Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 82 pages. / Thesis (M.S.E.E.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: Image quality measures are used to optimize image processing algorithms and evaluate their performances. The only reliable way to assess image quality is subjective evaluation by human observers, where the mean value of their scores is used as the quality measure. This is known as mean opinion score (MOS). In addition to this measure there are various objective (quantitative) measures. Most widely used quantitative measures are: mean squared error (MSE), peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and signal to noise ratio (SNR). Since these simple measures do not always produce results that are in agreement with subjective evaluation, many other quality measures have been proposed. They are mostly various modifications of MSE, which try to take into account some properties of human visual system (HVS) such as nonlinear character of brightness perception, contrast sensitivity function (CSF) and texture masking. / ABSTRACT: In these approaches quality measure is computed as MSE of input image intensities or frequency domain coefficients obtained after some transform (DFT, DCT etc.), weighted by some coefficients which account for the mentioned properties of HVS. These measures have some advantages over MSE, but their ability to predict image quality is still limited. A different approach is presented here. Quality measure proposed here uses simple model of HVS, which has one user-defined parameter, whose value depends on the reference image. This quality measure is based on the average value of locally computed correlation coefficients. This takes into account structural similarity between original and distorted images, which cannot be measured by MSE or any kind of weighted MSE. The proposed measure also differentiates between random and signal dependant distortion, because these two have different effect on human observer. / ABSTRACT: This is achieved by computing the average correlation coefficient between reference image and error image. Performance of the proposed quality measure is illustrated by examples involving images with different types of degradation. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Visual sensitivity to small color difference is an important factor for precision color matching. Small color differences can be measured by the line element theory in terms of color distances between a color point and neighborhoods of points in a color space. This theory gives a smooth positive definite symmetric metric tensor which describes threshold of color differences by ellipsoids in three dimensions and ellipses in two dimensions. The metric tensor is also known as the Riemannian metric tensor. In regard to the color differences, there are many color difference formulas and color spaces to predict visual difference between two colors but, it is still challenging due to the nonexistence of a perfect uniform color space. In such case, the Riemannian metric tensor can be used as a tool to study the performance of various color spaces and color difference metrics for measuring the perceptual color differences. It also computes the shortest length or the distance between any two points in a color space. The shortest length is called a geodesic. According to Schrödinger's hypothesis geodesics starting from the neutral point of a surface of constant brightness correspond to the curves of constant hue. The chroma contours are closed curves at constant intervals from the origin measured as the distance along the constant hue geodesics. This hypothesis can be utilized to test the performance of color difference formulas to predict perceptual attributes (hue and chroma) and distribution of color stimulus in any color space. In this research work, a method to formulate line element models of color difference formulas the ΔE*ab, the ΔE*uv, the OSA-UCS ΔEE and infinitesimal approximation of CIEDE2000 (ΔE00) is presented. The Jacobian method is employed to transfer their Riemannian metric tensors in other color spaces. The coefficients of such metric tensors are used to compute ellipses in two dimensions. The performance of these four color difference formulas is evaluated by comparing computed ellipses with experimentally observed ellipses in different chromaticity diagrams. A method is also developed for comparing the similarity between a pair of ellipses. The technique works by calculating the ratio of the area of intersection and the area of union of a pair of ellipses. Similarly, at