A top-down manner-based DCNN architecture for semantic image segmentation

<div><p>Given their powerful feature representation for recognition, deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) have been driving rapid advances in high-level computer vision tasks. However, their performance in semantic image segmentation is still not satisfactory. Based on the analysis of visual mechanism, we conclude that DCNNs in a bottom-up manner are not enough, because semantic image segmentation task requires not only recognition but also visual attention capability. In the study, superpixels containing visual attention information are introduced in a top-down manner, and an extensible architecture is proposed to improve the segmentation results of current DCNN-based methods. We employ the current state-of-the-art fully convolutional network (FCN) and FCN with conditional random field (DeepLab-CRF) as baselines to validate our architecture. Experimental results of the PASCAL VOC segmentation task qualitatively show that coarse edges and error segmentation results are well improved. We also quantitatively obtain about 2%-3% intersection over union (IOU) accuracy improvement on the PASCAL VOC 2011 and 2012 test sets.</p></div

Genotype-Phenotype Correlation in Chinese Patients with Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy

<div><p>Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is an X-linked recessive motor neuron disease characterized by slowly progressive weakness and atrophy of proximal limbs and bulbar muscles. To assess the genotype-phenotype correlation in Chinese patients, we identified 155 patients with SBMA and retrospectively examined available data from laboratory tests and neurophysiological analyses. Correlations between genotype and phenotype were analyzed. There was an inverse correlation between the length of CAG repeats and age at first muscle weakness (<i>p<0</i>.<i>0001</i>). The serum creatine kinase level showed a significant inverse correlation with disease duration and the age at examination (<i>p=0</i>.<i>019</i> and <i>p=0</i>.<i>004</i>, respectively). Unlike previous classification of motor- and sensory-dominant phenotypes, all findings of nerve conduction, except the amplitudes of median nerve compound motor action potential, were positively correlated to the length of CAG repeats. A significant decline in sensory nerve action potential amplitudes may assist differential diagnosis of SBMA.</p></div

Relationship between the number of CAG repeats and the age at first muscle weakness.

<p>There is an inverse relationship between the number of CAG repeats and the age at first muscle weakness (R² = 0.34, <i>p<0</i>.<i>0001</i>).</p

Analysis of nerve conduction in spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) patients.

<p>*Sural SNAP may be absent in patients over 60 years, thus patients over 60 years were excluded.</p><p>Analysis of nerve conduction in spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) patients.</p