Dynamic Space Warping Of Strokes For Recognition Of Online Handwritten Characters

This paper suggests a scheme for classifying online handwritten characters, based on dynamic space warping of strokes within the characters. A method for segmenting components into strokes using velocity profiles is proposed. Each stroke is a simple arbitrary shape and is encoded using three attributes. Correspondence between various strokes is established using Dynamic Space Warping. A distance measure which reliably differentiates between two corresponding simple shapes (strokes) has been formulated thus obtaining a perceptual distance measure between any two characters. Tests indicate an accuracy of over 85% on two different datasets of characters.

Design and flight testing of a bio-inspired plume tracking algorithm for unmanned serial vehicles

There is an increased interest on the use of UAVs for environmental research such as tracking bush fires, volcanic eruptions, chemical accidents or pollution sources. The aim of this paper is to describe the theory and results of a bio-inspired plume tracking algorithm. A method for generating sparse plumes in a virtual environment was also developed. Results indicated the ability of the algorithms to track plumes in 2D and 3D. The system has been tested with hardware in the loop (HIL) simulations and in flight using a CO2 gas sensor mounted to a multi-rotor UAV. The UAV is controlled by the plume tracking algorithm running on the ground control station (GCS).

Searching for common threads in threadfins: phylogeography of Australian polynemids in space and time

Proper management of marine fisheries requires an understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of marine populations, which can be obtained from genetic data. While numerous fisheries species have been surveyed for spatial genetic patterns, temporally sampled genetic data is not available for many species. We present a phylogeographic survey of the king threadfin Polydactylus macrochir across its species range in northern Australia and at a temporal scale of 1 and 10 yr. Spatially, the overall AMOVA fixation index was Omega(st) = 0.306 (F-st' = 0.838), p < 0.0001 and isolation by distance was strong and significant (r(2) = 0.45, p < 0.001). Temporally, genetic patterns were stable at a time scale of 10 yr. However, this did not hold true for samples from the eastern Gulf of Carpentaria, where populations showed a greater degree of temporal instability and lacked spatial genetic structure. Temporal but not spatial genetic structure in the Gulf indicates demographic interdependence but also indicates that fishing pressure may be high in this area. Generally, genetic patterns were similar to another co-distributed threadfin species Eleutheronema tetradactylum, which is ecologically similar. However, the historical demography of both species, evaluated herein, differed, with populations of P. macrochir being much younger. The data are consistent with an acute population bottleneck at the last glacio-eustatic low in sea level and indicate that the king threadfin may be sensitive to habitat disturbances.

Continuously equivalent networks in state space

Schoeffler has derived continuously equivalent networks in the nodal-admittance domain. The letter derives a corresponding result in state space that combines the usefulness of Schoeffler's result and the power of the state-variable approach.

Novel fluorinated surfactants tentatively identified in firefighters using liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of flight tandem mass spectrometry and a case-control approach

Fluorinated surfactant-based aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) are made up of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) and are used to extinguish fires involving highly flammable liquids. The use of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and other perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in some AFFF formulations has been linked to substantial environmental contamination. Recent studies have identified a large number of novel and infrequently reported fluorinated surfactants in different AFFF formulations. In this study, a strategy based on a case-control approach using quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (QTOF-MS/MS) and advanced statistical methods has been used to extract and identify known and unknown PFAS in human serum associated with AFFF-exposed firefighters. Two target sulfonic acids [PFOS and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)], three non-target acids [perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS), perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS), and perfluorononanesulfonic acid (PFNS)], and four unknown sulfonic acids (Cl-PFOS, ketone-PFOS, ether-PFHxS, and Cl-PFHxS) were exclusively or significantly more frequently detected at higher levels in firefighters compared to controls. The application of this strategy has allowed for identification of previously unreported fluorinated chemicals in a timely and cost-efficient way.

Memoirs 1920-1960

Education as artist in "Odenwaldschule" and Oberammergau; return to Berlin and studies in the "Kunstgewerbeschule"; emigration to Paris in 1933; artist circle including Max Ernst; flight to Switzerland in 1942; busts of Pablo Casals and Emil Ludwig; emigration to New York; bust of Bruno Walter.

A phase space approach to generalized Hamilton–Jacobi theory

Generalizations of H–J theory have been discussed before in the literature. The present approach differs from others in that it employs geometrical ideas on phase space and classical transformation theory to derive the basic equations. The relation between constants of motion and symmetries of the generalized H–J equations is then clarified. Journal of Mathematical Physics is copyrighted by The American Institute of Physics.

Dwelling house in a sacred space: reused synagogues in Germany.

Contribution to the Congress " Sacred and Secular Buildings," Washington, May 1999, describing a project of the Institute of Architecture at the Technical University of Braunschweig in cooperation with the Center for Jewish Art in Jerusalem, which has been working on a documentation of synagogues, cemetery chapels, and ritual baths in Germany since 1994.

Samoa’s education policy: Negotiating a hybrid space for values

This paper analyses the education policy of Samoa to examine the values that are presented within as relevant to the education system. Drawing on the theory of postcolonialism and globalization, we illustrate how the global and local interact within the education policy to create a hybrid, heterogeneous mix of values and, while the policy acknowledges the significance of Samoan values, it is principally directed towards universal values being incorporated into the education system. We undertake a critical policy analysis to illustrate how the hybrid set of values are indicative of a neo-colonial discourse and argue that universal values are required, however, these need to be equally matched with local Samoan values for the education policy to be highly relevant, authentic and applicable to the Samoan education context.

