Scientific discovery with Antonio Guillén and Motic Europe

We start an adventure of scientific discovery with Antonio Guillén and the Estación Biológica Internacional, whose mission is to focus on the conservation and improvement of diverse natural spaces, especially aquatic ecosystems, by applying technological innovation, environmental education and the study of biodiversity. 

To safeguard its independence and ethical principles, the EBI's habitat and species research and conservation work is financed from its own ecotourism projects in cooperation with international volunteer actions.

Following the adherence of the EBI to the principles and philosophy of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism, with total economic-political independence and thanks to the technical specialization of its collaborators, it has developed and financed various projects for the conservation of habitats and species in the four protected.

Image 1. Duero-Douro International Biological Station (EBI) and its 

representatives in Spain (Europarques Hispano-Lusos SRL) and Portugal 

(Centro de Turismo Ambiental Luso-Espanhol Lda. https://www.europarques.com/en

Dr. Antonio Guillén, biologist and scientific director of the EBI, will open the door to his research under the extraordinary microscopic eye. Guillén altruistically coordinates a multidisciplinary team of volunteers, collaborators and scientific researchers of different nationalities. Specializing in aquatic ecosystems, he directs the field work on board the EBI Hydrographic Vessels in Arribes del Duero, Douro Internacional and Lago de Sanabria, the Microscopic World of Virtual Biodiversity gallery and the Water Project with more than 10 million followers worldwide.

Image 2. S.O.S. LAGO DE SANABRIA, BRAZADAS DE DAPHNIA. 

Cristina, Genis & Javier, April 2016. (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) ://flic.kr/p/HJ7iA1

Very soon you will be able to see some of the most fascinating samples.

Stay tuned on our Social Networks!

👉 Facebook 👉 Twitter 👉 Twitter Pathology 👉 Instagram 👉 Blog 👉 Website

Thyroid Diseases: Colloid goiter

Colloid goiter is a benign lesion of the thyroid gland which is defined as thyroid enlargement without accompanying disturbance in thyroid function. 

This is a common pathology, frequently found in clinical practice during a physical or ultrasound examination.

Therefore, the Colloid goiter of the thyroid is a benign growth. Nodular formations can be multiple or single instances. Formation is formed when the outflow of a colloidal substance from the follicles is disrupted. Thyroid hormones are produced in this liquid substance.

The tissue we see in the images is always recognizable, because there is nothing else in the body that looks like this. Follicles surrounded by an epithelial lining filled with protein material called colloid.

Fig 1. - Colloid goiter, Thyroid c.s. | Motic BA40E PlanApo 10X | 

Moticam S12, ROI | Image credit: Willem Cramer

Most normal thyroid glands have follicles that are fairly uniform in size with some variation. They don't get as big as some in the images. If the follicles are so enlarged by the colloid, you can speak of colloid goiter. What is the definition of the word goiter. This word is synonymous with an enlarged thyroid gland, enlarged for any reason. This does not automatically mean that the thyroid gland is overactive or neoplastic.

Fig 2. - Colloid goiter, Thyroid c.s. | Motic BA40E PlanApo 40X | 

Moticam S12, ROI | Image credit: Willem Cramer

If the affected thyroid can also be clinically associated with hyperthyroidism, which is an overproduction of thyroid hormones, then it could be a case of Graves' disease.

The photos show that the enlarged follicles are lined with relatively cube-shaped follicular or epithelial cells.

Sample: Colloid goiter, Thyroid c.s. Motic BA410E PlanApo 40X | Moticam S12 ROI. With thanks to Herbert Spoon, Doctor of Medicine.

Note: the prepared slide, a collector’s item, is 60 years old.

© willemsmicroscope.com

Drinking Nectar

We all know about the importance of honey bees to our planet, but perhaps we are not aware of the consequences of their extinction. 

As pollinators, they are fundamental for the health of ecosystems and food security. They help maintain biodiversity and ensure the production of nutritious food. We are going to tell you about the honey bee mouthparts and how these work to extract the nectar. 

Fig 1. - Bee Sipping Nectar on Flower during Daytime. 

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels.

Looking at the photo, we see five major mouthparts sticking out. In the middle is the Glossa, the honey bee tongue. The Glossa is hairy and used to drink nectar. It is flanked by sensory devices so-called Labial Palpi, which are necessary for tasting and touching. On the outside, we see the so-called Galeae, which forms a tube with the labial palpi already mentioned and together allows honey bees to suck up nectar.

Fig 2. - Honeybee mouth parts | Motic BA40E PlanApo 10X | 

Moticam ProS5 Plus, EasyStitch Pro | Image credit: Willem Cramer

Nectar is a sweet liquid, which mainly consists of fructose, glucose and sucrose. Nectar is often deep in the corolla (the whole of petals). The bee's specialized mouthparts form a complex set. Depending on the family, genus or species, it is more or less long and sharp. The construction of the mouthparts of the bees evolved at the same time as the depth and shape of the corollas. The diversity of the bee tongues is related to the diversity of the flower shapes. Honey bees are bees with long tongues, but they don't have as long tongues as butterflies or hummingbirds. 

The ingestion of liquid food by bees is based on the mechanism of 'viscous dipping'. The Glossa is stretched out and dipped into the nectar. At this stage, the hairs on the Glossa stand up asynchronously and capture the nectar. The erectable hairs can increase the ability to collect nectar. 

Then, when covered with nectar, the glossa retracts to a tube formed from Galeae and Labial Palpi. The nectar is sucked then into the Pharynx. There are ridges on the inner wall of the Galeae, that can reduce friction while drinking. Honey bees can absorb about 1.8 microliters of diluted nectar per second, depending on the concentration and viscosity of the nectar. The mouthparts contain sensory organs that facilitate food intake.

Visit the United Nations website and find out the global actions on World Bee Day.  

Sample: Honeybee mouth parts | Motic BA40E PlanApo 10X | Moticam ProS5 Plus, EasyStitch Pro

© willemsmicroscope.com 

Digital Pathology and AI join forces

“Artificial intelligence” generated leukemia blast cells through pre-annotated digital images by using the Motic Infinity 60 at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore.

This has enabled the creation of large image databanks of blood cells, allowing the exponential growth of artificial intelligence (AI) studies in blood cell classification.

Image 1. (A) Blood cells in myeloid leukemia stained with Ehrlich's triple stain, as seen under a microscope. Watercolor after A. Goodall, 1912. Wellcome Collection. https://wellcomecollection.org/works/dtfntjgs/images?id=h5k9mkax. (B and C) Leukemic blasts in the background of red cells. (Wright stain, 80× objective, Motic EasyScan Infinity 60). (D–F) Artificial Intelligence generated leukemic blasts and red blood cells using the StyleSwin generative adversarial network (GAN) algorithm. https://github.com/microsoft/StyleSwin.

A total of 21.739 pre-annotated digital images derived from peripheral blood films of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (Wright stain, 80x objective, MoticEasyScan Infinity 60) were used in the training and evaluation process. 

AI holds great promise in medicine due to its ability to effortlessly assimilate, integrate, and generate vast amounts of clinical data. However, AI needs suitable digital scanners for the digitalization of samples such as the Motic Infinity 60 of the MoticEasyScan series to facilitate the training tasks that will make its enhancement possible.

Read the article here