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2010 OCT 27 - (VerticalNews.com) -- According to a study from Xian, People's Republic of China, "A quantitative measure based scene-adaptive contrast enhancement algorithm for an infrared (IR) Xmas Necklace is proposed.""This method regulates the probability density function (PDF) of the raw image firstly, and then applies an improved plateau histogram equalization method whose plateau threshold is determined by the concavity of the regulated PDF to enhance the raw IR image. In the stepped parameter tuning process of the algorithm, quantitative measure EME is used as the criterion to determine the optimal PDF regulator factor and plateau threshold," wrote R. Lai and colleagues, Xidian University.The researchers concluded: "The above improvements contribute to the performance promotion of the proposed algorithm, whose effectiveness is validated by the final assessment with visual quality and quantitative measures."Lai and colleagues published the results of their research in Optics Xmas Pendant (A quantitative measure based infrared image enhancement algorithm using plateau histogram. Optics Communications, 2010;283(21):4283-4288).For additional information, contact R. Lai, Xidian University, Dept. of Microelect, Xian 710071, People's Republic of China.The publisher of the journal Optics Communications can be contacted at: Elsevier Science BV, PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands.SHONKY WRAPBy Tom MorganSYDNEY, Oct 26 AAP - Supermarket giant Coles has been labelled "pretty shabby" after landing a Shonky Award for a promotion urging customers to create meals for "under $10" using ingredients that cost a lot more.

The ingredients needed to prepare one of its under $10 meal recipes cost about $39 when home pantry items are included, consumer watchdog Choice discovered.Coles on Tuesday defended the national promotion fronted by celebrity chef Curtis Stone, saying it had been "completely upfront" about the creation and costing of its recipes."In terms of Choice's claims around pantry item exclusions, we've clearly stated that we assume households have basic ingredients such as salt, pepper and oil already in their pantry to help create these recipes," a Coles spokesman said."We believe the vast majority of our Xmas Ring are comfortable with the recipe calculations, especially as we've had only a handful of customer queries about pantry exclusions out of the millions of Australians who have tried a recipe."Coles said more than nine million recipe cards developed in the promotion have been picked up by customers since April.The fifth annual Shonky Awards, announced by Choice on Tuesday, aim to warn consumers about dodgy or dubious product claims."Yet year after year we're continually amazed by marketers' efforts to take Australians for a ride," Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn said.

A total of eight companies and products were in the 2010 awards.Aside from Coles, the list includes names like Commonwealth Bank, Nurofen, whitegoods brand LG, Power Balance, Medalist, the website babynamemeans.com and a selection of olive oil brands.Mr Zinn described Coles as "pretty shabby" for its under $10 meal promotion, which was advertised nationally on television and in newspapers."We decided to give the Shonky for its loaves-and-fishes $10 meals, where you can supposedly make some Curtis Stone master creation to feed four people for less than $10 provided, it turns out, if you happen to have some of the stuff in your pantry already," he said.Choice calculated a $7.76 coq au vin would cost $37.74 if one Xmas Set all the necessary ingredients, while a $9.99 chicken tikka masala would set a consumer back $39.74.Nurofen was pinged by Choice for offering painkillers labelled for specific pain types - such as back, period and migraine - when its pain products contain identical ingredients.One of LG's side-by-side refrigerator models was included because the item consumes more electricity than its energy star label states - although Choice noted LG claimed the labelling was a mistake.Also on the Shonky Awards list was Power Balance's Power Balance band - a rubber bracelet with a plastic hologram which is claimed to promote beneficial energy flow - and the Medalist Recreational Rope - which Choice thinks looks like regular climbing rope but is not as strong.The website babynamesmeans.com, which gives meanings of names, appeared to be a "cynical" internet trap for parents because of hidden subscription costs.Meanwhile, Choice tested 28 brands of extra virgin olive oils and found half were nothing of the sort.