Transfer Learning Empowered Skin Diseases Detection in Children

Human beings are often affected by a wide range of skin diseases,which can be attributed to genetic factors and environmental influences,such as exposure to sunshine with ultraviolet(UV)rays.If left untreated,these diseases can have severe consequences and spread,especially among children.Early detection is crucial to prevent their spread and improve a patient’s chances of recovery.Dermatology,the branch of medicine dealing with skin diseases,faces challenges in accurately diagnosing these conditions due to the difficulty in identifying and distinguishing between different diseases based on their appearance,type of skin,and others.This study presents a method for detecting skin diseases using Deep Learning(DL),focusing on the most common diseases affecting children in Saudi Arabia due to the high UV value in most of the year,especially in the summer.The method utilizes various Convolutional Neural Network(CNN)architectures to classify skin conditions such as eczema,psoriasis,and ringworm.The proposed method demonstrates high accuracy rates of 99.99%and 97%using famous and effective transfer learning models MobileNet and DenseNet121,respectively.This illustrates the potential of DL in automating the detection of skin diseases and offers a promising approach for early diagnosis and treatment.

Isolation and Identification of the Pathogen Causing Skin Ulcer Disease in Cynoglossus semilaevis Günther and Its Sensitivity to Chinese Herbal Medicine

In this study, the pathogen causing skin ulcer disease in Cynoglossus semilaevis Gunther was isolated for morphological observation, physiological and bio- chemical identification. According to the result, the isolated pathogen was identified as Vibrio harveyi. The results of recurrent infection of C. semilaevis Gonther showed that the pathogen was strongly pathogenic to C. semilaevis Gunther. In or- der to explore the pathogenesis, outer membrane protein （OMP） gene of C. semi- laevis Gunther was detected by PCR. The results showed that all the three repre- sentative strains harbored OMP gene. According to the results of sensitivity test of the pathogen to Chinese herbal medicine, Galla Chinensis, Fructus Mume, Fructus Hippophae and Lignum Sappan exerted strong antibacterial effects against V. harveyr, Pericarpium Granati exhibited slight antibacterial effect against V. harveyi; Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae, Rhizoma Acori GramineL Herba Houttuyniae, Herba Portulacae, Herba Andrographis, Eucalyptus globulus Labill. and Herba Menthae Heplocalycis had little effect on V. harveyi. Galla Chinensis, Fructus Mume, Fructus Hippophae and Lignum Sappan were prepared into three prescriptions, among which prescription 1 （Galla Chinensis ＋ Fructus Mume） exhibited the strongest antibacterial effect.

Antibacterial Activity of Extracts from Zostera marina Against Pathogens of Apostichopus japonicus Skin Ulceration Disease

The purpose of this study was to investigate the antibacterial activity of extracts from Zostera marina against the pathogens of Apostichopus japonicus skin ulceration disease.When 95% ethanol (v/v) solvent was used to extract Zostera marina at 50℃,aqueous extract (ZA) showed obvious bacteriostatic effects on the tested bacterial strains (inhibition halo diameters between 8.23 mm and 13.62 mm),whereas the ethyl acetate extract (ZE) was almost inactive.The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ZA against four pathogens were homogeneous at 12.8 g L-1.ZA components were analyzed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) assay and six fractions were obtained.In another study,the six fractions showed inhibitory effects against the tested bacteria while their functions seemed to counteract the ZA activity.

