High-level Specification Research Articles

Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Using Smartphone-Based Fundus Photography and Deep-Learning Artificial Intelligence in the Yucatan Peninsula: A Field Study.

To compare the performance of Medios (offline) and EyeArt (online) artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms for detecting diabetic retinopathy (DR) on images captured using fundus-on-smartphone photography in a remote outreach field setting. In June, 2019 in the Yucatan Peninsula, 248 patients, many of whom had chronic visual impairment, were screened for DR using two portable Remidio fundus-on-phone cameras, and 2130 images obtained were analyzed, retrospectively, by Medios and EyeArt. Screening performance metrics also were determined retrospectively using masked image analysis combined with clinical examination results as the reference standard. A total of 129 patients were determined to have some level of DR; 119 patients had no DR. Medios was capable of evaluating every patient with a sensitivity (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) of 94% (88%-97%) and specificity of 94% (88%-98%). Owing primarily to photographer error, EyeArt evaluated 156 patients with a sensitivity of 94% (86%-98%) and specificity of 86% (77%-93%). In a head-to-head comparison of 110 patients, the sensitivities of Medios and EyeArt were 99% (93%-100%) and 95% (87%-99%). The specificities for both were 88% (73%-97%). Medios and EyeArt AI algorithms demonstrated high levels of sensitivity and specificity for detecting DR when applied in this real-world field setting. Both programs should be considered in remote, large-scale DR screening campaigns where immediate results are desirable, and in the case of EyeArt, online access is possible.

A Bayesian method for estimating gene-level polygenicity under the framework of transcriptome-wide association study.

Polygenicity refers to the phenomenon that multiple genetic variants have a nonzero effect on a complex trait. It is defined as the proportion of genetic variants with a nonzero effect on the trait. Evaluation of polygenicity can provide valuable insights into the genetic architecture of the trait. Several recent works have attempted to estimate polygenicity at the single nucleotide polymorphism level. However, evaluating polygenicity at the gene level can be biologically more meaningful. We propose the notion of gene-level polygenicity, defined as the proportion of genes having a nonzero effect on the trait under the framework of a transcriptome-wide association study. We introduce a Bayesian approach genepoly to estimate this quantity for a trait. The method is based on spike and slab prior and simultaneously estimates the subset of non-null genes. Our simulation study shows that genepoly efficiently estimates gene-level polygenicity. The method produces a downward bias for small choices of trait heritability due to a non-null gene, which diminishes rapidly with an increase in the genome-wide association study (GWAS) sample size. While identifying the subset of non-null genes, genepoly offers a high level of specificity and an overall good level of sensitivity-the sensitivity increases as the sample size of the reference panel expression and GWAS data increase. We applied the method to seven phenotypes in the UK Biobank, integrating expression data. We find height to be the most polygenic and asthma to be the least polygenic.

MRI in the Diagnosis of Bucket Handle Tears: What Is the Current Situation?

Introduction The purpose of this study was to determine the utility of current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis of bucket-handle meniscal tears. Materials and methods Patients treated for arthroscopic meniscal tears between March 2019 and March 2022 were reviewed. The current study included all patients with bucket handle tears diagnosed arthroscopically and having MRI scans (n=51). A control group of 58 individuals with similar demographic characteristics and meniscal tears apart from bucket handle tears was also formed. The assessment of bucket handle and non-bucket handle tears was performed blindly by a musculoskeletal (MSK) radiologist with 20 years of experience and a trainee radiologist, achieving consensus on group allocation.The MRIs were examined for various findings, including the presence of a bucket handle tear, tear location, presence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture, intercondyler notch sign, double anterior horn sign, flipped meniscus sign, double posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) sign, absent bow sign, and the disproportionate posterior horn sign. These well-known signs, detailed in the literature, were evaluated. Additionally, less studied and less commonly known signs such as the V sign and double anterior cruciate ligament sign were assessed.The V sign appears similarly to the letter V, resulting from the displacement of the bucket handle tear and the angle of the intact meniscus on axial images. The double anterior cruciate ligament sign is the appearance formed by the compression of the displaced meniscal part behind the anterior cruciate ligament in bucket handle tears. Results Following the retrospective evaluation of MRI scans, 44 out of 51 tears diagnosed as bucket handle tears by arthroscopy were accurately identified (sensitivity: 86.27%). The same conclusion was reached for MRI scans in 52 out of 58 tears where arthroscopy did not detect a bucket handle tear (specificity: 89.66%). The most prevalent MRI signs in patients with bucket handle tears identified by arthroscopy in the study were the intercondylar notch sign (84.31%), V sign (72.55%), double PCL sign (56.86%), double anterior horn sign (49.02%), absent bow sign (43.14%), flipped meniscus sign (19.61%), disproportionate posterior horn sign (9.80%), and double ACL sign (5.88%). The intercondylar notch sign, V sign, and double PCL sign exhibited the highest sensitivity, while flipped meniscus, disproportionate posterior horn, and double ACL sign demonstrated the highest specificity. Conclusion MRI demonstrates a high level of sensitivity and specificity in identifying meniscal bucket handle tears, particularly when considering the eight MRI signs investigated in this study.

