Chromatic noise perception in digital photography

A model was built to predict chromatic noise perception in digital photography. The model includes the orthogonal opponent color space Y C1C2, and sets of optimized contrast sensitivity functions. Past research on opponent colors, contrast sensitivity functions at threshold and suprathreshold matching has been reviewed. Some historical opponent color spaces have been investigated in terms of transformation and application. Three psychophysical experiments were performed to build the model. Through the equi-luminance plane experiment three equi-luminance planes corresponding to three luminance levels were determined. Method of adjustment was applied for subjects to adjust chromatic noise image until it is least perceptible. Based on results from the first experiment, the orthogonal opponent color space Y C1C2 was developed. The Y C1C2 space shows optimal performance compared with OPP space, with the respect of separating luminance information from chromatic channels and vice versa. The threshold experiment measured contrast threshold for the three cardinal axes and the two diagonal axes of the new opponent color space with three frequency bands and three luminance levels. The QUEST procedure was applied for observers to choose which one of the two side-by-side-displayed stimuli has noise. The supra-threshold experiment was to measure contrast sensitivity above threshold. Method of adjustment was used for observers to adjust the noise contrast of the test stimuli to match the contrast of the parallel displayed achromatic anchor stimuli, which had three times threshold contrast. Sets of optimized CSFs were obtained by empirical modeling on experiment data from the threshold and supra-threshold experiments. The five-parameter band-pass CSF was fitted to model achromatic noise. As to chromatic noise, the six-parameter low-pass CSF was optimized to model chromatic noise. The fact that threshold CSFs and suprathreshold CSFs have similar shape suggests one set of CSFs may be applicable for both cases

Enhancing International Students\u27 Participation in Online Courses through Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: A Systematic Literature Review

With the increasing diversity of the K-12 student population, there has been a growing emphasis on the adoption of culturally responsive teaching practices (Lawrence, 2020). Additionally, online degree programs and courses provided by many universities in the United States and around the world offer people the chance to access higher education without leaving their homes and without considering the issues of age, time, and geography (Diaz, 2021). Also, the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the prevalence of online courses (Bao 2020; Rapanta et al., 2020; Mollenkopf et al., 2020). According to Elshami et al. (2021), “satisfaction with online learning is a significant aspect of promoting successful educational processes” (p. 1). As more and more students enroll in online courses, curriculum designers and lecturers must find some way (i.e. applying culturally responsive pedagogy in online courses) to engage students to actively participate in online classes (Adams et al., 2018). However, according to Adams et al., (2018), in most of online courses, there was insufficient emphasis or alignment with culturally responsive pedagogy. This deficiency creates an environment that is suboptimal for facilitating intercultural learning. As stated by Heitner and Jennings (2016), neglecting cultural diversity in online instruction can impact the quality of online teaching and learning, leading to various challenges. The purpose of this research paper is to identify factors affecting international students’ engagement in synchronous online courses and the importance of culturally responsive pedagogy to engage international students’ participation in synchronous online courses

Data production methods for harmonized patent statistics : patentee name harmonization.

Patent documents are one of the most comprehensive data sources on technology development. As such, they provide a unique source of information to analyze and monitor technological performance. Patent indicators are now used by companies and by policy and government agencies alike to assess technological progress on the level of regions, countries, domains, and even specific entities such as companies, universities and individual inventors. In this paper, we develop a comprehensive method to achieve harmonization of patentee names in an automated way so that analysis at the level of patentees can be facilitated. The method has been applied to an extensive set of all patentee names found for all EPO patent applications published between 1978 and 2004 and all granted USPTO patents published between 1991 and 2003. As completeness (the extent to which the name-harmonization procedure is able to capture all name variants of the same patentee ) and accuracy (the extent to which the name-harmonization procedure correctly allocates name variants to a single, harmonized patentee name ) do not go hand in hand, priority has been given to accuracy. Before discussing in detail the methodology and its effects as applied to the EPO and USPTO patentee name list, we will first clarify the difference between patentee name harmonization and legal entity identification. In addition, we will briefly expand on the methods and approaches previously developed to address the issue of patentee name harmonization, in order to shed light on our specific contribution. Finally, future refinements and extensions are discussed.Agency; Applications; EPO; USPTO; Name harmonization; Information;

Is It Really “Not Applicable?” Zoom In to Understand E-Book Accessibility

The decisions that we make when reviewing our collections and negotiating licenses have enormous effects on our users. They also have the potential to, in turn, shape the priorities and decisions of publishers and platform creators. The questions we ask and standards we set now set the stage for the chapters our users inherit. And while users with special access needs might not form a large percentage of our current user population, they will always be part of that population. For e-book accessibility, it can be difficult to draw the line between what is essential, what is aspirational, and what isn’t (yet) applicable. There are numerous standards, some that are fundamental to providing access to users, some that you might be told don’t apply, and some that will matter more and more as the e-book changes and becomes a fuller, richer text. Our goal in this session is to share what we’ve learned about what accessibility assessment resources publishers are likely to provide you with, what the different sections of those documents mean, how to look at the information you have and make a judgment on how accessible an e-book on a platform would be, and how to incorporate accessibility in collection selection and licensing negotiations so that ultimately the de facto design of e-books is one that supports access by all library users

Reconciling E‐Book Packages at NCSU Libraries

As e‐books become an increasingly large part of our collection, the NCSU Libraries acquisition and discovery department created an e‐book reconciliation database to ensure that all of our purchased e‐book package content is available in the ILS and throughout the Libraries discovery layers and to create definitive title lists that associate and articulate e‐book titles with package purchases. This tool compares vendor title lists against ILS metadata in order to identify missing titles and generate reports. The paper will discuss what prompted the development of the database; present the e‐book data flow in NCSU Libraries and e‐book reconciliation workflows designed based on the data flow; report on our approach on how to collect e‐book title lists, normalize metadata and identify matching point for the reconciliation; present our findings by analyzing the data; and discuss the most common e‐books issues found in the reconciliation process, the causes and solutions for these issues

Incidence of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infection in a children\u27s hospital in the Washington metropolitan area of the United States, 2003-2010

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has emerged as a major public health threat. In this retrospective cohort study, we included patients with laboratory-confirmed MRSA infections treated at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, District of Columbia between July 2003 and December 2010. The secular trends in the incidence rates of skin/soft tissue and invasive MRSA infections were assessed. Molecular analyses were performed on a subset of patients with invasive infections whose MRSA isolates were available for genotyping. The study identified 3750 patients with MRSA infections. The incidence of MRSA infections peaked in 2007 (incidence rate: 5.34 per 1000 patient-visits) and subsequently declined at a rate of 5% per year. By December 2010, the MRSA incidence rate reached 3.77 per 1000 patient-visits. Seventeen (14.7%) patients with invasive MRSA infections died, and the mortality risk significantly increased if the MRSA infections were healthcare-associated (HA) or if an isolate was resistant to clindamycin and/or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. In conclusion, this study described a descending trend in MRSA infections in children since 2007. Although invasive MRSA infections only accounted for a small portion of the total MRSA infections, they were associated with a high mortality risk. The prevention and control of the spread of MRSA remains a crucial and challenging task