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Objective To determine the microbiota of mobile phones used during the ophthalmological consultation by medical personnel, patients, and family members. Methods An analysis was made on the mobile phones of the medical staff and of patients and/or family members in the area of clinical specialty. A survey was conducted to evaluate the pattern of use and disinfection of mobile phones. A smear sample was taken from the mobile phones. The specimens obtained were inoculated in culture media and incubated at 37 °C for 24 h. Genus and species were identified in the positive cultures and the results obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results An analysis was made on 71 mobile phones of medical personnel and 52 from patients and/or family members. The microorganisms isolated in the mobile phones of the ophthalmologists were: coagulase-negative staphylococci 50%, Staphylococcus aureus 32.4%, enterobacteria 4.2%, Actinomycetes 4.2%, and 9.8% were negative. On the other hand, in the phones of patients and relatives, the isolated microorganisms were S. aureus 75%, coagulase-negative staphylococci 24%, and enterobacteria 1%. Conclusions The results obtained show that mobile phones, both of the medical staff and of the patients and their relatives, contain bacteria considered pathogenic that could cause an infection. It is important to establish a routine practice of cleaning mobile phones and to make the population aware of hygiene habits, since they are responsible for the care of their eyes after consultation.

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a common gynecologic infection and it occurs when there is overgrowth of the yeast called Candida. VVC diagnosis is usually done by observing a Pap smear sample under a microscope and searching for the conidium and mycelium components of Candida. This manual method is time consuming, subjective and tedious. Any diagnosis tools that detect VVC, semi- or full-automatically, can be very helpful to pathologists. This article presents a computer aided diagnosis (CAD) software to improve human diagnosis of VVC from Pap smear samples. The proposed software is designed based on phenotypic and morphology features of the Candida in Pap smear sample images. This software provide a user-friendly interface which consists of a set of image processing tools and analytical results that helps to detect Candida and determine severity of illness. The software was evaluated on 200 Pap smear sample images and obtained specificity of 91.04% and sensitivity of 92.48% to detect VVC. As a result, the use of the proposed software reduces diagnostic time and can be employed as a second objective opinion for pathologists.

Context: The ordinary morphologic diagnosis of ALL by pathologists depends on examining patient peripheral blood together with the bone marrow blood films. However, this manual aspect for diagnosis is susceptible to discrepancies. We have a newly introduced technology that allows for overcoming individual variations in the diagnosis of ALL, so-named machine learning, depending on a complex preprogrammed convolutional network matrix. Objectives: Challenging machine-aided systems, which utilize microscopic blood film images to recognize and diagnose ALL based on a preprogrammed deep convolutional neural network (CNN), i.e., machine learning algorithms. Materials and Methods: We collected a dataset of images composed of PB & BM smear images of two classes; ALL and normal control blood. We analyzed 192 samples of digital images: 96 images of patients with ALL and 96 images of healthy normal controls. For each smear sample, we collected the results of clinical data (clinical history and examination) and laboratory data (morphological, cytochemical, and immunophenotyping assessment). We challenged seven types of CNN models: Alexnet, VGG16, VGG19, GoogLeNet, ResNet50, ResNet101, and Inception-v3 to diagnose ALL. Results: Comparing the ability of 7 models to diagnose ALL revealed that the Alexnet had the lowest accuracy of 95.51%, followed by VGG16 at 92.13% and VGG19 at 93.83%, whilst the Inception-v3 had a promising highest accuracy of 99.98%.and was able to detect almost all ALL cases. Conclusion: The statistical measures of the Inception-v3 performance revealed promising results. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of Inception-v3 reached 99.98% for detection of ALL.

The in vitro tube feeding technique is used to establish a laboratory colony of Boophilus microplus infected with Babesia bigemina. Pre-fed engorged female ticks offered 2 x 10(4) and 2 x 10(5)/ml of B. bigemina infected bovine red blood cells (RBC) showed sporokinetes in the haemolymph smear sample, and positive signals for B. bigemina in polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Larvae laid from the ticks offered 2 x 10(5)/ml of B. bigemina infected RBC showed evidence for B. bigemina infection in microscopic method and PCR. While larvae laid from the ticks offered 2 x 10(4)/ml of B. bigemina infected RBC showed positive for B. bigemina in only PCR. The females offered 2 x 10(3)/ml B. bigemina infected RBC and their larvae did not show positive evidences for B. bigemina infection. It is thought that the in vitro tube feeding technique can be a convenient method to study the relationship between ticks and tick-borne pathogens. It is also suggested that the superior sensitivity of PCR compared to the microscopic method in detection of B. bigemina from the tick sample, especially in larvae.

A smear measurement system for a low-energy β emitter has been developed, which uses a paraffin scintillator for a radiation detector. In sample preparation, the radioactive contamination on a smear sample can be solidified immediately by adding small amount of a liquid-solid reversible paraffin scintillator. This technique overcomes many disadvantages of a conventional liquid scintillation technique ever employed, and allows the smear sample to be measured repeatedly and stored.

The aim was to evaluate the use of liquid-based gel during cytologic follow-up and the effect of liquid-based gel application during speculum examination on satisfactory level of smear. A total of 1,999 patients were taken into the study. Patients were divided into two groups as gel-applied group and control group. Age and menopausal status of patients, and the physicians taking the smear (resident or specialist) were recorded. In control group, dry speculum was used for the collection of smear sample. All specimens were evaluated for correlation of the cytopathology, the number of “unsatisfactory” samples, and any secondary diagnoses. Assessment of smear satisfactoriness revealed that 2.2% (43) of them were unsatisfactory. Unsatisfactory smear ratio was significantly high in gel-applied group. Screening done by residents increased unsatisfactory result risk for about 5.5 times. Evaluation of effect of menopausal status on smear adequency revealed no difference between premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Cervical smear seems to be more accurate without gel application. Experience of the physician is also important. Water-based gel can be used in some women who experience overt pain during speculum examination, but these patients must be warned about unsatisfactory results and the need of repeat test.

