Lensless Imaging by Compressive Sensing

In this paper, we propose a lensless compressive imaging architecture. The architecture consists of two components, an aperture assembly and a sensor. No lens is used. The aperture assembly consists of a two dimensional array of aperture elements. The transmittance of each aperture element is independently controllable. The sensor is a single detection element. A compressive sensing matrix is implemented by adjusting the transmittance of the individual aperture elements according to the values of the sensing matrix. The proposed architecture is simple and reliable because no lens is used. The architecture can be used for capturing images of visible and other spectra such as infrared, or millimeter waves, in surveillance applications for detecting anomalies or extracting features such as speed of moving objects. Multiple sensors may be used with a single aperture assembly to capture multi-view images simultaneously. A prototype was built by using a LCD panel and a photoelectric sensor for capturing images of visible spectrum.Comment: Accepted ICIP 2013. 5 Pages, 7 Figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1302.178

Facilitating Intercultural Competence: A Pilot Project at Vanier College

Comprend des références bibliographiquesVanier Academic Voices, Vol.1, Issue 1, January 201

Age differences in social comparison tendency and personal relative deprivation

We examined age-related differences in social comparison orientation and personal relative deprivation (PRD). In Study 1, participants (N = 1,290) reported their tendencies to engage in social comparisons and PRD. Older adults reported lower levels of social comparison tendency and PRD, and social comparison tendency mediated the relation between age and PRD. The findings reported in Study 1 were replicated in Study 2 using a sample of participants between the ages of 18 to 30 (n = 180) and 60+ years old (n = 176). Our findings provide evidence that older adults report lower levels of social comparison tendency that, in turn, relate to lower levels of PRD.This research was funded by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust (RPG-2013-148).This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.08.00

90 years of the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL)

A short update from the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level on their recent work from the point of view of their role as a service of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG)

Coral skeleton P/Ca proxy for seawater phosphate: Multi-colony calibration with a contemporaneous seawater phosphate record

A geochemical proxy for surface ocean nutrient concentrations recorded in coral skeleton could provide new insight into the connections between sub-seasonal to centennial scale nutrient dynamics, ocean physics, and primary production in the past. Previous work showed that coralline P/Ca, a novel seawater phosphate proxy, varies synchronously with annual upwelling-driven cycles in surface water phosphate concentration. However, paired contemporaneous seawater phosphate time-series data, needed for rigorous calibration of the new proxy, were lacking. Here we present further development of the P/Ca proxy in Porites lutea and Montastrea sp. corals, showing that skeletal P/Ca in colonies from geographically distinct oceanic nutrient regimes is a linear function of seawater phosphate (PO4 SW) concentration. Further, high-resolution P/Ca records in multiple colonies of Pavona gigantea and Porites lobata corals grown at the same upwelling location in the Gulf of Panama were strongly correlated to a contemporaneous time-series record of surface water PO4 SW at this site (r2 = 0.7–0.9). This study supports application of the following multi-colony calibration equations to down-core records from comparable upwelling sites, resulting in ±0.2 and ±0.1 lmol/kg uncertainties in PO4 SW reconstructions from P. lobata and P. gigantea, respectively.P/Ca Porites lobata (lmol/mol) = (21.1 ? 2.4)PO4 SW (lmol/kg) + (14.3 ? 3.8)P/Ca Pavona gigantea (lmol/mol) = (29.2 ? 1.4)PO4 SW (lmol/kg) + (33.4 ? 2.7)Inter-colony agreement in P/Ca response to PO4 SW was good (±5–12% about mean calibration slope), suggesting that species-specific calibration slopes can be applied to new coral P/Ca records to reconstruct past changes in surface ocean phosphate. However, offsets in the y-intercepts of calibration regressions among co-located individuals and taxa suggest that biologically-regulated “vital effects” and/or skeletal extension rate may also affect skeletal P incorporation. Quantification of the effect of skeletal extension rate on P/Ca could lead to corrected calibration equations and improved inter-colony P/Ca agreement. Nevertheless, the efficacy of the P/Ca proxy is thus supported by both broad scale correlation to mean surface water phosphate and regional calibration against documented local seawater phosphate variations

Validation of the IPAQ Against Different Accelerometer Cut-Points in Older Cancer Survivors and Adults at Risk of Cancer

Introduction: The present study investigated the convergent validity of an interview-administered IPAQ long version (IPAQ-L) in an older population by comparison with objective accelerometry movement data. Methods: Data from 52 participants (mean age 67.9 years, 62% male) were included in the analysis. Treadmill derived (TM-ACC: 1952-5724 cpm) and free-living physical activity (PA) derived (FL-ACC: 760-5724 cpm) accelerometer cut-points were used as criterion. Results: IPAQ-L measures (total PA, leisure-time, walking-time, sedentary time) were significantly correlated with accelerometry (P≤0.05). Differences in sex were observed. Bland-Altman Limits of Agreement analysis showed that the IPAQ-L overestimated PA in relation to accelerometry. Conclusions: Our results show that an interview-administered IPAQ-L shows low to moderate convergent validity with objective PA measures in this population but there may be differences between males and females which should be further investigated

Mononuclear cell transcriptome changes associated with dimethyl fumarate in MS.

ObjectiveTo identify short-term changes in gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) associated with treatment response to dimethyl fumarate (DMF, Tecfidera) in patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS).MethodsBlood samples were collected from 24 patients with RRMS (median Expanded Disability Status Scale score, 2.0; range 1-7) at baseline, 6 weeks, and 15 months after the initiation of treatment with DMF (BG-12; Tecfidera). Seven healthy controls were also recruited, and blood samples were collected over the same time intervals. PBMCs were extracted from blood samples and sequenced using next-generation RNA sequencing. Treatment responders were defined using the composite outcome measure "no evidence of disease activity" (NEDA-4). Time-course and cross-sectional differential expression analyses were performed to identify transcriptomic markers of treatment response.ResultsTreatment responders (NEDA-4 positive, 8/24) over the 15-month period had 478 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) 6 weeks after the start of treatment. These were enriched for nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) and inhibition of nuclear factor κB (NFκB) pathway transcripts. For patients who showed signs of disease activity, there were no DEGs at 6 weeks relative to their (untreated) baseline. Contrasting transcriptomes expressed at 6 weeks with those at 15 months of treatment, 0 and 1,264 DEGs were found in the responder and nonresponder groups, respectively. Transcripts in the nonresponder group (NEDA-4 negative, 18/24) were enriched for T-cell signaling genes.ConclusionShort-term PBMC transcriptome changes reflecting activation of the Nrf2 and inhibition of NFκB pathways distinguish patients who subsequently show a medium-term treatment response with DMF. Relative stabilization of gene expression patterns may accompany treatment-associated suppression of disease activity