The study of the morphology of White Blood Cells (WBCs) further contributes to the clinical diagnosis of blood diseases. In this research paper, we come up with an image segmentation enhancement by combining Fourier F...The study of the morphology of White Blood Cells (WBCs) further contributes to the clinical diagnosis of blood diseases. In this research paper, we come up with an image segmentation enhancement by combining Fourier Fast Transform on smear blood capture and classical thresholding. The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is a very powerful tool in image processing and it was used to segment and extract the WBCs. Our image processing method uses a Fast Fourier Transform combined with filtering and an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform for the extraction and visualization of the high frequency region of the image. In order to remove residual Red Blood Cells acting as noise in the expected result, a final thresholding step is added at the end of the processing. The results presented in this article report the tests performed using our mathematical implementation. Moreover, we were able to detect and differentiate the sub-families of WBCs.展开更多
White blood cells (WBC) or leukocytes are a vital component ofthe blood which forms the immune system, which is accountable to fightforeign elements. The WBC images can be exposed to different data analysisapproaches ...White blood cells (WBC) or leukocytes are a vital component ofthe blood which forms the immune system, which is accountable to fightforeign elements. The WBC images can be exposed to different data analysisapproaches which categorize different kinds of WBC. Conventionally, laboratorytests are carried out to determine the kind of WBC which is erroneousand time consuming. Recently, deep learning (DL) models can be employedfor automated investigation of WBC images in short duration. Therefore,this paper introduces an Aquila Optimizer with Transfer Learning basedAutomated White Blood Cells Classification (AOTL-WBCC) technique. Thepresented AOTL-WBCC model executes data normalization and data augmentationprocess (rotation and zooming) at the initial stage. In addition,the residual network (ResNet) approach was used for feature extraction inwhich the initial hyperparameter values of the ResNet model are tuned by theuse of AO algorithm. Finally, Bayesian neural network (BNN) classificationtechnique has been implied for the identification of WBC images into distinctclasses. The experimental validation of the AOTL-WBCC methodology isperformed with the help of Kaggle dataset. The experimental results foundthat the AOTL-WBCC model has outperformed other techniques which arebased on image processing and manual feature engineering approaches underdifferent dimensions.展开更多
Some human diseases are recognized through of each type of White Blood Cell(WBC)count,so detecting and classifying each type is important for human healthcare.The main aim of this paper is to propose a computer-aided ...Some human diseases are recognized through of each type of White Blood Cell(WBC)count,so detecting and classifying each type is important for human healthcare.The main aim of this paper is to propose a computer-aided WBCs utility analysis tool designed,developed,and evaluated to classify WBCs into five types namely neutrophils,eosinophils,lymphocytes,monocytes,and basophils.Using a computer-artificial model reduces resource and time consumption.Various pre-trained deep learning models have been used to extract features,including AlexNet,Visual Geometry Group(VGG),Residual Network(ResNet),which belong to different taxonomy types of deep learning architectures.Also,Binary Border Collie Optimization(BBCO)is introduced as an updated version of Border Collie Optimization(BCO)for feature reduction based on maximizing classification accuracy.The proposed computer aid diagnosis tool merges transfer deep learning ResNet101,BBCO feature reduction,and Support Vector Machine(SVM)classifier to forma hybridmodelResNet101-BBCO-SVM an accurate and fast model for classifying WBCs.As a result,the ResNet101-BBCO-SVM scores the best accuracy at 99.21%,compared to recent studies in the benchmark.The model showed that the addition of the BBCO algorithm increased the detection accuracy,and at the same time,decreased the classification time consumption.The effectiveness of the ResNet101-BBCO-SVM model has been demonstrated and beaten in reasonable ratios in recent literary studies and end-to-end transfer learning of pre-trained models.展开更多
White blood cells(WBC)are immune system cells,which is why they are also known as immune cells.They protect the human body from a variety of dangerous diseases and outside invaders.The majority of WBCs come from red b...White blood cells(WBC)are immune system cells,which is why they are also known as immune cells.They protect the human body from a variety of dangerous diseases and outside invaders.The majority of WBCs come from red bone marrow,although some come from other important organs in the body.Because manual diagnosis of blood disorders is difficult,it is necessary to design a computerized technique.Researchers have introduced various automated strategies in recent years,but they still face several obstacles,such as imbalanced datasets,incorrect feature selection,and incorrect deep model selection.We proposed an automated deep learning approach for classifying white blood disorders in this paper.The data augmentation approach is initially used to increase the size of a dataset.Then,a Darknet-53 pre-trained deep learning model is used and finetuned according to the nature of the chosen dataset.On the fine-tuned model,transfer learning is used,and features engineering is done on the global average pooling layer.The retrieved characteristics are subsequently improved with a specified number of iterations using a hybrid reformed binary grey wolf optimization technique.Following that,machine learning classifiers are used to classify the selected best features for final classification.The experiment was carried out using a dataset of increased blood diseases imaging and resulted in an improved accuracy of over 99%.展开更多
Selection of proper reference genes (RGs) is an essential step needed for accurate normalization of results from genomic studies. Expression of RGs is regulated by many factors such as species, age, gender, type of ti...Selection of proper reference genes (RGs) is an essential step needed for accurate normalization of results from genomic studies. Expression of RGs is regulated by many factors such as species, age, gender, type of tissue, the presence of disease, and the administration of therapeutic treatment. The aim of the present study was to identify optimal RGs in a set of blood samples collected at different time points (0, 24, 48, 72 h) from horses following administration of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT). The mRNA expression of twelve RGs: HPRT1, ACTB, HSP90A, SDHA, GUSB, B2M, UBC, NONO, TBP, H6PD, RPL32, GAPDH was determined using real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). An SAS program developed on the algorithm of geNorm, SASqPCR, was used to determine stability of the expression and the number of optimal RGs. The results showed that the range of quantification cycle (Cq) values of the evaluated genes varied between 17 and 26 cycles, and that one optimal RG, ACTB, was sufficient for normalization of gene expression. Results of stability of expression demonstrated that ACTB was the optimal choice for all the samples studied. Notably, in samples collected at 72 h post ESWT, TBP showed a significant change in the expression level, and was not suitable for use as a RG. These results substantiate the importance of validating and selecting an appropriate RG.展开更多