A mosaic adeno-associated virus vector as a versatile tool that exhibits high levels of transgene expression and neuron specificity in primate brain

Recent emphasis has been placed on gene transduction mediated through recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector to manipulate activity of neurons and their circuitry in the primate brain. In the present study, we created a novel vector of which capsid was composed of capsid proteins derived from both of the AAV serotypes 1 and 2 (AAV1 and AAV2). Following the injection into the frontal cortex of macaque monkeys, this mosaic vector, termed AAV2.1 vector, was found to exhibit the excellence in transgene expression (for AAV1 vector) and neuron specificity (for AAV2 vector) simultaneously. To explore its applicability to chemogenetic manipulation and in vivo calcium imaging, the AAV2.1 vector expressing excitatory DREADDs or GCaMP was injected into the striatum or the visual cortex of macaque monkeys, respectively. Our results have defined that such vectors secure intense and stable expression of the target proteins and yield conspicuous modulation and imaging of neuronal activity.

Enhancing Peptide Mapping Sequence Coverage Through an Automated Dual Protease Digest

Peptide mapping is routinely used in the characterization of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for confirmation of the primary sequence and for the detection of post-translational modifications (PTMs). Trypsin is one of the most commonly used proteases in peptide mapping protocols due to its high level of specificity. However, it has been observed that trypsin alone is not always sufficient for full sequence coverage because of the presence of long sequences of hydrophobic amino acids that lack trypsin-specific cleavage sites. In this article, trypsin was combined with chymotrypsin to overcome this loss of sequence coverage. Through the immobilization of these proteases on magnetic beads, and by performing the digestion using an automated platform, a rapid and reproducible digest was achieved with low levels of nonspecific peptides (< 1.3%) and a low number of unique peptides generated across technical replicates (< 6). By using a ratio of 50:50 (v/v) trypsin–chymotrypsin, full sequence coverage was achievable.

Identification and characterization of circRNAs in peri-implantation endometrium between Yorkshire and Erhualian pigs

BackgroundOne of the most critical periods for the loss of pig embryos is the 12th day of gestation when implantation begins. Recent studies have shown that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) play important regulatory roles during pregnancy. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a kind of ubiquitously expressed ncRNAs that can directly regulate the binding proteins or regulate the expression of target genes by adsorbing micro RNAs (miRNA).ResultsWe used the Illumina Novaseq6,000 technology to analyze the circRNA expression profile in the endometrium of three Erhualian (EH12) and three Yorkshire (YK12) pigs on day 12 of gestation. Overall, a total of 22,108 circRNAs were identified. Of these, 4051 circRNAs were specific to EH12 and 5889 circRNAs were specific to YK12, indicating a high level of breed specificity. Further analysis showed that there were 641 significant differentially expressed circRNAs (SDEcircRNAs) in EH12 compared with YK12 (FDR < 0.05). Functional enrichment of differential circRNA host genes revealed many pathways and genes associated with reproduction and regulation of embryo development. Network analysis of circRNA-miRNA interactions further supported the idea that circRNAs act as sponges for miRNAs to regulate gene expression. The prediction of differential circRNA binding proteins further explored the potential regulatory pathways of circRNAs. Analysis of SDEcircRNAs suggested a possible reason for the difference in embryo survival between the two breeds at the peri-implantation stage.ConclusionsTogether, these data suggest that circRNAs are abundantly expressed in the endometrium during the peri-implantation period in pigs and are important regulators of related genes. The results of this study will help to further understand the differences in molecular pathways between the two breeds during the critical implantation period of pregnancy, and will help to provide insight into the molecular mechanisms that contribute to the establishment of pregnancy and embryo loss in pigs.