A spreadsheet calculation tool was developed to automate the calculations performed for determining the concentration of airborne radioactivity and smear counting as outlined in HNF-13536, Section 5.2.7, ''Analyzing Air and Smear Samples''. This document reports on the design and testing of the calculation tool. Radiological Control Technicians (RCTs) will save time and reduce hand written and calculation errors by using an electronic form for documenting and calculating work place air samples. Current expectations are RCTs will perform an air sample and collect the filter or perform a smear for surface contamination. RCTs will then survey the filter for gross alpha and beta/gamma radioactivity and with the gross counts utilize either hand calculation method or a calculator to determine activity on the filter. The electronic form will allow the RCT with a few key strokes to document the individual's name, payroll, gross counts, instrument identifiers; produce an error free record. This productivity gain is realized by the enhanced ability to perform mathematical calculations electronically (reducing errors) and at the same time, documenting the air sample.

This report documents the testing of the Health Physics Instrumentation associated with phase 2 and 3 start-up of Project W-026, WRAP. The Health Physics Instrumentation includes: Alpha and Beta Continuous Air Monitors (CAMS), Personnel Contamination Monitors (PCMs), Gamma Area Radiation Monitors (ARMs), Criticality Monitors, Alpha and Beta Smear Sample Counters, Portable Friskers, and Operator Breathing Zone Air Samplers. This OTR will cover only the Health Physics Instrumentation that was tested under the Operational test Plan for Health Physics Instrumentation (Phase 2 and 3). That instrumentation included: Alpha CAMS, Beta CAMs and ARMs located in rooms 107 and 113 of 2336-W. The remaining Health Physics Instrumentation that will be used for phase 2 and 3 start-up is tested during calibrations. These calibrations are outside the scope of the Operational Test Plan.

The HLW Tank Farm Low-Level Solid Waste Radionuclide Smear Sample And Analysis Plan has been written to describe the three methods by which the HLW Tank Farm facilities will obtain analytical data of radionuclide distribution in, and activities of, solid waste generated in the Tank Farms for waste certification and delivery to the Low Activity Waste Vaults (LAWV) in E Area. Results will be used as a possible confirmatory supplement to process knowledge as contained in the document, WSRC-TR-94-0290, {open_quotes}High-Level Waste Characterization In Support Of Low-Level Waste Certification, I. HLW Supernate Radionuclide Characterization.{close_quotes} The purpose of collecting samples is to obtain analytical data to supplement the validation data from WSRC-TR-94-0290 that gives radionuclide distributions for low-level job control waste characterization. It is expected that the results received from the laboratory will not enable quantification within the existing WAC limits but will be used only to possibly supplement the validation of years of determinations made based on process knowledge and sampling the High Level Waste (HLW). This occurs because several of the nuclides in the WAC 3.10 list are either expected to be present in such low abundance and/or have such a soft radiation (e.g., low energy beta) that even themore » most sensitive laboratory techniques cannot detect their presence and measure their abundance.« less

There is an increasing use of computing in safety related applications and ensuring that such systems are conceived, designed and produced with appropriate attention to safety is not easy. The process of identifying undesirable events and their consequences is known as hazard analysis. Carrying out a hazard analysis at varying stages during the development process is now being mandated in emerging standards produced by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) [1] and the U.K. Ministry of Defence [2].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The Papanicolaou (Pap) smear is a widely accepted tool for the detection and prevention of cervical cancer. Under the Bethesda Scoring System, the key internal control for adequacy of the smear is the presence of endocervical cells. Over the past several decades, much effort has been undertaken to maximize the adequacy of this acquisition. The present study determined if Pap smear sample adequacy is related to clinician experience. METHODS This study includes a retrospective analysis of 1,356 Pap smears acquired between January 1992 and January 1995. The procedures were performed by family practice residents and faculty physicians. Cervical smears were obtained with a combination of a cytobrush and an Ayre spatula and were placed on two slides. Adequacy was subsequently determined by a cytotechnologist. Chi-square analysis was used to determine if the adequacy rates for faculty and for PGY-1, PGY-2, and PGY-3 residents were significantly different. RESULTS The adequacy rates for PGY-1, PGY-2, PGY-3 residents and faculty physicians were 80%, 89%, 89%, and 93%, respectively. The adequacy rates for the first-year residents were significantly different from that of all other studied groups. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates the relationship between clinician experience and the ability to perform an adequate Pap smear. Considering the cost and potential medical risk of an inadequate Pap smear, family practice residency programs should increase the degree of PGY-1 education and experience in performing Pap smears.

For the estimation of tritium surface contamination by a smear technique, some experiments have been made on the optimum content of glycerol loaded in the smear paper, the fraction of tritium removed by the paper from the surface contamination (i. e., removal efficiency), the counting efficiency for a 2π gas flow counter, and the desorption of tritium from contaminated smear papers.Of the total contamination, 1% and 10% can be removed using a 25w/o glycerol loaded smear paper from a permeable material such as synthetic polymer resin tile and a non-permeable one like stainless steel plate, respectively. The counting efficiency for a tritium smear sample is about 10% for the counter. It is therefore appropriate to assume that the overall counting efficiency in this method (removal efficiency multiplied by counting efficiency) is 0.1% and 1% for the above two materials, respectively. The desorption of tritium is much less from a glycerol loaded smear paper, being only 20% in 40min, while it is as high as 70% from the non-glycerol loaded one.