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Visual saliency detection is useful in carrying out image compression, image segmentation, image retrieval, and other image processing applications. Majority of existing saliency detection algorithms are presented for distortion-free images. However, this situation is not always the case. In this paper, we first evaluate the performances of state-of-the-art saliency detection algorithms against different distortion types and levels. A machine learning-based framework for saliency detection is proposed for two common types of distortions, noise and JPEG compression. First, a machine learning method is proposed to predict the distortion level, and then the distortion is removed using the parameter setting that is tuned for that distortion level. Finally, the saliency map is calculated by using saliency detection algorithms. We evaluate the saliency detection algorithms on Tampere Image Database (TID2013), which is proposed for image quality assessment application. We manually label the salient objects in each image and obtain its ground truth saliency map in order to adapt TID2013 for visual saliency detection application. Experimental results demonstrate that the distortions usually decrease the performances of the saliency detection algorithms, particularly in high levels of distortions. The performance rankings of the saliency detection algorithms for the distortion-free images and distorted images are different. Moreover, our proposed machine learning-based framework for saliency detection improves the performances of saliency detection algorithms in distorted images in most of the distortion levels, particularly in high levels of distortions.

A set of one-dimensional (as well as one two-dimensional) Fredholm integral equations (IEs) of the first kind of convolution type is solved. The task for solving these equations is ill-posed (first of all, unstable); therefore, the Wiener parametric filtering method (WPFM) and the Tikhonov regularization method (TRM) are used to solve them. The variant is considered when a kernel of the integral equation (IE) is unknown or known inaccurately, which generates a significant error in the solution of IE. The so-called “spectral method” is being developed to determine the kernel of an integral equation based on the Fourier spectrum, which leads to a decrease of the error in solving the IE and image improvement. Moreover, the authors also propose a method for diffusing the solution edges to suppress the possible Gibbs effect (ringing-type distortions). As applications, the problems for processing distorted (smeared, defocused, noisy, and with the Gibbs effect) images are considered. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the use of the “spectral method” to enhance the accuracy and stability of processing distorted images through their mathematical and computer processing.

A no-reference objective metric for image quality assessment by integrating the topographic independent components analysis into feature extraction is presented. By taking the topographic relationship among the initially independent features into consideration, it extracts the features of more sparsity or independency which is essentially related to inherent quality. Evaluation results demonstrate that the proposed metric is able to predict the image quality accurately across various distortion types.

A full-reference image quality assessment (FR-IQA) metric, with emphasis on semantic information changes in different image content areas, is presented. The changes on edge information, that can represent semantic information changes, are calculated based on the characteristics of different image content areas. Considering that edge changes cannot account for luminance changes while luminance changes does affect visual quality of images, the luminance changes are also incorporated into the design of the perceptual quality metric. Experimental results confirm that the proposed metric is consistent with human judgments of quality, and outperforms relevant state-of-the-art metrics across various distortion types.

The present study explores the maintenance of a segregation distortion in the phytopathogenic fungus Microbotryum violaceum (anther smut). Some individuals of this species produce spores with completely biased sex ratio because of the presence of haplo-lethal alleles linked to the mating-type gene. To test the different hypotheses proposed to explain the maintenance of these haplo-lethal alleles (diploid advantage to counterbalance haploid deleterious effects, neutrality of haplo-lethal alleles only in populations with high interstrain competition, and complete neutrality), sex-ratio bias was investigated in natural European populations of M. violaceum from Silene latifolia and other species of Caryophyllaceae. The negative relationship observed between proportions of strains expressing a sex-ratio bias and disease prevalence was opposite the one predicted by the second hypothesis. On the contrary, the pattern of the variances, with proportions of biased strains more extreme in smaller populations, fitted perfectly with the prediction of the third hypothesis. Experimental studies are now needed to confirm the complete neutrality of the haplo-lethal alleles linked to the mating-type gene in M. violaceum.

An analysis was made of 1176 whiplash-type neck distortions taken from a total of 3838 restrained car driver incident reports. The percentage of whiplash-type neck distortion among injured drivers increased from less than 10% in 1985 to over 30% in 1997. Most occurred in head-on crashes or crashes with multiple collisions; only 15% occurred in rear-end collisions. More than 1,000 questionnaires were sent to the injured to find out about the duration and type of complaints caused by their cervical spine injury. Although only 138 (12%) returned the questionnaire, which may not be a representative sample, a further analysis was carried out. Of the 138, 121 (88%) indicated that they had suffered or were still suffering from their symptoms. The percentages of the various complaints were as follows: pain (74%), tension (6%) and stiffness (5%) in the head (27%), neck (55%) and shoulder (8%). The duration of the complaints was longest after multiple collisions and when the onset of complaints was longer than 24 h after trauma. Women and elderly persons predominated slightly in the group with longer duration of complaints. A correlation between the severity of the accompanying injuries and duration of complaints was found. Lack of adequate follow-up for patients with less severe injuries posed considerable difficulties for this retrospective study. In order to better evaluate this problem, prospective studies are necessary, with documentation including diagnosis, treatments, complaint duration and type.

