Digital Imaging Tools Research Articles

HoverFast: an accurate, high-throughput, clinically deployable nuclear segmentation tool for brightfield digital pathology images

HoverFast: an accurate, high-throughput, clinically deployable nuclear segmentation tool for brightfield digital pathology images

Potential of Thermal and RGB Imaging Combined with Artificial Neural Networks for Assessing Salt Tolerance of Wheat Genotypes Grown in Real-Field Conditions

Developing new bread wheat varieties that can be successfully grown in saline conditions has become a pressing task for plant breeders. High-throughput phenotyping tools are crucial for this task. Proximal remote sensing is gaining popularity in breeding programs as a quick, cost-effective, and non-invasive tool to assess canopy structure and physiological traits in large genetic pools. Limited research has been conducted on the effectiveness of combining RGB and thermal imaging to assess the salt tolerance of different wheat genotypes. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of combining several indices derived from thermal infrared and RGB images with artificial neural networks (ANNs) for assessing relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll a (Chla), chlorophyll b (Chlb), total chlorophyll (Chlt), and plant dry weight (PDW) of 18 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) and their 3 parents irrigated with saline water (150 mM NaCl). The results showed significant differences in various traits and indices among the tested genotypes. The normalized relative canopy temperature (NRCT) index exhibited strong correlations with RWC, Chla, Chlb, Chlt, and PDW, with R2 values ranging from 0.50 to 0.73, 0.53 to 0.76, 0.68 to 0.84, 0.68 to 0.84, and 0.52 to 0.76, respectively. Additionally, there was a strong relationship between several RGB indices and measured traits, with the highest R2 values reaching up to 0.70. The visible atmospherically resistant index (VARI), a popular index derived from RGB imaging, showed significant correlations with NRCT, RWC, Chla, Chlb, Chlt, and PDW, with R2 values ranging from 0.49 to 0.62 across two seasons. The different ANNs models demonstrated high predictive accuracy for NRCT and other measured traits, with R2 values ranging from 0.62 to 0.90 in the training dataset and from 0.46 to 0.68 in the cross-validation dataset. Thus, our study shows that integrating high-throughput digital image tools with ANN models can efficiently and non-invasively assess the salt tolerance of a large number of wheat genotypes in breeding programs.

Multiphase electroextraction of malachite green from surface water and its determination using digital imaging and chemometric tools.

This study introduces a novel method for the quantification of malachite green (MG), a pervasive cationic dye, in surface water by synergizing multiphase electroextraction (MPEE) with digital image analysis (DIA) and partial least square discriminant analysis. Aimed at addressing the limitations of conventional DIA methods in terms of quantitation limits and selectivity, this study achieves a significant breakthrough in the preconcentration of MG using magnesium silicate as a novel sorbent. Demonstrating exceptional processing efficiency, the method allows for the analysis of 10 samples within 20min, exhibiting remarkable sensitivity and specificity (over 0.95 and 0.90, respectively) across 156 samples in both training and test sets. Notably, the method detects MG at low concentrations (0.2µgL-1) in complex matrices, highlighting its potential for broader application in environmental monitoring. This approach not only underscores the method's cost-effectiveness and simplicity but also its precision, making it a valuable tool for the preliminary testing of MG in surface waters. This study underscores the synergy among MPEE, DIA, and chemometric tools, presenting a cost-efficient and reliable alternative for the sensitive detection of water contaminants.

Sensitive assessment of bilirubin using various color space signals derived from captured images of microfluidic paper-based analytical devices

Many neonates’ manifest hyperbilirubinemia and jaundice during the first week following birth because of bilirubin accumulation in the blood. Newborns with severe hyperbilirubinemia develop neurotoxicity. Therefore, sensitive, accurate, cost-effective, and timely determination of bilirubin levels is highly desired. Herein, we present three simple systems of bilirubin assessment based on spectrophotometric, and digital imaging tools. Image-capturing devices pose a formidable challenge to sophisticated spectrophotometers and field-monitoring devices because of their simplicity and sensitivity. The first and second systems of bilirubin assessment, in solution, relied on spectrophotometric and conventional color responses of digital images collected with conventional or android smartphone camera, with LODs of 0.060–0.082 and LOQs of 0.200–0.273 ppm bilirubin. The third system utilized a microfluidic paper-based analytical device (μ-PAD) that is patterned with a wax printer on Whatman grade-1 chromatographic papers, with linear calibration graphs of up to 2.70,s and LODs of 0.035–0.040 and LOQs of 0.117–0.133 μg bilirubin/μ-PAD.

