bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Increasing the feature size in handwritten numeral recognition to improve accuracy
Authors: Wakabayashi Tetsushi , Tsuruoka Shinji , Kimura Fumitaka , Miyake Yasuji 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe relationship between the recognition rate of handwritten numerals and the normality of the distribution of their features has been investigated experimentally with a large amount of data in various combinations of quantized orientations and regions. The recognition method is based on the histogram of local orientation of contours of each numeral. To obtain a more accurate orientation quantization, the effectiveness of the orientation quantization using the gray‐scale gradient has also been investigated. The results show that: (1) to increase the dimensionality of features, it is better to increase the number of quantized orientations, keeping the number of regions small (e.g., 4 × 4 or 5 × 5); (2) in the same dimensionality, the better the normality of a feature distribution, the higher the recognition rate; (3) a quantization of orientations using gray scales is effective for normalizing a feature distribution; and (4) the filter processing in reduction of the number of quantization scales improves the normality and recognition rate. The recognition of handwritten numerals collected from actual posts were carried out by using the gray‐scale local‐orientation histogram (400 dimensions). A correct recognition rate of 99.18 percent (mean value) has been obtained.
Recognition of Coronary Arterial Stenosis Using Neural Network on DSA System
Authors: Suzuki Kenji , Horiba Isao , Ikegaya Kazuo , Nanki Michio 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis paper proposes a new recognition method of coronary arterial stenosis in DSA image, because conventional evaluation algorithms have not been satisfactory to medical doctors. To solve this problem, the neural network which takes into account the experience of the medical doctor is employed. This method consists of the extraction of characteristic parameters which are highly correlated with stenosis and the recognition of stenosis by the neural network. By means of phantom experiments and clinical evaluation, the efficiency of the proposed method has been shown.
An analysis of the hot spot contention and message combining on the simple serial synchronized‐multistage interconnection network
Authors: Gaye Kalidou , Hanawa Toshihiro , Amano Hideharu 
Published: July 2007

AbstractSimple serial synchronized (SSS) multistage interconnection network (MIN) is a processor‐memory connection network that has a high performance/cost ratio, where the packet is inputted and switch synchronously in the MIN, which has a high pass‐through ratio and is composed of simple elements. This paper evaluates the effect of the hot spot contention and the effect of the synchronous bit‐serial (SBS) message combining in SSS‐MIN, by the theoretical analysis based on probability and simulation. In contrast to conventional MIN, there does not arise a complete tree saturation in SSS‐MIN, but an area, to which the access is difficult, is produced according to the relative position to the hot spot contention. From such a viewpoint, an analysis method for the pass‐through ratio is presented, which considers the position of the switching element to the hot spot. It is verified as a result of evaluation that the proposed method of analysis gives a result close to that of simulation, so long as the access to the hot spot and the connection network architecture stay within a practical range. It is also seen that the pass‐through ratio is deteriorated less in SSS‐MIN by the hot spot contention than in the conventional MIN, and the effect can be almost completely eliminated by the SBS message combining. When a multiprocessor system is actually constructed, performance deterioration due to hot spot contention is greater than in the case where only the pass‐through ratio is considered. This can also be eliminated almost completely by the SBS message combining.
A simplification algorithm of and‐exor expressions guaranteeing minimality for some class of logic functions
Authors: Hirayama Takashi , Nishitani Yasuaki 
Published: July 2007

AbstractAmong all AND‐EXOR expressions that represent a logic functionf, those with a minimum number of products are called minimum AND‐EXOR expressions off. The number of products in the minimum AND‐EXOR expressions offis denoted by τ(f). The minimization algorithms of AND‐EXOR expressions take a great deal of time for computing (time complexityO(22n)), wherenis the number of variables. Thus it is necessary to develop a simplification algorithm that does not always find the exact minimum AND‐EXOR expressions but runs fast. This paper presents a simplification algorithm of AND‐EXOR expressions, which partially guarantees minimality and has the following properties: (1) it computes a minimum AND‐EXOR expression for a logic functionfwith τ(f) < 3(k+ 1), wherekis a nonnegative integer; (2) if an AND‐EXOR expression obtained by this algorithm takes less than or equal to 3(k+ 1) of products, then it is minimum; and (3) its time complexity isO(τkn2+(k+C)n). From the experimental results fork= 0, 1, 2, we can conclude that its computational time is practical forn= 20, 7, 6, respectively. Modifying this algorithm, we present an exact minimization algorithm for 5‐variable functions, which is faster than previously known ones.
Image screening based on projection pursuit for statistical image recognition
Authors: Arimura Koichi , Hagita Norihiro 
Published: July 2007

