This paper introduces an automated method for estimating sex from cranial sex diagnostic traits by extracting and evaluating specialized morphometric features from the glabella, the supraorbital ridge, the occipital protuberance, and the mastoid process. The proposed method was developed and evaluated using two European population samples, a Czech sample comprising 170 crania reconstructed from anonymized CT scans and a Greek sample of 156 crania from the Athens Collection. It is based on a fully automatic algorithm applied on 3D models for extracting sex diagnostic morphometric features which are further processed by computer vision and machine learning algorithms. Classification accuracy was evaluated in a population specific and a population generic 2-way cross-validation scheme. Population-specific accuracy for individual morphometric features ranged from 78.5 to 96.7%, whereas population generic correct classification ranged from 71.7 to 90.8%. Combining all sex diagnostic traits in multi-feature sex estimation yielded correct classification performance in excess of 91% for the entire sample, whereas the sex of about three fourths of the sample could be determined with 100% accuracy according to posterior probability estimates. The proposed method provides an efficient and reliable way to estimate sex from cranial remains, and it offers significant advantages over existing methods. The proposed method can be readily implemented with the skullanalyzer computer program and the estimate_sex.m GNU Octave function, which are freely available under a suitable license.

• MeSH
• algoritmy * MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• kefalometrie * MeSH
• lebka anatomie a histologie   MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• pohlavní dimorfismus MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• software MeSH
• soudní antropologie metody   MeSH
• určení pohlaví podle kostry metody   MeSH
• zobrazování trojrozměrné MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH
• Řecko MeSH

Hofbauer cells are macrophages residing in the stroma of placental villi and play a number of roles during normal pregnancy, as well as pathological conditions. A morphometric analysis of Hofbauer cells, in particular to investigate the number of cells, their size and shape in samples of normal human placenta from 1st trimester, term and with chorioamnionitis was performed. Tissue samples were immunostained for CD206 antigen and evaluated using ImageJ software. We detected significant changes in number and morphology of HBCs between normal placenta and placenta with chorioamnionitis samples. In chorioamnionitis, the cells were unevenly distributed within the villi, generally present in higher numbers, larger and more elongated than those in normal 1st trimester and term placenta.

• MeSH
• chorioamnionitida * veterinární   MeSH
• choriové klky MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• makrofágy MeSH
• placenta MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• těhotenství MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Correlations between facial bony structures and soft facial features are fundamental for facial approximation methods The purpose of this study was to assess the strength of the association between craniofacial shape and the shape of the soft-tissue profile and to determine the extent to which it might be possible to predict the latter from the former. Soft-tissue and skeletal facial profile curves were extracted from 86 lateral head cephalograms of a recent Central European population (52 males and 34 females, aged between 19 and 43 years), divided into five parts, segmented automatically and evaluated using geometric morphometrics. The magnitude of the hard-soft shape association was assessed by principal component analysis and subsequent multiple linear regression (Halazonetis, 2007), by partial least square analysis (PLS) (Rohlf and Corti, 2000) and the RV coefficient (Klingenberg, 2009). The greatest amount of association between the skeletal contour and overlying soft tissues was exhibited by the region of the forehead (predictive power: 95.1%, RV=0.91, correlation for PLS1 r=0,96), followed by the region of the nasal root (predictive power: 40.2%, RV=0.42, rPLS1=0.72) and the lower lip and chin (predictive power: 37.3%, RV=0.41, rPLS1=0.65). The smallest statistically significant covariation was displayed by the upper lip and the maxilla (predictive power: 9.6%, RV=0.14, rPLS1=0.43). The shape covariation between the nasal bridge and the tip and lateral border of the nasal aperture was found to be statistically insignificant (predictive power: 5.8%, RV=0.05, rPLS1=0.26). Shape covariation was visualized and described by thin-plate spine grids. These findings correspond with the observation that the shape of the nasal profile and the upper lip contour are difficult to reconstruct or predict reliably in facial approximations. It seems that the shape of soft tissues might not follow underlying structures as closely as expected.