This study investigated some immune system related parameters among post-menopausal women in Elele, River state, Nigeria. Forty-two individuals participated in this study and forty control subjects were established as...This study investigated some immune system related parameters among post-menopausal women in Elele, River state, Nigeria. Forty-two individuals participated in this study and forty control subjects were established as well. Blood was collected from the participants, and CD4 cells and total white blood cells count were analyzed using standard procedures. Result showed that test subjects and control values were 5.46 ± 1.64 × 109/L and 7.24 ± 1.47 × 109/L, respectively for total white blood cell and 1265.19 ± 458.56 cells/μl and 2159.53 ± 400.02 cells/μl respectively, for CD4 cells. There was significant difference (P < 0.001) among the test subject and control for both parameters. The results in the test subjects for both parameters were significantly lower compared to the control. The decline in immune system related parameters among the test subjects may predispose them at risk of multiple infections and other associated health conditions.展开更多
The efficacy of chemotherapy is thought to be direct killing of tumor cells, but documented studies have been shown that immunity plays a role in its effectiveness. In a pilot study to observe the bone marrow suppress...The efficacy of chemotherapy is thought to be direct killing of tumor cells, but documented studies have been shown that immunity plays a role in its effectiveness. In a pilot study to observe the bone marrow suppression and regeneration in tumor bearing mice induced by single dose injection of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), we unexpectedly found that tumors grew fast as bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMC) and peripheral white blood cells (PWBC) were decreased quickly during myelosuppression meanwhile significantly slow as repopulating of BMC and PWBC during bone marrow regeneration after 5-FU treatment, no matter whether in low or high dose administration, but the higher the dose was, the lower of the nadir of BMC and PWBC were reached to, as well as the much more powerful duration and strength of the repopulated BMC and PWBC, suggested that the immunity might be a predominant drive in 5-FU chemotherapy. Due to the fact that BMC is the source of PWBC which is its final maturational and functional form, it could be proposed that the anti-proliferative effect of 5-FU on tumor is highly associated with the renewal of PWBC.展开更多
Proanthocyanidins and flavanoids, both subfamilies of the polyphenols, are highly concentrated in different fruits and berries as well as in fruit pomace. They have shown to exhibit anti-cancer, anti-microbial, anti-o...Proanthocyanidins and flavanoids, both subfamilies of the polyphenols, are highly concentrated in different fruits and berries as well as in fruit pomace. They have shown to exhibit anti-cancer, anti-microbial, anti-oxidative, and im- mune-modulatory effects in vertebrates. Herein the effect of additional apple pomace or red-grape pomace in conven- tional piglet starter feeds were investigated in 36 young growing piglets. Immunological marker gene expression was quantified by quantitative real-time RT-PCR in white blood cells, and intestinal bacterial flora was investigated from weaning to three weeks post weaning. Polyphenol content in red-grape pomace, gut content and tissues were analyzed with HPLC. Flavan-3-ols (epicatechin and catechin) and proanthocyanidins (B1, B2 and C1) were identified in the gas- tro-intestinal tract content, whereas only traces could be detected in various piglet organs. The blood parameters, he- moglobin and hematocrit, were affected and down-regulated in all groups over testing period. In both pomace treated groups more thrombocytes were present compared to the standard feeding group. It turns out, that the pomace diets had greatest impact on the bacterial content in the colon. Results demonstrate that feeding apple pomace and red- grape pomace tended to increase the number of total colonic bacteria. Steptococci/Enterococci increased in the red- grape pomace. C. perfringens was not detectable at the second time point. The number of lactobacilli increased in both applied diets. The number of Clostridium perfringens decreased with the age of the piglets. Trends of mRNA expression changes were found in white blood cell (WBC) between different feeding regimens, since the expression variability in the groups was very high. Between the different time points there were significant differences within the apple pomace group, where TNF? (p = 0.033), NF?B (p = 0.024) and Caspase 3 (p = 0.019) mRNA expression increased signifi- cantly during treatment. We conclude that both polyphenol rich feedings have the potential to positively influence the intestinal flora, blood parameters, and WBC mRNA gene expression pattern of immunological marker genes.展开更多
A new method for the white blood cell (WBC) detection is presented based on the relevance vector machine (RVM). Firstly,the sparse relevance vectors (RVs) are obtained while fitting the 1-D histogram by RVM. The...A new method for the white blood cell (WBC) detection is presented based on the relevance vector machine (RVM). Firstly,the sparse relevance vectors (RVs) are obtained while fitting the 1-D histogram by RVM. Then,the needed threshold value is directly selected from these limited RVs. Finally,the entire connective WBC regions are segmented from the original image. The method is used for the WBC detection. It reduces the interference induced by the illumination and the staining. It has advantages of the high computation efficiency and the no extra parameter setting. Experimental results demonstrate good performances of the method.展开更多
Objectives Inflammation has been shown to be related with acute aortic dissection (AAD). The present study aimed to evaluate the association of white blood cell counts (WI3Cc) on admission with both in-hospital an...Objectives Inflammation has been shown to be related with acute aortic dissection (AAD). The present study aimed to evaluate the association of white blood cell counts (WI3Cc) on admission with both in-hospital and long-term all-cause mortality in patients with uncom- plicated Stanford type B AAD. Methods From 2008 to 2010, a total of 377 consecutive patients with uncomplicated type B AAD were enrolled and then followed up. Clinical data and WBCc on admission were collected. The primary end points were in-hospital death and long-term all-cause death. Results The in-hospital death rate was 4.2%, and the long-term all-cause mortality rate was 6.9% during a median follow-up of 18.9 months. WBCc on admission was identified as a risk factor for in-hospital death by univariate Cox regression analysis as both a continuous variable and a categorical variable using a cut off of 11.0 × 109 cell/L (all P 〈 0.05). After adjusting for age, sex and other risk factors, elevated admission WBCc was still a significant predictor for in-hospital death as both a continuous variable [hazard ratio (HR): 1.052, 95% CI: 1.024-1.336, P = 0.002] and a categorical variable using a cut off of 11.0 × 109 cell/L (HR: 2.056, 95% CI: 1.673-5.253, P = 0.034). No relationship was observed between WBCc on admission and long-term all-cause death. Conclusions Our results indicate that elevated WBCc upon admission might be used as a predictor for increased risk of in-hospital death in uncomplicated type B AAD. There might be no predictive value of WBCc for the long-term survival of type B AAD.展开更多
Background and Objective The white blood cell count to mean platelet volume ratio(WMR)has recently been described as a predictor of cardiovascular events in patients who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)...Background and Objective The white blood cell count to mean platelet volume ratio(WMR)has recently been described as a predictor of cardiovascular events in patients who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI).The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of admission WMR in predicting outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome(ACS).展开更多
