Morphological Classification Method Research Articles

Facile, inexpensive, and reliable morphological characterization of microplastics using Optical Microscopy images

A morphological classification method was developed and applied to model contaminants of polyethylene microplastics (MPs) obtained in the laboratory by simple procedures. Primary MPs were produced by pump-assisted aqueous isolation from a commercial cosmetic cream, and secondary MPs were obtained by mechanical abrasion from a domestic plastic can. The MPs were investigated by optical microscopy and their images were analyzed according to forms and types of edge by means of a self-written Python-based script. Four simple geometrical forms were employed to classify the MPs, i.e., fiber, ellipse, triangle, and quadrilateral shapes, while their edges were defined as plain, wavy, lobed, and filiform, quantifying each type of edge on every MP. In addition, the numerical results provided by the computational analysis were employed to develop two complimentary indexes, R and I, associated to the degree of surface roughness and smoothness, ranging from 0 to 1 for the quantitative morphological characterization of the regularity and irregularity, respectively, of the particles. Thus, an inexpensive and simple but rigorous detailed physical characterization for MPs is provided, which can be particularly helpful for monitoring the changes that these particles may undergo in the environment.

Optical microscopic study on a novel morphological classification method of multiple diagnostic features of Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis.

Optical microscopy is the gold standard technique used to confirm the diagnosis of scabies. Multiple diagnostic features of the pathogen Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis (S. scabiei) can be identified under a microscope and classified into 3 categories: mites, eggs and fecal pellets. However, mite and eggshell fragments can also be observed, which have been ignored in the 2020 International Alliance for the Control of Scabies (IACS) Criteria and by most researchers. In this study, we propose a novel morphological classification method that classifies multiple diagnostic features into 5 categories and 7 subcategories. Our results revealed that 65.2% (1893 of 2896) of the positive cases were confirmed through the identification of mites, eggs or fecal pellets, whereas up to 34.6% (1003 of 2896) of the positive cases were confirmed through the identification of mite or eggshell fragments. Therefore, the important diagnostic values of mite and eggshell fragments should be emphasized. Importantly, for the first time, mite and eggshell fragments were classified into 7 subcategories, some of which are easily ignored or confused with contaminating artefacts. We believe that this novel morphological classification method will be beneficial for operator training in interpreting slides and in improving the 2020 IACS Criteria.

Morphological classification method and data-driven estimation of the joint roughness coefficient by consideration of two-order asperity

Abstract The roughness of the joint surface plays a significant role in evaluating the shear strength of rock. The waviness (first-order) and unevenness (second-order) of natural joints have different effects on the characterization of joint surface roughness. To accurately quantify the influence of the two-order asperity on the joint roughness coefficient (JRC) prediction of joint surface profile curve, the optimal sampling interval of the asperity was determined through the change of the R p {R}_{{\rm{p}}} value of the joint surface profile curve. The separation of the two-order asperity of 48 joint surface profile curves was completed at the optimal sampling interval, and morphological parameters of the asperity such as i ave {i}_{{\rm{ave}}} , R max {R}_{{\rm{\max }}} , and R p {R}_{{\rm{p}}} were counted from three aspects: asperity angle of the profile curve, asperity degree, and the trace length. Based on the statistical results of the morphological parameters considering the two-order asperity, the new nonlinear prediction models were proposed. The results showed that the curve slope mutation point SI = 2 mm is the optimal separation distance of the two-order asperity of the joint surface profile curve. The refined separation method that considers the waviness and unevenness of morphological parameters can characterize the detailed morphological features of the joint surface in more dimensions. The support vector regression (SVR) and random forest (RF) models that take into account a two-order asperity separated results have higher accuracy than traditional models. The prediction accuracy has improved by 7–8% in SVR model compared with SVR(SO) and RF(SO). The SVR nonlinear model that considering separation of two-orders of joint surface roughness is more suitable for the prediction of JRC.

A Swin Transformer-based model for mosquito species identification

Mosquito transmit numbers of parasites and pathogens resulting in fatal diseases. Species identification is a prerequisite for effective mosquito control. Existing morphological and molecular classification methods have evitable disadvantages. Here we introduced Deep learning techniques for mosquito species identification. A balanced, high-definition mosquito dataset with 9900 original images covering 17 species was constructed. After three rounds of screening and adjustment-testing (first round among 3 convolutional neural networks and 3 Transformer models, second round among 3 Swin Transformer variants, and third round between 2 images sizes), we proposed the first Swin Transformer-based mosquito species identification model (Swin MSI) with 99.04% accuracy and 99.16% F1-score. By visualizing the identification process, the morphological keys used in Swin MSI were similar but not the same as those used by humans. Swin MSI realized 100% subspecies-level identification in Culex pipiens Complex and 96.26% accuracy for novel species categorization. It presents a promising approach for mosquito identification and mosquito borne diseases control.