Deep Learning Based Automated Diagnosis of Skin Diseases Using Dermoscopy

Biomedical image analysis has been exploited considerably by recent technology involvements,carrying about a pattern shift towards‘automation’and‘error free diagnosis’classification methods with markedly improved accurate diagnosis productivity and cost effectiveness.This paper proposes an automated deep learning model to diagnose skin disease at an early stage by using Dermoscopy images.The proposed model has four convolutional layers,two maxpool layers,one fully connected layer and three dense layers.All the convolutional layers are using the kernel size of 3∗3 whereas the maxpool layer is using the kernel size of 2∗2.The dermoscopy images are taken from the HAM10000 dataset.The proposed model is compared with the three different models of ResNet that are ResNet18,ResNet50 and ResNet101.The models are simulated with 32 batch size and Adadelta optimizer.The proposed model has obtained the best accuracy value of 0.96 whereas the ResNet101 model has obtained 0.90,the ResNet50 has obtained 0.89 and the ResNet18 model has obtained value as 0.86.Therefore,features obtained from the proposed model are more capable for improving the classification performance of multiple skin disease classes.This model can be used for early diagnosis of skin disease and can also act as a second opinion tool for dermatologists.

Study on Preventive Effect of Cecropin and Lysozyme on Skin Fester Disease in Trionyx sinensis

[ Objective ] This study was to investigate the preventive effect of cecropin and lysozyme on skin fester disease in Trionyx sinensis. [ Method ] By employing intramuscular injection method, the preventive effect of mixtures of cecropin （10 mg/kg） and lysozyme（ 10 mg/kg） and of cecropin（6 mg/kg） and lysozyme（ 5 mg/kg） were challenged on Aeromonas encheleia-caused skin fester disease in T. sinensis. The mortality and relative percent survival were used evaluate the preventive effect of different drugs. The serum agglutination titer, cytophagocytosis and bactericidal activity were detected to compare the effect of drugs on the immunity and disease resistance of T. sinensis. [ Result] The residue concentrations of gentamicin and lysozyme in serum were compared to evaluate the side effect of drugs used challenged. The results showed that combined use of cecropin and lysozyme gave the best preventive effect and immunity in T. sinensis, with an extremely significant difference from other treatments （ P 〈 0.01 ）. Analysis of drug residue in serum indicated that lysozyme was completely metabolized 6 days after medication, while gentamicin residue was still observed 12 days later. [ Conclusion] The combined application of cecropin and lysozyme showed better preventive effect than antibiotics in fester disease of T. sinensis. Moreover, no drug residue and side effect were observed in the combined use treatment. This method avoids the side effect of antibiotics, worthy of extension at commercial scale.

Association between celiac disease and vitiligo:A review of the literature

Celiac disease(CD)is an autoimmune intestinal disease caused by the intake of gluten-containing cereals and their products by individuals with genetic susceptibility genes.Vitiligo is a commonly acquired depigmentation of the skin;its clinical manifestation are skin patches caused by localized or generalized melanin deficiency.Both diseases have similar global incidence rates(approximately 1%)and are associated to similar diseases,including autoimmune bullous disease,inflammatory bowel disease,autoimmune thyroiditis,autoimmune gastritis,and type 1 diabetes.The relationship between CD and vitiligo has been reported in several studies,but their conclusions are inconsistent.Further,it has also been reported that a gluten-free diet(GFD)can improve the symptoms of immunerelated skin diseases such as vitiligo.In this mini-review,we summarize and review the literature on the relationship between CD and vitiligo,assess the therapeutic significance of GFD for patients with vitiligo,and explore their possible physiopathology.We are hopeful that the information summarized here will assist physicians who treat patients with CD or vitiligo,thereby improving the prognosis.

Skin disease and thyroid autoimmunity in atopic South Italian children

AIM:To verify the prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity(TA) and the possible association between atopy and TA in children affected by skin disease.METHODS:Three hundred and twenty-four children consecutively referred due to skin disease symptoms to our Pediatric Department were enrolled.One hundred and eighty-seven were diagnosed with atopic dermatitis(AD),95 with acute urticaria,40 with chronic urticaria(CU),and 2 with alopecia areata(AA).According to the work-up for atopy,the children were divided into two groups:Atopics and non-atopics.TA was diagnosed by serum thyroid peroxidase autoantibodies and/or thyroglobulin autoantibodies levels more than twice normal values over a period of two months by immunoassay.RESULTS:In all children with skin disease,a significant prevalence of TA in atopies compared with non-atopies(13.67%vs 2.67%,P=0.0016) and a significant association between TA and atopy(OR=5.76,95%CI:1.71-19.35) were observed.These findings were confirmed as significant in children with AD:TA in atopies was 11.5%,while TA in non-atopies was2.7%(P=0.03,OR=4.68,95%CI:1.02-21.38).In addition,atopics with CU showed a significantly higher prevalence of TA(26.9%),but none of the non-atopics showed CU(P=0.0326).On the other hand,atopies with AA showed a 100%(2 out of 2) prevalence of TA,compared with none of the non-atopies.CONCLUSION:In children with skin disease,atopy seems to be associated with an increased risk of TA.

