scholarly journals Estimation of Tree Heights in an Uneven-Aged, Mixed Forest in Northern Iran Using Artificial Intelligence and Empirical Models

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Bayat ◽  
Pete Bettinger ◽  
Sahar Heidari ◽  
Azad Henareh Khalyani ◽  
Meghdad Jourgholami ◽  
...  

The diameters and heights of trees are two of the most important components in a forest inventory. In some circumstances, the heights of trees need to be estimated due to the time and cost involved in measuring them in the field. Artificial intelligence models have many advantages in modeling nonlinear height–diameter relationships of trees, which sometimes make them more useful than empirical models in estimating the heights of trees. In the present study, the heights of trees in uneven-aged and mixed stands in the high elevation forests of northern Iran were estimated using an artificial neural network (ANN) model, an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model, and empirical models. A systematic sampling method with a 150 × 200 m network (0.1 ha area) was employed. The diameters and heights of 516 trees were measured to support the modeling effort. Using 10 nonlinear empirical models, the ANN model, and the ANFIS model, the relationship between height as a dependent variable and diameter as an independent variable was analyzed. The results show, according to R2, relative root mean square error (RMSE), and other model evaluation criteria, that there is a greater consistency between predicted height and observed height when using artificial intelligence models (R2 = 0.78; RMSE (%) = 18.49) than when using regression analysis (R2 = 0.68; RMSE (%) = 17.69). Thus, it can be said that these models may be better than empirical models for predicting the heights of common, commercially-important trees in the study area.

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert T. Young ◽  
Kristen Fernandez ◽  
Jacob Pfau ◽  
Rasika Reddy ◽  
Nhat Anh Cao ◽  
...  

AbstractArtificial intelligence models match or exceed dermatologists in melanoma image classification. Less is known about their robustness against real-world variations, and clinicians may incorrectly assume that a model with an acceptable area under the receiver operating characteristic curve or related performance metric is ready for clinical use. Here, we systematically assessed the performance of dermatologist-level convolutional neural networks (CNNs) on real-world non-curated images by applying computational “stress tests”. Our goal was to create a proxy environment in which to comprehensively test the generalizability of off-the-shelf CNNs developed without training or evaluation protocols specific to individual clinics. We found inconsistent predictions on images captured repeatedly in the same setting or subjected to simple transformations (e.g., rotation). Such transformations resulted in false positive or negative predictions for 6.5–22% of skin lesions across test datasets. Our findings indicate that models meeting conventionally reported metrics need further validation with computational stress tests to assess clinic readiness.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinran Wang ◽  
Liang Wang ◽  
Hong Bu ◽  
Ningning Zhang ◽  
Meng Yue ◽  
...  

AbstractProgrammed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression is a key biomarker to screen patients for PD-1/PD-L1-targeted immunotherapy. However, a subjective assessment guide on PD-L1 expression of tumor-infiltrating immune cells (IC) scoring is currently adopted in clinical practice with low concordance. Therefore, a repeatable and quantifiable PD-L1 IC scoring method of breast cancer is desirable. In this study, we propose a deep learning-based artificial intelligence-assisted (AI-assisted) model for PD-L1 IC scoring. Three rounds of ring studies (RSs) involving 31 pathologists from 10 hospitals were carried out, using the current guideline in the first two rounds (RS1, RS2) and our AI scoring model in the last round (RS3). A total of 109 PD-L1 (Ventana SP142) immunohistochemistry (IHC) stained images were assessed and the role of the AI-assisted model was evaluated. With the assistance of AI, the scoring concordance across pathologists was boosted to excellent in RS3 (0.950, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.936–0.962) from moderate in RS1 (0.674, 95% CI: 0.614–0.735) and RS2 (0.736, 95% CI: 0.683–0.789). The 2- and 4-category scoring accuracy were improved by 4.2% (0.959, 95% CI: 0.953–0.964) and 13% (0.815, 95% CI: 0.803–0.827) (p < 0.001). The AI results were generally accepted by pathologists with 61% “fully accepted” and 91% “almost accepted”. The proposed AI-assisted method can help pathologists at all levels to improve the PD-L1 assay (SP-142) IC assessment in breast cancer in terms of both accuracy and concordance. The AI tool provides a scheme to standardize the PD-L1 IC scoring in clinical practice.


Author(s):  
Kasuni E. Adikari ◽  
Sangam Shrestha ◽  
Dhanika T. Ratnayake ◽  
Aakanchya Budhathoki ◽  
Mohana S. Shanmugam ◽  
...  

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