a fixed value of lightness L*, hue geodesics originating from the achromatic point and their corresponding chroma contours of the above four formulas in the CIELAB color space are computed by solving the Euler-Lagrange equations in association with their Riemannian metrics. They are compared with with the Munsell chromas and hue circles at the Munsell values 3, 5 and 7. The result shows that neither formulas are fully perfect for matching visual color difference data sets. However, Riemannized ΔE00 and the ΔEE formulas measure the visual color differences better than the ΔE*ab and the ΔE*uv formulas at local level. It is interesting to note that the latest color difference formulas like the OSA-UCS ΔEE and the Riemannized ΔE00 do not show better performance to predict hue geodesics and chroma contours than the conventional CIELAB and CIELUV color difference formulas and none of these formulas fit the Munsell data accurately

Os receptores glutamatérgicos metabotrópicos (mGluRs) estão envolvidos nos processos de plasticidade, neurodegeneração e neuroproteção. Avaliamos a expressão de mGluRs no sistema visual de ratos e pintos em diferentes tempos após enucleação ocular. Os animais foram avaliados pelo método de imuno-histoquímica, immunoblotting e RT-PCR, para detecção dos receptores mGluR1,2/3,5 e 7. Foi observado aumento da imunorreatividade (IR) de mGluR1, 5 e 7 no colículo superior, porém não foi observada diferença no núcleo geniculado lateral. Houve aumento na expressão protéica para mGluR1, 5 e 7 e aumento da expressão gênica para mGluR1,5 e 7; por outro lado, ocorreu uma diminuição de mGluR3. No TeO, foi observado aumento da IR para mGluR1 e 5 e diminuição para mGluR2/3. As análises de immunoblotting confirmaram o aumento observado de mGluR1 e diminuição de mGluR2/3. Os resultados indicam uma modulação diferencial na expressão gênica e protéica dos mGluRs, sugerindo a participação desses receptores em processos plásticos decorrentes de lesões no sistema visual adulto. / The metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are involved in neuronal plasticity and neuroprotection. We analyzed the expression of mGluRs in the visual system of rats and chicks in several periods after ocular enucleation. The localization and expression of mGluR1, 5, 2/3 and 7 receptors were evaluated by standard immunoperoxidase, immunoblotting and real-time PCR protocols. The immunorreativity, protein and gene expression of mGluR1, 5 and 7 receptors in the superior colliculus showed an increase, whereas no changes were seen in the lateral geniculate nucleus. For mGluR3, gene expression was decreased. In the TeO, mGluR1 and 5 increased for all survival periods analyzed. Immunoblotting analyses confirmed the increases for mGluR1 and 5, decreases for mGluR2/3. These results indicate that the expression of mGluRs is regulated by the glutamatergic retinal input, and add data on a possible role of these receptors in neuroplasticity in adult animals.

Afin de pouvoir apparier de manière précise les couleurs il est essentiel de prendre en compte la sensibilité visuelle à percevoir de petites différences de couleur. Les petites différences de couleur peuvent être mesurées par des ellipses qui décrivent les différences justes observables (just noticeable difference - JND). Ces ellipses décrivent la faculté du Système Visuel Humain à discriminer des couleurs très peu différentes. D'un point de vue mathématique, ces ellipses peuvent être modélisées par une fonction différentielle positive de forme quadratique, caractéristique de ce que l'on appelle communément une métrique Riemannienne. La métrique Riemannienne peut être considérée comme un outil utile pour évaluer l'adéquation, la robustesse et la précision, d'un espace couleur ou d'une métrique couleur, à décrire, à mesurer, correctement les différences de couleur telles qu'elles sont perçues par le Système Visuel Humain. L'un des particularités de cette métrique est qu'elle modélise la plus petite distance qui sépare deux couleurs dans un espace couleur par une ligne géodésique. Selon l'hypothèse de Schrödinger les lignes géodésiques qui partent d'un point neutre d'une surface de luminosité constante décrivent des courbes de teinte constante. Les contours de chrominance (chroma) forment alors des courbes fermées à intervalles constants à partir de ce point neutre situées à une distance constante des lignes géodésiques associées à ces teintes constances. Cette hypothèse peut être utilisée pour tester la robustesse, la précision, des formules mathématiques utilisées pour mesurer des différences