On the computation of the 〈3, 4, 5〉 curve skeleton of 3D objects

An algorithm to compute the curve skeleton of 3D objects in voxel images is presented. The skeleton is stable under isometric transformations of the object, since the algorithm is based on the use of the 〈3, 4, 5〉 weighted distance transform, which is a good approximation of the Euclidean distance transform. The 〈3, 4, 5〉 weighted distance transform is used both to identify suitable anchor points, and to efficiently check object voxels according to their distance to the background. The curve skeleton is symmetrically placed within the object, is topologically equivalent to the object, is unit-wide and provides a satisfactory representation of the object. Though the size of the object reconstructed from the curve skeleton via the reverse distance transformation is not as thick as that of the input, shape information is mostly retained by the skeleton, since all regions perceived as significant in the input can still be found in the reconstructed object.     

The evolution of sentiment analysis—A review of research topics,venues, and top cited papers

Sentiment analysis is one of the fastest growing research areas in computer science, making it challenging to keep track of all the activities in the area. We present a computer-assisted literature review, where we utilize both text mining and qualitative coding, and analyze 6996 papers from Scopus. We find that the roots of sentiment analysis are in the studies on public opinion analysis at the beginning of 20th century and in the text subjectivity analysis performed by the computational linguistics community in 1990’s. However, the outbreak of computer-based sentiment analysis only occurred with the availability of subjective texts on the Web. Consequently, 99% of the papers have been published after 2004. Sentiment analysis papers are scattered to multiple publication venues, and the combined number of papers in the top-15 venues only represent ca. 30% of the papers in total. We present the top-20 cited papers from Google Scholar and Scopus and a taxonomy of research topics. In recent years, sentiment analysis has shifted from analyzing online product reviews to social media texts from Twitter and Facebook. Many topics beyond product reviews like stock markets, elections, disasters, medicine, software engineering and cyberbullying extend the utilization of sentiment analysis.     

A New Characterization of NP, P, and PSPACE with Accepting Hybrid Networks of Evolutionary Processors

We consider three complexity classes defined on Accepting Hybrid Networks of Evolutionary Processors (AHNEP) and compare them with the classical complexity classes defined on the standard computing model of Turing machine. By definition, AHNEPs are deterministic. We prove that the classical complexity class NP equals the family of languages decided by AHNEPs in polynomial time. A language is in P if and only if it is decided by an AHNEP in polynomial time and space. We also show that PSPACE equals the family of languages decided by AHNEPs in polynomial length.     

Effects of form and motion on judgments of social robots׳ animacy,likability, trustworthiness and unpleasantness

One of robot designers׳ main goals is to make robots as sociable as possible. Aside from improving robots׳ actual social functions, a great deal of effort is devoted to making them appear lifelike. This is often achieved by endowing the robot with an anthropomorphic body. However, psychological research on the perception of animacy suggests another crucial factor that might also contribute to attributions of animacy: movement characteristics. In the current study, we investigated how the combination of bodily appearance and movement characteristics of a robot can alter people׳s attributions of animacy, likability, trustworthiness, and unpleasantness. Participants played games of Tic-Tac-Toe against a robot which (1) either possessed a human form or did not, and (2) either exhibited smooth, lifelike movement or did not. Naturalistic motion was judged to be more animate than mechanical motion, but only when the robot resembled a human form. Naturalistic motion improved likeability regardless of the robot׳s appearance. Finally, a robot with a human form was rated as more disturbing when it moved naturalistically. Robot designers should be aware that movement characteristics play an important role in promoting robots׳ apparent animacy.     

Lesions of the superficial type, with a

ity (≥ 9), high Ki-67 labeling index (≥ 42), and positivity of MUC1, cathepsin D, and MMP-7 showed a significantly high incidence of lymph node metastasis. Multivariate analysis revealed that hig     

Thermal-infrared imaging of weathering and alteration changes on the surfaces of basalt flows,Hawai‘i,USA