Relationship between onco-immunological and morphologic characteristics of lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma and lymphocyte subtypes of peripheral blood

Objective: To study the relationship between the onco-immunological and morphologic characteristics of lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) and peripheral blood lymphocyte subtypes and its clinical significance. Methods: The pathologic and clinical data of 117 LELC patients who were admitted to the Tumor Hospital of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences from 2006 to 2018 were collected. The histological classification was based on previously reported morphological classification method. The onco-immunological and morphologic characteristics of the tumors such as lymphoid follicle formation and interstitial fibrous hyperplasia, patient's peripheral blood lymphocyte subtypes and prognosis data were collected. The relationship between various factors and their impact on prognosis were analyzed. Results: There were 117 patients, including 61 females and 56 males. The male to female ratio was 0.9∶1.0. The age of onset was 24-89 years (median 52 years). Primary sites included head and neck (68 cases), lungs (26 cases), stomach (15 cases), and others (eight cases). Morphologically, 54 cases were type Ⅰ, 62 cases were type Ⅱ, and one case could not be classified. The onco-immunological and morphologic features of the LELC tumors showed a continuous spectrum. Interstitial TILs were noted from focally to diffuse, and the interstitial fibrous tissues were from hardly visible to obvious sclerotic. Formation of lymphoid follicles was seen in 42 patients; obvious fibrosis was seen in 31 cases. Data of peripheral blood lymphocyte subtyping by flow cytometry were available in 73 cases. These data included CD3+total T cells, CD3+CD4+helper T cells, CD3+CD8+cytotoxic T cells, CD3-CD56+natural killer (NK) cells, CD3-CD19+B cells, CD4+CD45RA-T helper induction subgroup, CD4+CD45RA+ T suppression induction subgroup, CD4+CD45RO+memory T cell subgroup, CD45RA+CD45RO+activated T cell subgroup, CD8+CD38+activated cytotoxic T cell, and CD25+lymphocytes and CD44+lymphocyte. The proportion of lymphocytes of each subtype was normal in most patients, but the proportion of CD44+lymphocytes in 61 cases (83.6%) was increased; the proportion of T cell suppression induced subgroups was decreased in 53 cases (72.6%). Correlation analysis found a significant correlation between clinical stage and NK cells (P=0.023); tumor histologic type and cytotoxic T cells were significantly positively correlated (P=0.012); while tumor cell morphologic differentiation was significantly related to total T cells (P=0.003) and NK cells (P=0.026); Formation of interstitial lymphoid follicles was positively correlated with memory T cell subsets (P=0.025); Tumor interstitial fibrosis was significantly positively correlated with T suppression-induced subpopulations (P=0.004), and was significantly negatively correlated with total T cells (P=0.023) and with the expression of CD44 adhesion molecules (P=0.003). Survival analysis found that lymphoid follicle formation was a favorable prognostic factor for LELC (P=0.001). Conclusions: The onco-immunological and morphologic features in LELC show a continuous spectrum; the tumor clinicopathological characteristics and onco-immunological morphology are closely related to peripheral blood T lymphocyte subtypes, and the formation of interstitial lymphoid follicles is a favorable prognostic factor for LELC.

Clinical application of acromion radiological classification in diagnosis and treatment of rotator cuff injury

