An Image-Based Diagnostic Expert System for Corn Diseases

The annual worldwide yield losses due to pests are estimated to be billions of dollars. Integrated pest management （IPM） is one of the most important components of crop production in most agricultural areas of the world, and the effectiveness of crop protection depends on accurate and timely diagnosis of phytosanitary problems. Accurately identifying and treatment depends on the method which used in disease and insect pests diagnosis. Identifying plant diseases is usually difficult and requires a plant pathologist or well-trained technician to accurately describe the case. Moreover, quite a few diseases have similar symptoms making it difficult for non-experts to distinguish disease correctly. Another method of diagnosis depends on comparison of the concerned case with similar ones through one image or more of the symptoms and helps enormously in overcoming difficulties of non-experts. The old adage ＇a picture is worth a thousand words＇ is crucially relevant. Considering the user＇s capability to deal and interact with the expert system easily and clearly, a webbased diagnostic expert-system shell based on production rules （i.e., IF 〈 effects 〉 THEN 〈 causes 〉） and frames with a color image database was developed and applied to corn disease diagnosis as a case study. The expert-system shell was made on a 32-bit multimedia desktop microcomputer. The knowledge base had frames, production rules and synonym words as the result of interview and arrangement. It was desired that 80% of total frames used visual color image data to explain the meaning of observations and conclusions. Visual color image displays with the phrases of questions and answers from the expert system, enables users to identify any disease, makes the right decision, and chooses the right treatment. This may increase their level of understanding of corn disease diagnosis. The expert system can be applied to diagnosis of other plant pests or diseases by easy changes to the knowledge base.

Crop Disease Recognition Based on Improved Model-Agnostic Meta-Learning

Currently,one of the most severe problems in the agricultural industry is the effect of diseases and pests on global crop production and economic development.Therefore,further research in the field of crop disease and pest detection is necessary to address the mentioned problem.Aiming to identify the diseased crops and insect pests timely and accurately and perform appropriate prevention measures to reduce the associated losses,this article proposes a Model-Agnostic Meta-Learning(MAML)attention model based on the meta-learning paradigm.The proposed model combines meta-learning with basic learning and adopts an Efficient Channel Attention(ECA)mod-ule.The module follows the local cross-channel interactive strategy of non-dimensional reduction to strengthen the weight parameters corresponding to certain disease characteristics.The proposed meta-learning-based algorithm has the advantage of strong generalization capability and,by integrating the ECA module in the original model,can achieve more efficient detection in new tasks.The proposed model is verified by experiments,and the experimental results show that compared with the original MAML model,the proposed improved MAML-Attention model has a better performance by 1.8–9.31 percentage points in different classification tasks;the maximum accuracy is increased by 1.15–8.2 percentage points.The experimental results verify the strong generalization ability and good robustness of the proposed MAML-Attention model.Compared to the other few-shot methods,the proposed MAML-Attention performs better.

Tracking of iron-labeled human neural stem cells by magnetic resonance imaging in cell replacement therapy for Parkinson＇s disease

Human neural stem cells（h NSCs） derived from the ventral mesencephalon are powerful research tools and candidates for cell therapies in Parkinson＇s disease. However, their clinical translation has not been fully realized due, in part, to the limited ability to track stem cell regional localization and survival over long periods of time after in vivo transplantation. Magnetic resonance imaging provides an excellent non-invasive method to study the fate of transplanted cells in vivo. For magnetic resonance imaging cell tracking, cells need to be labeled with a contrast agent, such as magnetic nanoparticles, at a concentration high enough to be easily detected by magnetic resonance imaging. Grafting of human neural stem cells labeled with magnetic nanoparticles allows cell tracking by magnetic resonance imaging without impairment of cell survival, proliferation, self-renewal, and multipotency. However, the results reviewed here suggest that in long term grafting, activated microglia and macrophages could contribute to magnetic resonance imaging signal by engulfing dead labeled cells or iron nanoparticles dispersed freely in the brain parenchyma over time.

