Image sequence restoration by median filtering

Median filters are non-linear filters that fit in the generic category of order-statistic filters. Median filters are widely used for reducing random defects, commonly characterized by impulse or salt and pepper noise in a single image. Motion estimation is the process of estimating the displacement vector between like pixels in the current frame and the reference frame. When dealing with a motion sequence, the motion vectors are the key for operating on corresponding pixels in several frames. This work explores the use of various motion estimation algorithms in combination with various median filter algorithms to provide noise suppression. The results are compared using two sets of metrics: performance-based and objective image quality-based. These results are used to determine the best motion estimation / median filter combination for image sequence restoration. The primary goals of this work are to implement a motion estimation and median filter algorithm in hardware and develop and benchmark a flexible software alternative restoration process. There are two unique median filter algorithms to this work. The first filter is a modification to a single frame adaptive median filter. The modification applied motion compensation and temporal concepts. The other is an adaptive extension to the multi-level (ML3D) filter, called adaptive multi-level (AML3D) filter. The extension provides adaptable filter window sizes to the multiple filter sets that comprise the ML3D filter. The adaptive median filter is capable of filtering an image in 26.88 seconds per frame and results in a PSNR improvement of 5.452dB. The AML3D is capable of filtering an image in 14.73 seconds per frame and results in a PSNR improvement of 6.273dB. The AML3D is a suitable alternative to the other median filters

21st Century STEM Reasoning

Presented at the The Georgia Southern University Real STEM Project is collaborating with 10 middle and high schools on development and implementation of an interdisciplinary STEM research and design course that actively engages students in real-world problem solving. We will discuss the expected outcomes of such interdisciplinary STEM experiences which is the development of 21st century STEM reasoning. Examples of using authentic teaching strategies to promote complex systems reasoning, model-based reasoning, computational reasoning, engineering design-based reasoning, and quantitative reasoning will be shared with participants

Functions of cell surface galectin-glycoprotein lattices

Programmed remodeling of cell surface glycans by the sequential action of specific glycosyltransferases can control biological processes by generating or masking ligands for endogenous lectins. Galectins, a family of animal lectins with affinity for beta-galactosides, can form multivalent complexes with cell surface glycoconjugates and deliver a variety of intracellular signals to modulate cell activation, differentiation, and survival. Recent efforts involving genetic or biochemical manipulation of O-glycosylation and N-glycosylation pathways, as well as blockade of the synthesis of endogenous galectins, have illuminated essential roles for galectin-glycoprotein lattices in the control of biological processes including receptor turnover and endocytosis, host-pathogen interactions, and immune cell activation and homeostasis.Fil: Rabinovich, Gabriel Adrián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Toscano, Marta Alicia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Jackson, Shawn S.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Vasta, Gerardo R.. University of Maryland; Estados Unido

Preparedness Exercises 2.0: Alternative Approaches to Exercise Design That Could Make Them More Useful for Evaluating and Strengthening Preparedness

This article appeared in Homeland Security Affairs (May 2011), v.7Preparedness exercises play central roles in both the building and assessment of organizational readiness for future incidents. Though processes for designing and evaluating exercises are well established, there are opportunities to improve the value of exercises for strengthening preparedness and as tools for gathering assessment data. This article describe the application of systems analytical approach adapted from engineering that examines response operations as systems with potential failure modes that could hurt performance at future incidents. This methodology, which has been applied previously to preparedness measurement, is explored here as a tool for exercise design to focus it more tightly on key potential problem areas and to make it easier to use exercise data to explore preparedness for incidents that could differ considerably from the specific exercised scenario.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

21st Century STEM Reasoning

The Georgia Southern University Real STEM Project is collaborating with 10 middle and high schools on development and implementation of an interdisciplinary STEM research and design course that actively engages students in real-world problem solving. We will discuss the expected outcomes of such interdisciplinary STEM experiences which is the development of 21st century STEM reasoning. Examples of using authentic teaching strategies to promote complex systems reasoning, model-based reasoning, computational reasoning, engineering design-based reasoning, and quantitative reasoning will be shared with participants

The public interest and the company in Britain and Germany:Project funded by the Anglo-German Foundation, 1998-1999

This study is principally concernedwith public interest agendas in relationto the company and how far these dif-fer in Germany and Britain. It is not concerned with the detail of external corporate regulation, but with how the internal structures of the company are constituted by particular political understandings of the public interest, which become embodied in formal and informal rules.·We examine factors which shape the politics of the public interest in relation to the company: firstly, the role of political ideas and interests in creating political coalitions which express a particular conception of the public interest; secondly, the extent to which rules and norms embodied in institutions and legal cases shape subsequent expectations of how the company is related to the public interest, and how it should behave; thirdly, how the constraints and opportunities of the global economy shape attitudes towards the boundaries of legitimate interference in company affairs; and fourthly, whether European integration substantially shapes company law in a way that can be distinguished from national legislation

An Historical Analysis of the Chicago Public Schools Desegregation Consent Decree (1980 - 2006): Establishing Its Relationship with the Brown v. Board Case of 1954 and the Implications of Its Implementation on Educational Leadership

This study provides an historical analysis of the Chicago Public School Desegregation Consent Decree, while illustrating its relationship with the Brown v. Board of 1954. It provides and analysis of the mission and objectives of all three versions of the Consent Decree which include: The Original Consent Decree 1980, The Modified Consent Decree 2004, and The Second Amended Decree 2006. The study also provides an account of the Brown v. Board case of 1954, defining the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as the conduits between the landmark case and the Chicago Public School Desegregation Consent Decree. The dissertation answers five questions; the discriminatory practices responsible for the Consent Decrees origin, the goals established within the Consent Decree, the strategies used to implement the Consent Decree\u27s goals, the supports and obstacles that effected the implementation of the Consent Decree, and the effect of the Consent Decree\u27s implementation on current and future leaders. The Chicago Public Schools Policy Manual, official reports of the proceedings of the Board of Education of the City of Chicago, and transcripts from the signing of the Original, Modified, and Second Amended versions of the Consent Decree served as valuable primary resources to support this study. Court transcripts from the Brown v. Board court case assisted in establishing the relationship between the landmark case and the Chicago Public School Desegregation Consent Decree

Finding the early talent: Factors predicting early advanced math enrollment

Early exposure to advanced math classes have shown higher levels of college readiness for students. However, there is evidence of a discriminatory gap among students of marginalized backgrounds in placement of these advanced courses. To examine this, three years of data from approximately 10,500 student will be used to develop and validate predictive models that examines both enrollment and performance in advanced math courses in the eighth grade. Data will come from a longitudinal study taking place in rural North Carolina. This research will use the predictive models to determine which students will be selected for eighth grade advanced math and if there is a selection bias for which eighth grade students are chosen to begin advanced math classes