A summary about dendritic cells in skin diseases

Dendritic cellls (DCs) comprise an es se ntial component of the immune system, are crucial in the initiation of antigen s pecific immune responses. In this summary we focus on summarizing on the central role of DCs in skin diseases: Bullous dermatoses, Dermatitis, Psoriasis, Lichen Planus , Graft-versus-host disease, Connect Tissue Diseases, Virus Diseases, Fungi Diseases, HIV, Urticaria, Urticaria pigmentosa, Mastocytosis, Tumour, Sola r dermatoses. Moreover,in this summary we review the distribution and phenotype of DCs in human skin. Markers and phenotyps 's study have provided strong suppo rt for a concept in which DCs play an important role in the pothogenesis of som e skin diseases.

Helicobacter pylori and inflammatory skin diseases

Throughout the history of mankind, infections have been the major cause of diseases. Over the last decades, not only the incidence of emerging infectious diseases have increased, but also tremendous strides have been made in understanding the biology of several pathogenic microorganisms. Helicobacter pylori(H. pylori) is a spiral-shaped, gram-negative bacterium, which infects over the half of the world's population. H. pylori has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a number of gastrointestinal disorders. However, new researches have demonstrated that H. pylori is also involved in the pathogenesis of various extragastric diseases. The difference in the clinical outcome of H. pylori infection may be explained, at least in part, by host response to the infection and H. pylori virulence factors. It is obvious that as developments in the research on H. pylori spring up, an understanding of the pathophysiology of H. pylori infection will continue to be identified. Here in this review, we summarize the current knowledge about H. pylori and its association with inflammatory skin diseases.

Sequence Analysis of Attachment Gene of Lumpy Skin Disease and Sheep Poxviruses

In Egypt,protection of cattle against lumpy skin disease (LSD) was carried out using a sheep poxvirus (Kenyan strain) vaccination strategy.In the present study 15 skin nodules from LSD suspected cows and 5 scab samples from sheep pox (SP) suspected sheep were collected.Hyperimmune rabbit sera to Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV)/Ismailyia88 strain and sheep pox virus (SPV)/ Kenyan vaccinal strain were prepared.The causative agent in the collected samples was identified using immunoflourescence (IF) and immunoperoxidase techniques.Of the 15 skin nodules suspected of LSD,10 showed a positive reaction and 3 out of 5 skin scabs suspected of sheeppox were found to be positive.An antigenic correlation between field skin isolate of LSDV,tissue culture adapted LSDV/Ismailyia88 strain,field skin isolate of SPV and SPV/Kenyan vaccinal strain was studied using prepared hyperimmune sera.Also,nucleotide sequence of the PCR amplified attachment gene fragments of field skin isolate of LSDV,tissue culture adapted LSDV/Ismailyia88 strain,field skin isolate of SPV and SPV /Kenyan vaccinal strain were compared.The results revealed that the four used viruses were antigenically identical.Sequence analysis indicated that field skin LSDV isolate is more related to tissue culture adapted LSDV/Ismailyia88 strain than to vaccinal SPV/ Kenyan strain and the skin isolate of SPV is more closely related to field skin isolate of LSDV than to SPV/Kenyan vaccinal strain.Thus,further study should be applied on the advantage of a LSD vaccine prepared from LSDV in protection of cattle against LSD compared to the commonly used sheep pox vaccine.

