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Phase contrast microscope is one of the most universally used instruments to observe long-term cell movements in different solutions. Most of classic segmentation methods consider a homogeneous patch as an object, while the recorded cell images have rich details and a lot of small inhomogeneous patches, as well as some artifacts, which can impede the applications. To tackle these challenges, this paper presents a hierarchical mergence approach (HMA) to extract homogeneous patches out and heuristically add them up. Initially, the maximum region of interest (ROI), in which only cell events exist, is drawn by using gradient information as a mask. Then, different levels of blurring based on kernel or grayscale morphological operations are applied to the whole image to produce reference images. Next, each of unconnected regions in the mask is applied with Otsu method independently according to different reference images. Consequently, the segmentation result is generated by the combination of usable patches in all informative layers. The proposed approach is more than simply a fusion of the basic segmentation methods, but a well-organized strategy that integrates these basic methods. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms previous methods within our datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To investigate the differences in the awareness, knowledge, and management of osteoporosis from a cohort of medical staff after educational intervention. Methods. A total of 653 medical workers from different departments related to the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis from 7 hospitals in Ningxia were enrolled. Information was collected using a designed questionnaire. Results. After 5 years of educational intervention and follow-up, medical staff had an increased understanding of osteoporosis diagnosis, including dual-energy X-ray, ultrasound bone sonometer, fragility fracture history, biochemistry markers, and the awareness of the susceptible population. However, there was no improvement in the cognition of single/dual photo absorptiometry, symptoms and signs, and bone turnover index. Their understanding of antiosteoporosis drugs, especially the application of calcitonin, diphosphates, and vitamin D, was significantly promoted, while the perception of indicators and time in follow-up, some adverse drug reactions, and exercise therapy remained unchanged. Medical staff were remarkably less aware of the management of follow-up for osteoporosis, exercise and diet therapy, and bone turnover markers. Conclusion. A great gap was identified in the perception of osteoporosis among medical staff in the Ningxia region. After the educational intervention, the knowledge regarding some aspects of osteoporosis generally improved. Much more effort should be made to strengthen the training and learning on the special detection methods of osteoporosis, medications and exercise therapy, and follow-up management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]