MIA: An Open Source Standalone Deep Learning Application for Microscopic Image Analysis

In recent years the amount of data generated by imaging techniques has grown rapidly along with increasing computational power and the development of deep learning algorithms. To address the need for powerful automated image analysis tools for a broad range of applications in the biomedical sciences, we present the Microscopic Image Analyzer (MIA). MIA combines a graphical user interface that obviates the need for programming skills with state-of-the-art deep learning algorithms for segmentation, object detection, and classification. It runs as a standalone, platform-independent application and is compatible with commonly used open source software packages. The software provides a unified interface for easy image labeling, model training and inference. Furthermore the software was evaluated in a public competition and performed among the top three for all tested data sets. The source code is available on https://github.com/MIAnalyzer/MIA.

Roles of Proliferation and Angiogenesis in Locally Aggressive Biologic Behavior of Ameloblastoma versus Ameloblastic Fibroma

Background: The present study was carried out to evaluate the roles of proliferation and angiogenesis in locally aggressive biologic behavior of ameloblastoma versus ameloblastic fibroma; Methods: 30 formalin-fixed paraffin embedded blocks (15 cases of ameloblastoma & 15 cases of ameloblastic fibroma) were used. To evaluate the proliferation, the tissue sections were stained with AgNORs stain. CD105 was used as immunohistochemical marker of angiogenesis. Quantitative evaluations of AgNORs were performed. The mean vascular density was evaluated as a measure for CD105 protein expression by using image analyzer computer system; Results: The mean number of AgNORs dots per nucleus was significantly higher in ameloblastoma as compared to ameloblastic fibroma. Also, the protein level of CD105 showed positive expression and wide distribution that the mean vascular density was significantly higher in ameloblastoma as compared to ameloblastic fibroma; Conclusion: Quantitative evaluation of AgNORs stain & the mean vascular density utilizing CD105 protein expression may reflect a higher proliferative activity and a more locally aggressive biologic behavior of ameloblastoma when compared to ameloblastic fibroma, that other factors may be involved in biologic behavior of ameloblastic fibroma.

Investigation on Mechanical and Wear Behaviors of LM6 Aluminium Alloy-Based Hybrid Metal Matrix Composites Using Stir Casting Process

In this investigation, aluminium-silicon-based alloy (LM6) with the addition of (0, 2.5, 5, and 10%) copper-coated short steel fiber and 5% boron carbide (B4C) element-strengthened composites was fabricated by the stir casting method. Mechanical properties and tribological behaviors of LM6-based hybrid composites were investigated, and microstructures of different castings were examined by an image analyzer. The test was conducted at different loads (10, 20, 30, and 40 N) and different sliding spaces (500, 1000, 1500, and 2000 m), respectively. The results revealed that the sample loaded with 10% of reinforcement recorded the highest tensile strength of 231 MPa. On the other hand, the hardness value increased from 71 to 144 BHN, when 15% of reinforcement was added to the sample. It was also noted that 10% copper-coated steel fiber improved wear resistance up to 50% when compared to LM6. A field emission scanning electron microscope was employed to observe the morphology of the worn surfaces of composites at different sliding distances and load conditions. The hybrid composite revealed that the combination of both short steel fibers and reinforcement of ceramic particles enhanced the mechanical properties, obtaining superior wear resistance.

Dimensional Stability of Elastomeric Impression Material After Disinfection Via Immersion and Microwave Irradiation

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate and compare the dimensional stability of two elastomeric impression materials, namely polyvinyl siloxane (PVS) and vinyl siloxanether (VSE), subjected to chemical immersion and microwave irradiation for disinfection. Materials and Methods: Sixty discs of PVS and VSE impression materials each were prepared using a stainless-steel test die and ring in accordance with ANSI/ADA Specification No. 19. Twenty discs of each impression material were disinfected by chemical immersion for 10 min; another 20 discs were subjected to dry microwave irradiation for 3 min. The other 20 discs served as a control group. Dimensional stability measurements were then performed using an image analyzer at 20× magnification. The data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (α=0.05) and Bonferroni (post hoc) test for multiple comparisons to detect significant differences between the groups. Results: When subjected to microwave irradiation, both PVS and VSE showed dimensional changes, but the changes were within the limit of 1.5% set by ANSI/ADA (P<0.00). VSE showed markedly better results than PVS for both disinfection methods. The immersion disinfection method resulted in a higher average percentage of linear dimensional changes than both the microwave irradiation and the control for VSE and PVS impression materials. Conclusion: VSE exhibited excellent dimensional stability than PVS under both chemical immersion and microwave irradiation. Microwave irradiation using conventional microwave ovens can be used in clinical settings as an alternative to other disinfection techniques because the dimensional changes of the elastomeric impression materials subjected to microwave irradiation have been observed to be within the clinically acceptable limit set by the ANSI/ADA standard.

