Jitter-Camera: High Resolution Video from a Low Resolution Detector

Video cameras must produce images at a reasonable frame-rate and with a reasonable depth of field. These requirements impose fundamental physical limits on the spatial resolution of the image detector. As a result, current cameras produce videos with a very low resolution. The resolution of videos can be computationally enhanced by moving the camera and applying super-resolution reconstruction algorithms. However, a moving camera introduces motion blur, which limits super-resolution quality. We analyze this effect and derive a theoretical result showing that motion blur has a substantial degrading effect on the performance of super resolution. The conclusion is, that in order to achieve the highest resolution, motion blur should be avoided. Motion blur can be minimized by sampling the space-time volume of the video in a specific manner. We have developed a novel camera, called the jitter camera, that achieves this sampling. By applying an adaptive super-resolution algorithm to the video produced by the jitter camera, we show that resolution can be notably enhanced for stationary or slowly moving objects, while it is improved slightly or left unchanged for objects with fast and complex motions. The end result is a video that has a significantly higher resolution than the captured one

Shaped stone balls were used for bone marrow extraction at Lower Paleolithic Qesem Cave, Israel

The presence of shaped stone balls at early Paleolithic sites has attracted scholarly attention since the pioneering work of the Leakeys in Olduvai, Tanzania. Despite the persistent presence of these items in the archaeological record over a period of two million years, their function is still debated. We present new results from Middle Pleistocene Qesem Cave on the use of these implements as percussion tools. Use-wear and abundant bone and fat residues found on ten shaped stone balls indicate crushing of fresh bones by thrusting percussion and provide direct evidence for the use of these items to access bone marrow of animal prey at this site. Two experiments conducted to investigate and verify functional aspects proved Qesem Cave shaped stone balls are efficient for bone processing and provide a comfortable grip and useful active areas for repeated use. Notably, the patina observed on the analyzed items precedes their use at the cave, indicating that they were collected by Qesem inhabitants, most probably from older Lower Paleolithic Acheulian sites. Thus, our results refer only to the final phases of the life of the items, and we cannot attest to their original function. As bone marrow played a central role in human nutrition in the Lower Paleolithic, and our experimental results show that the morphology and characteristics of shaped stone ball replicas are well-suited for the extraction of bone marrow, we suggest that these features might have been the reason for their collection and use at Qesem Cave. These results shed light on the function of shaped stone balls and are consistent with the significance of animal fat in the caloric intake of Middle Pleistocene humans as shown by the archeozoological evidence at Qesem Cave and possibly beyondWe acknowledge funding received for this project through the European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant Project HIDDEN FOODS, G.A. no. 639286 to EC). CL is grateful to MAECI (Italian Ministry for the Foreign Affairs) for its funding support to this project. EA is grateful to the Azrieli Foundation for the award of an Azrieli Fellowship. This study was funded by the grant UT 41/4-1 “Cultural and biological transformations in the Late Middle Pleistocene (420- 200 ka ago) at Qesem Cave, Israel: In search for a post-Homo erectus lineage in the Levantine corridor” (A. Gopher, R. Barkai, Th. Uthmeier) of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). The Qesem Cave excavation project was previously supported by the Israel Science Foundation, the CARE Archaeological Foundation, the Leakey Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the Dan David Foundation, and the German Research Foundatio

Background Free‐Tropospheric Ice Nucleating Particle Concentrations at Mixed‐Phase Cloud Conditions

Clouds containing ice are vital for precipitation formation and are important in determining the Earths radiative budget. However primary formation of ice in clouds is not fully understood. In the presence of ice nucleating particles (INPs), the phase change to ice is promoted, but identification and quantification of INPs in a natural environment remains challenging because of their low numbers. In this paper we quantify INP number concentrations in the free troposphere (FT) as measured at the High Altitude Research Station Jungfraujoch during the years 2014 to 2017. INPs were measured at conditions relevant for mixed-phase cloud formation at 241 to 242 K

Images in this paper are best viewed magnified or printed on a high resolution color printer. Jitter-Camera: High Resolution Video from a Low Resolution Detector

Video cameras must produce images at a reasonable frame-rate and with a reasonable depth of field. These requirements impose fundamental physical limits on the spatial resolution of the image detector. As a result, current cameras produce videos with a very low resolution. The resolution of videos can be computationally enhanced by moving the camera and applying super-resolution reconstruction algorithms. However, a moving camera introduces motion blur, which limits super-resolution quality. We analyze this effect and derive a theoretical result showing that motion blur has a substantial degrading effect on the performance of super resolution. The conclusion is, that in order to achieve the highest resolution, motion blur should be avoided. Motion blur can be minimized by sampling the space-time volume of the video in a specific manner. We have developed a novel camera, called the ”jitter camera, ” that achieves this sampling. By applying an adaptive super-resolution algorithm to the video produced by the jitter camera, we show that resolution can be notably enhanced for stationary or slowly moving objects, while it is improved slightly or left unchanged for objects with fast and complex motions. The end result is a video that has a significantly higher resolution than the captured one

