A perimeter algorithm applied to lung pathology

A new image analyser, the NS 2000, explores the image using 256 photodiodes and, according to an adjustable threshold, converts it into a set of digital points of logical level 0 or 1. The method of fitting squares of increasing size consists of checking the presence of a square of a given size and of a given logical value throughout the image studied and gives the areas of successive erosions of the image. Using the parameters provided by the device one can obtain the total boundary B_A per unit area for the phase studied, which is proportional to the number of squares having points of the two logical levels. Errors in length measurement as a function of orientation and for isotropic structures are compared to other automatic perimeter algorithms and to manual square grid measurement. Using the parameters provided by the device for the quantitative evaluation of lesions of elastase induced emphysema in hamster lungs, the values obtained for internal surface area (ISA) of alveoli, are lower by about 40% in elastase treated hamsters when compared to normal controls. This difference is highly significant (P < 0.001) and the results obtained by the described method are in good agreement with those obtained by the classical manual procedure. Efficiency, defined as the precision of the estimate per unit measurement time on a given set of sample units (pictures in this paper), is given for both NS 2000 and manual procedures. The results obtained show comparable values but the automatic procedure includes a statistical treatment and it is significantly faster on histological sections than on micrographs, which was not the case with the manual method.     

口服脾多肽改善氨水诱导的小鼠咳嗽和体内炎症

目的：研究口服脾多肽对小鼠咳嗽和体内炎症的改善作用,旨在拓展免疫调节剂脾多肽在临床上的应用,为临床提供缓解咳嗽和炎症治疗的新策略。方法：采用浓氨水诱导小鼠咳嗽模型,每天记录小鼠6 min内的咳嗽频率和耐受潜伏期;采用HE染色、脾指数评估小鼠脾、肺的组织病理变化;采用ELISA检测小鼠脾、肺组织中的TNF-α、IL-1β、IL-6水平。结果：口服脾多肽可以一定程度上延长小鼠对浓氨水的耐受潜伏期,显著降低小鼠的咳嗽频率;HE染色结果表明口服脾多肽可以显著减少小鼠的肺泡表面积,改善肺部扩张;ELISA结果表明口服脾多肽降低脾、肺内的部分促炎因子水平。 结论：脾多肽可以缓解氨水诱导的小鼠咳嗽和类似肺气肿症状,提高小鼠的机体免疫能力,改善小鼠的体内炎症。     

人发中微量元素与某些呼吸系统疾病关系的研究

用仪器中子活化法测定了正常人和慢性支气管炎,肺气肿,肺心病患者头发中Ｃａ,Ｍｇ,Ｆｅ,Ｓｅ,Ｃｕ,Ｚｎ等１９种元素的含量。测得患者发中Ｃａ,Ｍｇ含量低于正常人,Ｆｅ,Ａｓ,Ｃｏ等含量高于正常人;慢性支气管炎急发期患者发中Ｃａ,Ｍｇ含量低于缓解期患者,Ｆｅ含量高于缓解期患者,均有显著性差异（Ｐ＜０．０５－０．０１）。人发Ｃａ与Ｍｇ呈高度正相关（Ｐ＜０．００１）。还测定了用于治疗慢性支气管炎的中药“咳     

Image-based determination of chord lengths in air-dried lungs

An image-based method was developed in order to determine chord lengths in sections of dog and sheep lungs air-dried at 25 cm H₂O transpulmonary pressure. To facilitate image processing, optical contrast in the sections was optimized with respect to section thickness, stain type, stain concentration, staining temperature, staining time and clearing method. Digital processing of images used standard procedures, e.g. thresholding, dilation and thinning, as well as algorithms written to subtract background, delete spots and measure chord lengths. Correlation of image-based vs. manual determination of mean chord length in 17 sections from a sheep lung, stained for optimal contrast yielded an R² of 0.82 (P < 0.0001). For 95 sections from three dog lungs, stained with lower contrast, R² was 0.65 (P < 0.0001). Weaker correlations were observed between image-based and manual determinations of the standard deviation, the geometric standard deviation, and the 95th percentile of chord lengths (P < 0.05). The results show that image-based stereology of inflated air-dried lungs can provide valid measures of mean chord length and other statistics of chord length distribution.     

