-->PONE-D-25-46097-->-->Research on the Semantic Segmentation of Thangka Images via an Improved PIDNet-->-->PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Wang,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

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Baohua Wen

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

-->Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. -->

Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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-->2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: No

Reviewer #3: Yes

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-->3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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-->4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.-->

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

Reviewer #3: Yes

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-->5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #1: The paper presents an application of semantic segmentation to Thangka paintings, with potential relevance to cultural heritage preservation. The authors claim that their PIDNet-based method achieves higher accuracy compared to other approaches.

However, the writing quality of this paper is poor, making it difficult for readers to fully understand the proposed method and the experimental results. Below are some critical issues that should be addressed:

1) Abbreviations: For example, what does LGFM stand for? Every abbreviation should be defined in full at its first occurrence.

2) The first paragraph appears to be a placeholder from the template and should be removed.

3) Eq. (5): The meaning of “Q[K]V” is unclear and should be explained.

4) The tables are poorly formatted. For instance, in Table 1, field names are split across multiple lines (even for single-word terms), and several tables are split across pages.

5) Figs. 6, 9, and 10 do not effectively demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method.

6) The title of Section 3.7 is incorrectly formatted.

I recommend that the authors carefully revise the writing and formatting to ensure clarity and readability before further review.

Reviewer #2: Minor Revisions:

(a) Statistical Rigor and Result Interpretation:

Although performance improvements are reported in terms of mIoU and mB-Fscore, no variance, or statistical significance tests are provided.

The absence of such measures makes it difficult to assess whether the improvements are statistically meaningful or within normal variance.

Recommendation: Include multiple independent runs and report mean ± standard deviation values, or apply paired t-tests to establish statistical significance.

(b) Formatting and Figure Presentation:

Figures are informative but inconsistently referenced. Figure captions could include more context (e.g., dataset name, input size).

Remove editorial or template placeholders to improve professional appearance.

Recommendation: Ensure all figures and tables are clearly cited in the text and adhere to PLOS ONE formatting guidelines.

(c) Dataset Limitations and Overfitting Concerns:

The custom Thangka dataset includes only 783 manually annotated images (expanded to 4,698 after augmentation).

The paper does not describe cross-validation or overfitting prevention strategies (e.g., dropout, early stopping).

Recommendation: Discuss potential dataset biases and describe methods used to prevent overfitting, as this directly affects generalizability.

(d) Model Complexity and Computational Cost:

While FPS and parameter counts are reported, GPU memory consumption and training time are omitted.

Recommendation: Provide a brief discussion of computational efficiency and resource requirements to assist reproducibility by other researchers.

(e) Depth of Discussion:

The discussion section mainly reiterates experimental results. It could better explain why the proposed modules lead to observed improvements.

Consider including an interpretive explanation (e.g., visualization of attention maps or feature activations) to clarify how ECA-Pag and LGFM modules contribute to improved performance.

Minor Revisions:

(a) Please ensure all references are formatted consistently according to journal guidelines.

(b) Define abbreviations (e.g., "PConv3”, “ECA”, “LGFM”) at first use in the abstract.

(c) Clarify the acronym “Pag” since it appears central to your proposed enhancement.

(d) Ensure consistent capitalization of terms like “Thangka”, “semantic segmentation”, and “real-time”.

Reviewer #3: Please see attached document

General Comment to Authors

The Authors present a new network structure to segment the motifs of Thangka images, in the context of preservation of the artworks that may benefit in case of digitalization, archiving and restoration efforts.

The presented concept and methodology look solid in their description and performances. The Authors seem to significantly improve the current state of the art, balancing accuracy and complexity.

However, this work requires major revisions as it lacks form.

First of all, it is unacceptable to submit a manuscript with the presence of unrelated text (lines 118-125). This makes me wonder about the level of attention the Authors devoted to pull together this manuscript.

Then, it is also unacceptable for a scientific publication to not have figure and tables captions.

The last two major form points regard the usage of acronyms and their shuffled definitions throughout the manuscript, and the structure of the results section which contains many elements that instead belong in the methods section.

Please find a detailed list of review points below

Review Points

ABSTRACT

1. Line 17: Perhaps spell out ECA-Pag and LGFM modules

2. Line 19-20: The presented figures are far from being conventional, especially in the field of conservation/preservation. Also, one of the metrics was developed in the work, so it is not possible to assume the readers know what that is.

INTRODUCTION

3. Line 42-43: why is it important to stress real-time performance in a conservation science setting?

4. Figure 1 and all the other figures: it is unacceptable to have no captions.

5. Line 72: missing reference for UNetFormer.

6. Line 96: LGFM never defined

METHODS

7. Line 118-125: it is unacceptable to submit a manuscript like this

8. Line 127: PID should have been spelled out earlier

9. Line 132-133: you already have explained the three paths at lines 134-135

10. Line 147-151: unnecessary in the methodology section

11. There is major confusion regarding what constitutes a result and what is methodology. Sections 3.1 through 3.4 do not belong in the Results section

12. Table 1: not acceptable to present a table like this. Also valid for all tables, like for the figures, there should be captions.