Integration of arts into dental education: Beauty in the histological photomicrographs

Background/purposeIntegration of arts and humanities into dental education is important for developing holistically oriented dental professionals. This study aimed to survey dental students' perception of integrating arts and sciences into dental education with an innovative pedagogical approach through a photomicrograph competition. Materials and methodsStudents used digital imaging tools and creative approaches to capture photomicrographs that revealed hidden beauty in oral tissue sections. The photomicrograph works were posted online for scoring. The scoring activity, questionnaire survey, and complimentary comments of the participants were conducted online using a Google form. ResultsThe photomicrograph competition garnered a 24% participation rate from the 490 undergraduate dental students. Of the 116 participants, 65% agreed that the photomicrograph competition increased their interest in learning microscopic lessons, 87% very strongly or strongly supported to hold the photomicrograph competition every year, and 72% believed that the photomicrograph competition could be adopted to the dental students in all dental schools in Taiwan. The overall satisfaction rate of the photomicrograph competition was 91%. The free comments from all participants were generally positive towards this photomicrograph competition. ConclusionThe photomicrograph competition shows the transformative potential of integrating arts and humanities into dental education. Through the lens of photomicrography, the hidden wonders in oral tissue sections have been unveiled. This photomicrograph competition, a pioneering endeavor with no precedent in English literature, has proven to be a resounding success that unites the realms of scientific inquiry and artistic expression, and may be a transformative agent in nurturing holistic dental professionals.

The Thermal Image of Sun Orientation and Openings in Residential Buildings with Modern Tropical Design Concept in Medan City

This study aims to analyze thermal imagery of the sun's orientation and the formation of openings in residential houses with a modern tropical design concept in Medan. The method used is temperature measurement and building thermal identification using a digital thermal imaging tool, namely Flir CX-3, which is carried out during the day, as well as measuring the WWR (window-to-wall ratio) value of the building. The results of the thermal image analysis show that the North-South orientation gets lower temperatures compared to the East-West orientation, even though it has a larger WWR value of 12.9% and 20.9%. Based on the results of this analysis, it is suggested to consider the orientation of the sun in designing residential houses in the city of Medan. Houses with a North-South orientation are the best choice for maximum thermal comfort and natural lighting, supported by large openings as one of the characteristics of modern tropical architecture.

Investigation on the change of spermatozoa flagellar beating forces before and after capacitation

The swimming forces exerted by mammalian spermatozoa during the pathway to the ovary and during the interaction with the oocyte are thought to play a fundamental role in the fertilization of the egg.In particular, a process named capacitation is of key relevance for its success. Capacitation enables spermatozoa to undergo the acrosome reaction and to exhibit different motility called hyperactivation with a change in the sperm cell tail motion from symmetric to a more asymmetric beating, characterized by wider flagellar bending at lower frequencies. Despite several studies about the mechanism that underlies capacitation, no quantitative information is available about the forces associated with sperm motility. Sperm cell motility has been widely studied with digital imaging tools and video microscopy, but these methodologies cannot provide information about the forces exerted by spermatozoa during the motion and the contribution of every single frequency of flagellar beating to the sperm cell movement. For this purpose, fluidic force microscopy was used to trap single swimming spermatozoa allowing to evaluate these parameters. We observe significant differences between capacitated and non-capacitated spermatozoa in terms of force exerted and beating frequencies. The description of the dynamics of this process is of great interest in the field of reproductive medicine. Such information could be useful to clarify unknown causes of male infertility or for the development of novel methods to assess the quality of semen samples.