Magnetic resonance imaging in children and adolescents with chronic inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel diseases(IBD) represent challenges, both from a diagnostic, and therapeutic point of view. Deep-seated anatomic structures are difficult to assess by ultrasound technique alone. As radiation-free alternative cross-sectional imaging method, magnetic resonance imaging of the intestinal structures is costly and time-consuming. Examination of pediatric patients imply additional considerations: reduction of body motions in younger children and consideration of the most appropriate preparation, and examination technique. The demanding Sellink technique is the only means for appropriately distending the lesser intestine in order to detect small bowel strictures. Oral intake of contrast medium(CM) alone shows its limitations regarding distensibility. The need for intravenous contrast media application needs to be considered, too. Active inflammation of both intestinal wall, and mesentery can be demonstrated accurately. Nevertheless, viable alternatives to CM application is desirable, considering non-negligible adverse reactions. Recent data suggest diffusion weighted imaging might fill this diagnostic gap. Irrespective of sequence technique chosen, bowel movement remains a major obstacle. Antispasmolytics in their function as smooth muscle relaxants help in improving image quality, however, their use in children might be off-label. Optimal preparation for the examination and appropriate imaging technique allow for diagnosing typical patterns of changes in IBD, such as bowel wall thickening, ulcers, mural stratification, strictures, creeping fat, and comb sign, and lymphadenopathy. The article gives a detailed overview of current significance of magnetic resonance imaging pediatric patients suffering from IBD, considering indications, limitations, and safety aspects.

Modulatory effects of acupuncture on brain networks in mild cognitive impairment patients

Functional magnetic resonance imaging has been widely used to investigate the effects of acupuncture on neural activity. However, most functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have focused on acute changes in brain activation induced by acupuncture. Thus, the time course of the therapeutic effects of acupuncture remains unclear. In this study, 32 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment were randomly divided into two groups, where they received either Tiaoshen Yizhi acupuncture or sham acupoint acupuncture. The needles were either twirled at Tiaoshen Yizhi acupoints, including Sishencong（EX-HN1）, Yintang（EX-HN3）, Neiguan（PC6）, Taixi（KI3）, Fenglong（ST40）, and Taichong（LR3）, or at related sham acupoints at a depth of approximately 15 mm, an angle of ± 60°, and a rate of approximately 120 times per minute. Acupuncture was conducted for 4 consecutive weeks, five times per week, on weekdays. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging indicated that connections between cognition-related regions such as the insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, thalamus, inferior parietal lobule, and anterior cingulate cortex increased after acupuncture at Tiaoshen Yizhi acupoints. The insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus acted as central brain hubs. Patients in the Tiaoshen Yizhi group exhibited improved cognitive performance after acupuncture. In the sham acupoint acupuncture group, connections between brain regions were dispersed, and we found no differences in cognitive function following the treatment. These results indicate that acupuncture at Tiaoshen Yizhi acupoints can regulate brain networks by increasing connectivity between cognition-related regions, thereby improving cognitive function in patients with mild cognitive impairment.

MR and cine-MR imaging in the diagnosis of infantile congenital heart disease

Objective To assess the effectiveness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cine magnetic resonance imaging (cine MRI) in the diagnosis of infantile congenital heart disease Methods A total of 34 cases were studied with MRI and cine MRI The data were analyzed and compared with those of two dimensional echocardiography (2DE), cardioangiography (CAG) and surgery Results The size of the defect or its caliber obtained from MRI in 6 patients with left to right shunt congenital heart disease was compatible with that observed in surgery ( P =0 924) Comparison of cine MRI and CAG in 28 patients with complicated congenital heart disease showed that the diagnosis of 27 cases by cine MRI was the same as that by CAG Conclusion Both MRI and cine MRI play an important role in diagnosing infantile congenital heart disease

Magnetic resonance imaging in distinguishing malignant from benign pleural disease

Objective To explore the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in distinguishing malignant from benign pleural disease.Methods All 64 patients were examined with both computed tomography (CT) and MRI. The morphologic features of pleural lesions and MR signal intensity on T1-weighted, T2-weighted and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images were evaluated.Results Mediastinal pleural involvement, circumferential pleural thickening, nodularity, irregularity of pleural contour, and infiltration of the chest wall and/or diaphragm were most suggestive of a malignant cause on CT and MR images. Contrary to what has been reported in the literature, pleural thickness greater than 1?cm either on CT or on MRI did not reveal a significant difference between malignant and benign pleural disease (P>0.05, chi-square test). Using morphologic features in combination with signal intensity features, MRI had a sensitivity of 98% and a specificity of 92% in the detection of pleural malignancy. Conclusions Compared with those on CT, the morphologic features on MRI allowed a mostly equal and in some cases superior detection and evaluation of the spread of pleural disease. In combination with signal intensity and morphologic features, MRI is very useful in distinguishing malignant from benign pleural disease.

Biomarkers for Parkinson's Disease:Recent Advancement

As a multi-factorial degenerative disease, Parkinson＇s disease （PD） leads to tremor, gait rigidity, and hypokinesia, thus hampering normal living. As this disease is usually detected in the later stages when neurons have degenerated completely, cure is on hold, ultimately leading to death due to the lack of early diagnostic techniques. Thus, biomarkers are required to detect the disease in the early stages when prevention is possible. Various biomarkers providing early diagnosis of the disease include those of imaging, cerebrospinal fluid, oxidative stress, neuroprotection, and inflammation. Also, biomarkers, alone or in combination, are used in the diagnosis and evolution of PD. This review encompasses various biomarkers available for PD and discusses recent advances in their development.

