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Biomedical subjects

T Mairinger

Publications and source records attributed to T Mairinger.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Hydranencephaly with renal dysgenesis: a coincidental finding? Case report with review of the literature.

We present the case of a female fetus aborted in the 20th week of gestation due to severely dysplastic kidneys, anhydramnios and hydranencephalus. The combination of these malformations is extremely rare, resulting in only 4 cases described so far. Our case is the first ever presented in a female showing polycystic-dysplastic kidneys. Multiple multinucleated neurons were a remarkable finding in the remnants of the brain. The possibility of an underlying genetic disorder is discussed, together with a brief review of the literature to date.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1997

The legal situation of telemedicine in Austria.

Searches were conducted of two legal databases dealing with civil law in Austria. The searches produced 12 references relevant to telemedicine, which were obtained from a university legal library. From the literature, it can be concluded that Austrian civil regulations are sufficient to clarify the questions of liability arising in connection with the practice of telemedicine. Although no specific legislation has been enacted as yet, we would not expect such legislation to produce different results in the legal assessment of the case patterns discussed in this paper.

Austria↗
PubMed1997

What do students think about telemedicine?

A questionnaire was distributed to 300 medical students attending a conference in 1996. The return rate was 32%. The majority of students believed that telemedicine will become very important in future. About a quarter of students had had practical experience of telemedicine in a hospital. More than 75% of the respondents said that they would attend telemedicine lectures if they were offered by their university. There were no major concerns among medical students about telematics and its applications in medicine. There was a clear need for more information, which suggests that universities should offer special lectures and practical courses in telemedicine. The interest of students in tele-learning was very high. This interest would justify more attempts to introduce tele-learning by the universities.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1997

DNA measurement on histologic slides. Does it work on human tissue?

OBJECTIVE: To determine the performance of different mathematical methods of correcting histograms obtained by densitometric DNA measurement on thin tissue sections for cutting artifacts in different types of human tissue. STUDY DESIGN: The study group consisted of four different euploid-polyploidizing, nonmalignant human tissues (liver, breast cyst with apocrine metaplasia, adenoma of the thyroid, condyloma). The section thickness was accurately measured. The algorithms of Bins, McCready, Bacus and Haroske were applied to the histograms obtained from DNA measurements. The results were compared to those of the corresponding single-cell preparations. RESULTS: Correct ploidy equivalents were calculated using the algorithm of Bins in very thin sections (+/- 3 microns). This was also the case applying the formulas of McCready and Haroske to medium-thick sections (5.3-5.9 microns). The algorithm of Bacus did not lead to reliable results. Measurements on sections thicker than approximately 7 microns led to good results without mathematical correction. CONCLUSION: Reliable results can be obtained only when knowing the exact section thickness. In very thin sections the method of Bins leads to reliable results; in medium-thick sections the methods of McCready and Haraske result in correct ploidy values. Sections thicker than 7 microns do not need histogram correction.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1997

Ploidy determination on histologic sections of breast cancer specimens by image analysis using mathematical correction algorithms.

Several mathematical correction algorithms were developed to solve the problem of the unavoidable measurement of fragmented nuclei when determining DNA ploidy on thin histologic slides. These algorithms were designed for model tissue and until now had not been tested thoroughly on malignant human tissue. We evaluated the use of mathematical correction algorithms applied to measurements on thin histologic sections of breast cancer specimens, with strict control of the section thickness. Fifteen cases of breast carcinoma with known ploidy (5 diploid, 5 tetraploid, and 5 aneuploid breast cancer samples) were included. From each tissue block, we made a single-cell preparation and cut a thin histologic section. We evaluated the thickness of each of these sections according to a recently developed protocol and included only sections with a thickness between 5 and 6 microns. We performed DNA measurements with a custom-made image analyzing system equipped with a 100x oil immersion objective. Histograms of tissue section measurements were corrected according to the algorithms of McCready and Papadimitriou and of Haroske et al. We compared these results with the uncorrected histograms and with the histograms of the single-cell preparations. We also measured the single-cell preparations with a commercially available high-resolution image cytometer. The correlation between both image cytometers used was high (r = 0.99). Histogram correction improved results of tissue section measurements in all of the nondiploid tumors when compared with the uncorrected histograms. There were no significant differences between the correction algorithms used (correlation to the single-cell measurements determined by a linear regression; r = 0.98 for both algorithms). No overcorrection of the histograms occurred. We conclude that reliable DNA tissue section measurements are possible on breast cancer specimens and that such measurements will contribute to our understanding of tumor cell kinetics in small tumor cell populations not detected in single-cell measurements.