AbstractA preprocessing method, called image screening, is presented to improve the recognition rate and efficiency in statistical image recognition. The problem of detecting a specified object in input images is treated as a two‐class classification problem in which the image falls into both a set of subimages in the target object (figure) class and the other set of subimages in the ground class. An image screening algorithm based on projection pursuit selects a candidate set of subimages that is similar to the object class, it rejects the remaining set using screening filters whose design is based on projection pursuit. The feature space for recognition is obtained from the selected subimages. Two kinds of measures to evaluate the performance of image screening are defined. The error rate in image screening is related to the total recognition rate of the system and the rejection rate of the noise image is related to the recognition efficiency. Two kinds of experiments were conducted, one to detect the eye and mouth areas in a face image and the other to detect the text area in a document image. Experimental results for these two tasks demonstrate that our method improves the recognition accuracy and efficiency.
Automatic generation of efficient hidden markov network by a state‐splitting and merging algorithm
Authors: Takami Jun‐Ichi 
Published: July 2007

AbstractUntil now, the successive state‐splitting algorithm (SSS) has been proposed as an automatic generation algorithm for the hidden Markov network (HMnet), which can be used as a high‐performance efficient context‐dependent model. SSS is a splitting‐type algorithm in which the HMnet is detailed only by splitting states.On the other hand, the “merge‐type” algorithm also is proposed, where the model is constructed while merging the parameters based on the partial similarity of the model parameters. The two methods have the common goal, but take completely different approaches. Consequently, they should complement each other.From such a viewpoint, this paper introduces the mechanism of the “merge‐type” technique into SSS as the “splitting‐type” algorithm. In other words, the “state‐splitting and merging” algorithm is proposed, where a higher‐performance automatic generation of HMnet is realized by complementing the defects of the two methods. An HMnet actually is constructed using 25 Japanese phoneme samples. By various evaluation experiments, the performance of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated.
Design of logic circuits with wired‐logic utilizing transduction method
Authors: Yamashita Shigeru , Kambayashi Yahiko , Muroga Saburo 
Published: July 2007

AbstractWired‐logic is especially useful when designing fan‐in restricted logic circuits which are implemented with bipolar and MOS transistors. There is, however, little published on the subject outside of the work done by the present authors. In this paper, a method of reducing the levels of circuits by utilizing Wired‐Logic is presented. The method restricts the number of fanins for a gate utilizing Wired‐Logic and transforms circuits using the transduction method optimization. To attain the proper combination of NOR gates and Wired‐OR gates, an algorithm using Wired‐OR gates for the fan‐in restriction is also presented. By performing experiments on third level NOR circuits, the proposed method is comparable toGeneralized Serial Duplicationwhich is an efficientserial duplication.The levels of most circuits are reduced by Wired‐OR gates, thereby demonstrating the efficiency of Wired‐Logic. Although connection length is important to LSI, the cost function simplifies circuit levels. Hence, for the purposes of this paper, analysis is expanded to include the cost function.
Optimization methods for look‐up table‐type FPGAs based on permissible functions
Authors: Yamashita Shigeru , Kambayashi Yahiko , Muroga Sabura 
Published: July 2007

AbstractRecently, due to remarkable technological developments and because their logic can be modified flexibly and easily, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) have increasingly been applied to hardware prototyping and the design of restructurable computer architectures. For this reason, it is highly necessary to establish logic design techniques for FPGAs.This paper describes methods for optimizing the circuits mapped in look‐up table‐type FPGAs. These methods apply the concept of permissible functions from the transduction method, which is a logic circuit optimization technique based on design improvement, and attempt to reduce the degree of redundancy. The following two methods were investigated: 1) reducing the number of blocks by using a logic block to replace another; and 2) together with replacing logic blocks, modifying the internal logic that implements a logic block as long as the outputs are not affected. Although the latter generally is more flexible, the former requires less processing time and sometimes produces better results. The effectiveness of these methods is demonstrated by showing that the degree of redundancy was reduced by about 9 percent when the methods were applied to circuits mapped in look‐up table‐type FPGAs. The methods proposed in this paper can also be applied to designs using standard cells and gate arrays.
Snoring, witnessed sleep apnoeas and pregnancy‐induced hypertension
Authors: PÉREZ‐CHADA DANIEL , VIDELA ALEJANDRO J. , O'FLAHERTY MARTIN E. , MAJUL CLAUDIO , CATALINI ANA M. , CABALLER CARLOS A. , FRANKLIN KARL A. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractBackground. Snoring is common in pregnancy, but there are only a few studies that have investigated the relationship of snoring and pregnancy complications. We aimed to investigate the relationship of snoring and witnessed sleep apnoeas with pregnancy‐induced hypertension. Methods. A questionnaire was administered on the day of delivery to 456 women at the Department of Obstetrics, Hospital Donación F. Santojanni, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Pregnancy complications and blood pressure measurements were recorded from each woman's medical chart. Results. Some 156 (35%) of 447 women with singleton pregnancies who answered the questionnaire, snored at some time during their pregnancy. Snoring was related to pregnancy‐induced hypertension and pre‐eclampsia combined, with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.82 (95% CI: 1.16–2.84; p <0.01), independent of body mass index before pregnancy, weight gain during pregnancy, neck circumference, smoking, alcohol and age. Witnessed sleep apnoeas were also related to pregnancy‐induced hypertensive disease, with an adjusted odds ratio of 8.00 (95% CI: 2.71–23.55; p <0.001). Daytime sleepiness was more prevalent in snoring women. Conclusions. Snoring and witnessed sleep apnoeas are independently related to pregnancy‐induced hypertensive disease.
Effect of Practice on the Perception of Temporal Patterns
Authors: Handel Stephen , Lewis William E. 
Published: July 2007

