Deep learning ensemble approach with explainable AI for lung and colon cancer classification using advanced hyperparameter tuning.

Lung and colon cancers are leading contributors to cancer-related fatalities globally, distinguished by unique histopathological traits discernible through medical imaging. Effective classification of these cancers is critical for accurate diagnosis and treatment. This study addresses critical challenges in the diagnostic imaging of lung and colon cancers, which are among the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Recognizing the limitations of existing diagnostic methods, which often suffer from overfitting and poor generalizability, our research introduces a novel deep learning framework that synergistically combines the Xception and MobileNet architectures. This innovative ensemble model aims to enhance feature extraction, improve model robustness, and reduce overfitting.Our methodology involves training the hybrid model on a comprehensive dataset of histopathological images, followed by validation against a balanced test set. The results demonstrate an impressive classification accuracy of 99.44%, with perfect precision and recall in identifying certain cancerous and non-cancerous tissues, marking a significant improvement over traditional approach.The practical implications of these findings are profound. By integrating Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM), the model offers enhanced interpretability, allowing clinicians to visualize the diagnostic reasoning process. This transparency is vital for clinical acceptance and enables more personalized, accurate treatment planning. Our study not only pushes the boundaries of medical imaging technology but also sets the stage for future research aimed at expanding these techniques to other types of cancer diagnostics.

A new species of Hydatothrips (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) from India with one new record.

A remarkable new species, Hydatothrips longirostris, with an elongate mouth cone extending to the metasternum is described from India. Dendrothrips glynn Mound, a dendrothripine species, is newly recorded from India.

First report of Neopestalotiopsis clavispora causing cashew leaf blight disease in India.

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale) is an important commercial crop and highly prone to many biotic and abiotic stress. During March 2021, severe leaf blight symptoms were observed in Priyanka variety with 25-30% incidence grown under greenhouse nursery at ICAR-Directorate of Cashew Research (ICAR-DCR), Puttur (12º74'08.92"N; 75º22'97.22"E), Karnataka. Initial symptoms include small, irregular necrotic spots and later, the spots enlarged and covered major portion of the leaf lamina. In severe infection, leaves exhibited coalescing of spots leading to blight appearance. The infected leaves were randomly collected (n=5) and surface sterilized with 1% sodium hypochlorite for 1 min followed by three washes in sterile distilled water (SDW). Samples were plated on PDA plates amended with Rifampicin (40 mg/L) and kept for incubation at 25±2 oC for 5 days (12/12 h dark light period). A white-greyish, aerial, cottony mycelium on upper side with light yellow colour on the reverse side was consistently isolated. The black viscous acervuli were observed after 10-12 days of incubation. The conidia were fusiform, five-celled, versicoloured with three olivaceous brown median cells, two terminal hyaline cells, measured 23.3±2.12 - 28.33±2.7 x 3.6±0.8 - 4.28±0.78 µm (n=30). The apical cells had two to three flexuous, unbranched appendages, and basal appendage was solitary, tubular and unbranched. Morphological and cultural characteristics confirmed the pathogen as Neopestalotiopsis sp. (Maharachchikumbura et al. 2012). Further, two representative isolates (CLB_SCN1 & CLB_SCN2) were subjected for molecular characterization selected for molecular identification based on ITS-rDNA, tef-1α and tub2 gene sequences and phylogenetic analysis. Genomic DNA was isolated from 15 days old cultures and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) (White et al. 1990), translation elongation factor 1α (tef-1α) gene (O'Donnell et al. 1998) and beta tubulin (tub2) using ITS1/ITS4, TEF1/TEF2 and Bt2a/Bt2b (Carbone and Kohn 1999; Glass and Donaldson 1995) were amplified using primer pairs respectively. PCR amplicons were sequenced, and the sequences were deposited in GenBank (accession numbers: ITS: OP880881.1, OP880882.1; tef-1α: OP882579.1, OP882580.1; and tub2: OP882581., OP882582.1). The phylogeny was constructed based on combined ITS, tef-1a, and tub2 regions. Neighbour-Joining (NJ) analysis was conducted and the tree was constructed with the substitution models (branch support was evaluated by 1,000 bootstrap replications). Combined phylogeny confirmed that the sequences shared a common clade with N. clavispora. Hence, morphological, microscopic and molecular characterization confirmed the pathogen as N. clavispora. The pathogenicity test was done on six months old healthy grafts of Priyanka variety (n=9) and repeated thrice. Conidial suspension (2×106 spores/ml) of N. clavispora CLB_SCN1 (15 days old culture) was sprayed on the healthy cashew seedlings, and kept in greenhouse by covering with polythene bags for 24 h (>80 % RH) and maintained under greenhouse condition. The control grafts were inoculated with SDW. The inoculated plants showed blight symptoms after 7-10-day post inoculation and control remained heathy. Re-isolation was done from the symptomatic leaves and identity was confirmed using cultural and molecular studies. Earlier reports showed that, N. clavispora has been reported to cause cardamom leaf blight (Biju et al 2018) and leaf spot disease of plum (Banerjee and Rana 2020). To best of our knowledge, this is the first report of cashew leaf blight disease caused by N. clavispora from India (Farr and Rossman, 2022). Early detection will help farmer in better management and avoiding economic loss caused by N. clavispora.

