Tumor-associated macrophages are able to regulate the tumor cell proliferation and to affect the tumor cell dissemination. The study was aimed to assess the predictive potential of the macrophage population immunohistochemical phenotyping in early malignization of H. pylori-associated chronic gastritis. Gastic biopsy samples of male and female patients aged 48 ± 7.2 infected with Helicobacter pylori were used as the research material. The patients were divided into three groups: non-atrophic chronic gastritis (NACG, n = 10), atrophic chronic gastritis (ACG, n = 10), G1/G2 gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC, n = 10). The macrophage population was visualized using the CD68 pan-macrophage marker and the type 2 monocyte/macrophage marker CD163. Intensity of neoangiogenesis was defined using the CD31 endothelial marker by assessing the total cross sectional area of blood vessels. It was found that chronic gastritis was accompanied by the dynamic increase in the size of the general macrophage population with the progression of atrophic and metaplastic processes. According to immunohistochemical study of biopsies obtained from patients with NCG, the CD163 : CD68 ratio was 0.67 ± 0.02, and the total cross sectional area of blood vessels was 3590.92 ± 356.27 µm2. Atrophic gastritis and adenocarcinoma were characterized by vector redistribution of monocytes/macrophages into the 2nd functional phenotype. The CD163 : CD68 expression index in the group with ACG was 0.81 ± 0.04, and in the group with GAC it was 0.88 ± 0.03. Microvascular area was significantly increased in the groups with ACG and GAC, which reflected tumor neoangiogenesis intensification under the influence of М2 monocytes/macrophages. The increased expression of CD163 can serve as a predictor of chronic gastritis malignization together with evaluation of the glandular epithelium atrophy and metaplasia degree.
VIEWS 2427
A BCI-controlled hand exoskeleton activates neuroplasticity mechanisms, promoting motor learning. The contribution of perception to this phenomenon is understudied. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of sensorimotor integration on the effectiveness of neurorehabilitation based on the learning of a hand opening movement by stroke patients using BCI and to investigate the effect of ideomotor training on spasticity in the paretic hand. The study was conducted in 58 patients (median age: 63 (22; 83) years) with traumatic brain injury, ischemic (76%) or hemorrhagic (24%) stroke in the preceding 2 (1.0; 12.0) months. The patients received 15 (12; 21) ideomotor training sessions with a BMI-controlled hand exoskeleton. Hand function was assessed before and after rehabilitation on the Fugl–Meyer, ARAT, Frenchay, FIM, Rivermead, and Ashworth scales. An increase in muscle strength was observed in 40% of patients during flexion and extension of the radiocarpal joint and in 29% of patients during the abduction and adduction of the joint. Muscle strength simultaneously increased during the abduction and adduction of the radiocarpal joint (p < 0.004). Ideomotor training is ineffective for reducing spasticity because no statistically significant reduction in muscle tone was detected. Improved motor performance of the paretic hand was positively correlated with improvements in daily activities. Motor training of the paretic hand with a robotic orthosis activates kinesthetic receptors, restores sensation and improves fine motor skills through better sensorimotor integration.
VIEWS 2487
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is becoming increasingly important to address the problem of resourcefulness in the healthcare personnel of COVID-19 red zones. The aim of this study was to assess hardiness and the state of vital resources in physicians continuously working in red zones and to test a hypothesis that that long-term work in a COVID-19 red zone adversely affects the resourcefulness, reducing resistance to stress. Group 1 (n = 94) consisted of physicians with a history of employment in a COVID-19 red zone between May 2020 and June 2021; group 2 (n = 77) comprised physicians who were not involved in managing COVID-19 patients. The tests showed that hardiness and its components (commitment, control and challenge) were at high levels in group 2 (59.7%; 67.5%; 61.0%; 20.9%, respectively). The index of resourcefulness (RI; 1.24) reflected the prevalence of personal gains over losses in group 1 over the past year. In this group, there were no sex differences in the results. By contrast, hardiness was significantly reduced in 31.9% of the respondents in group 1 (red zone). Working in the red zone had a devastating effect on all hardiness components: the ratio of the percentages of high to low values was 8.5/27.7 for commitment, 9/6/34.0 for control and 10.6/35.1 for challenge. RI was reduced (0.77). The most pronounced loss of resources was observed in female physicians. The study found a significant mutual impact between challenge and the state of personality resources in red zone staff, which may indicate activation of proactive coping strategies and the acceptance of new professional experience.
