values of all abnormal patterns for prediction of H. pylori infection were 93.3%, 89.1%, 92.3%, and 90.6%, respectively. The overall accuracy was 91.6%. Conclusions: Careful close observation of the gastric mucosal pattern with standard endoscopy can predict H. pylori infection status. (Korean J Helicobacter Up Gastrointest Res 2014;14:45-51)

Close observation of gastric mucosal pattern by standard endoscopy can predict Helicobacter pylori infection status

Common endoscopic findings in stomachs with Helicobacter pylori infections include antral nodularity, thickened gastric folds, and visible submucosal vessels. These findings are suggestive but not diagnostic of H. pylori infection. Magnifying endoscopy can reveal more precisely the abnormal mucosal patterns in an H. pylori-infected stomach; however, it requires more training, expertise, and time. We aimed to establish a new classification for predicting H. pylori-infected stomachs by non-magnifying standard endoscopy alone. A total of 617 participants who underwent gastroscopy were prospectively enrolled from August 2011 to January 2012. We performed a careful close-up examination of the corpus at the greater curvature maintaining a distance ≤ 10 mm between the endoscope tip and the mucosal surface. We classified gastric mucosal patterns into four categories: normal regular arrangement of collecting venules (numerous minute red dots), mosaic-like appearance (type A; swollen areae gastricae or snakeskin appearance), diffuse homogenous redness (type B), and untypical pattern (type C; irregular redness with groove) to predict H. pylori infection status. The frequencies of H. pylori infection in patients with a normal regular arrangement of collecting venules pattern and types A, B, and C patterns were 9.4%, 87.7%, 98.1%, and 90.9%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of all abnormal patterns for prediction of H. pylori infection were 93.3%, 89.1%, 92.3%, and 90.6%, respectively. The overall accuracy was 91.6%. Careful close-up observation of the gastric mucosal pattern with standard endoscopy can predict H. pylori infection status.

Classification of lesions and comparison of immunohistochemical and acid fast staining in diagnosis of naturally occurring paratuberculosis in goats

Lesions associated with paratuberculosis and degrees of positivity by Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) and Avidin–Biotin Complex peroxidase (ABC) techniques in 26 adult goats grossly or clinically suspected to paratuberculosis were studied. Of these, 17 (65.4%) had microscopic lesions associated with paratuberculosis which were classified into three categories. Diffuse multibacillary lesions (30.8%) characterized by a diffuse granulomatous enteritis with epithelioid macrophages infiltration as main inflammatory cells into lamina propria that arranged mosaic-like appearance, and filled with numerous acid fast bacilli in ZN and highly positive in ABC. Diffuse lymphocytic lesions (11.5%) composed of lymphocytes as main inflammatory infiltrate, with some epithelioid macrophages or giant cells containing few if any mycobacteria. Diffuse mixed lesions (23%) characterized by a diffuse granulomatous enteritis with infiltration of mixture of large numbers of lymphocytes and epithelioid macrophages with varying degrees of positivity in ZN and ABC. In all types of lesions, other lesions such as granulomatous lymphangitis and arteritis, lymphangiectasis, thrombi composed of degenerated epithelioid macrophages were observed. Caseous necrosis, calcification and fibrosis in mesenteric lymph nodes commonly, especially in diffuse lymphocytic form, were observed. In conclusion, the present study showed three categories of lesions in which diffuse multibacillary form was the commonest type. Both ABC and ZN methods can detect (ABC with more positivity) almost all the goats with diffuse multibacillary and mixed lesions; more cases with lymphocytic forms were positive by ABC than by ZN. ABC method seems to be an efficient diagnostic adjunct to conventional ZN staining for diagnosis of paratuberculosis in goats. The importance of sampling the ileum (especially ileocecal valve), jejunum and mesenteric lymph nodes to find microscopic lesions of paratuberculosis in goats is emphasized.

