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Digital pathology systems will increasingly enable those in the pathology field to better capture, view, manage, and analyze pathology information in an integrated environment. Pathology professionals will have more control of, and access to, information, resulting in increased efficiency, cost savings, and improved patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Baboon (Papio hamadryas) metaphase chromosomes were analyzed using spectral karyotyping (SKY), a technique combining fluorescence microscopy, CCD-imaging, and Fourier spectroscopy. Results from a comparison of SKY analyses using probes derived from human chromosomes on baboon metaphases were consistent with the majority of comparative gene mapping data between the two species. These data were also compatible with earlier studies comparing macaque and human chromosomes. Human (HSA) chromosome 2 was homologous to baboon (PHA) chromosomes 12 (HSA 2q) and 13 (HSA 2p), whereas three baboon chromosomes corresponded to two different human chromosomes: PHA 3 to HSA 7 and HSA 21, PHA 7 to HSA 14 and HSA 15, and PHA 10 to HSA 20 and HSA 22. These results support the retained synteny between the Hominidae and Cercopithecidae genomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine embryonic heart rate in early gestations, 426 ultrasonographic examinations from 24 to 56 days from onset of last menstrual period (LMP) were studied. All pregnancies had a subsequent successful outcome. Transvaginal ultrasonography was performed using an Acuson 128 10XP with a 5 MHz probe. Embryonic heart rate was determined by M-mode. No embryonic heart rate was observed prior to 34 days of gestation from onset of LMP (n = 65). At 35 days, two of 13 (15%) pregnancies had cardiac activity, and by 36 days 16 of 19 (82%) pregnancies had cardiac activity. By day 37 from onset of LMP all pregnancies demonstrated embryonic cardiac activity. From days 34 to 56, mean embryonic heart rate rose from 94 to 166 beats/min. We conclude that embryonic cardiac activity is first apparent at day 34 and should be visible by day 37 in normal pregnancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To use the CMS 5% data sample to explore the impact of Alzheimer disease and other dementias (ADOD) on individual and population costs of certain potentially modifiable comorbid conditions, in order to assist in the design of population health management (PHM) programs for individuals with ADOD., Study Design: A cross-sectional retrospective analysis was performed on parts A and B claims data of 1,056,741 Medicare beneficiaries 65 years and older with service dates in 2010., Methods: The primary analysis compared the prevalence and costs of 15 comorbid conditions among those with and without ADOD in the entire sample of 1,056,741; in addition, a subset of beneficiaries without ADOD were matched by age, sex, and race on a 1:1 basis to beneficiaries with ADOD. Prevalence and cost ratios were calculated to examine the impact of potentially modifiable study comorbid conditions in both populations., Results: The prevalence of ADOD in the entire sample was 9.4%, and their costs represented 22.8% of the total. In the matched sample, all 15 comorbid conditions chosen for the study were more prevalent and showed higher mean individual costs in beneficiaries with ADOD compared with those without. The ADOD population also had higher costs and prevalence than the non-ADOD population when single comorbid conditions were examined separately. Study conditions with the highest individual cost ratios were urinary tract infections (UTIs), diabetes with complications, and fractures. Study conditions with the highest population cost ratios were fractures, UTIs, and diabetes without complications., Conclusions: Prevalence and costs of all study comorbidities were higher in beneficiaries with ADOD compared with those without. Individual cost ratios and population cost ratios may be useful for PHM programs trying to cost-effectively manage individuals with ADOD and comorbid chronic conditions.

We have investigated the use of spectral imaging for multi-color analysis of permanent cytochemical dyes and enzyme precipitates on cytopathological specimens. Spectral imaging is based on Fourier-transform spectroscopy and digital imaging. A pixel-by-pixel spectrum-based color classification is presented of single-, double-, and triple-color in situ hybridization for centromeric probes in T24 bladder cancer cells, and immunocytochemical staining of nuclear antigens Ki-67 and TP53 in paraffin-embedded cervical brush material (AgarCyto). The results demonstrate that spectral imaging unambiguously identifies three chromogenic dyes in a single bright-field microscopic specimen. Serial microscopic fields from the same specimen can be analyzed using a spectral reference library. We conclude that spectral imaging of multi-color chromogenic dyes is a reliable and robust method for pixel color recognition and classification. Our data further indicate that the use of spectral imaging (a) may increase the number of parameters studied simultaneously in pathological diagnosis, (b) may provide quantitative data (such as positive labeling indices) more accurately, and (c) may solve segmentation problems currently faced in automated screening of cell- and tissue specimens.

Interstitial deletions of the q arm of chromosome 5 have been associated with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML); therefore, accurate identification of rearrangements of this chromosome in a model cell line, HL-60, is important for understanding the critical genes involved in this disease. In this study, we employed a newly developed technology termed spectral karyotyping to delineate chromosomal rearrangements in this cell line. Our study revealed a derivative of chromosome 7 that resulted from translocations of chromosome arms 5q and 16q to 7q; that is, der(7)t(5;7)(?;q?)t(5;16)(?;q?). Interestingly, both chromosomes 5 and 7 were also involved in translocations with chromosome 16 in der(16) t(5;16)(q?;q?22-24) and der(16)t(7;16)(?;q?22-24), respectively. Other notable chromosomal abnormalities that were not previously reported in the HL-60 included an insertion of chromosome 8 in the q arm of chromosome 11, a translocation between chromosomes 9 and 14, and a translocation between chromosomes 14 and 15. In an attempt to define the loss of the 5q31.1 region in HL-60, we performed fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis by utilizing bacterial artificial chromosomes BAC1 and BAC2 that spanned the IL9 and EGR1 gene interval, which was previously shown to be a critical region of loss in AML. We showed that a copy of both BAC1 (spanning the D5S399 locus) and BAC2 (spanning the D5S393 locus centromeric to BAC1) were present in the normal chromosome 5, but a second copy of BAC1 was lost and a second copy of BAC2 was inserted in the der(16)t(7;16) chromosome. Thus, not only was this study the first to use the new 24-color karyotyping technique to identify several novel chromosomal rearrangements in HL-60, but it also narrowed the 5q31.1 critical region of deletion to the region represented by BAC1.

Objective: To assess the utility of endometrial thickness, echogenic endometrial pattern, and uterine artery impedance measured as pulsativity index in predicting implantation., Design: Prospective case-controlled study of infertile patients undergoing assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs)., Patients: Four hundred five women undergoing ARTs were studied: 100 women after ET of thawed embryos in natural cycles (frozen ET), 107 women after standardized IVF-ET, 99 women receiving donor oocytes after controlled endometrial development with estrogen and P, and 99 women undergoing IUI with various ovarian stimulation regimens (none, 16; GnRH, 7; clomiphene citrate [CC], 29; hMG, 47)., Interventions: Transvaginal ultrasonographic examination performed on the day of hCG administration during stimulated cycles; on E2 day 15 during controlled endometrial cycles; and on the day of ovulation during natural, CC, and GnRH pump cycles., Main Outcome Measure: The endometrial thickness, echogenic pattern, and pulsativity index results in 170 conception cycles were compared with 235 nonconception cycles., Results: When conception and nonconception cycles were compared, no difference in mean endometrial thickness and significant differences in the frequency of nonmultilayered pattern and pulsativity index > 3.3 were observed. Forty-seven percent of nonconception and 9% of conception cycles were associated with at least one of these factors., Conclusion: Ultrasonic measurements of pulsativity index, resistance index, and echogenic pattern are useful in predicting implantation after assisted reproduction.