Evaluation and comparison of techniques for reconstructing the point spread function of images blurred by uniform linear motion

En el área del procesamiento digital de imágenes, es frecuente encontrar diferentes tipos de degradaciones, como lo es la difuminación por movimiento (motion blur), la cual es causada por el movimiento relativo entre la cámara y el objeto observado. Esto produce sobre la imagen una estela de bajo contraste que sigue la trayectoria del movimiento. Si la velocidad relativa es constante y el desenfoque es invariante sobre toda la imagen, la difuminación causada puede ser modelada por medio de la Función de Dispersión de Punto (PSF) usando los parámetros de longitud y ángulo de la estela dejada. Este trabajo evaluó la exactitud en la estimación de dichos parámetros y la robustez al Ruido Aditivo Blanco Gaussiano de un grupo de estrategias espaciales y en frecuencia para la reconstrucción de la PSF, además se consideró el tiempo de ejecución de los algoritmos presentados. Se usaron 20 imágenes de 512x512 píxeles degradadas sintéticamente. Se evaluaron cinco de las técnicas más conocidas para la estimación del ángulo y tres para la longitud. Los resultados experimentales revelaron que las técnicas con los errores absolutos promedio más bajos para la estimación del ángulo y la longitud de la PSF en imágenes sin ruido son la Transformada Cepstrum 2D y la Transformada Cepstrum 1D, respectivamente.In the field of digital image processing, it is common to find different types of degradation. One of them is motion blur, which is caused by the relative movement between the camera and the observed object. It produces a low-contrast trace on the image that follows the trajectory of the movement. If the relative velocity is constant and the blur is invariant across the entire image, the resulting blur can be modeled by means of the Point Spread Function (PSF) and using the trace’s length and the angle parameters. This work evaluated the accuracy of the estimation of the angle and length parameters, and the robustness to Additive White Gaussian Noise of a set of spatial and frequency approaches for reconstructing the PSF. It is important to highlight that the algorithms’ processing time was also considered. In total, 20 512x512 pixels synthetically-degraded images were used. Besides, five of the best-known techniques for estimating the angle and three for the length of the PSF were evaluated. The experimental results revealed the techniques with the lowest absolute mean error for estimating the angle and the length of the PSF in noise-free images: 2D Cepstrum Transform and 1D Cepstrum Transform, respectively

Synthesis of Nylon 6/Modified Carbon Black Nanocomposites for Application in Uric Acid Adsorption

High uric acid levels cause different clinic conditions. One of them is hyperuricemia, which leads to kidney damage. A solution for eliminating uric acid in the blood is by hemodialysis, which is performed using nanocomposite membranes. In this work, Nylon 6 nanocomposites were synthesized with modified carbon black (MCB), which were considered candidate materials for hemodialysis membranes. The modification of carbon black was made with citric acid using the variable-frequency ultrasound method. The new MCB was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and dispersion tests. Nylon 6/MCB nanocomposites were processed using the ultrasound-assisted melt-extrusion method to improve the dispersion procedure of the nanoparticles. The Nylon 6/MCB nanocomposites were characterized by FTIR, TGA, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). These were assessed for the absorption of toxins and hemocompatibility. MBC and nanocomposites showed excellent uric acid removal (78–82%) and hemocompatibility (1.6–1.8%). These results suggest that Nylon 6/MCB nanocomposites with low loading percentages can be used on a large scale without compatibility problems with blood

The materials production and processing facility at the Spanish National Centre for fusion technologies (TechnoFusión)

