Crafting Training Degradation Distribution for the Accuracy-Generalization Trade-off in Real-World Super-Resolution

Super-resolution (SR) techniques designed for real-world applications commonly encounter two primary challenges: generalization performance and restoration accuracy. We demonstrate that when methods are trained using complex, large-range degradations to enhance generalization, a decline in accuracy is inevitable. However, since the degradation in a certain real-world applications typically exhibits a limited variation range, it becomes feasible to strike a trade-off between generalization performance and testing accuracy within this scope. In this work, we introduce a novel approach to craft training degradation distributions using a small set of reference images. Our strategy is founded upon the binned representation of the degradation space and the Fr\'echet distance between degradation distributions. Our results indicate that the proposed technique significantly improves the performance of test images while preserving generalization capabilities in real-world applications.Comment: This paper has been accepted to ICML 202

A quantitative technique to analyze and evaluate microstructures of skin hair follicles based on mueller matrix polarimetry

In this study, we propose a quantitative technique to analyze and evaluate microstructures of skin hair follicles based on Mueller Matrix transmission microscopy. We measure the Mueller matrix polar decomposition (MMPD) parameter images to reveal the characteristic linear birefringence distribution induced by hair follicles in mouse skin tissue samples. The results indicate that the Mueller matrix-derived parameters can be used to reveal the location and structural integrity of hair follicles. For accurate hair follicle location identification and quantitative structural evaluations, we use the image segmentation method, sliding window algorithm, and image texture analysis methods together to process the Mueller matrix-derived images. It is demonstrated that the hair follicle regions can be more accurately recognized, and their locations can be precisely identified based on the Mueller matrix-derived texture parameters. Moreover, comparisons between manual size measurement and polarimetric calculation results confirm that the Mueller matrix parameters have good performance for follicle size estimation. The results shown in this study suggest that the technique based on Mueller matrix microscopy can realize automatically hair follicle identification, detection, and quantitative evaluation. It has great potential in skin structure-related studies and clinical dermatological applications

FfDL : A Flexible Multi-tenant Deep Learning Platform

Deep learning (DL) is becoming increasingly popular in several application domains and has made several new application features involving computer vision, speech recognition and synthesis, self-driving automobiles, drug design, etc. feasible and accurate. As a result, large scale on-premise and cloud-hosted deep learning platforms have become essential infrastructure in many organizations. These systems accept, schedule, manage and execute DL training jobs at scale. This paper describes the design, implementation and our experiences with FfDL, a DL platform used at IBM. We describe how our design balances dependability with scalability, elasticity, flexibility and efficiency. We examine FfDL qualitatively through a retrospective look at the lessons learned from building, operating, and supporting FfDL; and quantitatively through a detailed empirical evaluation of FfDL, including the overheads introduced by the platform for various deep learning models, the load and performance observed in a real case study using FfDL within our organization, the frequency of various faults observed including unanticipated faults, and experiments demonstrating the benefits of various scheduling policies. FfDL has been open-sourced.Comment: MIDDLEWARE 201

Power scaling of high-power linearly polarized fiber lasers with <10 GHz linewidth

In this work, an all-fiberized polarization-maintained (PM) fiber laser has been demonstrated with a near-top-hat-shaped spectrum. By optimizing the modulation signal to generate near-top-hat-shaped spectrums, a 3-kW PM fiber laser has been achieved at &lt;10 GHz linewidth with the polarization extinction ratio of 96% and beam quality of 1.156, which is the highest output power ever reported with approximately 10 GHz linewidth, and further scaling of output power is limited by stimulated Brillouin scattering. By decomposing the mode content, the proportion of the fundamental mode in the output laser is above 97%. The stimulated Raman scattering suppression ratio reaches 62 dB at the maximal output power

Atmospheric deposition and river runoff stimulate the utilization of dissolved organic phosphorus in coastal seas

In coastal seas, the role of atmospheric deposition and river runoff in dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) utilization is not well understood. Here, we address this knowledge gap by combining microcosm experiments with a global approach considering the relationship between the activity of alkaline phosphatases and changes in phytoplankton biomass in relation to the concentration of dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP). Our results suggest that the addition of aerosols and riverine water stimulate the biological utilization of DOP in coastal seas primarily by depleting DIP due to increasing nitrogen concentrations, which enhances phytoplankton growth. This “Anthropogenic Nitrogen Pump” was therefore identified to make DOP an important source of phosphorus for phytoplankton in coastal seas but only when the ratio of chlorophyll a to DIP [Log10 (Chl a / DIP)] is larger than 1.20. Our study therefore suggests that anthropogenic nitrogen input might contribute to the phosphorus cycle in coastal seas

Genetic and Functional Dissection of HTRA1 and LOC387715 in Age-Related Macular Degeneration

A common haplotype on 10q26 influences the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and encompasses two genes, LOC387715 and HTRA1. Recent data have suggested that loss of LOC387715, mediated by an insertion/deletion (in/del) that destabilizes its message, is causally related with the disorder. Here we show that loss of LOC387715 is insufficient to explain AMD susceptibility, since a nonsense mutation (R38X) in this gene that leads to loss of its message resides in a protective haplotype. At the same time, the common disease haplotype tagged by the in/del and rs11200638 has an effect on the transcriptional upregulation of the adjacent gene, HTRA1. These data implicate increased HTRA1 expression in the pathogenesis of AMD and highlight the importance of exploring multiple functional consequences of alleles in haplotypes that confer susceptibility to complex traits