couleur (color difference formulas) et pour prédire quelle valeurs peuvent prendre tel ou tel attribut perceptuel, ex. la teinte et la saturation (hue and chroma), ou telle distribution de stimulus couleur, dans n'importe quel espace couleur. Dans cette thèse, nous présentons une méthode qui permet de modéliser les éléments de ligne (lignes géodésiques), correspondants aux formules mathématiques Delta E * ab, Delta E * uv, OSA-UCS Delta EE utilisées pour mesurer des différences couleur, ainsi que les éléments de ligne correspondants à l'approximation infinitésimales du CIEDE2000. La pertinence de ces quatre formules mathématiques a été évaluée par comparaison, dans différents plans de représentation chromatique, des ellipses prédites et des ellipses expérimentalement obtenues par observation visuelle. Pour chacune de ces formules mathématiques, nous avons également testé l'hypothèse de Schrödinger, en calculant à partir de la métrique Riemannienne, les lignes géodésiques de teinte et les contours de chroma associés, puis en comparant les courbes calculées dans l'espace couleur CIELAB avec celles obtenues dans le système Munsell. Les résultats que nous avons obtenus démontrent qu'aucune de ces formules mathématiques ne prédit précisément les différences de couleur telles qu'elles sont perçues par le Système Visuel Humain. Ils démontrent également que les deux dernières formules en date, OSA-UCS Delta EE et l'approximation infinitésimale du CIEDE2000, ne sont pas plus précises que les formules conventionnelles calculées à partir des espaces couleur CIELAB et CIELUV, quand on se réfère au système Munsell (Munsell color order system) / Visual sensitivity to small color difference is an important factor for precision color matching. Small color differences can be measured by the line element theory in terms of color distances between a color point and neighborhoods of points in a color space. This theory gives a smooth positive definite symmetric metric tensor which describes threshold of color differences by ellipsoids in three dimensions and ellipses in two dimensions. The metric tensor is also known as the Riemannian metric tensor. In regard to the color differences, there are many color difference formulas and color spaces to predict visual difference between two colors but, it is still challenging due to the nonexistence of a perfect uniform color space. In such case, the Riemannian metric tensor can be used as a tool to study the performance of various color spaces and color difference metrics for measuring the perceptual color differences. It also computes the shortest length or the distance between any two points in a color space. The shortest length is called a geodesic. According to Schrödinger's hypothesis geodesics starting from the neutral point of a surface of constant brightness correspond to the curves of constant hue. The chroma contours are closed curves at constant intervals from the origin measured as the distance along the constant hue geodesics. This hypothesis can be utilized to test the performance of color difference formulas to predict perceptual attributes (hue and chroma) and distribution of color stimulus in any color space. In this research work, a method to formulate line element models of color difference formulas the ΔE*ab, the ΔE*uv, the OSA-UCS ΔEE and infinitesimal approximation of CIEDE2000 (ΔE00) is presented. The Jacobian method is employed to transfer their Riemannian metric tensors in other color spaces. The coefficients of such metric tensors are used to compute ellipses in two dimensions. The performance of these four color difference formulas is evaluated by comparing computed ellipses with experimentally observed ellipses in different chromaticity diagrams. A method is also developed for comparing the similarity between a pair of ellipses. The technique works by calculating the ratio of the area of intersection and the area of union of a pair of ellipses. Similarly, at a fixed value of lightness L*, hue geodesics originating from the achromatic point and their corresponding chroma contours of the above four formulas in the CIELAB color space are computed by solving the Euler-Lagrange equations in association with their Riemannian metrics. They are compared with with the Munsell chromas and hue circles at the Munsell values 3, 5 and 7. The result shows that neither formulas are fully perfect for matching visual color difference data sets. However, Riemannized ΔE00 and the ΔEE formulas measure the visual color differences better than the ΔE*ab and the ΔE*uv formulas at local level. It is interesting to note that the latest color difference formulas like the OSA-UCS ΔEE and the Riemannized ΔE00 do not show better performance to predict hue geodesics and chroma contours than the conventional CIELAB and CIELUV color difference formulas and none of these formulas fit the Munsell data accurately