The Role of Small Dense LDL Cholesterol and Ischemia Modified Albumin in Patients with Hyperlipidemia

Background: The analysis of lipid profiles is a crucial step for cardiovascular risk evaluation, prevention, and therapeutic management. Small dense LDL (sdLDL) is one of the distinct subfractions of LDL and is established to have pro-atherogenic properties. Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is an early biomarker arising as a result of oxidative stress and ischemia. Objective: This study aimed to determine serum levels of sdLDL and IMA in patients with hyperlipidemia. Methods: Seventy-four patients with hyperlipidemia and 35 healthy controls were included. sdLDL was determined by the heparin-magnesium precipitation method. IMA was measured quantified manually with the colorimetric method. The patient group was divided into three groups: HyperTG (n=11), HyperLDL (n=38), and combined hyperlipidemia (n=25). Results: Median serum sdLDL and IMA levels were higher in patients with hyperlipidemia than healthy participants (both, p&lt;0.001). Elevated sdLDL levels were observed in the HyperLDL group compared to the HyperTG group and the combined hyperlipidemia group (p&lt;0.001). Cut-off values for the detection of patients with hyperlipidemia were &gt;70 mg/dL for sdLDL and &gt;0.7 AU for IMA, and both parameters showed considerably high levels of sensitivity and specificity. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that high sdLDL (p=0.042) and high IMA (p&lt;0.001) were independently associated with hyperlipidemia after adjusting for age and sex. Conclusion: Serum sdLDL and IMA levels could be used as biomarkers for dyslipidemia-associated diseases. Further studies with larger sample size are needed to validate the impact of sdLDL on the pathogenesis of atherogenesis, and its value in the diagnosis and prognosis hyperlipidemia. Keywords: Small dense LDL, Lipoprotein, Ischemia modified albumin, IMA, Atherosclerosis

DNA Barcodes for thrips species and development of multiplex real-time PCR assay for Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande, Frankliniella panamensis Hood, Thrips palmi Karny and Thrips tabaci Lindeman (Thysanoptera: Thripidae)

ABSTRACT Thrips (Order Thysanoptera) species are agriculturally important pests and vectors of plant disease. These tiny insects are commonly found in all life stages on imported commodities at the New Zealand border. Morphological identification of thrips is able to be performed on adults, but the identification keys for immature stages are inadequate and so DNA barcoding is regularly used for their identification. Here, we have generated cytochrome oxidase I (COI) DNA barcode data for 29 thrips species from 124 individuals, focusing on Frankliniella occidentalis, a dominant species intercepted at New Zealand border, followed by F. panamensis, Thrips palmi and T. tabaci. In addition, a multiplex real-time PCR assay has been developed to target the four thrips species. This assay is intended to facilitate the identification of quarantine interceptions with greater accuracy and faster diagnostic turnaround times, regardless of the developmental stages of the thrips. The developed assay demonstrated a high level of specificity for all the four target species and could detect as few as 10 copies/µL of the target DNA. Linear responses and high correlation coefficients between the amount of DNA and Cq values for each species were also achieved. The method was successfully tested on single egg, larva and adult samples and proved to be applicable for all life stages of the four species. Overall, this study has shown that the developed assay is an effective biosecurity tool for rapid and reliable identification of the target thrips species.