Meibomian Gland Morphology Changes After Cataract Surgery: A Contra-Lateral Eye Study

Purpose: To evaluate the morphology changes of meibomian glands (MGs) after cataract surgery.Setting: Hangzhou Branch of the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang, China.Methods: In this contra-lateral eye study, 40 patients received unilateral cataract surgery for age-related cataract. All the patients underwent the evaluation of non-invasive break-up time (NIBUT) and lower tear meniscus height (TMH) before the surgery and 6 months post-operatively. The MGs were evaluated via ImageJ and Meibomian Gland Bio-image Analyzer. MG dropout, length, width, area, gland diameter deformation index (DI), and gland signal index (SI) were recorded.Results: MG length, width, area, DI, and SI were significantly decreased after cataract surgery in the study group (operated eyes, P &lt; 0.001, P = 0.003, P &lt; 0.001, P = 0.001, and P &lt; 0.001, respectively) and showed no significant changes in the control group (non-operated eyes) (all P &gt; 0.05). MG loss increased more in the study group (P = 0.030), and the changes in TMH and NIBUT were not significantly different between the two eyes (both P &gt; 0.05).Conclusion: Cataract surgery aggravated meibomian gland morphology, such as MG loss, MG length, width, area, and SI, and produced no change in NIBUT and TMH at 6 months post-operatively.

Microparticle-tagged image-based cell counting (ImmunoSpin) for CD4 + T cells

Affordable point-of-care (POC) CD4 + T lymphocyte counting techniques have been developed as alternatives to flow cytometry-based instruments caring for patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1. However, POC CD4 enumeration technologies can be inaccurate. Here, we developed a microparticle-based visual detector of CD4 + T lymphocytes (ImmunoSpin) using microparticles conjugated with anti-CD4 antibodies, independent of microfluidic or fluorescence detection systems. Visual enumeration of CD4 + T cells under conventional light microscope was accurate compared to flow cytometry. Microparticle-tagged CD4 + T cells were well-recognized under a light microscope. ImmunoSpin showed very good precision (coefficients of variation of ImmunoSpin were ≤ 10%) and high correlation with clinical-grade flow cytometry for the enumeration of CD4 + T cells (y = 0.4232 + 0.9485 × for the %CD4 + T cell count, R2 = 0.99). At thresholds of 200 and 350 cells/µL, there was no misclassification of the ImmunoSpin system compared to the reference flow cytometry. ImmunoSpin showed clear differential classification of CD4 + T lymphocytes from granulocytes and monocytes. Because non-fluorescence microparticle-tags and cytospin slides are used in ImmunoSpin, they can be applied to an automatic digital image analyzer. Slide preparation allows long-term storage, no analysis time limitations, and image transfer in remote areas. Graphical abstract

Age estimation with cemental incremental lines in normal and periodontally diseased teeth using phase contrast microscope: an original research

Background Age estimation is an important factor in forensic science for human identification. Teeth are considered to play a vital role as they resist decomposition at death unlike other tissues. This resistance and the gradual structural changes that take place throughout the life of an individual have made teeth useful indicators for age estimation. Dental cementum shows continuous apposition throughout the life of an individual. Tooth cemental annulation is a microscopic method for the determination of an individual’s age based on the analysis of incremental lines of cementum. Light microscopy as well as specialized microscopic methods have been employed to enhance the assessment of the cemental annulations. Periodontal disease is the most common dental problem affecting millions of people. Assessing the efficiency of the tooth cemental annulations method in periodontally diseased teeth is an important requisite. This study aims at assessing and evaluating the tooth cemental annulations in normal and periodontally diseased teeth using phase contrast microscopic method for age determination. Results A total of 60 teeth were included in the study and out of which 30 teeth were normal (sound teeth without any associated pathologies) and 30 were periodontally involved teeth respectively. Longitudinal ground sections were prepared and observed under phase contrast microscope. Measurements were made using an image analyzer software. The total width of the cementum was divided by the distance between two incremental lines. The eruption age of the tooth was then added to this to obtain the chronologic age for each individual. The results in the present study showed that tooth cemental annulations are applicable to periodontally sound teeth as well as in periodontally diseased teeth. There was no significant difference of estimated age from the actual age in both periodontally sound and periodontally diseased teeth. Normal teeth showed a reliability value of 92% and periodontally compromised teeth showed 96% respectively. There was no substantial influence of periodontal health on the estimated age. Conclusions The study concludes that the use of phase contrast microscopy in conjunction with image enhancement procedures improves the accuracy of age estimation and may serve as a reliable aid in forensic identification.