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls white blood cell (WBC) subsets;therefore, the status of ANS can be assessed by assaying WBCs. However, this requires invasive blood sampling, time, cost, and training. There...The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls white blood cell (WBC) subsets;therefore, the status of ANS can be assessed by assaying WBCs. However, this requires invasive blood sampling, time, cost, and training. Therefore, this study focused on a traditional technique, tongue inspection, which is a simpler method. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is an association between the traditional method of tongue inspection and clinical assay of WBC subsets. Twenty-one female alopecia areata patients were divided into two age-matched groups: 1) alopecia areata totalis (AT);and 2) alopecia areata multiplex (AM). Images of patient tongues were captured by a digital camera and categorized before blood sampling. Finally, patients were divided into five groups (normal, Yin+, Yang–, Yin– and Yang+) based on the Eight Principles of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Concurrently, venous blood was obtained for WBC subsets. The absolute numbers of WBCs and granulocytes of the AT group were higher than those of the AM group. The AT group was Yin+ but not Yang+, whereas the AM group was Yang+ but not Yin+. Thus, the AT group showed more elements of “cold” (Yin > Yang) compared with the AM group with elements of “hot” (Yin < Yang). Tongue inspection suggested a possibility of consistence with those of WBCs although statistical significance was not obtained. Moreover, some Yin+ and Yang+ subjects showed some trend in similarities between tongue inspection and WBC subsets although this was not statistically significant. Therefore, traditional techniques (such as tongue inspection) acupuncture must be studied further to detect whether subtle effects are induced by acupuncture treatment. As this study is underpowered, a larger scale study including males is required in the future.展开更多
High white blood cell count (WBC) and insulin resistance (IR) are interrelated events that contribute to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including type-2 diabetes (T2D). However, associations between IR and hematolo...High white blood cell count (WBC) and insulin resistance (IR) are interrelated events that contribute to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including type-2 diabetes (T2D). However, associations between IR and hematological parameters have never been explored in populations of Benin. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of IR and associated hematological parameters in taxi-motorbike drivers (TMDs) working in Cotonou. A total of 133 participants were analyzed in this cross-sectional study. Complete blood count, including WBC and platelet, as well as fasting plasma glucose and insulin, were performed by standard procedures. IR was assessed using the Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR). Factors associated with IR, their odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were determined by logistic regression analysis. The mean age of the study participants was 39.3 years. The HOMA-IR cut-off (75th percentile) for IR was 5.9. The overall prevalence of IR was 24.1%. IR increased with the increase of exposure duration and WBC levels. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the risk of IR increased significantly with higher total WBC, with adjusted ORs (95% CI) for the second and third tertiles of 3.56 (1.10 - 11.58) and 4.01 (1.21 - 13.31), respectively. Similar patterns of associations were observed in an analysis restricted to non-drinkers, although these estimates lacked statistical significance. BMI > 24.2 kg/m<sup>2</sup> was independently associated with an increased risk of IR (OR = 3.82, 95% CI: 1.33 - 11.03, P = 0.013). In conclusion, the prevalence of IR in TMDs was 24.1%. IR was significantly associated with elevated WBC count and BMI. WBC may serve as a biomarker to identify individuals at the greatest IR risk.展开更多
BACKGROUND: Inflammatory reaction and the increased level of its accompanying active protein play an important role in the occurrence and development of cerebral infarction. C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and white b...BACKGROUND: Inflammatory reaction and the increased level of its accompanying active protein play an important role in the occurrence and development of cerebral infarction. C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and white blood cell, as the monitoring index of inflammatory reaction, are very important in the occurrence and development of acute cerebral infarction. OBJECTIVE: To make a comparison between patients with primary hypertension accompanied with acute cerebral infarction and with simple primary hypertension by observing the changes in plasma C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels as well as white blood cell and differential counts and analyzing their significances. DESIGN : Controlled observation SETTING : Ward Building for VIP, Shenzhen Hospital, Peking University. PARTICIPANTS: Totally 133 patients with primary hypertension were selected from Ward Building for VIP, Shenzhen Hospital, Peking University during September 2003 to September 2005, The diagnostic criteria were based on the hypertension diagnosis criteria formulated by the 7^th World Health Organization-International Society of Hypertension Guidelines (WHO-ISH) in 1998. The informed consents were obtained from all the participants. The involved patients were assigned into two groups: primary hypertension group, in which, there were 65 patients with primary hypertension ( degree 2), including 42 males and 23 females, with mean age of (61 ±14)years and mean blood pressure of (162.7±6.8)/(94.2±8.4) mm Hg (1 mm Hg =0.133 kPa), and primary hypertension combined with cerebral infarction group, in which, there were 68 patients with primary hypertension combined with cerebral infarction ( meeting the diagnostic criteria formulated in the 4^th National Cerebrovascular Diseases Meeting in 1995 and diagnosed by skull CT or MRI to exclude the patients with lacunar infarction), including 42 males and 26 females, with mean age of (56±15) years and mean blood pressure of (176.4±9.2)/(96.3±9.7) mm Hg. METHODS: Plasm C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels, and white blood cell and differential counts of patients in the two groups were examined 24 hours after stroke. The above indexes were re-examined in the primary hypertension combined with cerebral infarction group 72 hours after stroke. White blood cell and differential counts were performed with laser method (East Asia FE-95001 RAM-1, Japan). The level of C-reactive protein was measured with turbidimetry (BNII Automatic Systems For Analysis, USA). The level of fibrinogen was measured with algorithm method when prothrombin time was normal and with Clauss method when prothrombin time was abnormal (ACL Automatic Coagulation Analyzer, USA). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The plasm C-reactive protein and flbrinogen levels, and white blood cell and differential counts 24 hours after stroke in two groups and 72 hours after stroke in primary hypertension combined with cerebral infarction group. RESULTS: All the 133 involved patients participated in the result analysis. The plasm C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels, and white blood cell and neutrophil counts in patients with primary hypertension were all within the normal range. The plasm C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels, and white blood cell and neu- trophil counts in patients with primary hypertension combined with cerebral infarction were significantly higher than those in patients with primary hypertension 24 hours after stroke and 72 hours after stroke respectively[24 hours after stroke:(32.12±11.76) mg/L vs. (5.02±3.21 ) mg/L;(4.64±0.75) g/L vs. (3.12±0.49) g/L; (9.32±81)×10^9 L^- 1 vs. (5.78±1.32)×10^9L^- 1 (7.85±2.38)×10^9 L^- 1 vs.(3.49±1.28)×10^9 L^-1,t =7.094, 5.759,4.106,5.491, respectively,all P〈 0.01; 72 hours after stroke: (47.62±18.43) mg/L vs. (32.12±11.76) mg/L; (5.08±0.82) g/L vs. (4.64±0.75) g/L, t =2.864,2.220, respectively, both P 〈 0.05]. CONCLUSION: The increase in fibrinogen level and white blood cell count are the important index in monitoring primary hypertension combined with acute cerebral infarction. The increase in plasm C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels 72 hours after stroke indicates that plasma C-reactive protein and fibrinogen are very important in the development of disease.展开更多