• MeSH
• analýza hlavních komponent MeSH
• anatomická značka MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• kefalometrie metody   MeSH
• lebka anatomie a histologie   diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• lineární modely MeSH
• metoda nejmenších čtverců MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• obličej anatomie a histologie   MeSH
• radiografie MeSH
• software * MeSH
• soudní antropologie MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

BACKGROUND: Diagnostic orthodontic and prosthetic procedures commence with an initial examination, during which a number of individual findings on occlusion or malocclusion are clarified. Nowadays we try to replace standard plaster casts by scanned objects and digital models. METHOD: Geometrically calibrated images aid in the comparison of several different steps of the treatment and show the variation of selected features belonging to individual biomedical objects. The methods used are based on geometric morphometrics, making a new approach to the evaluation of the variability of features. The study presents two different methods of measurement and shows their accuracy and reliability. RESULTS: The experimental part of the present paper is devoted to the analysis of the dental arch objects of 24 patients before and after the treatment using the distances between the canines and premolars as the features important for diagnostic purposes. Our work proved the advantage of measuring digitalized orthodontic models over manual measuring of plaster casts, with statistically significant results and accuracy sufficient for dental practice. CONCLUSION: A new method of computer imaging and measurements of a dental stone cast provides information with the precision required for orthodontic treatment. The results obtained point to the reduction in the variance of the distances between the premolars and canines during the treatment, with a regression coefficient RC=0.7 and confidence intervals close enough for dental practice. The ratio of these distances pointed to the nearly constant value of this measure close to 0.84 for the given set of 24 individuals.

• MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• ortodoncie metody   MeSH
• počítačová simulace * MeSH
• regresní analýza MeSH
• sádrové obvazy MeSH
• software MeSH
• zuby anatomie a histologie   chirurgie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• hodnotící studie MeSH

Quantification of the structure and composition of biomaterials using micro-CT requires image segmentation due to the low contrast and overlapping radioopacity of biological materials. The amount of bias introduced by segmentation procedures is generally unknown. We aim to develop software that generates three-dimensional models of fibrous and porous structures with known volumes, surfaces, lengths, and object counts in fibrous materials and to provide a software tool that calibrates quantitative micro-CT assessments. Virtual image stacks were generated using the newly developed software TeIGen, enabling the simulation of micro-CT scans of unconnected tubes, connected tubes, and porosities. A realistic noise generator was incorporated. Forty image stacks were evaluated using micro-CT, and the error between the true known and estimated data was quantified. Starting with geometric primitives, the error of the numerical estimation of surfaces and volumes was eliminated, thereby enabling the quantification of volumes and surfaces of colliding objects. Analysis of the sensitivity of the thresholding upon parameters of generated testing image sets revealed the effects of decreasing resolution and increasing noise on the accuracy of the micro-CT quantification. The size of the error increased with decreasing resolution when the voxel size exceeded 1/10 of the typical object size, which simulated the effect of the smallest details that could still be reliably quantified. Open-source software for calibrating quantitative micro-CT assessments by producing and saving virtually generated image data sets with known morphometric data was made freely available to researchers involved in morphometry of three-dimensional fibrillar and porous structures in micro-CT scans.

• MeSH
• biokompatibilní materiály analýza   MeSH
• povrchové vlastnosti MeSH
• rentgenová mikrotomografie metody   MeSH
• software MeSH
• testování materiálů * metody   MeSH
• zobrazování trojrozměrné MeSH
• Publikační typ
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

PURPOSE: Quantitative description of hepatic microvascular bed could contribute to understanding perfusion CT imaging. Micro-CT is a useful method for the visualization and quantification of capillary-passable vascular corrosion casts. Our aim was to develop and validate open-source software for the statistical description of the vascular networks in micro-CT scans. METHODS: Porcine hepatic microvessels were injected with Biodur E20 resin, and the resulting corrosion casts were scanned with 1.9-4.7 [Formula: see text] resolution. The microvascular network was quantified using newly developed QuantAn software both in randomly selected volume probes (n = 10) and in arbitrarily outlined hepatic lobules (n = 4). The volumes, surfaces, lengths, and numbers of microvessel segments were estimated and validated in the same data sets with manual stereological counting. Calculations of tortuosity, radius histograms, length histograms, exports of the skeletonized vascular network into open formats, and an assessment of the degree of their anisotropy were performed. RESULTS: Within hepatic lobules, the microvessels had a volume fraction of 0.13 [Formula: see text] 0.05, surface density of 21.0 [Formula: see text] 2.0 [Formula: see text], length density of 169.0 [Formula: see text] 40.2 [Formula: see text], and numerical density of 588.5 [Formula: see text] 283.1 [Formula: see text]. Sensitivity analysis of the automatic analysis to binary opening, closing, threshold offset, and aggregation radius of branching nodes was performed. CONCLUSION: The software QuantAn and its source code are openly available to researchers working in the field of stochastic geometry of microvessels in micro-CT scans or other three-dimensional imaging methods. The implemented methods comply with reproducible stereological techniques, and they were highly consistent with manual counting. Preliminary morphometrics of the classical hepatic lobules in pig were provided.

