A computer-based system to support forensic studies on handwritten documents

Computer-based forensic handwriting analysis requires sophisticated methods for the pre-processing of digitized paper documents, in order to provide high-quality digitized handwriting, which represents the original handwritten product as accurately as possible. Due to the requirement of processing a huge amount of different document types, neither a standardized queue of processing stages, fixed parameter sets nor fixed image operations are qualified for such pre-processing methods. Thus, we present an open layered framework that covers adaptation abilities at the parameter, operator, and algorithm levels. Moreover, an embedded module, which uses genetic programming, might generate specific filters for background removal on-the-fly. The framework is understood as an assistance system for forensic handwriting experts and has been in use by the Bundeskriminalamt, the federal police bureau in Germany, for two years. In the following, the layered framework will be presented, fundamental document-independent filters for textured, homogeneous background removal and for foreground removal will be described, as well as aspects of the implementation. Results of the framework-application will also be given. Received July 12, 2000 / Revised October 13, 2000     

Managing one’s identities in organisational and social settings

Interacting in the Internet, users should be empowered to use only those subsets of their personal attributes, called partial identities, which are appropriate for the actual situation and context. Refraining from acting under few and easily linkable partial identities is a prerequisite for trustworthy privacy. Traditionally user-controlled identity management systems primarily support individuals interacting with organisations, but mainly ignore special needs which arise if individuals interact with each other. To support online communities those systems have to change. From TU Dresden: Prof. Dr. Andreas Pfitzmann, head of the privacy and security group, and the research assistants Dipl.-Inform. Katrin Borcea-Pfitzmann, Dipl. Medien-inf. Katja Liesebach and Dipl.-Inform. Sandra Steinbrecher. From ULD, Kiel: Dipl.-Inform. Marit Hansen, head of PET division. Research Focus: Privacy in Identity Management and Application Design This work was funded in part by the PRIME project which receives research funding from the European Union’s Sixth Framework Programme and the Swiss Federal Office for Education and Science.     

下一代手机用电源管理芯片

10多年前,当第一代蜂窝电话出现时,采用了许多分立功率器件.第一代手机显得很笨重,高功耗使得待机时间和通话时间都很短.为了响应客户对外形更小,性能更高的无线电子设备不断增长的需求,工程师发展了许多先进的设计技术.这些技术既可缩小印刷电路板(PCB)尺寸,又可以提供更快更高效的性能.     

Highly adaptable and sensitive protease assay based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer

Proteases are widely used in analytical sciences and play a central role in several widespread diseases. Thus, there is an immense need for highly adaptable and sensitive assays for the detection and monitoring of various proteolytic enzymes. We established a simple protease fluorescence resonance energy transfer (pro-FRET) assay for the determination of protease activities, which could in principle be adapted for the detection of all proteases. As proof of principle, we demonstrated the potential of our method using trypsin and enteropeptidase in complex biological mixtures. Briefly, the assay is based on the cleavage of a FRET peptide substrate, which results in a dramatic increase of the donor fluorescence. The assay was highly sensitive and fast for both proteases. The detection limits for trypsin and enteropeptidase in Escherichia coli lysate were 100 and 10 amol, respectively. The improved sensitivity for enteropeptidase was due to the application of an enzyme cascade, which leads to signal amplification. The pro-FRET assay is highly specific as even high concentrations of other proteases did not result in significant background signals. In conclusion, this sensitive and simple assay can be performed in complex biological mixtures and can be easily adapted to act as a versatile tool for the sensitive detection of proteases.     

Determination of the distribution of air and water in porous media by electrical impedance tomography and magneto-electrical imaging

Monitoring the distribution of water content is essential for understanding hydrological processes in the lithosphere and the pedosphere. The movement of water in unsaturated rock formations and in the vadose zone is influenced by different processes (mainly infiltration, evaporation, percolation and capillary flow) which may be rate determining depending on the actual conditions. The interdependence of these processes also strongly influences the transport and distribution of solutes in the pore space. In order to gain a better understanding of the movement and distribution of water in unsaturated media, systematic investigations with non-invasive or minimal invasive methods appear to be most suitable. Studies on the distribution of electrical conductivity can improve risk analysis concerning waste disposals in general and nuclear waste repositories in particular. Induced polarization and magnetic flux density determined with two highly sensitive accessories yield additional information and may allow for better discrimination of coupled flow processes. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) with 20 current injection and 48 voltage electrodes was used here to monitor the evaporation of tap water from a container filled with sand under laboratory conditions at 20 °C. The results are compared with data obtained by determining spectral induced polarization (SIP) of sand during desaturation in a multi-step outflow equipment. Infiltration processes and evaporation from sand saturated with 0.01 M CaCl₂ were determined by magneto-electrical resistivity imaging technique (MERIT). The results were obtained from a long-term experiment under controlled conditions.     

Standardized code quality benchmarking for improving software maintainability

We provide an overview of the approach developed by the Software Improvement Group for code analysis and quality consulting focused on software maintainability. The approach uses a standardized measurement model based on the ISO/IEC 9126 definition of maintainability and source code metrics. Procedural standardization in evaluation projects further enhances the comparability of results. Individual assessments are stored in a repository that allows any system at hand to be compared to the industry-wide state of the art in code quality and maintainability. When a minimum level of software maintainability is reached, the certification body of TüV Informationstechnik GmbH issues a Trusted Product Maintainability certificate for the software product.     

Collective self-esteem as a moderator of the frog-pond effect in reactions to performance feedback.

Individuals who perform well within an unsuccessful group have more favorable reactions than equally capable individuals who perform poorly within a successful group. This frog-pond effect appears to occur because people focus on their relative performance standing within their group rather than on their group's overall performance level. It was hypothesized that this effect would be attenuated among people who value their social groups highly because they should be more likely than their counterparts to take into account their group's performance level when evaluating themselves. Four studies supported this reasoning. The frog-pond effect was strongest among individuals with lower collective self-esteem, an individualistic cultural heritage, or a weaker bond toward a particular social group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A 90-nm logic technology featuring strained-silicon

A leading-edge 90-nm technology with 1.2-nm physical gate oxide, 45-nm gate length, strained silicon, NiSi, seven layers of Cu interconnects, and low-/spl kappa/ CDO for high-performance dense logic is presented. Strained silicon is used to increase saturated n-type and p-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) drive currents by 10% and 25%, respectively. Using selective epitaxial Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x/ in the source and drain regions, longitudinal uniaxial compressive stress is introduced into the p-type MOSEFT to increase hole mobility by >50%. A tensile silicon nitride-capping layer is used to introduce tensile strain into the n-type MOSFET and enhance electron mobility by 20%. Unlike all past strained-Si work, the hole mobility enhancement in this paper is present at large vertical electric fields in nanoscale transistors making this strain technique useful for advanced logic technologies. Furthermore, using piezoresistance coefficients it is shown that significantly less strain (/spl sim/5 /spl times/) is needed for a given PMOS mobility enhancement when applied via longitudinal uniaxial compression versus in-plane biaxial tension using the conventional Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x/ substrate approach.