Deep Learning Model for the Automatic Classification of White Blood Cells

Blood cell count is highly useful in identifying the occurrence of a particular disease or ailment. To successfully measure the blood cell count, sophisticated equipment that makes use of invasive methods to acquire the blood cell slides or images is utilized. These blood cell images are subjected to various data analyzing techniques that count and classify the different types of blood cells. Nowadays, deep learning-based methods are in practice to analyze the data. These methods are less time-consuming and require less sophisticated equipment. This paper implements a deep learning (D.L) model that uses the DenseNet121 model to classify the different types of white blood cells (WBC). The DenseNet121 model is optimized with the preprocessing techniques of normalization and data augmentation. This model yielded an accuracy of 98.84%, a precision of 99.33%, a sensitivity of 98.85%, and a specificity of 99.61%. The proposed model is simulated with four batch sizes (BS) along with the Adam optimizer and 10 epochs. It is concluded from the results that the DenseNet121 model has outperformed with batch size 8 as compared to other batch sizes. The dataset has been taken from the Kaggle having 12,444 images with the images of 3120 eosinophils, 3103 lymphocytes, 3098 monocytes, and 3123 neutrophils. With such results, these models could be utilized for developing clinically useful solutions that are able to detect WBC in blood cell images.

Amplificação isotérmica mediada por loop para detecção de patógenos de plantas

Disease control is crucial to minimize potential losses in agriculture and thereby maintain high crop yield. However, for its effectiveness, the pathogen must be detected early and correctly in the production fields. Different methods of diagnosis can be used, from those based on symptoms to molecular tests. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a molecular technique that has been widely used in several biological fields, due to the ease with which it can be applied. The reaction can be carried out in a single thermal condition, due to the use of Bst DNA polymerase, isolated from the bacterium Bacillus stearothermophilus, which has high displacement activity. LAMP is a highly exponential amplification method that produces the target DNA in amounts 109 -1010 times between 45 and 60 minutes at 60-65°C. Its advantages are the visualization of results directly with the naked eye and the fact that it does not need sophisticated equipment for its application. In phytopathology, the technique has been gaining prominence in the detection of fungi, viruses, bacteria, nematodes and phytoplasmas, as well as in the monitoring of fungicide-resistant fungi. LAMP can benefit agriculture so that early, accurate and sensitive diagnostics can be carried out in the fields of cultivation and minimize losses caused by diseases. In this review, we present and discuss LAMP tests, developed for plant pathogens detection, which can be useful for researchers who wish to use the technique in their research area

Development of electrochemical sensors for detection of organophosphate pesticides in fruits and vegetables: A review

The use of pesticides for agricultural cultivation may prevent losses due to pest attacks, but excessive and uncontrolled use of pesticides may cause contamination of pesticide residues in the fruits and vegetables. Organophosphate pesticides are highly toxic and their residue in fruits and vegetables may cause neurological disorders in humans. Organophosphate residues may enter the body of animals and humans through oral routes or respiratory systems. Common analytical methods to detect organophosphate require complex sample preparation and sophisticated equipment. Electrochemical detection methods are an alternative in developing organophosphate detection methods in fruits and vegetables. This review provides an overview of the development and performance of electrochemical sensor technology to detect organophosphate residues in fruits and vegetables.

Teledental Consultations Using a Messaging Application during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience from a Singapore COVID-19 Community Care Facility

Introduction During the ‘Circuit Breaker’ period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore from April to June 2020, governmental policies restricted the practice of dentistry nationwide to the provision of emergency treatment only, regardless of the patient’s COVID status. As such, teledentistry was used as an alternative means to continue providing some form of dental care to COVID-19–positive patients who were admitted to a COVID-19 Community Care Facility. Description The patients were physically triaged by physicians who would send clinical photos to the author via a messaging application, who would in turn triage the patients and assess if they required referral for emergency dental treatment. For patients who did not meet the criteria for referral, the author would advise the physicians on the subsequent management plan which included, but was not limited to, the provision of symptomatic relief. Conclusions This article shows the feasibility of undertaking teledental consultations using clinical photos transmitted via a messaging application. The practical implication is a reduced barrier for patients and healthcare professionals to access teledentistry, without having to resort to sophisticated equipment. Hopefully, this will translate into the continued provision of some form of dental care to patients during the ongoing pandemic as opposed to no care at all.

Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Throat Sensor Using Ionic Polymer–Metal Composite (IPMC) Material

Throat sensing has received increasing demands in recent years, especially for oropharyngeal treatment applications. The conventional videofluoroscopy (VFS) approach is limited by either exposing the patient to radiation or incurring expensive costs on sophisticated equipment as well as well-trained speech-language pathologists. Here, we propose a smart and non-invasive throat sensor that can be fabricated using an ionic polymer–metal composite (IPMC) material. Through the cation’s movement inside the IPMC material, the sensor can detect muscle movement at the throat using a self-generated signal. We have further improved the output responses of the sensor by coating it with a corrosive-resistant gold material. A support vector machine algorithm is used to train the sensor in recognizing the pattern of the throat movements, with a high accuracy of 95%. Our proposed throat sensor has revealed its potential to be used as a promising solution for smart healthcare devices, which can benefit many practical applications such as human–machine interactions, sports training, and rehabilitation.

A Novel Rapid Visual Detection of Toxoplasma Gondii by Combining Recombinase Polymerase Amplification and Lateral Flow Dipstick Coupled With CRISPR-Cas13a Fluorescence Assay

Background: Toxoplasmosis caused by infecting with Toxplasma gondii is a kind of parasitic disease that prevalent all over the world and does great harm to pregnant women and newborns. Effective, rapid and accurate diagnosis T. gondii is urgently needed to prevent and treatment the toxoplasmosis. The purpose of this study was to develop a rapid visual detection assay using recombinase aided amplification (RAA) and lateral flow dipstick (LFD) coupled with CRISPR-Cas13a fluorescence, henceforth RAA-Cas13a-LFD, for detection of T. gondii.Methods: Targeting 529bp gene of T. gondii, the primers and probes for RAA-Cas13a-LFD assay were designed and screened. The reaction time of RAA-LFD-Cas13a assay was optimized, as well as the sensitivity and specificity was further validated. Finally, the diagnostic performance of T. gondii was evaluated using the RAA-Cas13a-LFD assay for clinical blood samples.Results: The RAA-Cas13a-LFD assay was performed in an incubator block at 37℃ within 2h, and the amplicons were visible through LFD for naked eye visualization. The detection limit of the developed RAA-Cas13a-LFD assay was 1×10-6 ng/μL with high specificity for T. gondii. Compared with qPCR assay, there was a consistent positive rate among the clinical blood samples. Conclusion: In this study, A rapid and visual RAA-Cas13a-LFD assay was developed. It requires no sophisticated equipment and shows promise for on-site surveillance of T. gondii.

A Non-invasive Method of Cerebrospinal fluid collection from rats for assessing the Cerebrospinal fluid drug content

The drug discovery and pharmacokinetic studies of drugs of the central nervous system depend on the successful collection of cerebrospinal fluid from lab animal models. Many a time, the treatment regime and management of diseases depends on the penetration and distribution of medicaments across the blood-brain barrier and for which a non-contaminated cerebrospinal fluid sample is essential. The present study was to simplify the cerebrospinal fluid collection from cisterna magna of rat, maximizing the quantity and minimizing the contamination. The rat is anaesthetized with Xylazine Ketamine combination intravenously and was kept on an inverted polypropylene tray with its head down at 45° angle. A depressible surface which look like a rhomb between occipital protuberances and the spine of the atlas becomes noticeable. A butterfly needle attached to a syringe was introduced into the cisterna magna, and cerebrospinal fluid is aspirated. The method is non-invasive and doesn’t require any sophisticated equipment and lessens the chance of contamination of the sample with blood. The technique is also less time consuming and easy to perform.