The comparative evaluation of immunohistochemical and acid fast staining with histopathological changes in naturally occurring paratuberculosis in sheep

Histopathological changes and degrees of positivity by Ziehl–Neelsen (ZN) and avidin–biotin complex peroxidase (ABC) techniques were studied in 29 adult sheep grossly or clinically suspected to have paratuberculosis. Of these, 16 (55.1%) had microscopic lesions associated with paratuberculosis, which were classified into 4 categories. Focal–multifocal lesions (6.9%) consisted of small granulomas in the lamina propria of the ileum especially in the ileocecal Peyer’s patches and also in the mesenteric lymph nodes. Diffuse multibacillary lesions (31%) characterized by a diffuse granulomatous enteritis with epithelioid macrophages infiltration as main inflammatory cells that arranged in mosaic-like appearance, filled with numerous acid fast bacilli in ZN, and highly positive in ABC. Diffuse paucibacillary (lymphocytic) lesions (6.9%) composed of lymphocytes as main inflammatory infiltrate with some epithelioid macrophages or giant cells containing few if any mycobacteria. Diffuse intermediate (mixed) lesions (10.3%) characterized by a diffuse granulomatous enteritis with infiltration of large numbers of lymphocytes and also epithelioid macrophages with varying degrees of positivity in ZN and ABC. In the diffuse lesions, other lesions such as granulomatous or lymphocytic lymphangitis, lymphangiectasis, intravascular aggregates of epithelioid macrophages, lymphocytic infiltration around the myenteric nerve ganglia, severe granulomatous arteritis, atherosclerotic-like lesions and vascular thrombosis especially in the capsule of mesenteric lymph nodes, and serosal layer of intestine were observed. We could not find any necrotic or calcified lesion in the intestinal tissues of affected sheep but we found a few small foci in the mesenteric lymph nodes of two cases. High numbers of multinucleated langhans giant cells were seen only in mesenteric lymph node of one affected sheep. In conclusion, the present study showed four categories of lesions in which multinucleated giant cells, necrosis, and calcification were uncommon particularly in the intestine. Both immunohistochemistry (IHC) and ZN methods can detect IHC with more positivity in almost all the sheep with diffuse lesions; more cases with focal and paucibacillary forms were positive by IHC than by ZN. The importance of sampling the ileum (especially ileocecal valve), jejunum, and mesenteric lymph nodes to find microscopic lesions of paratuberculosis in sheep is emphasized.

Evidence for a symbiosis island involved in horizontal acquisition of pederin biosynthetic capabilities by the bacterial symbiont of Paederus fuscipes beetles.

Pederin belongs to a group of antitumor compounds found in terrestrial beetles and marine sponges. It is used by apparently all members of the rove beetle genera Paederus and Paederidus as a chemical defense against predators. However, a recent analysis of the putative pederin biosynthesis (ped) gene cluster strongly suggests that pederin is produced by bacterial symbionts. We have sequenced an extended region of the symbiont genome to gain further insight into the biology of this as-yet-unculturable bacterium and the evolution of pederin symbiosis. Our data indicate that the symbiont is a very close relative of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that has acquired several foreign genetic elements by horizontal gene transfer. Besides one functional tellurite resistance operon, the region contains a genomic island spanning 71.6 kb that harbors the putative pederin biosynthetic genes. Several decayed insertion sequence elements and the mosaic-like appearance of the island suggest that the acquisition of the ped symbiosis genes was followed by further insertions and rearrangements. A horizontal transfer of genes for the biosynthesis of protective substances could explain the widespread occurrence of pederin-type compounds in unrelated animals from diverse habitats.

Fluctuation of the Groundwater Level, and Its Consequences in the Soil-Parent Material-Groundwater System of a Sodic Grassland

Our data verified the relationship between meteorological factors and the fluctuation of the groundwater level. The rate of evaporation dominantly affected the rise and depth of the groundwater level. It is characteristic for the study site that there is an inverse relationship between the elevation of the groundwater observation wells and the depth of groundwater, and the difference between the levels of groundwater in the separate wells reflected the differences in the elevation between the wells. Our observations refuted our previous assumptions, as in the wells not only the concentration of salts changed but also the chemical type of the water. This can be attributed with great probability to the lateral flow of the groundwater, which is caused by the vertical fluctuation, but can be caused by other geological factors as well. We reached the conclusion that the vertical and sometimes lateral movement of the groundwater affects the development of soils in a given area. It means that the reason behind the mosaic-like appearance of the soil cover of a given area can be searched in the local differences of the chemical composition of the groundwater, which is a major factor of the spatial variability of the salt accumulation of soils. The observations and analytical results point to that the soils of the study site have developed under the effect of fluctuating groundwater and the elevation is a dominant factor of the spatial variability of the soil salt accumulation. The level of groundwater, the flow of groundwater and its composition show relationship with the surface elevation, and their effect is modified by the geological stratification, which results in a variable appearance of soil salt accumulation and native vegetation.