Basaltic pahoehoe lavas weather on time scales of decades to millennia and are chemically altered by volcanic heat and gases on time scales of days to decades following their eruption. Despite differences in reactions and rates, the end products, viewed spectrally in the thermal infrared (TIR: 8–12 μm), are similar and distinctive: initial rinds of quickly cooled, disordered glass with broad emissivity minima at 9–11 μm devitrify to yield a sharper emissivity band at 9.1 μm; opaline rinds with a similar emissivity feature accrete and gradually transition to cryptocrystalline quartz with an emissivity minimum near 8.1 μm. Ultimately, exposed surfaces are oxidized and hydrated to palagonite, with a loss of spectral contrast and character. We have collected over 600 pahoehoe samples of different ages from seven sites on Mauna Loa and the south coast of Hawai‘i in order to measure hemispheric emissivity spectra and compare them to airborne and spaceborne TIR Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) AST05 emissivity images of Hawai‘i. ASTER, with five 90 m TIR bands, has operated over the 11 year period since launch in late 1999. Images and samples from some of the Hawai‘ian sites were collected repeatedly over a decade or more to study the rate of spectral change there. Continuing eruptions of Pu‘u ‘O‘o since 1983 offered an opportunity to study the effects of a persistent dousing of lavas by acidic rain and air (‘vog’), and older flows from Mauna Loa offered an opportunity to study the effects of weathering away from active vents. Weathering changes and rates quantified spectrally are helpful in mapping and assessing long-term environments on volcanoes.     

Network neutrality in the era of 5G – a matter of faith,hope, and design?

The article addresses the relationship of network neutrality (NN) and 5G, while abandoning technological determinism. Contrary to recent developments in the US, current EU law includes NN rules which imply non-discrimination and equal treatment of all internet traffic with specific exceptions, including in the case of congestion prevention. For their part, visions of 5G include tailored solutions for individual use cases, while prioritisation or guarantees for time-critical applications, such as autonomous vehicles, will become crucial. This means that differentiation rather than equality lies at the core of 5G. At the outset, NN and 5G seem to collide and contradict. Indeed, telecom operators have expressed concerns on the feasibility of EU regulation in terms of investments and innovation. However, viewed from the perspective of end-to-end (E2E) design principles, NN and 5G are not inevitably (merely) at odds. Moreover, network design, including the principle of neutrality, is a matter of choice. For its part, embracing diversity presents an alternative to promoting neutrality. The article thus promotes a societal debate on NN in the era of 5G which considers various dimensions from technology and economics to law and policy.     

The structural parameters of microporous solid,including fractal dimension,on the basis of the potential theory of adsorption —the general solution

A program in Fortran has been created on the basis of programs LMDIF taken from the Minpack Library and also from the book Numerical Recipes in Fortran [Press et al. (1992), 2nd edn, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge]. The program permits the calculation of the structural parameters of adsorbents, including fractal dimension, and is based on the extension of the potential theory of adsorption (DA adsorption) given by Dubinin and Astakhov (1971) [Izv. AN. SSSR, Ser Khim. 5, 11–17]. To minimize the number of approximated parameters the program describes the cases where n (the parameter of the DA adsorption isotherm equation) can be different or equal to 2, but assumed “a priori”. In this case the number of parameters is equal to 4. However, for one system only was a reliable value of the fractal dimension obtained: the instance of adsorbate-adsorbent (zeolite NaA-water). For this reason we include a supplement to the program, which allows the calculation of structural parameters for the adsorbent on the basis of a five-parameter equation (N = 5) where n is approximated. In this case all obtained fractal dimension values are reliable and these suggest that among the zeolites investigated by us the deviation from planarity decreases in the order CaA > NaA > MgA > MgY > NH₄Y.     

Uncertainty,measurement and thermodynamics of information†

In this paper we speculate on the existence of a notion of information and an information-theoretic structure that could be generally applicable in systems analysis. From basic principles and by physical analogies we hypothesize on some qualitative and quantitative relationships between entropy and information.

Information and entropy are here regarded as the basic, or primitive, system variables, conceptually interrelated in a manner which differs from the traditional ideas on information vis-a-vis entropy. In a quasi-physical manner it is proposed that information be considered as the one intensity and entropy as the one extensity that span the whole physical world. It is then possible to define a conserved quantity, termed informational power, relating information to entropy flow.

The above ideas are then generally applied to systems in which the act of measurement appreciably affects the system itself. This can introduce an aspect of uncertainty to large scale systems modelling similar to that occurring in particle physics. The central notions in this paper could provide a mechanism by means of which such aspects could be structurally accommodated in a model.     

Investigating the impact of citizens’ trust toward the successful adoption of e-government: A multigroup analysis of gender,age, and internet experience

This research particularly aims to investigate how the individual differences in gender, age, and internet experience influence citizens’ trust in e-government’s adoption. The findings of the study revealed that females are confident and have a more positive evaluation of online services compared to males. Interestingly, this study found that old people display greater trust in e-government as compared to the levels of trust reported by younger people. The results also show that internet experience influences citizens’ trust positively.     