Mutant SOD1 Increases APP Expression and Phosphorylation in Cellular and Animal Models of ALS.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease and it is the most common adult onset neurodegenerative disorder affecting motor neurons. There is currently no effective treatment for ALS and our understanding of the pathological mechanism is still far away from prevention and/or treatment of this devastating disease. Amyloid precursor protein (APP) is a transmembrane protein that undergoes processing either by β-secretase or α-secretase, followed by γ-secretase. In the present study, we show that APP levels, and aberrant phosphorylation, which is associated with enhanced β-secretase cleavage, are increased in SOD1G93A ALS mouse model. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) analysis suggests a close interaction between SOD1 and APP at hippocampal synapses. Notably, SOD1G93A mutation induces APP-SOD1 conformational changes, indicating a crosstalk between these two signaling proteins. Inhibition of APP processing via monoclonal antibody called BBS that blocks APP β-secretase cleavage site, resulted in reduction of mutant SOD1G93A levels in animal and cellular models of ALS, significantly prolonged life span of SOD1G93A mice and diminished inflammation. Beyond its effect on toxic mutant SOD1G93A, BBS treatment resulted in a reduction in the levels of APP, its processing product soluble APPβ and pro-apoptotic p53. This study demonstrates that APP and its processing products contribute to ALS pathology through several different pathways; thus BBS antibody could be a promising neuroprotective strategy for treatment of this disease

Lithium conducting Hybrid Solid Electrolyte and its All-solid-state Lithium Secondary Battery

Astrocytic markers including GFAP and S100B were not changed in SOD1G93A mice following AMD3100 treatment. SOD1G93A mice were treated with AMD3100 or PBS, sacrificed at 110 days old, and levels of astrocytes markers were measured. Five mice in each treatment group of SOD1G93A and PBS were tested. a. GFAP levels of SOD1G93A mice measured via western blot analysis. b. S100B levels of SOD1G93A mice measured via western blot analysis. Results are mean ¹ S.E.M. (TIF 38 kb

Additional file 2: of Chronic administration of AMD3100 increases survival and alleviates pathology in SOD1G93A mice model of ALS

AMD3100 does not affect microglial inflammatory markers and proinflammatory markers in LM. LM mice were treated with AMD3100 or PBS, sacrificed at 110 days old, and levels of activated microglia markers were measured. Five mice in each treatment group of SOD1G93A and LM mice were tested. a. TNF-ι level in spinal cord homogenates of SOD1G93A mice were measured using ELISA kit. b. IL-6 levels of SOD1G93A mice measured via western blot analysis. c. Iba-1 levels of SOD1G93A mice measured via western blot analysis. d. cd36 levels of SOD1G93A mice measured via western blot analysis. Results are mean ¹ S.E.M. (TIF 87 kb

Additional file 5: of Chronic administration of AMD3100 increases survival and alleviates pathology in SOD1G93A mice model of ALS

Increase in the number of motor neurons in spinal cords of AMD3100 following treatment. SOD1G93A mice were treated with AMD3100 (n=3)or PBS (n=3) starting at 50 days old and sacrificed at 110 days old. Fifteen nonadjacent sections per group of lumbar spinal cords were stained with thionin and analyzed. Results are mean ¹ S.E.M. (TIF 191 kb

BBS treatment leads increase in survival of SOD1^G93A transgenic mice.

<p>55-day-old female and male SODG93A mice received a weekly dose of 3mg/kg MAb BBS via i.p. injection. Controls were treated with PBS. A. Weight of each animal was recorded weekly. B. Motor functions of the i.p. treated mice were assessed by performing Rotarod test. Mice were trained to run on the 2-cm-diameter rod, which rotated at a fixed speed of 13 turns per minute. Mice were allowed to run for up to 1 min in each trial, or until they fell off. C. Plots of disease onset (Median BBS = 95; Median PBS = 91.5; *p <0.05; Average BBS = 97.2; Average = 91.9; *p <0.05), survival(Median BBS = 95; Median PBS = 91.5; *p <0.05; Average BBS = 97.2; Average = 91.9; *p <0.05) and the average survival in days. N (PBS) = 24, N (BBS) = 24.</p

APP expression and phosphorylation in spinal cords of pre-symptomatic and symptomatic mice.

<p>Spinal cords from 30 -and 80-day-old and end stage SOD1^G93A mice were homogenized and their membrane fractions were subjected to immunoblot analysis. Age matched NT littermates served as control. For APP detection 22C11 antibody was used. For detection of phosphorylated APP (pAPP) a specific polyclonal anti pAPP T688 was used. β-Actin was used as an internal loading control. Immunoblot blot and densitometric analysis of the relative expression and phosphorylation levels of APP in the spinal cord of (A) 30-day-old mice, (B) 80-day-old and end stage SOD1G93A mice. All values are expressed as the mean ± SEM. Statistical comparisons were performed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey–Kramer post hoc test. N(NT 30D) = 3, N(G93A 30D) = 3, N(NT = 4), N(G93A 80D) = 4, N(G93A end stage = 3).*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01 (v.s. NT littermates).</p