Does Dehazing Model Preserve Color Information?

International audience—Image dehazing aims at estimating the image information lost caused by the presence of fog, haze and smoke in the scene during acquisition. Degradation causes a loss in contrast and color information, thus enhancement becomes an inevitable task in imaging applications and consumer photography. Color information has been mostly evaluated perceptually along with quality, but no work addresses specifically this aspect. We demonstrate how dehazing model affects color information on simulated and real images. We use a convergence model from perception of transparency to simulate haze on images. We evaluate color loss in terms of angle of hue in IPT color space, saturation in CIE LUV color space and perceived color difference in CIE LAB color space. Results indicate that saturation is critically changed and hue is changed for achromatic colors and blue/yellow colors, where usual image processing space are not showing constant hue lines. we suggest that a correction model based on color transparency perception could help to retrieve color information as an additive layer on dehazing algorithms

A Color Image Database for Haze Model and Dehazing Methods Evaluation

International audienceOne of the major issues related to dehazing methods (single or multiple image based) evaluation is the absence of the haze-free image (ground-truth). This is also a problem when it concerns the validation of Koschmieder model or its subsequent dehazing methods. To overcome this problem, we created a database called CHIC (Color Hazy Image for Comparison), consisting of two scenes in controlled environment. In addition to the haze-free image, we provide 9 images of different fog densities. Moreover, for each scene, we provide a number of parameters such as local scene depth, distance from the camera of known objects such as Macbeth Color Checkers, their radiance, and the haze level through transmittance. All of these features allow the possibility to evaluate and compare between dehazing methods by using full-reference image quality metrics regarding the haze-free image, and also to evaluate the accuracy of the Koschmieder hazy image formation model

HAZE AND CONVERGENCE MODELS: EXPERIMENTAL COMPARISON

International audienceBad environmental conditions like bad weather, such as fog and haze, and smoke-filled monitored closed areas, cause a degradation and a loss in contrast and color information in images. Unlike outdoor scenes imaged in a foggy day, an indoor artificial hazy scene can be acquired in controlled conditions, while the clear image is always available when the smoke is dispersed. This can help to investigate models of haze and evaluate dehazing algorithms. Thus, an artificial indoor scene was set up in a closed area with a mean to control the amount of haze within this scene. While a convergence model simulates correctly a small amount of haze, it fails to reproduce the same perceived hazy colors of the real image when haze density is high. This difference becomes obvious when the same dehazing method is applied to both images. Unlike simulated images, colors in real hazy images are resulted from environmental illuminants interference

Étude de la résistance aux B-lactamines chez Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae et Pseudomonas aeruginosa par des approches omiques

La résistance croissante et alarmante aux antimicrobiens chez de nombreuses bactéries pathogènes humaines telles que Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae et Pseudomonas aeruginosa représente un problème majeur de santé publique. Ce problème est aggravé par l’apparition de souches multirésistantes et par le nombre limité d’antibiotiques en développement. Il devient donc impératif de s’affairer à protéger l’efficacité des molécules disponibles. Par ailleurs, une meilleure compréhension du mode d’action des antibiotiques et de la réponse induite par ceux-ci pourrait être bénéfique pour identifier de nouvelles cibles bactériennes pour le développement d’adjuvants chimio-thérapeutiques. Notre étude de la réponse transcriptomique par la technique d’ARN-Seq de trois souches de S. pneumoniae sensibles à la pénicilline (PEN) a montré un nouveau lien entre le métabolisme de la glutamine et la sensibilité à la PEN. En effet, les gènes des opérons glnRA et glnPQ impliqués dans la synthèse et l’absorption de la glutamine étaient parmi les gènes les plus sous-exprimés chez les trois souches traitées avec la PEN. Nous avons aussi détecté une augmentation des concentrations intracellulaires de la glutamine à la suite du traitement à la PEN. En outre, l’inhibition chimique de la glutamine synthétase codée par glnA sensibilise S. pneumoniae à la PEN, et ceci a aussi été observé chez des isolats cliniques résistants à la PEN. En résumé, une combinaison d’études transcriptomique et métabolomique a démontré que la PEN interfère avec le métabolisme de la glutamine, suggérant des stratégies qui pourraient être exploitées en bithérapie. Chez les bactéries à Gram négatif, la résistance aux carbapénèmes devient de plus en plus menaçante pour la santé mondiale. L'efficacité de l’imipénème (IMP) diminue avec l'apparition de la résistance. Notre criblage chimiogénomique chez E. coli, K. pneumoniae et P. aeruginosa a mis en évidence des réponses communes et spécifiques à l’IMP à chaque espèce. Une analyse comparative de 145 mutants a montré que les gènes les plus mutés codaient pour des protéines impliquées dans la biogenèse de la membrane et de l'enveloppe cellulaires, la transcription et la transduction de signal. iii Nos résultats ont montré que le gène rpoD codant pour un facteur sigma d'ARN polymérase était muté chez les trois espèces et le rôle de ce gène dans la résistance a été validé expérimentalement chez E. coli. En outre, de nombreux gènes codant pour des amidases, transférases et transglycosidases ont conféré un faible niveau de résistance aux entérobactéries, alors que les mutations d'OprD étaient fréquentes chez P. aeruginosa, mais divers systèmes de transduction de signal à deux composants étaient également susceptibles d'être impliqués dans la résistance à l'IMP. De façon intéressante, certains gènes identifiés tels que rpoD, slt codant pour une transglycosylase lytique, ainsi que les histidines kinases sont déjà envisagés comme des cibles thérapeutiques prometteuses. Finalement, cette étude a confirmé le pouvoir de diverses approches omiques quant à la compréhension des modes d’action des antibiotiques et à la prédiction des mécanismes de résistance développés contre eux. Ceci nous permettra de mettre en place des stratégies pour protéger l’efficacité des antibiotiques actuellement utilisés mais aussi celle de nouvelles molécules développées

