DynamicISP: Dynamically Controlled Image Signal Processor for Image Recognition

Image signal processor (ISP) plays an important role not only for human perceptual quality but also for computer vision. In most cases, experts resort to manual tuning of many parameters in the ISPs for perceptual quality. It failed in sub-optimal, especially for computer vision. Aiming to improve ISPs, two approaches have been actively proposed; tuning the parameters with machine learning, or constructing an ISP with DNN. The former is lightweight but lacks expressive powers. The latter has expressive powers but it was too heavy to calculate on edge devices. To this end, we propose DynamicISP, which consists of traditional simple ISP functions but their parameters are controlled dynamically per image according to what the downstream image recognition model felt to the previous frame. Our proposed method successfully controlled parameters of multiple ISP functions and got state-of-the-art accuracy with a small computational cost

Rawgment: Noise-Accounted RAW Augmentation Enables Recognition in a Wide Variety of Environments

Image recognition models that work in challenging environments (e.g., extremely dark, blurry, or high dynamic range conditions) must be useful. However, creating training datasets for such environments is expensive and hard due to the difficulties of data collection and annotation. It is desirable if we could get a robust model without the need for hard-to-obtain datasets. One simple approach is to apply data augmentation such as color jitter and blur to standard RGB (sRGB) images in simple scenes. Unfortunately, this approach struggles to yield realistic images in terms of pixel intensity and noise distribution due to not considering the non-linearity of Image Signal Processors (ISPs) and noise characteristics of image sensors. Instead, we propose a noise-accounted RAW image augmentation method. In essence, color jitter and blur augmentation are applied to a RAW image before applying non-linear ISP, resulting in realistic intensity. Furthermore, we introduce a noise amount alignment method that calibrates the domain gap in the noise property caused by the augmentation. We show that our proposed noise-accounted RAW augmentation method doubles the image recognition accuracy in challenging environments only with simple training data.Comment: Accepted to CVPR202

Efficacy and feasibility of dose-dense neoadjuvant chemotherapy versus conventional neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with HER2-negative breast cancer: A single-center retrospective study

Background: Dose-dense chemotherapy (DDCT) is a standard treatment for patients with high-risk breast cancer. Although there are numerous reports regarding DDCT, it is unclear whether sequential DDCT is effective or feasible as preoperative treatment for Japanese patients. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant DDCT for patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer.Methods: This retrospective study evaluated 39 patients with breast cancer, who were preoperatively treated with anthracyclinecontaining regimens and taxanes. According to the chemotherapy regimens patients were divided into the DDCT group (ddgroup) and the conventional chemotherapy (CCT) group (q3w-group). The efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy was evaluated based on the pathological complete response (pCR) rate. Adverse events were evaluated according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5.0.Results: There were no apparent differences in tumor stage, histopathological subtype, or surgical procedure. There was not significant difference in the pCR rate (dd-group, 17.6%; q3w-group, 22.7%). Three-year disease-free survival rates were similar in two groups. The rates of dose reduction, delay of treatment, and discontinuation of treatment in the two groups did not differ to a statistically significant extent. There were no significant differences in the adverse events of the two groups

Superior vena cava syndrome causedby adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma: a case report

A 74-year-old man with a smoking history was admitted for back and right arm pain. On examination, swelling of the face and arms were noted, and computed tomographic imaging of the chest demonstrated a bulky (10.0 x 7.2 cm) tumor in the right upper mediastinum. The lesion compressed the superior vena cava (SVC). Despite treatment, the patient died 5 months after the first admission. On autopsy, he was diagnosed that SVC syndrome caused by adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL). ATL usually runs an aggressive course with multiple organs involving lymph nodes, liver, spleen, skin, lung, peripheral blood and bone marrow. Although it is extremely rare, SVC syndrome can appear as the earliest symptom of ATL

Histochemical Nature of Eosinophilic Globules in Pheochromocytoma of Adrenal Medulla

