Quality Assessment for CRT and LCD Color Reproduction Using a Blind Metric

This paper deals with image quality assessment that is capturing the focus of several research teams from academic and industrial parts. This field has an important role in various applications related to image from acquisition to projection. A large numbers of objective image quality metrics have been developed during the last decade. These metrics are more or less correlated to end-user feedback and can be separated in three categories: 1) Full Reference (FR) trying to evaluate the impairment in comparison to the reference image, 2) Reduced Reference (RR) using some features extracted from an image to represent it and compare it with the distorted one and 3) No Reference (NR) measures known as distortions such as blockiness, blurriness,. . .without the use of a reference. Unfortunately, the quality assessment community have not achieved a universal image quality model and only empiricalmodels established on psychophysical experimentation are generally used. In this paper, we focus only on the third category to evaluate the quality of CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) color reproduction where a blind metric is, based on modeling a part of the human visual system behavior. The objective results are validated by single-media and cross-media subjective tests. This allows to study the ability of simulating displays on a reference one

Comparative performance between human and automated face recognition systems, using CCTV imagery, different compression levels and scene parameters

In this investigation we identify relationships between human and automated face recognition systems with respect to compression. Further, we identify the most influential scene parameters on the performance of each recognition system. The work includes testing of the systems with compressed Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage, consisting of quantified scene (footage) parameters. Parameters describe the content of scenes concerning camera to subject distance, facial angle, scene brightness, and spatio-temporal busyness. These parameters have been previously shown to affect the human visibility of useful facial information, but not much work has been carried out to assess the influence they have on automated recognition systems. In this investigation, the methodology previously employed in the human investigation is adopted, to assess performance of three different automated systems: Principal Component Analysis, Linear Discriminant Analysis, and Kernel Fisher Analysis. Results show that the automated systems are more tolerant to compression than humans. In automated systems, mixed brightness scenes were the most affected and low brightness scenes were the least affected by compression. In contrast for humans, low brightness scenes were the most affected and medium brightness scenes the least affected. Findings have the potential to broaden the methods used for testing imaging systems for security applications

Visual quality enhancement for color images in the framework of the JPEG2000 compression standard

In the last years, the consideration of different models of the Human Visual System (HVS) in the final perceived quality of the compressed images becomes a major research subject. Therefore, it is natural to take advantage of the recent knowledge on both perception and models of the human vision in an image compression system. Thus, in this paper we propose an integration method of that knowledge for the improvement of perceptual JPEG2000 image compression quality. This method consists on two parts : a laboratory evaluation of the HVS model by the Contrast Sensitivity Function (CSF), and an implementation technique of visual weightings for the JPEG2000 scheme, using the evaluated HVS model in the Fourier domain of the color image.Durant les dernières années, la prise en compte de modèles du Système Visuel Humain (SVH) dans l'évaluation de la qualité visuelle des images couleur compressées, est devenu un sujet de recherche majeur. Il semble naturel d'intégrer davantage les connaissances récentes sur la perception et la modélisation de la vision humaine, dans les systèmes de compression d'images. Ainsi, dans cet article, nous proposons une méthode d'intégration de ces connaissances pour l'augmentation de la qualité visuelle d'images compressées JPEG2000. Cette méthode consiste en deux parties : une évaluation de laboratoire pour la modélisation du SVH par la Fonction de Sensibilité au Contraste (CSF) et une technique de calcul de facteurs de pondération visuelle pour la compression JPEG2000, utilisant le modèle SVH évalué, dans le domaine de Fourier de l'image couleur

Active Air Injection Control to Enhance Performance of Hollow-bladed Axial Fan: A Numerical Study

Nowadays, axial fans participate in the most important areas of industry and research, including aviation, navy, wind tunnels, cooling towers, and even automobiles. Thus, more emphasis has been placed on improving their aerodynamic performances. It is important to notice that the parameters involved in designing a fan are mainly concerned with aeraulic power, torque and efficiency. This study investigates the utilization of flow control techniques to improve performances of an axial fan equipped with hollow blades, shroud, and hub. These features grant the fan crucial characteristics, namely, its lightweight and facilitate the blowing action by taking advantage on its hollow parts. The fan's performance is evaluated using a steady RANS numerical model with a k-ω SST turbulence closure, which was validated with experimental data. An active control air blowing through a slot was introduced with various positions and dimensions. The results demonstrate a significant improvement in the fan's performance, with an up to 56% increase in aeraulic power gain, accompanied by changes in the overall flow topology, noticed by closely analyzing the flow structure near the tip clearance

