Retinex Image-Enhancement Study Draws PLOS One Expression of Concern

The PLOS One editors have issued an Expression of Concern for a 2025 study describing an improved retinex algorithm for enhancing visual edge features in product-appearance design images. The notice, published on October 21, 2026, advises readers to interpret the original article with caution because the study did not describe its datasets and data sources in sufficient detail to permit reproduction, and the individual-level data supporting its results were not made available.

The concerns concern the evidence and data underlying the published research rather than a newly conducted test of the image-processing method. According to the notice, the original article did not provide enough detail about the specific datasets and their sources for the work to be reproduced. It also stated that the underlying individual-level data were not supplied with the article, despite a Data Availability statement indicating otherwise.

The original paper, “Visual edge feature enhancement of product appearance design images based on improved retinex algorithm,” was written by Chen C-j and Tang G-r and published in PLOS One in 2025 as volume 20, issue 9, article e0332195. The Expression of Concern is a separate notice from the PLOS One editors, published in volume 21, issue 10, as article e0360869. It does not report a new experiment, an error calculation or a revised analysis of the improved retinex algorithm.

The editors also identified that articles cited as References 1 and 22 in the original study had been retracted before the original paper was published. The notice does not explain how those retractions affected the research, whether any reported results depended on the cited work or whether the conclusions of the original article require revision. The Expression of Concern therefore raises questions about the basis of the published findings without establishing that the proposed image-enhancement method has been disproved.

After raising the concerns with the authors, the editors said the individual-level underlying data had not been provided following an editorial request. Because those data were unavailable, the journal determined that the article did not comply with the PLOS Data Availability policy. The notice does not announce a formal retraction, quantify errors in the enhanced product-design images or provide a new assessment of the algorithm’s performance. Its stated implication is narrower: readers should approach the original article with caution because key supporting data were inaccessible and the dataset documentation was insufficient for reproduction.

Subject of Research: A PLOS One Expression of Concern concerning data documentation, supporting data and retracted references in a retinex-based image-enhancement study.

Article Title: Expression of Concern: Visual edge feature enhancement of product appearance design images based on improved retinex algorithm

Article References: The PLOS One Editors (2026). Expression of Concern: Visual edge feature enhancement of product appearance design images based on improved retinex algorithm. PLOS One, 21(10), e0360869. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360869

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0360869

Keywords: PLOS One, retinex algorithm, image enhancement, product design, Expression of Concern, data availability, research reproducibility, retracted references, Expression, Concern, Visual, edge