Camera System Performance Derived from Natural Scenes

The Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) is a well-established measure of camera system performance, commonly employed to characterize optical and image capture systems. It is a measure based on Linear System Theory; thus, its use relies on the assumption that the system is linear and stationary. This is not the case with modern-day camera systems that incorporate non-linear image signal processes (ISP) to improve the output image. Non-linearities result in variations in camera system performance, which are dependent upon the specific input signals. This paper discusses the development of a novel framework, designed to acquire MTFs directly from images of natural complex scenes, thus making the use of traditional test charts with set patterns redundant. The framework is based on extraction, characterization and classification of edges found within images of natural scenes. Scene derived performance measures aim to characterize non-linear image processes incorporated in modern cameras more faithfully. Further, they can produce ‘live’ performance measures, acquired directly from camera feeds

Edge Detection Techniques for Quantifying Spatial Imaging System Performance and Image Quality

Measuring camera system performance and associating it directly to image quality is very relevant, whether images are aimed for viewing, or as input to machine learning and automated recognition algorithms. The Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) is a well- established measure for evaluating this performance. This study proposes a novel methodology for measuring system MTFs directly from natural scenes, by adapting the standardized Slanted Edge Method (ISO 12233). The method involves edge detection techniques, to select and extract suitable step edges from pictorial images. The scene MTF aims to account for camera non-linear scene dependent processes. This measure is more relevant to image quality modelling than the traditionally measured MTFs. Preliminary research results indicate that the proposed method can provide reliable MTFs, following the trends of the ISO 12233. Further development and validation are required before it is proposed as a universal camera measuring technique

Natural Scene Derived Camera Edge Spatial Frequency Response for Autonomous Vision Systems

The edge Spatial Frequency Response (eSFR) is an established measure for camera system quality performance, traditionally measured under laboratory conditions. With the increasing use of Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) in autonomous vision systems, the input signal quality becomes crucial for optimal operation. This paper proposes a method to estimate the system eSFR (sys-SFR) from pictorial natural scene derived SFRs (NS-SFRs) as previously presented, laying the foundation for adapting the traditional method to a real-time measure. In this study, the NS-SFR input parameter variations are first investigated to establish suitable ranges that give a stable estimate. Using the NS-SFR framework with the established parameter ranges, the system eSFR, as per ISO 12233, is estimated. Initial validation of results is obtained from implementing the measuring framework with images from a linear and a non-linear camera system. For the linear system, results closely approximate the ISO 12233 eSFR measurement. Non-linear system measurements exhibit scene dependant characteristics expected from edge-based methods. The requirements to implement this method in real-time for autonomous systems are then discussed

Skeletal muscle and kidney crosstalk in chronic kidney disease

The functioning of complex organisms requires a constant and delicate balance of processes both between and within cells, tissues, and organ systems. There is growing appreciation for the role of signalling crosstalk connecting different organ systems of the body, even from tissues traditionally classified as “inert” in terms of their capacity to produce chemical signals that can act on other organ systems. Many of these secreted molecules have been shown to contribute to, or exacerbate, a variety of functions and diseases in other organ systems, even if the two organs are not functionally linked. For example, there is a strong association with skeletal muscle atrophy and dysfunction in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Identification of molecules produced and secreted by skeletal muscle has existed for some time, and there is emerging evidence that skeletal muscle may directly affect kidney function. Conversely, factors produced and secreted by the kidneys in various models of CKD have been shown to contribute to reduced muscle functionality. This review will focus on crosstalk in both directions between skeletal muscle and the kidneys. The emphasis will be on direct interaction between these organs using examples of secreted factors that are produced by the muscle or kidneys (including activin A, myostatin, microRNA’s, irisin and mitsugumin 53),often under pathophysiological conditions. Our understanding of how the kidneys and skeletal muscle interact with each other is key to elucidating the pathophysiology processes that drive health and disease