VIEWS 2393
Retinal diseases remain one of the leading causes of visual impairments in the world. The development of automated diagnostic methods can improve the efficiency and availability of the macular pathology mass screening programs. The objective of this work was to develop and validate deep learning algorithms detecting macular pathology (age-related macular degeneration, AMD) based on the analysis of color fundus photographs with and without data labeling. We used 1200 color fundus photographs from local databases, including 575 retinal images of AMD patients and 625 pictures of the retina of healthy people. The deep learning algorithm was deployed in the Faster RCNN neural network with ResNet50 for convolution. The process employed the transfer learning method. As a result, in the absence of labeling, the accuracy of the model was unsatisfactory (79%) because the neural network selected the areas of attention incorrectly. Data labeling improved the efficacy of the developed method: with the test dataset, the model determined the areas with informative features adequately, and the classification accuracy reached 96.6%. Thus, image data labeling significantly improves the accuracy of retinal color images recognition by a neural network and enables development and training of effective models with limited datasets.
VIEWS 2799
Investigation of the efficacy of collagen membranes used in the full-thickness hyaline cartilage defect surgery is extremely urgent from the point of view of everyday healthcare. However, there is no information about the collagen membrane transformation timeframe, patterns and type of tissue the membrane transforms into, nor on the quality of the newly formed cartilage, which hinders the use of collagen membranes in clinical practice. This study aimed to investigate the biological potential of collagen membranes and their capacity to transform into cartilage tissue. The study involved four pigs as subjects. We induced a full-thickness cartilage defect on their right hind limb joint and implanted an Ortokeep collagen membrane to remedy it. Two full-thickness cartilage defects were induced on the left hind limb joints of the animals, one was treated with an implanted Chondro-Gide collagen membrane, the other remained without a membrane. The animals were withdrawn from the experiment at 2, 3, 4, 6 months after the operation. This report contains results of the macroscopic and microscopic analyses revealing the character of cartilage tissue regeneration at various timepoints post-surgery. The collagen membranes proved to have a high biological potential and a capacity to transform into cartilage tissue. The cartilages were identifiable from the 3rd month of the study. Their thickness was growing significantly (p < 0.05) up to the 4th month post-surgery, gaining 18.7% in group 1 and 12.8% in group 2; afterwards, the formed tissue "matured". We have shown that the AMIC technique allows significant (p < 0.05) reduction of the bone tissue destruction area.
VIEWS 2513
Due to advances in medical science, the frequency of surgical interventions that once ended in end-stoma formation has decreased significantly. An ostomy is a life-saving surgery performed when there are no other options. Unfortunately, the number of patients with life-threatening conditions requiring colostomy or ileostomy is growing. A stoma in itself is a cause of social alienation; stoma-associated complications reduce the quality of life and debilitate the patient. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of hybrid intraperitoneal mesh repair of paracolostomy hernia using a modified EUROQOL 5D-5L questionnaire. Sixty patients with paracolostomy hernias included in the study were divided in 2 groups (30 persons per group). The experimental group (10 (33%) men and 20 (67%) women) and the control group (11 (37%) men and 19 (63%) women) were comparable in terms of sex (р = 0.787) and age (66.5 (62.2; 72.0) years vs. 65.0 (61.25; 71.75) years, respectively; р = 0.246).  Patients included in the control group underwent a classic Sugarbaker procedure; the experimental group underwent hybrid intraperitoneal mesh repair. The quality of life of the patients was evaluated before surgery and then 1 and 2 years after surgery using a modified EUROQOL 5D-5L questionnaire. Hybrid intraperitoneal mesh repair proved to be effective in the early and late postoperative periods. Based on the significant improvement of the patients’ quality of life after hybrid intraperitoneal mesh repair, we conclude that this technique is an effective surgical treatment for paracolostomy hernias.
VIEWS 2383