A Mathematical Framework for Combining Decisions of Multiple Experts toward Accurate and Remote Diagnosis of Malaria Using Tele-Microscopy

We propose a methodology for digitally fusing diagnostic decisions made by multiple medical experts in order to improve accuracy of diagnosis. Toward this goal, we report an experimental study involving nine experts, where each one was given more than 8,000 digital microscopic images of individual human red blood cells and asked to identify malaria infected cells. The results of this experiment reveal that even highly trained medical experts are not always self-consistent in their diagnostic decisions and that there exists a fair level of disagreement among experts, even for binary decisions (i.e., infected vs. uninfected). To tackle this general medical diagnosis problem, we propose a probabilistic algorithm to fuse the decisions made by trained medical experts to robustly achieve higher levels of accuracy when compared to individual experts making such decisions. By modelling the decisions of experts as a three component mixture model and solving for the underlying parameters using the Expectation Maximisation algorithm, we demonstrate the efficacy of our approach which significantly improves the overall diagnostic accuracy of malaria infected cells. Additionally, we present a mathematical framework for performing ‘slide-level’ diagnosis by using individual ‘cell-level’ diagnosis data, shedding more light on the statistical rules that should govern the routine practice in examination of e.g., thin blood smear samples. This framework could be generalized for various other tele-pathology needs, and can be used by trained experts within an efficient tele-medicine platform.     

Decrease in biodiversity in wheat fields due to changing agricultural practices in five decades

Wheat is widely grown in Turkey in the winter season, generally and weeds have been problem in production. Changes in agricultural practices such as increasing mechanization, changing cropping systems and widely use of herbicides and fertilizers has been causing some changes in weed flora in wheat fields from past to present. A contemporary weed survey was done in 2014 in the wheat fields of ?anl?urfa province, which dominate the production of Southeastern region and results were compared with a former survey done in 1967 in the same region. As a result of the comparison, flora has been notably changed; the number of weed species declined from 221 to 71 which means more than threefold diversity loss. In addition, species common over 50% of fields declined dramatically and some foremost species in the past were not recorded contemporary studies whereas some are recorded later. General density of weeds slightly increased in time with a volunteer crop (lentil) in 2014, however, without volunteer crop, the density also declined by about half. Similarly, the density and frequency of dominant species decreased markedly from past to present except some exceptions. The most important reasons for this change are increased use of herbicides and the change of the regional alternation system. It should be noted that biodiversity loss is lower than comparing to the developed world and there is a chance to conserve this through employing sustainable methods. Furthermore, problems related to weed identification were discussed using data from these surveys.     

Suppression of Adaptive Immune Cell Activation Does Not Alter Innate Immune Adipose Inflammation or Insulin Resistance in Obesity

Obesity-induced inflammation in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is a major contributor to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Whereas innate immune cells, notably macrophages, contribute to visceral adipose tissue (VAT) inflammation and insulin resistance, the role of adaptive immunity is less well defined. To address this critical gap, we used a model in which endogenous activation of T cells was suppressed in obese mice by blocking MyD88-mediated maturation of CD11c⁺ antigen-presenting cells. VAT CD11c⁺ cells from Cd11cCre ⁺ Myd88 ^fl/fl vs. control Myd88 ^fl/fl mice were defective in activating T cells in vitro, and VAT T and B cell activation was markedly reduced in Cd11cCre ⁺ Myd88 ^fl/fl obese mice. However, neither macrophage-mediated VAT inflammation nor systemic inflammation were altered in Cd11cCre ⁺ Myd88 ^fl/fl mice, thereby enabling a focused analysis on adaptive immunity. Unexpectedly, fasting blood glucose, plasma insulin, and the glucose response to glucose and insulin were completely unaltered in Cd11cCre ⁺ Myd88 ^fl/fl vs. control obese mice. Thus, CD11c⁺ cells activate VAT T and B cells in obese mice, but suppression of this process does not have a discernible effect on macrophage-mediated VAT inflammation or systemic glucose homeostasis.     