13. Line 317: the fact that you introduce the mB-Fscore as a new metrics should be stated in the abstract, introduction and metods

14. The example on the Cityscape dataset comes a little bit out of nowhere, if your goal is to demonstrate the generalization abilities of your approach, why not using more datasets?

15. Line 336: The spell out of FPS comes too late after FPS has been mentioned a few times

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes:Shake Ibna AbirShake Ibna Abir

Reviewer #3: No

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Attachments

Attachment

Submitted filename: PONE-D-25-46097_review.pdf

-->PONE-D-25-46097R1-->-->Research on the Semantic Segmentation of Thangka Images via an Improved PIDNet-->-->PLOS One

Dear Dr. Wang,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Please submit your revised manuscript by Apr 16 2026 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:-->

• A letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
• A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
• An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

-->If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols. Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at . Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols..

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Baohua Wen

Academic Editor

PLOS One

Journal Requirements:

If the reviewer comments include a recommendation to cite specific previously published works, please review and evaluate these publications to determine whether they are relevant and should be cited. There is no requirement to cite these works unless the editor has indicated otherwise.

Please review your reference list to ensure that it is complete and correct. If you have cited papers that have been retracted, please include the rationale for doing so in the manuscript text, or remove these references and replace them with relevant current references. Any changes to the reference list should be mentioned in the rebuttal letter that accompanies your revised manuscript. If you need to cite a retracted article, indicate the article’s retracted status in the References list and also include a citation and full reference for the retraction notice.

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

-->Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.-->

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

**********

-->2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. -->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

-->3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

-->4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

-->5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

-->6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #1: Although the authors have addressed my previous concerns, the revised manuscript still contains some writing issues. For example, in Section 3.3, the text shows “Error! Reference source not found.” The authors should carefully review the entire manuscript and correct all writing and formatting errors before the paper can be published.

Reviewer #2: Dear Authors,

Thank you for submitting the revised version of your manuscript and for the detailed responses to the reviewers’ comments. The manuscript has improved substantially and most of the concerns raised in the previous round have been addressed appropriately.

1. Data and code availability: Please ensure that the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript clearly matches the information provided in the response letter. If the dataset and code are hosted on GitHub, confirm that the repository is fully accessible and includes all materials necessary to reproduce the experiments (dataset description, training details, and scripts). If the code will only be released upon acceptance, please state this explicitly and clearly in the manuscript.

2. Minor formatting and consistency: Please conduct a final careful check of the manuscript for any remaining formatting inconsistencies, duplicated sentences (particularly in the Methods section), and figure/table references. Ensure that all abbreviations are defined at first use and that all figures and tables are cited in order within the text.

3. Clarity of presentation: Although the manuscript is now much clearer, a final round of language polishing and concise wording in certain sections (especially Methods and Discussion) would improve readability and flow. This is only an editorial refinement and does not require additional experiments or analyses.

**********

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If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes:Shake Ibna AbirShake Ibna Abir

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-->

Research on the Semantic Segmentation of Thangka Images via an Improved PIDNet

PONE-D-25-46097R2

Dear Dr. Wang,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

An invoice will be generated when your article is formally accepted. Please note, if your institution has a publishing partnership with PLOS and your article meets the relevant criteria, all or part of your publication costs will be covered. Please make sure your user information is up-to-date by logging into Editorial Manager at Editorial Manager® and clicking the ‘Update My Information' link at the top of the page. For questions related to billing, please contact  and clicking the ‘Update My Information' link at the top of the page. For questions related to billing, please contact billing support..

If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to help maximize its impact. If they’ll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team as soon as possible -- no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org.

Kind regards,

Baohua Wen

Academic Editor

PLOS One

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

-->Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.-->

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #4: All comments have been addressed

**********

-->2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented. -->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

**********

-->3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

**********

-->4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

**********

-->5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.-->

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

**********

-->6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)-->

Reviewer #1: The author's response has addressed all of my concerns. I recommend that this paper can be published.

Reviewer #4: This manuscript is the second revision (R2). The authors have responded to the comments from the previous round of review in a serious and systematic manner, resulting in a significant improvement in the overall quality of the paper.

The paper conducts research on real-time semantic segmentation specifically for Thangka images — a culturally distinctive and heritage-oriented data domain. The topic possesses notable novelty, and the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves a good balance between boundary segmentation quality and real-time performance. The authors have also provided adequate and sufficiently detailed responses to the previous review comments.

Overall, the paper holds strong application value and academic significance. It introduces targeted structural improvements to the PIDNet framework for Thangka image segmentation. The model design, experimental validation, and supporting elements are relatively complete and well-executed. In particular, the construction of the custom dataset, the pixel-level annotation strategy, and the photometric data augmentation scheme are reproducible and provide valuable references for other cultural heritage image segmentation tasks.

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-->7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy..-->

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #4: No

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