High Dynamic Range Imaging with Context-aware Transformer

Avoiding the introduction of ghosts when synthesising LDR images as high dynamic range (HDR) images is a challenging task. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are effective for HDR ghost removal in general, but are challenging to deal with the LDR images if there are large movements or oversaturation/undersaturation. Existing dual-branch methods combining CNN and Transformer omit part of the information from non-reference images, while the features extracted by the CNN-based branch are bound to the kernel size with small receptive field, which are detrimental to the deblurring and the recovery of oversaturated/undersaturated regions. In this paper, we propose a novel hierarchical dual Transformer method for ghost-free HDR (HDT-HDR) images generation, which extracts global features and local features simultaneously. First, we use a CNN-based head with spatial attention mechanisms to extract features from all the LDR images. Second, the LDR features are delivered to the Hierarchical Dual Transformer (HDT). In each Dual Transformer (DT), the global features are extracted by the window-based Transformer, while the local details are extracted using the channel attention mechanism with deformable CNNs. Finally, the ghost free HDR image is obtained by dimensional mapping on the HDT output. Abundant experiments demonstrate that our HDT-HDR achieves the state-of-the-art performance among existing HDR ghost removal methods.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Broad bandwidth of perceptual learning in second-order contrast modulation detection

Comparing characteristics of learning in first- and second-order systems might inform us about different neural plasticity in the two systems. In the current study, we aim to determine the properties of perceptual learning in second-order contrast modulation detection in normal adults. We trained nine observers to detect second-order gratings at an envelope modulation spatial frequency of 8 cycles/8 with their nondominant eyes. We found that, although training generated the largest improvements around the trained frequency, contrast sensitivity over a broad range of spatial frequencies also improved, with a 4.09-octave bandwidth of perceptual learning, exhibiting specificity to the trained spatial frequency as well as a relatively large degree of generalization. The improvements in the modulation sensitivity function (MSF) were not significantly different between the trained and untrained eyes. Furthermore, training did not significantly change subjects' ability in detecting firstorder gratings. Our results suggest that perceptual learning in second-order detection might occur at the postchannel level in binocular neurons, possibly through reducing the internal noise of the visual system

Odorant Inhibition in Mosquito Olfaction.

How chemical signals are integrated at the peripheral sensory system of insects is still an enigma. Here we show that when coexpressed with Orco in Xenopus oocytes, an odorant receptor from the southern house mosquito, CquiOR32, generated inward (regular) currents when challenged with cyclohexanone and methyl salicylate, whereas eucalyptol and fenchone elicited inhibitory (upward) currents. Responses of CquiOR32-CquiOrco-expressing oocytes to odorants were reduced in a dose-dependent fashion by coapplication of inhibitors. This intrareceptor inhibition was also manifested in vivo in fruit flies expressing the mosquito receptor CquiOR32, as well in neurons on the antennae of the southern house mosquito. Likewise, an orthologue from the yellow fever mosquito, AaegOR71, showed intrareceptor inhibition in the Xenopus oocyte recording system and corresponding inhibition in antennal neurons. Inhibition was also manifested in mosquito behavior. Blood-seeking females were repelled by methyl salicylate, but repellence was significantly reduced when methyl salicylate was coapplied with eucalyptol

Ethical Leadership and Follower Moral Actions: Investigating an Emotional Linkage

The effectiveness of ethical leadership has been extensively investigated. However, compared to the outcomes of ethical leadership, we still lack enough knowledge about the mechanisms underlying ethical leadership and its outcomes. Drawing from social information processing theory, this paper explores an emotional explanation for the effectiveness of ethical leadership. Adopting a time-lagged research design with responses from 64 leaders and 289 followers, the present research found that ethical leadership invokes followers’ other-praising emotions and eventually enhances their moral actions. Further, leader core self-evaluation contributes to the positive effects of ethical leadership on followers’ other-praising moral emotions and subsequent moral actions. Theoretical and practical implementations of these observations were discussed

The significance of glycolysis in tumor progression and its relationship with the tumor microenvironment

It is well known that tumor cells rely mainly on aerobic glycolysis for energy production even in the presence of oxygen, and glycolysis is a known modulator of tumorigenesis and tumor development. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is composed of tumor cells, various immune cells, cytokines, and extracellular matrix, among other factors, and is a complex niche supporting the survival and development of tumor cells and through which they interact and co-evolve with other tumor cells. In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in glycolysis and the TME. Many studies have found that glycolysis promotes tumor growth, metastasis, and chemoresistance, as well as inhibiting the apoptosis of tumor cells. In addition, lactic acid, a metabolite of glycolysis, can also accumulate in the TME, leading to reduced extracellular pH and immunosuppression, and affecting the TME. This review discusses the significance of glycolysis in tumor development, its association with the TME, and potential glycolysis-targeted therapies, to provide new ideas for the clinical treatment of tumors