A low complexity RF based sensor array for lung disease detection using inkjet printing

This article presents the design of a low complexity, low power, small‐sized, wearable, inkjet printed, cheap, and noninvasive radio frequency (RF) based sensor array for pulmonary edema and emphysema condition monitoring inside the patient chest. The RF sensor consists of 38 electrodes and 37 ports. The size of the sensor is 4 cm × 89.4 cm to cover the chest of an average adult. The sensor is optimized to operate at 60 MHz. The scattering coefficients S_i1 are measured at each passive port and then the Least Squares (LS) method is used to form an equation for average dielectric constant estimation. The dielectric constant estimation method is used to detect the presence of water/air in human and porcine lungs. The average measured dielectric constants of normal human lung tissue, edema, and emphysema infected lungs are estimated with errors of 3.54%, 4.83%, and 4%, respectively. The porcine lung tissue‐mimicking phantom with proper electrical properties is formed using a water and salt (NaCl) mixture. To detect the different stages of pulmonary edema, 200 mL water balls are inserted in the inner layer of the chest model. The measured errors were 2.68%, 0.87%, 2.18%, and 2.8% for normal porcine lung, adding 6 water balls, adding 12 water balls, and adding 18 water balls, respectively.     

COPD,Pulmonary Fibrosis and ILAs in Aging Smokers: The Paradox of Striking Different Responses to the Major Risk Factors

Aging and smoking are associated with the progressive development of three main pulmonary diseases: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), interstitial lung abnormalities (ILAs), and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). All three manifest mainly after the age of 60 years, but with different natural histories and prevalence: COPD prevalence increases with age to >40%, ILA prevalence is 8%, and IPF, a rare disease, is 0.0005–0.002%. While COPD and ILAs may be associated with gradual progression and mortality, the natural history of IPF remains obscure, with a worse prognosis and life expectancy of 2–5 years from diagnosis. Acute exacerbations are significant events in both COPD and IPF, with a much worse prognosis in IPF. This perspective discusses the paradox of the striking pathological and pathophysiologic responses on the background of the same main risk factors, aging and smoking, suggesting two distinct pathophysiologic processes for COPD and ILAs on one side and IPF on the other side. Pathologically, COPD is characterized by small airways fibrosis and remodeling, with the destruction of the lung parenchyma. By contrast, IPF almost exclusively affects the lung parenchyma and interstitium. ILAs are a heterogenous group of diseases, a minority of which present with the alveolar and interstitial abnormalities of interstitial lung disease.     

Reduction of Emphysema Severity by Human Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Mice

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in chronic lung disease patients throughout the world. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been shown to regulate immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and regenerative responses. However, the effects of human-umbilical-cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) on the lung pathophysiology of COPD remain unclear. We aimed to investigate the role of hUC-MSCs in emphysema severity and Yes-associated protein (Yap) phosphorylation (p-Yap) in a porcine-pancreatic-elastase (PPE)-induced emphysema model. We observed that the emphysema percentages (normalized to the total lung volume) measured by chest computed tomography (CT) and exercise oxygen desaturation were significantly reduced by hUC-MSCs at 10⁷ cells/kg body weight (BW) via intravenous administration in emphysematous mice (p < 0.05). Consistently, the emphysema index, as assessed by the mean linear intercept (MLI), significantly decreased with hUC-MSC administration at 3 × 10⁶ and 10⁷ cells/kg BW (p < 0.05). Changes in the lymphocytes, monocytes, and splenic cluster of differentiation 4-positive (CD4⁺) lymphocytes by PPE were significantly reversed by hUC-MSC administration in emphysematous mice (p < 0.05). An increasing neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio was reduced by hUC-MSCs at 3 × 10⁶ and 10⁷ cells/kg BW (p < 0.05). The higher levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, keratinocyte chemoattractant (KC), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were significantly decreased by hUC-MSC administration (p < 0.05). A decreasing p-Yap/Yap ratio in type II alveolar epithelial cells (AECII) of mice with PPE-induced emphysema was significantly increased by hUC-MSCs (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the administration of hUC-MSCs improved multiple pathophysiological features of mice with PPE-induced emphysema. The effectiveness of the treatment of pulmonary emphysema with hUC-MSCs provides an essential and significant foundation for future clinical studies of MSCs in COPD patients.     

In vivo assessment of emphysema in mice by high resolution X-ray microtomography

High resolution X-ray microtomography (micro-CT) was used for the detection of emphysema in live mice. Emphysema was induced in C57BL/6 J mice by intratracheal instillation of different amounts of porcine pancreatic elastase. This emphysema could be clearly detected by micro-CT seven weeks post-treatment: analysis of the whole data set of virtual cross-sections showed the presence of a dose-dependent level of emphysema.