AIM: To determine if gene-specific DNA methylation in prospectively collected blood samples is associated with later development of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).METHODS: Comparing genome-wide DNA methylation profiles...AIM: To determine if gene-specific DNA methylation in prospectively collected blood samples is associated with later development of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).METHODS: Comparing genome-wide DNA methylation profiles using Illumina Human methylation 450 K arrays, we previously identified a list of loci that were differentially methylated between tumor and adjacent nontumor tissues. To examine if dysregulation of DNAmethylation patterns observed in tumor tissues can be detected in white blood cell(WBC) DNA, we conducted a prospective case-control study nested within a community-based cancer screening cohort in Taiwan with 16 years of follow up. We measured methylation levels in ninety-six loci that were aberrant in DNA methylation in HCC tumor tissues compared to adjacent tissues. Baseline WBC DNA from 159 HCC cases and 312 matched controls were bisulfite treated and assayed by Illumina Bead Array. We used the χ2 test for categorical variables and student's t-test for continuous variables to assess the difference in selected characteristics between cases and controls. To estimate associations with HCC risk, we used conditional logistic regression models stratified on the matching factors to calculate odds ratios(OR) and 95%CI. RESULTS: We found that high methylation level in cg10272601 in WNK2 was associated with increased risk of HCC, with an OR of 1.91(95%CI: 1.27-2.86). High methylation levels in both cg12680131 in TPO and cg22511877 in MYT1 L, however, were associated with decreased risk. The ORs(95%CI) were 0.59(0.39-0.87) and 0.50(0.33-0.77), respectively, for those with methylation levels of cg12680131 and cg22511877 above the median compared with those with levels below the median. These associations were still statistically significant in multivariable conditional logistic regression models after adjusting for hepatitis B virus infection and alcohol consumption. CONCLUSION: These findings support the measurement of methylation markers in WBC DNA as biomarkers of HCC susceptibility but should be replicated in additional prospective studies.展开更多
Objective To detect the serum granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) levels betweenthe patients with frequently repeated infection ( repeaters) and others (non-repeaters) in different phase of infection.Methods...Objective To detect the serum granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) levels betweenthe patients with frequently repeated infection ( repeaters) and others (non-repeaters) in different phase of infection.Methods An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to detect serum G-CSF levels in 50cases (32 non-repeaters and 18 repeaters) with acute phase of infection. Serum G-CSF levels were detected inrecovery phase in 10 cases. Results Serum G-CSF levels were significantly higher (1429. 97 ±506. 43ng/L) in32 non-repeaters with acute infection. There was a positive correlation between white blood cell count ( WBC) andserum G-CSF level (r =0. 396, P <0. 05). There was also a positive correlation between absolute neutrophil count(ANC) and serum G-CSF level (r =0. 346,P <0. 05). Serum G-CSF levels were higher (98. 62 ±56. 40ng/L) in18 repeaters with acute infection. It was showed that serum G-CSF levels were significantly higher in non-repeatersthan in repeaters with acute phase of infection (P <0. 001). In the meanwhile, the body temperature was signifi-cantly higher in non-repeaters than in repeaters with acute infection (37. 95 ±0. 14 vs 36. 91 ±0. 13 ,P<0. 001). There were no significant differences in age, WBC, ANC, type of bacterial, liver function and renal func-tion (P >0. 05). Serum G-CSF levels in recovery phase of the two groups were below the sensitivity of the assay( <60 ng/L). Conclusion It is suggested that application of recombinant G-CSF may be useful for the patientswith repeated infection.展开更多
An abnormality that develops in white blood cells is called leukemia.The diagnosis of leukemia is made possible by microscopic investigation of the smear in the periphery.Prior training is necessary to complete the mo...An abnormality that develops in white blood cells is called leukemia.The diagnosis of leukemia is made possible by microscopic investigation of the smear in the periphery.Prior training is necessary to complete the morphological examination of the blood smear for leukemia diagnosis.This paper proposes a Histogram Threshold Segmentation Classifier(HTsC)for a decision support system.The proposed HTsC is evaluated based on the color and brightness variation in the dataset of blood smear images.Arithmetic operations are used to crop the nucleus based on automated approximation.White Blood Cell(WBC)segmentation is calculated using the active contour model to determine the contrast between image regions using the color transfer approach.Through entropy-adaptive mask generation,WBCs accurately detect the circularity region for identification of the nucleus.The proposed HTsC addressed the cytoplasm region based on variations in size and shape concerning addition and rotation operations.Variation in WBC imaging characteristics depends on the cytoplasmic and nuclear regions.The computation of the variation between image features in the cytoplasm and nuclei regions of the WBCs is used to classify blood smear images.The classification of the blood smear is performed with conventional machine-learning techniques integrated with the features of the deep-learning regression classifier.The designed HTsC classifier comprises the binary classifier with the classification of the lymphocytes,monocytes,neutrophils,eosinophils,and abnormalities in the WBCs.The proposed HTsC identifies the abnormal activity in the WBC,considering the color and shape features.It exhibits a higher classification accuracy value of 99.6%when combined with the other classifiers.The comparative analysis expressed that the proposed HTsC model exhibits an overall accuracy value of 98%,which is approximately 3%–12%higher than the conventional technique.展开更多
文摘The study of the morphology of White Blood Cells (WBCs) further contributes to the clinical diagnosis of blood diseases. In this research paper, we come up with an image segmentation enhancement by combining Fourier Fast Transform on smear blood capture and classical thresholding. The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is a very powerful tool in image processing and it was used to segment and extract the WBCs. Our image processing method uses a Fast Fourier Transform combined with filtering and an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform for the extraction and visualization of the high frequency region of the image. In order to remove residual Red Blood Cells acting as noise in the expected result, a final thresholding step is added at the end of the processing. The results presented in this article report the tests performed using our mathematical implementation. Moreover, we were able to detect and differentiate the sub-families of WBCs.
