Image super-resolution technique mainly aims at restoring high-resolution image with satisfactory novel details. In recent years, leaning-based single-image super-resolution has been developed and proved to produce satisfactory results. With one or some dictionaries trained from a training set, learning-based super-resolution is able to establish a mapping relationship between low-resolution images and their corresponding high-resolution ones. Among all these algorithms, sparsity-based super-resolution has been proved with outstanding performance from extensive experiments. By utilizing compact dictionaries, this class of super-resolution algorithms can be efficient with lower computation complexity and has shown great potential for the practical applications. Our proposed model, which is known as Joint Dictionary-based Super-Resolution (JDSR) algorithm, is a new sparsity-based super-resolution approach. Based on the observation that the initial values of Non-locally Centralized Sparse Representation (NCSR) model will affect the final reconstruction, we change its initial values by using results of Zeyde's model. Besides, with the purpose of further improvement, we also add a gradient histogram preservation term in the sparse model of NCSR, and modify the reference histogram estimation by a simple edge detection based enhancement so that the estimated histogram will be closer to the ground truth. The experimental results illustrate that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in terms of sharper edges, clearer textures and better novel details.

In this thesis, we discuss several phenomena exhibiting `limiting behaviour' in physics. This includes the duality principle, delegated quantum computation, and super-resolution. The duality principle places a limit on the coexistence of wave and particle behaviours. We develop a framework that explains apparent violations of this principle while staying within the scope of quantum mechanics. In addition, we relate the duality principle to the sub-fidelity and weak-values. We also show that the maximum recoverable coherence of a qubit has a sharp transition from 0 to 1 when we have access to half of the environment to which the qubit is correlated. Delegated quantum computation consists of a computational weak client who wishes to delegate a complex quantum computation to a powerful quantum server. We develop a new protocol for delegated quantum computation requiring less quantum power than its predecessor. Finally, we develop and test a new theory for eigenmode super-resolution.

The diffraction limit restricts conventional light microscopes to approximately 250 nm laterally and 500 nm axially, these limits being first proposed by Abbe in 1873. Despite this, optical microscopes have found many applications in biological research and single cells that are 10 - 100 um in size. Furthermore by coupling the non-invasive nature of a light microscope with highly sensitive fluorescent probes, fluorescence microscopy has also become a standard imaging technique. Recent advances in fluorescence microscopy now provide a number of methods to circumvent the Abbe diffraction limit, with many techniques becoming prevalent over the last 10 years including direct Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy (dSTORM). A dSTORM system has been constructed and calibrated using a commercially available inverted florescence microscope and total internal reflection florescence (TIRF) imaging. dSTORM relies on the ability to switch sparse subsets of fluorophores and temporally separate them. Provided the spatial separation is sufficient between any member of a subset, the average error with which the emission can be localized is much less than size of the emission profile itself. The underlying mechanism for this switching is detailed based on the principle of photoinduced electron transfer (PET). The switching characteristics of the common florescent dye Alexa Fluor 568 are investigated and shown to be controlled by a number of factors including the excitation intensity and concentration of the primary thiol cysteamine beta-MEA. A number of parameters are defined, including the dye switching rate, for a given set of physical parameters. U2OS cells are labelled for the microtubule protein Tubulin using immunofluorescent labelling strategies. A direct comparison is made between diffraction limited TIRF images and dSTORM reconstructed images, with an average width for microtubules determined to (58.2 ± 8.1) nm. Further measurements are made by labelling the Rab5 effector Early Endosome Antigen 1 (EEA1). From this the aspect ratio for early endosomes is determined to be 1.68 ± 0.7 with an average radius of (45.8 ± 18.8) nm. The point spatial distribution of EEA1 is investigated by using the linearised form of Ripley's K-function H(r) and the null hypothesis of complete spatial randomness tested. EEA1 is shown to cluster at radius of 58.7 nm on individual endosomes, thought to be due to the well defined binding domains present on early endosomes for EEA1. Further evidence suggests that clustering is also exhibited at another maximum of approximately 500 nm when looking at an ensemble of EEA1 and early endosomes.

