Clinical biomarkers for cancer recognition and prevention: A novel approach with optical measurements.

Cancer is the most important cause of death worldwide, and early cancer detection is the most fundamental factor for efficacy of treatment, prognosis, and increasing survival rate. Over the years great effort has been devoted to discovering and testing new biomarkers that can improve its diagnosis, especially at an early stage. Here we report the potential usefulness of new, easily applicable, non-invasive and relatively low-cost clinical biomarkers, based on abnormalities of oral mucosa spectral reflectance and fractal geometry of the vascular networks in several different tissues, for identification of hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer carriers as well for detection of other tumors, even at an early stage.

Ranking Predatory Journals: Solve the Problem Instead of Removing It!

Predatory journals are a well-known issue for scholarly publishing and they are repositories for bogus research. In recent years, the number of predatory journals has risen and it is necessary to present a solution for this challenge. In this paper, we will discuss about a possible ranking of predatory journals.

Morphometric analysis of cryofixed muscular tissue for intraoperative consultation.

For diagnostic purposes, cryofixation of tissues is a daily routine technique to investigate rapidly about the presence of tumours during a surgical procedure in patients. We performed morphometric analysis of cryofixed muscular tissues according to different techniques. About 1,000 muscle fibers and 1,493 nuclei, were automatically examined.

Entropy of corneal nerve fibers distribution observed by laser scanning confocal microscopy: A noninvasive quantitative method to characterize the corneal innervation in Sjogren's syndrome patients.

Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is a progressive autoimmune condition mainly affecting the salivary and lacrimal glands with an incidence of primary SS between 1/100 and 1/1,000. SS implies an alteration in the epithelium and subepithelium innervation, with consequent reduction of corneal sensitivity. It is necessary to have noninvasive quantitative methods to characterize the status of the corneal nerve fibers of the patients in order to choose and follow the best therapy.

Differential Diagnosis: Shape and Function, Fractal Tools in the Pathology Lab.

Fractal analysis is a useful objective tool in describing complexity of shapes and signals providing information for understanding pathological changes. We present fractal approaches and software used in our pathology laboratory to analyze shapes of tumors in tissues and cells, to evaluate the microvessel network complexity in hereditary diseases or the complexity of the surface of blood cells in atherosclerosis-linked condition, as well to analyze function in vasculopathic subjects by chaotic analysis of electrocardiographic signals, in order to perform differential diagnosis. The fractal parameters appear to converge towards distinct values in pathological conditions compared to healthy, approaching the characteristics values of a percolation process or the diffusion-limited aggregation process, respectively: a bifurcation that allows to support the diagnostic process of the pathologist in his daily work.

Geometric complexity identifies platelet activation in familial hypercholesterolemic patients.

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), a genetic disease, is associated with a severe incidence of athero-thrombotic events, related, also, to platelet hyperreactivity. A plethora of methods have been proposed to identify those activated circulating platelets, none of these has proved really effective. We need efficient methods to identify the circulating platelet status in order to follow the patients after therapeutic procedures.

Geometric complexity is increased in in vitro activated platelets.

This article investigates the use of computerized fractal analysis for objective characterization of the complexity of platelets in vitro stimulated by low level thrombin (0.02 U mL(-1) ), collected from healthy individuals and observed by means of transmission electron microscopy. Platelet boundaries were extracted by means of automatically image analysis.

Fractal dimension of bone texture in radiographs correlates to ultrasound broadband attenuation T-score.

Objectives: We aimed to measure the fractal dimension on x-ray images and ultrasonographic parameters of the os calcis of bone from 4 districts in osteoporotic patients and in control subjects, in order to test the hypothesis that ultrasonographic parameters correlate to the fractal dimension obtained on x-ray images.

Methods: Fractal analysis on radiological images from 4 bone districts (proximal femur, calcaneus, metacarpus and 3rd phalanx) was performed in a study comparing ultrasonographic evaluation of the os calcis in severe osteoporotic patients and in control cases. We studied 86 x-ray-views from patients with severe reduction of ultrasound Stiffness Index and in healthy women.

Phase transition of the microvascular network architecture in human pathologies.

We have investigated the microvascular pattern in acquired or genetic diseases in humans. The lower gingival and vestibular oral mucosa, as well as the optic nerve head, was chosen to characterize the vascular pattern complexity due to the simple accessibility and visibility Local fractal dimensions, fractal dimension of the minimum path and Lempel-Ziv complexity have been used as operational numerical tools to characterize the microvascular networks. In the normal healthy subjects microvascular networks show nonlinear values corresponding to the complexity of a diffusion limited aggregation (DLA) model, while in several acquired or genetic diseases they are approaching the ones of an invasion percolation model.

Fractal analysis of fluoroangiographic patterns in anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy and optic neuritis: a pilot study.

Background: To evaluate by means of fractal analysis the vascular pattern of the optic nerve head obtained by fluorescein angiogram, in non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAION) and optic neuritis (ON).

Methods: Twenty-nine patients at the Department of Ophthalmology of the University of Siena, diagnosed as having either NAION or ON by clinical and instrumental criteria, were prospectively subjected to fractal analysis: 11 patients with NAION and 18 patients with ON. In the ON group, 12 patients showed optic disc oedema, whereas six patients showed no optic disc oedema.

Fractal analysis of monocytes in diabetes.

Fractal dimension of pericellular membrane of monocytes was evaluated in diabetic patients and in control subjects. Monocytes were collected from normal healthy volunteers (n = 6) and from diabetic (type 1 and type 2) patients (n = 9). Monocytes from healthy volunteers were also stimulated in vitro with the ionophore A23187 or with the oligopeptide FMLP.

Abnormal oral vascular network pattern geometry: a new clinical sign of down syndrome.

Down syndrome is a leading genetic cause of mental retardation. Here, we show high fractal dimensions and Lempel-Ziv complexity and lower minimum path fractal dimension (P < or = .0006) for the oral vascular networks of patients (n = 14) and their unaffected parents.

Abnormal oral vascular network geometric complexity in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) leads to impaired extracellular matrix (ECM) structure. Since ECM plays a major role in blood vessel geometry, we tested the hypothesis of an abnormal geometrical complexity of the visible microvascular network in EDS. Twelve patients with EDS-II or EDS-III and a control population (n=12) were examined.

Oral mucosal microvascular abnormalities: an early marker of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

An abnormal pulmonary vasculature has been reported as an important component of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). We tested the hypothesis of an early abnormal vascular network pattern in infants with BPD. Fifteen infants with BPD (nine boys and six girls; gestational age 27.

Abnormal oral mucosal light reflectance in infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis.

Objectives: Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS) is the most common condition requiring surgical intervention during the first weeks of life. The etiology of IHPS is unknown, although both neuronal nitric oxide synthase upregulation and an extracellular matrix abnormality are suspected. Familial predisposition is an important feature.

Congenital oral mucosal abnormalities in true umbilical cord knots.

Objective: The pathogenesis and clinical significance of true umbilical cord knots remain controversial. Here, we tested the hypothesis of the presence of congenital oral mucosal changes in newborns with true umbilical cord knots.

Study Design: Seven consecutive infants with true umbilical cord knots and 50 gestational age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled.

Abnormal oral mucosal light reflectance: a new clinical sign of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a major inherited connective tissue disorder leading to an impaired extracellular matrix structure. Although several odontostomatologic signs have been reported, their diagnostic accuracy remains to be ascertained. We tested the hypothesis that EDS is associated with an abnormal reflectance of the oral mucosa.