• MeSH
• interpretace obrazu počítačem metody   MeSH
• játra krevní zásobení   diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• koroze MeSH
• mikrocévy diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• prasata MeSH
• rentgenová mikrotomografie metody   MeSH
• software MeSH
• zobrazování trojrozměrné metody   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Úvod: Instrumentace laterální masy C1 v místě inzerce zadního oblouku představuje způsob fixace atlasu, kterým lze v porovnání s tradičním přímým zavedením šroubu do laterální masy předejít poškození nervového kořene C2 a periartikulární žilní pleteně. Limitaci však představují anatomické poměry, kdy při malé kraniokaudální výšce napojení oblouku můžeme instrumentací poranit probíhající vertebrální tepnu. Cílem následující práce je za pomoci morfometrického šetření CT nálezů zdravé populace vyhodnotit, v jakém procentu náhodně vybraného vzorku populace je popsaný způsob instrumentace možný. Metody: Morfometrická měření zjišťující minimální kraniokaudální rozměr pediklu C1 v místě předpokládané inzerce šroubů byla provedena na CT skenech 42 zdravých probandů. Softwarovým vybavením prohlížeče Jivex v parasagitální rovině jsme proměřili minimální výšku inzerce v oblasti pod prohlubní vertebrální tepny a vyhodnotili ji s ohledem na možnost zavedení běžně dostupných šroubů průměru 3,5 a 4 mm. Výsledky: Průměrná minimální výška kritického úseku byla vypočítána jako 4,29 mm (levá inzerce 4,28 mm, pravá inzerce 4,31 mm, rozsah 3,02–5,62 mm). Přestože byl nejvyšší rozměr nalezen u ženy a nejnižší u muže, v mužské populaci byly zjištěny rozměry větší (průměr 4,71 mm: levé napojení 4,70 mm, pravé napojení 4,71 mm) oproti ženám (průměr 4,29 mm, vlevo 4,28 mm, vpravo 4,31 mm). Celkově jsme nalezli 59,5 % inzercí výšky přesahující 4 mm a 86,9 % napojení oblouku vyšších než 3,5 mm. Závěr: Anatomické poměry umožňují ve většině případů zavedení šroubu o průměru alespoň 3,5 mm. Místo napojení zadního oblouku atlasu k laterální mase se tak z anatomického pohledu zdá být vhodnou strukturou pro instrumentaci atlasu. I přesto je individuální předoperační rozvaha a případné peroperační užití navigace na místě.

Introduction: Instrumentation of the lateral mass of atlas via posterior arch attachment (PALMS) is a method that, unlike the traditional direct screw insertion into the lateral mass, prevents damage to the periarticular venous plexus and C2 nerve root. The method itself may be, however, limited by the anatomical situation. The small cranio-caudal pedicle dimension may lead to vertebral artery damage. The aim of this study was to use morphometric examination of CT findings from the healthy population to evaluate theoretical feasibility of this technique in a randomly selected population sample. Methods: Morphometric measurements determining dimensions of C1 pedicle at the site of expected screw insertion were performed on refor-matted parasagittal CT scans of 42 healthy probands. Using the software of the Jivex browser, we measured the minimum height of posterior arch insertion under the vertebral artery groove and evaluated the possibility of introducing 3.5 mm and 4 mm screws.Results: The mean minimum height of the critical segment was calculated as 4.29 mm (left insertion 4.28 mm, right insertion 4.31 mm, range 3.02–5.62 mm). Despite the highest size in a female and the lowest in a male, the male population showed larger bone stock (mean of 4.71 mm: left connection 4.70 mm, right connection 4.71 mm) than the female one (mean of 4.29 mm: left 4.28 mm, right 4.31 mm). Overall, we found 59.5% insertions higher than 4 mm and 86.9% arch connections bigger than 3.5 mm.Conclusion: The anatomical situation allows inserting at least a 3.5mm diameter screw in a vast majority of cases. The posterior arch attachment point thus seems to be a suitable anatomical target for instrumentation of C1 lateral mass. Nevertheless, individual presurgical planning and intra-operative spinal navigation should be implemented, as well.

