Multi-path connected network for medical image segmentation

In recent years, deep learning has been successfully applied to medical image segmentation. However, as the network extends deeper, the consecutive downsampling operations will lead to more loss of spatial information. In addition, the limited data and diverse targets increase the difficulty for medical image segmentation. To address these issues, we propose a multi-path connected network (MCNet) for medical segmentation problems. It integrates multiple paths generated by pyramid pooling into the encoding phase to preserve semantic information and spatial details. We utilize multi-scale feature extractor block (MFE block) in the encoder to obtain large and multi-scale receptive fields. We evaluated MCNet on three medical datasets with different image modalities. The experimental results show that our method achieves better performance than the state-of-the-art approaches. Our model has strong feature learning ability and is robust to capture different scale targets. It can achieve satisfactory results while using only 0.98 million (M) parameters.     

A Feature Selection Strategy to Optimize Retinal Vasculature Segmentation

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a complication of diabetes mellitus that appears in the retina. Clinitians use retina images to detect DR pathological signs related to the occlusion of tiny blood vessels. Such occlusion brings a degenerative cycle between the breaking off and the new generation of thinner and weaker blood vessels. This research aims to develop a suitable retinal vasculature segmentation method for improving retinal screening procedures by means of computer-aided diagnosis systems. The blood vessel segmentation methodology relies on an effective feature selection based on Sequential Forward Selection, using the error rate of a decision tree classifier in the evaluation function. Subsequently, the classification process is performed by three alternative approaches: artificial neural networks, decision trees and support vector machines. The proposed methodology is validated on three publicly accessible datasets and a private one provided by Hospital Sant Joan of Reus. In all cases we obtain an average accuracy above 96% with a sensitivity of 72% in the blood vessel segmentation process. Compared with the state-of-the-art, our approach achieves the same performance as other methods that need more computational power. Our method significantly reduces the number of features used in the segmentation process from 20 to 5 dimensions. The implementation of the three classifiers confirmed that the five selected features have a good effectiveness, independently of the classification algorithm.     

Automatic Segmentation and Detection System for Varicocele Using Ultrasound Images

The enlarged veins in the pampiniform venous plexus, known as varicocele disease, are typically identified using ultrasound scans. The medical diagnosis of varicocele is based on examinations made in three positions taken to the right and left testicles of the male patient. The proposed system is designed to determine whether a patient is affected. Varicocele is more frequent on the left side of the scrotum than on the right and physicians commonly depend on the supine position more than other positions. Therefore, the experimental results of this study focused on images taken in the supine position of the left testicles of patients. There are two possible vein structures in each image: a cross-section (circular) and a tube (non-circular) structure. This proposed system identifies dilated (varicocele) veins of these structures in ultrasound images in three stages: preprocessing, processing, and detection and measurement. These three stages are applied in three different color modes: Grayscale, Red-Green-Blue (RGB), and Hue, Saturation, and Value (HSV). In the preprocessing stage, the region of interest enclosing the pampiniform plexus area is extracted using a median filter and threshold segmentation. Then, the processing stage employs different filters to perform image denoising. Finally, edge detection is applied in multiple steps and the detected veins are measured to determine if dilated veins exist. Overall implementation results showed the proposed system is faster and more effective than the previous work.     

Unconstrained Hand Dorsal Veins Image Database and Recognition System

Hand veins can be used effectively in biometric recognition since they are internal organs that, in contrast to fingerprints, are robust under external environment effects such as dirt and paper cuts. Moreover, they form a complex rich shape that is unique, even in identical twins, and allows a high degree of freedom. However, most currently employed hand-based biometric systems rely on hand-touch devices to capture images with the desired quality. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, most hand-based biometric systems have become undesirable due to their possible impact on the spread of the pandemic. Consequently, new contactless hand-based biometric recognition systems and databases are desired to keep up with the rising hygiene awareness. One contribution of this research is the creation of a database for hand dorsal veins images obtained contact-free with a variation in capturing distance and rotation angle. This database consists of 1548 images collected from 86 participants whose ages ranged from 19 to 84 years. For the other research contribution, a novel geometrical feature extraction method has been developed based on the Curvelet Transform. This method is useful for extracting robust rotation invariance features from vein images. The database attributes and the veins recognition results are analyzed to demonstrate their efficacy.     