To develop a new classification of acromion based on the subacromial impingement theory and the Rockwood tilt view. And explore the application value of the new classification in the diagnosis and treatment of rotator cuff tear. The clinical data of 101 patients underwent shoulder arthroscopic surgery for impingement syndrome or rotator cuff tear from January to December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 34 males and 67 females, aged from 34 to 76 years with an average of (56.31±9.63) years old, course of disease from 2 to 12 months with average of 6 months. Preoperative radiographs of the routine anteroposterior view, Rockwood tilt view and the supraspinatus outlet view were obtained. Based on the subacromial impingement theory and Rockwood radiographs, the morphology of the acromion can be divided into three types:typeⅠ(flat type), typeⅡ(bump type), and type Ⅲ (impingement type). Two observers classified 101 shoulder Rockwood radiographs according to the new classification method and the supraspinatus Outlet radiographs according to the traditional acromial morphological classification method. Supraspinatus tendon injuries were classified into no tear, partial-thickness tear, and full-thickness tear according to the arthroscopic findings. Concordance test (Kappa value) between the inter-observer and intra-observer was carried out for the new classification method and the traditional classification method respectively. The rank sum test was used to compare the mean acromiohumeral distance(AHD) of the three acromion forms in the new acromion classification method. Spearman rank correlation test and Gamma method were used to analyze the correlation between the new acromion classification method and the degree of supraspinatus tendon tear. The inter-observer consistency analysis of the new classification system was significantly better than that of the traditional classification (0.827 vs 0.278), the intra-observer consistency analysis of the new classification system were also significantly better than that of the traditional classification (0.921 vs 0.448, 0.890 vs 0.539). There was no statistical significance in the AHD among three types of the new classification(H=2.186, P>0.05). In all 101 patients, the highest proportion of impingement type acromion was 45.5% (46 cases), followed by bump type acromion was 36.6% (37 cases), and flat type acromion was 17.8% (18 cases). The incidence of supraspinatus tendon tear in the patients with impingement type acromion was significantly higher than that of the other two types of acromion, there was a spearman rank correlation between the new acromion type and the degree of the supraspinatus tendon tear(rs=0.719, P<0.001). Rockwood radiographs of the shoulder can well display the anterolateral osteophytes of the acromion. The new acromion classification method based on Rockwood radiographs has high reliability and good reproducibility, in which impingement type of acromion is closely related to supraspinatus tendon tear. Compared with the traditional classification and AHD, the new classification method has more diagnostic value than for rotator cuff injury.

Morphological and anatomical characteristics of Waltheria indica (L.) growing on sandy soils of Binh Thuan province, Vietnam

Waltheria indica (L.) is a species in the list of medicinal plants in Vietnam. However, information about this species is still at the basic level. In order to provide more data on this medicinal plant, the present research has gone into further on the characteristics of the plant through morphological classification method, observing the thin slices of vegetative and reproductive organs and measuring with a reticule on the eyepiece and a stage micro-meter equipped for a light microscope. Combination of statistical analysis of botanical morpho-anatomical traits with characteristics of soil and climatic where the plants distribute was conducted to find ecological adaptation of the plants. The results showed that the plants growing in regions with different ecological conditions had significant differences in structural characteristics. This is the basis for collecting the medicinal plants Waltheria indica (L.) and continue to determine their pharmacological properties in the future.

DNA barcoding for identification of some fish species (Carangidae) in Vietnam coastal area

Carangidae family has got about 148 species belonging to 32 genera. In Vietnam, Carangidae is of high commercial value and playing an important role in the ecosystem. In the context Vietnam has received yellow card for seafood since Nov. 2017 by the EU, in which one of the main reasons was related to the restriction of traceability. In this study, DNA barcoding technique of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene was used to classify 56 specimens of Carangidae from three coastal areas (Northern, Central and Southern) in Vietnam to evaluate the effectiveness compared to the morphological classification method. Results showed that 21 species belonging to 16 genera were determined by the COI barcode while 18 species (16 genera) were determined when using morphological method. Seriola quinqueradiata and Trachinotus anak were newly recorded in Vietnam. From 56 sequences with 660 bp of mtDNA (COI), total 27 haplotypes were detected; haplotype diversity (h) and nucleotide diversity (π) were 0.903 ± 0.00060 and 0.14%, respectively. The DNA barcodes of COI gene of 21 species in Carangidae which were developed in this study could be used as a basis for comparison and traceability of their products. In addition, the results showed the high potentiality in using COI barcode to identify Carangidae fish in Vietnam.

