Segmentation and recognition of phonetic features in handwritten Pitman shorthand

There is a wish to be able to enter text into mobile computing devices at the speed of speech. Only handwritten shorthand schemes can achieve this data recording rate. A new, overall solution to the segmentation and recognition of phonetic features in Pitman shorthand is proposed in this paper. Approaches to the recognition of consonant outlines, vowel and diphthong symbols and shortforms, which are different components of Pitman shorthand, are presented. A new rule is introduced to solve the issue of smooth junctions in the consonant outlines which was normally the bottleneck for recognition. Experiments with a set of 1127 consonant outlines, 2039 vowels and diphthongs and 841 shortforms from three shorthand writers have demonstrated that the proposed solution is quite promising. The recognition accuracies for consonant outlines, vowels and diphthongs, and shortforms achieved 75.33%, 96.86% and 91.86%, respectively. From the evaluation of 461 outlines with smooth junction, the introduction of the new rule has a great positive effect on the performance of the solution. The recognition accuracy of smooth junction improves from 37.53% to 93.41% given a writing time increase of 14.42%.     

Sulfonated polyetherketone （SPEK-C） films investigated by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy

The characterization of sulfonated polyetherketone （SPEK-C） films was investigated by using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy （PALS） and atomic force microscopy （AFM）. It was found that free volume radius and intensity depend on the variation of sulfonation degree and solvent evaporation time of the films. Pore size and distribution determined from PALS and AFM measurements showed reasonable agreement.     

Antifungal Activity of Bacillus velezensis CE 100 against Anthracnose Disease (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides) and Growth Promotion of Walnut (Juglans regia L.) Trees

Walnut anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is a deleterious disease that severely affects the production of walnut (Juglans regia L.). The aim of this study was to assess the antifungal and growth promotion activities of Bacillus velezensis CE 100 as an alternative to chemical use in walnut production. The crude enzyme from B. velezensis CE 100 exhibited chitinase, protease, and β-l,3-glucanase activity and degraded the cell wall of C. gloeosporioides, causing the inhibition of spore germination and mycelial growth by 99.3% and 33.6% at 100 µL/mL, respectively. The field application of B. velezensis CE 100 culture broth resulted in a 1.3-fold and 6.9-fold decrease in anthracnose disease severity compared to the conventional and control groups, respectively. Moreover, B. velezensis CE 100 produced indole-3-acetic acid (up to 1.4 µg/mL) and exhibited the potential for ammonium production and phosphate solubilization to enhance the availability of essential nutrients. Thus, field inoculation of B. velezensis CE 100 improved walnut root development, increased nutrient uptake, enhanced chlorophyll content, and consequently improved total biomass by 1.5-fold and 2.0-fold compared to the conventional and control groups, respectively. These results demonstrate that B. velezensis CE 100 is an effective biocontrol agent against anthracnose disease and a potential plant growth-promoting bacteria in walnut tree production.     

Prevalence of Coxiella burnetii infection in dairy cattle with reproductive disorders

The prevalence of Coxiella burnetii infection in 207 cattle with reproductive disorders was studied by using an indirect immunofluorescence (IF) test, nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and isolation. IF antibodies to phase I and phase II antigens of C. burnetii were found in 122 (58.9%) and 125 (60.4%) of the sera, respectively, and PCR-positives were found in 8 (3.9%) of the sera and in 51 (24.6%) of the milk samples. In addition, C. burnetii was isolated from 51 (24.6%) of the milk samples by inoculating laboratory mice. The results indicate that the IF test plus PCR are useful in the diagnosis of bovine coxiellosis. It is difficult to deny that dairy cattle with reproductive disorders would be one of the important reservoirs of C. burnetii responsible for infection in both animal and human populations in Japan.     

Investigation of SPPO Membranes by Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy

Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy （PALS） is a powerful technique to study the free volume in polymers. The lifetime of ortho-positronium （o-Ps）, a bound state of an electron and a positron, can be used to assess the pore size while the intensity can be used to characterize the number of pores. On the basis of the values of the long-lived o-Ps components in the lifetime spectra, the radii and fractional free volumes in the sulfonated poly （2,6-dimethyl-1,4- phenyleneoxide） （SPPO） membranes with different amounts of LiCl were calculated. It was found that, with the increasing amount of LiCl, the free volume radius and the fractional free volume firstly increased and then decreased. After immersing the membranes in distilled water, the free volume radius and the fractional free volume changed with different water concentrations in the membrane.     

A Review of Studies of Polymeric Membranes by Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy

A review is presented of studies of polymeric membranes by applying positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy （PALS）. PALS has been used to study subnanometer-sized holes, to determine their size distribution and free-volume fractions, and to probe molecular-sized vacancies in glassy polymers. At present, PALS is believed to be a highly effective physical method for the examination of polymeric membranes.