Early SkinDiseaseIdentification Using Deep Neural Network

Skin lesions detection and classification is a prominent issue and difficult even for extremely skilled dermatologists and pathologists.Skin disease is the most common disorder triggered by fungus,viruses,bacteria,allergies,etc.Skin diseases are most dangerous and may be the cause of serious damage.Therefore,it requires to diagnose it at an earlier stage,but the diagnosis therapy itself is complex and needs advanced laser and photonic therapy.This advance therapy involvesfinancial burden and some other ill effects.Therefore,it must use artificial intelligence techniques to detect and diagnose it accurately at an earlier stage.Several techniques have been proposed to detect skin disease at an earlier stage but fail to get accuracy.Therefore,the primary goal of this paper is to classify,detect and provide accurate information about skin diseases.This paper deals with the same issue by proposing a high-performance Convolution neural network(CNN)to classify and detect skin disease at an earlier stage.The complete meth-odology is explained in different folds:firstly,the skin diseases images are pre-processed with processing techniques,and secondly,the important feature of the skin images are extracted.Thirdly,the pre-processed images are analyzed at different stages using a Deep Convolution Neural Network(DCNN).The approach proposed in this paper is simple,fast,and shows accurate results up to 98%and used to detect six different disease types.

Fecal microbiota transplant and dermatologic disorders:A retrospective cohort study assessing the gut microbiome’s role in skin disease

BACKGROUND There is indication that fecal microbiota transplant(FMT)has the potential to alter the course of chronic skin disease,but few studies have investigated this phenomenon beyond case reports.Research with larger sample sizes is needed to provide a more thorough assessment of possible associations and to establish a broader foundation upon which to base hypotheses.AIM To identify associations between FMT and skin conditions,particularly infectious and inflammatory etiologies,and the role of dermatology post-FMT.METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study involving a chart review of all patients whom received FMT between January 2013 and December 2019 at a single academic medical center.Dermatologic follow-up was assessed for the two years after FMT or through March 2020 for more recent procedures.Dermatologic diagnoses and visits within the study time frame were recorded and assessed for trends.This study was exploratory in nature.Descriptive statistics were calculated,and the t-test,Pearson’s chi-squared test,and Fisher’s exact test were used to calculate P values.RESULTS Median age was 38(range,17-90).In total,109 patients who underwent 111 fecal microbiota transplant events were included.Twenty-six events(23.4%)involved a dermatology office visit post-procedure,and of these events,20 out of the 26(76.9%)had an infectious or inflammatory skin condition.The mean time to first visit was 10.0(±7.0)mo.The most common diagnoses were dermatophyte,wart(s),and dermatitis,though no specific diagnoses predominated in a way indicating FMT had a significant impact.More patients with a post-FMT skin disease diagnosis had a history of Crohn’s disease compared to those without(P=0.022),but results could be affected by a small sample size.CONCLUSION Our study is limited by its retrospective nature,but the findings allow a glimpse at dermatologic conditions post-FMT.Few significant associations were found,but potential associations between FMT and skin disease should be further investigated,preferably in prospective studies,to identify how FMT might be of use for treating infectious and inflammatory skin diseases.

Ethnomedicinal plants used in the treatment of skin diseases in Hyderabad Karnataka region,Karnataka,India

Objective:To document traditional medicinal plants knowledge used in treating skin diseases at Hyderabad Karnataka Region.Methods:The information on the use of medicinal plants in the treatment of skin diseases was gathered from traditional herbal healers and other villagers through interviews.Results:A total of 60 plants species belonging to 57 genera and 34 families were found useful and herewith described them along with the method of drug preparation,mode of administration,probable dosage and duration of treatment.Several new findings on the traditional rural practices were reported.Conclusions:The present study revealed that the Hyderabad Kamataka rural people is primarily dependent on medicinal plants for treating skin diseases.