Forensic Investigation of Remnant Data on USB Storage Devices Sold in New Zealand

The digital forensic tools used by law enforcement agencies for forensic investigations are mostly proprietary and commercially expensive; although open-source tools are used, the investigations conducted with such tools are not verified by reputable organisations, and hence, users are reluctant to practice such tools. To address this issue, we experimentally evaluate three open-source forensic tools based on various requirements recommended by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) framework for forensic investigation. The experimental setup consists of a forensic workstation, write-blocker, and purchased USB hard drives investigated via digital forensic imaging tools, i.e., DC3DD, DCFLDD, and Guymager. We create various test cases, which distribute USB hard drives in different groups and investigate the functional and optional requirements of NIST along with recovering and analysing remnant data. We evaluate these forensic tools by analysing the log information, following, anonymously (to ensure that data were not disclosed or misused during or after the investigations) collecting, examining, and classifying the remnant data restored from the USB hard drives. We observe that the percentage of hardware resources usage and the processing time of each tool are remarkably different, e.g., Guymager was the fastest tool and met all the functional requirements in each test case, but it utilised more CPU and memory resources than DC3DD, DCFLDD. We note that 88.23% of the USB hard drives contained sensitive personal or business information (e.g., personal photos, bank transactions, and contracts). Subsequently, the remnant data analysis shows that consumers in New Zealand are unaware of personal data security and the associated vulnerabilities of data leakages.

Bimetallic nanozyme mediated urine glucose monitoring through discriminant analysis of colorimetric signal

The ability to detect glucose concentrations in human urine offers a non-invasive approach to monitor changes in blood glucose, kidney health and vascular complications associated with diabetes. We show the potential of employing catalytically active nanoparticles directly grown on textiles to produce a dose-dependent colorimetric sensor for glucose. We use a galvanic replacement (GR) reaction for the synthesis of bimetallic nanoparticles. Here, Cu nanoparticles act as a sacrificial template that undergoes a spontaneous electroless GR reaction when exposed to metal ions of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium to form bimetallic Cu-M nanoparticles (M = Au, Ag, Pt, or Pd). The evaluation of their intrinsic peroxidase-mimicking catalytic activity (“nanozyme”) in comparison to that of the Cu nanozyme revealed that the bimetallic systems show a higher catalytic rate with the Cu–Pt nanozyme showing the highest catalytic efficiency. This property of the Cu–Pt nanozyme was then utilized to detect glucose in human urine using the glucose oxidase enzyme as a molecular recognition element. A key outcome of our study is the ability to detect urine glucose without requiring sample dilution which is an advantage over the gold standard GOx-POx method and significantly more reliable performance over commercial urine glucose dipsticks. The difference in the intensity of the colorimetric response between different glucose concentrations further allowed this sensor system to be combined with digital imaging tools for multivariate analysis.

Colour-stability analysis for estimation of deterioration in concrete due to chemical attack

Inaccessibility and subjectivity in damage evaluation during visual inspection may often lead to faulty assessment of concrete. Digital imaging tools can be used to identify and quantify the extent of distress due to deteriorating agents on concrete. Structures subjected to environmental degradation manifest deterioration in terms of changes in surface characteristics. It is strongly believed that there lies a co-dependency between the extent of deterioration and the reduction in the mechanical and durability performance. In the present study, digital image analysis technique, namely Colour-Stability Analysis (CSA), has been performed on cube samples of 30 MPa grade concrete, immersed in acid solutions (HCl, H2SO4), chloride (NaCl) and sulphate (MgSO4) at 5% concentration, exposed for various periods of 3, 7, 14 and 28 days, after the end of the requisite 28-day curing period. The CSA is conducted in CIE-LAB colour space as it is device-independent and represents the human perception of colour. The colour profiles of the deteriorated surfaces before and after immersion in the above reagents for 3, 7, 14 and 28 days have been quantified. The successive and relative differences in the surface colour profiles for respective reagent-immersion and exposure conditions have been computed and analysed. The current study revealed the influence and mechanism of various reagent’s impact on the deterioration of concrete surface with time and the same is quantified. The correlation between the extent of damage in concrete in terms of change in colour profiles, residual strength and durability is established.