Photochemical Synthesis of Gold and Silver Nanoparticles—A Review

Nanomaterials have supported important technological advances due to their unique properties and their applicability in various fields, such as biomedicine, catalysis, environment, energy, and electronics. This has triggered a tremendous increase in their demand. In turn, materials scientists have sought facile methods to produce nanomaterials of desired features, i.e., morphology, composition, colloidal stability, and surface chemistry, as these determine the targeted application. The advent of photoprocesses has enabled the easy, fast, scalable, and cost- and energy-effective production of metallic nanoparticles of controlled properties without the use of harmful reagents or sophisticated equipment. Herein, we overview the synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles via photochemical routes. We extensively discuss the effect of varying the experimental parameters, such as the pH, exposure time, and source of irradiation, the use or not of reductants and surfactants, reagents’ nature and concentration, on the outcomes of these noble nanoparticles, namely, their size, shape, and colloidal stability. The hypothetical mechanisms that govern these green processes are discussed whenever available. Finally, we mention their applications and insights for future developments.

Sidik Jari sebagai Pendukung Alat Bukti dalam Proses Penyidikan Perkara Pidana

The purpose of this study was to determine the use of fingerprints to support the process of proving evidence in the investigation of criminal cases in the Jambi Regional Police and to determine the effectiveness of fingerprints as supporting evidence in the investigation of criminal cases. The number of criminal cases that occurred in Jambi made the police improve their performance, one of which was in the investigation process by looking for evidence of evidence, one of which was a fingerprint. The results of this study are the use of fingerprints can support the process of proving evidence in the investigation of criminal cases, because the discovery of fingerprints of someone suspected of committing a crime will make it easier for the police to find other evidence, for in Jambi itself the use of fingerprints as preliminary evidence rarely seen from 2016-2019, there were only 5 cases that used fingerprints as an initial guide, because in Jambi itself still had many shortcomings such as at the time of the crime scene many fingerprints were found but many were already damaged, and many criminal acts were indirectly reported, for its own effectiveness the Jambi Regional Police have very complete and sophisticated equipment such as those at the National Police Headquarters and are very effective in terms of cases and tools that all 5 cases that occurred were effective using fingerprints as evidence for initial instructions. Abstrak Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui penggunaan sidik jari bisa mendukung proses pembuktian alat bukti dalam proses penyidikan perkara pidana di Polda Jambi serta untuk mengetahui efektivitas sidik jari sebagai pendukung alat bukti dalam proses penyidikan perkara pidana. Banyaknya kasus kejahatan yang terjadi di Jambi membuat pihak kepolisian semakin meningkatkan kinerjanya yang salah satunya ialah dalam proses penyidikan dengan mencari bukti petunjuk yang salah satunya sidik jari. Hasil penelitian ini adalah penggunaan sidik jari bisa mendukung proses pembuktian alat bukti dalam proses penyidikan perkara pidana, karena dengan ditemukannya sidik jari seseorang yang diduga melakukan tindak pidana maka akan memudahkan pihak kepolisian dalam mencari bukti lain, untuk di Jambi sendiri penggunaan sidik jari sebagai bukti awal jarang dilakukan terlihat dari tahun 2016-2019 hanya terdapat 5 kasus yang menggunakan sidik jari sebagai petunjuk awal, karena di Jambi sendiri masih memiliki banyak kekurangan seperti pada saat olah TKP banyak ditemukan sidik jari akan tetapi banyak yang sudah rusak, dan banyak kejadian tindak pidana yang tidak langsung dilaporkan, untuk efektivitasnya sendiri Polda Jambi memiliki peralatan yang sangat lengkap dan canggih sudah seperti di Mabes Polri dan sangat efektif dari segi kasus dan alatnya bahwa dari 5 kasus yang terjadi semuanya efektif dengan menggunakan sidik jari sebagai alat bukti petunjuk awal.