基金The Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR)at King Abdulaziz University (KAU),Jeddah,Saudi Arabia has funded this project,under Grant No.KEP-1–120–42.
文摘White blood cells (WBC) or leukocytes are a vital component ofthe blood which forms the immune system, which is accountable to fightforeign elements. The WBC images can be exposed to different data analysisapproaches which categorize different kinds of WBC. Conventionally, laboratorytests are carried out to determine the kind of WBC which is erroneousand time consuming. Recently, deep learning (DL) models can be employedfor automated investigation of WBC images in short duration. Therefore,this paper introduces an Aquila Optimizer with Transfer Learning basedAutomated White Blood Cells Classification (AOTL-WBCC) technique. Thepresented AOTL-WBCC model executes data normalization and data augmentationprocess (rotation and zooming) at the initial stage. In addition,the residual network (ResNet) approach was used for feature extraction inwhich the initial hyperparameter values of the ResNet model are tuned by theuse of AO algorithm. Finally, Bayesian neural network (BNN) classificationtechnique has been implied for the identification of WBC images into distinctclasses. The experimental validation of the AOTL-WBCC methodology isperformed with the help of Kaggle dataset. The experimental results foundthat the AOTL-WBCC model has outperformed other techniques which arebased on image processing and manual feature engineering approaches underdifferent dimensions.
文摘Some human diseases are recognized through of each type of White Blood Cell(WBC)count,so detecting and classifying each type is important for human healthcare.The main aim of this paper is to propose a computer-aided WBCs utility analysis tool designed,developed,and evaluated to classify WBCs into five types namely neutrophils,eosinophils,lymphocytes,monocytes,and basophils.Using a computer-artificial model reduces resource and time consumption.Various pre-trained deep learning models have been used to extract features,including AlexNet,Visual Geometry Group(VGG),Residual Network(ResNet),which belong to different taxonomy types of deep learning architectures.Also,Binary Border Collie Optimization(BBCO)is introduced as an updated version of Border Collie Optimization(BCO)for feature reduction based on maximizing classification accuracy.The proposed computer aid diagnosis tool merges transfer deep learning ResNet101,BBCO feature reduction,and Support Vector Machine(SVM)classifier to forma hybridmodelResNet101-BBCO-SVM an accurate and fast model for classifying WBCs.As a result,the ResNet101-BBCO-SVM scores the best accuracy at 99.21%,compared to recent studies in the benchmark.The model showed that the addition of the BBCO algorithm increased the detection accuracy,and at the same time,decreased the classification time consumption.The effectiveness of the ResNet101-BBCO-SVM model has been demonstrated and beaten in reasonable ratios in recent literary studies and end-to-end transfer learning of pre-trained models.
基金This research project was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research,Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University,KSA,Project Grant No.2021/01/18613.
文摘White blood cells(WBC)are immune system cells,which is why they are also known as immune cells.They protect the human body from a variety of dangerous diseases and outside invaders.The majority of WBCs come from red bone marrow,although some come from other important organs in the body.Because manual diagnosis of blood disorders is difficult,it is necessary to design a computerized technique.Researchers have introduced various automated strategies in recent years,but they still face several obstacles,such as imbalanced datasets,incorrect feature selection,and incorrect deep model selection.We proposed an automated deep learning approach for classifying white blood disorders in this paper.The data augmentation approach is initially used to increase the size of a dataset.Then,a Darknet-53 pre-trained deep learning model is used and finetuned according to the nature of the chosen dataset.On the fine-tuned model,transfer learning is used,and features engineering is done on the global average pooling layer.The retrieved characteristics are subsequently improved with a specified number of iterations using a hybrid reformed binary grey wolf optimization technique.Following that,machine learning classifiers are used to classify the selected best features for final classification.The experiment was carried out using a dataset of increased blood diseases imaging and resulted in an improved accuracy of over 99%.
文摘Selection of proper reference genes (RGs) is an essential step needed for accurate normalization of results from genomic studies. Expression of RGs is regulated by many factors such as species, age, gender, type of tissue, the presence of disease, and the administration of therapeutic treatment. The aim of the present study was to identify optimal RGs in a set of blood samples collected at different time points (0, 24, 48, 72 h) from horses following administration of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT). The mRNA expression of twelve RGs: HPRT1, ACTB, HSP90A, SDHA, GUSB, B2M, UBC, NONO, TBP, H6PD, RPL32, GAPDH was determined using real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). An SAS program developed on the algorithm of geNorm, SASqPCR, was used to determine stability of the expression and the number of optimal RGs. The results showed that the range of quantification cycle (Cq) values of the evaluated genes varied between 17 and 26 cycles, and that one optimal RG, ACTB, was sufficient for normalization of gene expression. Results of stability of expression demonstrated that ACTB was the optimal choice for all the samples studied. Notably, in samples collected at 72 h post ESWT, TBP showed a significant change in the expression level, and was not suitable for use as a RG. These results substantiate the importance of validating and selecting an appropriate RG.