Dynamic Instabilities in Slender Space Launch Vehicles under Propulsive Thrust and Aerodynamic Forces

A mechanics based linear analysis of the problem of dynamic instabilities in slender space launch vehicles is undertaken. The flexible body dynamics of the moving vehicle is studied in an inertial frame of reference, including velocity induced curvature effects, which have not been considered so far in the published literature. Coupling among the rigid-body modes, the longitudinal vibrational modes and the transverse vibrational modes due to asymmetric lifting-body cross-section are considered. The model also incorporates the effects of aerodynamic forces and the propulsive thrust of the vehicle. The effects of the coupling between the combustion process (mass variation, developed thrust etc.) and the variables involved in the flexible body dynamics (displacements and velocities) are clearly brought out. The model is one-dimensional, and it can be employed to idealised slender vehicles with complex shapes. Computer simulations are carried out using a standard eigenvalue problem within h-p finite element modelling framework. Stability regimes for a vehicle subjected to propulsive thrust are validated by comparing the results from published literature. Numerical simulations are carried out for a representative vehicle to determine the instability regimes with vehicle speed and propulsive thrust as the parameters. The phenomena of static instability (divergence) and dynamic instability (flutter) are observed. The results at low Mach number match closely with the results obtained from previous models published in the literature.

Flight directionality of Tribolium castaneum soon after take-off under glasshouse and field conditions

Flight directionality of the rust-red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), was investigated under glasshouse and field conditions using sticky traps placed around dense experimental infestations of T. castaneum derived from field-collected samples. Although beetles of this species are known to fly quite readily, information on flight of beetles away from grain resources is limited. Under still glasshouse conditions, T. castaneum does not demonstrate strong horizontal or vertical trajectories in their initial flight behaviour. Flight was significantly directional in half of the replicates, but trapped beetles were only weakly concentrated around the mean direction of flight. In the field, by contrast, emigration of T. castaneum was strongly directional soon after flight initiation. The mean vector lengths were generally >0.5 which indicates that trapped beetles were strongly concentrated around the calculated mean flight direction. A circular-circular regression of mean flight vs. mean downwind direction suggested that flight direction was generally correlated with downwind direction. The mean height at which T. castaneum individuals initially flew was 115.4 ± 7.0 cm, with 58.3% of beetles caught no more than 1 m above the ground. The height at which beetles were trapped did not correlate with wind speed at the time of sampling, but the data do indicate that wind speed significantly affected T. castaneum flight initiation, because no beetles (or very few; no more than three) were trapped in the field when the mean wind speed was above 3 m s−1. This study thus demonstrates that wind speed and direction are both important aspects of flight behaviour of T. castaneum, and therefore of the spatio-temporal dynamics of this species.

Effective earth and space science analogies

There are several good reasons why Earth and Space Science should be a part of any science curriculum. Nearly everything we do each day is connected in some way to the Earth: to its land, oceans, atmosphere, plants and animals. By 2025, eight billion people will live on Earth. If we are to continue extracting resources to maintain a high quality of life, then it is important that our children are scientifically literate in a way that allows them to exploit the Earth’s resources in a sustainable way. People who understand how earth systems work can make informed decisions and may be able to help resolve issues surrounding clean water, urban planning and development, global climate change and the use and management of natural resources.

Semi-Classical Mechanics in Phase Space: A Study of Wigner's Function

We explore the semi-classical structure of the Wigner functions ($\Psi $(q, p)) representing bound energy eigenstates $|\psi \rangle $ for systems with f degrees of freedom. If the classical motion is integrable, the classical limit of $\Psi $ is a delta function on the f-dimensional torus to which classical trajectories corresponding to ($|\psi \rangle $) are confined in the 2f-dimensional phase space. In the semi-classical limit of ($\Psi $ ($\hslash $) small but not zero) the delta function softens to a peak of order ($\hslash ^{-\frac{2}{3}f}$) and the torus develops fringes of a characteristic 'Airy' form. Away from the torus, $\Psi $ can have semi-classical singularities that are not delta functions; these are discussed (in full detail when f = 1) using Thom's theory of catastrophes. Brief consideration is given to problems raised when ($\Psi $) is calculated in a representation based on operators derived from angle coordinates and their conjugate momenta. When the classical motion is non-integrable, the phase space is not filled with tori and existing semi-classical methods fail. We conjecture that (a) For a given value of non-integrability parameter ($\epsilon $), the system passes through three semi-classical regimes as ($\hslash $) diminishes. (b) For states ($|\psi \rangle $) associated with regions in phase space filled with irregular trajectories, ($\Psi $) will be a random function confined near that region of the 'energy shell' explored by these trajectories (this region has more than f dimensions). (c) For ($\epsilon \neq $0, $\hslash $) blurs the infinitely fine classical path structure, in contrast to the integrable case ($\epsilon $ = 0, where $\hslash $ )imposes oscillatory quantum detail on a smooth classical path structure.

Find my office: Navigating real space from semantic descriptions

This paper shows that by using only symbolic language phrases, a mobile robot can purposefully navigate to specified rooms in previously unexplored environments. The robot intelligently organises a symbolic language description of the unseen environment and “imagines” a representative map, called the abstract map. The abstract map is an internal representation of the topological structure and spatial layout of symbolically defined locations. To perform goal-directed exploration, the abstract map creates a high-level semantic plan to reason about spaces beyond the robot’s known world. While completing the plan, the robot uses the metric guidance provided by a spatial layout, and grounded observations of door labels, to efficiently guide its navigation. The system is shown to complete exploration in unexplored spaces by travelling only 13.3% further than the optimal path.