The effect of practice on the organization and the rate of identification of temporal patterns was investigated. The patterns involved a set of eight dichotomous left-right elements, repeated without interruption until the subject was able to identify the patterns. The patterns were presented in the auditory, tactual, or visual modalities, or in pairs of these modalities. In some conditions, all the pattern elements were presented in one modality; in other conditions, four elements were presented in one modality and the remaining four elements were presented in the second modality. The results demonstrated that when all pattern elements were presented in one modality, naive subjects organized the sequence into a well-structured pattern; practiced subjects organized the sequence into a pattern beginning at the starting element. These patterns may be poorly-structured. When four pattern elements were presented in each of two modalities, naive subjects organized the elements in each modality separately; practiced subjects disregarded the modality structure and organized the sequence into a well-structured pattern. These changes in organization suggest a hierarchy of perceptual modes; perception by modality (i.e. by sensations) is least complex, perception by pattern structure is intermediate, and perception by start point is most complex. Changes in the rate of pattern identification confirm this hierarchy. Furthermore, the changes in organization and identification found for highly practiced patterns were also found for novel patterns.
Maintaining corporate dominance after decolonization: the ‘first mover advantage’ of Shell‐BP in Nigeria
Authors: Frynas Jêdrzej 
                      George , Beck Matthias P , Mellahi Kamel 
Published: July 2007

Nigeria's oil industry came into being during colonial rule. Preferential treatment by British colonial authorities had given a British oil company — Shell — a virtual monopoly over oil exploration in the country and Shell has remained the dominant oil company in Nigeria.
While there is substantial evidence to suggest that Shell‐BP established its dominant position in Nigeria with the support of British colonial officials, it was by no means clear that Shell would be able to maintain this advantageous position. Indeed, the historical record shows that both the Nigerian government and a number of competitors posed a potential threat to Shell's dominant position.
The purpose of this article is to answer the question why Shell was able to maintain a position of dominance in Nigeria. It examines Nigeria's diversification and nationalisation policies from the late 1950s to‐date with the view of identifying the factors which allowed Shell to maintain its position vis‐à‐vis potential competitors. This investigation is based on the analysis of secondary sources as well as documents from the Public Record Office (PRO) in London and the BP Archive.
In order to explain Shell's dominance in Nigeria, the article proposes to utilise the concept of a ‘first mover advantage’. On the most basic level, this concept suggests that pioneering firms are able to obtain positive economic profits as the consequence of early market entry, that means, profits in excess of the cost of capital. The article concludes that a micro‐theoretical analysis based on the idea of a ‘first mover advantage’, which explores the position of individual corporate entities within a political economy framework, provides a superior explanation of Shell's dominance in Nigeria as compared to conventional macro‐theoretical structuralist approaches.
Ethnic ‘nationalities’, God & the state: Whither the federal republic of Nigeria?
Authors: Ifeka Caroline 
Published: July 2007

There is a continuing contradiction between the state as the corporate representation of Nigerian society and sectional (ethno‐religious) interests struggling to counter perceived margin‐alisation by revenue ‘sharing’ among patrons and clients (Joseph, 1987). Power elites in command of the centre identify with the state and proclaim its indivisible ‘unitary’ character; poly‐ethnic labour activists believe in the Federal Republic but criticise their exclusion from state power by a mege‐rich elite (Ojewale, 2000). Other (southern) leaders are so dissatisfied with the unitary Nigerian state that they are campaigning for a confederation of ethnic ‘nationalities’ or secession into independent republics. As well, certain northern leaders are emphasising the Islamic identity of the Hausa‐Fulani ‘nationality’ by substituting Shari'a law for the criminal code so some people believe core northern states are engaging in covert religio‐legal secession (Soyinka, 2000).
The state and ethno‐religious sectionalism thus continue to interact, power elite networking and patronage ensuring that each party to the contradiction reproduces politically unitary and divisive forces in changing constellations, rendering uncertain indeed the outcome of present empowerment struggles.
In this Briefing Caroline Ifeka explores current conflicts. She identifies historical constants in political relations between the state and ethno‐religious ‘nationalities’ and highlights those that are crumbling. As conflicts intensify the (unitary) viewpoints of certain power elites, reported daily in the print and visual media, become more strident. Ifeka compares these with the sectional perspectives of the struggling masses she encounters in tropical high forest villages, in vigilante meetings, and in guest houses in downtown city quarters. She asks: do current crises and discourses of ‘marginalisation’ constitute a penultimate phase in the history of a state born and governed through violence, and nurtured in mystifying discourses of ‘faith and unity'?
Health and the African theatre
Authors: Lihamba Amandina 
Published: July 2007

