Research on machine recognition of handprinted characters

Machine recognition of handprinted Chinese characters has recently become very active in Japan. Both from the practical and the academic point of view, very encouraging results are reported. The work is described systematically and analyzed in terms of so-called feature matching, which is likely to be the mainstream of the research and development of machine recognition of handprinted Chinese characters. A database, ETL8 (881 Kanji, 71 hirakana, and 160 variations for each category), is explained, on which many experiments were performed. Recognition rates reported using this database can be compared, and so somewhat qualitative evaluation of these methods is described. Based on the comparative study, the merits and demerits of both feature and structural matching are discussed and some future directions are mentioned.     

Adsorption isotherms of pigments from alkali-refined vegetable oils with clay minerals

Adsorption isotherms of pigments from alkali-refined oils (rapeseed, soybean, wheatgerm, safflower, corn, cottonseed and sunflower) were measured to investigate the applicability of the Langmuir and Freundlich equations and to elucidate the adsorption characteristics of pigments on sepiolites and standard activated clay. The Freundlich equation was more applicable to the experimental adsorption isotherms. The equilibrium amount adsorbed, acidity, pore size distribution and inflection of the Freundlich isotherms could be explained by assuming that pigments were adsorbed on the stronger acid sites in smaller pores at low concentration, and then in the larger ones when the concentration increased. The amount adsorbed increased with a rise in adsorption temperatures from 70 to 110°C, and the heat of adsorption was below 10 kcal/mol. The results indicate that pigments were physically adsorbed on the acid sites activated at higher adsorption temperatures.     

Structural and hydration properties of amorphous tricalcium silicate

Mechanical milling was carried out to synthesize amorphous tricalcium silicate (Ca₃SiO₅) sample, where Ca₃SiO₅ is the most principal component of Portland cement. The partial phase transformation from the crystalline to the amorphous state was observed by X-ray and neutron diffractions. Moreover, it was found that the structural distortion on the Ca-O correlation exists in the milled Ca₃SiO₅. The hydration of the milled Ca₃SiO₅ with D₂O proceeds as follows: the formation of hydration products such as Ca(OD)₂ rapidly occurs in the early hydration stage, and then proceeds slowly after about 15 h. The induction time for the hydration of the milled Ca₃SiO₅ is approximately one half shorter than that for the hydration of the unmilled one. This result means that the mechanical milling brings about the chemical activity of Ca₃SiO₅ for hydration, and may be particularly useful for increasing the reactivity in the early hydration stage.     

Formation of Zirconia Solid Solutions Containing Alumina Prepared by New Preparation Method

In the system ZrO₂–Al₂O₃, a new method for preparing ZrO₂ solid solutions from ZrCl₄ and AlCl₃ using hydrazine monohydrate is investigated. c -ZrO₂ solid solutions containing up to ∼40 mol% Al₂O₃ crystallize at low temperatures from amorphous materials. The formation mechanism is discussed from IR spectral data. The values of the lattice parameter α increase linearly from 0.5072 to 0.5105 nm with increasing Al₂O₃ content. At higher temperatures, transformation of the solid solutions proceeds as follows: c ( SS ) → t ( ss ) → t ( ss ) +α-Al₂O₃→ m +α-Al₂O₃. m -ZrO₂–α-Al₂O₃ composite ceramics are fabricated by hot isostatic pressing for 2 h at 1250°C and 196 MPa. Microstructures and mechanical properties are examined, in connection with increasing Al₂O₃ content.     

Size Distribution of Gold Nanoparticles Used by Small Angle X-ray Scattering

The size distribution of gold nanoparticles was estimated based on the scattering intensity data obtained from small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and compared with the result of micrographs by transmission electron microscopy. The slope of the Guinier plot was used to estimate the mean size assuming a narrow particle size distribution. When the size distribution is narrow, the mean size can be easily obtained from slope of a Guinier plot of scattering data within 10% error. Additionally, assuming a lognormal size distribution, the size distribution and the mean size can be calculated using the experimental SAXS data in the fitting analysis. The histogram method, which utilizes the coefficient matrix of scattering intensity, was also applied to the estimation of the size distribution, and this method could be useful for a rough estimate of the size distribution.     