La rotation de la Terre oblige les organismes vivants à s’adapter aux modifications cycliques de l’environnement, et tout particulièrement aux changements de lumière et de température. Des unicellulaires à l’Homme, la plupart des espèces ont développé des horloges circadiennes, qui leur permettent d’anticiper les transitions jour-nuit. La lumière constitue le signal majeur pour la synchronisation de l’horloge. En cycles jour-nuit, les drosophiles présentent un profil d’activité locomotrice bimodal, avec un premier pic autour de l’aube et le deuxième au crépuscule. Chez cet insecte, la perception de la lumière est assurée à la fois par un système complexe, constitué des yeux composés, des ocelles et de l’eyelet d’Hofbauer-Buchner. Ces organes contiennent des photorécepteurs (PRs) exprimant six protéines photosensibles différentes, les rhodopsines (Rh1 à Rh6). Une septième rhodopsine (Rh7) a été décrite dans quelques neurones de l’horloge cérébrale. La lumière est également perçue directement dans la plupart des neurones d’horloge grâce à une protéine photosensible, le cryptochrome (Cry). Les différentes études du rôle de la lumière sur l’entraînement de l’horloge ont essentiellement porté sur la voie cry-dépendante, en utilisant de courts flashs lumineux pour recaler l’horloge cérébrale. Notre étude s’est intéressée à l’entraînement de l’horloge via les rhodopsines. Quels types de photorécepteur sont impliqués ? Après l’activation de la cascade de phototransduction et la libération de l’histamine par les photorécepteurs, quels neurones, exprimant les récepteurs à l’histamine Ort et Hiscl1, participent à l’entraînement de l’horloge circadienne ? Une première partie présente l’étude de l’implication des 6 rhodopsines dans l’entraînement circadien. Tout d’abord, nous avons mis en évidence la fonction de photorécepteurs spécifiques (exprimant Rh1 ou Rh6) dans la voie NorpA-dépendante (Saint-Charles et al. J Comp Neurol 2016). Nous avons ensuite généré des lignées de drosophiles n’exprimant aucune ou qu’une seule rhodopsine. Sans rhodopsine ni Cry les mouches sont incapables de se synchroniser sur les cycles jour-nuit, quelle que soit l’intensité lumineuse. En lumière faible, l’input pour l’entraînement vient principalement des photorécepteurs exprimant Rh1 et Rh6. En forte lumière, chacune des 6 rhodopsines des différents photorécepteurs est capable d’entrainer l’horloge, Rh1, Rh5 et Rh6 étant les plus efficaces ( Alejevski et al., in prep). Une deuxième partie présente la caractérisation des voies neuronales connectant directement ou indirectement les PRs à l’horloge cérébrale. L’horloge circadienne de mouches mutantes, à la fois pour le cryptochrome et les 2 récepteurs à l’histamine, est « aveugle » alors que les mutantes pour Cry mais possédant l’un ou l’autre récepteur à l’histamine sont capables de se synchroniser sur les cycles de lumière. La ré-expression chez les mutants de Ort ou Hiscl1 dans les neurones d’horloge ne restaure pas l’entraînement, suggérant ainsi l’absence de connexions directes entre les PRs histaminergiques et les neurones d’horloge. Nos expériences de sauvetage comportemental mettent en évidence des connexions fonctionnelles entre certains interneurones Ort des lobes optiques et les neurones d’horloge. En revanche et de façon inattendue, nous n’observons d’entraînement circadien que lorsque nous ré-exprimons Hiscl1 dans les seuls PRs Rh6. Nos résultats révèlent que les photorécepteurs interviennent dans l’entraînement à la fois comme photorécepteurs et comme interneurones, cibles d’input histaminergique, rappelant ainsi le double rôle des cellules ganglionnaires de la rétine exprimant la mélanopsine chez les mammifères (Alejevski et al. Nat Commun, in revision). / The rotation of the earth forces living organisms to adapt to its cyclic environment, in particular light and temperature changes. From unicellular organisms to humans, almost all species have evolved circadian clocks, which allow them to anticipate day-night transitions and use light as the most powerful synchronizing cue. In light-dark cycles, D. melanogaster flies display a bimodal locomotor activity with peaks around dawn and dusk. To perceive light, Drosophila has evolved a complex visual system, composed of compound eyes, ocelli and Hofbauer-Buchner