抗氢合金J75中低∑CSL晶界的形成与演化

以铁镍基抗氢合金J75为研究对象,采用单步形变热处理和电子背散射衍射(EBSD)技术,研究了低∑CSL晶界的形成和演化过程。结果表明:采用5%预变形+1000℃退火的单步形变热处理方法,可将J75合金中低∑CSL晶界的比例提升至70%以上,形成具有∑3n取向关系的晶粒团簇;退火过程中,低∑CSL晶界比例的提升主要是由于∑3n界面比例的提升,其中∑3占绝大比例。发现一种∑3再生过程,其机制在于:由于∑3ic迁移能力强,在退火过程中与其他∑3相遇会形成∑9晶界,而∑9与∑3相遇,倾向于发生∑9+∑3→∑3,导致∑3的再生;不连续大角度随机晶界(R)与低∑CSL晶界相遇会形成R/∑晶界,当R/∑晶界为低∑CSL晶界时,则构成较多具有低∑CSL晶界的网络,打断了R晶界的连通性。     

A tutorial on the segmentation of metallographic images: Taxonomy,new MetalDAM dataset,deep learning-based ensemble model,experimental analysis and challenges

Image segmentation is an important issue in many industrial processes, with high potential to enhance the manufacturing process derived from raw material imaging. For example, metal phases contained in microstructures yield information on the physical properties of the steel. Existing prior literature has been devoted to develop specific computer vision techniques able to tackle a single problem involving a particular type of metallographic image. However, the field lacks a comprehensive tutorial on the different types of techniques, methodologies, their generalizations and the algorithms that can be applied in each scenario. This paper aims to fill this gap. First, the typologies of computer vision techniques to perform the segmentation of metallographic images are reviewed and categorized in a taxonomy. Second, the potential utilization of pixel similarity is discussed by introducing novel deep learning-based ensemble techniques that exploit this information. Third, a thorough comparison of the reviewed techniques is carried out in two openly available real-world datasets, one of them being a newly published dataset directly provided by ArcelorMittal, which opens up the discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of each technique and the appropriate application framework for each one. Finally, the open challenges in the topic are discussed, aiming to provide guidance in future research to cover the existing gaps.     

Research on image segmentation of Miao costume patterns based on the RSKP-UNet model北大核心CSCD

The Miao nationality is the sixth largest ethnic group in China which has a history of thousands of years. It has created a unique material culture and spiritual culture in its development process and the Miao costume is a highly condensed collection of the material and spiritual culture of the Miao nationality. As one of the unique symbols of Miao culture the Miao costume has profound cultural heritage and cultural connotations. The patterns of the Miao costume are particularly eye-catching as they not only symbolize the wisdom of the Miao people in thousands of years of production and life but also symbolize the pursuit of the good spirit of the Miao people. However under the impact of modern pop culture and foreign culture these cultural symbols are gradually disappearing. In order to protect and inherit them the Miao costume pattern segmentation has become the most important work. However the Miao costume pattern segmentation is quite difficult. At present there are few studies on the extraction classification identification and preservation of the features of Miao costume pattern segmentation. With the excellent segmentation performance of the U-Net model and the advantages of easy deployment the paper improves the basic structure of the U-Net model and proposes a Miao costume pattern segmentation algorithm based on the RSKP-UNet Residual Selective-Kernel Parallel U-Net model. The algorithm adds Residual modules in the encoder part of the U-Net model to improve the feature extraction capability of the model and embeds the SKNet modules and ParNet modules in the decoder part to enhance the feature expression capability of the model. The paper uses evaluation metrics to measure the segmentation performance of the model and compares it with four segmentation models based on deep learning. The paper not only combines the current research focus-deep learning and attention mechanism but also introduces the Lovász-hinge loss function to effectively solve the problem of class imbalance in the Miao costume patterns. The RSKP-UNet model is better than other models in various segmentation indicators. Compared with the benchmark model U-Net the Dice coefficient IoU precision recall and accuracy are improved by 6. 98% 11. 07% 2. 89% 6. 75% and 3. 92% . The segmentation algorithm proposed in this paper realizes the extraction of the element content of the Miao costume patterns through image segmentation of Miao costume patterns which can be used to build the Miao costume pattern database in this way thus helping designers relevant researchers and organizations to provide research foundation and completing the protection and inheritance of the Miao costume culture. The paper also provides some reference for the segmentation research of other minority costume patterns. © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.     

