Illumination Factors Research Articles

An Adaptive Low-Light Image Enhancement Using Canonical Correlation Analysis

Images captured under low-illumination conditions exhibit numerous unwanted appearances such as color distortion, low brightness, a narrow gray range, low contrast, and considerable noise. An excellent low-light image enhancement framework overcomes all undesirable attributes of low-light images. Here, a new fusion technique is introduced based on the canonical correlation analysis of two proposed adaptive Retinex and beta-hyperbolic secant distribution (BHSD) models. Firstly, an adaptive enhanced reflectance image is obtained by a new weighted multiscale Gaussian function and proposed adaptive reflectance map. For the second enhanced image, logarithmic image processing is modified according to the illuminance's factor, and the exponential function is incorporated for contrast boosting. The error function is used for the modified cumulative distribution function of BHSD to obtain the second enhanced image. The proposed framework is compared with state-of-the-art low-light methods for visual and parametric comparison. The results show that the designed framework produces the best results in terms of high contrast, natural brightness, vivid color combination, perfect structure, and texture information with preserving naturalness. Among all comparable methods, the designed technique produces a good result in terms of rich scene details and color reproduction in dark regions.

In vivo protein complex topologies: Sights through a cross‐linking lens

Proteins are a remarkable class of molecules that exhibit wide diversity of shapes or topological features that underpin protein interactions and give rise to biological function. In addition to quantitation of abundance levels of proteins in biological systems under a variety of conditions, the field of proteome research has as a primary mission the assignment of function for proteins and if possible, illumination of factors that enable function. For many years, chemical cross-linking methods have been used to provide structural data on single purified proteins and purified protein complexes. However, these methods also offer the alluring possibility to extend capabilities to complex biological samples such as cell lysates or intact living cells where proteins may exhibit native topological features that do not exist in purified form. Recent efforts are beginning to provide glimpses of protein complexes and topologies in cells that suggest continued development will yield novel capabilities to view functional topological features of many proteins and complexes as they exist in cells, tissues, or other complex samples. This review will describe rationale, challenges, and a few success stories along the path of development of cross-linking technologies for measurement of in vivo protein interaction topologies.

An integrative literature review of student retention in programmes of nursing and midwifery education: why do students stay?

The purpose of the review was to identify student characteristics and strategies in research studies investigating retention (why students stay) as opposed to attrition (why students leave) nursing and midwifery preregistration programmes. Retention in nursing and midwifery programmes is a serious international problem. Many governments are committed to diversifying both the student population and the health care workforce. This has led to higher education institutes in some countries offering places on nursing and midwifery programmes to students with non-traditional entry qualifications. There are suggestions that the policy of widening access has contributed to the challenges of retention in nursing and midwifery programmes. Integrative literature review. Undertaken using electronic databases and specific search terms, 15 articles were identified and reviewed. The critical appraisal tools produced by CASP (2009) were used to evaluate the quality of the data. Findings from the identified research literature were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Two broad themes emerged from the analysis: Programme and Personal. Subthemes were identified in these that give clues as to why students stay: profession, support, student characteristics and family. Personal commitment and good support seem to be essential for students to remain on undergraduate programmes of nursing and midwifery. The term 'support' is rarely explicit and requires to be more clearly defined. Furthermore, studies reviewed fail to indicate clearly how to identify when students are most vulnerable and which interventions are most appropriate in different situations in supporting retaining students on programmes. Nursing and midwifery student retention is a political and professional problem. Collaboration between clinical placement providers, academic institutions, students and their families is required to address the issue. Illumination of factors that help students stay may help us devise interventions that prevent future students leaving.

Promising Psychotherapies for Personality Disorders

To provide a narrative review of recent research on the psychotherapeutic treatment of patients with personality disorders (PDs). We conducted PubMed and PsycINFO searches of recently published articles that reported on the treatment outcomes of psychotherapies for PDs. Our focus was on studies that used randomized controlled trial (RCT) methodology. The search period was from January 2006 to June 2009. The effectiveness of various psychotherapy treatment packages for PDs is well supported by favourable results from RCTs. Beneficial effects of psychotherapy included reduced symptomatology, improved social and interpersonal functioning, reduced frequency of maladaptive behaviours, and decreased hospitalization. Equivalent effects among the interventions we compared were common. Many of the treatments studied required only limited training by therapists. Most studies were focused on treating patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Some findings were suggestive of psychotherapy being cost-effective; however, few studies actually included formal cost analyses. Only one study included follow-up of treated patients beyond 1-year posttreatment. There is strong support for the use of psychotherapy to treat patients with PDs. However, most of the evidence is limited to BPD. The findings of recent studies hold promise for training and practice. Future research should attend to identification of appropriate patient-treatment matches, elucidation of active treatment ingredients, and illumination of factors that are common among treatments that account for their equivalent effects.

Pigmentation, carotenoids, lipid peroxides and lipid composition of red porgy (Pagrus pagrus) skin reared under open-cage conditions

Pigmentation capability of red porgy (Pagrus pagrus) skin reared under open sea-cage conditions and fed an astaxanthin-enriched diet was studied. Skin lipid peroxide levels and lipid composition were also evaluated to establish the antioxidant role of astaxanthin under these sunlight-exposure conditions. Fish placed either in an offshore sea cage system (SC) or in an inland tank facility (T) housed inside a ‘shade-house’ enclosure were fed a commercial diet supplemented with 22 mg kg−1 astaxanthin. No differences in growth or survival were found. Both groups displayed a red skin, but SC fish presented a darker pigmentation, which externally reflected the higher deposition of melanin, astaxanthin and tunaxanthin found in its skin. The lower level of lipid peroxides found in SC fish might be related with the higher level of astaxanthin mentioned above. Nevertheless, lipid and fatty acid profiles did not show significant differences between groups. Our results indicate that sustainable production of red porgy with a natural red hue is possible on the basis of proper adjustment of two factors illumination and dietary astaxanthin.

Improving the Interpersonal Skills of Social Work Students: The Problem of Transfer of Training and What to do About it

SUMMARY Interpersonal skills which enable the worker to engage meaningfully with the client, lie at the heart of effective social work practice (Cournoyer, 1991). The acceptance of this proposition has important and obvious implications for the preparation of would-be social workers. While the increasing popularity of structured approaches to training in this domain has been commented upon (Sowers-Hoag and Thyer, 1985), it is, perhaps, surprising that relatively little has been published by way of a systematic exploration of current social work education/training provision in promoting skilled professional interaction. This paper critically reviews some of the research investigating the effects of struc tured training on interviewing performance. While reported outcomes have been largely positive, methodological weaknesses are identified and discussed. The issue of training effects persisting and being applied outwith the training environment is dwelt upon. Contrasting paradigmatic perspectives on the process, reflected in such labels as 'transfer of training' and 'generalization of outcome', are considered. These differing conceptualizations are synthesized in the illumination of factors that seem to be pivotal in the transfer process. Finally, recommendations are made for improving interpersonal skill training procedures for social work students.