SoRoForge: End-to-End Soft Actuator Design

We present SoRoForge, a design tool that addresses several limitations in the existing design and fabrication workflow for pneumatic soft actuators. We use implicit geometry functions to specify geometry and material distribution, a GUI-based software tool for interactive exploration of computational network representations of these implicit functions, and an automated tool for generating and displaying rapid simulation results of candidate designs. We prioritize seamless connectivity between all stages of the design and fabrication process, and elimination of steps that require human intervention. The workflow presented here integrates with existing capabilities for multimaterial additive manufacturing, and is also forward-compatible with emerging automated design techniques. The data gathered from human-interaction with this tool will be used by future automation tools to enable automated soft actuator design based on high-level specifications. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Note to Practitioners</i> —In this paper we present SoRoForge, a software tool that integrates major stages of soft actuator design and fabrication, which are ordinarily distinct and require deep domain expertise to investigate.This work promotes cross-discipline collaboration, allowing experts in other fields to map soft robotics solutions onto their design problems.Our key contribution is the automation of normally tedious or complex aspects of soft actuator design and fabrication: the specification of design geometry, the preparation of numerical simulation studies, and the physical realization of finished designs.Applications for soft actuators designed using our tool include soft manipulators on automated assembly lines, patient-specific biomedical implements, and food handling equipment for easily bruised produce.

Power loss scaling laws of high-speed planetary reducers

Scaling laws are increasingly recognized as an interesting solution to accelerate the early stages of the development of drivetrains. Concerning gearboxes, prior studies focused on geometric scaling to achieve new desired torque and speed values and to predict mass, volume, and inertia. Power loss scaling laws are still lacking in literature. This paper seeks to bridge this gap by proposing scaling laws for the power loss of high-speed planetary reducers. Due to the lack of reliable information on the losses at high-speed, scaling laws are derived from an experimental campaign of 5 commercial planetary speed reducers. The proposed scaling laws are defined based on high-level specifications of the drivetrain, namely the maximal input speed, output torque, and gear ratio. The results suggest that the derived scaling laws can predict the efficiency and power losses with an average error of less than 1%, and 8% respectively relative to the measurements, considering a torque scaling factor of up to 4, speed scaling factor of up to 0.6 and gear ratio scaling factor of up to 2.

ANALISIS KEAKURATAN KODIFIKASI DIAGNOSIS TERHADAP KUALITAS LAPORAN MORBIDITAS RAWAT JALAN (RL 4b) DI RUMAH SAKIT UMUM HERMINA PASTEUR BANDUNG

The guidelines for writing major diagnoses have an impact on how they are coded; each diagnostic statement must be clear and informative in order to place the disease in the ICD-10 category with the highest level of specificity. The accuracy of the diagnosis, the readability of the doctor's writing, the professionalism of the doctor and the coding, and other factors all influence the quality of the coding findings. The literature review was used as the research design. The codification analysis has not been carried out ideally so that there is still inaccurate code and makes the reports that have been made less accurate and seen from the preparation and delivery of reports that have been carried out on time so that the level of relevance of the report is 92%.&#x0D; Research analysis on the accuracy of codification of diagnoses on the quality of outpatient morbidity reports (RL 4b), based on a sample of 100 medical records examined, 100 medical records that were accurate 60 or 60% and 40 medical records that were inaccurate or 40%, Reliability test results with using the Cronbachs Alpha method with a significance level of 10% (0.1), namely 0.923, was then taken into consideration. This value is greater than the r table value of 0.4409 which indicates that the reliability test was successful and the questionnaire results are reliable.&#x0D; .Keywords: Codification; diagnosis; Medical records

Ultrasound Features and Ultrasound Scores in the Differentiation between Benign and Malignant Adnexal Masses

Background: Several ultrasound (US) features help ultrasound experts in the classification of benign vs. malignant adnexal masses. US scores serve in this differentiation, but they all have misdiagnoses. The main objective of this study is to evaluate what ultrasound characteristics are associated with malignancy influencing ultrasound scores. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of ultrasound features of adnexal lesions of women managed surgically. Ultrasound characteristics were analyzed, and masses were classified by subjective assessment of the ultrasonographer (SA) and other ultrasound scores (IOTA Simple Rules Risk Assessment SRRA, ADNEX model, and O-RADS). Results: Of a total of 187 adnexal masses studied, 134 were benign (71.7%) and 53 were malignant (28.3%). SA, IOTA SRRA, ADNEX model with or without CA125 and O-RADS had high levels of sensitivity (93.9%, 81.1%, 94.3%, 88.7%, 98.1%) but lower specificity (80.2%, 82.1%, 82.8%, 77.6%, 73.1%) with similar AUC (0.87, 0.87, 0.92, 0.90, 0.86). Ultrasound features significantly related with malignancy were the presence of irregular contour, absence of acoustic shadowing, vascularized solid areas, ≥1 papillae, vascularized septum, and moderate-severe ascites. Conclusion: IOTA SRRA, ADNEX model, and O-RADS can help in the classification of benign and malignant masses. Certain ultrasound characteristics studied in ultrasound scores are associated with malignancy.