Background: Outer hair cells in the organ of Corti are not directly involved in deciding the threshold of the acoustic stimulus, but their damage will increase the hearing threshold and may even cause the neuronal deafness. Type 2 diabetes is increasing globally at an alarming rate; one of many complications of Type 2 diabetes is loss of hearing. In Type 2 diabetes, poor glycemic status is the cause for neuropathy or microangiopathy which may affect the normal hearing. Aims and Objectives: To observe the effect of Type 2 diabetes on the functional status of outer hair cells. To illustrate the effect of Type 2 diabetes on outer hair cells for right and left ear is same or different. Materials and Methods: A total of 50 Type 2 diabetic subjects, aged between 30 to 55 years, both sexes were included as test group after assessing their glycemic index. 50 age and sex matched healthy individuals are also included as control group. Functioning of outer hair cells was assessed with distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs). Results: Glycosylated hemoglobin percentage among test (8.58 ± 0.83) and control group subjects (5.28 ± 0.50) is statistically significant ( [Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol 2016; 6(5.000): 412-415]

The discriminability measure d ′ is widely used in psychology to estimate sensitivity independently of response bias. The conventional approach to estimate d ′ involves a transformation from the hit rate and the false-alarm rate. When performance is perfect, correction methods must be applied to calculate d ′ , but these corrections distort the estimate. In three simulation studies, we show that distortion in d ′ estimation can arise from other properties of the experimental design (number of trials, sample size, sample variance, task difficulty) that, when combined with application of the correction method, make d ′ distortion in any specific experiment design complex and can mislead statistical inference in the worst cases (Type I and Type II errors). To address this problem, we propose that researchers simulate d ′ estimation to explore the impact of design choices, given anticipated or observed data. An R Shiny application is introduced that estimates d ′ distortion, providing researchers the means to identify distortion and take steps to minimize its impact.

Anecdotal experiences show that the human perception of time is subjective, and changes with one’s emotional state. Over the past 25 years, increasing empirical evidence has demonstrated that emotions distort time perception and usually result in overestimation. Yet, some inconsistencies deserve clarification. Specifically, it remains controversial how valence (positive/negative), arousal (high/low), stimulus type (scenic picture/facial expression/word/sound), and temporal paradigm (reproduction/estimation/discrimination) modulate the effect of emotion on time perception. Thus, the current study aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to quantify evidence for these moderators. After searching the Web of Science, SpiScholar, and Google Scholar, 95 effect sizes from 31 empirical studies were calculated using Hedges’ g . The included studies involved 3,776 participants. The results a highlighted significant moderating effect of valence, arousal, stimulus type, and temporal paradigm. Specifically, negative valence tends to result in overestimation relative to positive valence; the increasing arousal leads to increasing temporal dilating; scenic picture, facial picture, and sound are more effective in inducing distortions than word; the overestimation can be better observed by discrimination and estimation paradigms relative to reproduction paradigms, and estimation paradigm is likely to be the most effective. These results suggest that the effect of emotion on time perception is influenced by valence, arousal, stimulus type, and temporal paradigm. These mitigating factors should be considered by scientists when studying time perception.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is perhaps the most widely used brain-imaging technique for pediatric populations. However, EEG signals are prone to distortion by motion. Compared to adults, infants' motion is both more frequent and less stereotypical yet motion effects on the infant EEG signal are largely undocumented. Here, we present a systematic assessment of naturalistic motion effects on the infant EEG signal. EEG recordings were performed with 14 infants (12 analyzed) who passively watched movies whilst spontaneously producing periods of bodily movement and rest. Each infant produced an average of 38.3 s (SD = 14.7 s) of rest and 18.8 s (SD = 17.9 s) of single motion segments for the final analysis. Five types of infant motions were analyzed: Jaw movements, and Limb movements of the Hand, Arm, Foot, and Leg. Significant movement-related distortions of the EEG signal were detected using cluster-based permutation analysis. This analysis revealed that, relative to resting state, infants' Jaw and Arm movements produced significant in beta (∼15 Hz) power, particularly over peripheral sites. Jaw movements produced more anteriorly located effects than Arm movements, which were most pronounced over posterior parietal and occipital sites. The cluster analysis also revealed trends toward power in the theta and alpha bands observed over central topographies for all motion types. However, given the very limited quantity of infant data in this study, caution is recommended in interpreting these findings before subsequent replications are conducted. Nonetheless, this work is an important first step to inform future development of methods for addressing EEG motion-related artifacts. This work also supports wider use of naturalistic paradigms in social and developmental neuroscience.