Visual and aesthetic markers of gentrification: agency of mapping and tourist destinations

Framed within the context of contemporary place making and the urban tourism destination, a novel trans-disciplinary approach to mapping and interpreting gentrification and cityscape change is presented. A combination of multi-scalar cartographic and visual techniques, including Google Street View (GSV) and geo-tagged images (Photo Sphere), is applied within the setting of Valletta, Malta, to convey cartographically the dynamism of urban transformations and detect tourism-led gentrification in a rapid way through the identification of the visual and aesthetic markers of gentrification. Utilising a critical approach, such map-making can inform and transform the understanding of the processes underpinning urban change and their cartographic and visual representation. It identifies and highlights issues of image and street-level ‘realities’ for both (re)imagining and marketing place. Individual tourists are able to access and utilise GSV and other mobile digital imaging and cartographic tools, as well as social media, to create their own, potentially counter, place-imaginaries and interpretations of urban change, thereby encouraging and/or discouraging visiting the city.

Enumerating the digitally convex sets of powers of cycles and Cartesian products of paths and complete graphs

Given a finite set $V$, a convexity $\mathscr{C}$, is a collection of subsets of $V$ that contains both the empty set and the set $V$ and is closed under intersections. The elements of $\mathscr{C}$ are called convex sets. The digital convexity, originally proposed as a tool for processing digital images, is defined as follows: a subset $S\subseteq V(G)$ is digitally convex if, for every $v\in V(G)$, we have $N[v]\subseteq N[S]$ implies $v\in S$. The number of cyclic binary strings with blocks of length at least $k$ is expressed as a linear recurrence relation for $k\geq 2$. A bijection is established between these cyclic binary strings and the digitally convex sets of the $(k-1)^{th}$ power of a cycle. A closed formula for the number of digitally convex sets of the Cartesian product of two complete graphs is derived. A bijection is established between the digitally convex sets of the Cartesian product of two paths, $P_n \square P_m$, and certain types of $n \times m$ binary arrays.

QuPath. A new digital imaging tool for geropathology.

Translational research regularly utilizes immunohistochemistry (IHC) to investigate pathological differences in the clinical or laboratory setting. However, the majority of these studies require the extensive work of a trained pathologist to analyze slides in a meaningful way. In order to explore new ways to quantitate IHC stains in a manner that is reproducible and efficient for both pathologists and research scientists, QuPath was explored as a new digital imaging tool. The hippocampal area of brains from older sleep deprived mice were stained using established IHC protocols to explore biomarker levels that would be insightful for measurable differences. Application features of QuPath are described that quantitatively show sleep deprived mice had robust differences in staining intensity for four different biomarkers compared to non-sleep deprived mice. These observations provide the rationale for QuPath as a digital imaging tool to enhance the quantitative and qualitative usefulness of IHC staining in the field of geropathology.

Image plane interference co-phasing technology for synthetic digital holography

Synthetic aperture is a high-resolution imaging technique which can extend the resolution Rayleigh limit capability of an aperture, while digital holography is a useful digital imaging tool. When synthetic aperture meets digital holography, a high-resolution image can be digitally achieved without many complex optic path adjust systems. However, because of the position errors and phase errors, the synthesis is always difficult to realize. In this paper, we analyzed the sources and influences of these errors which mainly include the phase errors and the shape and position errors, then proposed a valid image plane interference based digitally co-phasing method. A combination of the SPGD (stochastic parallel gradient descent) algorithm with the KAZE-based registration algorithm was proposed to respectively correct the de-phased errors and the shape and position errors. Experiment demonstrated that a high-resolution synthesized image can be achieved with this method without any adjust of the optical path. The biggest advantage of the proposed method is that it can be applied in short and long distance situations, or one sensor is far away from another, or the sensor is large sized, or the angle among sensors is relatively big.