A Validation Study of a Deep Learning-Based Doping Drug Text Recognition System to Ensure Safe Drug Use among Athletes.

This study aimed to develop an English version of a doping drug-recognition system using deep learning-based optical character recognition (OCR) technology. A database of 336 banned substances was built based on the World Anti-Doping Agency's International Standard Prohibited List and the Korean Pharmaceutical Information Center's Drug Substance Information. For accuracy and validity analysis, 886 drug substance images, including 152 images of prescriptions and drug substance labels collected using data augmentation, were used. The developed hybrid system, based on the Tesseract OCR model, can be accessed by both a smartphone and website. A total of 5379 words were extracted, and the system showed character recognition errors regarding 91 words, showing high accuracy (98.3%). The system correctly classified all 624 images for acceptable substances, 218 images for banned substances, and incorrectly recognized 44 of the banned substances as acceptable. The validity analysis showed a high level of accuracy (0.95), sensitivity (1.00), and specificity (0.93), suggesting system validity. The system has the potential of allowing athletes who lack knowledge about doping to quickly and accurately check whether they are taking banned substances. It may also serve as an efficient option to support the development of a fair and healthy sports culture.

Molecular marker technologies in food plant genetic diversity studies: An overview

Marker-assisted technologies in the field of plant biotechnology have attracted great interest of scientists seeking to determine the genetic variety and improve specific characteristics of species. Among several types, molecular markers hold great promise due to their high efficiency, adequate accuracy, and good reproducibility. This review aimed to present different molecular markers used in genetic biodiversity studies of common food plants, including potato, corn, and tomato.&#x0D; We presented some of the most frequent molecular markers in terms of their methodologies, advantages, challenges, and applications. We also reviewed the latest advances in the genetic diversity studies of common food plants that contribute to agricultural activities.&#x0D; According to latest progress, Simple Sequence Repeats, Sequence Characterized Amplified Region, and Single Nucleotide Polymorphism are the most common molecular markers in plant diversity studies due to their co-dominancy, high level of polymorphism, great reproducibility, and adequate specificity. Considering common food plants like potato, corn, and tomato, Simple Sequence Repeats and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms provide detailed information about polymorphisms, resistance to pathogens or diseases, genome maps, and population dynamics. However, more research should be conducted to apply the latest and more efficient technologies, such as Next Generation Sequencing, Diversity Array Technologies, and omics, to the genetic diversity studies of plant species.&#x0D; Within the scope of recent progress, this review has a strong potential in providing relevant material for further research. It can serve as a guide to adopt the latest and most efficient sequencing platforms for examining various plant species, primarily potato, corn, and tomato.

Determination of steady-state transcriptome modifications associated with repeated homotypic stress in the rat rostral posterior hypothalamic region.

