Similarity evaluation of sets of linguistic summaries

Creating linguistic summaries of data has been a goal of the artificial and computational intelligence communities for many years. Summaries of written text have garnered the most attention. More recently, creating summaries of imagery and other sensed data has become important as a means of compressing large amounts of data and communicating with humans. In this paper, we consider the question of comparing sets of summaries generated from sensed data. In an earlier work, we developed a metric between individual protoform‐based summaries; and here, as a next step, we propose aggregation methods to fuse these individual distances. We provide a case study from eldercare where the goal is to compare different nighttime patterns for change detection. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A heat-flux based “building block” approach for solving heat conduction problems

A numerical approximation of the Green’s function equation based on a heat-flux formulation is given. It is derived by assuming as a functional form of the surface heat flux a stepwise variation with space and time. The obtained approximation is very important in investigation of the inverse heat conduction problems (IHCPs) because it gives a convenient expression for the temperature in terms of the heat flux components. Additionally, it is very important for the unsteady surface element (USE) method which is a modern boundary discretization method. Green’s function approximate solution equation (GFASE) also creates ‘naturally’ fixed groups or modules of work elements called “building blocks” that may be added together to obtain space and time values of temperature. In the current case, they are subject to a partial heating by an applied surface heat flux. The “building block” solution can be derived by using the various analytical and numerical approaches available in heat conduction literature though the exact analysis is preferable, as discussed in the text. Poorly-convergent series deriving from Green’s functions approach are replaced by closed-form algebraic solutions.     

Surface-tension-driven flows of coatings: Bondline readout formation

Bondline readout (BLRO) is a coating defect frequently observed on adhesively bonded, polymeric automotive body panels. This paper addresses ridging BLRO in clearcoats, not optical and mechanical BLRO, which are characterized by metalflake orientation (dark/light effects) in basecoats and by distortion in substrates, respectively. Ridging BLRO is due to film thickness differences and results from Marangoni-type, surface-tension-driven flows. In this study, the effects of several parameters on BLRO are investigated experimentally. These parameters include initial film thickness, heating rate, viscosity, solvent-to-resin surface-tension ratio, and solvent volatility. The experiments clearly demonstrate three modes of BLRO flow—formation, flow-out, and reformation—that result from competing surface-tension-gradient forces (temperature- versus concentration-induced). Experimental results are used to validate a proposed BLRO mechanism and, in subsequent work, a BLRO-predicting numerical code. R & D Center, MD 480-102-000, 30500 Mound Rd, Warren, MI 48090-9055, email: rick.blunk@gm.com. Department of Chemical Engineering, Dow Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2136, email: wilkes@umich.edu.     

Transfer between pose and illumination training in face recognition.

The relationship between pose and illumination learning in face recognition was examined in a yes–no recognition paradigm. The authors assessed whether pose training can transfer to a new illumination or vice versa. Results show that an extensive level of pose training through a face–name association task was able to generalize to a new illumination (Experiments 1 and 3), but an equal level of illumination training failed to generalize to a new pose (Experiment 2). The transfer of pose training was likely to depend on a relatively extensive level of training because the same faces with reduced level of exposure (Experiment 4) were unable to reproduce the transfer effect. The findings suggest that generalization of pose training may be extended to different types of image variation, whereas generalization of illumination training may be confined within the trained type of variation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of antimicrobial compounds tylosin and chlortetracycline during batch anaerobic swine manure digestion

Tylosin and chlortetracycline (CTC) are antimicrobial chemicals that are fed to >45% of the US swine herds at therapeutic and sub-therapeutic dosages to enhance growth rates and treat swine health problems. These compounds are poorly absorbed during digestion so that the bioactive compound or metabolites are excreted. This study investigated the degradation and stabilization of swine manure that contained no additives and compared the observed processes with those of manure containing either tylosin or CTC. The batch anaerobic incubation lasted 216 days. The breakdown of insoluble organic matter through anaerobic hydrolysis reactions was faster for manure containing CTC compared with tylosin or no-antimicrobial treatments. Volatile fatty acid (VFA) accumulation, including acetate, butyrate, and propionate, was greater for CTC-containing manure compared to tylosin and no-antimicrobial treatments. The relative abundance of two aceticlastic methanogens, Methanosaetaceae and Methanosarcinaceae spp., were less for CTC manure than manure with no-antimicrobial treatment. In addition, generation of methane and carbon dioxide was inhibited by 27.8% and 28.4%, respectively, due to the presence of CTC. Tylosin effects on manure degradation were limited, however the relative abundance of Methanosarcinaceae spp. was greater than found in the CTC or no-antimicrobial manures. These data suggest that acetate and other C-1 VFA compounds would be effectively utilized during methanogenesis in the presence of tylosin.     

ASTM民用核电强化培训项目

公共和私营部门在标准化领域的合作是非常有效且有益的。当此类合作跨越国界时，知识的获得就会更加广泛，得到的回报也就更多样了。ASTM国际标准组织目前举办了民用核电强化培训课程，最值得一提的当属韩国标准协会及其业界的培训。培训资金主要来源于韩国政府，还有一部分支持来自业界。此次培训项目是一个成功的典范，ASTM负责后勤保障和所培训的内容。     

Micro-scale energy dissipation mechanisms during dynamic fracture in natural polyphase ceramic blocks

The dynamic fracture of natural polyphase ceramic (granite) blocks by high-speed impact at 207 m/s, 420 m/s and 537 m/s has been investigated. An electromagnetic railgun was used as the launch system. Results reveal that the number of fragments increases substantially, and the dominant length scale in their probability distributions decreases, as the impact energy is increased. Micro-scale studies of the fracture surfaces reveals evidence of localized temperatures in excess of 2000 K brought on by frictional melting via fracturing and slip along grain boundaries in orthoclase and plagioclase, and via transgranular fracture (micro-cracking) in quartz. The formation of SiO₂- and TiO₂-rich spheroids on fracture surfaces indicates that temperatures in excess of 3500 K are reached during fracture.     

On the response of ballistic soap to one-dimensional shock loading

The effects of projectile penetration into soft tissue are often studied using the tissue simulant ballistic soap. Consequently, a full understanding of the high strain-rate response of ballistic soap is desirable. Using the plate-impact technique, key shock parameters have been measured for impacts in the range 81–968 m/s, allowing derivation of the Hugoniot equation-of-state for soap in the U_S–u_P and σ_X–u_P planes. A polynomial Hugoniot relationship was found in the U_S–u_P plane, with the general form U_S = 1.96 + 2.41u_P − 0.72u_P² (ρ₀ = 1.107 g/cc). Further, embedded lateral manganin stress gauges were employed to interrogate the evolution of lateral stress within the soap. A gradient in lateral stress, whose magnitude increased incrementally with impact stress, was apparent behind the shock for σ_X >1 GPa. It is proposed that at higher values of σ_X, increased compression of hydrocarbon chains acts to increase the materials resistance to shear, a phenomenon consistent with steric hindrance.