Opportunities and Challenges:Classification of Skin Disease Based on Deep Learning

Deep learning has become an extremely popular method in recent years,and can be a powerful tool in complex,prior-knowledge-required areas,especially in the field of biomedicine,which is now facing the problem of inadequate medical resources.The application of deep learning in disease diagnosis has become a new research topic in derma-tology.This paper aims to provide a quick review of the classification of skin disease using deep learning to summa-rize the characteristics of skin lesions and the status of image technology.We study the characteristics of skin disease and review the research on skin disease classification using deep learning.We analyze these studies using datasets,data processing,classification models,and evaluation criteria.We summarize the development of this field,illustrate the key steps and influencing factors of dermatological diagnosis,and identify the challenges and opportunities at this stage.Our research confirms that a skin disease recognition method based on deep learning can be superior to professional dermatologists in specific scenarios and has broad research prospects.

Androgens/Androgen Receptor in the Management of Skin Diseases

Beyond regulation of male sexual function, the increasing evidence shows that androgens and androgen receptor (AR) have a variety of physiological and pathological effects on the skin. Skin cells express all androgen metabolizing enzymes that are required for independent skin androgen synthesis and the development of hyperandrogenic related disorders such as acne, hirsutism and androgenetic alopecia. Targeting various elements of androgen function and metabolism is the major goal of medication design for the treatment of androgen-related diseases. Antiandrogen drugs such as clascoterone, flutamide could improve conditions. Even though the involvement of androgens and AR in skin diseases has been investigated for a long time, their molecular mechanisms in skin disorders remain largely insufficient. In this review, recent studies and advances on the role of androgens/AR in several skin-related diseases and their therapeutics are systematically summarized.

Epidemiological Study and Optimal Control for Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) in Ethiopia

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is an infectious, fatal skin disease of cattle caused by a virus of the family Poxviridae (genus Capripox). In addition, severely affected animals suffer from reduced weight, cessation of milk production and infertility. The aim of this paper is to computationally apply epidemiological (SEIR) and optimal control (OC) techniques to study the transmission and the impact of vaccination on LSD. Based on our numerical experiments, we were able to deduce the overall impact of the optimal strategy adopted for this study on the cattle population for vaccination rates within the range of 0 ≤ v ≤ 0.85. It is shown that the vaccination as a control strategy significantly reduced the effects of LSD on the cattle population if properly managed and that an optimal performance of the control strategy adopted hererin is achieved at an approximate value of v = 0.6.

A physically active lifestyle is related to a lower level of skin autofluorescence in a large population with chronic-disease(LifeLines cohort)

Background:Physical activity(PA)has substantial health benefits and is important in combatting chronic diseases,which have been associated with elevated levels of advanced glycation endproducts(AGEs).AGEs play a role in the aging process,and an association between PA and AGEs has been reported.We aimed to investigate the relationship between PA and AGE accumulation in a general population and in a population with chronic diseases.Methods:This large cross-sectional population study used data from adult participants in the LifeLines project,with participant information drawn from the LifeLines database as well data from patients with diabetes mellitus or renal and/or cardiovascular diseases.Tissue AGE accumulation was assessed non-invasively by skin-autofluorescence(SAF)using an AGE reader(DiagnOptics Technologies BV,Groningen,the Netherlands).PA was assessed using the short questionnaire to assess health-enhancing physical activity(SQUASH).Multivariate linear regression analyses were adjusted for age,body mass index,sex,and smoking status.Results:Data from 63,452 participants(general population n=59,177,chronic disease n=4275)were analyzed.The general population was significantly younger(43.58±11.77 years,mean±SD)and had significantly lower SAF(1.90±0.42 arbitrary units(AU))compared to the population with chronic disease(age:55.51±12.07 years;SAF:2.27±0.51 AU).In the group with chronic disease,more hours of moderate to vigorous physical activities per week were associated with lower SAF(β=-0.002,95%confidence interval(95%CI):-0.002 to-0.001).For the general population,there was no association between hours of moderate to vigorous activity and SAF(β=3.2×10^(-5),95%CI:0.000-0.001,p=0.742).However,there was an association in the general population between total hours of PA per week and SAF(β=4.2×10^(-4),95%CI:0.000-0.001,p<0.001),but this association was not found in the chronic disease population(β=-3.2×10^(-4),95%CI:-0.001 to 0.000,p=0.347).Conclusion:Our study demonstrates that an inverse relationship exists between PA and AGE accumulation in the population with chronic disease.More hours of moderate to vigorous activity is associated a significantly decreased SAF.More PA is associated a lower SAF,even after for the established predictors(age,body mass index,smoking status,and sex).Our findings could help to promote health and prolong longevity.