文摘This study investigated some immune system related parameters among post-menopausal women in Elele, River state, Nigeria. Forty-two individuals participated in this study and forty control subjects were established as well. Blood was collected from the participants, and CD4 cells and total white blood cells count were analyzed using standard procedures. Result showed that test subjects and control values were 5.46 ± 1.64 × 109/L and 7.24 ± 1.47 × 109/L, respectively for total white blood cell and 1265.19 ± 458.56 cells/μl and 2159.53 ± 400.02 cells/μl respectively, for CD4 cells. There was significant difference (P < 0.001) among the test subject and control for both parameters. The results in the test subjects for both parameters were significantly lower compared to the control. The decline in immune system related parameters among the test subjects may predispose them at risk of multiple infections and other associated health conditions.
文摘The efficacy of chemotherapy is thought to be direct killing of tumor cells, but documented studies have been shown that immunity plays a role in its effectiveness. In a pilot study to observe the bone marrow suppression and regeneration in tumor bearing mice induced by single dose injection of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), we unexpectedly found that tumors grew fast as bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMC) and peripheral white blood cells (PWBC) were decreased quickly during myelosuppression meanwhile significantly slow as repopulating of BMC and PWBC during bone marrow regeneration after 5-FU treatment, no matter whether in low or high dose administration, but the higher the dose was, the lower of the nadir of BMC and PWBC were reached to, as well as the much more powerful duration and strength of the repopulated BMC and PWBC, suggested that the immunity might be a predominant drive in 5-FU chemotherapy. Due to the fact that BMC is the source of PWBC which is its final maturational and functional form, it could be proposed that the anti-proliferative effect of 5-FU on tumor is highly associated with the renewal of PWBC.
基金This study was supported by the Bayerisches Staatsmin-isterium für Landwirtschaft und Forsten,L/a-7606.2-494.
文摘Proanthocyanidins and flavanoids, both subfamilies of the polyphenols, are highly concentrated in different fruits and berries as well as in fruit pomace. They have shown to exhibit anti-cancer, anti-microbial, anti-oxidative, and im- mune-modulatory effects in vertebrates. Herein the effect of additional apple pomace or red-grape pomace in conven- tional piglet starter feeds were investigated in 36 young growing piglets. Immunological marker gene expression was quantified by quantitative real-time RT-PCR in white blood cells, and intestinal bacterial flora was investigated from weaning to three weeks post weaning. Polyphenol content in red-grape pomace, gut content and tissues were analyzed with HPLC. Flavan-3-ols (epicatechin and catechin) and proanthocyanidins (B1, B2 and C1) were identified in the gas- tro-intestinal tract content, whereas only traces could be detected in various piglet organs. The blood parameters, he- moglobin and hematocrit, were affected and down-regulated in all groups over testing period. In both pomace treated groups more thrombocytes were present compared to the standard feeding group. It turns out, that the pomace diets had greatest impact on the bacterial content in the colon. Results demonstrate that feeding apple pomace and red- grape pomace tended to increase the number of total colonic bacteria. Steptococci/Enterococci increased in the red- grape pomace. C. perfringens was not detectable at the second time point. The number of lactobacilli increased in both applied diets. The number of Clostridium perfringens decreased with the age of the piglets. Trends of mRNA expression changes were found in white blood cell (WBC) between different feeding regimens, since the expression variability in the groups was very high. Between the different time points there were significant differences within the apple pomace group, where TNF? (p = 0.033), NF?B (p = 0.024) and Caspase 3 (p = 0.019) mRNA expression increased signifi- cantly during treatment. We conclude that both polyphenol rich feedings have the potential to positively influence the intestinal flora, blood parameters, and WBC mRNA gene expression pattern of immunological marker genes.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30700183)the Doctoral Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (20070294001)+1 种基金the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University(NCET-10-0327)the Chinese Universities Scientific Foundation (2009B21014)~~
文摘A new method for the white blood cell (WBC) detection is presented based on the relevance vector machine (RVM). Firstly,the sparse relevance vectors (RVs) are obtained while fitting the 1-D histogram by RVM. Then,the needed threshold value is directly selected from these limited RVs. Finally,the entire connective WBC regions are segmented from the original image. The method is used for the WBC detection. It reduces the interference induced by the illumination and the staining. It has advantages of the high computation efficiency and the no extra parameter setting. Experimental results demonstrate good performances of the method.
基金We are very grateful to the patients and doctors who participated in the study and for the help and co-operation of the clinic staff. This work was supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China to Dr. FAN XH (No. 81570430).
文摘Objectives Inflammation has been shown to be related with acute aortic dissection (AAD). The present study aimed to evaluate the association of white blood cell counts (WI3Cc) on admission with both in-hospital and long-term all-cause mortality in patients with uncom- plicated Stanford type B AAD. Methods From 2008 to 2010, a total of 377 consecutive patients with uncomplicated type B AAD were enrolled and then followed up. Clinical data and WBCc on admission were collected. The primary end points were in-hospital death and long-term all-cause death. Results The in-hospital death rate was 4.2%, and the long-term all-cause mortality rate was 6.9% during a median follow-up of 18.9 months. WBCc on admission was identified as a risk factor for in-hospital death by univariate Cox regression analysis as both a continuous variable and a categorical variable using a cut off of 11.0 × 109 cell/L (all P 〈 0.05). After adjusting for age, sex and other risk factors, elevated admission WBCc was still a significant predictor for in-hospital death as both a continuous variable [hazard ratio (HR): 1.052, 95% CI: 1.024-1.336, P = 0.002] and a categorical variable using a cut off of 11.0 × 109 cell/L (HR: 2.056, 95% CI: 1.673-5.253, P = 0.034). No relationship was observed between WBCc on admission and long-term all-cause death. Conclusions Our results indicate that elevated WBCc upon admission might be used as a predictor for increased risk of in-hospital death in uncomplicated type B AAD. There might be no predictive value of WBCc for the long-term survival of type B AAD.