Isolation of Trichoderma from forestry model base and the antifungal properties of isolate TpsT17 toward Fusarium oxysporum

Eleven soil samples were collected from different plantations at the Forestry Model Base, Northeast Forestry University, China (45°43ʹ10″N, 126°37ʹ15″E), and 122 Trichoderma strains (T1–T122) were isolated. Nine Trichoderma species were identified based on morphological and molecular classification methods. The diversity of woody fungi was analyzed based on the type and quantity of Trichoderma spp. in the soil samples isolated from each plantation. Subdominant T. pseudoharzianum T17 (TpsT17) was screened and its biocontrol potential against Fusarium oxysporum CFCC86068 (Fox68) and growth promotion of Populus davidiana × P. alba var. pyramidalis (PdPap) seedlings were investigated. Compared with PdPap + Fox68 treatment, PdPap + TpsT17 + Fox68 treatment had an obvious antagonistic effect on Fox68 based on the status of roots and stomata of the poplar seedlings. In addition, pretreatment with TpsT17 increased catalase activity 14-fold and decreased hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde concentrations 2.57- and 7-fold, respectively, in the PdPap + TpsT17 + Fox68 treatment compared with the PdPap + Fox68 treatment. The transcription levels of PR1, JAZ6751, MYC2, MP, and JAR1 in PdPap + TpsT17+Fox68-treated plants were upregulated 5.75-, 5.63-, 14.88-, 8.24-, and 10.45-fold, respectively, at 3 d, while LAX2 exhibited little change in comparison with the level in PdPap + Fox-treated plants. TpsT17 was detected in the roots and stems of PdPap + TpsT17- and PdPap + TpsT17+Fox68-treated PdPap 28 d after inoculation, which demonstrated the endogenous capacity of TpsT17.

A novel morphological classification for the femoral notch based on MRI: a simple and effective assessment method for the femoral notch.

To propose a novel morphological classification method for notches, which may provide new evidence for notchplasty based on the three-dimensional (3D) features of notches and the risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Three hundred individuals in total were included in our study, including 150 patients with ACL ruptures (75 males and 75 females) and 150 age- and gender-matched individuals without ACL ruptures. The notches were divided into four types according to the notch widths at the notch inlet, outlet, and ACL attachment based on the preoperative MRI, the notch volume was calculated, and the risk of ACL injury was compared. The surgical records were reviewed and whether these cases performed notchplasty were collected. The inlet-and-outlet stenosis notch type was associated with smaller notch volume (P = 0.007) and a higher risk of ACL injury (P <0.001). There were no significant differences in morphological distribution between males and females. The rate of notchplasty in inlet-and-outlet stenosis type was higher than the others. The new morphological classification method efficiently reflected the association of the notch shape with the 3D notch volume and the risk of ACL injury. The knees with the inlet-and-outlet stenosis notch type and smaller notch volume tended to have a higher risk of ACL injury. Level of evidence Level III, case-control study.

DNA BARCODING APPLICATION OF MITOCHONDRIAL COI GENE TO IDENTIFY SOME FISH SPECIES OF FAMILY GOBIIDAE IN VIETNAM

The family Gobiidae is a relatively high abundance family of coastal fish with about 2000 species in 210 genera described. In Vietnam, the study on Gobiidae is very complex due to the large number of species, small size and high morphological variation which makes difficulties in identification and classification. In this study, the DNA barcoding technique has been used through mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene to classify 30 specimens of Gobiidae from three coastal areas (North, Central and South) in Vietnam to evaluate the effectiveness compared to the morphological classification method. Results showed that 26 species belonging to 21 genera were determined by the COI barcode while 19 species (17 genera) were determined when using morphological method. Mahidolia mystacina was new recorded in Vietnam. The DNA barcodes of COI gene developed in this study could be useful for estimating phylogenetic diversity as well as other studies of gobiids in terms of conservation, management and utilization of fisheries resources in Vietnam. In addition, the results showed the high potentiality in using COI barcode to identify marine fish.

Morphological Arrhythmia Automated Diagnosis Method Using Gray-Level Co-Occurrence Matrix Enhanced Convolutional Neural Network

Electrocardiogram (ECG) signal represents the electrical activity of the heart and playing an increasingly important role for practitioners to diagnose heart diseases. Widely available ECG data and machine learning algorithms present an opportunity to improve the accuracy of automated arrhythmia diagnosis. However, a comprehensive evaluation of morphological arrhythmias for the ECG analysis across a wide variety of diagnostic classes is still a complex task. This paper presents a generic morphological arrhythmias classification method designed for robust and accurate detection of the ECG heartbeat. In this method, the gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) is employed for features vector description because of its extraordinary statistical feature extraction ability. In addition, the convolutional neural network (CNN) approach is utilized to automatically classification from the generated 3D multi-scale GLCM. Obtained results from the experiments demonstrate that the proposed method in this paper is quite suitable for morphological arrhythmias detection. These findings demonstrate that the GLCM description can efficiently extract the shape features vector for a broad range of distinct arrhythmias from the lead ECGs with high diagnostic performance. The experimental results of the recognition for morphological arrhythmias show the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method and could be used to reduce the rate of the misdiagnosed computerized ECG interpretations.