• MeSH
• atlas (obratel) * diagnostické zobrazování   chirurgie   zranění   MeSH
• interní fixátory MeSH
• kostní šrouby MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• počítačová rentgenová tomografie MeSH
• poranění páteře * diagnostické zobrazování   chirurgie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

The hyoid bone is characterized by sexually dimorphic features, enabling it to occasionally be used in the sex determination aspect of establishing the biological profile in skeletal remains. Based on a sample of 298 fused and non-fused hyoid bones, the present paper compares several methodological approaches to sexing human hyoid bones in order to test the legitimacy of osteometrics-based linear discriminant equations and to explore the potentials of symbolic regression and methods of geometric morphometrics. In addition, two sets of published predictive models, one of which originated in an indigenous population, were validated on the studied sample. The results showed that the hyoid shape itself is a moderate sex predictor and a combination of linear measurements is a better representation of sex-related differences. The symbolic regression was shown to exceed the predictive powers of linear discriminant function analysis when two models based on a logistic and step regression reached 96% of correctly classified cases. There was a positive correlation between discriminant scores and an individual's age as the sex assessment was highly skewed in favour of males. This suggests that the human hyoid undergoes age-related modifications which facilitates determination of male bones and complicates determination of females in older individuals. The validation of discriminant equations by Komenda and Černý (1990) and Kindschud et al. (2010) revealed that there are marked inter-population and inter-sample differences which lessened the power to correctly determine female hyoid bones.

• MeSH
• analýza rozptylu MeSH
• diskriminační analýza MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• lineární modely MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• multivariační analýza MeSH
• odchylka pozorovatele MeSH
• os hyoideum anatomie a histologie   MeSH
• reprodukovatelnost výsledků MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• software MeSH
• soudní antropologie MeSH
• určení pohlaví podle kostry metody   MeSH
• zobrazování trojrozměrné MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

Through software to extract and interpret morphometric and functionally indicators, imaging has a huge untapped potential to assist cancer research. Probabilistic imaging software can be transformative in providing minimally invasive, objective, and replicable evaluation of cancer treatment response in the era of non-cytotoxic treatment agents, multi-modality image-guided ablative therapies, and rapidly evolving computational resources. High- throughput analysis and fine-grained distinction of many molecular targets necessitate the use of post-processing methods. The software tools employed in these analyses must be stable and reliable over a wide range of information collected from various people, time periods, and institutions. To ensure the software’s validity, analysis methodologies must be clearly specified, analysis results must be documented, and explicit recommendations for their interpretation must be provided. However, there is a dearth of infrastructure to promote common data interchange and method sharing, as well as cancer research data in forms that facilitate quantitative analysis. As a result, we propose to create an interoperable imaging bioinformatics base for the development of software tools for quantifiable imaging protein biomarkers. This platform will allow for the archiving, organising, retrieval, and dissemination of data generated by new analytical tools, as well as the performance review of quantitative analytical techniques. The needs of active QIN research projects in quantifiable imaging biomarker discovery for prostate adenocarcinoma, brain and neck cancer, and glioblastoma multiforme will define its usefulness.

Aim of the study: The aim was to perform a morphometric analysis of subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue of morbidly obese women and to determine the relationship between adipocyte size and the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Materials and methods: White adipose tissue of morbidly obese women was obtained from subcutaneous and omental adipose tissue during bariatric surgery. The same tissues were obtained at judicial autopsy in non-obese (lean) non-diabetic patients. The harvested tissue was embedded in paraffin and 5 μm thick hematoxylin-eosin stained sections were analyzed by the Olympus cellSens system. Statistical evaluation was performed by GraphPad Prism 6.1 software. Results: We found a relationship between adipocyte size and the presence of T2D. The most pronounced changes were seen in visceral adipocytes (cell diameter increased from 61.9 μm in controls to 79.5 μm in patients with T2D). Also, the size of the subcutaneous adipocytes increased against the control. A statistically significant difference between diabetic and non-diabetic patients was not proven in subcutaneous adipocytes. We also observed differences in the distribution of adipocyte mean diameters. Whilst in the control group there was a normal (Gaussian) distribution, in the morbidly obese we found an asymmetric distribution with a positive skewness to the right. Conclusion: We have demonstrated that in morbidly obese women a significant increase in visceral adipocyte size is associated with the development of both insulin resistance and T2D.

• MeSH
• bílé tukové buňky cytologie   MeSH
• diabetes mellitus 2. typu patofyziologie   MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• morbidní obezita * chirurgie   patofyziologie   MeSH
• nitrobřišní tuk cytologie   MeSH
• podkožní břišní tuk cytologie   patofyziologie   MeSH
• tukové buňky cytologie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH