DA-RAG: Dynamic Attributed Community Search for Retrieval-Augmented Generation

Owing to their unprecedented comprehension capabilities, large language models (LLMs) have become indispensable components of modern web search engines. From a technical perspective, this integration represents retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), which enhances LLMs by grounding them in external knowledge bases. A prevalent technical approach in this context is graph-based RAG (G-RAG). However, current G-RAG methodologies frequently underutilize graph topology, predominantly focusing on low-order structures or pre-computed static communities. This limitation affects their effectiveness in addressing dynamic and complex queries. Thus, we propose DA-RAG, which leverages attributed community search (ACS) to extract relevant subgraphs based on the queried question dynamically. DA-RAG captures high-order graph structures, allowing for the retrieval of self-complementary knowledge. Furthermore, DA-RAG is equipped with a chunk-layer oriented graph index, which facilitates efficient multi-granularity retrieval while significantly reducing both computational and economic costs. We evaluate DA-RAG on multiple datasets, demonstrating that it outperforms existing RAG methods by up to 40% in head-to-head comparisons across four metrics while reducing index construction time and token overhead by up to 37% and 41%, respectively.

CytoCrowd: A Multi-Annotator Benchmark Dataset for Cytology Image Analysis

High-quality annotated datasets are crucial for advancing machine learning in medical image analysis. However, a critical gap exists: most datasets either offer a single, clean ground truth, which hides real-world expert disagreement, or they provide multiple annotations without a separate gold standard for objective evaluation. To bridge this gap, we introduce CytoCrowd, a new public benchmark for cytology analysis. The dataset features 446 high-resolution images, each with two key components: (1) raw, conflicting annotations from four independent pathologists, and (2) a separate, high-quality gold-standard ground truth established by a senior expert. This dual structure makes CytoCrowd a versatile resource. It serves as a benchmark for standard computer vision tasks, such as object detection and classification, using the ground truth. Simultaneously, it provides a realistic testbed for evaluating annotation aggregation algorithms that must resolve expert disagreements. We provide comprehensive baseline results for both tasks. Our experiments demonstrate the challenges presented by CytoCrowd and establish its value as a resource for developing the next generation of models for medical image analysis.