This thesis examines the promises and challenges of internal dispute resolution (IDR) in the corporate workplace of Canada and the United States. The focus of inquiry is twofold: a theoretical and socio-historical study of the corporation followed by a practical analysis of dispute resolution of human or civil rights. The examination of the role of the corporation begins with a review of the statutory and jurisprudential underpinnings of the "corporate person," which have legitimized the corporation and its powerful place in society. Such power, sanctified by the law, impacts not only society at large but also employees of the corporation. Internalization of legal systems into the corporate workplace has shifted some dispute resolution responsibilities from the public to the private domain, relegating further power to the corporation. This public to private shift has deputized the corporation as an enforcer of its employees' civil rights. Two predominant theories of the corporation - the Contractarian and Communitarian - provide understanding about power relationships among the corporation and its constituents. U.S. and Canadian courts and legislatures have demonstrated a preference for the Contractarian theory, which holds that the corporation is a nexus of contracts, and that firm managers should prioritize its contract with its shareholders, governing the corporation so as to maximize shareholder wealth. A careful examination of corporate theory and governance illustrates the corporation's conflict of interest in holding shareholder interests primary while resolving employment disputes. The power differential between the corporation, as agents of its shareholder principals, and employees presents the greatest challenge in equitably resolving employment disputes. The practical aspects of internal dispute resolution in the corporate workplace focus on the potential benefits and risks to employees. In-house mediation, with certain procedural safeguards, has potential for benefits that outweigh risks to individual employees. Building on principles and structures of formal procedural fairness found in courts of law and administrative tribunals, five essential features can best guarantee fairness in IDR: voluntary participation, retention of employees' right to judicial review, prohibition against reprisal for raising the dispute, use of an external mediator, and oversight of the corporation's IDR program by a neutral, external body. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

This thesis focuses on the current court mediation institution in China against the worldwide movement of alternative dispute resolution in searching for more consensual and more efficient ways of resolving disputes. When the West is seeking more informality-oriented forms of dispute resolution, China, on the other side of the world, is making great efforts to improve its formal justice system rather than conventional means of dispute resolution like mediation. This thesis attempts to identify the role court mediation has played in Chinese legal history, to explore its current functions, to examine the rationale underlying the system, and to suggest its future reform. The economic analysis of law, particularly Posner's economic analysis of civil procedure and the Coase Theorem, and the ideas of Rawls' theory of justice provide theoretical underpinnings for this study. A review of these classical theories is conducted from the perspectives of efficiency and fairness. Although it is generally understood that both efficiency and fairness cannot be equally achieved by a legal policy, a good one should be concerned with both efficiency and fairness. The article concludes that the balance between efficiency and fairness should be presented in an optimal court mediation form. China's court mediation has remained an important means of dispute resolution, but left much to be improved. The author argues that the current court mediation is not as successful as it declares; it is, in fact, neither efficient nor just. The existing law governing court mediation does not provide a clear function and purpose for court mediation, nor does it consider the efficiency and fairness of court mediation. In practice, although it remains the dominant position in resolving disputes, it is merely a substitute for adjudication rather than a substantive alternative dispute resolution. By analyzing the current allocation of cases for different dispute resolutions, the author suggests that considering the overloaded court caseloads and the lack of a variety of alternative dispute resolutions in today's China, court mediation should be preserved, but thoroughly reformed, as a more acceptable and efficient means of resolving disputes. Upon its reform, this conventional means of dispute resolution with Chinese characteristics will play a positive role in the future. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

