Objective To understand the latest research developments of the formation mechanism of psammoma body in human tumors and related issues. Methods Related domestic and foreign literatures were widely referred, analyzed, and reviewed. Results Psammoma body is unique pathological calcification in some tumors, which is arranged in concentric, laminar circles microscopically. Psammoma body is commonly seen in thyroid papillary carcinoma, meningiomas, ovarian serous papillary carcinoma, and so on. Conclusions Although arranged in concentric, laminar circles microscopically in tumor, the formation process of psammoma body is not entirely the same in different tumors. A comprehensive and objective understanding of psammoma body would be useful in cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Ultrasound is the best way to diagnose thyroid nodules. To discriminate benign and malignant nodules, calcification is an important characteristic. However, calcification in ultrasonic images cannot be extracted accurately because of capsule wall and other internal tissue. In this paper, deep learning was first proposed to extract calcification, and two improved methods were proposed on the basis of Alexnet convolutional neural network. First, adding the corresponding anti-pooling (unpooling) and deconvolution layers (deconv2D) made the network to be trained for the required features and finally extract the calcification feature. Second, modifying the number of convolution templates and full connection layer nodes made feature extraction more refined. The final network was the combination of two improved methods above. To verify the method presented in this article, we got 8 416 images with calcification, and 10 844 without calcification. The result showed that the accuracy of the calcification extraction was 86% by using the improved Alexnet convolutional neural network. Compared with traditional methods, it has been improved greatly, which provides effective means for the identification of benign and malignant thyroid nodules.
Sclerostin, as a bone-derived secreted glycoprotein, is a suppressor of Wnt signaling pathway. Recently, adverse cardiovascular events in the treatment of osteoporosis with sclerostin inhibitors have raised concerns about the association of sclerostin with atherosclerotic heart disease. Whether the role of sclerostin in atherosclerotic heart disease is harmful or beneficial is not clear. This article reviews the progress of the mechanisms of sclerostin in vascular calcification and atherosclerotic heart disease, focusing on the relationship between sclerostin and vascular calcification, the impact of its concentration changes on atherosclerotic heart disease, and the effect of sclerostin inhibitor on cardiovascular events.
With the development of social economy and medicine, degenerative heart valve disease has become the major part in heart valve disease. Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is one of the most representative manifestations of degenerative valvular disease. Aortic valve calcification (AVC) has been found to be a strong predictor of major cardiovascular events, which makes it necessary to identify an effective way to evaluate the degree of AVC. Numerous methods of quantitative assessment of AVC have been reported. Here, we discuss these methods from the aspects of pathology and imageology.
To review the structure and function of the calcified cartilage zone and its role in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). Methods Recent l iterature about calcified zone was reviewed and analyzed in terms of architecture, composition, biomechanics, and biological function. Results Calcified zone has particular structure and material properties, and functions as a semi permeable membrane; chondrocytes in the calcified zone retain some characteristics of growth plate cells, which play a crucial role in cartilage function maintenance and pathogenesis of OA. Therefore, reconstructionof the calcified zone at osteochondral conjunction has become one of the hot research in the fields of interface tissue engineering. Conclusion It is necessary to pay more attention to calcified cartilage zone, which is important for both the treatment of OA and the preparation of tissue engineered osteochondral composite.
ObjectiveTo investigate the X-ray diagnostic significance of calcification of the breast tumor without mass. MethodsMammograms of 90 cases of breast tumor without mass confirmed pathologically were retrospectively analyzed. There were 55 cases confirmed benign breast tumor, and the rest cases were breast cancer. The shape, distribution, total number, location of calcifications in the breast, and asymmetric dense of the breast were recorded and watched. Results①The X-ray findings of calcification in benign breast tumors always presented as coarse granular (31), scattered shape (35) with small number, less with the asymmetric dense of the breast (7), and the change of side with axillary lymph node (2). ②Meanwhile, fine sand-like (32), showing the cluster-like distribution (24) with larger number, with the asymmetric dense of the breast (24) and the change of side with axillary lymph node (10). Both of the differences of the calcifications (the shape, the distribution, and the total number) were statistically significant (Plt;0.05). ConclusionsThe calcifications of benign and malignant breast tumors have their unique X-ray characteristics. And there is a great value in differentiating early benign and malignant breast tumor.
Abstract: Objective To evaluate a new type of treatment that reduces calcification of glutaraldehydetreated bovine jugular venous conduit (BJVC). Methods Fresh bovine jugular veins were treated with glutaraldehyde, followed by Triton X-100 and epoxy chloropropane (EC+Tr group). We compared the group’s appearance, histology, shrinkage temperature, tensile strength, and elongation at break with those of a fresh group, and with a group treated with glutaraldehyde only (GA group). We then implanted the EC+Tr and GA group BJVCs subcutaneously into the backs of SD rats and left them for eight weeks (n=8). The morphologic properties and inflammatory response of the test specimens were evaluated by HE staining. The tissue calcium content was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Results The shrinkage temperature, tensile strength, and elongation at break of the EC+Tr group were significantly higher than those of the fresh group (86.15±0.92 ℃ vs. 69.94±0.92 ℃,t=35.239, P=0.000; 5.31±0.14 mPa vs.3.15±0.95 mPa,t=6.362, P=0.000; 265.11%±27.80% vs. 16521%±25.06%,t=7.550, P=0.000) and of the GA group (86.15±0.92 ℃ vs. 82.73±1.28 ℃, t=6.137, P=0.000; 5.31±0.14 mPa vs. 4.52±0.56 mPa,t=3.871, P=0.002; 265.11%±27.80% vs.237.85%±17.41%,t=2.351,P=0.034). The tissue structure of the subcutaneously implanted EC+Tr veins remained intact;degradation was slight and they contained few inflammatory cells. The calcium content of the EC+Tr group was lower than that of the GA group (51.22±2.69 μg/mg vs. 73.24±3.82 μg/mg, t=11.545，P=0.000). Conclusion Treatment with Triton X-100 and epoxy chloropropane modification with glutaraldehydetreated bovine jugular venous conduit was an effective way to prepare BJVC that avoided calcification.
目的 探讨合并弥漫性升主动脉前壁钙化的冠心病患者冠状动脉旁路移植术策略。 方法 回顾性分析 2011 年 9 月至 2012 年 6 月 30 例升主动脉前壁弥漫钙化的冠心病患者的冠状动脉旁路移植手术策略，男 21 例、女 9 例，年龄 60～75 岁。所有患者均行非体外循环冠状动脉旁路移植术（OPCAB）。 结果 术后住院时间（8.7±3.2）d，围术期无死亡，无心脑血管意外，无伤口及纵隔感染。围术期主要并发症为心房颤动，发生率 23.3%。术后 30 d 常规复查所有患者心绞痛症状均消失或改善，心功能改善。 结论 对于升主动脉前壁有弥漫钙化的冠心病患者，采用 OPCAB 方式，多种方法联合应用，可尽量避免或减少升主动脉前壁的刺激，减少手术风险，实现最大限度的目标冠状动脉再血管化。