Uniformity Correction of CMOS Image Sensor Modules for Machine Vision Cameras

Flat-field correction (FFC) is commonly used in image signal processing (ISP) to improve the uniformity of image sensor pixels. Image sensor nonuniformity and lens system characteristics have been known to be temperature-dependent. Some machine vision applications, such as visual odometry and single-pixel airborne object tracking, are extremely sensitive to pixel-to-pixel sensitivity variations. Numerous cameras, especially in the fields of infrared imaging and staring cameras, use multiple calibration images to correct for nonuniformities. This paper characterizes the temperature and analog gain dependence of the dark signal nonuniformity (DSNU) and photoresponse nonuniformity (PRNU) of two contemporary global shutter CMOS image sensors for machine vision applications. An optimized hardware architecture is proposed to compensate for nonuniformities, with optional parametric lens shading correction (LSC). Three different performance configurations are outlined for different application areas, costs, and power requirements. For most commercial applications, the correction of LSC suffices. For both DSNU and PRNU, compensation with one or multiple calibration images, captured at different gain and temperature settings are considered. For more demanding applications, the effectiveness, external memory bandwidth, power consumption, implementation, and calibration complexity, as well as the camera manufacturability of different nonuniformity correction approaches were compared

Transzformáló növekedési faktor béta fehérjék a központi idegrendszerben = Transforming growth factor beta proteins in the central nervous system

A három TGF-béta altípus agyban való eloszlása specifikus, vagyis elkülönült idegrendszeri funkcióik lehetnek. A TGF-béta1 magas expressziót mutatott a hypothalamusz preoptikus területén, ahol eloszlása hasonló volt azonosított anyai neuropeptidekéhez. Ez arra utal, hogy a TGF-béta1 szerepet játszhat az idegrendszer anyai adaptációiban. Emellett a TGF-béta rendszer elemeit azonosítottuk a laterális hypothalamus orexin sejtjeiben is. A TGF-béta fehérjék neuroprotektív folyamatokban való részvételét is vizsgáltuk. Fokális agyi ischaemiát idéztünk elő az egyik középső agyi artéria okklúziójával. Ennek hatására TGF-béta1 indukálódott a lézió körüli penumbrában. A TGF-béta2 és 3 expressziója viszont máshol, az azonos oldali agykéreg II, III, és V. rétegének teljes hosszában növekedett meg. A TGF-béta1 együttes expressziót mutatott az ATF-3-al, míg a TGF-béta2 és 3 Fos fehérjét kifejező sejtekben indukálódott. Egyik neurontípus sem festődött Fluoro Jade C-vel, egy neurodegenerációt jelző markerrel. Eredményeink arra utalnak, hogy az endogen TGF-béta fehérjék részt vehetnek neuroprotektív funkciókban, de ischaemiás eseményt követően eltérő mechanizmussal indukálódnak. Szintén megvizsgáltuk a TGF-béta rendszert a TGF-béta kötőfehérje 1 hiányában knock-out egérben, és jelentős változást nem tapasztaltunk. Összességében elmondhatjuk, hogy a pályázat keretében szerzett új ismereteknek jelentős szerepe van az agy TGF-béta rendszerének megértésében, és a rendszer jövőbeli kihasználásában ischaemiás stroke-ot követően. | The topographical distribution of mRNAs of the 3 TGF-betas in the brain were characteristic of the particular type of TGF-beta suggesting that they play a role in separate brain functions. TGF-beta1 was abundantly expressed in the preoptic area of the hypothalamus with a distribution similar to identified maternal neuropeptides in the region suggesting that TGF-beta1 may play a role in maternal adaptations. We also identified elements of the TGF-beta system in orexin neurons of the lateral hypothalamus. The involvement of TGF-betas in neuroprotection has also been established. Focal brain ischemia was induced with unilateral occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. TGF-beta1 was induced in the penumbra around the lesion. The expression of TGF-beta2 and 3 was increased in layers II, III, and V of the ipsilateral cerebral cortex. TGF-beta1 was co-localized with ATF-3 while TGF-beta2 appeared in Fos-expressing cells. In turn, these neurons did not contain Fluoro Jade C, a marker of neurodegeneration. Thus, endogenous TGF-betas may participate in neuroprotection, although they are induced by different mechanisms following an ischemic attack. We also examined the TGF-beta system in the absence of TGF-beta binding protein 1 in knock-out mice and found no major effects. Collectively, the new knowledge gained in the framework of the proposal is expected to have a major positive impact on understanding the TGF-beta system in the central nervous system and its utilization to alleviate the consequences of ischemic stroke

Spillover: the empirical utilisation of the concept. An empirical review of the social scientific corpus between 2004-2014

In recent decades, spillover has become a highly influential concept which has led to the initiation of new theoretical and methodological approaches that are designed to understand how people attempt to reconcile their work and private lives. The very notion of spillover presupposes that these spheres are connected, since the people who move between them bring certain ‘less visible’ content with them such as cognitive or affective mental constructs, skills, behaviors, etc. This paper attempts to create fresh insight into the different areas, themes and methodologies related to how spillover has been addressed over the last ten years. Four main categories are discussed based on the 76 academic articles that were selected: (1) general spillover research, (2) job flexibility and spillover, (3) individual coping strategies, and (4) the spillover effect on the different genders. The final section of the paper provides a tentative synthesis of the main conclusions and findings from the examined papers