The reaction of [BrRe(CO)₄]₂ with 2-(diphenylphosphino)pyridine (PN) and 6-(diphenylphosphino)-2-formylpyridine (PON) was investigated. The reactions were regiospecific and exclusively produced the phosphorus-coordinated products, BrRe(CO)₄(κᵖ-PN) and BrRe(CO)₄(κᴾ-PON). The kinetics for the chelate ring closure (κᴾ→ κᴾᴺ) in BrRe(CO)₄(κᴾ-PN) were confirmed to occur by dissociative CO loss. The reaction of [BrRe(CO)₄]₂ with 2-(diphenylphosphino)pyridine (PN) was modeled computationally by DFT calculations. The preferred reaction pathway for the substitution reaction was determined to occur by direct attack of the pnictogen donor on the dimer and formation of the κᴺ isomer as the kinetic substitution product occurs. The κᴺ kinetic product then rapidly isomerizes to the κᴾ thermodynamic product by way of a reversible ligand dissociation. Treatment of the tetrahedral cluster H₂Ru₃(CO)₃(μ₃-S) (1) with 2-(diphenylphosphino)thioanisole (PS) furnishes the cluster H₂Ru₃(CO)₇(κ²-PS)(μ₃-S) (2). Cluster 2, which exhibits a chelated thiophosphine ligand (κ²-PS), exists as a pair of diastereomers with Keq = 1.55 at 298 K that differ in their disposition of ligands at the Ru(CO)(κ²-PS) center. The PS ligand occupies the equatorial sites (Peq, Seq) in the kinetic isomer and axial and equatorial sites (Pax, Seq) in the thermodynamically favored species. The reversible first-order kinetics to equilibrium have been measured experimentally by NMR spectroscopy and HPLC over the temperature range 293-323 K. The substitution reaction involving 1 and the isomerization of the PS ligand in 2 were investigated by DFT calculations. The computational results support a phosphine-induced expansion of the cluster polyhedron that is triggered by the associative addition of the PS donor to 1. The observed isomerization of the PS ligand in 2 is best explained by a tripodal rotation of the CO and PS groups at the Ru(CO)(κ²-PS) center that is preceded by a regiospecific migration of one of the edge-bridging hydrides to the non-hydride-bridged Ru-Ru bond in 2. The chiral clusters 1,2-Ru₃(μ-H)₂(μ₃-S)(CO)₇(μ-1p1,2p2-POP) (A) and 1,2-Ru₃(μ-H)₂(μ₃-S)(CO)₇(μ-1p2,2p1-POP) (B) were formed were formed from reaction of Ru₃(μ-H)₂(μ₃-S)(CO)₉ with 1-diphenylphosphino-2-[2-(diphenylphosphino)ethoxy]benzene (POP). Chiral clusters A and B were fully characterized by IR and NMR spectroscopy. Additionally, the molecular structure of A was solved by X-ray crystallography. Chiral cluster A was resolved into its enantiomers by preparative HPLC with a chiral column. The enantiomers were characterized by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectroscopy and their absolute stereochemical configuration was determined by X-ray crystallography.

Architecture is a representation of our society’s aspirations and of our social, economic and political paradigms. Since 1994, has the city of Pretoria been successfully represented? Does the city succeed architecturally in creating space that is democratic and that embraces our country’s diversity? The large influx of people within the city of Pretoria has created a terrain consisting of a series of contradictions and conflicts. These conflicts and contradictions within the city are a result of social, economic, spatial, physical and historical tensions that exist within society's social, economic and political paradigms. Physical and spatial reactions have occurred as a result of these tensions that exist within the city of Pretoria. This dissertation will explore these urban spaces that are in tension and investigate what opportunities and limitations such spaces offer the city of Pretoria. The objective is to consider what architectural intervention will arise from the resolution, synthesis or conflict of these tensions. Can these spaces that are in tension within the city foster a new post-apartheid way of city-making. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted

of the Doctoral Thesis Operadic Resolutions of Diagrams by Martin Doubek We study resolutions of the operad AC describing diagrams of a given shape C in the category of algebras of a given type A. We prove the conjecture by Markl on constructing the resolution out of resolutions of A and C, at least in a certain restricted setting. For associative algebras, we make explicit the cohomology theory for the diagrams and recover Gerstenhaber-Schack diagram cohomology. In general, we show that the operadic cohomology is Ext in the category of operadic modules. 1