Eosinophilic globules were observed in 7 out of 11 cases of pheochromocytoma of the adrenal medulla. All of these globules were present in the cytoplasm, and were round and eosinophilic, measuring 3 μm to 30 μm in diameter. These globules were periodic acid Schiff (PAS) -positive with and without diastase predigestion, phosphotungstic acid hematoxylin (PTAH) positive, acid fuchsin positive, and autofluorescent under ultraviolet illumination. These findings were very similar to the eosinophilic globules of yolk sac tumor, hepatocellular carcinoma, Kaposi\u27s sarcoma, and alpha-l-antitrypsin deficiency in light microscopy and histochemistry. They were not stained with Grimelius\u27s method for argyrophil reaction, and Fontana-Masson\u27s method for argentaffin reaction. It might be suggested that eosinophilic globules in pheochromocytoma of the adrenal medulla were not related to the chromaffin secretory granules and these globules were glycoprotein

Case of plasmablastic lymphoma of the sigmoid colon and literature review

Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) is a rare form of non-Hodgkin\u27s lymphoma that is associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Although PBL is most commonly observed in the oral cavity of HIV-positive patients, it can also be observed at extra-oral sites in HIV-negative patients. This report represents an unusual case of HIV-negative PBL that occurred in the sigmoid colon. This patient had a history of systemic lupus erythematosus and an underlying immunosuppressive state from long term steroid therapy. The lymphoma cells were positive for CD138, kappa light chain restriction and Epstein-Barr virus and negative for CD20/L26, CD3, CD79a, UCHL1 (CD45RO) and cytokeratin (AE1/AE3). The patient died approximately 2 mo after the operation. In the present paper, we review cases of PBL of the colon in HIVnegative patients

Infectious cerebral thromboembolism in a patient with lung cancer during long-term administration of gefitinib: a case report

Introduction　Gefitinib is a molecularly targeted drug for oral administration, a selective epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI). It is effective for patients with lung cancer who have EGFR mutation and enables long-term survival of patients with advanced disease.Case presentation　An 84-year-old Asian female with lung cancer (adenocarcinoma, cT4N3M1b stage IV PUL BRA OSS ADR) was treated by gefitinib for two years. The primary tumor was markedly reduced, and bone metastasis had almost disappeared. However, the patient became unconsciousness with general edema and died two days after falling unconsciousness. In the autopsy, it was diagnosed as infectious cerebral thromboembolism due to infectious endocarditis. The cause of death was cardiac tamponade.Conclusions　While long-term survival can be expected in patients with advanced lung cancer by molecular-targeted agents, cautious management is warranted for complications, the same as for the primary disease

In Vivo Tracking of Transplanted Mononuclear Cells Using Manganese-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MEMRI)

BACKGROUND: Transplantation of mononuclear cells (MNCs) has previously been tested as a method to induce therapeutic angiogenesis to treat limb ischemia in clinical trials. Non-invasive high resolution imaging is required to track the cells and evaluate clinical relevance after cell transplantation. The hypothesis that MRI can provide in vivo detection and long-term observation of MNCs labeled with manganese contrast-agent was investigated in ischemic rat legs. METHODS AND FINDINGS: The Mn-labeled MNCs were evaluated using 7-tesla high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Intramuscular transplanted Mn-labeled MNCs were visualized with MRI for at least 7 and up to 21 days after transplantation in the ischemic leg. The distribution of Mn-labeled MNCs was similar to that of ¹¹¹In-labeled MNCs measured with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and DiI-dyed MNCs with fluorescence microscopy. In addition, at 1-2 days after transplantation the volume of the site injected with intact Mn-labeled MNCs was significantly larger than that injected with dead MNCs, although the dead Mn-labeled MNCs were also found for approximately 2 weeks in the ischemic legs. The area covered by CD31-positive cells (as a marker of capillary endothelial cells) in the intact Mn-MNCs implanted site at 43 days was significantly larger than that at a site implanted with dead Mn-MNCs. CONCLUSIONS: The present Mn-enhanced MRI method enabled visualization of the transplanted area with a 150-175 µm in-plane spatial resolution and allowed the migration of labeled-MNCs to be observed for long periods in the same subject. After further optimization, MRI-based Mn-enhanced cell-tracking could be a useful technique for evaluation of cell therapy both in research and clinical applications