University of North Texas

About: University of North Texas is a education organization based out in Denton, Texas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 11866 authors who have published 26984 publications receiving 705376 citations. The organization is also known as: Fight, North Texas & UNT.

An Experiment-Based Review of Low-Light Image Enhancement Methods

Abstract: Images captured under poor illumination conditions often exhibit characteristics such as low brightness, low contrast, a narrow gray range, and color distortion, as well as considerable noise, which seriously affect the subjective visual effect on human eyes and greatly limit the performance of various machine vision systems. The role of low-light image enhancement is to improve the visual effect of such images for the benefit of subsequent processing. This paper reviews the main techniques of low-light image enhancement developed over the past decades. First, we present a new classification of these algorithms, dividing them into seven categories: gray transformation methods, histogram equalization methods, Retinex methods, frequency-domain methods, image fusion methods, defogging model methods and machine learning methods. Then, all the categories of methods, including subcategories, are introduced in accordance with their principles and characteristics. In addition, various quality evaluation methods for enhanced images are detailed, and comparisons of different algorithms are discussed. Finally, the current research progress is summarized, and future research directions are suggested.

Cross-lingual Semantic Relatedness Using Encyclopedic Knowledge

Abstract: In this paper, we address the task of crosslingual semantic relatedness. We introduce a method that relies on the information extracted from Wikipedia, by exploiting the interlanguage links available between Wikipedia versions in multiple languages. Through experiments performed on several language pairs, we show that the method performs well, with a performance comparable to monolingual measures of relatedness.

Drivers of customer loyalty in a retail store environment

Abstract: The determinants of customer loyalty are identified for a large U.S. retailer based on a survey of 972 customers. An ordered logistic regression is used to estimate the proportion of a retailers customers who are willing to recommend the retailers products to others based on survey results. Statistical results document that service quality, product quality and brand image drive customer loyalty as measured by a customers willingness to recommend the retailers products to other people. Service management managers can improve these drivers of customer loyalty by better training, recognition and reward programs, day-to-day store operations, and job, product, process and store design. Given the general research objective of defining a universal model of what drives customer loyalty in a diverse set of industries, this research provides additional statistical evidence to support the theory that brand image, product quality, and service quality determine customer loyalty.

Chemical sniffing instrumentation for security applications

Abstract: Border control for homeland security faces major challenges worldwide due to chemical threats from national and/or international terrorism as well as organized crime. A wide range of technologies and systems with threat detection and monitoring capabilities has emerged to identify the chemical footprint associated with these illegal activities. This review paper investigates artificial sniffing technologies used as chemical sensors for point-of-use chemical analysis, especially during border security applications. This article presents an overview of (a) the existing available technologies reported in the scientific literature for threat screening, (b) commercially available, portable (hand-held and stand-off) chemical detection systems, and (c) their underlying functional and operational principles. Emphasis is given to technologies that have been developed for in-field security operations, but laboratory developed techniques are also summarized as emerging technologies. The chemical analytes of interest...

Custodial grandparenting: Stresses, coping skills, and relationships with grandchildren.

Abstract: This cross-sectional study compared three groups of custodial grandparents, those raising problematic grandchildren, those raising "normal" grandchildren, and noncustodial grandparents to identify the unique challenges and expectations faced by custodial grandparents due to their nontraditional roles while attempting to disentangle grandparental role demands from child-specific problems as sources of distress. Those grandparents raising grandchildren demonstrating neurological, physical, emotional, or behavioral problems exhibited the most distress, the most disruption of roles, and the most deteriorated grandparent-grandchild relationships. Although custodial grandparents raising apparently normal grandchildren demonstrated less distress, less disruption of roles, and less deterioration of the grandparent-grandchild relationship than those grandparents raising grandchildren displaying problems, in these respects, they still demonstrated higher such levels than did traditional grandparents.