Gray characteristic analysis of microtubules in cardiac myocytes.
OBJECTIVE
To quantify the images of the microtubules in fetal rat cardiac myocytes under simulated microgravity by utilizing the characteristic parameters of image gray, and to study their morphological change.


METHODS
Gray characteristic of the microtubules in fetal rat cardiac myocytes was quantified in both simulated microgravity and control conditions by variance, skewness, and kurtosis.


RESULTS
From feature analysis of 24 images, the characteristic parameters selected here were proved to be effective. Good result was obtained when discrimination between simulated microgravity group and control group was made by multivariate analysis with these parameters. The total false verdict rate even reached 16.7% when using multivariate analysis with these parameters.


CONCLUSIONS
The morphology of the microtubules in cardiac myocytes cytoskeleton became diffused under simulated microgravity, and the quantitative analysis of gray parameters (variance, skewness, kurtosis) described the variation satisfactorily.
Yao
Yu-hua
YH
Institute of Space Medico-Engineering, Beijing.
Xiong
Jiang-hui
JH
Liang
Zhong-gang
ZG
Yan
Hong
H
Li
Ying-hui
YH
D000818:Animals; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008870:Microtubules / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D016011:Normal Distribution; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012399:Rotation; D018474:Weightlessness Simulation