Iris Image Recognition using Optimized Kohonen Self Organizing Neural Network

The pursuit to develop an effective people management system has widened over the years to manage the enormous increase in population. Any management system includes identification, verification and recognition stages. Iris recognition has become notable biometrics to support the management system due to its versatility and non-invasive approach. These systems help to identify the individual with the texture information distributed around the iris region. Many classification algorithms are available to help in iris recognition. But those are very sophisticated and require heavy computation. In this paper, an improved Kohonen self-organizing neural network (KSONN) is used to boost the performance of existing KSONN. This improvement is brought by the introduction of optimization technique into the learning phase of the KSONN. The proposed method shows improved accuracy of the recognition. Moreover, it also reduces the iterations required to train the network. From the experimental results, it is observed that the proposed method achieves a maximum accuracy of 98% in 85 iterations

Granular Elasticity without the Coulomb Condition

An self-contained elastic theory is derived which accounts both for mechanical yield and shear-induced volume dilatancy. Its two essential ingredients are thermodynamic instability and the dependence of the elastic moduli on compression.Comment: 4pages, 2 figure

Nedd4-2-dependent ubiquitination potentiates the inhibition of human NHE3 by cholera toxin and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Diarrhea is one of the most common illnesses and is often caused by bacterial infection. Recently, we have shown that human Naþ/Hþ exchanger NHE3 (hNHE3), but not non-human NHE3s, interacts with the E3 ubiquitin ligase Nedd4-2. We hypothesize that this property of hNHE3 contributes to the increased severity of diarrhea in humans. METHODS: We used humanized mice expressing hNHE3 in the intestine (hNHE3int) to compare the contribution of hNHE3 and mouse NHE3 to diarrhea induced by cholera toxin (CTX) and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC). We measured Naþ/ Hþ exchange activity and fluid absorption. The role of Nedd4-2 on hNHE3 activity and ubiquitination was determined by knockdown in Caco-2bbe cells. The effects of protein kinase A (PKA), the primary mediator of CTX-induced diarrhea, on Nedd4-2 and hNHE3 phosphorylation and their interaction were determined. RESULTS: The effects of CTX and EPEC were greater in hNHE3int mice than in control wild-type (WT) mice, resulting in greater inhibition of NHE3 activity and increased fluid accumulation in the intestine, the hallmark of diarrhea. Activation of PKA increased ubiquitination of hNHE3 and enhanced interaction of Nedd4-2 with hNHE3 via phosphorylation of Nedd4-2 at S342. S342A mutation mitigated the Nedd4-2–hNHE3 interaction and blocked PKA-induced inhibition of hNHE3. Unlike non-human NHE3s, inhibition of hNHE3 by PKA is independent of NHE3 phosphorylation, suggesting a distinct mechanism of hNHE3 regulation. CONCLUSIONS: The effects of CTX and EPEC on hNHE3 are amplified, and the unique properties of hNHE3 may contribute to diarrheal symptoms occurring in humans

Evaluation of detailed aromatic mechanisms (MCMv3 and MCMv3.1) against environmental chamber data

International audienceA high quality dataset on the photo-oxidation of benzene, toluene, p-xylene and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene has been obtained from experiments in the European Photoreactor (EUPHORE), a large outdoor environmental reaction chamber. The experiments were designed to test sensitive features of detailed aromatic mechanisms, and the dataset has been used to evaluate the performance of the Master Chemical Mechanism Version 3 (MCMv3). An updated version (MCMv3.1) was constructed based on recent experimental data, and details of its development are described in a companion paper. The MCMv3.1 aromatic mechanisms have also been evaluated using the EUPHORE dataset. Significant deficiencies have been identified in the mechanisms, in particular: 1) an over-estimation of the ozone concentration, 2) an under-estimation of the NO oxidation rate, 3) an under-estimation of OH. The use of MCMv3.1 improves the model-measurement agreement in some areas but significant discrepancies remain