Chronic stress is epidemiologically correlated with physical and psychiatric disorders. Whereas many animal models of chronic stress induce symptoms of psychopathology, repeated homotypic stressors to moderate intensity stimuli typically reduce stress-related responses with fewer, if any, pathological symptoms. Recent results indicate that the rostral posterior hypothalamic (rPH) region is a significant component of the brain circuitry underlying response reductions (habituation) associated with repeated homotypic stress. To test whether posterior hypothalamic transcriptional regulation associates with the neuroendocrine modifications induced by repeated homotypic stress, RNA-seq was performed in the rPH dissected from adult male rats that experienced either no stress, 1, 3, or 7 stressful loud noise exposures. Plasma samples displayed reliable increases of corticosterone in all stressed groups, with the smallest increase in the group exposed to 7 loud noises, indicating significant habituation compared to the other stressed groups. While few or no differentially expressed genes were detected 24-h after one or three loud noise exposures, relatively large numbers of transcripts were differentially expressed between the group exposed to 7 loud noises when compared to the control or 3-stress groups, respectively, which correlated with the corticosterone response habituation observed. Gene ontology analyses indicated multiple significant functional terms related to neuron differentiation, neural membrane potential, pre- and post-synaptic elements, chemical synaptic transmission, vesicles, axon guidance and projection, glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission. Some of the differentially expressed genes (Myt1l, Zmat4, Dlx6, Csrnp3) encode transcription factors that were independently predicted by transcription factor enrichment analysis to target other differentially regulated genes in this study. A similar experiment employing in situ hybridization histochemical analysis in additional animals validated the direction of change of the 5 transcripts investigated (Camk4, Gabrb2, Gad1, Grin2a and Slc32a) with a high level of temporal and regional specificity for the rPH. In aggregate, the results suggest that distinct patterns of gene regulation are obtained in response to a repeated homotypic stress regimen; they also point to a significant reorganization of the rPH region that may critically contribute to the phenotypic modifications associated with repeated homotypic stress habituation.

Study of plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as an early marker of acute kidney injury following contrast agents

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common illness among hospitalized patients, which increases mortality and morbidity rate. Creatinine and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) are the most commonly conducted biomarkers of AKI. Objectives: The aim of current study was to assess NGAL as an early biomarker for AKI diagnosis following contrast agents. Patients and Methods: To follow the aim of the present case-control research, 165 individuals were entered the study; 80 patients were selected from Valiasr hospital of Zanjan city, and 85 healthy individuals were enrolled voluntarily. There were not any significant differences in sex distribution among healthy subjects. Plasma NGAL and creatinine were measured immediately before and at 12 and 72 hours post-contrast agents’ exposure. Results: There were 89 males and 76 females in the study groups. The mean age was 61.3 ± 18.2 years and 62.1 ± 17.2 years in the intervention and healthy groups, respectively. The mean of serum creatinine and NGAL level were 1.0± 0.2 mg/dL and 63.6 ±23.6 ng/mL in the control and 0.92 ± 0.23 mg/dL and 110 ± 82.3 ng/mL in the case group, respectively. There were remarkable different between serum NGAL and creatinine in the both groups. The NGAL level in the healthy and the patient group were 63.6 ± 23.6 ng/mL and 100.1 ± 121.7 ng/mL, respectively, which was considerably different between the case and control groups (P=0.01). The highest level of specificity and sensitivity were 86 and 55.5; they could be the main appropriate options for defining cut off. Conclusion: The findings showed, that NGAL level is an extremely specific and sensitive indicator for AKI diagnosis after 72 hours. Hence, this approach can open a novel insight into the AKI therapies.

Most Reliable Haematological Indices for Diagnosis of Iron Deficiency Anaemia from Non-Iron Deficiency Anaemia in Reproductive-Age Females

Iron deficiency anaemia has become a major public health issue, especially in women of reproductive age. About 50% of anaemia is caused by iron deficiency anaemia. Numerous statistical procedures based on red blood cell parameters have been developed to easily, quickly, and inexpensively provide a differential diagnosis for the microcytic anaemia. The study aims to evaluate the reliability of the haematological discrimination indices (RBC count, Mentzer index, Red blood cell distribution width index (RDWI), Srivastava index, Green and King index, and Ehsani index) to distinguish iron deficiency anaemia from other causes of the microcytic anaemia. The blood samples were collected from non-pregnant women, and they had the microcytic anaemia. During the study, 101 blood samples were taken. A Complete blood count test and serum ferritin test were performed to calculation of the sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive value for each discrimination indices. The validity of discrimination indices was evaluated by using Youden's index. In correctly distinguishing iron deficiency anaemia from other causes of the microcytic anaemia, the Green and King index and RBC count showed the highest ability (77%) and (76%), respectively. None of the discrimination indices had 100% sensitivity or specificity. The highest and lowest sensitivity were found for the RBC count and RDWI, at 92% and 70%, respectively. The RDWI had the highest level of specificity (65%), and the Srivastava index had the lowest level of specificity (30%). The highest positive predictive value found for both Green and King, and RDWI was 78%, and the RBC count had the highest negative predictive value (78%). The Srivastava index had the lowest levels of positive and negative predictive values, 67% and 50%, respectively. According to the findings of this study, the most reliable index in the calculation of Youden's index is the Green and King index. It can be used as a pre-diagnostic tool for IDA and other causes of the microcytic anaemia

A Lightweight and Robust Framework for Circulating Genetically Abnormal Cells (CACs) Identification Using 4-Color Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) Image and Deep Refined Learning.