文摘Background and Objective The white blood cell count to mean platelet volume ratio(WMR)has recently been described as a predictor of cardiovascular events in patients who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI).The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of admission WMR in predicting outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome(ACS).
文摘The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls white blood cell (WBC) subsets;therefore, the status of ANS can be assessed by assaying WBCs. However, this requires invasive blood sampling, time, cost, and training. Therefore, this study focused on a traditional technique, tongue inspection, which is a simpler method. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is an association between the traditional method of tongue inspection and clinical assay of WBC subsets. Twenty-one female alopecia areata patients were divided into two age-matched groups: 1) alopecia areata totalis (AT);and 2) alopecia areata multiplex (AM). Images of patient tongues were captured by a digital camera and categorized before blood sampling. Finally, patients were divided into five groups (normal, Yin+, Yang–, Yin– and Yang+) based on the Eight Principles of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Concurrently, venous blood was obtained for WBC subsets. The absolute numbers of WBCs and granulocytes of the AT group were higher than those of the AM group. The AT group was Yin+ but not Yang+, whereas the AM group was Yang+ but not Yin+. Thus, the AT group showed more elements of “cold” (Yin > Yang) compared with the AM group with elements of “hot” (Yin < Yang). Tongue inspection suggested a possibility of consistence with those of WBCs although statistical significance was not obtained. Moreover, some Yin+ and Yang+ subjects showed some trend in similarities between tongue inspection and WBC subsets although this was not statistically significant. Therefore, traditional techniques (such as tongue inspection) acupuncture must be studied further to detect whether subtle effects are induced by acupuncture treatment. As this study is underpowered, a larger scale study including males is required in the future.
文摘High white blood cell count (WBC) and insulin resistance (IR) are interrelated events that contribute to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including type-2 diabetes (T2D). However, associations between IR and hematological parameters have never been explored in populations of Benin. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of IR and associated hematological parameters in taxi-motorbike drivers (TMDs) working in Cotonou. A total of 133 participants were analyzed in this cross-sectional study. Complete blood count, including WBC and platelet, as well as fasting plasma glucose and insulin, were performed by standard procedures. IR was assessed using the Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR). Factors associated with IR, their odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were determined by logistic regression analysis. The mean age of the study participants was 39.3 years. The HOMA-IR cut-off (75th percentile) for IR was 5.9. The overall prevalence of IR was 24.1%. IR increased with the increase of exposure duration and WBC levels. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the risk of IR increased significantly with higher total WBC, with adjusted ORs (95% CI) for the second and third tertiles of 3.56 (1.10 - 11.58) and 4.01 (1.21 - 13.31), respectively. Similar patterns of associations were observed in an analysis restricted to non-drinkers, although these estimates lacked statistical significance. BMI > 24.2 kg/m<sup>2</sup> was independently associated with an increased risk of IR (OR = 3.82, 95% CI: 1.33 - 11.03, P = 0.013). In conclusion, the prevalence of IR in TMDs was 24.1%. IR was significantly associated with elevated WBC count and BMI. WBC may serve as a biomarker to identify individuals at the greatest IR risk.
文摘BACKGROUND: Inflammatory reaction and the increased level of its accompanying active protein play an important role in the occurrence and development of cerebral infarction. C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and white blood cell, as the monitoring index of inflammatory reaction, are very important in the occurrence and development of acute cerebral infarction. OBJECTIVE: To make a comparison between patients with primary hypertension accompanied with acute cerebral infarction and with simple primary hypertension by observing the changes in plasma C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels as well as white blood cell and differential counts and analyzing their significances. DESIGN : Controlled observation SETTING : Ward Building for VIP, Shenzhen Hospital, Peking University. PARTICIPANTS: Totally 133 patients with primary hypertension were selected from Ward Building for VIP, Shenzhen Hospital, Peking University during September 2003 to September 2005, The diagnostic criteria were based on the hypertension diagnosis criteria formulated by the 7^th World Health Organization-International Society of Hypertension Guidelines (WHO-ISH) in 1998. The informed consents were obtained from all the participants. The involved patients were assigned into two groups: primary hypertension group, in which, there were 65 patients with primary hypertension ( degree 2), including 42 males and 23 females, with mean age of (61 ±14)years and mean blood pressure of (162.7±6.8)/(94.2±8.4) mm Hg (1 mm Hg =0.133 kPa), and primary hypertension combined with cerebral infarction group, in which, there were 68 patients with primary hypertension combined with cerebral infarction ( meeting the diagnostic criteria formulated in the 4^th National Cerebrovascular Diseases Meeting in 1995 and diagnosed by skull CT or MRI to exclude the patients with lacunar infarction), including 42 males and 26 females, with mean age of (56±15) years and mean blood pressure of (176.4±9.2)/(96.3±9.7) mm Hg. METHODS: Plasm C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels, and white blood cell and differential counts of patients in the two groups were examined 24 hours after stroke. The above indexes were re-examined in the primary hypertension combined with cerebral infarction group 72 hours after stroke. White blood cell and differential counts were performed with laser method (East Asia FE-95001 RAM-1, Japan). The level of C-reactive protein was measured with turbidimetry (BNII Automatic Systems For Analysis, USA). The level of fibrinogen was measured with algorithm method when prothrombin time was normal and with Clauss method when prothrombin time was abnormal (ACL Automatic Coagulation Analyzer, USA). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The plasm C-reactive protein and flbrinogen levels, and white blood cell and differential counts 24 hours after stroke in two groups and 72 hours after stroke in primary hypertension combined with cerebral infarction group. RESULTS: All the 133 involved patients participated in the result analysis. The plasm C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels, and white blood cell and neutrophil counts in patients with primary hypertension were all within the normal range. The plasm C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels, and white blood cell and neu- trophil counts in patients with primary hypertension combined with cerebral infarction were significantly higher than those in patients with primary hypertension 24 hours after stroke and 72 hours after stroke respectively[24 hours after stroke:(32.12±11.76) mg/L vs. (5.02±3.21 ) mg/L;(4.64±0.75) g/L vs. (3.12±0.49) g/L; (9.32±81)×10^9 L^- 1 vs. (5.78±1.32)×10^9L^- 1 (7.85±2.38)×10^9 L^- 1 vs.(3.49±1.28)×10^9 L^-1,t =7.094, 5.759,4.106,5.491, respectively,all P〈 0.01; 72 hours after stroke: (47.62±18.43) mg/L vs. (32.12±11.76) mg/L; (5.08±0.82) g/L vs. (4.64±0.75) g/L, t =2.864,2.220, respectively, both P 〈 0.05]. CONCLUSION: The increase in fibrinogen level and white blood cell count are the important index in monitoring primary hypertension combined with acute cerebral infarction. The increase in plasm C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels 72 hours after stroke indicates that plasma C-reactive protein and fibrinogen are very important in the development of disease.