DNA barcoding, species-specific PCR for the identification of three stored-product pest species of genus Palorus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Flour beetles of the genus Palorus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) are important secondary storage pests. Correct identification of these insects is urgently required for integrated pest management. However, traditional morphological classification methods cannot identify insect fragments or immature stages and require skilled taxonomists with training and experience. In this study, three Palorus species were distinguished with two molecular techniques; DNA barcoding and species-specific PCR based on the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. Forty-nine individuals of Palorus subdepressus (Wollaston), Palorus ratzeburgi (Wissman) and Palorus cerylonoides (Pascoe) were collected from 19 different locations across rice processing factory, feed factory, flour mill and bulk storages China. The COI sequences were analyzed by K2P distances and neighbor-joining (NJ) tree for DNA barcoding. The results show that these three Palorus species can be successfully identified by DNA barcoding. For the species-specific PCR study, we designed specificity primer pairs for the three Palorus species and evaluated their sensitivity. The results showed that the three Palorus species can be identified by the species-specific PCR method. Our results indicated that the two techniques can be independently used to identify the Palorus species in China for integrated pest management and quarantine. This is the first time Palorus species have been identified using two molecular techniques and the P. ratzeburgi and P. cerylonoides data have filled a gap in BOLD and GenBank.

Morphological and genetic differences between Coptis japonica var. anemonifolia H. Ohba and Coptis japonica var. major Satake in Hokuriku area.

Coptis japonica is widely distributed in Japan, and its dried rhizome is a source of the domestic herbal medicine Coptidis Rhizoma ( Oren). There are three varieties of C. japonica, two of which, namely, C. japonica var. anemonifolia and C. japonica var. major, are important as sources of traditional medicines. Coptis japonica var. anemonifolia and C. japonica var. major are distinguishable on the basis of their ternate or biternate compound leaves, respectively. In the Hokuriku area, where both C. japonica var. anemonifolia and C. japonica var. major grow naturally, some individual plants cannot be identified unambiguously on the basis of leaf morphology because changes in leaf morphology may occur due to intra-variety variation or crossbreeding between the two varieties. In addition, genetic differences between the two varieties have remained unclear. In this study, we employed new genetic and morphological classification approaches to discriminate between the two varieties. Based on the single nucleotide polymorphisms of the tetrahydroberberine oxidase gene, we found four conserved SNPs between the two varieties and were able to classify C. japonica into two varieties and crossbreeds. Furthermore, we introduced a new leaf type index based on the overall degree of leaflet dissection calculated by surface area of a leaflet and length of leaflet margin and petiolule. Using our new index we were able to discriminate between the two varieties and their crossbreeds more accurately than is possible with the conventional discrimination method. Our genetic and morphological classification methods may be used as novel benchmarks to discriminate between the two varieties and their crossbreeds.