Effect of radial curvature of magnetic media on glide avalanche

Spacing loss due to micro-waviness and curvature effects in the radial direction of a disk was investigated via numerical simulations and measurements. New techniques based on interferometry and laser scanning were employed to measure radius of curvature (ROC) and to reconstruct the profiles at the outer edge of a disk. A good correlation between ROC values and fly height degradation was obtained, and ROC less than 50 m clearly showed the deterioration in fly height by as much as 1.5 nm. The new measurement techniques proved to be an important means to improve substrate manufacturing processes.     

Linear bipolar OTAs employing exponential‐law circuits

This paper presents design of linear bipolar OTAs, which are composed of two function blocks; one is an exponential‐law circuit and the other is a core cell. Multi‐tanh cells are employed as the core cell. This kind of OTA has lower power dissipation relatively to the conventional multi‐tanh cell. According as the order of the multi‐tanh core cell becomes higher, the number of circuit realization for the core cell increases. For example, we have two OTAs for the core circuit of an emitter‐coupled pair and four OTAs for the doublet core cell. Thus, we consider the generalized OTAs for an arbitrary order n of the core cell and obtain a formula to give the realization number of the linear OTAs for n. According to the formula, there must be eight OTAs in the case of n=3. All of the eight OTAs are examined. Analysis and simulation results show that the OTAs have advantage in their characteristics, such as linear input range, power dissipation, noise, and frequency response. Copyright 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Feasibility of a 1,400 m Span Steel Cable-Stayed Bridge

This paper describes the feasibility of 1,400 m steel cable-stayed bridges from both structural and economic viewpoints. Because the weight of a steel girder strongly affects the total cost of the bridge, the writers present a procedure to obtain a minimum weight for a girder that ensures safety against static and dynamic instabilities. For static instability, elastoplastic, finite-displacement analysis under in-plane load and elastic, finite-displacement analysis under displacement-dependent wind load are conducted; for dynamic instability, multimodal flutter analysis is carried out. It is shown that static critical wind velocity of lateral torsional buckling governs the dimension of the girder. Finally, the writers briefly compare a cable-stayed bridge with suspension bridge alternatives.     

Reduction of defects and improvement in the performance of blue phosphor for thick‐dielectric electroluminescent displays using Color‐by‐Blue

Abstract— Defect‐free large‐area inorganic thick‐dielectric EL (TDEL) displays using Color by Blue (CBB) technology have been successfully developed. We have achieved the world's highest blue‐phosphor luminance of 900 cd/m² for a single‐pixel device by using CBB and by optimizing the e‐beam gun configuration and the flow rate of H₂S in the vacuum chamber. By analyzing the defects on panels with triple‐pattern phosphors and CBB panels, we also found that the number of defects on CBB panels can be drastically reduced compared with those on triple‐pattern panels. The defect‐free 17‐in. VGA CBB panels show better characteristics, a high peak luminance of 600 cd/m² and a high contrast ratio of 1000:1, compared with those of triple‐pattern panels.     

Molecular pharmacology of voltage-dependent calcium channels

Voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels serve as the only link to transduce membrane depolarization into cellular Ca(2+)-dependent reactions. A wide variety of chemical substances that have the ability to modulate Ca2+ channels have been demonstrated both for their clinic utility and for importance in elucidating the molecular basis of various biological responses. Recently, introduction of molecular biology to pharmacology has brought a great deal of information about the molecular basis of drug action in Ca2+ channels. In this review, we attempt to overview recent progress in understanding the interactions between Ca2+ channels and their blockers, namely Ca2+ antagonists, from a molecular and structural point of view.