基金Supported by National Institutes of Health grants,RO1ES005116(Santella RM)and P30ES009089(Santella RM)
文摘AIM: To determine if gene-specific DNA methylation in prospectively collected blood samples is associated with later development of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).METHODS: Comparing genome-wide DNA methylation profiles using Illumina Human methylation 450 K arrays, we previously identified a list of loci that were differentially methylated between tumor and adjacent nontumor tissues. To examine if dysregulation of DNAmethylation patterns observed in tumor tissues can be detected in white blood cell(WBC) DNA, we conducted a prospective case-control study nested within a community-based cancer screening cohort in Taiwan with 16 years of follow up. We measured methylation levels in ninety-six loci that were aberrant in DNA methylation in HCC tumor tissues compared to adjacent tissues. Baseline WBC DNA from 159 HCC cases and 312 matched controls were bisulfite treated and assayed by Illumina Bead Array. We used the χ2 test for categorical variables and student's t-test for continuous variables to assess the difference in selected characteristics between cases and controls. To estimate associations with HCC risk, we used conditional logistic regression models stratified on the matching factors to calculate odds ratios(OR) and 95%CI. RESULTS: We found that high methylation level in cg10272601 in WNK2 was associated with increased risk of HCC, with an OR of 1.91(95%CI: 1.27-2.86). High methylation levels in both cg12680131 in TPO and cg22511877 in MYT1 L, however, were associated with decreased risk. The ORs(95%CI) were 0.59(0.39-0.87) and 0.50(0.33-0.77), respectively, for those with methylation levels of cg12680131 and cg22511877 above the median compared with those with levels below the median. These associations were still statistically significant in multivariable conditional logistic regression models after adjusting for hepatitis B virus infection and alcohol consumption. CONCLUSION: These findings support the measurement of methylation markers in WBC DNA as biomarkers of HCC susceptibility but should be replicated in additional prospective studies.
文摘Objective To detect the serum granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) levels betweenthe patients with frequently repeated infection ( repeaters) and others (non-repeaters) in different phase of infection.Methods An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to detect serum G-CSF levels in 50cases (32 non-repeaters and 18 repeaters) with acute phase of infection. Serum G-CSF levels were detected inrecovery phase in 10 cases. Results Serum G-CSF levels were significantly higher (1429. 97 ±506. 43ng/L) in32 non-repeaters with acute infection. There was a positive correlation between white blood cell count ( WBC) andserum G-CSF level (r =0. 396, P <0. 05). There was also a positive correlation between absolute neutrophil count(ANC) and serum G-CSF level (r =0. 346,P <0. 05). Serum G-CSF levels were higher (98. 62 ±56. 40ng/L) in18 repeaters with acute infection. It was showed that serum G-CSF levels were significantly higher in non-repeatersthan in repeaters with acute phase of infection (P <0. 001). In the meanwhile, the body temperature was signifi-cantly higher in non-repeaters than in repeaters with acute infection (37. 95 ±0. 14 vs 36. 91 ±0. 13 ,P<0. 001). There were no significant differences in age, WBC, ANC, type of bacterial, liver function and renal func-tion (P >0. 05). Serum G-CSF levels in recovery phase of the two groups were below the sensitivity of the assay( <60 ng/L). Conclusion It is suggested that application of recombinant G-CSF may be useful for the patientswith repeated infection.
基金This research is funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Umm Al-Qura University,Grant Code:22UQU4281768DSR01.
文摘An abnormality that develops in white blood cells is called leukemia.The diagnosis of leukemia is made possible by microscopic investigation of the smear in the periphery.Prior training is necessary to complete the morphological examination of the blood smear for leukemia diagnosis.This paper proposes a Histogram Threshold Segmentation Classifier(HTsC)for a decision support system.The proposed HTsC is evaluated based on the color and brightness variation in the dataset of blood smear images.Arithmetic operations are used to crop the nucleus based on automated approximation.White Blood Cell(WBC)segmentation is calculated using the active contour model to determine the contrast between image regions using the color transfer approach.Through entropy-adaptive mask generation,WBCs accurately detect the circularity region for identification of the nucleus.The proposed HTsC addressed the cytoplasm region based on variations in size and shape concerning addition and rotation operations.Variation in WBC imaging characteristics depends on the cytoplasmic and nuclear regions.The computation of the variation between image features in the cytoplasm and nuclei regions of the WBCs is used to classify blood smear images.The classification of the blood smear is performed with conventional machine-learning techniques integrated with the features of the deep-learning regression classifier.The designed HTsC classifier comprises the binary classifier with the classification of the lymphocytes,monocytes,neutrophils,eosinophils,and abnormalities in the WBCs.The proposed HTsC identifies the abnormal activity in the WBC,considering the color and shape features.It exhibits a higher classification accuracy value of 99.6%when combined with the other classifiers.The comparative analysis expressed that the proposed HTsC model exhibits an overall accuracy value of 98%,which is approximately 3%–12%higher than the conventional technique.