氮添加对贝加尔针茅草原土壤线虫群落特征的影响

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 氮添加对贝加尔针茅草原土壤线虫群落特征的影响 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201704170689 作者: 作者单位: 沈阳农业大学园艺学院,农业部环境保护科研监测所,农业部环境保护科研监测所,内蒙古鄂温克旗草原工作站;内蒙古鄂温克旗草原工作站,德州学院,农业部环境保护科研监测所 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家自然科学基金项目（31170435） Effects of nitrogen addition on soil nematode community characteristics in Stipa baicalensis steppe Author: Affiliation: shenyangnongyedaxueyuanyixueyuan,,,,, Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:以内蒙古贝加尔针茅草原为研究对象，通过氮素添加（0、15、30、50、100、150、200、300 kg N hm-2 a-1）模拟氮沉降的控制实验，研究氮沉降对内蒙古贝加尔针茅草原土壤线虫的群落结构和多样性的影响。结果表明，在本实验所有样品中共鉴定出52个属，优势类群为螺旋属（Helicotylenchus）、丽突属（Acrobeles）和真滑刃属（Aphelenchus）。土壤线虫具有明显的表聚现象，相对密度变化不显著。从功能类群上看，随着氮素添加水平的增加，食细菌类群（Bacterivores）线虫和捕食类群/杂食类群（Predators/Omnivores）线虫氮素添加水平均成负相关。从生态指标来看，在SR）、多样性（H'）、均匀度（J'）等生态指标有促进作用；通路指数在试验的所有处理中都小于0.75，表明土壤中的有机质分解途径是以真菌为主；瓦斯乐思卡指数表明，少量施氮可以改善土壤的环境状况，减少植物寄生类群（Plant parasites）线虫对植物群落及生产力的影响。当施氮量>N100时，土壤pH值显著降低，硝态氮和铵态氮显著增加，土壤中生活史k对策者的线虫显著减少，r对策者显著增加，世代交替加快，土壤线虫群落结构显著变化。 Abstract:The community characteristics of soil nematodes in a Stipa baicalensis steppe in Inner Mongolia under different nitrogen treatments (0, 15, 30, 50, 100, 150, 200, 300 kg N hm-2 a-1) were studied by field investigation and sample analysis using the morphological classification method. In total, 52 genera were identified in all the samples. The dominant species were Helicotylenchus, Acrobeles, and Aphelenchus. Soil nematodes showed an obvious surface convergence phenomenon, and their relative density was not significant. Based on the functional groups, the addition of Bacterivores nematodes and Predators/Omnivores showed a negative correlation with the increase in nitrogen application level. The ecological indices such as abundance (SR), diversity (H'), and evenness (J') of soil nematodes increased with the increase in nitrogen application level, reaching their maximum values at N50. In all treatments, the pathway index was less than 0.75, indicating that fungi decomposed organic matter in the soil. The ecological indicators showed that nitrogen application at N100, the soil pH value decreased significantly, the nitrate nitrogen and ammonium nitrogen contents increased significantly, the soil life history k countermeasures were significantly reduced, and r countermeasures were significantly increased,significantly altering the soil nematode community structure. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Finding strong gravitational lenses in the Kilo Degree Survey with Convolutional Neural Networks

The volume of data that will be produced by new-generation surveys requires automatic classification methods to select and analyze sources. Indeed, this is the case for the search for strong gravitational lenses, where the population of the detectable lensed sources is only a very small fraction of the full source population. We apply for the first time a morphological classification method based on a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) for recognizing strong gravitational lenses in $255$ square degrees of the Kilo Degree Survey (KiDS), one of the current-generation optical wide surveys. The CNN is currently optimized to recognize lenses with Einstein radii $\gtrsim 1.4$ arcsec, about twice the $r$-band seeing in KiDS. In a sample of $21789$ colour-magnitude selected Luminous Red Galaxies (LRG), of which three are known lenses, the CNN retrieves 761 strong-lens candidates and correctly classifies two out of three of the known lenses. The misclassified lens has an Einstein radius below the range on which the algorithm is trained. We down-select the most reliable 56 candidates by a joint visual inspection. This final sample is presented and discussed. A conservative estimate based on our results shows that with our proposed method it should be possible to find $\sim100$ massive LRG-galaxy lenses at $z\lsim 0.4$ in KiDS when completed. In the most optimistic scenario this number can grow considerably (to maximally $\sim$2400 lenses), when widening the colour-magnitude selection and training the CNN to recognize smaller image-separation lens systems.

COMPUTER-AIDED DETECTION OF BRAIN TUMORS USING MORPHOLOGICAL RECONSTRUCTION

Computer aided detection (CAD) systems helps the detection of abnormalities in medical images using advanced image processing and pattern recognition techniques. CAD has advantages in accelerating decision-making and reducing the human error in detection process. In this study, a CAD system is developed which is based on morphological reconstruction and classification methods with the use of morphological features of the regions of interest to detect brain tumors from brain magnetic resonance (MR) images. The CAD system consists of four stages: the preprocessing, the segmentation, region of interest specification and tumor detection stages. The system is evaluated on REMBRANDT dataset with 497 MR image slices of 10 patients. In the classification stage the performance of CAD has achieved accuracy of 93.36% with Decision Tree Algorithm, 94.89% with Artificial Neural Network (Multilayer Perceptron), 96.93% with K-Nearest Neighbour Algorithm and 96.93% with Meta-Learner (Decorate) Algorithm. These results show that the proposed technique is effective and promising for detecting tumors in brain MR images and enhances the classification process to be more accurate. The using morphological reconstruction method is useful and adaptive than the methods used in other CAD applications.

