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Abstract Purpose Blue sclera is a characteristic and common clinical sign of Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). However, there is currently no widely accepted, objective method for assessing and grading blue sclera in individuals with OI. To address this medical need, this study is aimed to design and validate a new method called ‘BLUES’ (BLUe Eye Sclera) to objectively identify and quantify the blue color in the sclera of patients affected by OI. Methods Sixty-two patients affected by OI and 35 healthy controls were enrolled in the present prospective study, for a total of 194 eyes analyzed. In the 'BLUES' procedure, eye images from patients with OI and control subjects were analyzed to assess and grade the blue level of the sclera using Adobe Photoshop Software. The validation process then involved comparing the results obtained with the ‘BLUES’ procedure to the judgement of experienced ophthalmologists (JEO). A receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to examine the overall discriminatory power. The sensitivity and specificity levels and the Cohen's Kappa (K) indexes of ‘BLUES’ and ‘JEO’ were estimated versus the standard OI diagnosis. The K indexes of ‘BLUES’ versus ‘JEO’ were also evaluated. Results The optimal cut-off point of the scleral blue peak was calculated at 17%. Our findings demonstrated a sensitivity of 89% (CI95%: 0.835–0.945) and specificity of 87% (CI95%: 0.791–0.949) for the ‘BLUES’ procedure with an agreement versus the diagnosis of OI of 0.747. In comparison, the sensitivity and specificity of ‘JEO’ ranged from 89 to 94% and 77% to 100%, respectively, with an agreement ranging from 0.663 to 0.871 with the diagnosis of OI. The agreement between ‘BLUES ‘and ‘JEO’ evaluations ranged from 0.613 to 0.734. Conclusions Our findings demonstrated an 89% sensitivity and an impressive 87% specificity of our method to analyze the blue sclera in OI. The results indicated high agreement with disease diagnosis and were consistent with evaluations by experienced ophthalmologists. The ‘BLUES’ procedure appears to be a simple, reliable and objective method for effectively identify and quantify the blue color of the sclera in OI.

Purpose: Blue sclera is a characteristic and common clinical sign of Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). However, there is currently no widely accepted, objective method for assessing and grading blue sclera in individuals with OI. To address this medical need, this study is aimed to design and validate a new method called 'BLUES' (BLUe Eye Sclera) to objectively identify and quantify the blue color in the sclera of patients affected by OI. Methods: Sixty-two patients affected by OI and 35 healthy controls were enrolled in the present prospective study, for a total of 194 eyes analyzed. In the 'BLUES' procedure, eye images from patients with OI and control subjects were analyzed to assess and grade the blue level of the sclera using Adobe Photoshop Software. The validation process then involved comparing the results obtained with the 'BLUES' procedure to the judgement of experienced ophthalmologists (JEO). A receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to examine the overall discriminatory power. The sensitivity and specificity levels and the Cohen's Kappa (K) indexes of 'BLUES' and 'JEO' were estimated versus the standard OI diagnosis. The K indexes of 'BLUES' versus 'JEO' were also evaluated. Results: The optimal cut-off point of the scleral blue peak was calculated at 17%. Our findings demonstrated a sensitivity of 89% (CI95%: 0.835–0.945) and specificity of 87% (CI95%: 0.791–0.949) for the 'BLUES' procedure with an agreement versus the diagnosis of OI of 0.747. In comparison, the sensitivity and specificity of 'JEO' ranged from 89 to 94% and 77% to 100%, respectively, with an agreement ranging from 0.663 to 0.871 with the diagnosis of OI. The agreement between 'BLUES 'and 'JEO' evaluations ranged from 0.613 to 0.734. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated an 89% sensitivity and an impressive 87% specificity of our method to analyze the blue sclera in OI. The results indicated high agreement with disease diagnosis and were consistent with evaluations by experienced ophthalmologists. The 'BLUES' procedure appears to be a simple, reliable and objective method for effectively identify and quantify the blue color of the sclera in OI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The method of electrocardiography registration in resting state (in the following: ECG resting) in 12 common leads is considered as a routine method, that is used by a broadest range of indications for screening, in outpatient practice and standard clinical assessment of patients with various nosologies in inpatient practice. The method poor sides are discussed, i.e. a necessity for the use of heavy device, usage of the paper line, special archiving for storage and dynamics analysis. The benefits of internet-electrocardiography are shown that make it useful to record ECG by low-weight device (300 g), possibilities for ECG storage in personal space of the user, comfortable software of ECG comparison, that were recorded in dynamics.

The isatin-core in compounds offers exciting perspectives in medicinal and pharmacological research. The present study reports the successful development of new isatin-core transition metal based anti-bacterial complexes via conventional refluxing method. The bidentate nature of as-synthesized isatin-core ligand was confirmed using various analytical techniques such as FTIR, 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, EIMS, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The computed analysis i.e. IR, UV–Visible, NBO (Natural Bond Orbital) and FMO (Frontier Molecular Orbital) of crystalline isatin-core ligand reflect its dimer nature and predict the conjugative interaction among molecules. Moreover, metal complexes of isatin-core ligand using metallic salts of first transition series i.e. VO(IV), Cr(III), Mn(II), Fe(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) were prepared and further screened against bacterial strains. Octahedral geometry was proposed for all the complexes except vanadium which had square-pyramidal geometry. All the as-prepared metal complexes are found potentially active entities against both of the gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains. Additionally, the bacterial screened data revealed that metal complexes have better bactericidal activities compared to their parent ligand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate computed analysis of three-dimensional (3D) cone-beam computed tomography angiography (CTA) of the liver for determination of subsegmental tumor-feeding vessels (FVs). Eighteen consecutive patients underwent transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) from January to October 2008 for 25 liver tumors (15 hepatocellular carcinomas [HCCs] and 10 neuroendocrine metastases). Anteroposterior projection angiogram (two-dimensional [2D]) and 3D cone-beam CTA images were acquired by injection of the common hepatic artery. Retrospectively, FVs were independently identified by three radiology technologists using a software package (S) that automatically determines FVs by analysis of 3D images. Subsequently, three interventional radiologists (IRs) independently identified FVs by reviewing the 2D images followed by examination of the 3D images. Finally, the "ground truth" for the number and location of FVs was obtained by consensus among the IRs, who were allowed to use any imaging-including 2D, 3D, and all oblique or selective angiograms-for such determination. Sensitivities, durations, and degrees of agreement for review of 2D, 3D, and S results were evaluated. Sensitivity of 3D (73%) was higher than 2D (64%) images for identification of FVs (P = 0.036). The sensitivity of S (93%) was higher than 2D (P = 0.02) and 3D (P = 0.005) imaging. The duration for review of 3D imaging was longer than that for 2D imaging (187 vs. 94 s, P = 0.0001) or for S (135 s, P = 0.0001). The degree of agreement between the IRs using 2D and 3D imaging were 54% and 62%, respectively, whereas it was 82% between the three radiology technologists using S. These preliminary data show that computed determination of FVs is both accurate and sensitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]