Segmentation of connected handwritten digits using Self-Organizing Maps

Segmentation is an important issue in document image processing systems as it can break a sequence of characters into its components. Its application over digits is common in bank checks, mail and historical document processing, among others. This paper presents an algorithm for segmentation of connected handwritten digits based on the selection of feature points, through a skeletonization process, and the clustering of the touching region via Self-Organizing Maps. The segmentation points are then found, leading to the final segmentation. The method can deal with several types of connection between the digits, having also the ability to map multiple touching. The proposed algorithm achieved encouraging results, both relating to other state-of-the-art algorithms and to possible improvements.     

Micro-abrasion resistance of thermochemically treated steels in aqueous solutions: Mechanisms, maps, materials selection

The area of micro-abrasion is an interesting and relatively recent area in tribo-testing methodologies, where small particles of less than 10 μm are employed between interacting surfaces. It is topical for a number of reasons; its direct relation to the mechanisms of the wear process in bio-tribological applications, ease in conducting tests and the good repeatability of the test results. It has widespread applications in conditions used in the space and offshore industries to bio-engineering for artificial joints and implants.There have been many recent studies on the micro-abrasion performance of materials, ranging from work basic metals to nano-structured coatings. However, no significant work is reported on the micro-abrasion resistance of thermochemically treated steels. Hence, this paper looks at the performance of two thermochemically treated steels, Tenifer bath nitride stainless steel (T-SS) and vanadized carbon steel (V-CS) in such conditions with reference to the stainless steel (SS) by varying the applied load and sliding distance.The results indicated that T-SS demonstrates exceptionally poor resistance to micro-abrasion. It was observed that the heat treatment process and properties of the hardened layer (hardness and thickness) are extremely important in determining the micro-abrasion resistance of such steels. Finally, the results were used to develop micro-abrasion mechanism and wastage maps, which can be used to optimize the surface treated materials for micro-abrasion resistance.     

基于爬峰法聚类的TM图像专题信息人机交互提取

介绍一种基于爬峰法(或称寻谷法)聚类的专题信息交互提取方法。爬峰法是一种基于高维直方图的图论方法,是一种完全的非参数聚类方法,具有适应性好、计算速度快的优点。     

基于主题区域发现的中文自动文摘研究

自动文摘是自然语言处理领域的一项重要的研究课题。文中提出了一种基于主题区域发现的中文自动文摘的方法。该方法的特色在于：产生的文摘能在尽可能全面地覆盖全文多个主题的同时,显著地缩减自身的冗余,从而能有效地平衡两者之间的矛盾。通过采用K—medoids的聚类算法联同新的自定义目标函数的聚类分析方法,实现了段落自适应聚类下的文本潜在主题区域的发现及其在自动文摘领域的应用。此外,一种基于表达熵的新的评价因子被用来评价摘要的冗余。实验结果验证了该方法的可行性,有效性,是对中文自动文摘研究的一种有意义的探索。     

The Role of Cadastral Surveys and Maps in Land Settlement from England

The role of surveying and mapping the landscapes of colonial settlement is discussed. Cadastral maps (maps of landed property) have been used since the end of the Middle Ages by individuals and institutions to establish title to land. From the 17th century, cadastral maps were used by state governments in both the Old and New Worlds to organize, control and record the settlement of 'empty' landscapes. Maps were the instruments that enabled the settlement ideals of colonial governments to be realized. These ranged from the encouragement of large plantations, as on the southern seaboard of North America, to individual proprietorship of holdings disposed with the regularity of the grid, as with the federal land disposals of the USA. They also encompassed the strict limitation of land availability in order to establish a capitalist society with farmers and wage labourers, as in the Wakefield settlements of Australia and New Zealand.     

远程健康监护系统的设计与实现

出于人们对自身健康状态的关注,家用健康监护电子产品的数字化、智能化、简单化、网络化成为发展趋势。该文设计了一种远程健康监护系统,系统由生理信息采集端、移动监护端、远程监护端组成。生理信息采集端实现对人体心电、脉搏、体温的采集;移动监护端实现心电波形的实时显示;远程监护端基于Google Maps实现患者地理位置定位。运行结果表明该系统运行效果良好,达到了设计要求。     

Flood inundation mapping using NOAA AVHRR data

The river Brahmputra flowing through the state of Assam (India) floods every year. The analysis of spatial extent and temporal pattern of flood-inundated areas is of prime importance for mitigation of floods. With the development of remote sensing techniques, flood mapping for large areas can be done easily. In case of flood affected area mapping of large area it will not be feasible to use high-resolution data, because the whole area will be covered in number of scenes. Therefore use of NOAA (National Oceaongraphic Atmospheric Administrative) data is quite useful in such type of studies. NOAA-AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) data have the potential for flood monitoring due to high frequency of global coverage, wide swath, high repetivity and low cost. In this study, NOAA-AVHRR data have been used for mapping of flood-affected area during the year 2003. On the basis of spectral characteristics of land and water, a methodology for water identification is presented. The maximum spatial extent of floods, generated by compiling the available cloud free maps, is informative about flood damages. Analysis of results reveals that in the months of July and August almost 25-30% of the area was flood affected. Also the result indicates that in some districts, the flood-affected area is very high.     

Erosion-corrosion mapping of Fe in aqueous slurries: some views on a new rationale for defining the erosion-corrosion interaction

In studies of erosion-corrosion of materials in aqueous conditions, there have been various attempts to define regimes of interaction. Such regimes indicate whether erosion or corrosion may dominate the wastage mechanism. However, intermediate regimes in which corrosion and erosion interact with each other may lead to situations where the wastage is far greater than the sum of the processes acting separately.A common method of defining erosion-corrosion interactions has been to distinguish between the regime in which erosion enhances the corrosion rate (the so called “additive effect” because the corrosion contribution can be measured electrochemically and thus added to the erosion contribution to assess the overall wastage rate) and the regime where corrosion enhances erosion (the so-called “synergistic” effect). However, regimes of erosion-corrosion, where corrosion impedes the erosion are also of great importance mechanistically, and usually these are termed as exhibiting “negative synergism”. Defining the conditions in which a transition from “positive” to “negative synergism” occurs, is useful in order to optimize the parameters to minimize the wastage rate.This paper reviews the rationale that has been used to define erosion-corrosion regimes in aqueous conditions as part of a study of the erosion-corrosion of Fe at various pHs. The mathematical definitions are discussed in relation to practical erosion-corrosion problems. In addition, a new “antagonistic” erosion-corrosion regime is proposed to properly define the concept of “negative synergism”.     

Self-X Materials and Structures in Nature and Technology: Bio-inspiration as a Driving Force for Technical Innovation

Over the course of 3.8 billion years of biological evolution, nature has found the answers to many engineering problems. The aim of biomimetics is to analyse and tap biology's potential as a huge reservoir for innovative solutions. Thomas Speck , Professor and Director of the Plant Biomechanics Group (PBG) at the University of Freiburg and the Freiburg Centre for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies (FIT), Jan Knippers , Professor and Head of the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) at the University of Stuttgart, and Olga Speck , a researcher at the PBG, scientific coordinator of FIT and manager of the Competence Network Biomimetics at Freiburg, explain how biological material systems with self-x properties are cost-efficient, multifunctional, and can be environmentally friendly; and with several billion trial runs, have surely stood the test of time.     

Recognizing Hole-Free 4-Map Graphs in Cubic Time

We present a cubic-time algorithm for the following problem: Given a simple graph, decide whether it is realized by adjacencies of countries in a map without holes, in which at most four countries meet at any point.