An Abstraction Model for Semantic Segmentation Algorithms

Semantic segmentation is a process of classifying each pixel in the image. Due to its advantages, sematic segmentation is used in many tasks such as cancer detection, robot-assisted surgery, satellite image analysis, self-driving car control, etc. In this process, accuracy and efficiency are the two crucial goals for this purpose, and there are several state of the art neural networks. In each method, by employing different techniques, new solutions have been presented for increasing efficiency, accuracy, and reducing the costs. The diversity of the implemented approaches for semantic segmentation makes it difficult for researches to achieve a comprehensive view of the field. To offer a comprehensive view, in this paper, an abstraction model for the task of semantic segmentation is offered. The proposed framework consists of four general blocks that cover the majority of majority of methods that have been proposed for semantic segmentation. We also compare different approaches and consider the importance of each part in the overall performance of a method.Comment: 6 pages 2 figure

A General Framework for Saliency Detection Methods

Saliency detection is one of the most challenging problems in the fields of image analysis and computer vision. Many approaches propose different architectures based on the psychological and biological properties of the human visual attention system. However, there is not still an abstract framework, which summarized the existed methods. In this paper, we offered a general framework for saliency models, which consists of five main steps: pre-processing, feature extraction, saliency map generation, saliency map combination, and post-processing. Also, we study different saliency models containing each level and compare their performance together. This framework helps researchers to have a comprehensive view of studying new methods.Comment: 5 pages 3 figure

Adaptive Blind Watermarking Using Psychovisual Image Features

With the growth of editing and sharing images through the internet, the importance of protecting the images' authorship has increased. Robust watermarking is a known approach to maintaining copyright protection. Robustness and imperceptibility are two factors that are tried to be maximized through watermarking. Usually, there is a trade-off between these two parameters. Increasing the robustness would lessen the imperceptibility of the watermarking. This paper proposes an adaptive method that determines the strength of the watermark embedding in different parts of the cover image regarding its texture and brightness. Adaptive embedding increases the robustness while preserving the quality of the watermarked image. Experimental results also show that the proposed method can effectively reconstruct the embedded payload in different kinds of common watermarking attacks. Our proposed method has shown good performance compared to a recent technique.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Twenty-three unsolved problems in hydrology (UPH) – a community perspective

This paper is the outcome of a community initiative to identify major unsolved scientific problems in hydrology motivated by a need for stronger harmonisation of research efforts. The procedure involved a public consultation through on-line media, followed by two workshops through which a large number of potential science questions were collated, prioritised, and synthesised. In spite of the diversity of the participants (230 scientists in total), the process revealed much about community priorities and the state of our science: a preference for continuity in research questions rather than radical departures or redirections from past and current work. Questions remain focussed on process-based understanding of hydrological variability and causality at all space and time scales. Increased attention to environmental change drives a new emphasis on understanding how change propagates across interfaces within the hydrological system and across disciplinary boundaries. In particular, the expansion of the human footprint raises a new set of questions related to human interactions with nature and water cycle feedbacks in the context of complex water management problems. We hope that this reflection and synthesis of the 23 unsolved problems in hydrology will help guide research efforts for some years to come

Evaluation of the anti-inflammatory activity of fisetin-loaded nanoparticles in an in vitro model of osteoarthritis

Abstract Cartilage lesions, especially osteoarthritis (OA), are a common health problem, causing pain and disability in various age groups, principally in older adults and athletes. One of the main challenges to be considered in cartilage tissue repair is the regeneration of cartilage tissue in an active inflammatory environment. Fisetin has various biological effects including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, apoptotic, and antiproliferative activities. The only disadvantages of fisetin in the pharmaceutical field are its instability and low solubility in aqueous media. This study is aimed at preparing chitosan (CS)-based nanoparticles to yield fisetin with improved bioavailability features. Then, the effect of fisetin-loaded nanoparticles (FNPs) on inflammatory responses in interleukin-1β (IL-1β) pretreated human chondrocytes has also been investigated. FNPs presented an average size of 363.1 ± 17.2 nm and a zeta potential of + 17.7 ± 0.1 mV with encapsulation efficiency (EE) and loading capacity (LC) of 78.79 ± 7.7% and 37.46 ± 6.6%, respectively. The viability of human chondrocytes was not affected by blank nanoparticles (BNPs) up to a concentration of 2000 μg/mL. In addition, the hemolysis results clearly showed that FNPs did not damage the red blood cells (RBCs) and had good hemocompatibility within the range investigated. FNPs, similar to fisetin, were able to inhibit the inflammatory responses induced by IL-1β such as the expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) while increasing the production of an anti-inflammatory cytokine such as interleukin-10 (IL-10). Overall, the in vitro evaluation results of the anti-inflammatory activity showed that FNPs can serve as delivery systems to transfer fisetin to treat inflammation in OA