Heterogeneous distribution of thrombomodulin and von Willebrand factor in endothelial cells in the human pulmonary microvessels.

Laser scanning confocal fluorescence microscopy techniques were used to study the localization of von Willebrand factor (vWf; Factor VIII-related antigen) and thrombomodulin (transmembrane receptor for thrombin) in the microvascular endothelial cells in the normal human lung. Tissues were obtained from lobectomy specimens resected for solitary nodules (7 adenocarcinomas and 4 hamartomas) from 11 patients. The plasma membranes of the capillary endothelial cells in the alveolar zones (A-zones) showed red linear fluorescence for thrombomodulin. However, their cytoplasm was mostly unreactive for vWf. The microvessels which were located in the connective tissue (C-zones), including peribronchial, and subpleural areas and large vascular walls, consistently demonstrated band-like green fluorescence for vWf in their cytoplasm, and their plasma membranes usually lacked reactivity for thrombomodulin. Only a limited number of peribronchial capillaries measuring <10 microm in diameter showed a mosaic-like appearance, in which red fluorescence along the plasma membranes was found together with green fluorescence in the subjacent cytoplasm. In the juxtaalveolar (J-zones) microvessels located along the borders between A- and C-zones, and measuring up to 40 microm in diameter, the endothelial cells showed a mosaic-like pattern of distribution of the two antigens. However, the localization of thrombomodulin in the J-zone microvessels was separate and independent from that of vWf. The thrombomodulin-reactive cells were directly connected to the alveolar capillary endothelial cells. Heterogeneous patterns of distribution of thrombomodulin and vWf suggest that topographic differences of endothelial function occur to maintain a balance of coagulation and anticoagulation in the normal human lung.

Region-specific appearance of myelin constituents in the developing rat spinal cord

The appearance of myelin-specific glycolipids and of myelin basic protein was studied with regard to the detailed anatomy of the rat cervical spinal cord. The expression of these constituents in particular fibre tracts and regions occurs at specific times of development between postnatal days 1 and 14. This mosaic-like appearance started in the ventral funiculus (day 1) followed by fasciculus cuneatus and ventro-lateral funiculus (day 2), and fasciculus gracilis and dorso-lateral funiculus (days 3 to 4). Cortico-spinal tract (day 11), Lissauer tract (day 14) and the commissures started to acquire myelin very late. In the grey matter, myelin constituents appeared around days 11 to 14 in a patchy pattern. These results support a concept of highly local interactions regulating oligodendrocyte differentiation. In addition, a general rostro-caudal gradient of myelin development exists in the spinal cord, which is independent of the ascending or descending nature of the fibre tracts. Appearance of myelin constitutents in the caudal spinal cord was not prevented by a neonatal transection at mid-thoracic levels.

Anatomical distribution of biotin-binding protein/avidin in the hen oviduct.

In laying hen oviduct tissues fixed with buffered-formaldehydes, the definitive localization of endogenous biotin-binding protein and immunogenic avidin was demonstrated in the cytoplasm of tubular gland cells and PAS-positive seromucous cells of the epithelium of the lower third magnum and the isthmus. Smaller amounts of the protein were also associated with tubular gland cells and deep-lining cells as crypt-constituents, excluding epithelial goblet-like cells, of the middle magnum. In biotin-affinity histochemistry, suppression by pre-incubation with biotin was evaluated to be the most satisfactory procedure for positive control stainings. The staining intensity and pattern achieved with biotinylated-horseradish peroxidase was more prominent than that achieved with biotinylated-alkaline phosphatase techniques. Positively stained profiles of tubular gland cells varied considerably with different cellular constituents, having a mosaic-like appearance. In addition, every biotin-binding site was not always stained by immunoperoxidase techniques. This paper discusses the reasons for these heterogeneous localizations resulting from these two staining procedures.

THE INFLUENCE OF AGE AND OF DURATION OF TREATMENT ON THE PRODUCTION AND REPAIR OF BONE LESIONS IN EXPERIMENTAL HYPERPARATHYROIDISM

THE INFLUENCE OF AGE AND OF DURATION OF TREATMENT ON THE PRODUCTION AND REPAIR OF BONE LESIONS IN EXPERIMENTAL HYPERPARATHYROIDISM