Circulating genetically abnormal cells (CACs) constitute an important biomarker for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. This biomarker offers high safety, low cost, and high repeatability, which can serve as a key reference in clinical diagnosis. These cells are identified by counting fluorescence signals using 4-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technology, which has a high level of stability, sensitivity, and specificity. However, there are some challenges in CACs identification, due to the difference in the morphology and intensity of staining signals. In this concern, we developed a deep learning network (FISH-Net) based on 4-color FISH image for CACs identification. Firstly, a lightweight object detection network based on the statistical information of signal size was designed to improve the clinical detection rate. Secondly, the rotated Gaussian heatmap with a covariance matrix was defined to standardize the staining signals with different morphologies. Then, the heatmap refinement model was proposed to solve the fluorescent noise interference of 4-color FISH image. Finally, an online repetitive training strategy was used to improve the model's feature extraction ability for hard samples (i.e., fracture signal, weak signal, and adjacent signals). The results showed that the precision was superior to 96%, and the sensitivity was higher than 98%, for fluorescent signal detection. Additionally, validation was performed using the clinical samples of 853 patients from 10 centers. The sensitivity was 97.18% (CI 96.72-97.64%) for CACs identification. The number of parameters of FISH-Net was 2.24M, compared to 36.9M for the popularly used lightweight network (YOLO-V7s). The detection speed was about 800 times greater than that of a pathologist. In summary, the proposed network was lightweight and robust for CACs identification. It could greatly increase the review accuracy, enhance the efficiency of reviewers, and reduce the review turnaround time during CACs identification.

Two and a Half Centuries after Houttuyn: A Review of Avian Cestodes (Platyhelminthes: Cestoda) from Africa

Information on cestode parasites in birds in Africa published in 1772–2022 in 177 works is summarised. The data of 434 cestode species belonging to 147 genera, 14 families and 3 orders are presented. For each species, the valid name, the synonyms used in the literature for Africa, bibliographic reference to the original records, names of the hosts and data on the geographical distribution on the continent are included. The cestode orders Dyphyllobothriidea and Tetrabothriidea are represented by one and seven species, respectively. The order Cyclophyllidea is represented by 426 species belonging to 146 genera and 12 families. The most species-rich families are Davaineidae (118 species), Hymenolepididae (105), Dilepididae (86) and Paruterinidae (50). In total, 333 species of birds belonging to 76 families and 27 orders have been recorded as hosts of cestodes in Africa. A host–parasite checklist is presented. The cestode complexes detected in avian orders are characterised by high levels of host specificity. The degree of knowledge of the avian cestode fauna of Africa is considered fragmentary and insufficient; it varies across countries, with the maximum number of species recorded in Egypt (112 species) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (104 species). There are no records of avian cestodes for 19 African countries.

Dietary overlap and selectivity among mountain steppe river fish in the United States and Mongolia.

Lotic systems in mountain regions have historically provided secure habitat for native fish populations because of their relative isolation from human settlement and lack of upstream disturbances. However, rivers of mountain ecoregions are currently experiencing heightened levels of disturbance due to the introduction of nonnative species impacting endemic fishes in these areas. We compared the fish assemblages and diets of mountain steppe fishes of the stocked rivers in Wyoming with rivers in northern Mongolia where stocking is absent. Using gut content analysis, we quantified the selectivity and diets of fishes collected in these systems. Nonnative species had more generalist diets with lower levels of selectivity than most native species and native species had high levels of dietary specificity and selectivity. High abundances of nonnative species and high levels of dietary overlaps in our Wyoming sites is a cause of concern for native Cutthroat Trout and overall system stability. In contrast, fish assemblages characterizing Mongolia mountain steppe rivers were composed of only native species with diverse diets and higher selectivity values, suggesting low probability for interspecific competition.