Visualizing for the Non‐Visual: Enabling the Visually Impaired to Use Visualization

The majority of visualizations on the web are still stored as raster images, making them inaccessible to visually impaired users. We propose a deep‐neural‐network‐based approach that automatically recognizes key elements in a visualization, including a visualization type, graphical elements, labels, legends, and most importantly, the original data conveyed in the visualization. We leverage such extracted information to provide visually impaired people with the reading of the extracted information. Based on interviews with visually impaired users, we built a Google Chrome extension designed to work with screen reader software to automatically decode charts on a webpage using our pipeline. We compared the performance of the back‐end algorithm with existing methods and evaluated the utility using qualitative feedback from visually impaired users.     

Selective hydrogenation of oleic acid to 9-octadecen-1-ol: Catalyst preparation and optimum reaction conditions

A new catalyst, ruthenium-tin-alumina is found to selectively hydrogenate oleic acid to 9-octadecen-1-ol (oleyl + elaidyl alcohol) at low pressure with high yield. Catalyst preparation methods, catalyst raw materials and activation conditions have a significant effect on the activity of the catalyst. The optimum atomic ratio of ruthenium to tin is about 1:2. Catalyst prepared by an improved sol-gel method shows higher activity and selectivity than catalysts prepared by impregnation and coprecipitation methods. Chloride is found to have a negative effect on catalytic activity. The best catalyst is prepared from chloride-free ruthenium and tin raw materials. Under the optimum reaction conditions of 250°C and 5.6 MPa, the selectivities for 9-octadecen-1-ol and total alcohol (9-octadecen-1-ol + stearyl alcohol) formation are 80.9% and 97%, respectively, at a conversion of 81.3%.     

Computation of the average power pattern of a reflector antennawith random surface errors and misalignment errors

To specify manufacturing tolerances of a reflector antenna, various errors such as random surface errors and misalignment errors must be considered at one time because superposition of the effects of those errors may not hold. Based on the Rahmat-Samii's formulation (1983), a method for computing efficiently the average power pattern of a reflector antenna with those errors is presented. Simulation results show that superposition of the effects of errors does not generally hold and demonstrate how those errors degrade the peak-gain and sidelobe levels     

Effective Reduction of Horizontal Error in Laser Scanning Information by Strip‐Wise Least Squares Adjustments

Though the airborne laser scanning (ALS) technique is becoming more popular in many applications, horizontal accuracy of points scanned by the ALS is not yet satisfactory when compared with the accuracy achieved for vertical positions. One of the major reasons is the drift that occurs in the inertial measurement unit (IMU) during the scanning. This paper presents an algorithm that adjusts for the error that is introduced mainly by the drift of the IMU that renders systematic differences between strips on the same area. For this, we set up an observation equation for strip‐wise adjustments and completed it with tie point and control point coordinates derived from the scanned strips and information from aerial photos. To effectively capture the tie points, we developed a set of procedures that constructs a digital surface model (DSM) with breaklines and then performed feature‐based matching on strips resulting in a set of reliable tie points. Solving the observation equations by the least squares method produced a set of affine transformation equations with 6 parameters that we used to transform the strips for adjusting the horizontal error. Experimental results after evaluation of the accuracy showed a root mean squared error (RMSE) of the adjusted strip points of 0.27 m, which is significant considering the RMSE before adjustment was 0.77 m.     

智能型激光控制器提高灵活性并节省空间

激光二极管是宽带调幅光纤发射系统的核心器件。光纤系统依赖于激光的稳定性,但未受调节控制的激光二极管特性却常因制造误差、温度和使用日久所造成的参数改变而变得不稳定。因此,光纤通信系统需要专用电路来控制重要的激光二极管参数,以确保它们稳定操作。虽然激光控制电路都     

Pore‐free mold‐pattern‐transfer method for barrier ribs of HD PDPs

Abstract— Among various barrier‐rib manufacturing processes, the mold‐pattern‐transfer method has potential to reduce processing cost as well as the manufacture of high‐resolution pixels. In this study, the effects of major processing variables of the mold‐pattern‐transfer process on the formation of air‐trapped pores within barrier ribs were examined. The results indicated that with an optimum combination of the processing variables, barrier ribs without trapped defects can be produced, demonstrating the possibility of reducing the number of processing steps and costs of barrier ribs.     

Sorption of copper ions by granulated chitosan

The features of sorption of Cu²⁺ ions from aqueous solutions of CuSO₄ by granulated chitosan sorbent in static conditions and the different contribution of surface and bulk amino groups in the sorbent to complexation are discussed. Sorption with freshly formed swollen and maximally amorphized granules with accessible bulk amino groups can be described by Langmuir’s equation; it attains 5.6 mmole/g of dry sorbent, which is close to the sorption calculated from the equimolar composition of the amino-copper complex. Sorption of initially dry granules with less accessible bulk amino groups does not obey Langmuir’s equation due to precipitation of copper hydroxide and hydrosulfate on the surface of the sorbent. __________ Translated from Khimicheskie Volokna, No. 2, pp. 11–14, March–April, 2006.     

A study on the dynamic characteristics of the Korean Yi-dynasty bell type structure

The dynamic characteristics of the Korean Yi-dynasty bell type structure, including the acoustic effects, are analyzed both theoretically and experimentally. The numerical solutions of natural frequencies and mode shape for membrane and flexural behavior are obtained by using the NASTRAN program for the finite element method with plate shell elements of triangular and quadrilateral types. Test bells, A and B types similar to the Kap-Sa bell in Kong-Ju chosen among typical Korean Yi-dynasty bells, are manufactured on different scales to the original bell. To consider the effects of the variation of the structural dimension on the dynamic response, these bells are analyzed with respect to the variation of the thickness of the wall and the bottom rim and the asymmetric Dang-Jwas. The impact method with the Fast Fourier Transform Analyzer is adopted to experimentally assess the dynamic response. Results are in good agreement with the numerical solutions.