Proceedings of : The 26th Symposium of Fusion Technology (SOFT-26), Porto (Portugal),- 27 september - 1 october 2010.In response to the urgent request from the EU Fusion Program, a new facility (TechnoFusion) for research and development of fusion materials has been planned with support from the Regional Government of Madrid and the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain. TechnoFusion, the National Centre for Fusion Technologies, aims screening different technologies relevant for ITER and DEMO environments while promoting the contribution of international companies and research groups into the Fusion Programme. For this purpose, the centre will be provided with a large number of unique facilities for the manufacture, testing (a triple-beam multi-ion irradiation, a plasma-wall interaction device, a remote handling for under ionizing radiation testing) and analysis of critical fusion materials. Particularly, the objectives, semi-industrial scale capabilities and present status of the TechnoFusion Materials Production and Processing (MPP) facility are presented. Previous studies revealed that the MPP facility will be a very promising infrastructure for the development of new materials and prototypes demanded by the fusion technology and therefore some of them will be here briefly summarized.This work has been supported by Madrid Community through the project TECHNOFUSION (S2009/ENE/1679).Publicad

First report of Alternaria black spot of pomegranate caused by Alternaria alternata in Spain

Berbegal, M.; López- Cortés, I.; Salazar Hernández, DM.; Gramaje, D.; Perez-Sierra, A.; Garcia-Jimenez, J.; Armengol, J. (2014). First report of Alternaria black spot of pomegranate caused by Alternaria alternata in Spain. Plant Disease. 98(5):689-689. doi:10.1094/PDIS-07-13-0717-PDNS68968998

Neutron cross-sections for advanced nuclear systems : The n-TOF project at CERN

© Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2014 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedThe study of neutron-induced reactions is of high relevance in a wide variety of fields, ranging from stellar nucleosynthesis and fundamental nuclear physics to applications of nuclear technology. In nuclear energy, high accuracy neutron data are needed for the development of Generation IV fast reactors and accelerator driven systems, these last aimed specifically at nuclear waste incineration, as well as for research on innovative fuel cycles. In this context, a high luminosity Neutron Time Of Flight facility, n-TOF, is operating at CERN since more than a decade, with the aim of providing new, high accuracy and high resolution neutron cross-sections. Thanks to the features of the neutron beam, a rich experimental program relevant to nuclear technology has been carried out so far. The program will be further expanded in the near future, thanks in particular to a new high-flux experimental area, now under construction.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

The nucleosynthesis of heavy elements in Stars : The key isotope 25Mg

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedWe have measured the radiative neutron-capture cross section and the total neutron-induced cross section of one of the most important isotopes for the s process, the 25Mg. The measurements have been carried out at the neutron time-of-flight facilities n-TOF at CERN (Switzerland) and GELINA installed at the EC-JRC-IRMM (Belgium). The cross sections as a function of neutron energy have been measured up to approximately 300 keV, covering the energy region of interest to the s process. The data analysis is ongoing and preliminary results show the potential relevance for the s process.Peer reviewe

Measurement of 73 Ge(n,γ) cross sections and implications for stellar nucleosynthesis

© 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.73 Ge(n,γ) cross sections were measured at the neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN up to neutron energies of 300 keV, providing for the first time experimental data above 8 keV. Results indicate that the stellar cross section at kT=30 keV is 1.5 to 1.7 times higher than most theoretical predictions. The new cross sections result in a substantial decrease of 73 Ge produced in stars, which would explain the low isotopic abundance of 73 Ge in the solar system.Peer reviewe

The measurement programme at the neutron time-of-flight facility n-TOF at CERN

Neutron-induced reaction cross sections are important for a wide variety of research fields ranging from the study of nuclear level densities, nucleosynthesis to applications of nuclear technology like design, and criticality and safety assessment of existing and future nuclear reactors, radiation dosimetry, medical applications, nuclear waste transmutation, accelerator-driven systems and fuel cycle investigations. Simulations and calculations of nuclear technology applications largely rely on evaluated nuclear data libraries. The evaluations in these libraries are based both on experimental data and theoretical models. CERN's neutron time-of-flight facility n-TOF has produced a considerable amount of experimental data since it has become fully operational with the start of its scientific measurement programme in 2001. While for a long period a single measurement station (EAR1) located at 185 m from the neutron production target was available, the construction of a second beam line at 20 m (EAR2) in 2014 has substantially increased the measurement capabilities of the facility. An outline of the experimental nuclear data activities at n-TOF will be presented