Characteristics of the development of mural art in Kharkiv

Characteristics of the development of mural art in Kharkiv

A Digital Reconstruction of a Historical Building and Virtual Reintegration of Mural Paintings to Create an Interactive and Immersive Experience in Virtual Reality

Nowadays, virtual reality technologies and immersive virtual reality (VR) apps allow people to view, explore, engage with and learn about historic monuments and buildings, historic sites, and even historic scenes. To preserve our cultural heritage for future generations. it is essential that damaged and dilapidated historic artefacts are accurately documented, and that steps are taken to improve user experiences in the areas of virtual visits, science and education. This paper describes an approach to reconstruct and restore historic buildings and mural paintings. The work process uses digital models that are then inserted into an interactive and immersive VR environment. Windows-Mixed Reality is used to visualize the said VR environment. The work method was applied at a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain), thereby creating a virtual three dimensional (3D) rendering of the architectural structures of the St Augustine Church in La Laguna and its murals. A combination of topography and terrestrial photogrammetry was used to reconstruct its architectural features, and the digital imaging tool DStretch® to recover its murals. The resulting 3D model was then inserted into an immersive and interactive VR environment created using the cross-platform game engine Unity. One of the greatest challenges of this project revolved around recovering the dilapidated and virtually nonexistent mural paintings using DStretch®. However, the final result is an immersive and interactive VR environment containing architectural and artistic information created within the video game engine Unity, which thereby allows the user to explore, observe and interact with a cultural heritage site in real time.

Digital Imaging Tool to Enhance Otolith Microstructure for Estimating Age in Days in Juvenile and Adult Fish

Age estimation based on fish otolith microstructure analysis is a very repetitive and time-consuming task. The lack of appropriate image analysis software, capable of both overlaying a number of images automatically and recording a high number of daily increments, has been a significant limitation in counting and measuring daily growth increments in large otoliths from juvenile and adult fish individuals. This paper presents a new software to assist marine biologists with faster, more efficient, and more reliable microstructure readings of fish otoliths. Open source code is preferred so that software packages can be updated with new image processing algorithms developed by the scientific community. The approach consists of three steps: 1) a single grayscale digital image combining images of different parts of the same fish otolith is obtained using the blind image registration technique fast normalized cross correlation; 2) the growth rings of the image are enhanced for age estimation purposes, using the adaptive histogram equalization technique; and 3) a semiautomatic interactive tool draws a simple polygonal chain along which the microstructures are easily identifiable and the points of interest can be marked, whose data will be saved automatically. This new tool opens up the opportunity of aging juvenile and adult fish individuals at regular intervals by counting growth rings in the otolith microstructure and facilitates working with other calcified pieces of marine species that exhibit a daily ring pattern, such as cephalopod beaks and mollusk shells.

Electrochemical Studies and Images Performance of La2O3/TiO2 for Energy Storage

ABSTRACTPowders of La2O3 were mixed with mechanical ball-milling technique (MA) adding TiO2, to improve the electrochemical performance as a storage material. Microstructures, morphologies and electrochemical results were investigated using TEM, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Cyclic Voltammetry and Potentiodynamic studies. Results showed that, the samples with TiO2 content affected the capacity of response. The alloys exhibit a superior capacity and stability adding TiO2. The milling ball to powder weight ratio was kept 5 to 1 for all experimental runs. Milling intervals were 0, 2 and 4 hrs; using alternate cycles of 30 minutes milling and 30 min resting. The nanostructure TiO2 powder, improves the samples to design a better electrode. TiO2 has significant influence on electrochemical performance of electrodes. Electrochemical experiments were performed on ACM Instruments Gill AC and a typical three electrode setup was constructed to measure the electrochemical properties of the working electrode. Here, platinum was used as the counter electrode and calomel was used as the reference electrode. Structures of the samples were analyzed by digital image tools.

Multiple Perceptible Watermarking for Copyright Protection

Perceptible watermarking system is an imperative copyright protection tool for digital images. Perceptible watermarks safeguard the digital images in a better vigorous manner, then imperceptible watermarks. The paper presents a multiple perceptible watermarking approach for copyright protection. Two perceptible watermarks are embedded to the color digital images. The watermarked image comprehends noticeable but un-obstructive watermark evidence. The proposed system can be castoff for advertisement and copyright uses. General Terms Watermarking

Survey on blind image forgery detection

With the mushroom growth of state-of-the-art digital image and video manipulations tools, establishing the authenticity of multimedia content has become a challenging issue. Digital image forensics is an increasingly growing research field that symbolises a never ending struggle against forgery and tampering. This survey attempts to cover the blind techniques that have been proposed for exposing forgeries. This work dwells on the detection techniques for three of the most common forgery types, namely copy/move, splicing and retouching.