eyelet. These organs contain photoreceptors (PRs) expressing six different light receptors named rhodopsins (Rh1 to Rh6). In addition, one rhodopsin (Rh7) is found in some of the clock neurons in the brain. Most of the clock cells also express another type of light receptor, Cryptochrome (Cry). Most studies about clock entrainment by light have focused on the Cry-dependent light input, which allows short light pulses to reset the brain clock. The present thesis focuses on the entrainment of the brain clock through rhodopsins. In photoreceptors, rhodopsins capture photons and activate a transduction cascade, where a key player is the phospholipase C (PLC) encoded by norpA. Mutants deficient for Cry and NorpA do not synchronize at low light intensity but still entrain with high light, indicating that an unknown NorpA-independent pathway is also used by the clock. Light induces a depolarization of the PRs, which release histamine as a neurotransmitter, but their role in circadian entrainment is unknown. Which type of rhodopsine-expressing photoreceptors are implicated? After the phototransduction cascade activation and the release of histamine from the photoreceptors, which downstream neurons expressing the histamine-gated chloride channels Ort and Hiscl1 (whose function has been studied in the visual behavior) are involved in the circadian entrainment? The first part of the thesis was to study the function of the 6 PR rhodopsins in circadian entrainment. I first contributed to studying the function of the specific photoreceptors in the NorpA-dependent pathway (Saint-Charles et al. J Comp Neurol 2016). Then, we generated genotypes having either none or only one of the six PR rhodopsins. Mutants with no Cry and none of the 6 PR rhodopsins could not synchronize with light-dark (LD) cycles (low light or high light). In low light, Rh1 and Rh6 were the main light input for entrainment. In high-light, each one of the 6 PR rhodopsins can provide entrainment, with Rh1, Rh5 and Rh6 being the most efficient (Alejevski et al., in prep).The second part of the work was to identify the neuronal pathways that connect the PRs to the brain circadian clock. Flies deficient for Cry and the two histamine receptors are circadianly blind, whereas Cry mutants having either Ort or Hiscl1 are able to entrain. Thus, each one of the two receptors supports circadian entrainment. Rescuing Ort or Hiscl1 in the clock cells could not restore entrainment, indicating that there is no direct histaminergic connection between PRs and clock neurons. Our rescue experiments revealed several pathways in otic lobes that rely on Ort-expressing interneurons to entrain the clock. In contrast and unexpectedly, we observed that the expression of Hiscl1 in PRs but not in interneurons was involved in circadian entrainment. In fact, only Hiscl1 expression in Rh6 PRs mediates entrainment. Our work thus reveals Rh6-expressing PRs as both photoreceptors and histamine-receiving interneurons in the rhodopsin-dependent entrainment pathway, which recalls the role of melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells in the mammalian retina (Alejevski et al. Nat Commun, in revision).

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Visual perception plays a fundamental role in a prospective learner’s ability to learn to read and spell; as well as in the accomplishment of written and numeracy tasks. Aspects of visual perception are facilitating functions and skills which a learner requires for acquiring basic literacy and numeracy proficiency. Yet, despite this importance, there exists no test that is standardised for the South African Foundation Phase population which adequately measures distinct visual perceptual aspects of individual learners. The study was undertaken in an attempt to alleviate the dilemma of the South African Foundation Phase learners who tend to experience visual perceptual challenges that hamper their level of academic learning, performance and competency. Firstly, the literature study explored the construct of visual perception and focussed on the relationship between vision, visual perception and academic learning, performance and competency. Secondly, in order to adequately measure the South African Foundation Phase population’s visual perceptual level of proficiency a new test was developed. Based on the literature study and the empirical investigation recommendations to educational psychologists, teachers, parents and learners have been made. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

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