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of conflict resolution training on the number and severity of discipline referral offenses committed by high school students in one urban school. Effectiveness was measured by the number and severity of student discipline referrals to the school administration. Additionally, data were gathered and analyzed regarding student perceptions following application of conflict resolution training. The population (N=155) consisted of black and white students in grades nine through 12 who had previously received conflict-related discipline referrals. The samples (n=32) were selected using simple random sampling. Identified students were randomly assigned to one of two groups (treatment v. control). The treatment group received twelve hours of conflict resolution training. In addition, a four hour follow-up training session was conducted 60 days later. The control group did not receive training. Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used to determine the effects of conflict resolution training in this study. The independent variables were conflict resolution training, gender, and eligibility. The dependent variables were number of referrals and level of referrals. Data were collected from student discipline records and by conducting focus groups and individual interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS-X). Two three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to test all hypotheses. When an alpha level of .05 was used, only the interaction between gender and eligibility was significant with respect to both the number and level of discipline referrals. Further analyses were conducted to "tease apart" the interactions. In order to ascertain participants' perceptions of the effects of conflict resolution training, the qualitative data were content analyzed to record emerging themes. When the data were content analyzed, 10 themes emerged with respect to the participants' perceptions. These themes revealed that participants' perceptions were mostly positive. Participants reported that the training influenced positive changes in their own behavior and the behavior of others. / Ed. D.

Image interpolation in the medical area is of vital importance as most 3D biomedical volume images are sampled where the distance between consecutive slices is significantly greater than the in-plane pixel size due to radiation dose or scanning time. Image interpolation creates a certain number of new slices between known slices in order to obtain an isotropic volume image. The results can be used for the higher quality of 2D and 3D visualization or reconstruction of human body structure. Semantic interpolation on the manifold has been proved to be very useful for smoothing the interpolation process. Nevertheless, all previous methods focused on low-resolution image interpolation, and most of which work poorly on high-resolution images. Besides, the medical field puts a high threshold for the quality of interpolations, as they need to be semantic and realistic enough, and resemble real data with only small errors permitted. Typically, people downsample the images into 322 and 642 for semantic interpolation, which does not meet the requirement for high-resolution in the medical field. Thus, we explore a novel way to generate semantically correct interpolations and maintain the resolution at the same time. Our method has been proved to generate realistic and high-resolution interpolations on the sizes of 5262 and 5122. Our main contribution is, first, we propose a novel network, High Resolution Interpolation Network (HRINet), aiming at producing semantically correct high-resolution CT image interpolations. Second, by combining the idea of ACAI and GANs, we propose a unique alternative supervision method by applying supervised and unsupervised training alternatively to raise the accuracy and fidelity of body structure in CT when interpolated while keeping high quality. Third, we introduce an extra Markovian discriminator as a texture or fine details regularizer to make our model generate results indistinguishable from real data. In addition, we explore other possibilities or tricks to further improve the performance of our model, including low-level feature maps mixing, and removing batch normalization layers within the autoencoder. Moreover, we compare the impacts of MSE based and perceptual based loss optimizing methods for high quality interpolation, and show the trade-off between the structural correctness and sharpness. The interpolation experiments show significant improvement on both sizes of 256 2 and 5122 images quantitatively and qualitatively. We find that interpolations produced by HRINet are sharper and more realistic compared with other existing methods such as AE and ACAI in terms of various metrics. As an application of high-resolution interpolation, we have done 2D volume projection and 3D volume reconstruction from axial view CT data and their interpolations. We show the great enhancement of applying HRINet for both in sharpness and fidelity. Specifically, for 2D volume projection, we explore orthogonal projection and weighted projection respectively so as to show the improved effectiveness for visualizing internal and external human body structure.