A mechanism for the extension and unfolding of parallel telomeric G-quadruplexes by human telomerase at single-molecule resolution

30 pags., 10 figs., 1 tab.Telomeric G-quadruplexes (G4) were long believed to form a protective structure at telomeres, preventing their extension by the ribonucleoprotein telomerase. Contrary to this belief, we have previously demonstrated that parallel-stranded conformations of telomeric G4 can be extended by human and ciliate telomerase. However, a mechanistic understanding of the interaction of telomerase with structured DNA remained elusive. Here, we use single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) microscopy and bulk-phase enzymology to propose a mechanism for the resolution and extension of parallel G4 by telomerase. Binding is initiated by the RNA template of telomerase interacting with the G-quadruplex; nucleotide addition then proceeds to the end of the RNA template. It is only through the large conformational change of translocation following synthesis that the G-quadruplex structure is completely unfolded to a linear product. Surprisingly, parallel G4 stabilization with either small molecule ligands or by chemical modification does not always inhibit G4 unfolding and extension by telomerase. These data reveal that telomerase is a parallel G-quadruplex resolvase.Cancer Council NSW RG 11-07 Tracy M Bryan, Cancer Institute NSW Aaron Lavel Moye, Australian Research Council FL140100027 Antoine M van Oijen, Ernest and Piroska Major Foundation Scott B Cohen, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Masad J Damha Centre of Excellence for Innovation in Chemistry PERCH-CIC Siritron Samosorn Research Unit of Natural Products and Organic Synthesis for Drug Discovery NPOS 405/2560 Siritron Samosorn Cancer Council NSW RG 16-10 Tracy M Brya

Antibodies Targeted to the Brain with Image-Guided Focused Ultrasound Reduces Amyloid-β Plaque Load in the TgCRND8 Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Immunotherapy for Alzheimer's disease (AD) relies on antibodies directed against toxic amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ), which circulate in the bloodstream and remove Aβ from the brain [1], [2]. In mouse models of AD, the administration of anti-Aβ antibodies directly into the brain, in comparison to the bloodstream, was shown to be more efficient at reducing Aβ plaque pathology [3], [4]. Therefore, delivering anti-Aβ antibodies to the brain of AD patients may also improve treatment efficiency. Transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS) is known to transiently-enhance the permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) [5], allowing intravenously administered therapeutics to enter the brain [6]–[8]. Our goal was to establish that anti-Aβ antibodies delivered to the brain using magnetic resonance imaging-guided FUS (MRIgFUS) [9] can reduce plaque pathology. To test this, TgCRND8 mice [10] received intravenous injections of MRI and FUS contrast agents, as well as anti-Aβ antibody, BAM-10. MRIgFUS was then applied transcranially. Within minutes, the MRI contrast agent entered the brain, and BAM-10 was later found bound to Aβ plaques in targeted cortical areas. Four days post-treatment, Aβ pathology was significantly reduced in TgCRND8 mice. In conclusion, this is the first report to demonstrate that MRIgFUS delivery of anti-Aβ antibodies provides the combined advantages of using a low dose of antibody and rapidly reducing plaque pathology

The media festival volunteer: Connecting online and on-ground fan labor

In this initial attempt to bring volunteering, or what we call on-ground fan labor, into the ongoing discussion of fan productivity, we examine volunteer motivations as elicited through interview and participant observation data collected at a 2012 genre film festival, Fantastic Fest, held in Austin, Texas. This case study is a first step toward integrating the volunteer and fan labor literatures and interrogating the role of social capital and civic engagement in volunteerism. We conclude that the media festival (a term intended to encompass such sites as film festivals and fan conventions) is a site of particular and emergent importance for those studying the audience's increasing delivery of free labor

A Database with Reference for Image Dehazing Evaluation

International audienceIn this article, the authors introduce a new color image database, CHIC (Color Hazy Images for Comparison), devoted to haze model assessment and dehazing method evaluation. For three real scenes, they provide two illumination conditions and several densities of real fog. The main interest lies in the availability of several metadata parameters such as the distance from the camera to the objects in the scene, the image radiance and the fog density through fog transmittance. For each scene, the fog-free (ground-truth) image is also available, which allows an objective comparison of the resulting image enhancement and potential shortcomings of the model. Five different dehazing methods are benchmarked on three intermediate levels of fog using existing image quality assessment (IQA) metrics with reference to the provided fog-free image. This provides a basis for the evaluation of dehazing methods across fog densities as well as the effectiveness of existing dehazing dedicated IQA metrics. The results indicate that more attention should be given to dehazing methods and the evaluation of metrics to meet an optimal level of image quality. This database and its description are freely available at the web address http.;thic.ii-bourgogne.fr. (C) 2018 Society for Imaging Science and Technolog