Multi-modal Medical Image Fusion Algorithm Based on Spatial Frequency Motivated PA-PCNN in the NSST Domain.

BACKGROUND: Image fusion has been grown as an effectual method in diseases related diagnosis schemes. METHODS: In this paper, a new method for combining multimodal medical images using spatial frequency motivated parameter-adaptive PCNN (SF-PAPCNN) is suggested. The multi- modal images are disintegrated into frequency bands by using decomposition NSST. The coefficients of low frequency bands are selected using maximum rule. The coefficients of high frequency bands are combined by SF-PAPCNN. METHODS: In this paper, a new method for combining multimodal medical images using spatial frequency motivated parameter-adaptive PCNN (SF-PAPCNN) is suggested. The multi-modal images are disintegrated into frequency bands by using decomposition NSST. The coefficients of low frequency bands are selected using maximum rule. The coefficients of high frequency bands are combined by SF-PAPCNN. RESULTS: The fused medical images is obtained by applying INSST to above coefficients. CONCLUSION: The quality metrics such as entropy ENT, fusion symmetry FS, deviation STD, mutual information QMI and edge strength QAB/F are used to validate the efficacy of suggested scheme.

Human papillomaviruses and the specificity of PDZ domain targeting.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) E6 oncoprotein is fundamental to the ability of these viruses to induce human malignancy. A defining characteristic of the HPV E6 oncoproteins found in cancer-causing HPV types is the presence of a PDZ binding motif at their extreme C-terminus. Through this motif, E6 is able to interact with a large number of cellular proteins that contain PDZ domains. Many of these cellular proteins are involved in regulation of processes associated with the control of cell attachment, cell proliferation, cell polarity and cell signaling. How E6 targets multiple proteins containing the same recognition domain is still an open question. In this review, we highlight aspects of E6 function and biology that help to answer this question, and thereby provide insight into the role of these substrates during development of HPV-induced malignancy.

Complementation of human papillomavirus type 16 E6 and E7 by Jagged1-specific Notch1-phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling involves pleiotropic oncogenic functions independent of CBF1;Su(H);Lag-1 activation.

We have analyzed the induction and role of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) by Notch signaling in human papillomavirus (HPV)-derived cancers. Jagged1, in contrast to Delta1, is preferentially upregulated in human cervical tumors. Jagged1 and not Delta1 expression sustained in vivo tumors by HPV16 oncogenes in HaCaT cells. Further, Jagged1 expression correlates with the rapid induction of PI3K-mediated epithelial-mesenchymal transition in both HaCaT cells and a human cervical tumor-derived cell line, suggestive of Delta1;Serrate/Jagged;Lag2 ligand-specific roles. Microarray analysis and dominant-negatives reveal that Notch-PI3K oncogenic functions can be independent of CBF1;Su(H);Lag-1 activation and instead relies on Deltex1, an alternative Notch effector.

Nm23 expression in retinoblastoma.

PURPOSE: Nm23 is a metastasis-suppressor protein. Decreased nm23 protein contributes to aggressiveness in many tumors. Nm23 immunoreactivity was studied in retinoblastoma and correlated with differentiation and invasiveness. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was performed on 73 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens of retinoblastoma. Western blot was conducted to confirm the immunohistochemical study. Prognostic features such as differentiation, invasion of choroid, optic nerve, and orbit, and metastasis were analyzed. RESULTS: Intense nm23 immunoreactivity was seen in 61% of the retinoblastomas with no invasion and faint nm23 immunoreactivity was seen in 85% of the retinoblastomas with invasion (p < 0.001). Poorly differentiated retinoblastoma showed decreased nm23 immunoreactivity compared to well-differentiated retinoblastomas (p = 0.02). An inverse correlation was observed between invasion of choroid, optic nerve, orbit, and metastasis, and nm23 immunoreactivity. Western blot assays of fresh tumor extracts confirmed the immunohistochemical findings. CONCLUSIONS: Decreased nm23 immunoreactivity was seen in poorly differentiated retinoblastomas and in retinoblastomas with invasiveness. These findings may lay the groundwork for further studies to better understand the molecular mechanisms and provide a more accurate prediction of invasion and metastasis of retinoblastoma.

Resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to the first line anti tubercular drugs--a twenty year review.

Tuberculosis and more so the multi drug resistant variety has been thrust into the forefront as a serious and life threatening illness in recent years. The advent of AIDS contributes to this substantially, especially in the developed world where it had become practically non- existent. We reviewed our data over the past 20 years with a view to determine when drug resistance began to manifest in the strains.

Gross photography of ophthalmic pathology specimens.

Removal of the entire eyeball or a portion of it is required in many ophthalmic conditions. The gross features of such specimens provide valuable information. Gross photography of an intraocular tumour, ruptured eyeball or other pathological specimens including lid lesions, orbital tumors, intraocular lens implants, intraocular and extraocular parasites, retinal pathology such as haemorrhages and peripheral degenerations, establishes a permanent documentation. We herein describe the technique of gross photography of such valuable specimens, using a dissecting microscope with a special arrangement. This technique is currently used by us with gratifying results.