Tin Whiskers’ Behavior under Stress Load and the Mitigation Method for Immersion Tin Surface Finish

Since the use of the most stable Pb-based materials in the electronic industry has been banned due to human health concerns, numerous research studies have focused on Pb-free materials such as pure tin and its alloys for electronic applications. Pure tin, however, suffers from tin whiskers’ formation, which tends to endanger the efficiency of electronic circuits, and even worse, may cause short circuits to the electronic components. This research aims to investigate the effects of stress on tin whiskers’ formation and growth and the mitigation method for the immersion of the tin surface’s finish deposited on a copper substrate. The coated surface was subjected to external stress by micro-hardness indenters with a 2N load in order to simulate external stress applied to the coating layer, prior to storage in the humidity chamber with environmental conditions of 30 °C/60% RH up to 52 weeks. A nickel underlayer was deposited between the tin surface finish and copper substrate to mitigate the formation and growth of tin whiskers. FESEM was used to observe the whiskers and EDX was used for measuring the chemical composition of the surface finish, tin whiskers, and oxides formed after a certain period of storage. An image analyzer was used to measure the whiskers’ length using the JEDEC Standard (JESD22-A121A). The results showed that the tin whiskers increased directly proportional to the storage time, and they formed and grew longer on the thicker tin coating (2.3 μm) than the thin coating (1.5 μm). This is due to greater internal stress being generated by the thicker intermetallic compounds identified as the Cu5Sn6 phase, formed on a thicker tin coating. In addition, the formation and growth of CuO flowers on the 1.5 μm-thick tin coating suppressed the growth of tin whiskers. However, the addition of external stress by an indentation on the tin coating surface showed that the tin whiskers’ growth discontinued after week 4 in the indented area. Instead, the whiskers that formed were greater and longer at a distance farther from the indented area due to Sn atom migration from a high stress concentration to a lower stress concentration. Nonetheless, the length of the whisker for the indented surface was shorter than the non-indented surface because the whiskers’ growth was suppressed by the formation of CuO flowers. On the other hand, a nickel underlayer successfully mitigated the formation of tin whiskers upon the immersion of a tin surface finish.

Migration of Human Renal Tubular Epithelial Cells in Response to Physiological Electric Signals

Restoration of proximal tubular cell integrity and function after ischemic injury involves cell migration and proliferation. Endogenous fields are present during embryonic development and wound healing. Electric field (EF)-induced effects on cell migration have been observed in many cell types. This study investigated the effect of physiological direct current EF (dc EF) on the motility of renal epithelial cells. Human renal tubular epithelial (HK-2) and human-derived renal epithelial (HEK-293) cells were exposed to dc EF at physiological magnitude. Cell images were recorded and analyzed using an image analyzer. Cell lysates were used to detect protein expression by western blot. Scratch wounds were created in monolayers of HK-2 cells, and wound areas of cells were measured in response to EF exposure. Cells migrated significantly faster in the presence of an EF and toward the cathode. Application of an EF led to activation of the Erk1/2, p38 MAPK, and Akt signaling pathways. Pharmacological inhibition of Erk1/2, p38 MAPK, and Akt impaired EF-induced migratory responses, such as motility rate and directedness. In addition, exposure of the monolayers to EF enhanced EF-induced HK-2 wound healing. Our results suggest that EFs augment the rate of single renal epithelium migration and induce cell cathodal migration through activation of Erk1/2, p38 MAPK, and Akt signaling. Moreover, exposure of the renal epithelium to EF facilitated closure of in vitro small wounds by enhancing cell migration.