Aneuploidy↗
PubMed1996

What do physicians think of telemedicine? A survey in different European regions.

To discover the perception of telemedicine in a sample of physicians not yet participating in telemedicine networks, a questionnaire was sent to doctors in different European countries. The questions covered various general aspects of telemedicine. The percentage of questionnaires returned ranged from 12% (Central Europe) to 27% (Spain). Apart from the rather disappointing response rates the results document a strong interest in telemedicine on the part of the physicians surveyed. Knowledge of the existence of telemedicine was high. Most of the respondents would have liked to have had their clinic's telemedicine system in their own laboratory. More than 50% of the physicians thought that their work would be improved by using telemedicine. Respondents from Central Europe were significantly less enthusiastic about telemedicine than those from other regions. However, the answers to the majority of the questions were similar in the different groups.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1996

Comparison of different mathematical algorithms to correct DNA-histograms obtained by measurements on thin liver tissue sections.

Several mathematical algorithms have been published so far to correct histograms obtained from DNA-measurements on thin sections. All these methods require knowledge of the thickness of the section currently under investigation. As the problem of determining the actual section thickness has recently been solved, the different methods for recalculation can be compared under strictly controlled conditions. For histogram recalculation, the algorithms published by Bins, McCready, Bacus, Rigaut and Haroske are applied on a series of rat liver tissue sections with increasing section thicknesses. The histograms are compared to that of measurements of a single cell preparation of the same tissue block. Our results suggest that DNA-measurements on thin paraffin sections are possible if the actual section thickness is known. Correct ploidy equivalents throughout the whole spectrum of section thicknesses investigated are calculated using the formulas of McCready and Haroske. This is also the case using the correction method of Bins in very thin sections. The algorithms of Bacus and Rigaut do not lead to reliable results. Recalculated histograms show some differences to those obtained by DNA-measurements of single cell preparations. The histograms show broader CVs of the peaks and lymphocytes as internal ploidy standard are not useful in the majority of the algorithms. Nevertheless the promising results of this study legitimize efforts to establish standards for the interpretation of recalculated histograms in the near future. The broader applicability to tumour sections remains unproven. Therefore, further investigation are necessary using more heterogeneous tissue including aneuploid tumour cell populations.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1996

Automated cell differentiation of bronchoalveolar lavage samples with two-step image analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To establish an easy method for performing an automated differential cell count on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cytocentrifuge samples using morphometric parameters acquired by a digital image analyzer. STUDY DESIGN: The study population comprised 20 satisfactory cytocentrifuge preparations routinely processed in our laboratory. Images of at least 40 fields of interest were digitized and stored. The images were analyzed to assess the planimetric parameters. These were used for cell identification. Basic morphometric parameters were acquired by an automated image analysis procedure. The results obtained by this method are compared to those of the manual counting procedure. RESULTS: Following sequential analysis, computerized identification corresponded, in > 97% of the cells, to the results of manual cell typing. After data analysis, < 1% of cells remained unidentifiable. CONCLUSION: Although the number of specimens evaluated is not yet large enough to allow a definitive statement, the use of image analysis systems seems a promising approach in automated differential cell counting in BAL preparations.

Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid↗
PubMed1996

[The legal status of telemedicine in Austria].

The rapid development of modern communication technologies offers new opportunities for medical diagnosis and treatment. In spite of the obvious theoretical benefits of telemedicine, which have been proven by many projects in practice, telemedicine has not become generally established in Europe. Besides lack of technical standardisation and high purchase costs, one of the reasons might be the as yet unclarified legal situation. Taking the present legal situation in Austria we tried to explore questions of liability concerning telemedicine. The outstanding point seems to lie in the contract between the participating physicians on the one hand and between the physicians and the patient on the other hand. If the consulting physician is self-employed he has to take responsibility for any error on the part of the consulted physician. However, if he is working in a hospital, then he is legally considered an "Erfüllungsgehilfe" (person employed by the debtor in the performance of his obligation) an any further doctor consulted is automatically also an "Erfüllungsgehilfe" of the hospital and therefore the hospital takes responsibility for any mistakes made by the consulted physician. Although there has not been any specific jurisdiction concerning telemedicine in Austria, the present legal provisions are adequate for reaching decisions on questions of liability, so that there are no objections from the legal point of view to the general implementation of telemedicine.