Region-Specific Iron Measured by MRI as a Biomarker for Parkinson's Disease

The identification of sensitive and specific biomarkers for Parkinson＇s disease （PD） poses an impor- tant clinical challenge. A potential biomarker for early diagnosis and disease monitoring of PD is region-specific iron. Iron accumulation in the substantia nigra pars compacta is considered a main characteristic of PD. However, questions remain, such as the relationship between nigral iron and clinical indices of PD （motor impairment or disease duration）. Further, previous studies have suggested the influence of iron on other nuclei. Iron quantification using magnetic resonance imaging （MRI） allows for studies of the relationship between regional iron and clinical symptoms in vivo. Thus, in this review we discuss the following topics： the technological develop- ment of MRI in measuring brain iron, nigral iron as a potential marker for PD in both clinical and prodromal stages, other influences of regional iron on PD, and clinical translation and future perspectives.

Imaging manifestations of von Hippel-Lindau disease: a report of 3 casesImaging manifestations of von Hippel-Lindau disease: a report of 3 cases

Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is an autosomal dominant here ditary familial neoplasm syndrome characte rized by development of a variety of benign and malignant tumors in multiple organ systems,such as the brain,kidney,pancreas,adrenalgland,and epididymis,with aprev a lence of one in 39000- 53000.1 4 Hallmarks of the condition in clude retinal angiomas,hem angioblastomas of the cerebellum and the spinal cord,renal cell carcinoma and cysts,and pheochrom ocytomas.In this article,we report imaging findings in three cases of VHLdisease.

Muscle mass loss and intermuscular lipid accumulation were associated with insulin resistance in patients receiving hemodialysis

Background An accelerated muscle wasting was the pivotal factor for protein-energy wasting in end stage renal disease. However, very few researches have examined the skeletal muscle quantity and quality in clinical patients. This study investigated the muscle morphologic changes by magnetic resonance imaging （MRI） and analyzed the related factors in hemodialysis patients. Methods Fifty-eight patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis （HD） were investigated and 28 healthy adults with gender and age matched were used as controls （Control）. Anthropometry, cytokine factors, and laboratory data were measured. The muscle and intermuscular adipose tissues （IMAT） were analyzed via a Thigh MRI. The bicep samples were observed after HE staining. Homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance （HOMA-IR） was measured and their association with muscle wasting was analyzed. Results HD patients tended to have a lower protein diet, anthropometry data, and serum albumin, but the C reactive protein and interleukin-6 increased significantly. The MRI showed that HD patients had less muscle mass and a lower muscle/total ratio, but the fat/muscle and IMAT was higher when compared to the Control group. The muscle fiber showed atrophy and fat accumulation in the biceps samples come from the HD patients. Moreover, we found that the HD patients presented with a high level of plasma fasting insulin and increased HOMA-IR which negatively correlated with the muscle/ total ratio, but positively with the fat/muscle ratio. Conclusions Muscle wasting presented early before an obvious malnutrition condition emerged in HD patients. The main morphological change was muscle atrophy along with intermuscular lipid accumulation. Insulin resistance was associated with muscle wasting in dialysis patients.

Can multi-modal neuroimaging evidence from hippocampus provide biomarkers for the progression of amnestic mild cognitive impairment?

Impaired structure and function of the hippocampus is a valuable predictor of progression from amnestic mild cognitive impairment（a MCI） to Alzheimer＇s disease（AD）. As a part of the medial temporal lobe memory system,the hippocampus is one of the brain regions affected earliest by AD neuropathology,and shows progressive degeneration as a MCI progresses to AD. Currently,no validated biomarkers can precisely predict the conversion from a MCI to AD. Therefore,there is a great need of sensitive tools for the early detection of AD progression. In this review,we summarize the specifi c structural and functional changes in the hippocampus from recent a MCI studies using neurophysiological and neuroimaging data. We suggest that a combination of advanced multi-modal neuroimaging measures in discovering biomarkers will provide more precise and sensitive measures of hippocampal changes than using only one of them. These will potentially affect early diagnosis and disease-modifying treatments. We propose a new sequential and progressive framework in which the impairment spreads from the integrity of fibers to volume and then to function in hippocampal subregions. Meanwhile,this is likely to be accompanied by progressive impairment of behavioral and neuropsychological performance in the progression of a MCI to AD.