ε-Entropy and Fractal Dimension of a State for a Gaussian Measure

Kolmogorov introduced the concept of -entropy to analyze information in classical continuous systems. The fractal dimension of a geometric set was introduced by Mandelbrot as a new criterion to analyze the geometric complexity of the set. The -entropy and the fractal dimension of a state in a general quantum system were introduced by one of the present authors (MO) in order to characterize chaotic properties of general states.In this paper, we show that -entropy of a state includes Kolmogorov's -entropy, and that the fractal dimension of a state describes fractal structure of Gaussian measures.     

Hybrid negative example selection using visual and conceptual features

An application of Query-By-Example (QBE) is presented where shots that are visually similar to provided example shots are retrieved. To implement QBE, counter-example shots are required to accurately distinguish shots that are relevant to the query from those that are not (Li and Snoek (2009), Yu et al. (2004)). However, there are usually a huge number of shots, not relevant to a particular query, which can serve as counter-example shots. It is difficult for a user to provide counter-example shots that would aid retrieval. Thus, we developed a QBE method based on partially supervised learning where a retrieval model is constructed by selecting counter-example shots from shots without user supervision. To ensure the speed and accuracy of the QBE method, we select a small number of counter-example shots that are visually similar to given example shots but irrelevant to the query. Such shots are useful for characterizing the boundary between relevant and irrelevant shots. For our method, we first filter shots that are visually dissimilar to example shots based on SVMs on a visual feature. Then we filter shots relevant to the query based on concept detection results from pre-constructed classifiers. Shots that pass the above two tests are considered as counter-example shots. Experimental results obtained using TRECVID 2009 video data validate the effectiveness of our method.     

In-situ Raman Spectroscopic Investigation of the Effect of Cooling Speed on Domain Formation in PbTiO3 Films

The influence of the post-deposition cooling speed on the domain formation process of PbTiO₃ films was investigated using MOCVD equipment combined with in-situ Raman spectroscopy. The accumulation and relaxation of strain during the post-deposition cooling process is responsible for the domain structure. The Curie temperature for fast cooling is lower than that for slow cooling. Additionally, the residual strain with fast cooling is smaller than that with slow cooling. These observations suggest that the volume fraction of the c-domain is larger for fast cooling and that the atmospheric conditions during the first post-deposition cooling process may control the domain structure.     

Development of µGC (micro gas chromatography) with high performance micromachined chip column

A micro gas chromatography (µGC) instrument applying a high performance chip column fabricated on a silicon wafer was developed. Experimental results of the chip column and protyping of a µGC instrument are described. Approximately 35 000 theoretical plates were generated with the chip column coated liquid phase (5% phenyl-/95% dimethyl-polysiloxane). The theoretical plates of the chip column were close to those of the capillary column. Experimental minimum height equivalent to a theoretical plate (HETP, H_min) of the chip column was 1.2 times higher than the calculated H_min. A prototype µGC applying the chip column was developed. The µGC generated approximately 35 000 theoretical plates, similar to the theoretical plates obtained by a commercial GC instrument. Copyright © 2009 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Clinical application of single-shot echo-planar diffusion-weighted imaging with compressed SENSE in prostate MRI at 3T: preliminary experience

Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine - Image quality (IQ) of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with single-shot echo-planar imaging (ssEPI) suffers from low signal-to-noise...     

Additive Sintering,Postannealing, and Dielectric Properties of SrTaO2N

The maintaining of the chemical composition and electrical insulativity of SrTaO₂N ceramics was investigated during sintering and annealing, using powders prepared by the nitridation of Sr₂Ta₂O₇. Due to the low thermal stability of SrTaO₂N, the partial loss of SrO and nitrogen induced the formation of a TaO_0.9 impurity after heat‐treating at above 1100°C. The sintering additive SrCO₃ and postannealing in NH₃ were employed to compensate for the loss of SrO and nitrogen to obtain ceramics with the original chemical composition. The as‐sintered SrTaO₂N ceramics with various relative density (RD) were annealed in NH₃ to observe the recovery of color and electrical insulativity. It was found that the inner part of the well‐sintered samples with RD = 95.1% could not be recovered by annealing, and continued to exhibit semiconducting behavior and a black color. On the other hand, for the as‐sintered SrTaO₂N ceramics with RD < 84%, both the nitrogen content and electrically insulating behavior were completely recovered after annealing. The postannealed SrTaO₂N ceramics (RD = 83.3%) possessed a relatively large dielectric constant of 450 with a low dielectric loss of less than 0.1 at 100 Hz, almost independent of frequency and temperature.     

Wide Color Variation in SiNO Thin Films Dispersed with Precipitated TiN Nano Particles

Amorphous thin films of Ti_1?ySi_y(N,O) with y ≥ 0.38 were prepared by reactive sputter deposition in a nitrogen atmosphere. Thermal annealing of the films in an ammonia flow above 800°C yielded Si(N,O) amorphous thin films dispersed with precipitated TiN nanosized particles. The film color changed with Si content y and the annealing conditions, from carrot orange to cream yellow in the as‐deposited films due to their oxynitride nature, and from dark green to canary yellow and from iron blue to horizon blue at respective annealing temperatures of 800°C and 900°C due to metallic nature of the TiN nanosized particles precipitated in the annealing.     

Electrical breakdown characteristics of nitrogen and air at cryogenic temperature in a quasi‐uniform electric field

The breakdown voltages of the longer‐gap configurations in gaseous nitrogen and air that are necessary in designing superconducting electrical power apparatuses are measured at temperatures of 293 and 93 K. The quasi‐uniform electric field made by a sphere‐to‐sphere electrode with a diameter of 150 mm and a gap length of about 10 to 100 mm is used in the measurement of the breakdown voltages. When 50‐Hz ac and dc voltages are applied to the sphere‐to‐sphere gap, the breakdown voltages in nitrogen and air obey Paschen's law even at cryogenic temperatures (93 K). When a 1.4/50‐μs lightning impulse voltage is applied to the gap, the 50% breakdown voltage of nitrogen also obeys Paschen's law under UV irradiation of the cathode electrode. However, the breakdown voltage in air at 93 K is higher in the case of lightning impulse voltage applications, and the delay from impulse voltage application to breakdown occurrence is apparently longer at 93 K than at 293 K. © 2000 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 132(4): 28–33, 2000     

Fatigue threshold and low-rate crack propagation properties for structural steels in 3 Pct sodium chloride aqueous solution

The fatigue threshold and low-rate crack propagation properties for a carbon steel, two high-strength steels, and two stainless steels were investigated in a 3 pct sodium chloride aqueous solution at frequencies between 0.03 and 30 Hz. Tests were conducted in a manner designed to avoid crack closure. Under freely corroding conditions, the effective values of the threshold stress intensity factor range, ΔK_th,eff, were lower than in air for all of the steels. In particular, the ΔK_th,eff values for the carbon and high-strength steels were almost equal to the theoretical ΔKth value of about 1 MPa m^1/2 calculated on the basis of the dislocation emission from the crack tip. At a given ΔK level higher than the threshold, the fatigue crack propagation rates accelerated with decreasing frequency for all of the steels. Under cathodic protection, the threshold and fatigue crack propagation properties were coincident with those in air regardless of material and frequency. The observed fatigue crack propagation behavior in a 3 pct NaCl solution was closely related to the corrosion reaction of the bare surface formed at the crack tip during each loading cycle.