Leaf anatomy as an additional taxonomy tool for 18 taxa of Matricaria L. and Tripleurospermum Sch. Bip. (Anthemideae-Asteraceae) in Turkey

This study concerns the evaluation of leaf anatomical characteristics of the closely related genera Matricaria (4 taxa) and Tripleurospermum (14 endemic taxa, 15 accessions) in Turkey using cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA). All taxa have the same basic leaf structure composed of lower and upper epidermis including anomocytic or anomocytic-anisocytic stomata, parenchymatic mesophyll, and vascular bundle. Statistically significant differences based on ploidy level have been found without generic delimitation. The differences mainly concern stomatal length and the relative size of the vascular bundle. These anatomical characters can be used to distinguish diploid from polyploid taxa of the genera.     

Recent chemo‐/biosensor and bioimaging studies based on indole‐decorated BODIPYs

BODIPY is an important fluorophores due to its enhanced photophysical and chemical properties including outstanding thermal/photochemical stability, intense absorption/emission profiles, high photoluminescence quantum yield, and small Stokes' shifts. In addition to BODIPY, indole and its derivatives have recently gained attention because of their structural properties and particularly biological importance, therefore these molecules have been widely used in sensing and biosensing applications. Here, we focus on recent studies that reported the incorporation of indole‐based BODIPY molecules as reporter molecules in sensing systems. We highlight the rationale for developing such systems and evaluate detection limits of the developed sensing platforms. Furthermore, we also review the application of indole‐based BODIPY molecules in bioimaging studies. This article includes the evaluation of indole‐based BODIPYs from synthesis to characterization and a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of developed reporter systems, making it instructive for researchers in various disciplines for the design and development of similar systems.     

The effects of the neurotoxic agent emamectin benzoate on the expression of immune and stress-related genes and blood serum profiles in the Rainbow trout

Molecular Biology Reports - Emamectin, a neurotoxic agent, is a semi-synthetic insecticide that belongs to the Avermectin family and is used against helmintic infections in the Salmonidae family....     

Identification and Characterization of the Glucosinolate–Myrosinase System in Caper (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Capparis ovata</Emphasis> Desf.)

Myrosinase (EC 3.2.1.147) catalyzes cleavage of glucosinolates, which consist of a thioglucoside moiety linked to amino acid-derived side chains. Myrosinase activity and expression profiles were investigated together with glucosinolate contents in Capparis ovata (caper) in order to characterize the glucosinolate–myrosinase system. The desulfoglucosinolates—glucocapparin, glucoiberin, progoitrin, epiprogoitrin, sinigrin, gluconapin, glucosinalbin, and glucobrassicin—were extracted and quantified from leaves, seeds, flowers, flower buds, and young shoots. The major desulfoglucosinolate was glucocapparin, which accumulated to values of 39.35 ± 0.09 and 25.56 ± 0.11 μmol g⁻¹ dry weight in seed and leaf extracts, respectively. Myrosinase has high activity in caper seeds, leaves, flowers, and flower bud tissues having the highest total activities in seed extracts (79.23 ± 0.18 U). However, specific activities were the highest in flower bud extracts (200.44 ± 0.09 U mg⁻¹ protein). The myrosinase protein migrated as a single band with a molecular weight of 65 kDa on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and on Western blots probed with the myrosinase-specific 3D7 antibodies. Native gel electrophoresis revealed two putative myrosinase isoenzymes in seeds, leaves, and flower tissues. The caper homolog of the Arabidopsis thaliana TGG1 gene was differentially expressed in seeds, leaves, flowers, and flower buds with the highest expression levels in leaves and flower bud tissues.     

Karyotype variation within some native populations of oriental spruce (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea orientalis</Emphasis>) in Turkey

Karyological studies have been investigated within 8 native Anatolian populations of oriental spruce (Picea orientalis (L.) Link) in Turkey. The somatic chromosome number of 2n = 2x = 24 has been observed in all accessions. The karyotypes are generally asymmetrical with most of the chromosomes having median to median-submedian centromeres. Inter-population variability of the karyotype was summarized with cluster analysis. We found that the karyotypes have positively correlated with the altitudes of the natural habitats. The high value of karyotype asymmetry may be attributed to both microenvironment and natural regeneration methods used in oriental spruce.