Facets of Software Development Computer Science ＆ Programming,Engineering ＆ Management In fond Memory of Professor Wu Yunzeng,Peking University,China

Professor Wu Yunzeng epitomiazed ancient and nodern Chinese culture,Professor Wu Yunzeng was an eminent computer scientist.logician and philosopher,professor Wu Yunzeng won innumerable friends for China.We are many,in the West,who were very fond of him.his visit to Denmark made positive,and lasting impressions,we found,also ,that professor Wu Yunzeng introduced into chinese scholarly life very commendable features,The wqay he guided his students and colleagues was an example to be followed by us all.Professor Wu Yunzeng was profoundly engaged in the mathematical (logic and other)foundations of the computation sciences,in the didactics of that field,and in the broader,philosophical issues at stake when pursuing scientific and engineering work in computation.In this testimonial allow me to speculate on a context in which our many,individual contributions to the computation sciences may fit into practical life.     

Fast computation of Grbner basis of homogenous ideals of F[x,y]

This paper provides a fast algorithm for Grobner bases of homogenous ideals of F[x, y] over a finite field F. We show that only the S-polynomials of neighbor pairs of a strictly ordered finite homogenours generating set are needed in the computing of a Grobner base of the homogenous ideal. It reduces dramatically the number of unnecessary S-polynomials that are processed. We also show that the computational complexity of our new algorithm is O(N2), where N is the maximum degree of the input generating polynomials. The new algorithm can be used to solve a problem of blind recognition of convolutional codes. This problem is a new generalization of the important problem of synthesis of a linear recurring sequence.     

Technological Gap： The Education Case of the State of Puebla,Mexico

The teaching-learning process may have several obstacles; one of those would be a cultural situation of students but also the ICT （information and communication technologies） resource distribution per children. When we refer to cultural situation, we mean the language or dialect that they speak. In the state of Puebla, Mexico, there are primary schools in which courses are taught to students who do not speak Spanish and they only speak their own dialect. On the other hand, the use of information and communication technologies in primary schools in Puebla is a fact but a main concern in schools is that the languages in which are operated is Spanish. The present article will also deal with the distribution of enciclomedia sets per children population in the 217 communities of the state of Puebla. To analyze this situation, we find that turns out to be very important and with a negative effect on both the implementation and acceptance of a multimedia program in these schools, generating a technological gap between students. The government efforts are being decimated because of this cultural divide prevalent in many communities in the state of Puebla, Mexico.     

On the notions of normality, locality, and operational stability in ADRC

Treating plant dynamics as an ideal integrator chain disturbed by the total disturbance is the hallmark of active disturbance rejection control (ADRC). To interpret its effectiveness and success, to explain why so many vastly different dynamic systems can be treated in this manner, and to answer why a detailed, accurate, and global mathematical model is unnecessary, is the target of this paper. Driven by a motivating example, the notions of normality and locality are introduced. Normality shows that, in ADRC, the plant is normalized to an integrator chain, which is called local nominal model and locally describes the plant’s frequency response in the neighborhood of the expected gain crossover frequency. Locality interprets why ADRC can design the controller only with the local information of the plant. With normality and locality, ADRC can be effective and robust, and obtain operational stability discussed by T. S. Tsien. Then viewing proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control as a low-frequency approximation of second-order linear ADRC, the above results are extended to PID control. A controller design framework is proposed to obtain the controller in three steps: (1) choose an integrator chain as the local nominal model of the plant; (2) select a controller family corresponding to the local nominal model; and (3) tune the controller to guarantee the gain crossover frequency specification. The second-order linear ADRC and the PID control are two special cases of the framework.     

Construction of XVCS for (k,n,t)∗ access structure

XOR-based Visual Cryptography System (XVCS) is developed to achieve high contrast and good resolution of the recovered secret image. In general (k,n) VCS, the secret image can be visualized only if k or more than k shares are stacked together. In (k,n,t)^? access structure, t number of participants are considered as the essential participants(t ≤ k ≤ n) whose shares are absolutely necessary to reconstruct the secret image. Several methods have been already proposed for the construction of (k,n)^? VCS for black and white images. The major focus of this work is to design an XVCS for (k,n,t)^? access structure for both black and white images and color images with maximum contrast. The experimental outcome shows that the proposed method has better results than other techniques proposed so far. Also, numerical examples are provided for (k,n,t)^? XVCS for t =?1 and 2. The XVCS designed for (k,n,t)^? access structure can be used for any real time application and is demonstrated with an example of user authentication in banking system.