Phylogenetic Relationship of Lilies (&lt;i&gt;Lilium&lt;/i&gt;) Analyzed based on trnH-psbA Barcode Technology

Phylogenetic relationship of lilium plants was studied by means of trnH-psbA DNA barcode technique. The result demonstrated that trnH-psbA sequence length varied in different lilium plants. The entire length of trnH-psbA sequence was 460 bp after multiple alignments. The number of conserved sites was 415 and that of variable sites was 45. A total of 63 tested materials were clustered into five groups. Lilium davidii , 7 Asiatic cultivars, one cross progeny between Asiatic cultivar and wild parental species, were clustered into one subgroup (the Ⅰa subgroups). Lilium speciosum var. gloriosoides, 10 Oriental cultivars and 2 intra-section Archelirion cross progenes were gathered into one subgroup (the Ⅰb subgroup ). Majority of the tested wild species were clustered into the Ⅱ group which showed the characteristics of intra-species and geography. To some extent, the phylogenetic relationship of wild lilies in Ⅱ group via trnH-psbA barcode was inconsistent with the result obtained from traditional morphological classification method. The other 4 Asiatic cultivars and one cross progeny between one Asiatic cultivar and wild parental species were clustered into the Ⅲ group. Therefore, the Asiatic cultivars in Ⅰb subgroup and those in the Ⅲ group were originated from different lilies in the section Sinomartagon .

DNA barcoding and its utility in commonly-used medicinal snakes

Identification accuracy of traditional Chinese medicine is crucial for the traditional Chinese medicine research, production and application. DNA barcoding based on the mitochondrial gene coding for cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), are more and more used for identification of traditional Chinese medicine. Using universal barcoding primers to sequence, we discussed the feasibility of DNA barcoding method for identification commonly-used medicinal snakes (a total of 109 samples belonging to 19 species 15 genera 6 families). The phylogenetic trees using Neighbor-joining were constructed. The results indicated that the mean content of G + C(46.5%) was lower than that of A + T (53.5%). As calculated by Kimera-2-parameter model, the mean intraspecies genetic distance of Trimeresurus albolabris, Ptyas dhumnades and Lycodon rufozonatus was greater than 2%. Further phylogenetic relationship results suggested that identification of one sample of T. albolabris was erroneous. The identification of some samples of P. dhumnades was also not correct, namely originally P. korros was identified as P. dhumnades. Factors influence on intraspecific genetic distance difference of L. rufozonatus need to be studied further. Therefore, DNA barcoding for identification of medicinal snakes is feasible, and greatly complements the morphological classification method. It is necessary to further study in identification of traditional Chinese medicine.

Phylogeny and divergence time estimation of Schizothoracinae fishes in Xinjiang

Based on combined data of mitochondrial COI, ND4 and 16S RNA genes, molecular phylogeny of 4 genera, 10 species or subspecies of Schizothoracinae fishes distributed in Xinjiang were analyzed. The molecular clock was calibrated by divergence time of Cyprininae and geological segregation event between the upper Yellow River and Qinghai Lake. Divergence time of Schizothoracinae fishes was calculated, and its relationship with the major geological events and the climate changes in surrounding areas of Tarim Basin was discussed. The results showed that genus Aspiorhynchus did not form an independent clade, but clustered with Schizothorax biddulphi and S. irregularis. Kimura 2-parameter model was used to calculate the genetic distance of COI gene, the genetic distance between genus Aspiorhynchus and Schizothorax did not reach genus level, and Aspiorhynchus laticeps might be a specialized species of genus Schizothorax. Cluster analysis showed a different result with morphological classification method, and it did not support the subgenus division of Schizothorax fishes. Divergence of two groups of primitive Schizothoracinae (8.18Ma) and divergence of Gymnodiptychus dybowskii and Diptychus maculates (7.67Ma) occurred in late Miocene, which might be related with the separation of Kunlun Mountain and north Tianshan Mountain River system that was caused by the uplift of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Tianshan Mountain, and the aridification of Tarim Basin. The terrain of Tarim Basin that was affected by Quaternary Himalayan movement was high in west but low in east, as a result, Lop Nor became the center of surrounding mountain rivers in Tarim Basin, which shaped the distribution pattern of genus Schizothorax.