Foveation-based content adaptive root mean squared error for video quality assessment

Multimedia Tools and Applications - When the video is compressed and transmitted over heterogeneous networks, it is necessary to ensure the satisfying quality for the end user. Since human...     

Using behavior to elucidate receptor mechanisms: A review of the discriminative stimulus effects of benzodiazepines.

Drug discrimination procedures have been used to study receptor mechanisms of benzodiazepine (BZ) agonists with the goal of developing new therapeutic agents that retain positive effects of conventional BZ ligands yet have reduced side effects. The present review provides a synthesis of existing literature on discriminative stimulus effects of BZ agonists in order to elucidate their underlying receptor mechanisms, specifically in terms of intrinsic efficacy and receptor selectivity. The available evidence suggests that receptor selectivity is a critical determinant of the discriminative stimulus effects of BZ agonists. In particular, BZ-1 receptors appear to play a fundamental role, whereas the role of BZ-2 receptors remains elusive. In addition, data from many drug discrimination studies suggest that the conventional BZ agonist chlordiazepoxide may have reduced intrinsic efficacy compared with other BZ agonists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrated Management of Coastal Sewerage Systems: The Case of Kaštela Bay,Croatia

In the last 50 years, the broader Split area underwent anintensive development and urbanisation. Unfortunately, intensivedevelopment has not been followed by equally intensiveinfrastructure construction, especially wastewater infrastructure.In less than four decades, this attractive and beautiful, valuabletourist area, is turned into extremely degraded environment withvery polluted coastal sea. In order to solve the problem and avoidfurther unwanted consequences, it has been planned to introduceintegrated management of the environment. The priority was givento collection, treatment and disposal of industrial and urbanwastewater. As a result, an integrated project of wastewatersystem development was proposed that had been in realisation since1996. The problem solving requires an adequate organisation andsupport i.e. application of the decision support system (DSS)presented in this article. The DSS ensures horizontal integration,with a view to provide for co-operation between different sectorsand local communities, and vertical integration among severalauthorised administrative and management levels, all aiming at co-ordination and harmonisation in implementation of the adoptedproblem solution policy.     

Review of objective video quality metrics and performance comparison using different databases

The use of video-based applications has increased in recent years owing to the development of video technology as well as the widespread use of the Internet. Thus the evaluation of perceptual video quality has become very important and numerous video quality assessment (VQA) metrics have been developed over the past years. In this paper, we give a classification and a short review of objective VQA metrics, with a focus on the full reference metrics. With the aim of conducting a reliable test of the VQA metrics performances, we made two databases, each of them including 90 distorted video sequences. We carried out a subjective quality evaluation on these databases and the data were made available to the research community. Furthermore, we compared the performance of nine different, freely available, objective VQA metrics by using three different databases in different resolutions: LIVE Video Quality Database (768×432 resolution) and our two newly created databases for progressively scanned videos, i.e. ETFOS CIF Video Quality (ECVQ) database and ETFOS VGA Video Quality (EVVQ) database. Five different distortion types were used and the total number of 330 video sequences was evaluated. A comparison of metrics was done with respect to accuracy, monotonicity, stability, as well as complexity vs. accuracy criteria. The results show that the resolution, the content of the sequence and the distortion type have a significant influence on the performances of VQA metrics. Metrics that generally achieve a high correlation with subjective results for all databases and all distortion types are MOtion-based Video Integrity Evaluation (MOVIE) and Foveated Mean Squared Error (FMSE), but MOVIE has significantly higher complexity than FMSE. An exception is the distortion caused by IP transmission for which none of the analyzed metrics has shown satisfying accuracy and stability.     

Influence of weathering processes on the shear strength of siltstones from a flysch rock mass along the northern Adriatic coast of Croatia

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - Weathering processes cause significant changes in the engineering properties of rocks. Slope instability in flysch rock formations along the...     

Identifying the relevance of quality dimensions contributing to universal access of social Web applications for collaborative writing on mobile devices: an empirical study

When used in a mobile ecosystem, social Web applications are commonly criticized due to their poor quality. We believe this is accounted for by the inadequacy of current approaches for their evaluation as well as the lack of suitable quality models. With an objective to address the aforementioned issues, this paper introduces a quality model that captures the particularities of social Web applications when used on mobile devices. Drawing on the comprehensive literature review, a finite set of performance variables (items, attributes, and categories) that contribute to the mobile quality of social Web applications was identified and subsequently employed for the purpose of designing a conceptual model in the form of a mobile quality requirements tree. An empirical study was then carried out to assess the reliability and validity of the conceptual model and pertaining measuring instrument. During the study, participants accomplished predefined scenarios of interaction with a representative sample of social Web applications for collaborative writing and evaluated their mobile quality by completing the post-use questionnaire. An analysis of data collected from end users uncovered a relevance of performance variables at different levels of granularity in a mobile quality requirements tree as well as pros and cons of evaluated collaborative editors.     

Modelling an interplay of adoption determinants with respect to social Web applications used in massive online open courses

Universal Access in the Information Society - One of the major problems of using massive online open courses (MOOCs) commonly reported in the literature is the high dropout rate of students. Active...     

A study of volatile flavour substances in Dalmatian traditional smoked ham: Impact of dry-curing and frying

Volatiles from Dalmatian prosciutto were isolated by solvent extraction (SE), simultaneous distillation extraction (SDE) and nitrogen purge and steam distillation (NPSD) and analyzed by GC and GC–MS. In all, 46 compounds were identified by SDE and SE (including fatty acids, aldehydes, phenols, esters, ketones and others), while 81 compounds were identified by NPSD (headspace volatiles including phenols, aldehydes, hydrocarbons, ketones, alcohols, esters and heterocyclic compounds). Regarding the impact of dry curing period on the volatiles, an increase in the percentages of aldehydes and esters during the ripening of the prosciutto was observed. Quantitative percentage differences among fried and raw samples were particularly evident in respect of aldehydes (SDE and SE). The NPSD method provided additional information of the volatiles from fried ham, since the pyrazines and most of the lower aldehydes that are important thermally derived flavour compounds were only isolated by NPSD (not by SE and SDE).     

Gender Differences in the Expression and Cellular Localization of Lipin 1 in the Hearts of Fructose-Fed Rats

To give new insight to alterations of cardiac lipid metabolism accompanied by a fructose-rich diet (FRD), rats of both sexes were exposed to 10 % fructose in drinking water during 9 weeks. The protein level and subcellular localization of the main regulators of cardiac lipid metabolism, such as lipin 1, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1 α (PGC-1α), carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPTI), and CD36 were studied. Caloric intake in fructose-fed rats (FFR) of both sexes was increased. Circulating triacylglyceroles (TAG) and non-esterified fatty acids were increased in male FFR, while females increased visceral adiposity and blood TAG. Total expression of lipin 1 in cardiac cell lysate and its cytosolic and microsomal level were increased in the hearts of male FFR. PPARα and PGC-1α content were decreased in the nuclear extract. In addition, cardiac deposition of TAG in male FFR was elevated, as well as inhibitory phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1). In contrast, in female FFR, lipin 1 level was increased in nuclear extract only, while overall CPTI expression and phosphorylation of IRS-1 at serine 307 were decreased. The results of our study suggest that fructose diet causes gender-dependent alterations in cardiac lipid metabolism. Potentially detrimental effects of FRD seem to be limited to male rats. Most of the observed changes might be a consequence of elevated expression and altered localization of lipin 1. Increased inhibitory phosphorylation of IRS-1 is possible link between cardiac lipid metabolism and insulin resistance in FFR.