Knowledge explosion for monogenic skin diseases

During the past few decades, the investigative technologies of molecular biology- especially sequencing-underwent huge advances, leading to the sequencing of the entire human genome, as well as the identification of several candidate genes and the causative geneticvariations that are responsible for monogenic skin diseases. These advances provided a solid basis for subsequent studies elucidating mechanisms of monogenic skin diseases and improving our understanding of common skin diseases. Furthermore, these discoveries also contributed to the development of novel therapeutic modalities for monogenic skin diseases. In this review, we have used the disease spectrum caused by mutations in the CYLD gene- Brooke-Spiegler syndrome, familial cylindromatosis and multiple familial trichoepithelioma type 1- as a model for demonstrating the knowledge explosion for this group of diseases.

Clinical Efficacy and Adverse Reactions of Photodynamic Therapy in the Treatment of Malignant Skin Tumors and Precancerous Skin Diseases

The purpose of the study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of malignant skin tumors and precancerous skin diseases.First of all,100 patients with malignant skin tumor and pre-cancer skin disease admitted to our hospital from January 20,2018 to September 18,2018 were selected,and all of them adopted photodynamic therapy.The 100 patients included 40 cases of basal cell carcinoma,14 cases of squamous cell carcinoma,7 cases of proliferative erythema,9 cases of Bowen’s disease and 39 cases of solar keratosis.Among the 100 patients,77 cases had excellent curative effect,18 cases had good effect and 5 cases had poor effect,and the overall effective rate was 95%(95/100).After 6 months of follow-up,5 cases of basal cell carcinoma,2 cases of squamous cell carcinoma,0 cases of proliferative erythra,1 case of Bowen’s disease and 3 cases of solar keratosis recurred,with an overall recurrence rate of 14%(14/100).The adverse reactions of pruritus were 90%(90/100),81%(81/100),90%(90/100)and 3%(3/100).Therefore,the application of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of malignant skin tumors and precancerous skin diseases is not only effective,but also safe and not easy to relapse.

In Vitro Study on the Effect of Bee Venom on Some Cell Lines and Lumpy Skin Disease Virus

Bee venom （BV） was used from long time ago in the medical field as treatment of chronic joint affections. In the recent decades, the screening process of new sources of antimicrobials discovers its high advantageous characteristics for combating various types of microbes, as well as trials to discover its anti-cancer medicinal fields. Lumpy skin disease virus （LSDV） causes disease in cattle of economic importance, and this work aimed to find treatment as well as alternative inactivant for LSDV. The use of bee venom as antiviral was experimented in this work and exhibited satisfied inhibitory effects on LSDV, meanwhile, the antigenic properties was still intact. The viability of virus was tested in tissue culture cells lines and in embryonated chicken eggs. According to doses and time of exposure, the cell lines of Hep-2 （human larynx carcinoma） and MCF7 （breast carcinoma cell line） were treated with different concentrations of BV and examined after 24 h post-inoculation. The Hep-2 and MCF7 cell lines were treated with various concentrations of BV in descending doses as follow： 25, 20, 15, 10, 5 and 0.5 ug/mL of BV. Then bee venom pathological effects on Hep-2 cells and MCF7 cells were observed, such as apoptosis, retarded growths and cytolysis. The results indicate the possibilities of using bee venom as anti-neoplastic and antiviral.