Automated Counting of Rice Planthoppers in Paddy Fields Based on Image Processing

A quantitative survey of rice planthoppers in paddy fields is important to assess the population density and make forecasting decisions. Manual rice planthopper survey methods in paddy fields are time-consuming, fatiguing and tedious. This paper describes a handheld device for easily capturing planthopper images on rice stems and an automatic method for counting rice planthoppers based on image processing. The handheld device consists of a digital camera with WiFi, a smartphone and an extrendable pole. The surveyor can use the smartphone to control the camera, which is fixed on the front of the pole by WiFi, and to photograph planthoppers on rice stems. For the counting of planthoppers on rice stems, we adopt three layers of detection that involve the following：（a） the first layer of detection is an AdaBoost classifier based on Haar features;（b） the second layer of detection is a support vector machine（SVM） classifier based on histogram of oriented gradient（HOG） features;（c） the third layer of detection is the threshold judgment of the three features. We use this method to detect and count whiteback planthoppers（Sogatella furcifera） on rice plant images and achieve an 85.2% detection rate and a 9.6% false detection rate. The method is easy, rapid and accurate for the assessment of the population density of rice planthoppers in paddy fields.

Classifying Abdominal Fat Distribution Patterns byUsing Body Measurement Data

This study aims to explore new categorization that characterizes the distribution clusters of visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissues(VAT and SAT)measured by magnetic resonance imaging(MRI),to analyze the relationship between the VAT-SAT distribution patterns and the novel body shape descriptors(BSDs),and to develop a classifier to predict the fat distribution clusters using the BSDs.In the study,66 male and 54 female participants were scanned by MRI and a stereovision body imaging(SBI)to measure participants’abdominal VAT and SAT volumes and the BSDs.A fuzzy c-means algorithm was used to form the inherent grouping clusters of abdominal fat distributions.A support-vector-machine(SVM)classifier,with an embedded feature selection scheme,was employed to determine an optimal subset of the BSDs for predicting internal fat distributions.A fivefold cross-validation procedure was used to prevent over-fitting in the classification.The classification results of the BSDs were compared with those of the traditional anthropometric measurements and the Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry(DXA)measurements.Four clusters were identified for abdominal fat distributions:(1)low VAT and SAT,(2)elevated VAT and SAT,(3)higher SAT,and(4)higher VAT.The cross-validation accuracies of the traditional anthropometric,DXA and BSD measurements were 85.0%,87.5% and 90%,respectively.Compared to the traditional anthropometric and DXA measurements,the BSDs appeared to be effective and efficient in predicting abdominal fat distributions.

Automatic Product Image Classification with Multiple Support Vector Machine Classifiers

For the task of visual-based automatic product image classification for e-commerce,this paper constructs a set of support vector machine(SVM) classifiers with different model representations.Each base SVM classifier is trained with either different types of features or different spatial levels.The probability outputs of these SVM classifiers are concatenated into feature vectors for training another SVM classifier with a Gaussian radial basis function(RBF) kernel.This scheme achieves state-of-the-art average accuracy of 86.9%for product image classification on the public product dataset PI 100.

An optical brain-to-brain interface supports rapid information transmission for precise locomotion control

Brain-to-brain interfaces(BtBIs) hold exciting potentials for direct communication between individual brains. However,technical challenges often limit their performance in rapid information transfer. Here, we demonstrate an optical brain-to-brain interface that transmits information regarding locomotor speed from one mouse to another and allows precise, real-time control of locomotion across animals with high information transfer rate. We found that the activity of the genetically identified neuromedin B(NMB) neurons within the nucleus incertus(NI) precisely predicts and critically controls locomotor speed. By optically recording Ca2+ signals from the NI of a "Master" mouse and converting them to patterned optogenetic stimulations of the NI of an "Avatar" mouse, the Bt BI directed the Avatar mice to closely mimic the locomotion of their Masters with information transfer rate about two orders of magnitude higher than previous Bt BIs. These results thus provide proof-of-concept that optical Bt BIs can rapidly transmit neural information and control dynamic behaviors across individuals.