ENTICE VM Image Analysis and Optimised Fragmentation

Virtual machine (VM) images (VMIs) often share common parts of significant size as they are stored individually. Using existing de-duplication techniques for such images are non-trivial, impose serious technical challenges, and requires direct access to clouds' proprietary image storages, which is not always feasible. We propose an alternative approach to split images into shared parts, called fragments, which are stored only once. Our solution requires a reasonably small set of base images available in the cloud, and additionally only the increments will be stored without the contents of base images, providing significant storage space savings. Composite images consisting of a base image and one or more fragments are assembled on-demand at VM deployment. Our technique can be used in conjunction with practically any popular cloud solution, and the storage of fragments is independent of the proprietary image storage of the cloud provider

Transzformáló növekedési faktor béta fehérjék szerepe a központi idegrendszer működésében = The Function of Transforming Growth Factor beta Proteins in the Central Nervous System

A pályázat keretében megmutattuk, hogy a transzformáló növekedési faktorok (TGF-béta1, -béta2 és -béta3) kifejeződnek az agyszövetben ischemiás léziót követően, és hogy jelentős különbségek vannak az egyes altípusok időbeli és térbeli mintázata között. Az a további felfedezésünk, hogy a különböző TGF-béta altípusok eltérő típusú sejtekben fejeződnek ki, és más azonnali korai génekkel kolokalizálnak arra utal, hogy a különböző TGF-béta altípusok eltérő mechanizmussal aktiválódnak az agyban ischemia után. Ebből következően időben és térben eltérően szabályozott gyulladásos és neuroprotektív folyamatokban vehetnek részt. Az ischemiát követő védelmi szerephez hasonlóan a TGF-béta fehérjék más szöveti károsodással szemben is védelmet nyújthatnak. A pályázat keretében a neuroprotekció lehetséges mechanizmusait is leírtuk. A TGF-béta fehérjék a patológiás folyamatok mellett fiziológiás szabályozásokban is szerepet kaphatnak. Eredményeink arra utaltak, hogy a TGF-béta1 fehérje szerepet játszhat a szülés utáni anyai adaptációkban, mivel annak elhelyezkedése hasonló volt egy anyai neuropeptidéhez, az amylinhez a preoptikus területen, aminek a léziója az anyai viselkedések kiesését okozza. Azonban a további kísérleteink azt valószínűsítik, hogy a TGF-béta fehérjéknek nem az anyai viselkedések, hanem esetleg a gonadotropin hormon releasing hormon elválasztásának szabályozásában vehetnek részt. | We showed that transforming growth factors (TGF-beta1, -beta2 and -beta3) were expressed in brain tissue following ischemic lesion and that significant differences exist between the spatial and temporal patterns of expression of TGF-beta subtypes. The additional finding that TGF-beta subtypes are expressed in separate cell types, and co-localize with different immediate early genes imply that endogenous TGF-betas are induced by different mechanisms following an ischemic attack in the brain. Consequently, they may be involved in distinct spatially and temporally regulated inflammatory and neuroprotective processes. Thus, the different subtypes of TGF-betas may participate in different aspects of neural tissue protection. Apart from neuroprotection following ischemia, TGF-betas were suggested to have neuroprotective actions in a variety of additional insults to the nervous tissue. The different mechanisms involved in the neuroprotective actions of TGF-beta subunits for the different disorders are described. Physiological functions of TGF-betas were also suggested. Our results also pointed to a possible role of TGF-betas in maternal alterations as the expression of TGF-beta1 is very similar to the maternal peptide amylin in the preoptic area, a brain region whose lesion leads to the elimination of maternal care. However, a variety of approaches indicate that TGF-betas may not be involved in maternal adaptations but rather could play a role in the regulation of GnRH function in the preoptic area

The acoustic bases of human voice identity processing in dogs

Speech carries identity-diagnostic acoustic cues that help individuals recognize each other during vocal–social interactions. In humans, fundamental frequency, formant dispersion and harmonics-to-noise ratio serve as characteristics along which speakers can be reliably separated. The ability to infer a speaker’s identity is also adaptive for members of other species (like companion animals) for whom humans (as owners) are relevant. The acoustic bases of speaker recognition in non-humans are unknown. Here, we tested whether dogs can recognize their owner’s voice and whether they rely on the same acoustic parameters for such recognition as humans use to discriminate speakers. Stimuli were pre-recorded sentences spoken by the owner and control persons, played through loudspeakers placed behind two non-transparent screens (with each screen hiding a person). We investigated the association between acoustic distance of speakers (examined along several dimensions relevant in intraspecific voice identification) and dogs’ behavior. Dogs chose their owner’s voice more often than that of control persons’, suggesting that they can identify it. Choosing success and time spent looking in the direction of the owner’s voice were positively associated, showing that looking time is an index of the ease of choice. Acoustic distance of speakers in mean fundamental frequency and jitter were positively associated with looking time, indicating that the shorter the acoustic distance between speakers with regard to these parameters, the harder the decision. So, dogs use these cues to discriminate their owner’s voice from unfamiliar voices. These findings reveal that dogs use some but probably not all acoustic parameters that humans use to identify speakers. Although dogs can detect fine changes in speech, their perceptual system may not be fully attuned to identity-diagnostic cues in the human voice