Bottom-up image detection of water channel slope damages based on superpixel segmentation and support vector machine

The operation of water supply channels is threatened by the occasionally occurred slope damages. Timely detection of their occurrence is critical for the rapid enforcement of mitigation measures. However, current practices based on routine inspection and structural heath monitoring are inefficient, laborious and tend to be biased. As an attempt to address the limitations, this paper proposes a bottom-up image detection approach for slope damages, which includes four steps, i.e. superpixel segmentation, feature handcrafting, superpixel classification based on support vector machine (SVM), and slope damage recognition. The approach employs a bottom-up strategy to infer the upper-level slope condition from the classification results of individual superpixels in the bottom level. Experiments were conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach. The handcrafted feature “LBP + HSV” was demonstrated to be effective in characterizing the image features of slope damages. An SVM model with “LBP + HSV” as input can reliably identify the slope condition in superpixels. Based on the SVM model, the bottom-up strategy achieved high recognition performance, of which the overall accuracy can be up to 91.7%. The proposed approach has potential to facilitate the early and comprehensive awareness of slope damages along the entire route of water channel by the integration with unmanned aerial vehicles.     

A polyanionic anthraquinone organic cathode for pure small-molecule organic Li-ion batteries

Sodium 9,10-anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (Na₂AQ26DS, 130 mAh g⁻¹) with polyanionic character and two O–Na ionic bonds is used as an organic cathode for Li-ion batteries. Na₂AQ26DS exhibits highly impressive cycle stability in ether electrolytes due to its polyanionic character and the effective suppression of solvent-molecule co-intercalation. In half cells (1–3.9 V vs. Li⁺/Li) using 1 M bis(trifluoromethanesulphonyl)imide lithium salt (LiTFSI) in 1,3-dioxolane/dimethoxyethane (DOL/DME), Na₂AQ26DS delivers a highly stable specific capacity of 123 mAh g⁻¹ at 50 mA g⁻¹ for 900 cycles (6-month test) and realizes ∼69 mAh g⁻¹ for 2800 cycles at 500 mA g⁻¹. In the full cells with the reduced state (Li₄TP) of lithium terephthalate (Li₂TP) as the organic anode, the resulting Li₄TP II Na₂AQ26DS organic lithium-ion batteries (OLIBs) can display a highly stable average discharge capacity of 120 mAh g⁻¹_cathode for 100 cycles at 50 mA g⁻¹ and ∼63 mAh g⁻¹_cathode for 1200 cycles at 500 mA g⁻¹ in 0.2–3.3 V.     

GCAT-U-Net嵌入全局坐标注意力机制的遥感地块分割网络

遥感影像的地块背景特征复杂,当前地块分割方法不能较好地处理模糊的边缘信息,导致分割精度不理想;文章利用注意力机制处理地块特征,提出了一种基于全局坐标注意力机制的遥感地块分割网络:GCAT-U-Net;该方法在U-Net网络基础上嵌入了全局坐标注意力机制,加强了深度神经网络对于遥感影像数据中重要特征的关注度;在公开的GID数据集上的实验结果表明,文章提出的模型将准确率从0.9041提升到了0.9227,比传统U-Net网络提高了2百分点;结合特征自身重要性和特征位置信息的全局坐标注意力机制有助于更精确的目标定位,其输出相较于嵌入单一注意力机制,地块边界更为清晰,提升效果更为显著。