Insight and emotion regulation in schizophrenia:A brain activation and functional connectivity study

Background: Insight is impaired in the majority of schizophrenia patients. The exact neural correlates of impaired insight remain unclear. We assume that the ability to regulate emotions contributes to having good clinical insight, as patients should be able to regulate their emotional state in such a way that they can adapt adequately in order to cope with impaired functioning and negative stigma associated with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Numerous studies have shown emotional dysregulation in schizophrenia. We investigated the association between insight and brain activation and connectivity during emotion regulation. Methods: Brain activation during emotion regulation was measured with functional MRI in 30 individuals with schizophrenia. Two emotion regulation strategies were examined: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Clinical insight was measured with the Schedule for the Assessment of Insight - Expanded, and cognitive insight was measured with the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale. Whole brain random effects multiple regression analyses were conducted to assess the relation between brain activation during emotion regulation and insight. Generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) was used to investigate the relation between task related connectivity and insight. Results: No significant associations were found between insight and neural correlates of cognitive reappraisal. For clinical insight and suppression, significant positive associations were found between symptom relabeling and activation in the left striatum, thalamus and insula, right insula and caudate, right pre-and postcentral gyrus, left superior occipital gyrus and cuneus and right middle and superior occipital gyrus and cuneus. Furthermore, reduced clinical insight was associated with more connectivity between midline medial frontal gyrus and right middle occipital gyrus. For cognitive insight and suppression, significant positive associations were found between self-reflectiveness and activation in pre-and postcentral gyrus and left middle cingulate gyrus. Conclusions: Our results suggest an association between the capacity to relabel symptoms and activation of brain systems involved in cognitive-emotional control and visual processing of negative stimuli. Furthermore, poorer self-reflectiveness may be associated with brain systems subserving control and execution

SYNERGETIC USE OF SENTINEL-1 AND SENTINEL-2 DATA FOR EXTRACTION OF BUILT-UP AREA IN A ROCKY DESERT OASIS, EXAMPLE FOR DRAA TAFILALT, SOUTH-EAST OF MOROCCO

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is an active remote sensing technique capable of providing high-resolution imagery independent from daytime and to great extent unimpaired by weather conditions. Unlike the passive remote sensing active radars receive its' own reflected signal. Features of received signal make able to obtain additional information about surface objects and covers. Because of signal, double reflecting upon vertical surfaces like walls, it become common to study urbanized areas using SAR data. Because of mostly similar spectral characteristic of the typical buildings' roofs and sandy soils, that are distinguishing for Morocco, classification using visible and NIR multispectral remote sensing data is complicated. Thus, SAR data processing technique is rather useful while application to deserted area studying and urbanized areas identification

ASSESSING VEGETATION STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN OASIS AGRO-ECOSYSTEMS USING SENTINEL-2 IMAGE TIME SERIES: CASE STUDY FOR DRÂA-TAFILALET REGION MOROCCO

Nowadays, Moroccan oasis agro-ecosystems are under intense effect of natural and anthropogenic factors. Therefore, this essay proposes to use Leaf Area Index (LAI) to assess the consequences of the oases long-term biodegradation. The index was used as a widely-applied parameter of vegetation structure and an important indicator of plant growth and health. Therefore, a new optical multispectral Sentinel-2 data were used to build a long term LAI time series for the area of the Erfoud and Rissani oases, Errachidia province in Drâa-Tafilalet region in Morocco. Nine images of LAI spatial distribution over the study area were obtained by means of SNAP Biophysical Processor over the period since July 2015 till May 2018. Time series analysis of the resultedmaps has revealed a stable trend towards the average LAI decreasing and vegetation structure simplification as a consequence