This article explores the representation in performance and theatre of three contrasting approaches to our understanding of disease causality —explanations that invoke material and non‐material forces in a traditional cosmology where all phenomena are interrelated, contemporary biomedical explanations that situate causation in material forces alone and that isolate individual responsibility, and socialist explanations that seek underlying economic and political causes of community ill health. Written by an active performer, the article is based on her observation of workshops and performances, on interviews, published and unpublished reports, and an analysis of contemporary plays by Soyinka, Hussein and Muhando.
Different approaches to health, disease and cure are reflected in different infrastructures created to deal with them, which are informed by political, economic and social structures and attitudes. These attitudes and structures find expression within general culture and within specific cultural expressions such as theatre. This paper looks at attitudes towards health, disease and cure manifested in traditional and contemporary African performances. It is argued that traditional performances reveal attitudes that arise from an understanding of interrelationships among universal phenomena, whereas most contemporary theatre carries attitudes that have a limited socio‐political framework or that remain symbolic representations of interrelationships.
The political economy of the ‘green revolution’ in Africa
Authors: Lawrence Peter 
Published: July 2007

This article sets out to survey the extent to which new agricultural technologies associated with ‘Green Revolution’ (the introduction of high yielding varieties of foodgrains and/or their associated biochemical and mechanical technologies) have been introduced in Africa and attempts a preliminary assessment of their economic and social effects. There is now significant evidence of the introduction and adoption of higher yielding varieties of maize, wheat and rice in Africa, as well as the adoption of other technological innovations in irrigation and mechanisation, albeit with widely varying degrees of success and with many instances of failure. It is noted that there are many standard technical explanations associated with the adoption of new technologies in agriculture, in particular, low levels of credit, poor supply of inputs, inadequate, faulty or no irrigation, poor extension advice, and low producer prices, as well as the poor state of the relationship between agronomic research and farm level innovation.
However, the evidence so far collected for Africa suggests that a substantial part of the explanation of whether adoption of innovations takes place or not, and of their degree of success, is the nature of the social relations of production, relations not simply of class or strata, but also of gender. The major technical constraint on successful innovation adoption as revealed by most, if not all, of the studies surveyed turns out to be that of labour supply. The extent to which that constraint can be resolved turns not on increasing family labour supply, which often means increasing the intensity of female labour, but in hiring labour. The very hiring of labour presupposes the existence of a social formation in which free wage labour exists, or In which it can be created. Its creation will depend on the degree to which those interests which seek toaccumulate through agricultural innovation have power and can exercise that power through the State.
The first section of this article is an overview of various issues of theory and evidence involved in surveying the green revolution in Africa. The second section surveys the introduction of these new technologies into Africa and the final section draws some conclusions for policy and further analysis.
The Performance of a Simple Motor Task with Kinaesthetic Sense Loss
Authors: Laszlo Judith I. 
Published: July 2007

Two related studies were carried out, to test the suitability of the nerve compression block as a technique in the investigation of kinaesthesis in motor skills. In both studies a key tapping task was used. Each experimental group was composed of six volunteer subjects. It was found that kinaesthetic sensation was eliminated after pressure had been applied for 20–25 min., but muscle power was not seriously affected at this stage of the block. The results also showed a pronounced performance decrement in the absence of kinaesthetic feedback, and that this decrement was not due to emotional or other disturbances caused by the experimental procedure. The loss of tactile sensation was also observed.
Classification on the Basis of Conditional Cues
Authors: Davis R. , Taylor D. H. 
Published: July 2007

Subjects were presented with signals from two sources, either simultaneously or successively. The signal from one source, the “cue” signal, provided information about the type of classification to be made; the signal from the other source provided the data for the classification. Reaction times were recorded from the moment of presentation of the second signal to the moment the subject pressed the appropriate response key. By varying the order of presentation and the time interval between cue and data signal, the time required for the subject to select the appropriate dimension of variation in the data signal was examined. When the cue signal preceded the data signal, the results were consistent with consecutive sequential processing of the two signals. When the data signal preceded the cue signal a further source of delay was evident. It is suggested that this results from a type of intermittency in which processing of irrelevant aspects of the data signal holds up the analysis of the cue signal.