Austria↗
PubMed1995

How thick is your section? The influence of section thickness on DNA-cytometry on histological sections.

The exact determination of the thickness of paraffin sections used for DNA cytometry on histological slides is an inevitable prerequisite to obtain reliable and reproducible results. Although section thickness can be measured with great precision and accuracy using highly specialized equipment (e.g. confocal laser microscope, microinterferometer), their cost restricts availability for many laboratories. This paper describes a simple method to determine the actual thickness of routinely processed paraffin sections used for DNA cytometry employing standard laboratory equipment. To achieve this goal the given section is divided into two parts. One part is used for DNA quantitation whereas the other is re-embedded and resectioned orthogonally through its original thickness. The thickness of the re-embedded section can now easily be determined with any standard length measurement device available in light microscopy. Recalculation of the genuine DNA-content out of the measured fractioned nuclei with commercial software based on the section thickness determined by this method generated histograms with a 2c equivalent peak, whereas correction based on the microtome settings resulted in significant deviations as demonstrated on rat liver tissue.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Early diagnosis of gastric lymphoma: gene rearrangement analysis of endoscopic biopsy samples.

The diagnosis of gastric lymphoma in endoscopic biopsy specimens remains difficult despite the emergence of accepted criteria for the histologic diagnosis of lymphomas originating from mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT). The sensitivity and validity of immunoglobulin (Ig) gene rearrangement analysis of mucosal biopsies for the diagnosis of malignant B-cell lymphoma were investigated in comparison with conventional histology and immunohistology. Biopsy specimens from 34 different endoscopies of 20 patients with a previous history, or tentative diagnosis of gastric lymphoma, and 12 control samples were analyzed for the presence of clonal Ig gene rearrangements. A clonal B-cell population was detected by Southern blot analysis in all patients with a definitive histologic diagnosis of lymphoma. In addition, in two patients the detection of clonal rearrangements in biopsy specimens preceded by several months the histologic diagnosis of lymphoma, and clonality was confirmed in three further patients where histology remained inconclusive. In some cases of low-grade MALT-lymphoma, discrete spreading of malignant cells within chronically inflamed mucosa was suggested by the presence of identical clonal rearrangements in all simultaneously obtained biopsies, with or without histologically detectable involvement by lymphoma. Our results show that immunoglobulin gene rearrangement studies of endoscopic biopsy samples are an additional powerful tool for the diagnosis of gastric lymphoma, especially for detecting early recurrence, and improve the preoperative assessment of the extent of mucosal involvement.

Biopsy↗
PubMed1993

The MsK family of alfalfa protein kinase genes encodes homologues of shaggy/glycogen synthase kinase-3 and shows differential expression patterns in plant organs and development.

This paper reports on the isolation of a novel class of plant serine/threonine protein kinase genes, MsK-1, MsK-2 and MsK-3. They belong to the superfamily of cdc2-like genes, but show highest identity to the Drosophila shaggy and rat GSK-3 proteins (65-70%). All of these kinases share a highly conserved catalytic protein kinase domain. Different amino-terminal extensions distinguish the different proteins. The different plant kinases do not originate from differential processing of the same gene as is found for shaggy, but are encoded by different members of a gene family. Similarly to the shaggy kinases, the plant kinases show different organ-specific and stage-specific developmental expression patterns. Since the shaggy kinases play an important role in intercellular communication in Drosophila development, the MsK kinases are expected to perform a similar function in plants.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Morphometry and prognosis in cancer of the pancreatic head.

The histological slides of 39 cases of cancer of the pancreatic head were analysed using an interactive image analyser system. Some 14 cases were classified as periampullary, 25 as ductal pancreatic cancer. All cases had undergone radical tumor resection according to Whipple's procedure. Morphometric data, tumor size and metastatic nodal involvement were correlated to prognosis. Univariate statistical analysis showed that the classical differentiation between ductal and periampullary cancer was a weaker prognosticator than morphometric variables. In fact, multivariant statistical analysis showed that the morphometric variable irregularity was the best prognosticator (p = 0.0001). No other variable added significant prognostic information. Irregularity is a newly developed variable describing the nuclear shape corrected for roundness. We conclude that morphometry can be of essential prognostic information for the clinician in cancer of the pancreatic head.

Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating↗